Imitation by Design

Sunrise Smoothie (aka Strawberry Orange Julius)

2015-01-25T12:16:00.000-08:00

My kids love smoothies so I'm always looking for something new, healthy and kid friendly. We love the balance of OJ, strawberry and creamy, vanilly goodness that is in this Sunrise smoothie.

I was inspired by this delicious Skinny Strawberry Orange Julius from Classy Clutter. We just adjusted it for our taste. If it's just for the kids, I will swap out the water for more milk because neither of them drinks enough milk.

On a side note, I have issues with drinking waaaay to much smoothie because they are soooo good. To work on my portion control, I've started serving up my smoothies in my kid's Take N Toss cups with the straws. It may sound cheesy, but they hold the perfect amount for a snack sized smoothie or for when you want to have a smoothie WITH breakfast and not INSTEAD of breakfast. This recipe makes enough for three of those cups or 2 regular sized smoothies.

Simple Sunrise Smoothie
(aka Strawberry Orange Julius)

In blender layer:
6 ice cubes
(mine are moon shaped for reference)
1/2 c. frozen strawberries (heaping)
2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. water
3 Tbsp. frozen OJ concentrate
1 tsp. vanilla
Stevia to taste (I started with about 2 Tbsp and added another after tasting.)

Blend until smooth and frothy. Add additional sweetener if needed. Serves 2.

5 Minute Cinnamon Scones

2014-09-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

I love scones, but they take more time and effort than I currently have to give. I found this cinnamon biscuit recipe from Mama Buzz and had to give it a try. I decided to change it up a bit by adding cinnamon chips and shaping them like scones. No, they're not exactly like a scone, but they definitely satisfy your scone cravings.

One important note is that you really need to chop up the cinnamon chips or they will sink to the bottom and burn.

You could also use mini chocolate chips, nuts, etc... I am hoping to come up with a pumpkin spice version soon.

Picture coming soon...

5 Minute Cinnamon Scones
Ingredients
Biscuits:
1 Bisquick Buttermilk Biscuit Mix
1/2 cup water
3-4 tsp cinnamon/sugar mixture
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. cinnamon chips, chopped

Frosting:
1-2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
Milk

Directions:
Mix biscuit mix, water, vanilla, cinnamon chips and cinnamon sugar mixture. Dump mixture out onto lightly floured surface. Pat into an 8-9 inch circle. Cut into 6 wedges and place on baking sheet. Bake according to package directions. Remove from oven and drizzle with frosting while warm. Add more drizzle once they are slightly cooled.

Steakhouse Slow Cooker Roast

2014-09-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

This was super yummy, easy and would make a great freezer crock pot meal. To make a freezer crock pot meal, place all ingredients (uncooked) into a freezer bag. To cook, thaw overnight and place in crock pot the next morning. You may need to add to cooking time if it is still partially frozen.

Picture coming some time in the future....

Steakhouse Slow Cooker Roast
Ingredients
3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 2 inch chunks

2 sweet onions, sliced or chopped
1 c beef broth
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2 Tbps balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp Montreal Steak seasoning

Directions:
Place roast in slow cooker that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. Top with onions. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over roast. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours. If sauce is too thin at the end of the cooking time, it can be thickened with a little cornstarch. Serve over buttered egg noodles.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert {4 WW Pts. +}

2014-04-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert (also known as Strawberry Pretzel Salad) is a light and refreshing spring/summer dessert that's been around forever, but never gets old. In order to reduce the calories, fat and sugar content of this recipe, I made some substitutions and loved the result!

Double this for a 9x13 pan and a surefire potluck hit. For a festive Memorial Day or Forth of July dessert, add at handful of blueberries in with the strawberries.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert
Ingredients:
3/4 cups crushed pretzels
2 Tbsp. Splenda
1/3 c. light butter, melted
1/2 cup Splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese
1 1/2 c. Cool Whip, thawed
1 small pkg. sugar-free strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
2-3 ice cubes
8 oz. strawberries, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the pretzels, 2 tablespoons Splenda and melted butter. Press into the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, beat the 1/2 cup Splenda, vanilla and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. (Make sure you seal the edges of the pan with the cream mixture so the gelatin layer doesn't leak through). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Add ice cubes to help it cool faster. Mix in strawberries. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.

4 WW Points + for 1/16th of recipe.

Sweet Garlic and Herb Pork Tenderloin

2014-04-14T19:17:00.001-07:00

Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite cuts of meat. When cooked properly, it's tender and juicy and melts in your mouth which is not a characteristic you normally find in such a lean cut of meat. It's also one of those things that I don't think to make.

