Simple Shredded Chicken

It doesn't get any easier than this tasty Mexican style shredded chicken!  On a hot day there's nothing better than coming home to a dinner that it practically done.  Hot, delicious & no need to turn on the oven!  How so?  The crockpot!  Most of the time we tend to only pull out the crock pot during the cold winter months... but warm days are perfect for your slow cooker, since it doesn't heat up the kitchen.  And with the beautiful weather outside, anything that minimizes the time spent in the kitchen preparing dinner is a friend of mine!

I threw all the ingredients in at lunch time & came home to a house that smelled great!  A few quick steps at that point and dinner was on the table in 15 min.

Simple Shredded Chicken

This can easily be doubled - this amount fed 2 of us with PLENTY of leftovers!

3 chicken breasts (mine were frozen)

1 jar of salsa

about 3/4 of a beer

2 cups of chicken broth

desired seasonings

Combine all ingredients in crock pot.  I chose a medium heat southwest salsa that had black beans and corn in it.  For the seasonings I went with a couple tsp of taco seasoning, fresh ground pepper & garlic.  The lid went on & I set it to high for 6 hours, since that's when I would be returning home.

When I got home, I removed the chicken from the crock pot and dropped them into my Kitchen Aid mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Mixed for a few seconds and had perfectly shredded chicken.  

Return chicken to crock pot and prepare what ever it is you'd like to use this yummy filler for!  We had chicken tacos & tostadas.  Warmed some tortillas, shredded some cabbage and whipped up some smashed black beans.  Served with desired toppings and we had a fantastic meal!  Enjoy!

Simple Roasted Artichokes

I typically go with the standard boiled, or steamed artichoke.  This time I wanted to try something a little different.  Simple Roasted Artichokes!  I think the great thing about this method, is you aren't limited to how many you can prepare based on the size of your pots.  No need for 2 or more pots on the stove just to seam your 'chokes.  This would be the perfect method for feeding a crowd.  (And with artichokes on sale here for .99 each, who could resist!)  Just wash & trim your artichokes - I always cut the tops with a serrated knife, cut the stem, and then trim the individual leaves with kitchen shears.  Then lay each artichoke on a large section of foil, drizzle with olive oil (I used this lemon olive oil & it was tasty!), and season to your taste.  If you are in the mood, you can shove a whole, peeled garlic clove in the top.  Then just wrap the whole artichoke up and repeat with the next.  Place into a preheated 425 degree oven, on the rack, and cook for an hour.  Carefully remove from oven and let set for 5 or so minutes.  Unwrap and Enjoy!

Sunflower Cupcakes

Made these little cuties for a friend's bridal shower this weekend.  The sunflower centers are Oreo cookies (the regular and mini varieties).  Super simple, just a little tiresome on the wrist.  The petals were done using a leaf tip.  If you wanna know for, let me know... I'd be happy to give you more detailed instructions. :)

Easy Cheesy Skillet Lasagna

I saw this recipe on Pinterest from The Realistic Nutritionist and thought it was a little too good to be true!  "Easy Skinny Skillet Lasagna - 275 calories & 3 fat grams per cup, 7 WW points"??? Well I love cheese & I love lasagna.  With a short list of ingredients and an even shorter prep/cook time, I was sold.  Glad I gave this one a try!  It was too simple to taste that good!  The great part, you could add all sorts of goodies if you so desire.  I think next time I'll add sliced zucchini and fresh spinach.  Give this one a try, everyone at your table will be glad you did!  Enjoy! 

Easy Cheesy Skillet Lasagna

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers One Pot cookbook

1 1/2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato sauce
3 basil leaves, chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
3 Tbls Parmesan cheese
About 6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into thirds & fully cooked
2 tsp parsley (dried or fresh)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until garlic is fragrant, about one minute. Add in diced tomatoes and let reduce slightly about 2 minutes.  Add tomato sauce, basil, salt and pepper. Cook mixture until it thickens up a bit, around 5 minutes.

Add noodles to skillet and stir into the mixture well. Add scoops of ricotta cheese over the noodles; add in mozzarella and Parmesan. Stir in parsley. Cook about 2 more minutes, or until mixture is thick.

Serve immediately with additional basil or parsley.

