#1,182: Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken (with Olives)

It is obvious from looking at the photo above that there is an ingredient missing from the title of this recipe.  No there were not olives in the chicken I cooked.  That would have really been pushing it to get my family to eat, and I wasn't even sure they were going to eat this anyway.  I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to eat it either.  After getting the flu several years ago, I have a really hard time eating chicken in a tomato-based sauce (TMI...sorry!!).  So I omitted the olives.  And chopped up the chicken pretty fine and served it next to the spaghetti for the kids. 

They loved the spaghetti and the sauce.  They liked the chicken...but not with the spaghetti.  One of my kids asked to eat it again tomorrow....but just the spaghetti part.  :/  Brian ate his chicken chopped up and on a ciabatta roll, so his was more of a Parmesan chicken sandwich.  He's eating it again for lunch tomorrow so it must have been okay! 

Would I make this again for my family, probably not.  It was good, but we didn't love it enough to add to our menu rotation.  But it sure was easy and would be a great meal to serve to company because it looked like you spent a lot of time on it. 

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)

1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)

1 onion thinly sliced

4- 6 garlic cloves, whole

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 T olive oil

12 pitted kalamata olives

palmful Italian herb mix (thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano)

ground black pepper and salt to taste

 

Pour the olive oil into the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Top each breast with sliced onion, garlic cloves and Italian herbs. Pour in vinegar, tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Cook on high about 4 hours.  (I put my chicken in frozen and cooked this for about 8 hours on low)

 

Remove chicken breasts, slice on the bias, and place back in the tomato/vinegar sauce. Add olives and let them warm through for about ten minutes. Serve over whole wheat spaghetti, polenta or your carb of choice. Sprinkle with grated parmesan or a little crumbled light feta.

According to the original website: The chicken/sauce (not the spaghetti/carb) 6 Weight Watchers Plus Points

#1,181: Corn Crisps

Mmmm...don't these little cornbread type things look good?!  They are.  But I can't decide if I should make them for the kids' upcoming birthday party or not since I'm also making two different types of cornbread.  I don't know if it's worth the effort/difference to make these as well.  My kids did not like these.  I, however, did enjoy it a lot.  I enjoyed them cold (but I like my food cold!) and reheated in the toaster oven. 
 
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I used a few dashes of hot sauce instead)
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 cups can or frozen corn, thawed if frozen
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
Canola or vegetable oil

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, cumin, sugar, and cayenne.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until they are just blended. Fold in the corn and scallions. 

Pour oil in large nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering.  For each crisp, drop a slightly rounded tablespoon of batter into the oil. Fry them in batches over medium-high heat until they are golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. (I did not use a lot of oil and flipped my corn crisps instead of submerging in a oil bath!) 

Transfer the crisps to a paper towel-lined sheet pan, sprinkling them immediately with a bit of salt. Repeat with the remaining batter.

#1,180: Nutella Waffle Sandwich Cookies

I was really hoping this recipe would be more like a sandwich and less like a cookie.  It's not.  It's really a cookie.  That didn't stop me from serving it to my kids for lunch though!  If you look at the original recipe, she makes these nice and browned and crispy.  I preferred to eat this less cooked and much softer.  I think I enjoyed these the most, but I have a huge sweet tooth and will eat/enjoy just about any kind of snack/cookie.  The kids really liked these the first day, but were not as big of fans with the leftovers the next day.  I don't know if I'd go through the trouble of making these again since my kids would prefer Nutella sandwiches, but for a different way of eating Nutella, these were good.  They were a little bland, but still enjoyable. ...at least to me!

1 cup heavy cream
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups powdered sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Nutella
 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with the vanilla extract on medium-high speed until mousse-like, about 5 minutes.

Sift together the powdered sugar, flour, cinnamon and cornstarch in a separate bowl then gently fold the dry mixture into the wet until it is fully incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Heat the panini press to medium-high heat (or 375°F).  Place a heaping tablespoon of batter in the center of the panini press, close the lid and cook the waffle for about 90 seconds. Quickly remove the waffle from the press and use a circular 2-inch cookie cutter to cut out rounds. Set the waffle cone cookies aside to cool.

Once the waffle cone cookies have cooled, spread one side of a cookie with Nutella and top with a second waffle cone cookie to form sandwiches.
 

#1,179: Honey Butter

This is so simple, I can barely call it a "recipe."  Also, you will notice that there is no photo posted with it, but that's because I'm too lazy to go get it from the fridge and take one.  Besides, it's butter.  I think we can all imagine what this one looks like.  :)  I made this to serve with cornbread I'm making next weekend for a birthday party (you know what that means....more recipes will be coming soon!).  I figured I could make this now, so that it's one less thing I have to worry about later in the week.  I had to put it outside in our garage fridge so I stopped eating it.  It's good.  I love honey though and I love butter, so what's not to like?!  