That's why I was excited to find this recipe from Lick the Bowl Good. This Sweet Garlic Herb Pork Tenderloin recipe takes your basic tenderloin and kicks it up a notch to a company worthy dish. Monica has awesome step by step instructions on her blog and an amazing selection of dessert recipes so go check her out.

Normally, I like to mix things up a bit, but the only thing I did differently was to marinate the pork in the fridge for a bit to enhance the flavor. I used herbs de Provence because I had some on hand that I have been anxious to try out. You could also use rosemary or thyme.

This recipe serves 6-8 depending on your family. We have 2 adults and 2 small children so we had enough for dinner and shredded the rest to make pork bbq sandwiches later.

The entire family enjoyed this recipe and went back for seconds so I'll be adding this to the regular rotation.

Sweet Garlic & Herb Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, about 2 lbs. total
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced into thin pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp. honey
2 T. fresh orange juice (or grapefruit juice)
1 1/2 tsp dried herbs de Provence (thyme or rosemary)
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 T. olive oil

Directions:

In a gallon zipper bag combine, soy sauce, mustard, honey OJ, herbs, pepper and olive oil. Seal bag and shake to combine.
Remove tenderloins from package, rinse and pat dry. Cut 1 inch slits into front and back of tenderloins. Place garlic pieces in the slits. Add tenderloins to bag. Remove air from bag and seal. Marinate 2-4 hours.
Empty tenderloins AND marinade into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350° or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part reads 160-165°. Baste at least once while cooking. If juices start to dry up, add some hot chicken broth, a little at a time. Remove from oven, cover with foil and allow to tenderloins to rest 10 minutes before slicing.
When serving, slice into 3/4 - 1 inch slices and spoon juice over the top.

This would be delicious on a bed of rice!
WW- 8 servings @ 5 Points + each (I entered all ingredients into WW recipe builder.)

Printable Recipe

Creamy Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup

2014-03-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while a recipe comes along that is so good that you sit around counting the days until you get to make it again. This creamy slow cooker tortellini soup is one of those recipes. I made it while the hubs was out of town and I'm not going to lie... I ate the entire crockpot full myself. It took a few days, but I savored every bowlful! It was like lasagna in soup form.

Honestly, I was really surprised by how much I loved the mushrooms in this because I'm not a huge mushroom fan. I like them, but I don't love them if that makes sense. In this soup they were amazing and added some rusticness... I totally made that up, but they were good. Really good.

I altered the original recipe that I'd found on Heather Likes Food slightly to make it a little easier to prepare. I like a lot of spinach so I use the entire bag. If you're not a fan, add half or skip it all together. There are a lot of ways you can change this up based on what's in your pantry and what mood you're in.

Give this a try and let me know what you think!

Creamy Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup
Recipe
24 oz. jar spaghetti with meat sauce or regular sauce mixed with 1/2 lb browned Italian sausage or beef
2-3 oz. pepperoni, diced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms (fresh)
4 c. beef broth
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1 (4.5 oz.) bag spinach leaves, chopped
16 oz. frozen cheese tortellini

Directions:

In a slow cooker combine sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms, beef broth and cream cheese. Cook 2 hours on high or until mushrooms are done. Stir well to mix up cream cheese.
Add spinach leaves and tortellini. Cook 30 more minutes on high.
Serve with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.

Adapted from: Heather Likes Food

Skinny Monterrey Chicken

2014-03-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

Monterrey Chicken is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken. Seriously, bacon, cheese onions, what's not to love?

This version is what I came up with to get my fix while sticking with the Weight Watchers plan. You still get all of the flavors of the regular dish without the guilt. Sauteed mushrooms and fresh tomatoes are super yummy in this dish, but the hubs isn't a fan. Some day I will convert him...

I also LOVE this grilled, but this oven version is just as quick. Cooking this at 450 degrees keeps the chicken really moist while crisping the outside slightly.

We served this up with a green salad with strawberries, blue berries, red onion, pecans, low fat feta cheese and a strawberry vinaigrette. The combination was very filling!

Skinny Monterrey Chicken - 6 Points +
Ingredients
4-5 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (1 1/2 lbs.)
seasoning: salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, & onion powder
1/3 c. barbecue sauce (I used Kraft.)
2 slices precooked bacon, reheated and crumbled
1/3 - 1/2 c. fat free cheddar cheese, shredded
2 green onions, diced
(optional add-ons- tomatoes, mushrooms)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450°. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with olive oil/ cooking spray.
If desired, lightly pound chicken so that it is more uniform in thickness. Spray with olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle seasoning over each side of chicken. (I use a lot of paprika.)
Place on baking sheet and bake 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and turn chicken over.
Bake 5 more minutes.
Spoon equal amounts of barbecue sauce over each piece chicken. Sprinkle with bacon and onions, topping all of it with cheese.
Return to oven and bake 5 more minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Quick and Easy Brunch Recipes to Make This Weekend!

