Crockpot sweet and spicy chicken

Summer is going so quickly.  Well that's how I feel anyway.  We took several road trips that were short drives that made no overnights necessary other than my monthly visit to mom. I considered it a really fun and relaxing time.

 A few movies, shopping excursions and dinner with friends too made it perfect.  It was really a hot one and I'm not one to complain so let's leave it at that.  My flowers were perfect!

I'm feeling the lazy days for sure.  I've been doing this blog for over five years and I'm getting a little frustrated with the amount of people who seem interested enough to visit my page.

I put loads of effort trying to please most everyone.  I do realize it's impossible to please all of the people all of the time lol but I sure try.

This week I started cleaning up my freezer and refrigerator and making meals with what I have.  Sometimes it's a real challenge to come up with something that is easy, delicious and that both hubby and I enjoy.

 I think you'll like this one.  We did. Only 4 ingredients makes it even better.  No salt, pepper or spices other than a little soy sauce and optional sesame seeds were needed because the sauce was plenty flavorful.   I used pineapple habanero sauce because I was feeling sweet and slightly spicy but not overly spicy so that's why I added the chicken broth to cool it down a bit. 

A perfect meal for those who enjoy crockpot eating.

2+ lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into large pieces

2 cups pineapple habanero sauce

1 can chicken broth 

1 tsp. Soy sauce 

Sesame seeds (optional)

 IN a medium bowl place sauce, broth and soy sauce. Stir to blend

Cut chicken in large pieces. Place in crockpot . Pour sauce over chicken and Cook on low 5 to 6 hours. Serve over rice.

Note: to thicken sauce mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with a few tablespoons of sauce and stir or whisk well so all lumps are blended.  Add to remainder of sauce and chicken in the crockpot.




From my kitchen to yours,

8/11/16
9/30/16

Blueberry, pecan, sour cream coffee cake

This is one of the best cakes I have ever made using blueberries. It has the texture of a pound cake and the moistness that we all like in a cake.  I did cut back by one half cup the sugar in the recipe.  It was fine and I didn't think made any difference.  Enjoy this recipe and since fall is here I'm in a big time making mood.....:)

It's a coffee cake so that's even better in my book.  I always look for coffee cake type recipes for breakfast in our house.  I think you all know me by now(Yes it's over 5 years that I have been blogging) and my likes and dislikes I think come out enough for you to remember I am not an egg, bacon etc. breakfast person.  Never have been and I'm sure it's not going to change.

One thing has changed and that is I do eat breakfast everyday.  Yes every single day!  I didn't as a teenager or young adult but through the years have found out so many benefits to starting the day with something in your stomach.

As I have gotten older I have found that small or mini meals really help stabilizing your blood sugar which is so important. 

 My parents became diabetics in their fifties and I did not want to fall into that pattern so I started eating several mini meals a day and one evening regular portion meal. Here's what I do.  In the early morning I eat my small scone or breakfast food.  Around ten a.m I eat a piece of fruit or some protein. 

Lunch is usually pretty simple, salad, or 1/2 sandwich, soup and fruit or even a fruit cup.  It really varies by my hunger and what I have around our house.

Around 3 p.m. I have something small as in a few strawberries, some cottage cheese, veggie or some protein.
  
Dinner is whatever I make.  I don't make substitutions.  I eat whatever I want but I try to make dinner before 7 p.m.

I hadn't planned on this post giving a mini lesson on how to keep yourself healthy by a healthy lifestyle but I guess it must be important for me to add this along with this very delicious cake recipe.  So enjoy it and watch your portions.  I plan on eating a slice (moderate) for breakfast for a few days and will freeze the rest for later.  Wrap slices in clear wrap.  This cake freezes well as do most if not all of my recipes.



Note:  On to the recipe.  I did adapt it slightly as in cutting back on the white sugar.  Instead of 2 cups I used 1 1/2 cups as noted.  I cut back on pecans only using 1/4 cup as well because I should not eat many nuts for I have a challenged digestive system. I did not add salt as my butter was salted.  I also sprayed my pan with coconut oil and did dust with flour.
You can use the exact recipe if you like I just adapted it to our liking.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter softened

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 5/8 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions

• Prep
  20 m
• Cook
  1 h
• Ready In
  1 h 20 m

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in blueberries.
3. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the batter in the pan. Spoon remaining batter over the top, and then sprinkle the remaining pecan mixture over. Use a knife or thin spatula to swirl the sugar layer into the cake.
4. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate, and tap firmly to remove from the pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.
5. Happy Baking from my kitchen to yours,
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1. adapted from allrecipes.com

Easy Mexican Lasagna

Re-post 

6-19-15

I love to use whatever I have in my kitchen, pantry or refrigerator and create something easy.  So today I did just that and it was absolutely delicious and was prepped and baked one, two , three!

