dinner by pinterest v. 3 aaand, winner winner.

dbp is back!  i'm ready to show a couple more delicious recipes that were made by yours truly.  

sweet chili lime chicken with cilantro couscous.

the mcfadden family loves couscous.  we are definitely fans.  this was so easy to make.  if you can boil liquid, you can make couscous.  the couscous cooks on its own while you cook the chicken, mix the glaze and then glaze the chicken.  very yummy and flavorful.  we served ours with szechuan green beans b\c we're eating more vegetables (successfully) this year!  can't wait to make this again!  pinned here.

slow cooker cilantro lime chicken

slow cookers are genius inventions.  they basically mean i don't have to do anything but throw a bunch of uncooked stuff in and then smell my dinner being cooked all day.  this one took 4 ingredients (5 if you want jalapenos) that you pour on top of chicken breasts.  plus, depending on what kind of salsa you choose- this could taste different every time you make it.  we used a corn & black bean salsa from archer farms.  the recipe suggested eating it alone, but we had leftover corn tortillas, so we made mini tacos.  pinned here.

 yummy tacos + a closer look!

and now for the moment you've all been waiting for (or at least 2 of you)... the winner of my sibu beauty giveaway is....  

congratulations julie!  you lucky girl!  email me!!!  

dinner by pinterest v. 2

so, my first edition of dbp seemed to be a hit, so i thought i'd do it again.  i'm always cooking- so much that i have a huge problem where i rarely make the same thing twice- even if there's something i make that i really love.  i've gotten a little better about pulling out the repeats- in fact, i've already made one of these meals twice, and i'll definitely be making it again...  bon appetit! 

crock pot buffalo chicken

if you have ever read the haps, you've probably seen mandy's post about making crock pot buffalo chicken.  this recipe is EVERYTHING it's been advertised as.  ah-maz-ing.  we've already made it twice, and each time we've made it, it's made so much food that it lasts us nearly a week!!!  it's only 3 ingredients...  chicken, a bottle of frank's red hot buffalo wing sauce, and hidden valley ranch dip mix.  the recipe calls for butter as well, but we've skipped that step both times and i've been really happy with it.  pinned from here...

so easy... 1.  add chicken (thawed or frozen) to crock pot and top with the sauce and dip mix.  crock on low for about 5-6 hours.  2.  with 30 minutes to go, remove chicken and shred.  3.  add back to the crock and let it absorb all the yumminess...  enjoy!  we had our sandwiches on filone bread- and i topped mine w\ crumbled bleu cheese.  one sandwich is usually enough- and i usually serve chips or a veggie as the side.  when we're all out of bread, we use the leftover meat to make a quesadilla with mozz & bleu cheese (for me).  the meat is a little spicy, but even ian enjoyed little bites of the chicken from our sandwiches.  

crock pot hawaiian bbq chicken

yet again another delicious recipe that i saw on the haps.  and again, so simple.  chicken, bottle of bbq sauce (any will do), a can of pineapple chunks and minute rice.  i don't normally buy minute rice, and i didn't feel like making regular rice, so we made sandwiches out of ours.  again, it's so easy- 1.  add the chicken, top with bbq sauce and the drained pineapple and cook on low 5-6 hours.  2.  with 30 minutes to go, remove the chicken, shred and add back to the crock to  soak up the sauce.  since i was too lazy to make rice, we had ours on hawaiian rolls (they have the buns).  the sweetness of  the rolls was just too much yummy.  we made the sandwiches until we were out of bread and then went the quesadilla route again- mozz cheese, bbq sauce mixed w\ a little ranch and the chicken... nom nom.  pinned from here!

and apparently i didn't take a photo of the deliciousness that was this sandwich... although i swear i did...  you'll just have to follow the links to deliciousness....  so you'll just have to imagine!

wish list friday: foods to make & bake

i love love love to cook.  there are a lot of things that i am mediocre at, but cooking is not one of them.  and while i have the occasional kitchen mishap, more times than not i am making something that makes me say, "dang, that is good."  i'll stop tooting my own baking/making horn and show you what's on my wish list of things that need to very quickly make their way to mah belly, or another reason pinterest should be called "fat-terest."

 looking at this list is causing me to gain weight

1.  homemade samoas - girl scout cookies are sold once a year so i don't eat a box week... but now you're telling me i can make them myself?  uh oh.
2.  buffalo chicken tacos - you had me at buffalo
3.  cilantro lime chickpea salad - i love salads like this.  it looks so fresh and yummy!!
4.  7-layer greek dip - welcome to the party in my mouth!
5.  christmas cake - a gorgeous, but simple cake from my friend maegan!!
6.  crockpot breakfast casserole - sounds like a great christmas morning meal
7.  malibu pina colada cupcakes with lime cream cheese frosting - love lime & coconut!
8.  creamy avocado salsa verde - combine 2 of my favorites + i love dips!
9.  gluten-free shirley temple cupcakes - these are just so pretty + they're gf!
10.  red velvet brownies with white chocolate buttercream - uh, yum.  love red velvet- although i used to despise it!

