Rio Chicken (and DIY Ranch Mix)

I first found the recipe for 'Cafe Rio' Chicken here and thought it sounded really good. I guess it's a copycat recipe from an actual restaurant but I've never tried the real thing so I don't know how it compares. The first time I made this chicken I followed the original recipe exactly. It was good but, in our opinion, it had too much garlic and the spices needed a little tweaking. Below you'll find our version of Crock Pot Rio Chicken. It's a family favorite around here (you know I don't post a recipe unless it is!) and I hope you'll enjoy it as well!

{Crock} Pot Roast

Who doesn't love a good and easy pot roast? I think it has to be one of my favorite comfort foods.
My family loves our tried and true pot roast recipe but figured it wouldn't hurt to try another recipe or two. Varying recipes for Mississippi Pot Roast had overtaken my pinterest and facebook feeds quite a few times before I decided that I must try it and see just what everyone is raving about.  The Mississippi Pot Roast recipe typically calls for 5 ingredients: roast, ranch dressing mix, Au Jus mix, pepperoncini peppers, and butter. When it came time to throw everything in my crock pot I realized I only had 3 of the 5 ingredients. So I improvised and the outcome was still fabulous. I guess I still need to follow that "famous" recipe exactly so I can join the masses in raving about it. But for now I'll leave you with my improvised recipe that had the little mouths in my house asking for seconds!

Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza

We love pizza around here and this is my go-to pizza dough recipe when I don't have time to wait around for dough to rise or pizza to be delivered! It comes together in minutes and we can seriously have a fresh home-made pizza within 30 minutes! Like most of the recipes I share, this is an easy recipe to change up according to your tastes. Hope you'll try it out soon and see for yourself! 

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

This is my Aunt Lynnette's recipe and I've loved it for as long as I can remember. I've always been pretty picky about my mac n' cheese. I'm all about real cheddar, real butter, and real rich flavors. My littles like to eat the blue box macaroni on occasion. Bleh. Not me. 

Anyway. This is a recipe any mac n' cheese lover will enjoy. It's super simple and easy to dress up or down according to your own preferences. 

Creamy Mexican Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (I used homemade, see notes)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 10-oz can of diced tomatoes and green chiles (Rotel)
chopped or shredded chicken

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Stir all ingredients together in 2-quart baking dish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serve hot over rice or with tortilla chips.

Notes

• It's not very often that I have any cans of condensed soups on hand so I typically just whip some up as needed. On this particular day I had recently skimmed over this recipe and went from there. I ended up with about 4 cups of the homemade cream of chicken. Here is another good source for cream of soup recipes.

• I used a heaping cup of shredded cheddar cheese but another great option would be the zesty mexican cheese. You can always add a little zest of your own by tossing a few pinches of taco seasoning in with the cheese.

• For the chicken I just grabbed a large chicken breast from the freezer, thawed it, seasoned it with homemade taco seasoning, baked it and chopped it up. This dip is a great way to use up your leftover meats. Any shredded chicken or pork, even cooked ground beef or Italian sausage would be great!
• Oh, and if you make this dip and find a way to photograph it to make it look at all appetizing...hook me up with a better photo, would ya? Just trust me when I tell you that this really does taste better than it looks! ;)  ENJOY!

Creamy Corn and Turkey Chowder

 If you know me at all, you know I love a good homemade soup. You also know that I'm one of those cooks that wings it and just throws this and that into a pot until it looks and tastes right. I'm trying to pay more attention to measuring ingredients and writing things down so that I can tweak and replicate recipes and share with others. So here you have a post Thanksgiving recipe for Creamy Corn and Turkey Chowder. Whether you  follow the recipe or not, I hope you enjoy it!

Tender Baked Chicken, Potatoes, and Greenbeans

Here's a simple go-to recipe to throw together when you want a hot meal ready to dish up when you return from church or work. I'm a firm believer in having lunch ready or at least close to being ready when we return from church if I want to keep my sanity and my family happy!

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli (aka Best Broccoli EVER)

Personally, I thoroughly enjoy broccoli. My family...not so much. My husband will eat it when I make homemade cheese sauce for him to drown it in but my children don't care much for it even with the cheesy goodness on top. Then I found Ina's recipe and fell in love with roasted broccoli. And so did my family!
I feel like I need to make twice as much as I think I need for a meal simply because it's impossible for me not to snitch a helping (or two) when I pull it out of the oven! This seriously could be the main course on its own. Try it for yourself and let me know how everyone likes it!

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

If you love the biscuits they serve at Red Lobster, you will be thrilled to add this recipe to your favorites! This is the closest I've come to a copycat recipe and it's so simple and quick to throw together. A great addition to any meal. Do yourself a huge favor and serve these with this barbecue chicken. 

It's a crazy easy meal that your whole family will love!

Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken

I am forever grateful to my friend Elizabeth for sharing this recipe with me! Just as I'm forever grateful that she shared the perfect apple muffin recipe with me. Great recipes are meant to be shared! That's a huge reason behind my starting this blog. So without further ado, here is a fantastic barbecue chicken recipe for you to try at your earliest convenience. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

Creamy Spinach and Lemon Soup with Orzo

One of the many reasons I love the autumn and winter months is because there is a chill in the air and it's the perfect excuse to have soups, chowders, chilis, bisques etc. I'm a sucker for warm comfort food.

Simply Scrumptious Crock Pot Roast Beef and Gravy

This is a recipe for the easiest, most flavorful pot roast I've made in the crock pot. 

What I absolutely love about it is that it pretty much makes its own gravy. 

It's so nice to come home from church on a Sunday afternoon and have our entire meal 

piping hot and ready to serve. No waiting around for me to make the gravy. 

This recipe works well whether or not you add the potatoes and carrots. And the roast beef and gravy is wonderful served over rice. Or try my homemade Cottage Cheese Bread and make yourself an amazing tender roast beef sandwich!