Crock Pot's Finest

 Okay, Crock Pots hate me.

True story.

I'm the only person in this world that could mess up a crock pot recipe, unless it's for an apple butter or chutney.

However, I found this recipe for Cilantro Lime Chicken, and it looked so good I could resist.

 I also couldn't resist tweaking it a bit.

First off, instead of plain salsa, I used a generic brand of Peach Pineapple Chipotle Salsa, still 24 oz.

And instead of 2 jalapenos, I used 1 and 1 bell pepper.

And then it looked super chunky - like the picture to the right, so I added a can of Rotel Tomato and Chili sauce.

 Once the mixture looked more liquidy, I added the chicken.

Oh, but I used 8 chicken thigh tenders instead of 4-6 breast halves.  I just like dark meat more, okay?!

And then I put it on high, because I wanted it done in two hours.

HAHA!  Didn't happen.

 Our Crock Pot, well this one, rather (we have 4 or five of various sizes) has a timer function where it cooks for the time you set it for.

I set it on high for 4 hours, and by the time I had prepped everything and added it to the pot, it was at 3:47 remaining.  That's an easy prep, yes?

Ended up with that as the cooking time, too.

However I had eaten by then, so it made 6 hearty lunch/dinner portions when added to my cilantro brown rice.

Sorry, no pretty shots, just Tupperware.

But when I did eventually try it, it was completely worth the wait!  I can't wait to have this again, and maybe serve it with tortillas next time, too.  So juicy and tender, you should try this one ASAP!!

Two-fer Tuesday!

In order to celebrate my benevolence today (Thomas is coming home, how could I not feel in great spirits?!), I'll doling out two recipes for the price of none!  Yay!!

The first is an easy and relatively healthy Thai Lime Chicken.  I love a good peanut flavored dish, so this was a no brainer for me.  Plus, it only has five ingredients, of which I just needed to buy the lime, so that was a HUGE bonus.

 Of course, I also had the added bonus of being able to use my Pampered Chef Citrus Press...  It always makes my life so much more simple!

You juice the lime over the chicken (top and bottom), and then coat the chicken with your peanut/ginger/garlic mixture.

How easy is that?!  Plus, it doesn't take terribly long to cook, so it's an easy dish all around.

Bake it at 375 for about 25 minutes.

Oh, but that other dish?  The side dish for this one?

Yeah, I might have made it with Brown Rice, so in this case, the side took longer than the main.

Ah well.

For my side, I threw some peppers on a skillet to cook them through.  Didn't add oil, salt or anything, just cooked them to an al dente.

But the long rice dish I made, that was a skinny knock off of Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice.  I used barely any oil, and only salted the water.  We're trying to be more heart healthy, so this was an experimental dish.

 I used barely any oil, and only salted the water.  We're trying to be more heart healthy around the house, so this was an experimental dish.  However, it was still tasty, and the brown Jasmine rice held up well again.

Definitely impressed.

So that was my two-fer.  Thomas gave them all a thumbs up, and the flavors complimented each other nicely.  Plus I made a double batch of the rice to sue as a side dish for weeks to come!

Thirsty Thursday, call a cab edition!



Yeah, don't take it in the face!

I know, I've been going back and forth with drink recipes that may or may not contain alcohol, that way all of my friends and colleagues who may not want to partake (for any reason from preference to pregnancy) can feel included.  Well, sorry guys and gals, but this week is probably not going to be the best week for you.  You can fake out some of these ingredients, but I can't imagine the essence of goodness that is this beverage can really be enjoyed without some of the fully leaded liquids!

Behold - the Raspberry Tequila Sangria! Okay, you know how it goes, at least it's the ingredients for it.

Do you see that Ultimate Mandolin in the shot? Oh yeah, I totally busted it out for some uber-thin slices.  I'll admit, my orange was almost too big to use easily, but it fit and I totally made it work.

Check the difference between when I used a knife to thinly slice my lime, and when I used the mandolin.  Freaky, right?

In the spirit of a real sangria, I put all of the ingredients (minus the "champagne" and Sprite) in the pitcher to soak up some of the alcohol.  I had this sitting about an hour as I waited for Thomas to come home for the day, and as soon as he walked in, I added the bubbly ingredients.

It only took two glasses a piece and we were out for the count.  We were so sleepy after dinner that we retired at a ridiculously early hour.  It was totally worth it, however, and was a great way to spend an evening after a long day of work.  Oh, and it was the day I learned that I was being laid off, so in the long run, completely necessary!

Drink up, kids, it's almost Friday.  Cheers!

Thirsty Thursday, multiple liquor edition!

It's been that kind of week where we need a drink.  Or two.  In fact, we're having such a versatile drink this week, that you can serve it with a multitude of liquors, and it's great with every one...

Behold, the ingredients for a Sparkling Citrus Cooler!

Once again, I can't follow a recipe to save my soul. Well, maybe I can, but I have this thing about left over ingredients.  If I can't throw in a whole can, or find the right amount, I don't like saving the leftovers.  They usually go bad before I get a chance to use them again.  This generally stems from me not knowing how to throw random ingredients together to "create" a recipe, but I can admit my weaknesses, and therefore don't feel too bad if I fudge a current recipe to save me from the excess waste.  Long story short (too late!), I doubled up on the frozen orange juice because that was the only sized can I could find.

This drink is so easy to make, and it's quite versatile.  I tried it with tequila, with vodka, and with no booze at all (gasp!).  All three were winners, plus I think if there had been any Malibu or Parrot Bay on hand, rum would have been a great addition as well.  And, unlike the Sangria, I wasn't afraid to have leftovers for the next day, or the day after that.  The sparkling water added to it, but didn't leave a "flat" taste, like I was worried about with the Sprite Zero.

The only downfall, if you let it be one, was the fruit cocktail left over in the bottom of the pitcher.  Unlike Sangria (although this doesn't have to be the case), you don't soak the fruit in the alcohol before serving it up, so there's no "bonus" benefit from chomping down on the lemons or limes.  So, make a plan.  Serve up your drinks with the fruit mixed in, or leave them in the pitcher and have a sweetened dessert after your meal.  Either way, drink up, and enjoy the extra dose of vitamin C!

God Bless the Safe House!

Cheers!

Happy Thirsty Thursday, everyone!

Work week got you down?  Thinking that the three day weekend we had only three days ago is now just a figment of your imagination?  Ready to kick off the weekend grad school style?  (I have to say grad school instead of college, since I think the college weekend began on Wednesday.)

Well, have no fear: Thirsty Thursday is here!!  It's almost time to kick off from work for the day (although you lucky East Coasters may already be on your way), so let's have a virtual sip with an awesome summer beverage that is easy to make, and quite simply refreshing...

The Sparkling Sangria!

Ingredients for fun!

I have to admit, this recipe took me a little longer to make than necessary, because I was trying to preserve my manicure, which made peeling the fruits difficult.  However, the fruits of my labor (haha) were well worth it.

The recipe calls for non-alcoholic red wine.  I went fully loaded (the Barefoot Sweet Red is on sale at the Jewels/Albertsons), and threw in an extra orange for good measure.  I also used the Splenda Sugar Blend equivalent (2 TBS) instead of sugar (1/4 C), and Sprite Zero.  This doesn't make this a diet drink by any stretch of the imagination, especially when two people drink the whole batch, but I have to imagine that it helps a little.

Also, you're supposed to let the fruit sit in the alcohol for 3-4 hours, but dinner only took an hour to create.  I'm sure it would be even more impressive if I didn't have the patience of a two year old crack baby.

That's all I have for this week, but I have a few other drink recipes I'm dying to try out.  Until then,

Cheers!