Tonight is this grilled chicken salad, tomorrow it’s taco! 
Best ever peanut brittle!
I have been practicing icing cookies! I’ve always loved making Christmas cookies but it’s always such a mess and they never would end up looking how I wanted them to. I tried new things each year but when my daughters baby shower came around I decided it was time to do more practice than once a year, I made cookies every week until her shower and I learned new things every time. I was very pleased with all I’ve learned over the last few years and will give credit where credits due! I originally learned a lot from the craftsy cookie classes, then recently learned some more from Lollys cookie class, I have also learned a lot from all the peeps on Facebook page Cookies 101 …. This years fall cookies, Christmas cookies, and baby shower cookies, I think I love coming up with a way to display them just as much as decorating them! (My daughters friend and sister in law made the cake which I can’t wait to try my hand at! )
I absolutely love Asian cuisine but I take forever to cook it and it seems like a major production so my next cooking goal is to get this type of cuisine down to an art in a matter of minutes! (Not over an hour!)
I am not a big fan of rice but a little brown rice wouldn’t be bad with lots of stir fried veggies and some chicken…I mean, how bad could that be? 🤔 I found the recipes for these dishes on Pinterest and put them in my “Tried it and Liked it” album. You can find the recipes by following us on Pinterest. Link is at the bottom of this page
Ready for fall? I’m getting a jumpstart!
I saw this on Facebook or Pinterest and just had to try it! I typically make an Apple cobbler in the fall and sometimes around Christmas so I thought I might like this better. I also love the Arby’s cherry turnovers and thought this might be similar. It did turn out very good but…for us, it was too sweet. I will definitely make it again but for us will tweak it. I will use a less sweet Apple filling, I used Lucky Leaf. I will use a little less sugar in cream cheese mix. I will also use less filling because we like the crescents. I suggest making it according to directions and then see what you may or may not want to tweak. You may like it just the way it is but while I love dessert, I don’t like extremely sweet desserts. I am going to try it with cherries next. It definitely will not replace my cobbler but would be great for a family get together! Hoping the cherry won’t be as sweet but a little tart. Does anyone know what brand of apple filling isn’t as sweet? If you know a good one just let me know in the comments below. The link below will take you to the original recipe on Pinterest so be sure to check it out!
I Want My Cake and to Eat It Too!
This is an awesome pancake for that person who just isn’t a really big fan of pancakes due to all the sugar and calories, but the family wants them. It’s easy and it’s packed with protein so you don’t feel like you’re eating junk for breakfast. I call it my guilt-free pancakes. You just take any of your favorite basic pancake recipes, I use a different one all the time, and breakup pecans to add in when you cook your pancake. If I am cooking for others, I make mine last and add the nuts in at that time, then pour the batter onto a lightly oiled griddle. I have also made them where I pour the batter on the griddle and then sprinkle the nuts onto the pancake while it’s cooking. Either way works but if I mix them in and pour, I always make sure my pecans are in virtually every bite because they have a tendency to be all in one area, not good. When that happens, I either hurriedly move them around or throw in more where there are none. The other detail that makes these pretty guilt free is that I only drizzle a little bit of my favorite syrup on top with some butter. The amount of syrup I use is about equivalent to 1-2 Tablespoons max. Just enough to give you the maple taste. Sometimes I will put the syrup in a container and dab each bite barely which is my favorite way because it packs more flavor than when it’s already soaked in to the pancake plus it’s hard to drizzle that little amount all over. If you serve it on a Pioneer Woman plate, it will taste even better! 😉 Now, the guilt comes in with the size, I could have made this smaller but I didn’t, guilty! I was going for a certain look on the plate. However, you get more protein! 😂 Ok so, just make it smaller for an even more guilt-free pancake! Another way to enjoy them is to add blueberries with the pecans! Oh so good! There really is a ton of the sugar and calories coming from the syrup so if you can enjoy your pancakes without all the syrup and add some healthy ingredients, you won’t feel so bad to have them for the family more often. You can have your cake and eat it, too!
You have to try one of these if you fill baggies often! It’s very handy when cutting things you want to shake and coat with flour for frying. You don’t have to use your hands and dirty the bag to open it and place the contents in. It holds the bag open really good and it raises for the taller gallon bags or lowers for little sandwich bags. It also stores flat which is a huge plus because it will lay in my drawer right by my bags. This was a gift gadget given to me at Christmas so if you think you would find it cool, it can be purchased at Bed, Bath & Beyond for less than $5 or you can get 4 of them for about 10$ on Amazon. It is called a Baggy Holder or Stand. Great for adult stocking stuffers too! What will they come up with next?
