Chicken Chili

My eldest hates beef...he actually calls it "meat gum." Thus I went in search of chili made with chicken or turkey. This recipe, made with ground chicken, is one of two that I really like. It is super easy to make, reasonable healthy and very flavorful.

Ingredients
• one pound of ground chicken
• two cans of white, navy bean
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 3.5 cups chicken broth (I use water and 4 bouillon cubes)
• 1 medium finely chopped onion
• 1/2 medium green pepper also finely chopped
• 1/2 to one cup frozen corn
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1.5-2 teaspoons chili powder (to your taste)
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Cayenne pepper to your taste (when I make it for my kids, I don't use any and it is very flavorful).
• salt to your taste, I only add 1/2 teaspoon.

Directions
• Put the chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, corn, oregano, cumin and chili powder in a soup pot or a crock pot.
• brown the chicken in a frying pan, drain off the excess grease and add the meat to the soup/crock pot.
• don't wipe out the frying pan of the meat grease and with the burner on about medium head add the onion, peppers and garlic until the veggies are soft. This takes less than five minutes and stir often so the veggies don't burn. Once done, add this mix to the soup/crock pot.
• If cooking on a stove top, bring the mixture to a low boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. If cooking in a crock pot, let the flavors marry in a slow cooker for 4-5 hours on low.

The Easiest Beef Barley Soup on the Planet

2-3 lbs of stew beef
1 can of diced tomatoes
1.5 cups of shredded carrots (my boys won't eat big bits!)
4-5 cups water
1 packet of McCormick Hearty Beef Stew spices
1.5-2 cups of uncooked barley

Throw all of the above ingredients except the barley in the slow cooker for about 6 hours on low. Add the barley and let it cook for another 2 hours on low (total cooking time is 8 hrs).

It was staggeringly tasty!

Scrumptious in the Slow Cooker

This was a bit of an impromptu, late in the day creation, but it was so delicious that I just had to share!

Creamy and Zesty Chicken
Ingredients
2 lbs cubed raw chicken breast (about 4 boneless chicken breasts)
4 oz. neufchatel cheese
1 can cream of chicken condensed soup (though if you prefer cream of mushroom, I bet that'd be good too)
1/4 cup wine (red or white, you choose, gives it some zip)
1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing
1 lb thin spaghetti

Put the cubed chicken into the slow cooker. Whisk together the cheese, soup, wine and dressing and pour this mixture over the chicken. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5. Cook the pasta just before serving and pour the sauce and chicken on top.

Note: This would be a great dish for a dinner party; really simple and totally luscious. The ingredients listed above serve 4-5, but there was plenty of extra sauce so you could easily add another breast or two. Also, if you wanted to fancy it up, you could garnish with parsley.

Everyone in my house loved this, even my eldest who is the finickiest eater ever!