Crock*Pot Asian Chicken - Home Cooked Recipe 42

I am in love with my new Crock*Pot!!!  I have made so many dinners in it already.  It is a 7 quart Crock*Pot slow cooker, with low, high, and warm settings.  One of our new favorite household recipes is one for Asian Chicken, which is made completely in the slow cooker.  Very easy, very delicious, and you'll get some of the moistest, most tender chicken you'll ever have. I originally found the recipe on Pinterest, but adapted it for our own household preferences. See the recipe below!

Crock*Pot Asian Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves galic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tbs red pepper flakes (less if you are afraid of spice, more if you like it spicy!)
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbs sesame seeds *optional
• 1 green onion bundle, thinly sliced *optional
• -if you like a thicker sauce, at the end of cooking dissolve 4 tbs cornstarch in 6 tbs water and add to liquid in slow cooker and cook on high 30 minutes before mixing the chicken back in

Directions:

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides, place in slow cooker.  In a bowl, mix together broth, honey, soy, vinegar, ketchup, oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper.  Blend well and pour over chicken breasts.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  Remove chicken breasts, shred chicken with two forks, return to sauce in slow cooker and mix well.  Serve over rice, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Restaurant Review 16 - Chuy's

I love good Mexican and Tex-Mex food.  I'm always in search of new restaurants that serve good food, and recently I was down in Kissimmee and stumbled upon Chuy's, a Tex-Mex restaurant that was founded in Austin, TX.  There are several restaurants nationwide, but only two in FL, one in Gainesville and one locally in Kissimmee.  Chuy's is a fun restaurant with interesting decor.  It is not fine dining, but their food is delicious and very reasonably priced.  Although it is too far of a drive to eat at more often, and is located in a tourist-centric part of town, it is a good find, and a place I will definitely go back to if I'm in that part of town again.  I'm actually hoping they open one closer to the metro Orlando area so I can go more frequently.

You can find Chuy's on Facebook, and they also offer take-out.  

I went to Chuy's for dinner on a Sunday night with a group of friends as it was my birthday dinner.  My date and I ordered the Chile Con Queso as an appetizer and it was cheesy goodness to go with the complimentary chips and salsa the restaurant offers.  Speaking of the salsa, I was impressed, it was fresh and tasty with a bit of kick to keep things interesting.

For my entree my date and I both ordered The Elvis Presley Memorial combo, which for just under $11 came with 3 enchiladas (cheese, beef, and chicken - although I ordered mine with beef instead of the chicken) and a beef taco, as well as a couple of large tostada chips dipped in the queso.  Plenty of food for a very good price.  We were more than stuffed when we left, but we both agreed our meals were delicious and I would definitely order it again.  What I liked was each enchilada came with a different sauce to try, all the ingredients seemed fresh and cooked well.  I also ordered a side of their Creamy Jalapeno dip, and it was DIVINE.  I put it on everything.  Get it if you go, you won't be disappointed.

Other guests at my table ordered fajitas, which they declared to have tender well-cooked meat (steak and chicken both) and lots of flavor.  Another guest ordered the Chicken Flautas, and one just the Crispy Tacos.  The only complaint about the flautas was that they needed more sauce.  I received a complimentary dessert for my birthday, a fried pastry served with a yummy honey sauce.  

The service was fast and friendly.  We had a large party, but the restaurant did a good job of accommodating us and the service was quick and efficient.

Oh and try their drink specials!  I had a house wine and it was priced well and tasty.  They offer margaritas, beers, and have a full bar.

If you're in the Kissimmee area and you're looking for a fun, well-priced, delicious Tex-Mex meal, visit Chuy's!  And check out their website for Facebook information, menu information, and more of their locations so you can visit one even if you're not from Florida!

Simply Sides 7 - Coleslaw

Coleslaw is a quintessential ingredient for picnics and BBQ's and people have many different recipes.  As crazy as it might sound, my favorite coleslaw has always been from KFC.  No matter how many recipes I've investigated, I have not been able to replicate theirs.  But NOW I have found a recipe that comes very close and my family absolutely loves.  Today I am going to share it with you, my dear readers!  

In the future I will be posting another coleslaw recipe, one for a spicy chipotle slaw, so keep a look out for that soon!

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg of coleslaw veggie mix that includes green and red cabbage, and carrots *I like to chop into a small dice with a chopper, even though it comes already shredded, but do it how you like best
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp horseradish
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except first one together.  Blend well.  Fold in coleslaw veggies.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.  

Enjoy!

Chili Cheese Pie - Home Cooked Recipe 41

I have already given you my delicious Chili recipe, and I made it again this week.  I had it for dinner, then leftovers another night, but still had some left over.  While wondering what I could do with the rest of the chili (nachos, etc) I saw someone on TV talking about pies and quiches.  Then an idea struck!  What if I turned my leftover chili into a chili cheese pie??? I had one 9 inch round of refrigerated pie dough and decided to go for it.  Here is the recipe for my idea of what to do when you have chili leftovers!

Chili Cheese Pie

Ingredients:
2-3 cups of Chili (get my recipe here), use your favorite, cooled
8 oz shredded quesadilla cheese (or monterey jack or pepper jack or cheddar jack)
4 oz finely shredded cheddar
1 9 inch round refrigerated pie dough (or use your favorite recipe)
***optional garnishes: green onions, sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Unroll pie dough and place in pie pan.  Cover the bottom of the pie crust with half of the quesadilla cheese.  Spoon chili over the top and spread in an even layer.  Top with other half of quesadilla cheese and cheddar cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool for 30 minutes.  Serve with sour cream and/or green onions if desired.
Enjoy!