Especially great if you make a lot of lunches too! Here is the link to Bed Bath & Beyond for them…
Okay, I just have to share this! It’s just a little silly thing but I am all about the user friendly stuff! The efficient and organized stuff! I really, really love my OXO containers and realized that instead of removing the bags a little at a time to fill the container, that I could just rip the end of box off and tip the box into the container, they come out perfect! It also makes it to where you can just pick off the numbers of bags you want very easily. I know I can put them all in whopper jawed and somewhat smash them and get more in and pick out one at a time but, hey, I prefaced by saying I am into the neat freak stuff so here ya go! I also think this helps prevent breakage not just when storing but also when cooking. If this would be your thing, head out for some OXO containers from Bed Bath and Beyond, just remember to take a coupon! Or, if you know a place to get them cheaper just let us know in the comments section below and we’ll thank you!
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/s/oxo-food-storage?ta=typeahead&flyout=true
I am still on my salad kick… I found these ingredients at home today so put them together and it just might be a new “go-to” salad for me! It’s very similar to the one on Natasha’s Kitchen that I absolutely love. This one is just literally throwing about 4 ounces of thinly sliced chicken pieces into a skillet and mine were still somewhat frozen so I didn’t need oil of any kind. I did however use less than a tablespoon of butter on the one cup of sweet corn when I microwaved it. I chopped some cilantro and onions, maybe half cup of each and then some slices of avocado which amounted to about 3/4 cup. I squeezed a lemon over the whole thing and with the butter from the sweet corn, all the flavors were awesome together! I missed the bacon that I had in the other salad but this really fit the bill and kept me in good calorie standing. Maybe next time I will trade the avocado calories for some bacon! Oh, and I totally could have done tomatoes but forgot…calories saved, I guess.
Yowsa! This is one good salad! I wish I had, had spinach for it but the romaine was good. I think I could learn to like this salad kick I’ve been “trying” to be on. Chef salad one day, fajita salad the next, throw in a little strawberry walnut salad, and finish off the week with taco salad! Yeah, I’m liking it! Might have to work some chicken southwest salad in there or a jalapeño chicken salad like they sell at Chicken Salad Chicks! Anyone know how they make that? I need a recipe for it! Hey Google!
In case you wondered, the walnuts on the strawberry salad make a huge difference if you sugar coat them. I know you typically don’t want to add sugar to a salad but here’s the thing, if you want this salad, it just isn’t the same and doesn’t pack the right punch if you don’t. Not saying you can’t eat it without doing it but you’re really missing out if you don’t and it literally takes less than five minutes and if you use the dressing I have pictured, it’s sugar free, so you’re really not adding that much considering this recipe was for a whole cup and a salad just needs a few sprinkled on top! ( Although you will want to eat the whole cup.) I got my recipe from one of my favorite recipe sites and that is Natasha’s Kitchen… love it! It’s literally putting 1 T Butter, 1 cup walnuts, & 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a skillet. Heat for 3-5 minutes, while stirring the whole time, until you notice them sticking together and the sugar getting to where it won’t come off the spatula or spoon and then just pour them out onto parchment paper. Careful! They are hot!
This was the start of my salad kick, you can’t see what all is on it, because the bowl got too small! 😉 We had two dinners from it, by the way. It has red peppers, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, shredded cheddar, and cucumbers. It would have had shredded carrots but my last grocery pickup, they failed to have any, bummer. Oh yes, it had boiled eggs as well and was topped with Catalina dressing which is a favorite of ours, and I love my Ritz! I should do a post on everything I use Ritz crackers for, lol. I’m hoping this salad kick will help stop the numbers on the scale from going up but if it doesn’t, at least I’ll be healthier!
Oh my! I think I found a new favorite! My husband came to me with this idea he saw on Facebook and I have to say, I love it! It is for queso that you cook in the smoker. We have a big horn pellet grill so I don’t know if it would work in just any grill but it does great in the pellet grill! Recipe follows…
Pellet Grill Queso
1 lb Velveeta cubed
1 c mexi melt mix shredded cheese
1 lb sausage cooked
1/2 c onions diced
1/2 c jalepenos diced
1 T garlic powder
1 can Rotel tomatoes in your choice of heat(either mild, original, or hot)
mix after placing in foil pan and place on grill until melted. For a thinner consistency add milk as desired.
