Crock Pot Creamy Southwestern Chicken Nachos

Here is another great one for our last day of Crock pot week!  This is another one that I found at Real Mom Kitchen.  It's super easy and really yummy.  Next time I think I would add some diced tomatoes to the pot as well.

Crock Pot Creamy Southwestern Chicken Nachos

1 small bag frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16-oz jar medium salsa  (Medium salsa is a must, mild isn’t flavorful enough)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
tortilla chips
other toppings such as chopped cilantro, diced avocado, diced green onion, sliced olives, etc.

Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crock pot. (Can corn can be used in place of the frozen.  Just drain it and put the chicken in first followed by the corn)

Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa.

Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours.

Shred chicken with forks and mix in cream cheese until melted and creamy.

Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.

Cinnamon Apples (like Boston Market)

I finally got a cinnamon apple recipe that turned out pretty well!   Next time add half the amount of water that goes into it. Being in the crock pot keeps the moisture in a lot more than the oven.  I added more butter than it called for and ended up adding more corn starch half way through to thicken it up.  It was still runny.  So when you are making it, if you like it thick and more like a caramel type sauce, double the cornstarch and half the water. 


Either way, the flavor was fantastic.  It was light and satisfying.  Mmmm Mmmm Good! If you want the original recipe, you can find it here.  I just realized I forgot the salt.  So I bet if would taste even better with the salt added :)  Gotta love the pregnancy brain.  At least I remembered the apples!!!

Cinnamon Apples

3 Apples

1 teaspoon Cornstarch (I used 2 tsp)

2 teaspoons Butter (I used 3 Tbsp) Cut into small chunks

1/2 cup Brown sugar

2/3 cup Water (I would use 1/3 next time)

1/2 tablespoon Flour

1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Salt

Peel and core the apples. Cut into thin slices.  (This is when one of those cool apple peeler/slicer gadgets really come in handy!) Lay them into the bottom of the crock pot.

In a small bowl combine the water with the flour, cornstarch, stir until the dry ingredients are dissolved and not lumpy.

Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir until smooth. Then Add butter

Pour the cinnamon mixture over the apple slices, Set on low for 3- 3 1/2 hours on low or 2 hours on high. Or until apples are tender.  Enjoy

Rotisserie Chicken in a Crock Pot

Another family favorite is a good rotisserie chicken. I never knew you could do it in a crock pot until about 6 months ago when my Mother in law showed me the light!  Though chicken absolutely grosses me out right now.  I'm really impressed with how it turned out.

Raw chicken and pregnancy don't mix. That's all I can say about that!  So my sweet hubby prepared it for me.  He is a fabulous cook and does wonders with chicken and turkey.  I can't wait until Thanksgiving! Especially because I won't be prego any more and will actually enjoy it.

He just added things until it "looked" right, which is how both of us like to cook. Though I've had to change my ways for the blogs sake :)  The only down fall to cooking that way is that I don't have exact measurements this time.  I had him tell me about how much he put in, right after he did it, so these will be pretty close. 

You may wonder why you put the foil in the bottom. It's to raise the bird up a little bit so it's not sitting in the fat drippings all night or all day.  Don't worry, it will be plenty moist!  Also, if you want a bird that you can carve and has a beautiful presentation, start checking for doneness about 6-7 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.  The longer you cook it, the more it will fall right off the bone.  I had mine on for 9 hours and there is no keeping that bird in one piece!

Rotisserie Chicken in a Crock Pot



2-3 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp chicken bullion (mine is the one with parsley in it) 

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 tsp kosher salt

Pepper to taste

Aluminum foil

Rub Oil into the outside of the bird.  Then rub remaining ingredients (except foil ha ha ha) into the outside of the bird. Get friendly with your little friend. Really massage it into the little guy. Make
Four aluminum balls and set on the bottom of the crock pot, about the size of a lime. Just enough to raise the chicken up about 2 inches.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high 4-5 hours.  The longer you cook it, the more it will fall off the bone.

