Kitchen Confessions: Easy Crockpot White Chicken Chili

Happy Friday, everyone!  We've been lucky enough to have some warm-ish weather this week and it has been so nice to be able to get outside without bundling up. Unfortunately, the cold is back today and it has me in the mood for a good crockpot meal.  

A few weeks ago I shared my quest for easy weeknight meals and my love of the crockpot.  I've got another yummy recipe to share today...Easy Crockpot White Chicken Chili! In full disclosure, my kids liked the Easy Crockpot Potato Soup better than this, but I loved this one and thought it was definitely worth sticking around in the dinner rotation. 

At first look this was *almost* too many ingredients and a little more prep time with the dicing and chopping for my liking.  In the end though, it was actually super easy and worth the little extra time. 

Easy Crockpot White Chicken Chili 

Ingredients: 

1 lb. boneless/skinless chicken breast 

1 yellow onion (diced) 

2 cloves garlic (minced) 

2 cans chicken broth 

2 cans great Northern beans (drained and rinsed) 

2 - 4 oz cans diced green chiles 

1 can whole kernel corn (drained) 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin 

3/4 tsp oregano 

1/2 tsp chili powder 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 

small handful fresh cilantro (chopped) 

1 block cream cheese 

1/4 cup half and half 

Toppings: 

shredded cheese 

tortilla strips 

sour cream 

sliced avocados 

Directions: 

1. Add chicken breast to crockpot, sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder and cayenne pepper. 

2. Top with diced onion, minced garlic, great Northern beans, green chiles, corn, chicken broth and cilantro. 

3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 

4. Remove chicken breast and shred using two forks, then return to crockpot and stir. 

5. Cube cream cheese block into 1 inch pieces. Add cream cheese and half and half to crockpot. Stir and cover for an additional 20 minutes. 

6. Stir well and serve with toppings! 

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE.

Follow us on Twitter HERE. 

Kitchen Confessions: Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

Do any of you struggle with what to cook on a busy weeknight?  Jen and I were talking recently how we need easy meals that can be ready for our families to eat whenever they are home because these days it feels like everyone eats in shifts.  With everyone's practice and sports schedules it is rare that we are all sitting down to eat at the same time during the week. Some of us eat at a normal dinner, some eat a little something before practice and others eat super late after practice.  

Enter my favorite kitchen appliance...the crockpot!  There is nothing I love more than putting everything in it earlier in the day and having your dinner ready that evening.  It keeps food warm so people can eat in shifts and usually means there are less pots and pans to clean up.  

When I'm looking for recipes if it has too many steps or too many ingredients I'll usually avoid them.  Also, too much prep before is usually a no-go for me.  I like the "just pour it all in and let the crockpot do it's magic" kind of recipes. 

In an effort to branch out a little and try some new recipes I found a winner. I've made Potato Soup in the crockpot before, but it has been a while so I took a look at a few different recipes and sort of combined them all to make my own.  

Easy Crockpot Potato Soup 

Ingredients: 

1 32 oz bag frozen cubed hash browns 

1 can cream of chicken soup 

2 cans chicken broth 

1/2 cup chopped onion

ground pepper to taste 

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese 

Optional toppings: 

shredded cheddar cheese 

crumbled bacon 

sour cream 

green onions 

Directions: 

1. Pour frozen hash browns, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, chopped onions and pepper in a crockpot. 

2. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. 

3. Cube block of cream cheese and add to crockpot for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally. 

4. Once all cream cheese has melted into the soup, use a potato masher, big spoon or spatula (my utensil of choice because I don't own a potato masher) to smoosh hash brown pieces into a smooth, creamy consistency. 

5. Stir well and serve with desired toppings!  

My kids loved this and my daughter told me I should make it ALL the time.  I'd say that is a dinner winner and is totally going to be added into the dinner rotation at our house. 

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE.

Follow us on Twitter HERE. 

Kitchen Confessions: Crockpot Zesty BBQ Chicken

Earlier this summer I was watching some Instagram stories and came across a recipe that one of my favorite influencers shared.  It sounded really good, really easy, and used my favorite kitchen appliance...the crockpot!  I was sold and decided to give it a try.  This zesty BBQ chicken recipe was perfect for my family.