2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 c honey

In a blender, combine the butter and the honey.  Pulse until mixed together and smooth.  Place in a container (I used a small Bell jar) and refrigerate until ready to use.  Deliciousness!! 

The recipe says to serve at room temperature, but I thought it was good cold from the fridge too.  It just doesn't spread as well. 

#1,178: Banana Nutella Breakfast Bars

As I threw together different ingredients for this recipe, I was trying to make healthy cookies.  But I'm too lazy to make cookies, so I threw it all on a cookie sheet and made it into bars instead.  To me these are more like a breakfast cookie than actual cookie or bar.  Allison wasn't a big fan, but Chloe, Matthew and I were!  I threw so much together and didn't measure it out, so hopefully if you make this, it will come out pretty close to what I made.  All measurements below are approximations...add whatever you like and feel it needs!  LOL!!  Some chopped walnuts or cashews and/or raisins would be good in this too! 

PS...my bananas were defrosted from the freezer, so they were sitting in quite a bit of liquid. You might need to add some water or milk if this is too dry. 

1 1/2 - 2 cups plain oatmeal
1/3 c Nutella
2-3 bananas, mashed
2 tbsp honey
1/3 c chocolate chips
Combine the oatmeal, Nutella, bananas and honey in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Fold in chocolate chips.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the oatmeal mixture on top.  Mine did not fill the cookie sheet, it covered about half of it, and was probably about 1/4 inch thick. 

Bake 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  I took mine out when I touched the mixture and it was dry and not very sticky.  Let cool completely then cut into squares.  I stored mine in an airtight container in the fridge. 

#1,177: Almond Cilantro Chicken Salad

Most of the recipe I post are not my own.  I don't try to take credit for them, I try new recipes I find, then rate and review them based on my families personal tastes.  Just because we don't like a recipe doesn't mean it isn't good...it just isn't right for our family or our likes/preferences. 

Rarely do I post recipe that I "create" mainly b/c I don't measure things out and just end up whipping things together at the last minute...and most I assume no one else will find as enjoyable as I do.  (Case in point: one of my favorite "homemade" recipes years ago was brown rice mixed with spaghetti sauce, bacon bits and thawed peas....still makes me smile to think of it even though I haven't eaten it in years!  Does anyone else think that sounds good?!)

Anyhow, I planned on making some avocado chicken salad, but my avocados were bad.  So I had to improvise and this is what I came up with.  I'm calling it Almond Cilantro Chicken Salad, although I don't think that sounds as appealing as it was/is.  Since I also don't measure anything out, it's really a best estimate, so feel free to adapt/change to your personal tastes. 

12.5 oz canned chicken, drained
1/4-1/3 c light mayo
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/8 c slivered almonds
salt and pepper, to taste.

I mixed all of the ingredients together and ate it on a freshly baked ciabatta roll...but I was also enjoying it straight out of the bowl too.  It was delicious!  Next time I'll probably add some celery.

Hopefully someone out there will enjoy my "creation"....as weird as it may be!  :)

#1,176: Lazy Man's Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

The name of this recipe alone made me want to make these BBQ sandwiches!  This recipe made A LOT for my family of five, and I had hoped to halve the pork before cooking it, but I ended up buying bone IN instead of boneless.  That's okay, I figured I'd have some (a lot??) leftover to freeze for another meal.  Actually, not only did we eat this twice for dinner, I froze the rest to use as filling for pork tamales next weekend. 

I have to admit, I was a little bit shocked that my family enjoyed this meal.  I figured Brian would, but wasn't sure about the rest of us.  The two littlest ones were not super big fans but they are typically my non-meat lovers.  Allison on the hand, loved this and raved about it for days.  She even asked me to put it in her cookbook that I'm making for her of her favorite recipes so she can take it with her when she's an adult.  :)

4-5 pounds boneless blade pork roast
1 14 1/2-oz can beef broth
1/3 cup hot pepper sauce (I used a few dashes)
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
10-12 sandwich buns

Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup prepared mustard
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce

Place pork roast in bottom of large slow cooker. Combine broth, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and pour over pork. Cover and cook on high setting for 5 hours (or 8 -10 hours on low setting) until pork is very tender.

Meanwhile, for sauce, combine all ingredients in large saucepan; set aside. Place pork on cutting board; reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Coarsely chop pork; combine with reserved cooking liquid and sauce in saucepan; heat over medium heat until warm. Spoon pork onto sandwich buns to serve. Serves 10-12.