is your tummy growling yet... mine is...  : \  yummmm!

dinner by pinterest

so everyone else here loves pinterest, right?  right.  now that we have that cleared up.  i love pinterest.  i'm not full-on obsessed... yet, but there's a lot of love going on there.  pinterest is good for people like me who just aren't creative, even in the slightest.  i told my husband this weekend that the least southern thing about me was the fact that i couldn't diy to save my life.  i see a craft, or some cute project that is touted as "super easy" and i'll find a way to eff it up.  however, i can cook, and that tends to be something that has a 99% success rate in the mchousehold, and since pinterest is obviously plotting to make me a contestant on a future season of the biggest loser, i might as well start sharing the calories goods with the rest of you!

avocado grilled cheese (and i don't like grilled cheese sandwiches)!  pinned from here.

these were so simple.  bread, avocado, mozzarella & pepperoni.  i added sun dried tomatoes for an extra kick.  so yummy.  can't wait to have these again!

mexican chicken lime soup.  remember my 99% success rate?  this soup is the 1%. . .  i single-handedly ruined this soup by making it so spicy that my husband could hardly eat it (so that means, i couldn't even come close).  i make a lot of rachael ray meals (i do basically own every cookbook she has) & she uses chipotles in adobo sauce a lot.  i got sick of buying cans, using 1-2 peppers & having to throw the rest out.  so i started spooning the leftovers into ice cube trays, freezing them & taking a cube out each time i needed one.  it turns out i managed to pack 6 chipotles into 2 cubes.  the recipe called for 2 peppers + sauce.  i carelessly used both cubes.  i am still burning.  i ended up having to scrap the broth & just eat the chicken, veggies, chips & avocado (which was yummy, btw).  hot hot hot.  this can be easily fixed for next time!  pinned from here.

have you made anything (food or otherwise) that you've seen on pinterest?

review & giveaway! dinner revolution!

if you know anything about me, you know i love to cook.  i live for it.  it's my greatest source of relaxation & frustration!  i also tend not to cook a lot of the same things over & over- i always want to try something new.  i do have favorites, but i love being adventurous- always trying something new!  i was so thrilled when i got the opportunity to review & share with you a fabulous new cookbook- dinner revolution.

cooking has become less of a joy & more of a frustration since having ian.  it's hard to cook when you're chasing a baby.  whether it's stopping him from breaking dishes or going through all our cabinets, or having him pull at my leg screaming for me to feed him what i'm attempting to cook- when i can't even get it in the pan!  i tend to go for the complicated when i need to go for the simple.

chef jeff's dinner revolution is full of family friendly recipes (over 200!), with 10 ingredients (or less) and they take 30 minutes or less to prepare (really)!  i wanted to prepare a couple recipes before i shared this with you- and i can't wait to prepare more....  oh, and the simplicity of these dishes means less dishes (to wash).  boy is dave happy about that!

in our house, monday & thursday are pizza/corndogs/easy food night.  i have to work, and don't have time to cook.  i was actually able to make a dinner revolution meal- sit down & eat with my family- and get out the door to work- so much better than the same old frozen pizza.  added bonus- ian ate these meals with us!  we're in the picky toddler stage now- so anything i can get him to eat is points in my book!!

what i made: palak paneer & apricot chicken!  palak paneer:  i've dabbled in indian cooking once or twice before, but i've never made palak paneer.  i've had it as a frozen meal though, so i wasn't expecting much.  well, it was really good- and this was one that really shocked me when ian ate it- dave enjoyed it as well.  plus, it made so much that we had leftovers.  apricot chicken:  sweet chili sauce is a favorite in our house, so i was immediately drawn to this recipe- plus, i seriously couldn't believe that i would be finished making chicken in 20 minutes.  add in a simple side- and i had dinner ready when dave was walking in the door from work!

