Crock Pot Mexican Chicken (for Tacos)

This is a great, easy recipe for chicken tacos.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16 oz. container salsa
1/3 c. finely diced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can drained corn
1 can rinsed and drained black or pinto beans

Combine salsa, onion, and seasonings in crock pot, add in chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Before serving remove chicken and shred, add back into pot. Add in corn and beans.

Corn Salsa

There is nothing I like better in my burritos than corn salsa, I just love the little bursts of sweetness it adds. You can use thawed frozen or drained canned corn, I haven't noticed a difference either way.

Corn Salsa

2 c. corn (thawed frozen or drained canned)
1 c. seeded and diced tomato
2 green onions, chopped
3 Tbs chopped cilantro, more or less to taste, whatever you like
1 Tbs. seeded and finely minced jalapeno
1 Tbs lime juice
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and let chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Cilantro Lime Rice

This tastes just like the rice at Cafe Rio and Chipotle, super yummy. It's so good you could serve it as a side dish or as a filling in tacos and burritos.

1 c. uncooked long grain rice (I like Jasmine)
1 Tbs. butter
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
2 1/4 c. water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 Tbs. fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tsp sugar
3 Tbs. fresh chopped cilantro

In a medium saucepan combine the rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp of lime juice, and water. With your fingers, gently break apart bouillon cube and stir into rice and water mixture. Bring to a boil and cover with lid. Turn heat down to medium low and let cook for apprx. 20 minutes; remove from heat. In a small bowl combine 1 Tbs lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot rice and mix in as you fluff with a fork.

Lemon Cookies

This is the King Arthur sugar cookie recipe that I talked about in my last post. It called for almond extract, but I don't really care for that, so I added 2 tsp. of lemon zest, they turned out to be amazing lemon cookies! The next time I make these, I am going to drizzle with a lemon glaze to really put them over the top.

Lemon Cookies

3 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbs. light corn syrup
2 tsp lemon zest
1 large egg

Glaze if desired:

2 c. powdered sugar
fresh lemon juice, just keep adding until you reach the right consistency

Preheat oven to 375.
Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and cream cheese for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla, corn syrup, and egg. Scrape down sides of bowl to insure a good mixing.
Add flour mixture, mix at low speed until the dough is evenly moistened.
Place 3/4 c. of sugar in a small bowl.
Roll tablespoons of dough and drop in sugar, roll around in sugar to coat and place on baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, cookies will barely begin to brown. Let cool on pan 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Let cookies cool completely before glazing.

BEST Sugar Cookies

I recently had the idea to have a sugar cookie taste testing, BRILLIANT if I do say so myself! :) My husband, sister-in-law and I had so much fun judging them! I tried out a white velvet (made with lots of cream cheese), a recipe from King Arthur Flour Co., and one I found off of Allrecipes.com. In addition to the other two sugar cookie recipes I've tried in the past, here is my all time favorite sugar cookie recipe! It is crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and the flavor is delicious!

Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs. buttermilk + more for glaze

Preheat oven to 375.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk to form a soft dough.
Roll rounded Tablespoons of dough and place on cookie sheet or stoneware pan. Flatten slightly with fingers. Using a brush or fingers moisten the top of each cookie with a little buttermilk.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.

They will end up being pretty flat, I covered with frosting and let the kids decorate!

Hawaiian BBQ Dinner- Homemade Teryaki Chicken & Macaroni Salad

I was given these recipes from a Hawaiian family I know, they are delicious! I crave having this meal all of the time!

Teryaki Chicken

2 c. soy sauce
2 c. sugar
3 Tbs. fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced (if garlic cloves are small, use 6)
1 c. water
Chopped green onions for garnish
4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

In a medium saucepan, combine soy sauce through water. Whisk to combine, pour half into a gallon zip lock bag (set aside remaining half in saucepan for later use), add chicken and marinate for 2-3 hours, no longer. At about the time that the chicken will be done marinating, take the saucepan with the remaining sauce in it and heat on medium heat until it starts to simmer, turn heat down to low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes to reduce while chicken is on the grill.
Grill chicken on medium high heat for 15-20 minutes or until done, turning once halfway through cooking time. Brush with cooked, reduced sauce if desired. Throw away zip lock bag with uncooked marinating teryaki sauce in it, do not use this sauce, it must be thrown away.

To serve I like to place the chicken on the rice, drizzle some of the reduced sauce over the top and sprinkle on some green onions. It is so good!

For the rice I like to either cook in chicken broth instead of water to add flavor, or cook in water and add chicken bouillon to it. I add a little salt too.