I Just Wanted Some Chicken Fried Chicken!
I am that person that usually struggles for dinner ideas. I don’t mind cooking but I don’t like to come up with what to fix. I also have a husband who will get tired of waiting on me to figure it out and just say, “I’m going to go fix a pizza” or “I’m going to go grill a burger” and I am always thrilled with that idea!
I was looking at the mail one evening, in my recliner, and came across an Oklahoma dining out magazine I had requested. Smack on the front, right in my face, was a young boy with a platter in front of him and on it was a huge, platter-sized chicken fried chicken (or chicken fried steak). At that point, in my mind, it was chicken fried chicken and I wanted some! I immediately said, “I’m going to go make some chicken fried chicken.” Needless to say, my husband said, “You’re gonna, what?” and then he began a post of some sort on facebook. It became a lengthy discussion on there but I didn’t care what was being said about me, I was in making my chicken fried chicken as big as I could get it and as fast as I could do it!
Below is what I used and while I was not timing myself, I think i had it done in about 30-40 minutes! You can’t see them well in this picture but the potatoes are Ore Ida Steam N Mash and they are really awesome! Even though my chicken fried chicken wasn’t platter sized, it fit the bill just fine.
I am not much on cooking things like this by an actual recipe so feel free to comment if you have any questions. I, of course, used salt and pepper to taste, etc…
I started by using a knife to split two large chicken breasts’ by laying them flat on the counter and running the knife through them splitting their thickness in half so rather than being an inch thick, they were half an inch thick. I went further and used a mallet to make them even thinner and bigger. Then I put a small amount of milk and two eggs in a flat bowl and whisked them together. Since I only had four slices of breasts, I was able to dip them in the egg and leave them in the egg bowl and then put 2 cups flour in my bowl that the chicken was in and start flouring them. I dipped them each a few times to get a good coating and then into a hot skillet with about 1/4″ of oil. I was only able to cook two at a time. I put the bag of potatoes in the microwave while I cooked the last two breasts and heated the green beans at that time as well. I also had some precooked frozen rolls from Sister Schuberts that I had sat in the air fryer earlier and I turned them on to cook also. Everything got done at about the same time except the gravy, of course, because it was cooked in the chicken skillet when the last two breasts came out.
My husband and I agreed that it was the best chicken fried chicken meal ever! When I saw that kid with that platter of chicken in front of him, I had no problem knowing what I wanted.
I just wanted some chicken fried chicken!
A Big Ole’ Jug of Peach Tea
I have always had a love for tea, not all teas, but certain teas. I love Luzianne regular and decaf for my go to’s and usually when I visit restaurants, if they offer peach tea, I go for that. Slim chicken’s restaurant has a great peach tea that I absolutely love and with this COVID-19 thing I was missing the freedom to just go by and pick me one up. Since my husband’s office split their staff so that they alter days to work, we found it nice to go to the grocery store when it would open on Mondays to do our shopping. I was shocked the first time I went in and saw the tea shelves empty, the second time even more shocked that it was not restocked and disappointed, so the third time I decided I better look and see if there was another option to try from what was left. When I saw the STASH peach tea, I knew it was going to be a hit with me since I had been missing my trips to get some from Slim’s. I have to wonder why I never thought about purchasing some peach tea bags before. I had tried the peach tea that you put in a water bottle and also putting peach juice in tea, but they are nothing like the fresh brewed peach teas.
Here is how I make it in a gallon tea pitcher so you don’t have to make it so often. I use 4 of the peach tea bags and one of the quart size Luzianne tea bags. (It makes the peach bags go further, I wish they made quart size peach tea bags.) I put the bags all together in 4 cups of water in the microwave for 4-5 minutes (mine is 4 min and 30 sec) then I usually let it set for a few minutes if I have the patience that day. I add a half of a cup of sugar to the tea pitcher and the hot tea and stir to dissolve the sugar then add water to desired strength so check it as you go, the first time, when adding the extra water. Keep in mind that if you’re putting it on ice that it’s going to weaken the tea so you’ll want less water.
Ah, a nice glass of iced peach tea on a beautiful spring day OR a nice cup of hot peach tea on a cold morning.
Enjoy!
