Southwest Chicken

During one of my trips to the library I found a great slow cooker recipe book. A slow cooker  allows you to cook without a stove and while you are away. I utilize my slow cooker for pulled pork, pot roast, canning, soups and stews. I got this book for some new tricks, and I found a few good recipes. The Southwestern Chicken recipe comes together fast and cooks for 6 hours. It has a little kick and has a nice and thick sauce.

 Southwestern Slow Cooked Chicken:

adapted from: 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes

15 oz tomato sauce

2 TBS sugar

3 TBS canned sliced jalapeños

2 TBS lime juice

1/4 tsp Molasses

2 tsp Cumin

1/4- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 

1 drop liquid smoke (optional)

4 pounds skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything except the chicken in the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Put the chicken in the sauce meaty side down. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 6 hours. We ate the chicken with rice and corn, don't forget to save the sauce for over the chicken!

Roasted Chicken

In the fall and winter I like to roast chicken it makes my kitchen warm and the smells are oh so yummy. This recipe makes a golden brown chicken with skin that is crisp and meat  that is juicy. It's a standby for when I buy a whole chicken or chicken hindquarters.  This time I used jumbo hindquarters which is the thigh and drumstick still connected.  It's a beautiful dish that is great for a casual gathering or a small dinner party. I serve it with smashed potatoes, peas and corn. A recipe for smashed potatoes will be following shortly.
Roasted Chicken:
1 6 pound Chicken or pieces- bone in
2 TBS butter melted
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
2 Medium onions sliced 1/2 inch thick
3 large garlic cloves

Preheat the oven to 425*

Rinse the chicken and then dry off with paper towels.

Place the onions along the bottom of a large baking dish. Lay the chicken on top of the onions skin side up  or if doing a whole chicken breast side up. Add the salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic to the melted butter. Pour or brush the butter mixture evenly on to the outside of the chicken. Place in the oven and roast till the skin is golden brown and the thermometer reads 180*  in the breast. About 1 1/2 hours for a whole bird, and an hour for pieces. Remove the chicken from the oven and let sit for 10-15 min to let the juices settle.

Spooky Treats!

Halloween is near and I keep seeing really fun crafts and treats. I have compiled a list of great links from some of my favorite magazines and sites. You will be sure to find something to your liking. Whether it be for  a haloween party, kid's class treat, decorating, or all around fun time. Lets get started.

Spider-donuts What has always stuck in my mind was when I was in 2nd grade my mom made chocolate spiders with chocolate donuts, and black pipe cleaners and little googly eyes. I thought that was so much fun. I haven't made any this year but I did find a link to some, with a picture just in case you wanted to make some. In this case she used string licorice for the legs and made her own donuts.
boo-nilla-shake This looks fun for kids, and I do love some milkshakes
Bleeding-cupcakes- Yummy filled cupcakes for a fun surprise when you bite into them.
Hot dog mummies- These are fun and look pretty easy!
Gourd Family- Now this makes a great alternative to carving if you have little ones.
Caramel-apple-sundaes- This is completely different from the tradional caramel apples.
Spiced pumpkin seeds- If you do decide to carve pumpkins save the seeds! They make great snacks!
D.I.Y Snake Shirt-  This looks fun and easy
Spooky Decor-  I don't know about you but I have a ton of jars.

Southwestern Chicken

During one of my trips to the library I found a great slow cooker recipe book. A slow cooker  allows you to cook without a stove and while you are away. I utilize my slow cooker for pulled pork, pot roast, canning, soups and stews. I got this book for some new tricks, and I found a few good recipes. The Southwestern Chicken recipe comes together fast and cooks for 6 hours. It has a little kick and has a nice and thick sauce.

 Southwestern Slow Cooked Chicken:

adapted from: 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes

15 oz tomato sauce

2 TBS sugar

3 TBS canned sliced jalapeños

2 TBS lime juice

1/4 tsp Molasses

2 tsp Cumin

1/4- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 

1 drop liquid smoke (optional)

4 pounds skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything except the chicken in the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Put the chicken in the sauce meaty side down. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 6 hours. We ate the chicken with rice and corn, don't forget to save the sauce for over the chicken!

  

      

Girls Night IN!

I just had a fantastic idea to host a girls night in. Movies, wine, nails, facials, gossip. Does that sound too much like a pre-teen slumber party except for the wine part? Well I don't care. I have been researching diy skin care and think it would be fun to share with my friends. I would kick the boys out and we would have the run of the house. If you want to plan a fun girls night IN. Here are some of the ideas I was thinking of. Or if you just want to try it on your own that's good too. Guaranteed I will try everything especially the wine before I host a girls night in.

