Food Friday!: Chicken Taco Bowls

Food Friday!: Chicken Taco Bowls

So, I'm still pretty new to Pinterest. I have just started to use it as a resource for cooking, decor, and organization tips and I was pleasantly surprised when I found this recipe..and a crock pot one at that! Honestly, I have had some pretty bad experiences with dry, over-cooked, flavorless crock-pot meals. So much so, that I until recently, my crock pot spent much of the time under a layer of dust on a random shelf in my kitchen. Thanks to this recipe, though, I have pulled it out and really used it as a valuable appliance (for everything from making dinner to stocking up on shredded cooked chicken to cook with down the road)!  

This recipe is incredibly flavorful, and although it is easy to set up with only a handful of ingredients, it takes like I spent much more time making it. Try it! I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken Breasts (about 1.5 lbs)
1 16oz jar of salsa
1 1/2 lb bag of frozen corn
1 15 oz can of black beans
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
2 cups dry white rice
Shredded cheddar cheese to garnish
Fresh Cilantro to garnish

Directions

In a crock pot, place the chicken breasts. Mix together all ingredients except the rice and the cheese and cilantro (to be used as garnishes) and 1/4 cup of water and pour over chicken, making sure the chicken is completely covered.


Place lid on crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (although my crock pot cooks hot, even on the low setting, and my chicken was cooked through after only 4 hours). I would recommend checking your chicken after 4 hours.

Prepare white rice according to package. Once chicken is done, shred with fork and mix. Assemble "taco bowl" by layering rice, then adding the chicken mixture, and adding cheese and fresh cilantro on top. Enjoy!

To the Baby in the Mirror, You have never been so entertaining! I've decided that Little T is going to be a social guy just like his Papa. Now I just need to get him to have regular play dates with other babies, so he doesn't grow up just talking to himself in the mirror. :) We start MOPS next week! I'm excited about him meeting some more real friends! For now, thank you for spending some time talking to my little man.
To Long Dog, Around lunch time the other day, I heard your tummy growl. It was then that I realized I had completely forgotten to feed you breakfast. I felt like such a bad Mama! Thank you for forgiving me and loving me anyway. Next time, you can remind me to feed you... You're such a good boy!
To the Dr. Husband, You starting a new rotation this week and I was happy to hear you got some OR time this week! I love getting to hear about your day, even if it sometimes involves almost getting bitten by an elderly patient (thankfully, he doesn't have teeth!) while putting in a central line! Thank goodness you got away unscathed.

Three Months Old!

So happy, his socks are falling off! :)

Little T is three months old!

Weight: Roughly 14.5 lbs
Wearing: Moving on up! 3-6 month clothes (I've packed all the 0-3 month clothes away...)
Loving:
- Sitting up (still with Mama's help, of course, but don't try to lay him down!)
- ceiling fans
- the TV (He's a little TV junkie!! If it on, he's looking at it. So, we have been listening to a lot of music around the house instead.)
- Rattles (grabbing, holding, shaking)
- "Flying" through the air (He certainly loves playing with his Papa!)
- Reading books (He "reads" them with me, talking the entire length of the book)
- Laughing (a lot!)

Always chewing on his fingers (the first two)... I'm thinking we have a teether already!

He chews one hand, Bear chews the other... (I promise this wasn't staged!)

Long Dog checks to make sure Little T is okay after I started blowing raspberries. Long Dog apparently thinks it's dangerous.

My handsome blue-eyed guy! Now bigger than Bear!

Talking, always talking!

To Little T, Happy 3 months old! You're getting to be so big!  And I'm so thankful that you still think your Mama is funny... One problem: you are now attempting to blow raspberries when I do it. I can see this becoming an issue when you learn to eat real food.
To all the family, We so enjoyed all the time we were able to spend with you over the last week! Thanks for welcoming the four of us and all of our stuff into your homes and making us feel loved... and I loved seeing you all love on my little man. :) He has never laughed as much, talked as much, and smiled as much as he while being entertained by each of you. And, a very happy belated birthday to Popmiester and Banker Boy! So glad we were able to celebrate with you last week.
To the Blueberry Cake, As it turns out, some of the people in Sunday school were waiting to see who picked up the platter you were on after class ended to ask for the recipe. I have never had so many people oooh! and ahhhh! over a recipe and I am grateful and humbled by all of the comments! You may just be worthy of a Food Friday post!
To my Best Buddy, Yesterday was your perfectly gorgeous last day of vacation! Even if it was just the two of us, I loved that we grilled out and had a picnic lunch and played corn hole on the newly-cleaned back deck (thanks Granny D!). I had a blast and we all know Little T and Long Dog loved being outside. We enjoyed having you off for a whole 9 days and wish you didn't have to go back to work...although some one has to work, right?! :) P.S. Thanks for being Pest Control Man and spraying twice for mosquitoes. I think we finally eliminated some of them and it makes enjoying the weather that much easier!