2014-02-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

I seriously love a good breakfast casserole, but I don't love spending Saturday morning in the kitchen frying meat and chopping veggies. I want something that can be assembled by the time the coffee is made because not much else happens around here until momma gets her coffee.

These recipes are my favorite tried and true recipes that can be made with precooked meats, mixes and canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls.

This Sweet Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Casserole has over 22,000 pins and is one of my go to breakfast recipes. I lightened it up a bit with egg substitute.

Because it was so popular, I came up with a Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Casserole which uses pumpkin butter and pumpkin spice coffee creamer. I actually prefer it to the original.

Another sweet breakfast favorite is Monkey Bread. This version is simple and quick, using canned biscuits.

This Bacon, Egg and Cheese Casserole goes together in a flash and tastes a lot like your favorite breakfast sandwich!

If you like a good, hearty breakfast, you'll love the Farmer's Breakfast Casserole with hash browns, sausage, bacon, cheese and eggs. Everything is premade so you just have to assemble it.

If you're trying to cut back on calories, these Sausage and Egg Muffins are perfect. They're full of flavor and can be made ahead.

Now that I've shared some of my favorites, I'd love to hear about yours! Leave a comment below to share a recipe or link!

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

2014-02-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for something quick, healthy and super satisfying, you're in the right spot. Even my 3 year old loved this Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken so much that he had seconds and asked for it again for lunch the next day. That never happens... unless we have hotdogs. :/

When it comes to crock pot recipes, I'm pretty picky as I've mentioned before. It can't be bland or mushy or goopy or any of those fun ways crock pot recipes often turn out. This Santa Fe Chicken was none of those things. Instead it had a bright, fresh flavor, rich (but healthy) sauce and tender chicken.

The key to the proper texture is to not overcook the recipe, 5-6 hours is plenty of time.

What gives it that memorable "Santa Fe" flavor is the combination of the ranch dressing mix and chili powder and the last minute addition of fresh cilantro. I used Mexicorn when I made this, but I'm thinking that shoepeg corn would be sweet change.

I served this over Cilantro Lime Rice, but plain brown rice would work just fine.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken
Ingredients
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, frozen
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can corn
1 can tomatoes with chilies
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 (8 oz.) pkg. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
handful of cilantro, chopped

Directions

Place chicken, onion, garlic, corn, tomatoes with chilies and black beans in crockpot. Sprinkle dressing mix, chili powder and cumin over the the chicken and veggies. Place cream cheese on the very top.
Cook 5-6 hours on low.
Shred chicken and stir in cream cheese and cilantro.
Serve over Cilantro Lime Rice.

Adapted from: Rita's Recipes

Farmer's Breakfast Casserole

2014-02-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for a breakfast casserole whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. My most popular post, Sweet Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Casserole is testament to that.

Since bub #2 was born, one of my favorite things to do is to make a breakfast casserole for dinner or for a weekend brunch so I can have the leftovers the rest of the week. It makes for a quick and delicious breakfast.

The original recipe that I found at Food.com had nearly 3 pounds of meat and cheese in it which seemed a bit over the top for me. I cut it way back and used precooked meats because I don't always have a lot of time to prep meals. Egg substitute cut out a few more calories. I think it works better in casseroles anyway because it's easier to mix up and bakes well.

The end result was delicious and filling with a calorie count that I could live with.

If you like this recipe, give my Bacon, Egg and Cheese Casserole a try!

Ingredients
3 c. shredded hash browns (like Simply Potatoes)
9.6 oz. pkg. Jimmy Dean fully cooked Turkey Sausage Crumbles (or 12 oz. cooked and crumbled sausage)
1 pkg. precooked bacon slices (12-15 slices), diced
2 c. (8 oz.) cheddar/jack cheese blend
2 1/4 c. egg beaters or 12 eggs
2 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. season salt or Lawry's
3/4 tsp. pepper

Directions

Spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Layer the following in the pan: hash browns, sausage, bacon and cheese.
Mix a medium bowl, whisk together egg substitute, milk, season salt and pepper. Pour mixture into baking dish, tilting dish gently from side to side to evenly distribute eggs.
Refrigerate overnight.
Bake 50-55 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cranberry Chicken

2013-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Cranberry Chicken is one of those recipes that has been around forever. If you think back hard enough, you've probably had it or something very similar served to you in the past.

