Shredded Black Bean Chicken

Courtesy of co-worker Nurse Stephanie

Ingredients:
*1-2 chicken breasts
*1 cup salsa
*1 can black beans, drained
*1 package taco seasoning
Combine all 5 ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours (I used my 4 qt crock pot)

Remove chicken and add to the sauce:
*1/2 cup sour cream
*1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Stir until sour cream is mixed and cheese is melted.
Shred chicken and mix back into the sauce.
Serve over rice, alone or as the filling to burritos.
Optional: top with chopped green and red peppers.

**I ate this over brown rice as Stephanie told me she did and it was delicious! There is an alternative where you cook 3-4 chicken breasts and serve them whole. Steph and I decided that we prefer shredded chicken so that's how we had it. This recipe was so yummy and Mike even had seconds (which hardly ever happens) so you know its that good!

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup

This recipe is courtesy of "A year of Slow Cooking" Blog that I've added to my blog friends. It has TONS of recipes for crock pots. I love cooking with my crock pot because I know that most things I cook in there will not be over-cooked, an often mistake for me because I worry things will be under-cooked so I over cook them..

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients:
*5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced in 1-2 inch chunks
*1 onion, diced
*4 cloves garlic, minced
*1 tsp seasoned salt
*1/2 tsp black pepper
*1/2 tsp red pepper
*2 quarts chicken broth
*2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (to add at the end)
*Optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, etc.

Directions:
Use a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.
Place peeled, diced potatoes into the stoneware.
Add onion and garlic.
Sprinkle in seasonings.
Pour in broth.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
After this time the potatoes should be fork-tender.
(optional): Mash the potatoes. (for creamy smooth soup)
Crumble in both packages of cream cheese, put the lid back on.
Cook on high for about 30 more mins or until the cream cheese is completely melted.
Stir a few times during this 30 mins.
Then serve will optional garnishes.

**So, I added the ingredients and set to cook and I'm not sure if it was the garlic or pepper but it didn't smell wonderful as it was cooking so I was skeptical. I also think it would be easier to soften or melt the cream cheese prior to adding it to the mixture because mine never fully melted and there was always chunks of cream cheese even after microwaving leftovers. Other than that it turned out to be a warm, yummy soup with a kick. I didn't have a 1/2 tsp measurement so I winged it and think I added too much red and black pepper making it spicy, but it was still yummy!

I'm Here..

Hello all! I hope everything is well and everyone had a fabulous holiday season. I was super busy (hence the lack of recent blogging) and now the third semester of nursing school is upon me so I'm not sure how much I will be around. I have however, found a few wonderful (and easy) recipes (cus that's how I roll) that I wanted to share, so that is all I will be posting for now. Also soon to come, pics from "learning to insert IVs and draw blood on each other" day at school pics will be shared. It was traumatizing and fun all at the same time, and bloody, so if you have a weak stomach skip that post when it becomes available. :)