Saturday, December 21, 2013

Recipe Time: Slowcooker Italian Herb Chicken

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love my slowcooker. It started out with necessity. When Andre and I were first married we were both working crazy hours, and evenings at work. If we wanted to eat before 9 or 10:00 at night we needed to figure out how to cook dinner (or at least part of it) before we got home. The slowcooker was the perfect solution for us.

Even now, Andre isn't home most nights until after 7, and half the time I'm not home long before he is. If we want to eat a real meal, and have something for Emilie to eat earlier, we need to cook it while we're at work.

This recipe started as a fluke. We were out grocery shopping and I needed a seasoning packet for my beef stew (yes, I cheat). I saw one for an Italian Herb Chicken. Add some chicken, a few simple ingredients, the packet and Ta Da! What more could you ask for? It soon became a favourite, but the seasoning packets are hard to find now, so I had to improvise with some seasonings at home one night. The result was delicious, and this recipe is still a favourite!

Slow Cooker Italian Herb Chicken
(adapted from Club House Packet Recipe)
Ingredients: 

-thawed Chicken (I prefer boneless skinless, but you could also use chicken thighs or whatever you have in the house)
-one can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
-one small can of tomato paste
-2 tbsp of Club House Italiano seasoning
-1 tsp of Club House Garlic Plus seasoning
You can adjust seasoning to taste, and could also substitute for whatever Italian seasonings you prefer.
-one half a red and green pepper chopped into chunks
-2 cups of thickly sliced mushrooms
(You can also use whatever vegetables you like instead of the mushrooms and peppers)

Put your chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker:


In a mixing bowl, mix seasonings, tomatoes, and tomato paste:


Chop the peppers, and mushrooms:

Add the vegetables on top of the chicken:




Pour the sauce mixture over the vegetables:

Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-6 hours. This it looks like after 8 hours on Low:

You can serve this with roasted potatoes, or over pasta, or spaghetti squash. I prefer spaghetti squash:

Directions:
-Place chicken in the bottom of slow cooker.
-Mix tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings in mixing bowl.
-chop vegetables
-place vegetables over chicken in slow cooker and pour sauce mixture over vegetables.
-cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-6 hours
-serve with roasted potatoes, or over pasta or spaghetti squash.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Changes are coming

Hello everyone!

Long time no talk type? I have decided that one of my New Years resolution was to blog more often. For real this time. So I thought that a change was in order.

First change: A new blog name. You will see that Our Little One is gone. Let's be honest a big part of this blog will still be Emilie. She is the centre of our life, and if you give me a minute I will talk your ear off about her latest adventure. I wanted this blog to be more than just Emilie. I wanted it to be about my LIFE. With the change to the title comes the.....

Second change: Different content! Now I will start this by saying there will be plenty about Emilie, but there will also be recipes, updates on changes to the house, products that I love (or not) and anything else that pops into my mind. I wanted this blog to be a little well rounded. It may just end up being an online journal of sorts that no one reads, and that is okay.

Third change: A new photo banner! I am currently in love with some professional photos that we had done this fall, and I really wanted to put them out there for everyone to see.

So there you have it, some of the changes in store!