It seems like a strange mixture of ingredients, cranberry sauce, Catalina dressing and Lipton Onion Soup. I mean, really? I can't help thinking someone discovered it by accident when they poured the wrong bottle into their bowl and decided not to let it go to waste. However it came about, it's a zesty combination of sweet and sour that when paired with rice, makes my family super happy.

Cranberry Chicken is also great for throwing together and freezing ahead of time. You can even make the rice ahead of time and freeze it.

Learning that rice could be frozen changed my world. Seriously. I can throw this in the oven, reheat some rice in the microwave and toss a bag of salad with dressing and extra veggies and I'm done.

Dinner just took 5 minutes to assemble.

I now have time to make playdo critters with my kiddo, check my email and empty the dishwasher.

Life is good.

Ingredients
4-6 chicken breasts
1 small bottle Catalina dressing
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix (I used Lipton Onion Soup Mix)

Directions

Preheat oven to and line a 9x13 pan with nonstick foil or spray it with cooking spray.
Pound chicken breasts until even in size. (This step is optional, but they will cook more evenly and soak up more sauce.) Place chicken in dish.
Whisk together dressing, cranberry sauce and onion soup mix. Pour over chicken.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Serve over rice.

Freezer Directions:

Pound chicken breasts until even in size. (This step is optional, but they will cook more evenly and soak up more sauce.)
Place chicken in freezer bags. (This makes 2 meals for us so I divide it between to smaller freezer bags.)
Whisk together dressing, cranberry sauce and onion soup mix. Pour over chicken.
Remove as much air as possible from the bag and freeze flat.
To serve, thaw completely and pour into greased or foil lined glass dish. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Serve over rice.

Winter Drink Station

2013-12-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons, mainly because I love bundling up in layers of clothes and blankets, sipping steaming hot beverages from my favorite mug and cuddling with my boys.

This winter I wanted to make my home more visitor friendly which isn't easy when you have a 3 year old with cabin fever running loose. However, a quick Pinterest search led me to find some simple hot chocolate bars/stations.

My little brain started churning... what about a winter drink station where you could have something for everyone? Since I had been craving spiced Russian tea (recipe below), I knew I wanted to incorporate that. Hot chocolate was a no brainer, but I decided to use packets for simplicity. For holiday parties, we definitely needed to add coffee.

I liked the idea of the tiered storage because it kept from cluttering up my counter top and felt more organized. I've had that basket thing for years and it finally has a good use!

The hardest part was figuring out what to use to store all of the mix-ins. I needed something with a lid that didn't cost a lot, so when I saw a box of a dozen Wal-mart brand jelly jars for only $8, I was sold. Now I could keep my station set up all winter.

The mix-ins that I used were marshmallows, crushed candy canes, chocolate chips, cinnamon sticks and coffee creamers. You could use all kinds of things. You might be surprised at what you already have around the house that you could use... caramels, Hershey kisses, white chocolate chips or cinnamon.

I finished it off with a little wire basket from Wal-mart to old my hot chocolate packets, a thermos that I can quickly fill with hot water whenever we have company, a super cute sign that I got for free here and my coffee pot. If you have a Keurig or something similar, you could skip the packets and the coffee maker.

And the recipe for the Russian tea. I tried several variations of this recipe before finally settling on this one. I like it sweet and orangy so this was perfect. I am completely addicted to this so I trimmed back a few calories by making a few sugar free substitutions.

Russian Tea
Ingredients
1 cup instant tea powder (I like decaff)
2 cups orange-flavored drink mix (e.g. Tang)
1 (3 ounce) package powdered lemonade mix (or 1 pkt sugar free lemonade mix like Crystal Light)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup Splenda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Store in an airtight container.
To serve, mix 2 heaping tablespoons into 1 cup hot water.

Family Friendly Freezer Cooking!

2013-12-18T20:32:00.001-08:00

When I had my sweet boy 4 and half months ago, I stocked my freezer full of casseroles, crockpot ready meals and baked goods. With a 3 year old at home, I knew there would be zero time to cook after the baby arrived. However, until I tried freezer cooking, I had no idea how much I would love it!

In fact I plan to do some freezer cooking sessions to stock up on food for the new year. With all of the time I'll be saving, I can work on my New Year's resolutions. Yeah, I laughed too.

In the past I've always been intimidated by freezing foods. I've thrown a lot of stuff out with freezer burn because either I had no idea how long it could be stored or I didn't package it properly.

This time I did some research and was much more successful. You can find great tips for freezing foods here and here.

One thing I would recommend is to try a recipe before making 3 of them for your freezer, especially if you are looking forward to eating the meals after having a baby. ;)

There are 3 ways to stash food away in your freezer and I do combination of them.

