Day

Yes, it’s another fantastic Chinese food recipe for your slow-cooker!  You can’t beat a slow-cooker recipe for convenience, and this delicious Slow-Cooker Cashew Chicken tastes a lot better than most takeout options.

I have been to some absolutely out of this world Chinese restaurants in my time, but most of the time, when I want a little Chinese food without cooking, I find myself settling for the usual buffet or takeout options.  It’s not bad, really, and some of it is even approaching good, but I can still tell that there’s something missing, you know?  I was eager to break out my Crock-Pot again and try this recipe, and I thought that it turned out very well.  If you have the time to let your slow cooker work its magic, you can put together some great meals without much hassle at all.

Adapted recipe and photo courtesy of  12 Tomatoes; original recipe by The Recipe Critic.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick tip: Serve with rice or noodles.

These Peanut Butter Cookie-Cupcakes bring all of those beloved childhood treats together in one delicious dessert. They’re really quick and easy to make.  Your children will love them, and so will you!  I need to warn you, though – they will be gone in a heartbeat, so make sure you’ll grab some for yourself first!

I loved Reese’s peanut butter cups when I was growing up (still do, actually – and who wouldn’t).  I think that I was most excited when I saw them as part of my trick-or-treating haul at Halloween, but they were great any time of year.  How can you go wrong with that peanut butter and chocolate combination, and how can you make it even better?  Put it in this recipe.  It’s seriously yummy!

Recipe and photo courtesy of  Recipe Girl

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick tip: Make a double batch and freeze some for a quick treat later!

Bring the great flavors of New Orleans to your home with this savory recipe:  Bourbon Chicken.  It’s a great idea if boneless skinless chicken is your usual go-to, but you want something a little different than the same-old, same-old.  It does take a little planning ahead, but it is easy to make, and actual cooking and prep time only adds up to about an hour.

If you love the flavors of the Deep South or just love cooking with spirits, boy, do I have the recipe for you!  It does require a bit of lengthy marinating, but I assure you that it is well worth it, and no back-breaking or complicated cooking steps are required.

As it is with so many Southern yarns, the story of how Bourbon Chicken came into being depends on who exactly you ask and how creative a storyteller the person is (“It was THIS BIG, I tell you!”).  I believe that the most popular origin story is that a Chinese cook working on Bourbon Street fell in love with all of the Louisiana flavors and decided to incorporate them into his signature dish.  All that I know for sure is that it is named both for Bourbon Street and for the quintessential Southern booze that gives it its delicious, distinct flavor.  Contrary to what many a mall food court vendor might tell you, it isn’t truly Cajun or Creole, but the great taste of New Orleans and the Deep South is most definitely in there.

Recipe and photo courtesy of  Pinch of Yum

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick tip: If you prefer chicken breasts over chicken thighs, you can use them for this recipe.

This Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti recipe gives you all of that wonderful, creamy Italian flavor with little hassle or time investment.  It is also very inexpensive to throw together. It’s a great kid-friendly recipe that would also do wonderfully at any more formal gathering.

Italian cuisine is perhaps most famous for all of its red sauces and delicious tomato-based recipes, but those wonderful white sauce-based dishes shouldn’t be neglected.  In Italian restaurants, I’ve probably ordered chicken or seafood alfredo more than I have the usual spaghetti or lasagna (though I love those dishes, too).

It really is amazing how easy it is to put a gourmet dish like this together–and how inexpensive!  Ingredient cost for this recipe is about $16 for a meal that makes six to eight servings.  (You’ll have to spend more if you don’t have any olive oil on hand, but you will have plenty left for future use.)  It really is hard to beat that for a really good meal.

Recipe and photo courtesy of  Gimme Some Oven

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick tip: Instead of ziti you can use your favorite pasta.