Crockpot BBQ Chicken

The holidays have started and that means family is in town! We had some over last night and needed a meal large enough to serve all of us but also that didn't require me to be in the kitchen preparing it while they were here. I immediately thought of our crock pot. I have been trying to get as much use out of it as I can. This recipe was really flavorful and super easy, you threw a few ingredients in the pot in the morning and they were ready by dinner time. This makes a ton so either make it for a group or you will have lots of left overs.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Serves 8-10

Source: How Sweet it Is

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 large)

1 Tablespoon onion powder

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

8 ounces of beer (classic amber), chicken stock, water or ginger ale

32 ounces of barbecue sauce

Directions:

Season chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Add to crockpot, then add beer and 24 ounces of barbecue sauce.

Cook on low for 8 hours, tossing once or twice if desired.

After 8 hours, shred chicken in crock pot and add remaining barbecue sauce. Let it soak up the sauce once shredded and serve as desired.

Roasted Carrots and Beans with Herbed Mustard-Butter

I wanted to change it up from all of the baking posts recently. The holidays are not just about cookies and sweets. Last night we started to talk about what would be made for holiday dinner. This is something that my family made for Thanksgiving and was really good. Jason is a huge carrot fan so this was a new dish for us to incorporate something he enjoys instead of standard green beans. The mustard gave it a kick and the vegetables brought color to the dish. By roasting the carrots you bring out their natural sweetness. We didn't have the fancy mini carrots so we used the smaller ones out of a regular package of carrots. This would even make a nice side dish for any weeknight dinner since it is quick, easy and does not require a lot of ingredients.

 

Roasted Carrots and Beans with Herbed Mustard-Butter

4-6 servings
Source: CHOW Recipes

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots (about 2 bunches), peeled, green stems trimmed to 1/2 inch, and wispy carrot tips removed

1 pound green beans (ends snapped or cut off)

2 teaspoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper 

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard

1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh herbs, such as dill, Italian parsley, chives, chervil, or tarragon

 Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
   
2. Place the carrots and beans on a baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to evenly coat. Roast, shaking the pan occasionally, until a knife easily pierces the carrots, about 10 to 15 minutes. (Smaller carrots will cook in less time.) Remove from the oven and set aside while you prepare the herbed mustard-butter.
   
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until foaming. Add the mustard and stir to combine. Add the roasted carrots and herbs and toss to coat the carrots in the butter mixture. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

I have gotten into reading a lot of food blogs, some call it fun, some call it dorky but I love it. Only bad thing is that it means I am doing a lot cooking, baking and EATING! One blog featured The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, which seemed like a  like of fun. I was able to bake some of my favorite cookies and send 1 dozen each to 3 different food bloggers that I was matched with. The best or worst part is that I also received a dozen cookies each from 3 bloggers. It was a lot of fun to receive boxes filled with delicious home made cookies on our doorstep.  I received cookies from Carol of Lucky Zucca, Jennifer from Somewhere in Between, and Mads from La Petite Pancake.

The hardest part for me was deciding which cookie out of the many that I enjoy to make for them. I decided to go with one of my favorites that my mom would make for us around the holidays and something that made a big batch. It is of course a chocolate cookie that is soft and chewy, I prefer chewy over crunchy cookies. These chocolate chewy cookies are easy to make, but do require 2 hours in the fridge so you need to plan ahead. They can also be made in advance and frozen for a party or holiday cookie platter.

Chocolate Chewies

Yields 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter

4 squares/oz unsweetened chocolate

2 ½ cups Sugar

3 Eggs

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups Flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt 

Directions:

1. Cream butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a double boiler, melt chocolate. Blend into butter with 2 cups sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla and mix. Then add in dry ingredients.

3. Chill dough for 2 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. Form dough into balls and roll in remaining sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Do not over bake - cookies should be chewy.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

I bought a huge container of blueberries at Costco this weekend and have barely made a dent in them. I can only eat so many in cereal and yogurt. This is a healthier version of blueberry muffins that was a great way to use up some of my blueberries. And the muffins are low in calories and fat, high in fiber and pretty good for you! The applesauce is a great substitute for most of the fat and still gives you a very moist muffin. I also like to make muffins because they make one batch in the oven and I can store them in the freezer to take out for breakfast or snacks during the week. They definitely last longer than my splurge purchase of blueberries.

