Kids Cook: Southwest Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Ok, I'm going to be honest up front and say that this is not a pretty dish. What it lacks in appearance though, it makes up for in taste. 

I mean, my pickiest child asked for 4 helpings of it. 

FOUR.

He said, "This is way better than I thought it was going to be!"

I think that was a compliment. Ha. 

Leighton had planned to assemble this in the crock pot the night before, but with all the extra responsibilities and craziness around here because of my injury, it completely slipped his (and my) mind when it came time to do it. We realized it the next morning. 

Oops, I'll have to grab something on my way home.

Nah, don't worry about it. The kids can handle it.

It is really cool having kids who can cook. Jake got the first few ingredients cooking in the crock pot before he headed outside to play with his friend, and the last few were taken care of just before we ate. 

The recipe calls for 4 cups of rice, but the typical directions for jasmine rice produces only 3 cups. I could have explained how to increase it, but for simplicity's sake, we kept it as is. You could use white, brown, or long grain rice, too. Anything would work in this. 

We garnished ours with sour cream, extra cheese, and crushed tortilla chips, but other southwest flavors would be good too, like green chilies, jalapeños, cilantro, guacamole, or a squirt of lime. 

The whole family liked this dish, and it's an easy one for the kiddos to make. Just don't wait until you sprain your ankle to have them make it for you, ha. 

Southwest Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

8 oz Velveeta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 cups cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a 6-quart crock pot, add chicken breasts, taco seasoning, tomatoes, black beans, and corn. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 5 hours.

2. Remove cooked chicken and cut into bit-size pieces.

3. Add Velveeta and cheddar cheeses to crock pot and cook on high for 15 minutes.

4. Stir crock pot to make sure cheeses have melted. Stir in chicken and rice. 

Recipe adapted.

Kids Cook: Cocktail Meatballs

It's been forever since I've posted a recipe. I told Leighton I wanted to get back to posting one every Tuesday, like before (like a long, looong time ago before). That was months ago and I have yet to get back to posting recipes. 

Until today, that is.

Since the kiddos are taking turns cooking on Mondays now, I thought it would be fun to show off some of their yummy creations. Plus, it will get me back to posting recipes. It's a win-win! 

The oldest 2 kids cooked the first 2 weeks of the year and each did a fantastic job. Jake's main dish was Chinese chicken (along with rice, veggies, and buttermilk biscuits), and Alyssa made chili and cornbread. They each made a dessert, too, because when you get to pick the meal, you gotta add dessert!

This week was Zac's turn. He was a bit apprehensive to be the one in charge of the meal at only 7 years old, but got excited as soon as he started flipping through the recipes. For now, the kids are using the Gooseberry Patch 5-Ingredient Family Favorites cookbook since all the recipes are fairly easy and use 5 or fewer ingredients, making it the perfect option for them. 

Almost immediately, Zac said, "This one! I want to make this." It was a sweet & sour meatball appetizer. Why not? If other variations of meatballs can be the main dish, then by all means, so could these. I read over the ingredient list and realized that it was similar to one of my all-time favorite party foods. I grew up loving these tangy little balls and even asked my mom to make them for a Christmas get-together just a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, none of the kids had tried them that day. (I'm pretty sure they were too distracted by the chocolate fountain and all the yummy goodies they could dip in it, ha.) Zac determined that he wanted to try my beloved recipe instead of the one in the book.  

You need only 2 ingredients to make the sauce: chili sauce and grape jelly. If only you could have seen the look on the kids' faces when I told them! It seems like an odd combination, but it's so good. Most of the time I make my own meatballs, but since Zac was the cook, we used a bag of frozen, pre-made ones. You can use thawed or frozen, homemade or store-bought. No matter what, they are delicious. 

Zac did a great job making the sauce and was thrilled that you toss everything in the crockpot to thicken and coat. The hardest part was waiting for dinner! 

He also served mashed potatoes (received a lot of help with this) and roasted brussels sprouts (his absolute favorite vegetable). Dinner was delicious, but more important than that, his confidence in the kitchen multiplied. 

Yes, I loved his meatballs, but even more than that, I loved seeing the smile on his face when his older siblings told him what a great job he did. 

    

Cocktail Meatballs 

Ingredients:

12 oz. jar chili sauce

16 oz. jar grape jelly

2 lbs. meatballs, cooked

Directions:

Pour chili sauce and grape jelly in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until warm and thoroughly combined, whisking occasionally. Place meatballs in a crockpot and pour the sauce mixture on top. Cover and cook until heated through (high 2 hours - low 6 hours, approximately).

Tasty Tuesday: Crock Pot Granola

My mom first made this granola recipe back in February and had me try it. It was so good that I got the recipe from her and made it a couple days later.

We've been making it ever since.

Leighton keeps a jar of it at work and eats it by the handful. The kids like it with milk. I mix mine with Greek yogurt.

It's great eaten as a snack or as a meal, because it's healthy and filling. Oh, and delicious.

And as a bonus? It's so much cheaper than buying it from the store. And did I mention that it's easy to make?

Honestly, if you like granola, you need to give this one a try!

Crock Pot Granola

Ingredients:

5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds (I pulse mine in the food processor a bit, because we don't like large pieces.)
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup ground flax seed (optional)
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup coconut oil 
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup raisins or craisins

Directions:

1. Lightly grease the crock-pot with oil. Add the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, salt, and ground flax seed, if using.
2. In a large measuring cup or small glass bowl, combine the honey, coconut oil, peanut butter, cinnamon, and vanilla. Microwave for one minute, stir and microwave an additional 30 seconds, as needed, to melt everything and allow it to combine smoothly. (Can also be melted on the stove in a small saucepan.)
3. Pour the liquids over the oats in the crockpot and stir well to thoroughly coat. Place the lid on the crockpot, leaving it slightly vented. Cook on HIGH for about 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
4. Stir in the dried fruit right at the end. Spread the granola across a large baking sheet and let it cool before transferring to an airtight container. It fills a half-gallon mason jar.

Recipe adapted from Barefeet in the Kitchen.

Tasty Tuesday: Apple Butter

Jake has been on a "field trip" to his grandparents' house the past couple of days. He has done his school work there, much to his disappointment. So, we didn't do anything yesterday for Make It Monday. I was able to do some deep cleaning in the bedrooms though, since he wasn't here to reclaim the toys I was taking. I guess yesterday was Make It Clean, which makes me very happy.

Today, Alyssa and I made apple butter. She enjoyed having Mommy all to herself.

Ingredients:
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and chopped         2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups white sugar                                                          1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup brown sugar                                                           1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.

2. Cover and cook on high 1 hour.
3. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.

4. Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness.

5. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze.

After six hours of cooking, I made the mistake of trying it. Actually, the mistake was allowing Zac to see me try it. He insisted on having some himself, and when I say "some," I mean a bowl full. At this point, it tasted and smelled like apple pie. Good, but not apple butter.

When it was finally finished cooking, I poured it in the blender and pureed it until smooth. Finally, after 12 hours, we have apple butter! It was worth the wait!

It's great on toast, pb&j sandwiches, as a topping for ice cream or however else you can think of serving it. I had never been a fan of apple butter before, but I love this homemade version!

Linked to Savvy Slow-Cookin'