Crock-pot Italian Chicken Pasta

I am a HUGE fan of the crock-pot!! This dish is AMAZING!
It is simple and cheap. 5 ingredients + 1 crock-pot = Awesome

Ingredients:
- 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup (Publix now has a brand YAY!)
- 1 box of softened cream cheese
- 2-3 chicken breasts
- 1 packet Zesty Italian salad dressing mix
- Pasta of choice (I recommend egg noodles)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in the crock-pot. I recommend halving the chicken breasts so they cook faster. At first this meal looks really strange but trust me it is delicious! Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
2. Cook egg noodles when ready to serve.
3. That's it. It's literally that simple! And you'll most likely have yummy leftovers for the next day!
4. Also, for an even easier meal use crock-pot bags for no clean up.

Arroz Con Pollo

One of my favorite Colombian dishes is Arroz con Pollo aka chicken and rice. I used what I had to put together a knock off version off this popular hispanic dish.

Ingredients:
- Bag of yellow rice
- 2 chicken breasts
- Onion
- Salsa
- Random spices

Directions:
1. Cook rice by directions on bag.

2. Meanwhile boil water. Add in chopped onion and season chicken breasts as desired. I recommend the usual salt and pepper along with some garlic salt, Montreal chicken seasoning, and a little BAM!

  

3. Once chicken is cooked through shred apart and add into cooked rice.
4. Top with salsa and enjoy!

Homemade Pizza!

HOMEMADE PIZZA!
So so so yummy!

Mom's really do know best. My Mom suggested that we have family night while I was home for Spring Break and make homemade pizzas. My parents used to do this all the time as newlyweds so it was fun getting to create pizzas all together 25 years later. My brother even cooked his own and ate it all too (GASP!)

Ingredients for Margherita Pizza:
- Pizza Dough (we got ours from the Publix bakery $2.30 a dough)
- Mozzarella cheese
- Tomato
- Fresh Basil
- Fresh Oregano
- I tbsp. Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Flatten out pizza dough. We recommend using olive oil on your hands instead of flour when spreading out the dough.
2. Add cheese, chopped basil, chopped oregano, tomato, and a drizzle of oil olive on top. The more cheese and toppings you add the more flavor your pizza will have.

3. Bake in the oven for 18 minutes.

This was my mom's creation: Sausage with Marinara and Cheese - I must admit her's ended up being my favorite.

Comfort Mexican Tortilla Casserole

Comforting mexican casserole...yes please!

This recipe was inspired by: http://www.jamhands.net/2008/12/mexican-chicken-casserole.html
(For the Dorito version go to the link)

Mexican Tortilla Casserole 
Serves 4-6

2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 c. shredded cheese (or more if you are a cheese hound)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos-mild)
1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)
Bag of doritos

1. Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except doritos.

3. In a greased 2 qt baking dish, put a layer of crushed doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

Easy Chicken and Biscuits

So this is a recipe I made from scratch. It was the Sunday before midterms so I knew that I would need some vegetables and protein in me to get through the week. So I came up with this recipe which is a mixture chicken pot pie and chicken and biscuits. Yum, yum, yum. It's recipes like these that define my goal with this blog: easy, cheap, and nutritious.

Ingredients:
- 2 cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup
- 1 or 2 chicken breasts
- Milk
- Bag of frozen vegetables
- Pillsbury biscuits
- Chicken broth

Directions:
1. Actually make the Cream of Chicken soup by the directions on the can. I used milk instead of water to make it creamier.

2. Once the soup has warmed throw in your bag of frozen vegetables. You can use as little or as much as you want.

3. Cook chicken on another pan with some basic seasonings. Shred apart and add into mixture.

4. I added about a 1/2 cup of chicken broth just to give it some more flavor and to increase the mixture.

5. Meanwhile, cook your biscuits in the oven. I don't buy store brand when it comes to biscuits because Pillsbury really has them all beat. It will be worth the few extra pennies.

6. Once the vegetable and soup mixture is all warm crack open a biscuit and pour your yummy mixture on top.

Easy right?
The best part of this meal is that I fed four people and still had leftovers! Oh and I forgot to mention truly how cheap this meal was. I got my bag of frozen vegetables 50% making them $1.20 and my Pillsbury biscuits were $1.00 for each can of 5. I always have Cream of Chicken soup in my pantry and plenty of chicken broth. I also buy all my chicken when it's on sale. So this meal was dirt cheap!

Chicken Cheese Crescent Rolls

This recipe comes from some Pinterest inspiration! It's so so easy and really unique. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Cooked Chicken - (I baked 2 chicken breast and cut them up into about 1 inch cubes)
1 cup of cheddar cheese 
1 can of crescent rolls (note to self- find a way to "make" crescent roll type dough)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup.
1 cup of milk

Directions: 
1. First make the Campbell's soup, like actually really make it. Make it with the milk. Also, heat the oven  to 350.
2. Next, cook the chicken. You can boil or bake it on the stove. However you prefer. You're going to shred it up either way. 
3. After the chicken and soup are done get a glass baking pan and begin rolling your creation. Take each crescent roll and spread them out individually. Fill in with shredded chicken and cheddar cheese. If you aren't able to use all the chicken and cheese just throw it in the pan. 

4. After you roll, add the soup on top. Put on some extra cheese. 

5. Throw it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Just until you can see the crescent rolls are cooked. 

6. Pair with your favorite vegetable side and enjoy!

Yummy Potato Soup

Today's post is homemade potato soup. One of my all time favorite winter dishes!

Ingredients:
- 1 bag of potatoes
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I recommend shredding a block)
- 1 onion
- Milk
- Salt, pepper
- Bacon bits
- Chives
- Butter

Directions:
1. Boil water with some salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cut up half of an onion. Put in water.

3. Next cut up potatoes into little square chunks

4. Add potatoes to water. Cook only for 10 minutes. This is important because if you cook them too long they will turn out mushy in your soup. 

5. Drain water. Try to keep onions with the potatoes

6. Next, add milk until you can see just the tip tops of the potatoes. The measurements will differ for each soup because it depends on how many potatoes you decide to chop up.

7. Then add butter. As much or little as you like. 

8. Cook until liquid is hot. Add cheese when liquid is warm for a cheesy texture or wait to put cheese in individual bowls. 

9. Chop up some chives, add some bacon bits, and cheese on top, and you've got homemade potato soup!