 (palak paneer with whole wheat naan)

next up in our kitchen:  buffalo chicken & bleu cheese meatloaf, and from there, i can't decide, there are so many delicious options, and if you know me, i'm going to try them all!!

so i know you want a copy of this too!  well, one of you all of you are winners!!!  chef jeff has been gracious enough to allow me to share this cookbook with all of my readers!!  all you have to do is click here for your free copy of dinner revolution!  there's something for everyone in your family in this book and i know you will all find recipes that you love!  i hope that you guys will enjoy it as much as i have!  now get in the kitchen!

here we come a-wassailing

one of the funest (not-a-word) things about marrying into another family is blending in their christmas traditions with yours, and one of my favorite things from my husband's family- wassail at christmas time, or as the family likes to call it (and i believe this phrase was coined by my bnl)- phw (piping hot wass)- i hope you enjoy it!

wassail

64 oz. apple cider

20 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 t. nutmeg

3 T lemon juice

1 t. lemon zest

1/4 c. honey

put the cider and cinnamon stick in a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for 5 minutes

add the remaining ingredients and continue to simmer for at least 5 more minutes

optional:  you can also add orange zest and float sliced oranges on top!  so pretty

this is so easy- go make it, now!

mommy cooks: indian summer turkey chili

temperatures are getting colder here in the midwest.  it may be nearly 70 today, but it's not supposed to get over 40 as the week wears on, and i even heard the word "snow."  ::shudders::  to me, a perfect winter meal is a soup or chili- there's just something about the hot liquid that warms you right up.  to me, it's comfort food.  now, i make a mean chili, but we are trying to eat healthier, so we have been making a lot of meals with turkey meat instead of ground beef- turkey is a great replacement for beef in burgers, and it's the perfect meat for this awesome chili that's colorful and full of veggies!  enjoy!

indian summer turkey chili

courtesy of rachael ray's big orange book

3 T extra virgin olive oil

1 package ground turkey (i buy the leanest)

3 T dark chili powder

1 T grill seasoning

1 T cumin

2 T worcestershire sauce

2 T hot sauce

1 medium-large onion, chopped

2 large bell peppers, any color combination (orange, red, green, purple, yellow), ribs and seeds removed, chopped

3/4 cup of beer (alcohol cooks out)

1 28-oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup smoky bbq sauce

1 cups corn kernels

heat a pot over medium to medium-high heat.  add  evoo and the turkey.  season meat with chili powder, grill seasoning, cumin, worcestershire and hot sauce.  crumble up meat and let cook about 5 minutes.  chop the bell peppers and onion, reserving 1/4 of onion for topping chili, if desired.  add veggies to meat and cook 10 minutes more.  add beer and deglaze pan, scraping up drippings while the alcohol cooks off.  add tomato and bbq sauce, and bring to a bubble.  add corn.  let simmer for 10 minutes.  adjust to taste.  

chili toppers (use all or some according to what you like)

shredded cheese: white cheddar, colby jack, pepper jack

sliced jalapenos

salsas

sour cream

chopped onion

chopped green olives

chopped cilantro

diced tomato

(i love a little bit of cheese, sour cream, green olives and cilantro on mine)

cute as pie

besides colder weather, sweaters, great boots, and football... one thing i think of when i think of fall is all of the delicious food and baked goods that come with the holiday season.  one of my favorites: pie.  i am a fan of pie- pumpkin, apple, cherry, etc.  i'm not picky.  when i came across this pie pan at macy's, i just had to have it

image

absolutely adorable.  it's from the martha stewart collection- which always has new and interesting kitchenware, gadgets and accessories (i have her to thank for outfitting my kitchen in "martha stewart blue").  the bottom of the pie pan reveals a recipe for pumpkin pie!  you'll want to start serving pie asap just to cut away and reveal the bottom of your pan!  we went ahead and purchased this for a family member for christmas, but if i accidentally ended up keeping it for myself... oops.  there was also an accompanying apple pie dish, but i can't seem to locate it anywhere, which is really upsetting because macy's has a habit of discontinuing it's msc, and this is a relatively new item (i'm still upset about the kitchenaid mixer discon.).  it sure beats a boring old glass or metal pie pan!  get it now while it's available, and on sale for only $14.99- what a steal!

i also saw this pan, and couldn't resist showing it...

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happy baking!  what pies (or other goodies) are you looking forward to making this fall?

mommy cooks (bakes) - oatmeal chocolate chip lactation cookies

yes, you heard it right here.  there is such thing as "lactation cookies."  not only are these cookies good for helping to boost your milk production, they're also delicious!!  they taste just like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!  need a little boost?  give these a try!  don't need a boost?  remove the brewers yeast.  they aren't the healthiest cookies, but I am definitely planning on tweaking the recipe next time around

ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips
2-4 tablespoons brewer's yeast

directions:

preheat oven to 350°.

mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar well.

add eggs and mix well.
add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, and salt.
add dry ingredients to butter mix.
stir in oats and chips.
scoop onto baking sheet.
bake for 12 minutes.

enjoy!