The first is to double or triple whatever you are making for dinner. This works especially well with meats, soups and chili. I love being able to thaw out some homemade soup on a cold night without having to chop up a bunch of veggies.

Pasta Fagioli can be frozen easily It's best to add pasta just before serving.

Another way is to have a big freezer cooking day. This would be good to do with a group of friends to help chop up all of those veggies. This isn't that practical for me with 2 little ones at home, but someday I would love to try this.

The third way is to prep crockpot meals. This is super easy and takes very little time. I'm not a big fan of veggies in the crockpot unless I'm making soup so there really isn't a whole lot of prep work involved.

I'm going to post some of my favorite tried and true freezer recipes below. These are all recipes my family really enjoyed and were easy to freeze.

Cranberry Chicken - I fill two baggies with this and freeze. To cook, thaw overnight, pour into pan and bake as directed.

General Tso's Chicken - Prep ingredients and store in baggies. Thaw over night and dump into crockpot, cooking as directed. I double this too because I really love it.

Chicken Broccoli Rice - Freeze in baggies. Thaw overnight, pour into pan and bake as directed. I jazz this up a big with garlic, celery, onion, etc... and then crush Ritz crackers on top prior to baking.

Chicken Tacos - Cook as directed. Shred, cool and place in baggies. Thaw and reheat. This is wonderful for tacos, but also makes delicious nachos, enchiladas, chimichangas, or rice bowls.

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti - Prepare casseroles, but do not bake. Cover in foil and freeze. Thaw completely before baking. I used Italian sausage and extra sauce.

Vegetable Beef Soup- Cook as directed and then freeze in baggies. Thaw and reheat.

Baked Ravioli- Assemble casserole(s), cover tightly with foil and freeze. Thaw completely before baking. This may actually cook faster since the original recipe uses ravioli that is still frozen.

Pizza Bites- Bake as directed. Flash freeze these by putting them on baking sheet and freezing. Then place them in a plastic bag. You can reheat them in a 400 degree oven.

These are just a few of my favorites to get you started. I'll be adding more and you can follow my Freezer Meal Pinterest board for more ideas.

I'd love to hear about your favorite freezer meals!

Slow Cooker General Tso's Chicken

2013-11-04T07:57:00.001-08:00

Y'all didn't know General Tso had a crockpot, did ya? I guess they leave that out of the history books...

I love Asian inspired dishes so much that I've tried several versions of Asian chicken, but this recipe for General Tso's Crockpot Chicken is by far the best. I'm not usually one for leftovers, but I can't wait to eat this again. This morning I stood by the fridge debating whether or not it was socially acceptable to chow down on chicken and rice for breakfast.

I hate mushy crockpot chicken, but cooking this on high for 2 hours kept the chicken from turning to mush and getting that weird crockpot chicken flavor. If you need to cook it longer, use chicken thighs because the darker meat holds up better to extended cooking.

Can I just say that learning how to use my crockpot and freezer the right way has made life with small children a little easier?! I plan to assemble and freeze a couple of bags of this recipe to have it ready to go whenever I need a quick meal. The rice can also be made ahead of time and frozen.

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
4 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp. ketchup
1-2 tsp. fresh ginger
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
salt to taste
2 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with water

Directions

Spray inside of crockpot with cooking spray. Place chicken inside. You can also use frozen chicken, adjusting the time if needed.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients EXCEPT cornstarch and salt. Pour over chicken.
Cook on high 2 hours or low 4-5 hours. You may need a little longer if using chicken thighs.
Remove chicken and shred or chop. Return to cooker.
Stir cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Add to chicken mixture and allow mixture to cook about 30 more minutes on high. Add more cornstarch if needed.
Add salt to taste.
Serve over rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds or green onions.

Easy Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

2013-10-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's mid October here in Southern Arkansas which means the temps are dipping to the lower 80's and mid 70's. Don't be too jealous. We have to make our own fall by cranking up the A/C, throwing pumpkins everywhere and making a big pot of soup!

Light, yet warm and satisfying, Easy Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup was inspired by AllRecipes and Cheesy Enchilada Soup. It's a bit of a hybrid. It's still healthy, but has some creamy, cheesy goodness and crockpot convenience.

A few quick tips: If you want it a little thicker and creamer, use less broth. I added 4 cups to stretch the servings and keep it lighter. Using frozen chicken breasts gives your chicken longer cooking time in the crock pot so it doesn't get mushy. If you use thawed chicken, you may want to cut the time back. In my experience 4-5 hours on low is plenty of time for thawed chicken breasts.

Serve this with sweet cornbread, tortilla chips and 5 minute guacamole.

