Thursday, January 30, 2014

Recipe: Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken & Rice


I'm sure I've mentioned before how menu planning has changed and saved my life, and I'll say it again. Menu Planning is really such a great tool, and I know I'm not the first to realize it. Pre-kids, Matt and I were doing it on a more relaxed scale, shopping week to week, but our menu was more relaxed. I've now found it important to plan the meals ahead of time, organize the grocery list with those ingredients, and even find recipes that I can slot into limited time-frames (and yes, I have an excel file to help me accomplish all of this....). 

I've been reading tons of new food and cooking blogs and having a lot of fun testing out a ton of new recipes lately. This Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken & Rice falls into my Slow Cooker Sunday meals. I know the picture is really not that appealing, but the taste of the dish is good, and it was easy to make! How can you not like a recipe that has one step? 

This is a pretty blank canvas to start with, so don't be limited by the below recipe.  You can easily mix up the frozen corn and replace it with peas, broccoli, or carrots, or all three. You could also switch up the cream of chicken soup with mushroom or broccoli. There's a lot of easy ways to add more vegetables to this dish. I actually think adding chopped red peppers at the end would give this a much brighter taste, so I'm going to do that next time.

INGREDIENTS

    2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
    1 large onion, chopped
    1 cup of rice, cooked
    1 cup cheddar cheese
    1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup 
    1-2 cups frozen corn (or other vegetable)

DIRECTIONS

Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. Scatter chopped onion over top. Spoon cream soup over top of that. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. A few minutes before serving, shred chicken with a fork and add in cooked rice, corn, and cheese. Stir to combine and let cook 20 minutes longer. Serve hot.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Crafty Find: Scrabble!

http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/diy-wedding-ideas-scrabble-coasters-tutorial/


I love crafts that can re-purpose common items into new and exciting ideas. I came across this drink coaster made out of scrabble tiles (brilliant), so I was curious to see what other crafts made use of these alphabet tiles. Any one of these would be a great gift for the scrabble lover in your life. And the best part, with so many letters to choose from, personalizing your gift is pretty simple. You could even make them bilingual.

To start, you could make your own Christmas Ornaments: 

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/scrabble-letter/

Or perhaps a magnet for your dishwasher to let you know when the dishes are clean or dirty:


The letters would always look nice spelling out a message in a nice frame: 


And if you can make it work, make your own family tree:  



You could use them as wine charms: 


You could also use them for a bit of inspiration. How about pillows that look like scrabble tiles? 

http://diycozyhome.com/diy-scrabble-pillows-craft/

There seem to be a lot of fun variations with this versatile letter game. I just might have to book mark this for the next time I want to make a personalized gift for someone.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Book Nook: Holidays On Ice



Holidays on Ice
~ David Sedaris

BBB Rating: 1 out of 5

I love finishing a book and adding it to my Read List, almost as much as I love adding books to my To Read List. Granted, the latter is much lengthier and I wonder if I'll actually ever get through them all, but adding new books is so much fun. 

Holidays on Ice was a book I received as a Christmas gift, oh, maybe three years ago, from my wonderful and observant husband. He noticed a few other books on my shelf by David Sedaris and picked this one up for me as a gift. It's a collection of short stories, all holiday themed, and I started reading it shortly after I got it, but then put it down and clearly forgot about it for several years. 

Well, I picked it back up over the holidays finished it not to long ago. What did I think? To be honest, I was a little unsettled by his humour this time around. I know he's a pretty quirky guy, but some of the ideas he puts out there made me uncomfortable. So I'm sad to say that this one was a miss for me. Not all the books I read can be hits, but I'm sharing them with you anyway.


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

40th Birthday Party


So, my husband turned 40 this year. No biggie. 40 is the new 30, right? So in his honor, we got ourselves a sitter and headed out for a big night on the town. First, we had drinks and snacks with friends at a local pub. Then we headed to a bar to meet up with more friends and watch a cover band. It was a late night but a great night (and nap time the next day was enjoyed by all). We looked forward to celebrating with our closest friends, so I wanted a little something to thank everyone for coming out. I put together a little something for people to take home (yay adult treat bags!), which looked something like this: 


That's not my photo (I neglected to take one), but I did put together a bouquet of Pop Rocks for our guests to take. And I have to say, it was kind of a hit. It was like a little blast of nostalgia in your mouth.