#1,175: Sweet Potato Hashbrowns

I had two sweet potatoes waiting patiently in my pantry to be used up, so I figured this would be the perfect recipe to use them in.  Although these were good potatoes, they weren't my favorite way to eat them.  Obviously from the limited number of ingredients listed below, these were missing flavor.  I added some rosemary which made them better, but I've had better recipes/sweet potatoes.  Good, but not fantastic! 

2 medium sized sweet potatoes chopped into small cubes
3 tablespoons coconut oil
sea salt

Boil a medium pot of water.  Chop 2 sweet potatoes into small cubes.  Toss the sweet potatoes into boiling water for 5 minutes until slightly softened.  Drain the sweet potatoes and dry well.

Scoop coconut oil into large skillet and allow to heat up. Turn the heat to medium.  Toss in the sweet potatoes cubes and allow to cook thoroughly (6-7 minutes or so) and then flip. Continue this process until they are nice and brown. Sprinkle with sea salt as you go along. Your hash brown will be the crispiest if you let them cook well on each side before stirring.

#1,174: Raspberry Coconut Smoothie

We were are all battling some form of the flu here so no one was really wanting to eat a really heavy meal.  So I decided to make this recipe to give everyone some much needed healthy nutrients...and it was easy.  AND I had everything on hand!

Sad to say though, this got a big thumbs down from my kids.  I thought it was ok, nothing special, but the kids all rejected it, even my smoothie loving Matthew!  As far as smoothies go, this is not one we will be making again.  I'm just sad I wasted the coconut milk.

·        1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk

1/2 cup frozen raspberries (no sugar added) or 3/4 cup fresh raspberries.2 tablespoons water (optional)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

#1,173: Spicy Barbecue Pulled Chicken

This recipe did not say it was spicy...but it was SO hot for my family (and I omitted the chipotle chili and used about 1/2 can of diced green chilies), that not only did I have to serve this to the kids in a quesadilla with a ton or rice and cheese, but one of my co-workers wouldn't eat it the next day because it was so hot.  Brian said the leftovers got even hotter.  Oh my. 

Now that we're past the "it's spicy" part of the review, the first night, this was really good.  I ate my chicken on top of some shredded brussel sprouts like a chicken taco salad.  Matthew (my almost 2 year old) cried after a few bites so I knew it must be hot for him, but it didn't stop him from eating it!  I think I'll cut back on the diced green chilies for my family next time. 

1 8-ounce can reduced-sodium tomato sauce

1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon sweet or smoked paprika

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile

½ teaspoon salt

2½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

 

Stir tomato sauce, chiles, vinegar, honey, paprika, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ground chipotle and salt in a 6-quart slow cooker until smooth. Add chicken, onion and garlic; stir to combine. Put the lid on and cook on low until the chicken can be pulled apart, about 5 hours. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with a fork. Return the chicken to the sauce, stir well and serve.

#1,172: Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

See those teeny-tiny dot on top of the "dumpling"/noodles in the photo on the bottom? That's the chicken.  Can you tell I don't like eating big chunks of chicken in my soup?!  I knew if I didn't make it super small my kids (and I) probably wouldn't eat it.  So I chopped it up super fine and snuck it in there.  Guess who loved this meal.....we ALL did.  Ok not my husband, but he wasn't home for dinner that night, so I'm back to saying we ALL did.  The girls GUSHED over how wonderful it way.  It could be because they helped me make the dumplings...which are basically noodles.  These are not dumplings in my opinion.  Doesn't matter though, they are still very, very good.  I didn't think this had enough flavor in the broth so I added some rosemary, a bay leaf and some parsley.  I will definitely make this again!


2 cups Flour
½ teaspoons Baking Powder 
1 pinch Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Milk, A Bit Less Than A Full Cup
2 quarts Chicken Broth
3 cups Cooked Chicken

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball.
Heavily flour a work surface. 

Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter (I used a pizza cutter) in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact.  Use a floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate.  I put my dumplings between layers of wax paper.

To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. I also added about 1 tbsp. parsley, 2 sprigs of rosemary, and 1 bay leaf. 

Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and you’re done! 

#1,171: Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions

I really, really enjoyed these sweet potatoes.  This would make a great main dish if you add some cooked ground pork sausage or diced chicken sausage too!  The rosemary is really evident in this recipe, which I like.  But if you aren't a fan of rosemary, I would substitute it with something else, like thyme?

