Our easy dinner idea of the week is our slow-cooker recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup and Zesty Polenta Cakes. By placing all of our ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning, dinner is ready at the end of our hectic day. And, served alongside crunchy seasoned polenta cakes, this soup had my husband saying, “this is the most delicious soup you’ve ever made.”
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup with Zesty Polenta Cakes
Check out our past Easy Dinner Idea of the Week recipes here:
Spring Penne Recipe
Greek Pita Pockets with Mediterannean Potatoes
Sauteed Steak with Spinach, Tomatoes & Avocado
Berry-Good Pork Tenderloin with Herb Roasted Potatoes
Blackened Chicken with Garlic Parmesan Linguini & Colorful Salad
Ingredients
1. boneless skinless chicken breasts- 2 lbs
2. linguini pasta- 1 lb
3. romaine lettuce- 1 pre-cut ready-to-eat bag
4. red, orange and yellow bell peppers- 1 each
5. avocado-1 peeled and sliced
6. Caesar dressing- 1 small bottle
7. shredded parmesan cheese- 8 oz.
STAPLES
For marinade:
olive oil- ½ cup
chili powder- 1 tbspn
dried thyme- 1 tbspn
dried oregano- 1 tbspn
paprika- 1 tbspn
minced garlic- 1 tbspn
salt & pepper- 1 tspn each
For linguini:
butter- 3 tbspns
minced garlic- 1 tbspn
Instructions
Place chicken breasts in shallow baking dish or large zip-top baggie for marinating. (If too thick, chicken breasts can be pounded thinner with a meat tenderizer between two sheets of plastic wrap.).
Mix together marinade ingredients and pour over chicken, spreading evenly to coat chicken entirely.
Marinate in the refrigerator 2-3 hours to overnight
Dinner Time:
Chicken can be cooked on indoor grill or in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until both sides are brown and chicken is cooked thoroughly, approximately 7 minutes each side.
Linguini:
Cook pasta in salted water until tender.
While pasta is cooking, heat butter and garlic in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.
Drain pasta and transfer to a serving bowl.
Pour butter over the linguini, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese then toss.
A Stitch In Time Saves Nine. A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned. Waste Not, Want Not.
Probably one of the most versatile, frugal and efficacious dishes is the mashed potato. Gracing our Thanksgiving dinner table each year, mashed potatoes are wildly overlooked for the remaining 364 days of the year.
At just pennies per serving, Homemade Mashed Potatoes are not only inexpensive, they’re one of the most versatile side dishes. By adding a few cloves of fresh garlic during boiling and then mashing with the potato, the gourmet Garlic Mashed Potatoes are created. By substituting milk with buttermilk, you have Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. And, Herb Mashed Potatoes can be made by adding some fresh or dried herbs like rosemary, thyme and parsley.
Herb Mashed Potatoes
Five Recipes To Make with Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Homemade mashed potatoes can be cooked in bulk to freeze for future use, or stored for use in other recipes- or, like I call “Reincarnate The Leftover”. Here are some of my favorite recipes using leftover mashed potatoes.
Festive Potato Cakes Recipe
Bangers and Mash with New Castle Gravy
Twice-Baked Cheesy Potatoes Recipe
Cottage Pie Recipe, is allegedly a favorite dish of Prince Williams- a tasty version of the Shepherd’s Pie.
Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
A Stitch In Time
Homemade mashed potatoes freeze and reheat well, so I like making extra and storing for a busy day’s side dish. I recommend using glass storage containers like Rubbermaid’s Glass Food Storage or Ziploc’s Versaglass that go from the freezer and into the oven or microwave to reheat.
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