Low Fat Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Source: Skinnytaste

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups 100% whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries (about 6.5 oz)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp melted butter or margarine

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.

In a medium bowl, mix eggs, melted butter, vanilla and applesauce. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just blended.  Gently fold in blueberries to avoid squishing them.

Pour batter into 12 lined muffin tins and bake at 325° for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Serving Size: 1 muffin • Calories: 147.3 • Fat: 2.7 g • Protein: 2.7 g • Carb: 28.5 g • Fiber: 3.4 g • Sugar: 12.3 g 

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

I am trying out some new and some old and trusted recipes this year around the holidays to send to friends and just enjoy at home also. Who am I kidding, you can't bake cookies for other people without trying some yourself ;)

This is a new recipe that reminded me of a chocolate cookie my mom makes. We all know I love anything chocolate and the crushed candy canes brightened up these cookies making them more festive for the holidays. The candy canes also add a crunch and hint of peppermint flavor to the chocolate and chewy cookies. If you want to make them really peppermint flavored you can substitute some of the vanilla for peppermint extract. It is a sturdy enough cookie that you can freeze them for later.

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
YIELD: about 2 dozen cookies
Source: Foodess

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup finely chopped unsweetened chocolate (2 oz/60 g)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup white chocolate chunks
3 candy canes, crushed

Directions:

1. In a microwaveable bowl, combine butter and unsweetened chocolate. Microwave on 50% power for 1 minute, stir, then microwave again in 30 second intervals until chocolate is mostly melted. Stir to melt the remaining chunks. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Sprinkle flour mixture over chocolate mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in white chocolate chunks. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 to 3 inches apart. Bake 7 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Return to oven 2-4 minutes longer, until edges are crackled and center is just set. Remove and cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

I made some pumpkin cranberry bread around the holidays and had some whole fresh cranberries left over with no idea what to make with them. Turns out we had a perfect Sunday morning breakfast that can be eaten the rest of the week as breakfast on the go or a snack, they would even freeze well if you want to make ahead for company during the holidays. The orange juice and zest in this recipe bring a bright and fresh flavor to the muffins. By using corn meal with the flour it gives the muffin some texture without being completely a corn muffin, definitely something I will have to try with other recipes.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Source: Soft & Stiff Peaks

yields 10 muffins

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup flour

1/2 cup corn meal

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup whole cranberries, rinsed

1 tsp. orange zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the cups with cupcake liners.

Mix the wet ingredients (oil, egg, and juice) together in a large bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, corn meal, baking powder, sugar, salt, cranberries, and zest) in a second bowl. 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. It's okay if there are some remaining lumps. Spoon batter into the muffin cups, making sure that all cups are equally filled. Do not fill them all the way but half to 3/4 full so they don't over flow.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

We received a crock pot for our wedding and am always looking for recipes to use it that are not your standard chili, soup or stew. We are fans of Mexican, especially when it is healthy and easy to make. This recipe had ingredients that were already in our pantry, which was a great perk. The seasoning packs a lot of flavor into this dish and made the house smell amazing. We made some cilantro lime rice to serve the chicken over and topped with shredded cheese and lettuce. If you like burrito bowls this is a flavorful and healthier option.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

Servings: 8 (1 cup) servings

Source: Skinnytaste

Calories: 190 Fat: 1.5g Fiber: 5.6g Carbs: 23g Protein: 21g

Ingredients:

24 oz (1 ½ lbs) boneless, skinless chicken breast

14.4oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies

15oz can black beans

10oz bag frozen corn

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth

3 scallions, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

salt to taste

Directions:

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot . Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours.

Half an hour before serving, remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and stir in to absorb the flavors. Adjust salt and seasoning as needed. 

Serve over rice with lettuce and cheese as desired. (Note this will change the nutritional information)