Are we finally out of January?! Mercy. January lasts 84 days, it feels like.
Welcome, February…we’re glad to see you.
But, since winter in February tends to act like a woman in an argument coming back strong with “and another thing!” here in Oklahoma, we thought we’d share some comforting and warming crockpot suppers. (Don’t @ us. We are women… who have maybe had an argument or two that included an “and another thing”) Moving on now!
First- we need to highlight our similarities/differences real quick. We both prefer to make our own broth instead of just buying pre-made broth.. While Autumn makes her broth with bouillon powder and boiling water, Summer prefers to boil leftover bones and veggie scraps and use up chicken carcasses and such to make her broth. So… we both make homemade broth, right? Technically yes. Both ways are made at home. Both ways are so much better than the box of salty chicken flavored water that you find at the store. One way (Summer’s way, in case you couldn’t tell) takes significantly more time and effort but in her opinion …is soooo good! While the bouillon powder does cut out some things; making the broth from scratch gives you control of exactly what goes in it. It’s also chock full of good stuff like collagen from the bone marrow. Anyway, we digress. Both of these recipes are perfect for basketball season and also sick season and anytime you need a meal that’s really gonna stick to your bones.
First up, we offer our mom’s Crockpot Chicken & Rice recipe.
- 2 c Minute brown rice (Summer uses Jasmine rice)
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 2 cans milk (use the empty soup cans to measure)
- 4-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- 2-3 Tbsp butter, cut into little pieces
Sprinkle each thawed chicken breast with seasoned salt (and whatever seasoning you like. Summer adds Italian blend) on both sides. Whisk the cream soup and milk together until well blended. If desired (Summer always desires this haha) add 2 cups broth here as well. {note: mom says that the broth is needed for white rice more than brown rice} Spray the crockpot with some nonstick spray. Pour in half of the rice mixture. Place the seasoned chicken over the rice and then pour the other half of the rice mix on top of the chicken. Place the butter pieces all over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until your chicken is done. Each crockpot is different so watch your rice. You may want to stir it a couple of times. It’s so good though!
The next recipe is Chicken and Noodles.
Look, we don’t want to offend anyone…but we sincerely have always thought that chicken and noodles could only be made well by old women. OldER women <nervous giggles> do you know what we mean though?! We’re not sure if we were just wrong in our assumption here OR maybe we’re old now? Oh well, c’est la vie! Chicken and Noodles turns out to be the literal easiest thing you can make. We truly believe that good quality ingredients make the difference here. Please try making your own broth. Summer has a video tutorial of how she makes her bone broth and we can re-share it if you would like. Or go get some bouillon powder, boil some water and whip up your broth Autumn-style! Either way will get you a richer, all around better flavor. Next, chicken. You want easy? Go get a cooked, rotisserie chicken from the store, take the meat off the bones and use that meat. Pro tip: throw the bones in an instant pot and make your own broth!! Last thing you need: noodles. Good quality egg noodles are so good. You can find good quality frozen noodles at the store but guess what? Yep! Homemade noodles are the best! Summer already has plans to try making her own noodles soon…stay tuned. But, the ladies at the Dover Christian Church make homemade noodles to sell and they are delicious. Give them a call if you want to buy some well-made homemade noodles that you didn’t have to make yourself. There might also be some other local churches that make and sell homemade noodles. If so, please give them a shout out in the comments.
So, to recap: Chicken & Noodles
- broth
- Chicken, shredded up or cut up
- Noodles
The amounts you use completely depend on how many you are cooking for. We’ll do a base recipe that uses 1 whole rotisserie chicken and you can go from there.
Place 12 cups broth into your crockpot. Turn on low. Place the shredded or cut up (your choice) chicken into the broth in the crockpot. Cover and keep on low all day. About an hour before you are ready to serve it, dump in your noodles (it’s fine if they’re frozen). We use 2 quart-sized baggies of the homemade noodles.
Cook until noodles are al dente or how you like them to be.
Bonus points if you make your own mashed potatoes to pour the chicken & noodles over in your bowl. So very comforting and so easy!
Bonus Pro tip from these Not Pros: use broth instead of water when you boil noodles, rice, or sauté veggies to add flavor! You won’t regret it.
Stay well! @okseasonedsisters