Leftovers for tomorrow's lunch or freeze them in pieces for later. :)

Wrapped and ready for easy lunch or freeze in bag after wrapped.  Thaws in refrigerator overnight. 

1 package large flour tortillas 
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 jar mild organic salsa or your choice
1 small onion grated
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 to 3/4 sour cream
6 to 8 tortillas cut in half
1 small can Hunts sauce
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese


Brown meat in oil with onion, salt and pepper.  Add 1/2 jar salsa and set aside

Mix softened cream cheese (use microwave for a few seconds if necessary)and 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream. Set aside.

Mix the other half jar of salsa with the Hunts sauce. Set aside.

To assemble.  Place some of the meat/salsa mixture in bottom of 13x9 in. pan. Lay cut tortillas to fill as much space as you are able to.  This is not a perfect fit so just layer to the best of your ability and  don't get frustrated. Also double the recipe for a large family.  It's just the two of us so this size pan was fine.

 Add some of the meat mixture then add another layer of tortilla strips/pieces (I cut a tortilla in half and then quarter) and then by spoonfuls add some of the softened cream cheese mixture.  Continue layering tortilla, meat, cheese and finally the top layer of just tortilla.  Top with the other half jar of salsa and sauce mix.  Sprinkle shredded sharp cheese and cover.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cover lasagna and bake approximately 30 minutes. Remove covering and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes until cheese has melted.  Wait 5 minutes and cut in pieces. This is really Tasty!

9-17-16

Chicken vegetable soup

Today's hearty soup was one made in the spare of the moment. We needed lunch and I knew if I made this there would be enough for another lunch serving or two!

Easy with little effort and you can create a bowl of yumminess.

If you have one boneless chicken breast you can cook it in the broth and shred it before you serve the soup. Boneless chicken cooks quickly in broth or water.  In about one hour after prep. It will be ready to enjoy.

Soup's on!!!!

Note:

Frozen veggies can be used if you don't feel like using fresh.  I used my handy chopper and chop my veggies in advance and freeze them . Like this!

I boneless chicken breast(use more if you like lots of chicken)

1-32 oz or more chicken broth

1cup chopped carrots 

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup diced tomatoes( I didn't use juice but you can do do if you desire)

1medium diced potato 

1can rinsed and drained northern beans

1cup frozen peas

1cup small noodles (acne de Pepe) or orzo, tiny shells etc. but they should be small.

Grated cheese for garnish (optional)

Crockpot Green chilles and tomatoes cubed steak

We had a nice weekend which included our (hubby and my) dual class reunion back in our hometown. I was able to see people I have not seen since graduation.  It was a really nice time.

Today I had to get back to reality so thinking ahead as I usually do; yes I'm a planner. Last evening before I hit the sheets I took out two pounds of cubed steak from the freezer and placed them in my refrigerator to thaw.

Cut in strips as in photo

Note:  If you don't know what cubed steak is it is basically tenderized round steak (beef) which is sold as cubed steak.  They are usually sold in large pieces or patties.

I did not have a clue what I was going to do with them but after a little thought I realized I had a can of diced tomatoes with chile so this is when I decided this would be tonight's dinner. Simple and very tasty.  That is if you like spicy.  It was spicy.

Simply cut the cubed steak in strips.  Slice a whole onion rather thin. In a skillet(I like to brown my meat first) add some olive oil.  Place onion in first and allow it to start to simmer, add steak, salt and pepper and cook until slightly browned.  Place in your crockpot which you have set to low.  Add the 1 can of tomatoes with the chilles (juice and all) on top of the meat. Cook on low for approximately 4 to 5 hours.  It does cook faster than other type steak(round) since it has been tenderized. (pounded with a mallet to tenderize). Hope to hear you enjoyed this easy meal.

I served it over mashed potatoes....Family friendly store bought Bob Evans. xo

Crockpot friendly 

2 lb. cubed steak cut in strips 

Salt and pepper 

1 medium onion sliced 

1 can diced tomatoes and green chilles

Happy Cooking!