Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Strange Marinades For Chicken!

If you have read my blogs for any length of time, you know that I like to experiment... in lots of ways.  I will try this or that in my cooking..... I will experiment with herbs... and essential oils.... decorating....sewing ... and more.  Well, one area that has been quite successful for me in experimenting is in cooking in the crockpot..... I love using my crockpot. :)  This time, it was chicken.... and I like to experiment with what I put on it.... and it almost always turns out great...  :)


 I like to use up things in the refrigerator and just put some water in the bottle and shake it up to get the last of the ketchup, bbq sauce, molasses, ranch dressing, pineapple juice, pickle juice(Yes, I really did- they were wonderful sweet/spicy pickles), grape jam, strawberry jam, honey mustard... or other items. One nice thing about doing this is that it uses some stuff that might otherwise go to waste, so it saves just a little bit of money. :)




One of my very favorite marinades is Italian Dressing! Just put chicken breast in the crockpot... and pour 1/2 bottle of Italian dressing over it.... and leave to cook all day. Yum!

 Well, this time, I had about an inch of BBQ sauce left, so I used that... then I poured some Asian Toasted Sesame Seed Dressing over it.... and then Italian.  As you can see above, there are several chicken breasts in the crockpot. They had been frozen and the night before I put them in the refrigerator, then in the morning I just put them into the crockpot and poured the marinades over them.... generously.
 Oh, how good our house smelled! We all kept commenting on how good it smelled... then my husband said the same thing when he came in from work.

There was a good amount of juice/broth around the chicken.... so I broke the meat up into pieces and shredded some, stirring it around into those wonderful juices to saturate them.
 The meat was so tender and flavorful! It was delicious!  I saved some of it out and put it in the freezer for soups  and casseroles. The rest of it, we ate for supper.... along with green beans, baked potatoes and cole slaw. We all really enjoyed the meal.

Next time I make marinated chicken, I may make it the same.... or I may have a new idea! :)

Thank you for visiting.... I hope you have a wonderful week!  :)


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28 comments:

  1. Marilyn @ MountainTopSpiceFebruary 3, 2015 at 7:30 PM

    I had to smile at your post - I do the same thing too. Trying to reduce, reuse, recycle - even when cooking, I try to use up what is in the refrigerator if possible! I agree that Italian dressing makes the best crockpot chicken! Loved your idea of combining the BBQ sauce with the dressings, and will have to give that a whirl - even though I don't buy dressings any more as I only make our own, I still think it sounds delicious!

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 4, 2015 at 8:51 AM

      I love your comment! :) I need to start making more of my own dressings... we go through them so fast and with so many people to feed, I have neglected that one... There are a lot of great ways to save money and the funny thing is that sometimes trying to save money brings about a super good combination that we actually LIKE a lot! :)

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  2. UnknownFebruary 4, 2015 at 9:50 AM

    I love italian dressing and bbq - but recently I also did orange juice and lime with siracha and it was yum!! Thanks for the ideas.

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 4, 2015 at 10:01 AM

      I have also done orange juice, but forgot to put that one down... it was good. The lime is new to me.... Hmmm.... I may need to try that also. :) Thank you for visiting and commenting. :)

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  3. LindaFebruary 4, 2015 at 11:33 AM

    Pinned and can't wait to try!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Linda

    http://bestoflongislandandcentralflorida.blogspot.com

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 4, 2015 at 5:11 PM

      Good..... I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  4. Martha's FavoritesFebruary 4, 2015 at 11:46 AM

    Thank you so much for stopping by and for your prayers. You are so sweet. That chicken looks so good to me. Have a wonderful week. Blessings, Martha

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 4, 2015 at 5:12 PM

      You are welcome.... I hope you get well soon... The chicken was good... we had some of it in chicken vegetable soup tonght... yum. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  5. DianeFebruary 4, 2015 at 5:41 PM

    Mmmmm... what is that side dish in the last picture?

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 5, 2015 at 8:14 AM

      The plate has chicken, baked potato with butter and sour cream, cole slaw and green beans with onions, peppers and ham. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  6. UnknownFebruary 5, 2015 at 2:23 AM

    This looks delicious. I have the same cooking style, but then I can never remember what I used in a recipe when I want to make it again. #BlogHopnob

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 5, 2015 at 8:17 AM

      I am glad I am not the only one who does that! When the family REALLY likes something I have made ... even more than usual, since they like almost everything I make, thankfully.... they panic and say, "Mom, do you know how to make this again???" Many times I have only a vague idea of how much of each thing to put in... I am trying to keep track of it better now. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  7. Vickie @Vickie's Kitchen and GardenFebruary 9, 2015 at 1:18 PM

    It all sounds so good...I would have never thought to mix all that together. Sometimes the best recipes come about this way and it sounds like you have a good one.

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 9, 2015 at 2:20 PM

      It was an odd combination! It did taste good though. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  8. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2015 at 3:57 PM

    I don't really buy any condiments other than mustard and organic ketchup, but I do love your use and reuse ideas for marinating in the last bits of condiments! Thanks for sharing at the Homestead Blog Hop this week!

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:14 AM

      Thank you... actually... I have used mustard before also. :) Thank you for visiting.

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  9. DebbieFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:02 AM

    such great ideas....i LOVE my crock pot!!!!

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:15 AM

      Thank you... me too... I don't know what I would do without my crock pots. :) Thank you for stopping by.

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  10. StephanieFebruary 11, 2015 at 1:23 PM

    Mmmm... Yum! I love Italian dressing on chicken. Thanks for the other marinade ideas. Blessings to you, my dear!

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 11, 2015 at 4:45 PM

      It does make a special tasting chicken! :) You're welcome for the other ideas... I'm glad you came by. :)

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  11. UnknownFebruary 12, 2015 at 10:09 PM

    Your chicken looks delicious and I can almost smell it from here. Thanks for sharing this at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 13, 2015 at 11:14 AM

      It did smell pretty wonderful... and tasted great... I love having it ready for supper this way w/o the "5:00 panic". :) Thank you for visiting.

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  12. JESFebruary 13, 2015 at 2:19 AM

    Your titles always make me smile joy! I like this idea of using up leftover bits of sauces and jams for marinades! I never even thought of that, so frugal and I am sure very delicious! Thanks for the meal inspiration!

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 13, 2015 at 11:15 AM

      Your comment also made me smile. :) We have discovered some really unique and delicious combinations this way.... and a few that we have decided not to repeat. :)

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  13. Lisa BoyleFebruary 17, 2015 at 10:42 AM

    I love Italian dressing on just about anything! lol. Thanks for linking up with "Try a New Recipe Tuesday." Hope you can join us again this week. http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2015/02/try-new-recipe-tuesday-february-17.html

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    1. Gentle JoyFebruary 18, 2015 at 9:15 AM

      It is pretty good. :) Thank you for visiting... and for the link up party.

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  14. SwathiFebruary 22, 2015 at 4:50 PM

    Very nice thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop.

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