(From the left) Popmiester, Handsome Hubby, Banker Boy, Hurricane Hunk

Nice job on the cupcakes Mama!

Food Friday!: Fish Tacos

Food Friday!: Fish Tacos

Don't knock it until you try it! :)

My mom loves fish tacos. The first time she made fish tacos for dinner, I was skeptical that I would like them. I think Handsome Hubby was even more skeptical when she said she was going to make them one time when she was visiting. Much to our surprise, they are wonderful! And they are pretty easy to make once you have all the parts. Give them a try...I hope you enjoy! It's one of my favorite meals now.


Ingredients

Cod, Tilapia, or other white fish fillets (roughly 1 fillet per person if using Tilapia, which makes 2-3 tacos)
Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
Cabbage, shredded (I buy a pre-shredded bag in the produce section that it meant really for coleslaw)
Lime wedges
Cilantro
Ranch-based dressing (lately, I have been using Olde Cap Cod's Chipotle Ranch Dressing, although I have used original Ranch Dressing and Fresh Market's Cilantro Ranch Dressing)
Corn Tortillas
Oil

Preparation

For Corn Tortillas: Cover the bottom of frying pan with oil. Fry each corn tortilla separate, roughly 10 seconds on each side. Fold in half to create "taco" shape and place on a plate covered with a paper towel to drain. 

For Fish: Season with salt and pepper. Place in hot frying pan with 1-2 tbsp of oil and hot on medium heat approximately 3 minutes on each side, or until fish is cooked through and flaky.

Assemble Taco: Place fish chunks in taco shell. Add your preference of cheese, cabbage, cilantro, squeezed lime, and ranch dressing on top of the fish (in that order) and ENJOY!


Dinner Suggestion: Serve with Mexican Rice and Black Beans...mmmmmm!

To Shark Week, I know your intention is to promote education and not fear, but it was a little disturbing to find out that the Great White Sharks in the Atlantic Ocean "summer" off the coast of Georgia. Eek! It was even more disturbing to find out that they have begun traveling into the Gulf of Mexico to feed on giant squid. I have always been afraid of dark water (I know, it's a phobia really... I don't even like the 2 feet deep water on the It's a Small World ride), but this makes me afraid of even the shallow/mostly clear/unexciting waves off the coast of St. George Island. Not sure if I will even again go deep sea fishing...
To Little T, Bless you! Thank you sweet baby for almost 8 hours of sweet, uninterrupted sleep, especially after the last few nights of waking up 5+ times per night. Can we keep this up?? Your mama feels like a whole new person.
To Long Dog, Are hiccups contagious? I swear that you get them from Little T and vice versa. It makes me wonder when they will get all three of us at one time...
To the Rescue Doctor Bee, Only one more day of Trauma Surgery before nine glorious days off. You can do it!! I know that it has been full of long hours, horrific cases, distraught loved ones, and stories that I always first hear about on the news, but I can say "job well done". I'm proud of you! You earned a new pair of Gel Scrubs. They will be delivered tomorrow. :)

To the Splash-Monster!!!, You have begun to thoroughly enjoy bath time and I love that it makes you so happy (and love a little less how wet I end up before it is all over). :) You can tell by the picture how much splashing is done by such a little man! I take such delight in the fact that you love to entertain me
To the Cancelled Picnic, Sad day that we won't be able to spend this Saturday afternoon at the lake with some of the most amazing people because of the nasty weather! I was really looking forward to it! Handsome Hubby and I now have a dozen chocolate cupcakes with chocolate mousse centers with mocha buttercream icing to eat all on our lonesome. To Trauma Surgery, you are getting a special snack for breakfast tomorrow! To Weathergirl, I'm told it will actually have stopped raining here by the time the picnic should have started. Here's to needing a "weathergirl" on staff at the church! I'm all for you moving out here. Maybe they are needing a weather professor at the James Brown Downtown College of Good Knowledge (which really is the best name choice anyway...)?? To the "Rain Tax", Really a Rain Tax?? Surely the citizens of this fine city should not be penalized for the weather. Especially when it was not our poor planning that has caused all of this poor drainage in the first place. I'll get off my political soap box now...
To the Ants that Invaded the Laundry Room, Poor Long Dog had to eat a non-dog food breakfast (He's not complaining) yesterday morning when I came downstairs to find a whole anthill worth of your guys crawling on his dog food container (note to self: it isn't actually an airtight container as it was advertised to be). It took nearly 2 hours, a half bottle of Windex, a roll of paper towels, a pair of purple dishwashing gloves, 3 Ziploc containers, a large amount of freezer space, and several interesting stares from Little T to reclaim Long Dog's food. But, eventually, SUCCESS!
To Handsome Hubby, At last...almost a whole weekend with you! I can't believe you just have to round today and tomorrow and we get the rest of the day with you. I think you are going to be very surprised by the big boy our little man has become! Here's to some major family bonding time! :)