Ingredients
4 frozen chicken breasts
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1 (15 oz.) can navy beans, drained (or whatever kind of beans you prefer)
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
1 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
4 c. chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can sweet corn, drained
1 lb. Velveeta Queso Blanco (white Velveeta), cut into cubes
1 handful cilantro, chopped

Directions

Place frozen chicken breasts in a large slow cooker. Add tomatoes, enchilada sauce, beans, chilies onions and spices. Pour broth over all. Cover and cook 6-8 hours on low.
Remove chicken, shred and return it to the slow cooker.
Add corn and Velveeta. Cook about 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally until cheese melts.
Stir in cilantro right before serving or use as garnish.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Casserole

2013-10-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Since October is the month of all things pumpkin, I decided to try another take on my most pinned recipe, Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Casserole. I added pumpkin butter, pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin spice coffee creamer. The result was even better than the original.

This casserole is special enough for Thanksgiving Day breakfast, but easy enough for any morning of the week. The leftovers reheat wonderfully.

Ingredients
2 (12.4 oz) cans of refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing like Pillsbury (can use light cinnamon rolls)
1 3/4 c egg substitute like Egg Beaters (or 6 large eggs)
1/2 c pumpkin spice coffee creamer or half and half
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2/3 c pumpkin butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 and grease an 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.
Cut each cinnamon roll into 8 pieces and place in dish.
In a medium bowl whisk together egg substitute or eggs, coffee creamer, vanilla, pumpkin butter and pumpkin pie spice. Pour over rolls. Give the whole thing a good stir. Sprinkle with pecans.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10-15 minutes (if you can wait that long!!) Remove covers from icing and microwave 5-10 seconds or until it's the perfect consistency for drizzling.
Drizzle icing over top. Serve with light syrup and powdered sugar.

Linked to:

Link Party Palooza - Strut Your Stuff Saturday - Super Sunday Linky Party - Munching Mondays - A Pinch of Joy - Mouth Watering Mondays - A Southern Fairytale - Gooseberry Patch Recipe Round-Up - Lady Behind the Curtain - Cast Party Wednesday -

Quick Stovetop Pumpkin Butter

2013-10-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about fall is that it is finally socially acceptable to stuff my face with pumpkin. I love pumpkin bread, pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin cake and pumpkin cookies! However, they have too many calories to eat every day unless you like having the waistline of a pumpkin.

Thankfully, pumpkin butter comes to the rescue and gives me my pumpkin fix. It's thick, spicy, sweet and tastes amazing on toast, biscuits and cornbread. I simmered this on the stove while I cleaned my kitchen one night and just gave it stir every few minutes.

You can put these in pretty jars to give as gifts or freeze small batches to hoard away for yourself. I won't judge you. ;)

Ingredients
Adapted from: AllRecipes.com
1 (29 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 1/4 c apple juice or cider
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a medium saucepan, adding more apple juice if needed. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes or until desired thickness. Stir it frequently to prevent burning. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Linked to:

Gooseberry Patch Recipe Round-Up - Lady Behind the Curtain - Cast Party Wednesday -

Mexican Pizza 11 WW Pts +

2013-09-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

As a mom with a new baby and a wild 3 year old, most nights require slow cooker meals, quick and easy meals or takeout. This yummy Mexican Pizza falls into the quick and easy category. The ingredients can even be prepped during naptime and assembled during the harried dinnertime rush when the little one is suddenly starving and the big one is entertaining himself by taste testing the playdough...

I love that this recipe is light and healthy too because I've got a lot of pregnancy cheeseburgers and milkshakes to lose. Unlike the Taco Bell version, nothing is fried and everything is as real, fresh and organic as you want it to be.

Whole wheat tortillas, homemade taco seasoning, ground chicken, refried beans, jalepeno slices and olives would all be perfect additions to this double decker pizza.

Recipe
Serves 6
12 tortillas, small
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning or your own seasoning
1/2 bottle taco sauce (I used Taco Bell brand.)
1 1/2 c Mexican cheese blend
1 tomato, seeded and diced
6 green onions, diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare ground beef as directed on taco seasoning packet.
Heat skillet over medium heat. Spray tortillas with butter flavored cooking spray. Heat tortillas in skillet on both sides until crisp. Place 6 on baking sheet and set the other six to the side.
Divide taco meat between the 6 tortillas on the baking sheet. Sprinkle meat with half of the cheese or your can leave all of the cheese for the topping.
Top meat/cheese with second tortilla.
Spread 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons taco sauce over top tortilla.
Top with tomatoes, cheese and green onions.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until hot and melty.
Cut into wedges and serve.