I loved that I could prep everything ahead of time and let it just cook all day.  The mix of the zesty dressing and BBQ sauce makes the chicken so good.  We ate it how she suggested, over sweet potatoes which is something I never would have thought of on my own, but it is SO good! The next day I make sliders with the left over chicken or I've even used it to make tacos and/or quesadillas.

(I don't usually use the thin sliced breasts, but this was all my store had on that day!)

Zesty BBQ Chicken 

Ingredients: 
4-6 chicken breast
1 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing (we like Kraft)
1 bottle Sweet Baby Ray BBQ sauce

Directions: 
Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot sprayed with Pam.
Cover with dressing and BBQ sauce.
Cook on low for about 6 hours or until chicken falls apart easily.
Remove chicken and shred with two forks.
Strain remaining sauce to use as topping.

Like I mentioned above, we eat this chicken over baked sweet potatoes and for that I generally use 4 sweet potatoes.  I wash and dry them first. Then pierce them with a fork all over, spread olive oil on the skin and sprinkle with a little salt. Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour based on the size of your sweet potatoes.  When they are done the skin should wrinkle a bit, the caramelized juice will start to ooze out and a fork should slide in easily when they are fully cooked.  When you are ready to serve simply slice the sweet potatoes in half, smoosh the sides to make room for the chicken. After topping with chicken you can drizzle some of the extra sauce on top and even add a little shredded cheese (not pictured).

The chicken is also delicious as a BBQ sandwich or you can make little mini sliders on Hawaiian Rolls, which my kids love! It's a simple, no fuss dinner recipe that my family loves!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE.

Follow us on Twitter HERE.

Slow Cooker Pizza Pasta Recipe

Easy dinner alert!! Naturally I'm not a food person. I eat like a five year old, and my cooking skills are about equivalent. I have friends that are excellent cooks, and have tried to teach me their ways, share their dinner secrets, and even bring me meals because otherwise they know my poor family would be eating tacos Monday through Friday.

Not that there is anything wrong with tacos. Because...well, tacos.

But, long time readers know I love a good slow cooker recipe. Carrie Beth and I both do. As busy moms who play mom taxi from 2-9p.m. respectively each nice, it's nice to just take a handful of ingredients, throw them in a pot and call it a day. Or in this case dinner.

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a recipe on Pinterest to shake things up in my slow cooker repertoire, and I found a recipe called "Pizza Pasta". I screen shot the recipe on my phone or else I would go back and give the creator a huge shout out. 

The Slow Cooker Pizza Pasta was a huge hit amongst the entire family. Even Mr. Magnolia. And he's a tough sell when it comes to all things involving a crockpot. 

It is really really simple (see those five year old cooking skills) and easy to adjust to your own tastes. 

And it tastes like pizza. Which everyone knows is the second major food group behind tacos. 

Here's the quick and easy recipe...

SLOW COOKER PIZZA PASTA

Prep Time - 10 mins

Total Time - 1.5 hours

INGREDIENTS

• 1 jar of pizza sauce
• 1 box of penne pasta
• 1 pound of ground meat (I used a mixture of ground sausage and ground turkey.)  
• 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• Optional: sliced pepperoni 

INSTRUCTIONS

• Cook pasta according to instructions.
• Brown meat(s).  

• Mix pasta, meats, and sauce in a large bowl. 

• Layer pasta mixture with cheese in slow cooker.  

• Cook on low for 1 - 1.5 hours.  

• Serve and enjoy! 

Have any slow cooker recipes that even a five year old can make? If so, share with me! It's always good to have a little something up my sleeve to really "wow" the fam. ;) 

Come spend the day with us on:

| Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter |

Kitchen Confessions: Simple Taco Soup

It's been quite a while since our last Kitchen Confessions post so I figured it was high time to share something we've been eating lately. Weeknights are the hardest because we are so short on time. Between practices for three kids in multiple sports, finding a night that I am home with nothing to do except cook dinner is rare!  I love quick and easy meals that are a crowd pleaser and this simple taco soup is just that.  I can put it all together in my crockpot in the morning after the kids get off to school and know that it will be ready for us to eat anytime we happen to get home that evening.

We actually had this for the first time at my good friend A's house on Halloween. She had made a big batch of it for us to eat before trick-or-treating. I got the recipe from her and altered it just a bit to fit my kids' tastes, and have made it several times since then.  Starting back to school this week I knew I needed to plan for some easy meals and this was on the top of the list!

