Like yesterday, for instance. I pulled out the mini slow cooker, dumped two chicken breasts in with a cup of chicken broth and almost an entire packet of chili seasoning. I set the pot of poultry on low for 3.5 hours and out came perfectly cooked and moist chicken.

Now, these may not be the most beautiful breasts that ever were, but this method is perfect for cooking chicken for salads, casseroles and soups. And soup is exactly what I intended to use my chicken for.

Jenny at Picky Palate posted a copycat version of Chili’s new Green Chili Chicken and Lime Soup the other day and I immediately started salivating. I new the spicy and lime-y broth that she spoke of would be right up my alley. My favorite restaurant in Destin is a little Mexican joint called LaPaz. They make a killer Tortilla Chicken Soup which is very similar to Jenny’s recipe. I knew I had to try it ASAP.

The original recipe made a boatload of soup, so I only used half of the chicken, garlic, broth and rice called for, but kept the original amount of onions, Rotel, green chilies, lime juice and seasonings. Holy Cow!! This soup was incredible, and thanks to my CrockPot chicken, it came together in about 15 minutes.

Most slow cooker chicken recipes say to cook breasts on low for 4-6 hours. I say that’s a load of rubbish. Without a bone or skin, the chicken can easily dry out. I cook mine with the broth and seasonings for 3-4 hours max. Especially if I know it’s going to get heated again, like this chicken did in the soup.

I seriously can’t get over how good this soup is or how much I love the baby CrockPot. If you’re a vegetarian, this soup would be great sans chicken. My best friend, Jessica, always orders LaPaz’s soup without chicken and she loves it. Shrimp would also be great!

I’ll leave you with a picture of my precious baby Ruby. I mean, could you ever get tired of seeing that sweet face??

This was taken after I got back from the gym last night, so excuse the rough appearance.

Tata!! The Duchess

This week’s My Girl, Paula! challenge is anything chicken. I found a delicious and easy recipe in Paula’s Quick & Easy magazine for a Satay-type chicken dish. The Duke and I both love Asian flavors, but I rarely cook them because the ingredient lists always seem so daunting. Not this one! The chicken tenders marinate for a quick hour, then the whole thing comes together in about 15 minutes. Cook some brown rice while the chicken marinates so that everything comes together at once. I also created a cucumber relish loosely based on a recipe from the same magazine. The cool crunch of the relish was great with the sweet and spicy chicken.

This peanut butter sauce is amazing. Seriously. It changed my life. I’m already looking forward to lunch, which will be leftover brown rice, sesame cucumber relish, and LOTS of peanut butter sauce.The Duchess

This is my mom’s Thanksgiving table. I thought it looked very nice. How cute are her veggie flower vases??

My Uncle Bill (mom’s oldest brother) made two gorgeous Challah loaves. These were fresh out of the oven, and I could not believe how beautiful they were. Of course I had to snap a picture. They were perfect for sopping up Granny Flash’s gravy.

Speaking of gravy, I know this isn’t a great picture, but look at all of our gravy! My dad loves Granny’s gravy and requested lots…so that’s what he got! The only container it would fit in was a punch bowl…and we wonder why we’re a chunky family.

Granny’s turkey is also fabulous. She lathers it with tons of butter and herbs and bakes it off. Simple and oh, so good.

My favorite foods at Thanksgiving have always been Granny’s Cornbread Dressing (background) and simple White Rice and Gravy. We live in the South and do more of a traditional Southern Thanksgiving. No mashed potatoes or stuffing in this house. No way. There is nothing better than Granny’s cornbread dressing. It is to die for, especially with a ladle of gravy on top. I mean, I imagine it would be. It’s not like I’ve actually tried that before.

Here’s a close up of that famous gravy…boiled eggs, giblets and all. That’s right. I said giblets. You know you wanna try.

We don’t do the traditional pumpkin, sweet potato or pecan pies. I made Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake (I’m sharing the recipe Monday). Forgive the poor quality of this picture. I think the Turkey coma was slowing taking over. This cake was so incredibly rich and delicious, so of course the only thing to do was top it with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing our family’s favorite Thanksgiving foods. I just love when everyone gathers under one roof and counts their blessings together. Even though this has been a tough year for many, we’ve still got plenty to be thankful for. Here’s to many more Happy and Healthy Thanksgivings from my family to yours!

The Duchess

So, if you’re anything like me, you’re looking for super simple meals for the family this week. Thanksgiving is just a few days away, so who wants to be cooking all week? I found this easy Sandra Lee recipe for Red Beans and Rice and just had to give it a try. I’ve loved red beans and rice for as long as I can remember. It’s one of the ultimate Southern comfort foods. Nothing beats my mom’s red beans and rice, but this is so easy and tastes great! The best part is, it feeds a crowd in no time flat. Add this to your Thanksgiving week menu for a stress-free and flavorful meal.

I hope your last-minute Thanksgiving food shopping goes well this week. I know I’ll realize I need something around 4pm on Wednesday…it’s just how it goes. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!The Duchess

The leftovers of this dish might even be better than the first time around. Have a great first week of November! See you again Thursday. And, how ’bout them Gators?!? That was a good ole fashioned butt whoopin’, if I do say so myself!The Duchess