11 WW Pts.+

Linked to:

Lady Behind the Curtain - Cast Party Wednesday -

5 Minute Guacamole

2013-09-09T13:45:00.001-07:00

This guacamole recipe from AllRecipes.com is so addictive that I can't get it off of my mind. I keep going back to the fridge with chips in hand. Thankfully, it's super healthy when eaten in moderation.

I like to finely chop my veggies while leaving my avocado chunky for the best overall texture. You can spice it up with a finely chopped jalapeno.

Guacamole is best served the day you make it.

Serve with Crockpot Chicken Tacos or Crockpot Pork Carnitas.

Recipe
from: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
3 Avocados, peeled, pitted and lightly mashed
1 Lime, juiced
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 c Onion, chopped
3 Plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp Garlic, minced or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped
1 Jalapeno, seeded, deveined and finely chopped (optional)

Directions
Mix all ingredients and chill 1 hour before serving.

Serves 10 | 3 WW Pts +

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

2013-09-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

My favorite meal of the day is breakfast, no matter what time of day it is served. Even my hubby who never cared for breakfast gets up on Saturday and looks around for his eggs and bacon. He's more of savory breakfast man, but I like it all as is evident by my obsession with Cracker Barrel and IHOP.

This recipe is a slightly moister, eggier version of a recipe I found on the Pillsbury site. I love using canned biscuits, cinnamon rolls and crescent rolls in recipes even though I don't care much for them on their own. Adding fresh ingredients takes away the canned flavor.

My other shortcut is to use precooked REAL bacon bits, keeping the prep time under 10 minutes. Would freshly cooked bacon be better? Probably, but it's not worth the time and mess to me while trying to keep up with a newborn and 3 year old wild child.

You can save a few calories by using egg substitute which works great in casseroles, low fat cheese and turkey bacon or ham in place of the regular bacon. Throw in any of your favorite breakfast meats, cheeses and veggies to come up with your own version.

Recipe
Adapted from: Pillsbury

Ingredients
4 eggs or about 1 c egg substitute
1/3 cup milk
salt and pepper
16 oz refrigerated breakfast biscuits (I used GV Texas style biscuits.), cut into 4 or 8 pieces
4 green onions, diced
1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 pkg Oscar Mayer real bacon pieces or bits (the kind you put on salad)

Directions

In an 11 x 7 dish, whisk together eggs, milk and salt and pepper. (You don't need a ton of salt because many of the ingredients are salty.)
Add biscuits, onions, cheese and bacon. Toss to coat with egg mixture.
Bake 25-28 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown and cooked through.

Linked to:

Gooseberry Patch Recipe Round-Up - Lady Behind the Curtain - Cast Party Wednesday -

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

2013-08-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Normally, I'm not a fan of chicken in the crock pot. It usually gets mushy and unappetizing, but I've been seeing chicken tacos posted daily on Pinterest and I caved. This recipe is a combination of several different ones. We loved the result! Adding the cilantro and lime juice at the end really brightened up the flavors and cancelled out that "been in the crock pot all day" flavor that chicken can take on.

I've found that cooking the chicken longer than 6 hours runs the risk of the it getting soft, so I switch it to the "Keep Warm" setting after that. Have I mentioned that I really hate mushy chicken? I'm sure it varies by crock pot, but this works for me.

I used a thawed 3 pound bag of chicken and it made enough to freeze half for another night. The leftovers would make fabulous quesadillas, burritos or taco salads as well.

Serve with 5 Minute Guacamole and White Queso.

Recipe (serves 12)
2-3 lb Chicken breasts
1/2 lg Onion, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 Cans of Rotel
1 pkg Taco seasoning
1 Lime, juiced
1 Handful cilantro, chopped

Combine chicken, onion, taco seasoning and Rotel in slow cooker. Cook 6 hours on low.
Remove from pot and shred. Return to slow cooker and stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Serve on warm tortillas with all of your favorite fixin's!

3 WW Points + (without tortilla)
6 WW Points + (with small whole wheat tortilla)
Points calculated with WW Recipe Builder.

Summer Barbecue Chicken Salad

2013-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is a salad I threw together after having something similar in several restaurants. I love the freshness of the veggies, creaminess of the avocado and black beans and smokiness of the grilled chicken and barbecue sauce. The crunchy tortilla strips are just the icing on the cake.

When I need to make this a quick weeknight meal, I use chicken breasts that I've previously grilled and frozen. You could also use a rotisserie chicken. It's even better with chicken right off the grill using my favorite chicken marinade and grilled corn cut off of the cob. Who doesn't love the mix of the cool veggies and warm chicken?

Serve with cornbread or cheese quesadillas.