Macaroni Salad

1 box elbow macaroni
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
1/3 c. red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 c. red or yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. grated carrot
1/3 c. sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 tsp all season salt
pepper to taste

Begin by bringing a large pot of water to boil. Add in the eggs, cook for 5 minutes and then add in the macaroni, boil for 7-8 more minutes until el dente, drain.
Peel the eggs and throw away the yolks, chop up the egg whites.
Add the egg whites and macaroni into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Scrambled Egg Muffins

I thought these were so cute and anything tastes better in a muffin cup right? Very easy to do, the ingredient combinations are endless, be creative! I used ham, but you could use chopped bacon or cooked sausage, actually anything you would put in an omelette would be good in these.

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) bulk pork sausage or any kind of breakfast meat
12 eggs
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped green bell pepper
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray liberally a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the onion, green pepper, and seasonings. Stir in the sausage and cheddar cheese. Spoon by 1/3 cupfuls into greased muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Best if eaten immediately while hot!

Tortilla Soup in the Slow Cooker

I love this recipe because it is so good and so easy! I usually have most of these ingredients on hand. Serve with avocados, sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips! Thanks Stefany for the corn and bean idea!

2 cans diced tomatoes (plain or with garlic and onion)
2 cans chicken broth
1 c. salsa (I use Pace, medium heat)
4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbs. cumin
2 Tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder if you're in a hurry!)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1 can drained sweet corn
1 can rinsed and drained black beans

Add tomatoes through salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Cook on low 6 hours or on high 4 hours, remove chicken and shred, add back into soup. Add cilantro, corn, and beans and ready to serve!

Blueberry Muffins

This is a new blueberry muffin recipe that I found in a Fine Cooking magazine. They are really delicious, especially with the glaze on top. It's really important with this recipe to not overmix the batter, that's why you add the fruit before the batter is fully mixed. I love that the batter overflows onto the pan and forms a big muffin top (Seinfield anyone?) I take out the room temp ingredients and melt the butter an hour before I make these.

Blueberry Muffins

Cooking spray for the pan
3 1/2 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
10 tbs. butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 c. whole milk, at room temp
1 c. sour cream, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 large egg yolk, at room temp
2 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (save lemon for glaze)
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw if frozen)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray the top of a 12 cup muffin tin and then line the cups with paper or foil baking cups. (Spraying the pan keeps the muffin tops from sticking)

In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well.
In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, egg yolk, and zest until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together gently with a rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are mostly moistened, there should still be quite a few streaks of flour. It will be lumpy, that is okay. Sprinkle the blueberries on the top of the batter and fold them in until just combined. (The batter will still be lumpy, do not try to smooth it out)
Fill the muffin cups, the batter should mound higher than the rim of the cups by 3/4".
Bake until the muffins are golden brown and spring back lightly when you press on the middle, about 35 minutes. The muffin tops will meld together. Let the pan cool for 15 minutes. Use a butter knife to separate the tops, invert the pan and pop out the muffins.
Let muffins cool for 30 minutes before drizzling glaze.

For Glaze:

2 c. powdered sugar
fresh lemon juice (from lemon that you zested)

Whisk together powdered sugar and enough fresh lemon juice to make a runny glaze. Drizzly liberally over muffins, let set to harden.

Blueberry Sauce and Buttermilk Pancakes

I'm back! I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, my family has been going through a two month relocation process! Not fun, I'm so glad it's over! We are now settled and here are some of my favorite new recipes...

This blueberry sauce is so yummy! I served it on pancakes, but it would be delicious on ice cream too. I'm tempted to can it so I have it on hand all of the time! It's a cinch to put together. I'm posting my buttermilk pancake recipe again, I started adding vanilla and I think it really puts them over the top! Ignore the styrofoam plates, I was tired of doing dishes :)


Blueberry Sauce

2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs water
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. water
1/8 tsp salt
2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Whisk together cornstarch and water in a saucepan. Add in sugar, 1/3 c. water, and salt. Turn heat on to medium and cook until slightly thickened. Add blueberries, boil for 3-4 minutes. Serve warm over ice cream, pancakes, etc. Makes 2-3 cups and enough for my pancake recipe below.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 c. all purpose flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. buttermilk
1 Tbs. canola oil (or vegetable oil)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
stick of cold butter

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup, level with knife, add to large bowl. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of mixture, set aside.
In separate bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add to dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Heat skillet to medium low heat. With cold stick of butter, unpeel end and rub a thin layer of butter over pan. Drop about a 1/4 c. batter onto skillet. Flip pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Remove from pan, and re-butter, then add more batter, continue this way with the rest of the batter.
Yields 9 4 inch pancakes.