Nutritional information per 1 cup:
Calories: 275
Fat: 3 grams
Carbohydrates: 42 grams
Fiber: 9 grams
Protein: 15 grams
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 7

How Inviting...

Mr. B and I are hosting an engagement for some friends that just got engaged.  I wanted to make the invitations and started looking for inspiration.  I have seen a few diferent versions of these floating around the Web and decided I could create something just right...

Front:

Inside:

Back:

Philly Cheese Steak, sloppy joe style

I have to admit, I have a fondness for Sloppy Joes.  Mr. B however does not.  He's not a fan of savory foods that have any sort of sweet in them.  Last week when I saw THIS recipe over at Chef in Training, I had a sneaky suspicion that it would go over well at our house.  A Sloppy Joe style Philly Cheesesteak may be just the thing to win Mr. B over.  Turned out I was right.  It was rather tasty & took no time at all to prepare!  I used Jack Cheese for the cheese sauce, since it's what I had on hand, but I think I'll try something a little stronger next time. Maybe a sharp cheddar?  Mr. B loved it, so I think I'll keep it in my arsenal of quick weeknight dinners.  Give it a try & let me know what you think.  Enjoy!

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

From Chef in Training
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 softball-sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (I omitted - personal preference)
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
                 *See Optional Additions Below
4 dinner rolls
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 cup provolone, shredded
In large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and then brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

*To the meat/sauce I added - about 2 tsp ketchup, 1 tsp soy sauce, a couple shakes of worshire sauce & a splash of beer.

Split open rolls and remove most of the soft insides, leaving a bed to hold the meat mixture. Toast the rolls and set aside.

While the meat is cooking, melt the butter in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir the cheese.

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls, then top with the cheese sauce and replace the top of the roll.

Carrot Cake w/ Buttermilk Glaze & Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting

Don't be sad that this is a re-post, be glad that I've reminded you about it!

This is the perfect sweet treat to make for Easter, but honestly, a carrot cake this good should be made more than once a year! In fact, if you are a carrot cake fan, YOU MUST TRY THIS CAKE!!! Did you hear that, I'm not kidding, please you have no clue what you are missing... TRY THIS CAKE SOON!


I LOVE carrot cake. But you will almost never see me order it, because I'm almost ALWAYS disappointed with the outcome. Even I have screwed up a carrot cake or two. Oh I'll never forget the notorious two tiered carrot cake disaster that still gives me nightmares! I'll never live that one down. I swore I would never make another carrot cake again. Oh but that's a story for another day, this as a happy story, this is a story about the last carrot cake recipe you will ever need. This is the cake that your family will beg you to make. And now, I pass it on to you!  It may seem like a lot of steps go into this cake, but really it's oh so worth the effort.  You can even make it in advance.

PS... Do not, I repeat, DO NOT skip the GLAZE. It is what sets this cake above all the rest. You may think it will be fine without it... but you will be wrong. And come on, do you want a cake that is just "fine" or do you want a cake that is absolutely divine? Enjoy!

Carrot Cake w/ Buttermilk Glaze & Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting
 Cake
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cup sugar
3 large eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups coarsely grated carrots
1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple in juice
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with vegetable oil; dust w/ flour. Whisk first 4 ingredients into a medium bowl. Set aside. Beat sugar, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Beat in dry ingredients. Fold in carrots, pineapple w/ juice, and pecans. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake cake for 30 minutes. Tent loosely with foil. Continue to bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 10 - 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Using bamboo skewer (or whatever), poke deep holes all over cake.
Glaze
1 cup sugar
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup unsalted butter
1 Tbs light corn syrup
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Bring all ingredients but vanilla to boil in large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until glaze is a deep amber color, whisking often, 4-5 minutes. Mixture will froth up and double in size before returning back to syrup like state. Remove from heat; add vanilla.

Spoon hot glaze evenly over warm cake. Cool cake completely in pan.

*Note: When boiling the glaze watch it carefully! It will boil over if you walk away and it will make a mess all over your stove! It’s not easy to clean, I learned this the hard way!


Frosting
1½ 8-oz packages cream cheese
½ cup unsalted butter, room temp.
1 1-lb box powdered sugar
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon; beat until well blended. Spread frosting over cooled cake in pan. Cake can be made one day in advance, just cover and chill.