50-all-natural-beauty-products-you-can-make-yourself- I could have alot of fun with this list

Easy Homemade Face Masks - huge list of quick and easy masks.

how-to-paint-nails- True not everyone knows how to paint nails- I once just painted my whole tip of my finger and figured I could just use remover around it. I showed  a girl in my class (7th grade) who was really good a painting nails- pretty sure she gasped and shook her head. Then she showed me the proper way. 

how_to_drink_wine_like_a_professional- Wow some people are very serious about drinking wine. Me not so much. But I do know what I like and that's all that counts. 

Now on to the movies! What movies would you watch? Or just listen to fun music or both? I would have a few classics on hand to decide on later.

top-20-chick-flicks - Just to name a few.. 

Well I will be planning a night soon. And so should you! I have been busy and need to hang out with my friends!

Cheers!

Oatmeal - Lavender face scrub

I have been looking for a great face scrub that I could make for some time now. I came across this one and thought I would share. It has simple ingredients and keeps for about 6 months.  I found it at whole living. Along with a few other good looking body scrub recipes that I will try out and let y'all know about. But for now a nice calming face scrub. They recommend using once a week to start and gradually increase to no more then 3 times a week. Like I have said before I am not a skin specialist, and wouldn't recommend using this if you are allergic to any ingredients listed below. Make sure to test on a small patch of skin if you are worried about harsh reactions. My face was fine and great.  I am thinking about making this as gifts this year. Along with a few other things.. Ready set Exfoliate!
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup lavender flowers dried & removed from stems
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 TBS fine cornmeal

Combine everything in a food processor or blender and grind it up till it has a few chunks.
Take a small amount and massage into damp skin  and rinse with warm water. Keep the rest in a sealed container. Since it's dry, traveling with it is great.
 I hope you enjoy this as much as I have!

Peanut Butter French Toast

Breakfast for dinner! Ryan puts peanut butter on everything. When I say Everything I mean it!  I figured I would put the peanut butter in the French toast batter so it was covered in peanut goodness.  Then a drizzle of syrup and powdered sugar for the win! I use Adams peanut butter which is all natural, that also means the oil separates and it has to be stirred. Since it's a thinner peanut butter it blended well with the egg and milk. If using a thicker peanut butter I would melt in the microwave for 20 sec. I was informed that I could have used more peanut butter, so I put a range of 1/4 c - to 1/2 c.  

Since you have your peanut butter out, look at the label and make sure it hasn't been recalled: P.B Recall (If you use Adams no worries it wasn't recalled.)

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

1/4- 1/2 cup peanut butter- smooth  

2 TBS Sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 TBS butter

pinch of salt

6-wheat bread slices

 Combine the milk, eggs, peanut butter, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla extract in a wide bowl. Whisk briskly- you might have to keep the whisk handy, the mix might need to be stirred between slices. Heat a large griddle or skillet on medium, and put in the butter. While heating up the pan, dip 1 slice of toast into the milk, egg, peanut butter mixture turn to coat. Shake off the excess goo and place in the pan. Cook it till browned and then flip. Repeat till all the "goo" is gone. Eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 

D.I.Y. display shelves

I keep seeing pictures of cute shelves for kids' rooms. Luke's aunt found a really cute way to display and hold her kids books. I saw that it was sturdy and decided that it was a great inexpensive way to go.  She used rain gutters! Yeah I know rain gutters! I have seen  this all over the Internet. I  went for 2 shelves, she did 4. Really the possibilities are endless. And oh so easy! First you just need to decide how many shelves you want and how long they need to be.. At our local hardware store the rain gutters come in 1 size and 2 colors. They are 10 feet long, white or brown, metal or plastic.  I went for the white metal ones, it looks a little like molding. We did 2 five foot shelves by sawing the gutter in half. Gutters cost around $6 and change. Then there is just a few more things to buy : end caps are about $1 each, screws $3 each (need 4 of each for 2 shelves). And a drill lucky for me Ryan has a bunch of tools, so we didn't need to worry about that. Once you buy everything figure out where the shelves are going to go and make it level, drill the screws in and voila fun display shelves. This isn't only for kid's rooms it could be used for art, photos, DVDs, cookbooks. If you do this I hope it is enjoyed!