4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large sweet onion, chopped into similarly sized pieces as potatoes
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine potatoes and onion in a bowl. Add olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle rosemary, salt and pepper on potato mixture and stir to combine. Pour potato mixture on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping potatoes and onions halfway through. Depending on the size of your potato and onion pieces, they may cook faster or slower. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Remove from oven and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

#1,170: Nutty Butternut Squash Mash

I really, really wanted to like this recipe, and I think I would have, if I would have eaten it as a side dish instead of a main meal (breakfast).  This is good, and I liked it, but I didn't love it.  I ate it one day for breakfast and then I kept choosing other things to eat for breakfast the rest of the week until I eventually ended up throwing it out.  :(  It was just ok and I've had better.  It is very ginger-y, which I didn't mind, but if you don't like ginger, either omit this or you won't enjoy it.  Would I make this again, probably not. 



1 butternut squash
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon (or cinnamon of choice)
1 tablespoon raw honey
1.5 tablespoon organic butter, melted
1/4 cup crushed pecans (I used sliced almonds)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice butternut squash lengthwise and remove seeds. Place flesh down in a lightly greased baking pan. Cook for 60 minutes.  Cool until easy to handle.

In a mixing bowl, scoop out the flesh of the butternut squash and discard the skins.  Add ginger, cinnamon, honey and butter.  Blend until smooth. Fold in nuts and serve.

#1,169: Crock Pot Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Not only is this recipe SUPER easy, it is so good.  I have been enjoying eating this all week for lunch.  I might even make it again next week too.  I love that I don't have to cook the ground beef first.  So simple.  The recipe says it makes 4, but I easily got 6 stuffed peppers out of this.  By the way, the enchilada sauce definitely gives this a kick.  So good. 

4 bell peppers
1 pound of 85 percent lean ground beef
1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
1 cup of canned enchilada sauce
1 1/4 cup of shredded jack cheese
3/4 cup of cooked rice
salt and pepper
sour cream and diced green onion for toppings

Finely dice a 1/2 of a yellow onion. Pour a cup of prepared enchilada sauce into a heat proof measuring cup and add diced onion. Heat the onion/enchilada sauce mixture in the microwave for about 5 minutes to soften onions.

Cut the tops off of four bell peppers. Remove stems and seeds and dice the tops of the bell peppers.

Pour 1/3 of a cup of water into the bottom of the crock pot and nestle bell peppers in.

In a large mixing bowl, combine one pound of uncooked ground beef, onion/enchilada sauce mixture, diced bell peppers, 1 cup of shredded jack cheese, 3/4 cup of cooked rice, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.  Fill bell peppers with ground beef mixture and top with more cheese.

Cook on low for about 6 hours. You can test mixture with meat thermometer for doneness. It should be cooked to 160 degrees.

#1,168: Chopped Brussels Sprouts Salad with Creamy Shallot Dressing

I can't believe it's taken me so long to post this recipe.  I've made it so many times I was sure I already posted it.  I'm not joking when I say I've eaten it almost every day for lunch or dinner for three weeks.  I LOVE this salad.  SO good and so healthy!! 
 
Although I'm a huge fan of romaine lettuce and spinach, shredded brussel sprouts is becoming my "lettuce" of choice because I can shred the whole bag and then it stays fresh and crisp in a big bowl in the fridge for the week.  I just chop off the ends, pull off the outer leaves, wash, and then throw the whole thing into my food processor with the shred attachment.  So simple. 

Serves 6:
30-40 brussels sprouts (makes about 4 cups shredded)

6 slices bacon (not enough....try at least 1 lb!)

1 cup pomegranate arils

⅓ cup almonds, sliced or slivered

½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

 

For the dressing

1 shallot, chopped

juice of one orange

juice of one lemon

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons Greek yogurt (I used about 1/2 cup...I like my dressing creamy!)

⅓ cup oil

up to 2 tablespoons water

I also added a tbsp. of tahini and some minced garlic

Fry the bacon over low heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels; crumble and set aside.  Shred or slice the brussels sprouts.

 

Toss the brussels sprouts, bacon crumbles, pomegranate arils, almonds, and cheese together.

 

Place all the dressing ingredients in a food processor and pulse until creamy. Add the water as needed for consistency. Toss the salad with the dressing and serve immediately.

#1,167: Crispy Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Lime and Cilantro

This may not be the best sweet potato recipe I've ever had, but it sure was darn good!  I loved these sweet potatoes and have made them several times now.  I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand.  This makes a great side dish or main meal (especially for breakfast or lunch!).  Super easy, really yummy!  The recipe below serves 8...I say it serves 4!

4 sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds), cut into thin wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lime zest, plus 2 tablespoons lime juice
kosher salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

 

Heat oven to 425° F. Toss the potatoes, oil, lime zest, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Roast, tossing once, until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Drizzle with the lime juice and sprinkle with the cilantro. Serve warm.