Tasty Time: Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

I am loving these chicken crock pot recipes!  Not having to pre-cook the chicken is a real time saver!  Yesterday, I tried out another recipe I stole from Pinterest, which originally came from SkinnyTaste.com.  Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili!  It was DELICIOUS and I couldn't wait to reheat it for lunch today.  Here is my new favorite dish:

Photo credit - SkinnyTaste.com

This picture was taken after I topped it with shredded Mexican cheese.  Yum!  Yes, there's a lot of cheese. I love cheese.  I promise there is chili under there.  My husband adds Tabasco sauce to his to give it a bigger kick.

Here's the recipe!

1 onion chopped

1 16oz black beans

1 16oz kidney beans

1 8oz tomato sauce

10oz pkg frozen kernel corn (I used one large can of kernel corn)

2 14.5oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 T cumin (I didn't use this)

1 T chili powder

3-4 chicken breasts

chili peppers, chopped (optional and I did not use these)

white rice

shredded cheese

Mix all the ingredients together and then place the chicken on top.  Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.  Shred chicken 30 minutes before the time is up.  Serve over white rice and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Enjoy!

Tasty Time: Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken

I am in a dinner coma right now.  This meal was the easiest dish to make and it only takes 5 ingredients!  I got this from chef in training (again) and I am in love.  I can't wait for my husband to get home because he loves anything with pineapple in it!

Recipe:
4 chicken breasts (I used 3 giant ones)
1/2 c soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
1/2 teriyaki sauce
1 can pineapple chunks in juice, not syrup
crushed red pepper flakes

Spray your crock pot with Pam and lay your uncooked chicken in the bottom.  Mix up the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and the can of pineapple chunks.  Her recipe said to use half of the juice from the can, but mine was too salty, so I used all of the pineapple juice.  Pour over chicken and sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes over the top.  Set the crock pot on high and let it cook for 6 hours.  Shred the chicken in the pot and serve over white rice.

I was going cut the chicken in chunks, but as soon as I stuck my fork in, it pretty much shredded itself.  After I shredded the chicken, I turned the heat to low and let it sit there for another half hour to soak up the juice.  Next time, I may use crushed pineapple instead of chunks.  I used about 8 sprinkles of the pepper and I can definitely taste it, but I'd like a little more kick the next time.

UPDATE I still thought it had too strong of the soy sauce flavor, so I added some orange juice which made it even more yummy!

Nom nom nom!!!!!

Tasty Time: Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies and Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm having too much fun with Pinterest.  I found the blog of Chef in Training and couldn't wait to start trying her recipes. I decided to start with sweets, Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.  OMG Delicious!

I ran out of Oreos before I ran out of batter, so I looked around my kitchen for something else I could stuff into my cookies.  JACKPOT!  Caramel squares.  I LOVE caramel, even more than chocolate.  Even better than the Oreos!

Recipe:
1 c shortening
1 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 T vanilla extract
3 c flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 c chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)
1 package of double stuffed Oreo and/or caramel squares

Preheat to 350.  Cream together the shortening and sugars.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In separate bowl, combine flower, salt and baking soda.  Gradually add flour mix to the wet ingredients and then add chocolate chips.  Form two balls of cookie dough and place one on top of an Oreo or caramel square and one on the bottom.  Squish together and seal the edges.  Bake for about 13 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Tomorrow, I'm making Chef in Training's Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken.

Enjoy!

Craft Time! Crayon Garden

I've been feeling the need to get crafty lately and I've started a bunch of little projects that have yet to be finished.  BUT, I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided to make it my own.  It's a cute way to display crayons and it's a fun way to play with colors!

I call it my crayon garden.  Here are the supplies from Hobby Lobby that I used:

An awesome wooden picture frame

8 glass votive holders, mine look like mini pots

Paint in the colors you want - I used blue, pink, green, brown, yellow, orange, purple and red

Craft paper for inside the frame - I used paper that had creepy crawlers

Paint brushes

Mini wooden fence

Hot glue gun and glue

The first thing I did was paint the inside of the glass.  I used glossy acrylic paint.  It took me two days and 3 coats to get the coverage I wanted.

I painted the fence next.  At first, I painted it in a rainbow of colors, but I didn't like the outcome so I decided to go all brown.

Next, I hot glued the fence to the outer edge of the glass in the frame and then glued the glass votive holders where I wanted them.

The last step is to add the crayons!  I let Neil add some fun bug stickers to it.

Organized Mess

I've spent a good part of the day staring, contemplating, how to get this house organized.  I'm still not sure, but I may be heading into the right direction.  My problem is that I want to do too many things at once, so not one single thing ever gets finished.

On my to-do list for awhile is to clean up and organize my sewing/crafting/hobby corner of the playroom.  Yes, MY creative space is in a small corner of the playroom.  For such a small area, it is a complete disaster.  I've been using a folding table as a sewing table, BUT my mom gave me her beautiful sewing cabinet that not only takes up less space than my unstable table, it also has tons of storage!  Oh storage, how I love thee!  I've been on Pinterest for a good part of the day looking up creative and cute ways to organize and store my stuff in a convenient way while the hubby has been putting up shelves in the bathroom closet.  (That has been shelf-less since before Christmas, while all of the things that went into the closet are on my kitchen floor)

Here is my before:













I've cleaned up my corner, I've got the ideas, now I just need to get to work!

What's New What's Next - Fantasyland *Giveaway CLOSED*

This past week, I was invited to the Walt Disney World Summer to Remember event hosted by Phineas and Ferb.  It was a whirlwind few days as media from all over were entertained, dined and presented information about what we can expect to see this summer at not only Walt Disney World, but at Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line.

Meg Crofton, President of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations

During the "What's New! What's Next!" presentation, we heard from Meg Crofton, President of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations.  One of the most exciting things coming up for summer is the Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom, that will DOUBLE the size of Fantasyland now.  I cannot wait for the walls to start coming down so we can see what Disney World has in store for us!  Take a look at the video I took from the presentation:

You can fly on your favorite elephant, Dumbo, brave The Great Goofini's roller coaster on The Barnstormer and hop on or off the new train station now!  The next phase of Storybook Circus will open in July of this year to include the second Dumbo attraction (with indoor interactive queue) as well as the Casey Jr. Splash 'n' Soak Station, which I am thrilled about.

This holiday season, Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Be Our Guest Restaurant, Gaston's tavern and Ariel's Grotto will celebrate their grand opening.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is scheduled to open in 2014.

In honor of my favorite land in the Magic Kingdom, I am giving away 5 Fantasyland postcards, featuring the panoramic photo below.  The first 5 people to tell me what attraction they are MOST excited to experience will receive a postcard.  (U.S. residents only, sorry)

New Fantasyland artist rendering

Questions about anything you see in the video?  Ask away!