Creamy Ranch Crock Pot Chicken & Veggies

Who would have thought that all this thrown in a crock pot would taste so good? And easy? Oh yeah! You can use just about any of your favorite vegetables in this dish, canned or frozen or fresh. Double it if you’re feeding a crowd but we had about 6 servings of this made with the recipe below so it doesn’t make a ton which is good for me. Since we eat everything I make and there are just the two of us, leftovers of the same thing for a more than a couple of days gets real old, real fast. Anyway...for a tasty dish with hardly any effort, make THIS.

Creamy Ranch Crock Pot Chicken & Veggies

2 tablespoons butter ~ melted

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ~ cut into bite-sized pieces

3 cups veggies ~ corn, carrots, green beans, celery, etc. (Any of your favorites that equal 3 cups.)

3 - 4 small red potatoes ~ cut into large bite-sized chunks

1 medium onion ~ diced

1 10-ounce can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 1-ounce packet dry Ranch Dressing mix

6 slices of bacon ~ cooked crisp and crumbled

Salt and pepper, to taste

Add melted butter to the crock pot.

Then add the potatoes, veggies and onions. Add salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Add diced chicken.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, milk and ranch dressing.

Pour over the chicken.

Turn crock pot to high and cook 4 - 5 hours, stirring a couple of times throughout the cooking process.

Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top then serve!

Here we go!

Add the melted butter to the crock 

pot then add the potatoes, veggies 

and onion. Salt and pepper to taste 

then stir to combine.

Add the diced chicken on top.

Then the creamy mixture. Soup, sour cream, milk and ranch dressing mix.

Let it cook on high for 4 - 6 hours, 

giving it a couple of stirs during cooking.

Add some cooked crumbled 

bacon on top and serve!

Veggie and Kielbasa Fettuccine

I love cooking with kielbasa. Especially when there are veggies involved. I think it flavors the whole dish and let’s face it, sometimes veggies are a little boring. I love them....but every once in a while it’s nice to jazz up the flavor. This turned out really good and is super easy. Change up the veggies you want to use...I used bell peppers and onion...but throwing some mushroom in there would be great or some kind of squash. Super yum!!

Veggie and Kielbasa Fettuccine

 

1 1-pound package kielbasa

2 bell pepper (I used a red and yellow) ~ diced

1 medium onion ~ diced

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces fettuccine noodles ~ cooked and drained

 

In a large skillet, cook the veggies and kielbasa until the kielbasa has some color and the veggies are tender-crisp....about 5 minutes or so. Add the seasonings and stir.

 

Add the chicken stock and cream.

 

Cook for about 15 minutes to reduce the liquid a bit and heat through.

 

Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat.

 

Serve!

Here we go!!!!

Cook the veggies and kielbasa then throw in the seasonings.

Add the broth and the cream and cook for a bit to reduce the liquid.

       Add the pasta....

...and toss to coat!

Let's eat!

Spicy Asian Stir Fry Veggies with Pasta

You've all heard me lament on here how much IT Guy dislikes Chinese food. Really...I don't understand it. Well, I kinda do. He was raised on a farm in a little town in Arizona that was known for Mexican food. Plus his dad was a meat & potato sort of guy and he didn't venture outside of his comfort zone very often. Well...me... on the other hand, I was raised by parents who liked all kinds of stuff so I was exposed to different things early on. Consequently, when IT Guy & I married I couldn't understand his disdain for anything NOT in his food realm. I tried...I really did...to introduce him to Chinese food. But it was a no-go. And after almost 40 years of marriage, I don't think it's going to happen. Now #1 and #2 sons will eat Chinese food all day long so at least I have allies there. (I did right by THEM!) So instead of going out for Chinese food...which my beloved wouldn't eat anyway...I just make it at home. And here you have one of those dishes. The veggies in this dish can easily be switched up with the same results. Snow peas would be SO good, don't you think?? I like the idea of adding water chestnuts, too, for some crunch. Anyway you make it, it's a winner!
Spicy Asian Stir Fry Veggies 

with Pasta



3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chili paste 
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2  tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow squash ~ sliced into "coins"
1 zucchini ~ sliced into "coins"
1 medium red onion ~ large dice
6 ounces spaghetti noodles ~ cooked al dente

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, chili paste, ginger and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok.

Add all veggies.

Cook about 10 minutes or until crisp/tender.

Stir in soy sauce mixture; cook 2 minutes or until thickened.

Add cooked noodles and toss to combine.

Our ingredients.

Chop up the veggies then add 

them to the oil in the hot skillet.

Let 'em cook for about 10 minutes, 

stirring now and then. Then add 

the soy sauce mixture.

Stir to coat all the veggies.

Then add the cooked noodles.

Toss....

...and serve!!! So good!