Crock Pot Chicken & Gravy

I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely love meals that you can just throw in the crock pot and not worry about messing with for 6 hours!  It eases the stress of feeding the kids on a busy week night, especially if you don't like taking the easy way out and ordering fast food or a pizza.  Now, I'm a gravy kind of gal, and this recipe is simple yet SO delicious.  We discovered it from the blog Plain Chicken, and here is a link to the original recipe.  We changed it a little.

What You Need

-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
-1 envelope of powdered Turkey Gravy mix (The original recipe calls for chicken gravy mix, but to me, turkey has more flavor)
-2 Cups steamed rice

Please note, we did double our recipe, but still only added ONE envelope of gravy mix, and it came out perfect.  So if you double, only double the chicken and soup.

What You Do

Add chicken to the bottom of the crock pot.  Mix soup and gravy mix and pour over the top.  Cook for 4-6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.  Shred the chicken with two forks and serve over rice.

Servings: 4
Approximate cost: $4

Kung Pao Chicken

This is a recipe my mom has made since I was a kid.  She started with a dry seasoning mix that is impossible to find anymore, but we have discovered a liquid sauce packet.  This is not a fancy recipe, but it is relatively inexpensive, but sure tastes good!  Please note, if you do not like spicy food, even a little bit, you won't like this dish!

What you need:

-Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand sauce for Kung Pao Chicken
-1lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil OR sesame oil
-4-6 green onions
-1/3 Cup unsalted peanuts
-2 Cups white rice
-(optional) Frozen egg rolls

What you do:

-Cut your chicken breast into 1 inch pieces.  Add the oil to a skillet or wok and heat to a medium-high temperature.  Add your chicken and cook until done.
-Cut your green onions into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the chicken.  Add peanuts to the skillet as well.  Meanwhile, prepare your rice according to its instructions.

-Stir fry chicken, onions, and peanuts for two minutes.  Add sauce packet.  Here is a picture of the package to help you locate it in your grocery store.

-Heat until the sauce begins to bubble, then remove from heat.  Serve over rice with a frozen egg roll.

Servings: 4
Approximate cost: $7