Another Meal Gone Wrong

When cooking, always remember, if your gut tells you that it's probably going to be gross, don't make it!  I made an apple spice cobler in the crockpot today and some of the ingredients I was leary of using.  I had this vision of what I wanted, but knew deep down that it wasn't going to turn out. I made it anyway thinking I might be surprised. 

Grrr, I wasn't surprised.  The flavor was yucky and the texture, oh my.  I'm not a fan of soggy topping on my apples.  I give the recipe a -1 out of ten!  So here's the deal,  I'll post two for you tomorrow.  I have recipes but no picts.  I really wanted to try a few new ones this week and learn something new as well.  I guess it back fired. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a nasty taste in my mouth to get rid of! :)

Pulled Pork and Giveaway Winner!!!

Before I announce the winner I want you all to read below...I know it's mean to keep you waiting but this is really important to me! 

My nephew is earning money to be able to go to a leadership scout camp next summer called Philmont.  It is an amazing camp and teaches so really neat and amazing things. 

His team (like a troop but for the varsity (teachers age) program) is selling 8-10 lbs pork butts. They will be cooked, smoked and ready to serve.  These guys can work miracles with a smoker! No lie, I've eaten some of their stuff!  It will include BBQ sauce.   It'll be sold whole (on the bone)  It will also be fall off the bone tender and will shred really easy.  Ready for some pulled pork BBQ sandwiches anyone? 

They will be $40 each and be ready by August 13.  All orders need to be in by August 6. That give you a little over a week.  Let me know if you are interested and I'll pass along the info to you.  Also if you are interested in splitting and order, let me know and I'll get that coordinated.  I'll even shred it for you and separate it into your portions. (if you are going to split it)  Thanks everyone! 


Ok now on to the winner!  And the winner is Whitney H from San Tan Valley!  Congrats Whitney!

Thanks to everyone who participated! Check out Tapaita's Gourmet Delights for all of your upcoming events! You won't be disappointed! And thanks so much for your kind words.  It really means a lot to me!  Sometime I tell my husband... People always say, the way to a mans heart is through his stomach.   Well the way to my heart is through everyone else's stomach.  It makes me feel so good when your stomachs are happy!

I'll have a yummy crock pot one for you later today.  So stay tuned!

Crock Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Here's a yummy one for ya!  I found this recipe online from Pillsbury.  I changed it up just a bit.  I'm impressed!  Next time I think I would add about 1-2 cloves of minced garlic at the beginning, with the butter etc.  Then it could really cook in and make it that much better. Add some bacon crumbles on top to make it even better!

Crock Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

4 large baking potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 1/2cups chicken broth

1/4cup butter or margarine, cut into chunks

1cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1teaspoon garlic powder (I used 2 tsp)

1/2teaspoon salt ( I used a little more)

1/4teaspoon ground black pepper

½ to 1 cup milk, warmed (I didn't need any this round)

DIRECTIONS1 In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, place potatoes, chicken broth and butter. 2 Cover; cook on High heat setting 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 3 Add remaining ingredients except milk. Mash, crush or smash potatoes using potato masher, or beat with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Do not over mix. Stir in enough milk for desired creamy consistency. Cover and keep warm on Low or Warm heat setting until serving time, up to 2 hours. Stir before serving.

Tip :Russet or Idaho baking potatoes are both good picks for these easy mashed potatoes. If you prefer, these potatoes can be cooked on a low heat setting for 8 hours.

Crockpot Pasta

For day two of our Crockpot week, I've got a delicious Italian dish for you.  You will have to turn on the stove to boil the pasta and brown the hamburger, but then the rest is done in the crockpot. 

You are supposed to use small shells. I used the large ones this time and they got really big and started to fall apart.   If that's all you have, don't make a special trip to the store. Just boil them a little less than called for. The small ones seem to work so much better for some reason.

This makes a ton, so be prepared for leftovers!  Or you can always half the recipe.

Crockpot Pasta



1 lb. box small Shell macaroni

24 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated

48 oz jar spaghetti sauce

16 oz. can tomatoes

2 lbs. ground beef

Cook shells to al dente according to package instructions. Brown hamburger. Throw all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours.