Smothered Buttermilk Chicken in the Crockpot to the Rescue!

I have a confession to make. My weekend adventures led to me not menu planning. GASP! I went through the grocery store, blindly putting things I probably did not need in the cart. It felt weird not having a list and even worse when I have come home every night to the same question, “What can I whip together fast?” Tonight I got smart and made a family favorite Crockpot dish. It is nice to come home to a warm, hot meal when life is not so planned. I found this recipe and made many improvements to add flavor and taste.

Smothered Crockpot Buttermilk Chicken

Adapted and Mom on the Run Improved from WW Community Boards 

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 medium carrots — sliced
1/2cup onion — chopped
1/2 cup fat free chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tbsp of Italian Seasoning
1 package roasted chicken gravy mix (I found a Gluten Free One)
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons flour (I used rice flour)
1 cup frozen peas

Instructions:

In a 4 to 6 quart crock pot, combine chicken, carrots, onion, water, salt, and pepper mix well. Cover; cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.

 

About 20 minutes before serving, stir gravy mix into crock pot.

In a measuring cup, blend buttermilk and flour until smooth.

 

Stir flour mixture and peas into chicken; mix well.
Cover, increase heat to high; cover and cook an additional 25-20 minutes or until peas are cooked.

 

Serve with rice or biscuits.

A bowl of delicious goodness.

Sometimes the best meals are those which slow roast all day. My family can’t get enough of this stew. I forget sometimes how much I love my Crockpot. Do you use your Crockpot? If so do you have a favorite meal you prepare in it?

Tomorrow I announce the Tea Giveaway winner. Can’t wait!

Back to the Kitchen with Cooking Light

My girl weekend is over and it is back to Mom on the Run Reality. It was so fun just hanging with the girls and being a little goofy

 Left to Right. Lauren from Healthy Delicious, Rebecca, Myself, Monique from Food Snob, and Carol from Uncovering Food.

Reality = Healthy Meals and finding new recipes. Sounds real tough right? I went with simple and light this week as a cooking theme. It seems that I have something planned everyday after school this week, which does not leave me a lot of time to work with labor intensive ingredients and steps.

Tonight’s recipe come from my favorite Cooking Light. If you have never read the magazine or viewed their recipes, I encourage you to do so. I have never used a recipe that I didn’t like. I began my search for a recipe that could utilize the chicken breast that I had bought on sale. The recipe I found is flavorful and utilizes colorful ingredients that are extremely flavorful when paired together. I did modify it to fit dietary needs of the family.

Ginger-Peanut Chicken Stir-Fry with Brown Rice

Adapted from Cooking Light 

Ingredients:

• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 6  (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
• 1  cup  chopped seeded peeled cucumber
• 3/4  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  sugar
• 1  tablespoon  minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3  tablespoons  fresh lime juice
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1  garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4  cup  creamy peanut butter
• 3  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until done.

 

Remove the chicken from pan; cool. Shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.

 

Place chicken, cucumber, and bell pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

 

Place sugar and the next 6 ingredients (sugar through garlic) in a food processor, and process until smooth.

 

Add peanut butter and water; process until smooth, scraping sides.

 

I was able to use MaraNartha for the first time. I have heard so many reviews of this peanut butter and I was not disappointed. Great natural taste!

 

Add peanut butter mixture to chicken mixture; stir well. Add cilantro, and toss well.

 

Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto a bed of brown rice. I served this rice bowl style.

Enjoy!

The Review-

Dad on the Run and I loved this dish. The peanut butter made this dish very creamy. It was like having chicken satay in a “stir fry” form. Very light and savory.

In other news: Have you joined the Mom on the Run 30-day Health Challenge?

The amazingly generous people of  iChange are giving to give Mom on the Run and anyone other reader who wants to join a free trial 30-day Challenge membership. There will be no cost to myself or you the challenger if you join the challenge. iChange would just like in return feedback about the site and how the group challenge supported your health goals.

30 Day Challenge Test Details:

• Here is the Private Group Link to join the group: www.ichange.com/partners/momontherun.

What a great opportunity to do some Spring Cleaning of your health and wellness. What types of things do you do to keep your body in the best healthy condition that it can be?

Are You Looking for a Healthy Challenge?

Spring is in the air and the weather has reminded me that the season for cute skirts and dresses will soon be here. When it comes to discussing weight, I tend to think about making the healthiest food choices possible. My goal is finding my feel great weight. I don’t have an ideal number or size, just my body feeling great and healthy. Lately I have struggled making the right food choices (gluten free cupcakes…lol) and really want to refocus my eating now that good looking fresh fruit and veggies have made it back to the supermarkets.

A unique opportunity has been extended to Mom on the Run and any readers that want to embark on a 30-day health challenge featuring a brand new healthy living site iChange. I love a challenge and a 30-day jump start is just what I need to continue to be committed to my feel great weight.

Here are some of the details and information on how you can join the Mom on the Run iChange 30-day Health Challenge.

iChange

iChange is a site dedicated to losing or maintaining weight by staying accountable. The site is built on the idea that losing weight is more easily achieved with support from others, and they have built a system through which individuals can receive professional counseling and support from other members. They were founded last year by some of the early investors in eHarmony.

The amazingly generous people are going to give Mom on the Run and anyone other reader who wants to join a free trial 30-day Challenge membership. There will be no cost to myself or you the challenger if you join the challenge. iChange would just like in return feedback about the site and how the group challenge supported your health goals.

30 Day Challenge Test Details:

• Here is the Private Group Link to join the group: www.ichange.com/partners/momontherun Please feel free to invite friends and non-bloggers as well. My only request is that you bring your positive energy to the group.
• There is a 7 day window from today to register for the group.  After that registrations will be closed.
• The group will be headed up by Diana Young, one of iChanges Registered Dietitians. You can view Diana’s profile to see how amazing she is and how she may help our group.
• The program will be a 30-Day Challenge during which time Diana will give the group members a nutrition plan and set of guidelines with a goal of starting a healthy weight loss program of ~2 pounds per week.
• This program is FREE for everyone in the group.  After the 30 Day Challenge, group members are free to continue with the nutritionist led program for $19.99/month, but there is absolutely no pressure to continue.  Again, iChange is really interested in getting feedback about your experience at this point.
• The group may continue on together after this initial 30 Day Challenge.  The groups functionality of the site is a free feature available to all members so we will be welcome to continue, as a group (without the nutritionist) after your 30 Day Challenge.

If this sounds like something you would like to do and join what I can only imagine to be a positive supportive group, sign up now. I am excited that iChange will be able to support my healthy living goals and also provide me with the structure I crave.

Hope you will join me today Happy Monday!

« Previous Page — Next Page »