Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sliders with Broccoli Slaw

I was so glad to be back in the kitchen today! Not only have I been baking away for my first Operation Baking Gals mailing, but I fixed a yummy and EASY dinner.

It all started with a trip to Trader Joe's a couple of weeks when I saw the cutest slider buns ever! I knew that I needed to get these buns into my life! Yes - I do like to shop based on cuteness! The rest was kind of a jumble of other recipes that I checked out on the internet and mixed together to result in a deliciously easy dinner.

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sliders with Broccoli Slaw

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 jar of your favorite bar-b-que sauce (I used TJ's bbq sauce, which is DELICIOUS!)

2 small onions sliced into rings

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 small bag of broccoli slaw (this is from TJ's but you could make your own by shredding the broccoli stalks)

1/2 cup white vinegar

6 Tablespoons sugar

6 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Please the chicken breasts, onions, balsamic vinegar and half of the bottle of bar-b-que sauce. Cook on low for one hour, shred with two forks. Stir and cook for three hours. Before serving add the remainder of the bar-b-que sauce and leave in the slow cooker for 5 minutes until the rest of the sauce warms.

While the chicken is cooking, mix the vinegar, sugar, oil, dry mustard in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and let cool. Before serving add broccoli slaw and mix.

Serve chicken and slaw on the adorable slider buns and ENJOY!

This had my hubby thanking me for in his own words "Being the best wife ever in the kitchen!"

Busy Times

So I have been bad about posting these last two weeks. My job, which I love, has had me driving 3 hours round trip to San Diego 7 days in the last week. All I can say is that I don't want to be in a car for a LONG time!

Dinner these last couple of weeks has been easy items, tamales (frozen from Christmas), grilled cheeses, soup, etc.

So glad to be back home and I'm so glad to be back behind the stove/oven!

Frugal Friday Breakfast Potatoes

We love breakfast in this house, well I love breakfast which means that by default my husband loves breakfast. This is a simple, really delicious, really frugal breakfast that has only a couple of ingredients but packs in a LOT of flavor. Add an egg over easy and you have a tasty filling breakfast, or even dinner!

Breakfast Potatoes with Turkey Bacon

2 - 3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes

3 slices of thick cut Turkey Bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces (Trader Joe's has a wonderful one!)

1 small onion, diced

Old Bay Seasoning - I can't get enough of this stuff, I add it to potatoes, shrimp, garlic bread, pretty much anything!

Start by placing your potatoes in a microwave safe bowl, add 1 tablespoons of butter and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 5 minutes, when removing from the microwave be careful of the steam when taking off the plastic wrap.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of butter with 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Add onions and diced bacon, stirring while they cook. Add a couple of dashes of Old Bay. Once the potatoes are done add them to the onion and bacon and sprinkle with more Old Bay. Cook about 5 minutes more until the potatoes are browned.

Serve warm with eggs. Delicious!

My first Giveaway!!!

I have my first giveaway!!!

I love yogurt - it is a staple in our household. We love it with granola and fruit when we have more time in the morning and on a busy day we love to grab it for breakfast or a quick snack.

This giveaway is for a coupon for (1) free Fiber One Yogurt Multipack. To enter all you need to do is share with me your favorite way to eat yogurt.

You have until February 10th to enter!

Roast Chicken and the Most Delicious Casserole!

Tonight I made yummy roasted chicken breasts that are very simple to prepare. While they are really simple, that doesn't mean that they are fool proof - I set of the smoke alarm! This is the first time in over three years that I have set it off - I know cause we have been in our place for three years and when they went off I didn't even know where it was! These breasts had a lot of fat that smoked while cooking - be careful!

The highlight of the meal was a Zucchini Casserole that I got from the Food Network made by Paula Dean. Surprisingly it didn't call for a pound of butter! I made a couple of changes but pretty much kept it almost the same. I strongly recommend this as a side dish - the filling was a creamy savory mixture and the crust was nice and crispy! I have been trying to make one new recipe a week and this was a success - not like the chicken tortilla soup I made last week! :)

Squash Casserole
Adapted from Paula Deen
Recipe can be found on the Food Network

Ingredients

• 6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini
• Vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (I put mine in a 400 degree oven cause I cooked it while the chicken was roasting.)

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Meal Plan for the week of January 24th

Along with the rest of the country, we are trying to look at ways to save a little money. One of the ways is to eat more meals at home, I take my lunch into work and we are trying not to waste as much. In addition I do look for coupons and deals when I go shopping.

Here is the plan for dinner this week:

Monday

Roast Chicken Breast and Zucchini Casserole

Tuesday

Leftovers or something easy - hubby is going up snowboarding and that usually means I'm on my own for dinner

Wednesday

Skirt Steak and Crispy garlic Potatoes

Thursday

Pasta of some sort - if there is leftover chicken I will add that in

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

We always eat with my in-laws at least one day a week, I'm hoping for Sushi this week. The others days will probably be a breakfast dinner and something with our friends.

I will post recipes and pictures throughout the week and I hope we can stick to this plan!

New Year, hopefully new commitment!

Yes, it's the end of January and technically everyone starts their new years resolutions at the beginning of the month, but they say that you shouldn't start a new resolution on an important date cause you are more likely to stop with that resolution. Too much pressure!

I am getting back to blogging - I am going to keep doing it! I am going to fight off fatigue and keep up with it- I promise! It's not like I'm not making delicious and I won't lie, not so delicious items in my kitchen. I just haven't gotten around to adding them...... Yes I've been lazy! So with the sound of my icecream maker in the background - I am recommitting to this blog!

New post will by a recipe that I have wanted to try for a while - Frozen Yogurt! :0)