Recipe - 2 main dish servings
1 Bag leafy green salad mix
1/2 Can Mexicorn or grilled corn
1/2 Can black beans, washed and drained
1 Avocado, diced
1/2 Tomato, seeded and diced
3 Green onions, diced
1/2 c Cheddar or cheddar/jack cheese
2 Grilled/baked chicken breasts, sliced
Santa Fe style tortilla strips (in the salad dressing aisle)
Ranch salad dressing (reduced fat)
Barbecue sauce

Combine and serve immediately. If you're not serving right away, add dressing and tortilla chips right before serving.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2013-08-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

Our family loves cookies, but they require time. I prefer throwing all of the dough in one pan and being done with it as you can see from all of the brownies, blondies and bar cookies on this blog.

I found this recipe when I was looking for a way to eat more oatmeal. Sure, I could just eat a bowl of instant oatmeal, but these have chocolate. You can still eat these for breakfast since they have oatmeal in them, right?

Mix it up by using whatever kind of chips you have on hand to come up with variations like white chocolate macadamia nut, cinnamon raisin, chocolate and peanut butter or whatever sounds good to you.

I like to slightly under bake cookies and brownies so that they stay moist for several days.

Recipe
Adapted from: AllRecipes
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 (3.5 oz.) pkg vanilla or butterscotch pudding mix
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups quick oats
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips or peanut butter chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Mix in pudding mix and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to wet ingredients until well combined. Stir in oatmeal and chips.
With wet or greased fingers, pat into greased 9x13 pan. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned.

Super Easy Monkey Bread

2013-02-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Making yummy, family friendly breakfasts doesn't mean you have to get up at the crack of dawn. This simple Monkey Bread recipe takes about 10 minutes to assemble, giving you more time to hang out with the kiddos, take a hot shower or drink another cup of coffee. It's also perfect for brunch.

The first time I made this I used salted butter because I love sweet and salty, but it was too salty even for me. There is plenty of salt in the biscuit to give you the perfect salt to sweet to ratio. Stick with unsalted butter and yes, I mean butter, not margarine. You could also use the light buttery baking sticks.

Serve it with fresh fruit and turkey sausage or turkey bacon to balance out your breakfast. Reheat leftovers in the microwave.

Recipe
Adapted from: AllRecipes.com
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 (16.3 ounce) cans Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 chopped pecans or walnuts

1 c firmly packed brown sugar

2/3 c unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt style pan with cooking spray.
In a zip top plastic bag combine sugar and cinnamon. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces and place in bag. Shake bag to coat biscuits.
Sprinkle half of nuts into pan. Top with half of the biscuits. Repeat.
In a small saucepan melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Pour over biscuits.
Bake 28-32 minutes or until browned and no longer doughy. If it starts to brown too soon, cover lightly with foil. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes and until turning onto serving dish.

Zuppa Toscana

2013-02-25T17:19:00.001-08:00

I haven't been blogging much lately because the bun in my oven has an aversion to any form of cooking. Attempting to find new recipes to try has been leaving me green around the gills. Fortunately, now that the first trimester is several weeks behind me and I am starting to see the the end of the morning sickness train.

This Olive Garden inspired recipe is an oldie but a goodie. Although I'm not a huge Olive Garden fan, I do love their Zuppa Toscana and bread sticks. This simple sausage and potato concoction has the power to warm my soul and make me a happier camper. The addition of spinach makes me feel like I'm eating something healthy even if it's more of an indulgence.

This is my version and I realize that it is not exactly like the one you get at the Olive Garden. Like most recipes on my blog, it has been altered to suit my families tastes. Served up with a crusty loaf of bread and a side salad, zuppa toscana gets great reviews around our home. The empty bowls and pot speak for themselves.

*At the bottom of the recipe I have included low-fat substitutions which I have used at times with much success. My only suggestion is that if you use low fat or fat free half and half instead of the whipping cream, take great care to make sure the mixture is does not boil. The lack of fat makes it more likely to curdle in your soup. It will taste fine, but won't be as pretty.

Recipe
6 slices of bacon
16 oz Italian Sausage
8 thinly sliced red potatoes
1 1/2 c onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
3-4 c spinach, chopped
8 c chicken broth
2/3 c heavy whipping cream
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Fry bacon, drain on paper towels and crumble. Set aside.
Clean out bacon skillet, crumble and cook sausage. Drain on paper towels.
In a large pot, saute onions in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat until soft. Add garlic and cook one minute more.
Add chicken broth and potatoes or until potatoes are tender. Simmer 10-15 minutes.
Stir in sausage, bacon, spinach, cayenne pepper and whipping cream. Heat through, but do not boil.

*Lighter variation- Use turkey bacon, Italian turkey sausage links, and fat free half instead of whipping cream. Be careful not to boil with half and half because it will curdle.