On a smaller scale, we had our own little party for Matt at home, including balloons and a very special birthday 'cake'. In general, I would say traditional cake falls at the very bottom of his dessert list. Nearing the top is Ice Cream Cake, which we enjoy when celebrating with his family, but I thought I could find something even better. 

Enter the Popcorn Cake and my inspiration: 


A mixture of popcorn, pretzels, and M&Ms, all coated with melted and gooey marshmallow? This combines all of Matt's most favorite things! So, I made it in secret the night before (A much smaller version than the one in the link), and after Liv had gone to bed (it wouldn't be fair to eat it in front of her, after all), I busted out the candles and presented it to Matt.



Thankfully, and not surprisingly, he really liked it. That yummy mix of salty and sweet really does hit the spot. He still talks about it, remembering fondly back to that delectable treat. I'm glad he enjoyed it, and he can look forward to this 'cake' for many birthdays to come.
 

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Recipe: Banana Avocado Chocolate Pudding

Courtesy of momables.com


I've been wanting a way to start introducing new treats to Olivia, but I am conscious of the amount of sugar that is possibly involved. I know there are tasty ways to give her a sweet treat, and the internet is full of them. And I like that it means making my own version of easily store-bought items (such as pudding). This chocolate pudding is perfect for an after dinner dessert. And you adults, you just might like it, too!

I've seen this recipe making the rounds on various food and mom blogs I visit, and one even suggested it as a morning breakfast. Heck, why not? If it means your kid will eat a good amount of fruits, then I'm all for it. Right now Olivia is eating everything in sight, so we don't have the problem right now, but so much changes so quickly that it's a good idea to have this in my back pocket. 


We regularly have bananas and avocados in the house, so I just threw them in the processor, added the cocoa powder and this pudding was ready in seconds. Not surprising, Olivia seemed to dig it, as did I. This is my adapted version, but for a larger batch, HERE is the original.

INGREDIENTS

1 ripe banana
1 avocado
2 tbsp of cocoa powder 

DIRECTIONS

Add banana and avocado in processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
Add in cocoa powder and blend further.
If desired, chill before serving. 

A variety of other options are out there, including using Orange JuiceCoconut Milk & Dark Chocolate, even a Spiced one for those of you who like some heat.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Crafty Find: I'm in the mood for Love

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and while my husband and I don't go overboard with gifts or fancy dinners, I still like to honour the day in some small way. And with a kid now, Valentine's takes on a whole new meaning, though we do have a few more years before we'll be making cards to give out at school. In the meantime, however, we'll be traveling to spend Family Day with our nieces in Ottawa this year, which also coincides with Valentine's Day, so I thought it might be fun to put together a small gift for them. 

I've found so many great ideas out there for cards and treats, specifically ones that don't include a lot (if any) sugar, that I thought I'd share a few of my favorite ones. I'll share my final creations with you later.

For the Star Wars nerds fans in your life, how about these character or Yoda cards? I like that it comes with a fun glow stick - so creative!

 

 Anyone who knows me well knows I'd sure appreciate a Valentine like this one


Here's a great idea to help your kids store their cards in a bag or box. I'm a sucker for a cute robot or hipp... 


As for food, this sure is a fun Valentine's breakfast - Strawberry Pancakes with Sprinkles


There are plenty more ideas out there, and this site has a great collection of fun non-sugar themed gifts and cards. With so many choices, I'm really looking forward to February 14th, but I better get crafting!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Fat Friday - Brooklyn Tavern


We love when new restaurants open up in our neighbourhood, and there certainly isn't a lack of them. When we see the paper over the windows of recently closed down shops, we look closely at the construction permit to see what might be coming, and we get excited when it says bar or restaurant. 

Brooklyn Tavern was getting some good reviews and attention in the local blogs, so Matt and I decided to check it out for lunch. We had a rare day before Christmas where we both took the day off of work to finish up our shopping, and on the way back home we stopped in to grab a bite. 


There menu offers a nice variety of options but isn't that overwhelming that I couldn't decide what to have. The starters/share items all sounded delicious, but we choose the Popcorn with Smoked Paprika and Manchego and the Pulled Pork Flautas with Tomatillo Salsa. Both were sensational. 

For my main, I wisely chose the Spicy Chicken and Lime Tortilla Soup, now one of my favorite soups, and Matt went with the New Mexican Pork and Green Chile Stew, surely out of nostalgia. Both were so good! 