Simple Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water
1 can (16 ounces) mild chili beans, undrained
1 can (15 1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 ounces) Rotel
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

Directions:
1. Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until no loner pink. Drain.
2. Add taco seasoning and mix well.
3. In a crock-pot, add all ingredients including ground beef. Cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
4. Stir and serve with Fritos.
5. Garnish with sour cream and/or shredded cheddar cheese.
6. Enjoy!

If your kids are anything like mine, they will love this because they get to eat it with chips!  That makes everything taste better, right?!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE.

Follow us on Twitter HERE.

Kitchen Confessions: Crock-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Happy Monday, friends!  We had such a busy weekend that it didn't even really feel like a weekend.  A baseball game, sleepovers, football/cheer, another baseball game, two birthday parties, a trip to the pumpkin patch, a soccer game, another birthday party, and all-star cheer practice.  Basically I shuttled kids around all.weekend.long.  I need a weekend just to recover from my weekend.

Times like this when I'm not home to cook we will usually just run through the drive through or order pizza, but we've been doing that a lot and I really have been making an effort to plan ahead for our meals.  Last week our friend, Amanda, from Dixie Delights shared a crock-pot chicken noodle soup on her Instagram Story.

(Side note - I am totally obsessed with watching peoples Instagram stories. Are y'all watching?  Do you love it as much as I do?  It's like a sneak peek into their lives that you don't always see on their Instagram feed.  Plus, I love hearing people talk and love when they share their voice. It's usually not at all what I picture them sounding like, but still fun!)

Back to the recipe.  She had shared it on her blog, HERE, so I printed off the recipe and got to work.  The first, and most involved step was getting all of the ingredients.  For most it might not be hard, but remember that I like to keep things simple around here and I had to google what a leek was.

#WishIWasKidding

#NotAGourmetCook

In my defense, I had heard of a leek before, but had never cooked with one and I needed to know what to be looking for at the grocery store.  Being the best friend she is, Jen made me feel better about my lack of knowledge about leeks.

After I was armed with my leek knowledge and had I gathered all my ingredients, I was ready to pull out the old crock-pot.  Saturday morning before we had to leave for all of the game and parties and actives, I chopped and prepared and dumped in all of the ingredients.  7 hours later I returned home to a delicious and hearty meal!  It was finally feeling like fall outside and we had spent most of the day outdoors, so this was the perfect meal to come home to.  We had pumpkins on our porch, we had football on the TV, and we had soup to warm us up!

A few things to note about the recipe and changes I made:
-I used boneless chicken breasts instead of bone-in chicken.
-I used pre-sliced carrots from the produce department.
-I also used jarred/ground spices and herbs instead of the fresh sprigs and leaves it called for, because it is what I had in my kitchen and, let's face it...I didn't even know what a leek was.

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup 
Source: Southern Living, via Dixie Delights Blog

Ingredients:
2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skinned and trimmed 
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 1/4 cups)
1 celery root, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh sage sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups wide egg noodles
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions: 
1. Place chicken and next 11 ingredients in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours or until chicken and vegetables are tender and chicken separates from bone.
2.  Remove chicken from slow cooker. Dice meat, discarding bones. Return meat to slow cooker. Stir in uncooked noodles and parsley. Cover and cook on HIGH 15 to 20 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir in lemon juice. Serve immediately, and garnish with any leftover chopped fresh parsley.

I definitely recommend making this soup!  It was so yummy.  We had enough for leftovers and I also ended up freezing some to be able to pull out and warm up another time.  Such an easy meal and perfect for the fall!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE.
Follow us on Twitter HERE.

Kitchen Confessions: Creamy Potato Soup

Last week we were experiencing spring-like weather at the beginning of the week and we celebrated by grilling out on the Big Green Egg.  It was short lived though because by the end of the week the temps were frigid and had me wanting soup again. I don't know what it is about cold weather, but I just want to stay inside and eat soup from my crockpot.  I loved the Broccoli Cheddar Soup I made last month (although it wasn't a crock-pot meal) and the White Chicken Chili a few weeks ago.  My latest soup recipe I tried was for a creamy potato soup.  I searched Pinterest and found this recipe.  When I read that it was a Paula Deen recipe I was sold. I mean, I knew it might not be the healthiest thing I could make, but I knew it would taste good, and it did!