Food Friday!: French Toast

Food Friday!: French Toast

"Brinner" is one of our favorite dinners at our house. Handsome Hubby loves it, especially my French toast...well, my Mama's French toast! The secret?!...the main ingredient: Challah bread. This traditional Jewish braided egg-bread can be found at your grocery store bakery and makes this breakfast (or "brinner") meal flavorful, rich, and fluffy, not to mention melt-in-your-mouth! It will keep you from every making French toast with any other kind of bread. :)

Ingredients

1 loaf of Challah bread, sliced in approximately 1 inch pieces
6 eggs (you can use 3 whole eggs, and 3 egg whites if preferred)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup Bisquick (or baking mix)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, beat ingredients together. Dip each side of the thick slices of bread into the mixture (mixture may need to be stirred occasionally since some of the ingredients may sink to the bottom of the bowl) and place in pan or on griddle over medium heat. Cook both sides, flipping only once, until golden brown. Serving suggestions: with fruit salad and maple syrup! MMmmmm!

To Long Dog, Who knew you love the handsome dog in the mirror as much as Little T likes the beautiful baby in the mirror? I set up a mirror angled on the floor this morning so Little T could see the ceiling fan while doing tummy time (in hopes that he might enjoy it more if he sees his favorite friend!), but you completely blocked his view as you gazed at yourself. You're so funny! I love my boys! P.S. I noticed you left the black beans in your bowl when I put some leftovers on your dinner. :) It took me awhile to learn to like them too.
To Little T,  Happy 11 weeks (plus 2 days)!! The ceiling fan may be your first love, but your airplane mobile must be your second, not counting Mama of course! I love hearing your laugh and coo, even if it is at the mobile in the middle of the night. :)
To the Employee at the Grocery Store, You may have thought I was completely crazy to do self-checkout of a major shopping trip with a baby in a Baby Bjorn strapped to my front, but I'm particular about how I bag my groceries... It was above and beyond your call of duty to unload my groceries, scan them, hand them to me so I could pack them in my reusable bags, and then load them all back in my cart. I commend you for your kindness, I was touched by your thoughtfulness, and I just wanted to let you know that you made my day.
To my Dr. Bee, You got home at 4:30pm today! Why?! Because it was your "turn". Ha! I loved having you home early, but I feel as though they must have given every one else at the hospital a turn first before allowing you yours. ;) Here's to more "turns" in the near future! It's amazing what you can get done when you get home so early...you took out the trash, took a nap, played with Little T, got a hair cut, and managed a grocery store run for the two items on my list that I forgot to get. I'm impressed!!

Food Friday!: Shrimp Scampi...two ways

Food Friday!: Shrimp Scampi

Happy Food Friday to you all! In an effort to not miss another Food Friday post, I thought I would at least quickly give you two links to one of Handsome Hubby and my favorite meals. Unfortunately I don't have a picture at the moment (although I did take one of this meal several months ago while still pregnant with Little T and despite the absolute deliciousness of the meal, I thought the picture looked incredibly unappetizing...), so I will rely on the food photographers of Southern Living and Cooking Light to convince you to make this dinner for yourself. :)

The Southern Living's recipe is one I found in one of their magazines several years ago and I make it often...It's my go-to shrimp meal when shrimp is on sale. I pretty much follow the recipe exactly, although I will often use Dreamfields' spaghetti noodles (low carb, high fiber pasta that has a happy side effect of lower sodium) to make the dish move a slight step in the "healthier" direction. I honestly don't think the pasta tastes any differently than normal pasta.

I made the Cooking Light recipe for the first time this week and was pleasantly surprised by how well I liked the meal with orzo instead of spaghetti noodles. Despite the fact that it uses nearly as much butter as Southern Living's recipe, let's be honest, I feel healthier eating it because it is a Cooking Light recipe. :)

Both recipes as absolutely wonderful ("Just fabulous!" as a certain relative would say...) and easy, quick recipes to prepare. Enjoy!