I followed up that visit about a month later when a girlfriend and I went for dinner. This time around, I ordered the Giant Meatball Filled with Pulled Pork served in a Chipotle-White Bean Broth, a some-what unusual choice for me, but again, I was not disappointed. I don't know how I am resisting the Mac & Cheese, but I'm sure I'll get around to tasting it yet. Just writing this post is reminding me how good the Brooklyn Tavern is, so I'm thinking it's due time to head back there again soon.

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Book Nook: What in God's Name


What in God's Name
~ Simon Rich

BBB Rating: 4 out of 5


I cued up this book after finishing Simon's book of short stories, Last Girlfriend on Earth. I loved his writing style and humour in his stories, so I was excited to read his novel. I was a little skeptical from the title, but turns out this is just a good ol' fashion love story told in Heaven. And Heaven might not be how you think it is. I liked this book so much that is was the one I brought to my Christmas Book Club Mean Santa, and surprisingly, it got stolen a number of times. If you're looking for a cute love story, check out this one.

From Goodreads

Welcome to Heaven, Inc., the grossly mismanaged corporation in the sky. For as long as anyone can remember, the founder and CEO (known in some circles as "God") has been phoning it in. Lately, he's been spending most of his time on the golf course. And when he does show up at work, it's not to resolve wars or end famines, but to Google himself and read what humans have been blogging about him.

When God decides to retire (to pursue his lifelong dream of opening an Asian Fusion restaurant), he also decides to destroy Earth. His employees take the news in stride, except for Craig and Eliza, two underpaid angels in the lowly Department of Miracles. Unlike their boss, Craig and Eliza love their jobs - uncapping city fire hydrants on hot days, revealing lost keys in snow banks - and they refuse to accept that earth is going under.

The angels manage to strike a deal with their boss. He'll call off his Armageddon, if they can solve their toughest miracle yet: getting the two most socially awkward humans on the planet to fall in love. With doomsday fast approaching, and the humans ignoring every chance for happiness thrown their way, Craig and Eliza must move heaven and earth to rescue them - and the rest of us, too.

I think I'll take a little break from this author, but I will return to read his other works again for sure.

Thursday, January 02, 2014

Recipe: Thai Chicken Wraps


The other night, on my way home from work, I picked up an already-cooked rotisserie chicken from the market. For only 10 whole dollars, I was able to make up three different dinner meals, all ready in under 20 minutes - BBQ Chicken Pizza, these Thai Chicken Wraps, and a Chicken & Broccoli Pasta. If you don't feel like cooking them all in the same week, just portion the meat into sandwich baggies and freeze for later.

This Thai Chicken Wrap was super simple to make and only required me to pick up a few extra ingredients from the market. I also like that Olivia could enjoy it with us. She loves broccoli and peanut butter and anything bread-like, so this was a clear winner with her, and it was just as flavorful for us adults. It's a great recipe to add into our menu rotation.

While the original recipe called for uncooked chicken, the shredded chicken just reduced the cooking time. I've included the steps in case you want to use either option.

INGREDIENTS

    12 ounces  skinless, boneless chicken-breast strips (or a 1/3 of a whole roasted chicken)
    1/4 teaspoon  garlic salt
    2 cups  broccoli-slaw mix
    1/4 teaspoon  ground ginger
    Peanut sauce
    3 10-inch  whole-wheat tortillas, warmed

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle chicken strips with garlic salt. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Cook and stir seasoned chicken in hot skillet over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Coat pan again with cooking spray. Add broccoli slaw and ginger to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Spread tortillas with peanut sauce. Top with chicken strips and broccoli-slaw mix. Roll up each tortilla, and cut in half. Serve immediately.
 
For the Peanut Sauce: 

INGREDIENTS

    1/4 cup  creamy peanut butter (or natural peanut butter for reduced sugar)
    3 tablespoons  water
    1 tablespoon  sugar
    2 teaspoons  soy sauce
    1 clove garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan, combine creamy peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, and garlic, minced. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until peanut butter mixture is smooth and warm. Use immediately or keep warm over very low heat, stirring occasionally.


ON ANOTHER NOTE...

I've decided to drop the recipe counting... Obviously my challenge that I started more than two years ago (yikes!) to cook and post a new recipe each week has gone by the wayside.  The cooking still continues, but I can admit when I'm defeated. But don't fret - I'll still be sharing the new recipes I try out.

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