It was delicious and super thick/creamy, which is just how I like my potato soup. I loved that it was made from frozen hash browns and that I could just dump all of the ingredients in my crock-pot and let it cook all day.  

Creamy Potato Soup 
Ingredients
1 (30 oz) bag frozen hash-brown potatoes (I used cubed)
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (softened)

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, bacon, sliced green onions, sour cream

Directions
1. In a slow cooker (crock-pot), combine potatoes, chicken broth, soup, onions, and pepper.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  If your potatoes are still in big chunks you need to cook a bit longer. They will start falling apart when it's ready.
3. Add the cream cheese and cook 30 more minutes or until cream cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.
4. Top with desired toppings if desired.
5. Enjoy!


While we are on the topic of cold weather we also wanted to share our guest post on the Avenue blog about some of our favorite winter coats and accessories for the whole family.  We know spring weather is here this week and we hope and pray it is here to stay, but that doesn't mean you still can't check out some of these.  What better time to stock up (and probably snag some sales) than right now!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

Follow us on Twitter HERE.

Friday Favorites/Random Ramblings

Happy Friday everyone! I am so glad that this week is finally winding down! It's been a busy few weeks and this is the first weekend we have that we aren't completely over scheduled in a bad bad way. I am so excited to some rainy day snuggling with the family - minus that whole sit in the mud and rain for soccer thing. :) 

Stick with me through my thoughts today, as they are scattered, but wanted to link up with some of my favorite bloggers for Friday Favorites. I have a ton of things that I have been loving lately...

ONE

Halloween!! This year Halloween was so fun with the little ones. They were beyond excited to celebrate this year. Even Little Cute picked up on it pretty quick. It was just a joy to see everything through their eyes.

We spent the morning of Halloween at the soccer fields, but then came back and did a tailgate for the UGA game in our neighborhood and then trick or treated once it became dark. Minnie Mouse and Blue Ninja were trick-or-treating pros. 

One of our fun neighbors spent the whole week turning their garage into a haunted house. He put a ton of work into it and it showed. It was so much fun for the kids. Cute went through twice! 

It makes me so excited for next Halloween!

TWO
It has been so rainy here this week, but I am not complaining one bit. That meant that I was able to wear my new Hunter rain boots that Carrie Beth got for me last week. I already had the black pair so she grabbed me these fun Hunter Green colored ones. I love them! 

{Side note: I could not photograph these on my actual feet as the belly is now too large to see anything but toes. Eek!}

If you didn't get a chance to partake in the awesome deal she found here are some other great deals we found for you on them: 

Original Tall in a few colors/sizes @ 30% off - HERE
Two Tone Tall Slim (normally $195, now $135) - HERE
Cute Striped Tall (now $115) - HERE

THREE
I have been loving using my crock pot lately and getting a lot of ideas from the tasty dishes everyone has been sharing for the Crock Pot Confessions link up. I made one of my favorite meals in ours this week and it was the perfect comfort food for cold rainy days. This pot roast recipe is my favorite!



POT ROAST
Ingredients
1 large roast
1 bag of baby carrots
15-20 red potatoes (quartered)
1 can of beef broth
1 packet of onion soup

Instructions
1: Place all ingredients in crock pot
2: Let cook on low for 10 hours
3: Serve and enjoy!

FOUR

In addition to our book club selection, I was able to sneak another two books in last month and loved them! 

I was so excited when I saw After You by Jojo Moyes pop up on my suggested list. I had just finished reading our October book club selection in Las Vegas and I needed a new book to get me through the plane ride in case CB and I didn't sit next to one another again. I remember telling all my girl friends how much I loved Me Before You earlier in the year and this was the sequel to that. I loved it just as much and highly recommend Moyes' books. They are each unique and always capture my attention from the get go. 

Low Country Boil by Susan M. Boyer was a random pick that I chose for two reasons: (1) it was a southern based book, and you know we love all things southern, and (2) it was only a $.99 download. I am so glad I chose it. It was fun, witty and the first in a series so I get to follow up and read more. Definitely recommend if you want a light fun southern style read. 

FIVE
Spending time with my oldest will always be a favorite. Sleeping lately has been rough. If I am being honest Cute has never really slept through the night...at almost five!! I can't be mad at him though...mommy doesn't have the best sleeping habits either, so he comes by it honestly.

Lately he has been popping up early during my morning "work" time so we've been starting our days around 5:30a.m. watching a show or two snuggling on the couch while everyone else sleeps. Knowing that our dynamic is about to change again in the house, I actually have been enjoying this super early one on one time with him.

SIX
For L.C.'s birthday we gave her a little mini jogging stroller for her baby dolls, and I've loved watching her the last week be a little mommy. She's pretty tom boyish so seeing little glimpses of her girly side are so fun.

 I have been cracking up watching her push it around. About ninety percent of the time she pushes around random things (or even her brother).

She also makes sure to pack her "essentials". 

So far we've brought it with us to the park, soccer practice, and to multiple parties and it has held up well. It was also super easy to put together which is a huge plus in this house. I ordered the blue one knowing pink might be just a little too girly for her (brother's favorite color is blue so she says hers is too), and she's loved it. 

SEVEN

Part this week and all of last week I battled an awful cold. I downed probably gallons of chicken noodle soup trying to seek some comfort and rubbed myself with the kids Vicks like it was my job, but nothing cracked it. 

During a quick errand run on Tuesday with the kids, we stopped at Atlanta Bread and instead of ordering yet another chicken noodle soup from somewhere. I ordered my favorite meal of theirs - the baked potato soup. 

Mmmm! It never does me wrong.  Hand to Jesus I felt almost instantly better. It's like miracle soup! 

That's all my favorites this week. What are some of your favorites? 

Happy weekend everyone!!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

Follow us on Twitter HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE. 

**This post contains some Amazon.com affiliated links. 

Kitchen Confessions: Apricot Pork Tenderloin

So excited to kick off our Crock Pot Confessions link party today!!

I think cooler weather is finally here to stay and that means I have a good excuse to pull out my trusty crock-pot on a pretty regular basis.  Cool weather and crock-pot meals just go together, right?  I love any meal that is simple and quick to make and this Apricot Pork Tenderloin recipe fits the bill.  I always make it with pork tenderloin, but I think it would be really delicious with chicken, too.  It has sort of an Asian taste to it and I love it because we can stretch this meal for at least a few days.

The first day we just eat it with rice and a vegetable or salad.  On day two I either make pork sliders or tacos.  For the sliders I usually top with provolone cheese and warm everything in the oven to melt the cheese.  For tacos this past time this sweet meat with lettuce and a little feta was so delicious.  I'm not one to pat myself on the back when it comes to things in the kitchen, but y'all, those tacos seriously tasted like something from a restaurant.

Note - I am not a food photographer!  These were snapped quickly with my iPhone before serving dinner to my family. :-)

Crock-Pot Apricot Pork Tenderloin 
Ingredients:
-pork tenderloin
-jar of apricot preserves
-packet of french onion soup mix
- 3/4 cups water

Directions:
1. In a bowl combine apricot preserves, soup mix and water.  Stir until well mixed.
2.  Place pork tenderloin in crock-pot and cover with mixture.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
4.  To serve, shred using two forks and spoon some of the sauce on top.
5.  Enjoy!

Now link your favorite crock pot recipes below for the link up or in our comments sections. We will be highlighting our favorites all month long! 

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

Follow us on Twitter HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE.

Crock Pot Confessions {Link Party}

It's here!! The most wonderful time of year!! No not the official start to holiday season (all though we are excited about that too), but now that temperatures have dropped its officially crock pot season!!!

Well every season around our homes is crockpot season, but in cooler temps we feel slightly less ashamed of our gross over use of this amazing appliance.

We have professed our love for the crockpot many a time over the inception of this blog, but now we are going to bring you guys on board to share in our crazy. This Thursday we are going to kick off a month long crockpot link up party. We will share a few of our favorite recipes and then ask that you guys link up your favorites. If you don't have a blog no worries, you can still join in the fun - share your favorite recipe or a link to one in our comments. At the beginning of December we will highlight our favorites!

Our hopes at the end of this is that we all will have one HUGE place to go to try some yummy crock pot recipes to get us through the winter months (or you know, the rest of the year if you are like a few crock pot obsessed bloggers that we know ;) ).

Now grab the graphic and fire up those crock pots! We can't wait to see what slow cooker deliciousness is about to come!

Follow us on Pinterest HERE.

Follow us on Instagram HERE.

Follow us on Facebook HERE. 

Follow us on Twitter HERE. 

View our Etsy Shop HERE.