Baked Adult Chicken Strips

I don't love meat, but I do love chicken strips. Who can resist "fried" chicken? This recipe is so good, has extra flavor and the perfect crunch, all without having to fry it in a ton of oil. This is the perfect addition to my Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese recipe!

2 large chicken breasts, cut in strips

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

Directions: 

• Cut the chicken into long strips and place in a bowl. 
• Cover chicken with the milk, garlic, salt and pepper and put back in the fridge to marinate for at minimum 20 minutes (I did it for about 4 hours and it was great)
• In a shallow bowl, mix the parmesan cheese, both breadcrumbs, and seasonings.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray
• Take chicken and dip in the bread mixture, making sure to coat the chicken evenly. 
• Place on the pre-greased cookie sheet and put in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook another 10-15 minutes. When the chicken is firm to the touch, it is done. 
• Remove from the oven and eat! 

Slow Cooker Mac n Cheese!

After looking over a million "crock pot macaroni and cheese" recipes, I decided to take a mix of all of them and try out my own! I think it worked out fabulously, and I would HIGHLY recommend this dish! Many of the recipes, with a few exceptions, had you cook the noodles before adding them to the crock pot. I wanted to save myself the time and effort of boiling water ( :) ) and I also wanted the noodles to cook in the milk and cheeses- talk about effortlessly adding extra flavor! I made this to accompany a veggie side and homemade chicken strips!

1- 12 oz box pasta (I used penne)

1 can evaporated milk (this keeps the sauce from getting curdled)

3 cups cheese (I used sharp cheddar and a mozzarella & provolone mix)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg (sorry for the 3 in pic below)
1/2 stick of butter, melted and then cooled to room temp

2 tablespoons sour cream

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

3 cups milk

Directions:

• Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray
• Put the evaporated milk, milk, eggs, sour cream, butter and spices in the slow cooker and mix together. 
• Add the cheddar and mozz/provolone mix and then add in the macaroni and mix up.
• Top with the Parmesan cheese and put the lid on.
• Cook on high for 45 minutes then turn to low and cook for 1.5 hours. Try with all your might to not open the lid- I know it is hard, but it lowers the cooking temp and can add 15-30 minutes to cooking time every time you open it!
• Serve! 

No Cream Ice Cream

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought "eh not sure how good that will be, but I will Pin it anyways." Well on Saturday night I was desperate for frozen yogurt and neither Stephen nor I wanted to get dressed and head to the store. We always have frozen bananas in the freezer for smoothies, so I decided to try this one out. It was SO good!! Stephen was extremely skeptical, thinking there was no way something with only 3 (ok 4 because I wanted it a little sweeter) ingredients could be so good. This is a must try- and hey, it really is not too unhealthy!

2 frozen bananas, cut into slices

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1 tablespoon dutch cocoa powder

Directions: 

• Put bananas in a food processor and pulse. You will need to scrape down the sides a few times to make sure the bananas are getting pureed. 
• When the bananas are getting smooth, add the rest of the ingredients and continue to pulse until all blended and smooth. 
• Put back into the freezer to get it to harden up a little more to the consistency of ice cream. 
• You can skip the last step and eat right away too!

Pineapple Cupcakes

We were heading to a BBQ last night and I was asked to bring a yummy treat. I wasn't able to go to the store, but fortunately I keep a stockpile of cake mixes. Wanting something light for summer I chose a pineapple cake mix and added crushed pineapple. It was delicious!

1 Box pineapple supreme cake mix

1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 container whipped cream cheese frosting

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix the cake mix, pineapple, eggs and oil together and fill mini cupcake (or normal cupcake) liners 3/4 full 
• When the cupcakes puff and a toothpick comes out cleanly, remove from oven. 
• If you do not have a pre-whipped cream cheese frosting, put the frosting in a bowl and mix with a mixer for 3-5 minutes until it becomes lighter
• Put into a decorators bag and frost with whatever tip you like best! For these, I used a large round open tip. 
• Sprinkle your favorite sprinkles on!

Homemade Herb Garden!

Check out my latest DIY project!  I saw a picture of this on Pinterest and knew I had to make it for our home!

Tape off the "lip" of the pot

After one coat

FINAL PRODUCT!!! Cilantro, chives, rosemary and basil!

Potato Soup

Olive Garden has a soup on their menu called Zuppa Toscana- a delicious potato soup with Italian sausage, what could be better? Stephen and I were having friends over last week and I wanted to do something different than the ole standby (spaghetti, chicken enchiladas or tacos, etc.) So I decided to get a little more creative. A friend of mine (thank you Kristyn, you ROCK) posted the recipe to Pioneer Woman's cheesy muffins- oh LORD they are out of this WORLD! She recommended that potato soup is the perfect compliment to the muffins, so of course, that is what I made!  Really, this is one of the only dishes I have made in a long time that we actually ate every single drop of leftovers. You HAVE to make this dish, and of course make the cheesy muffins to go with it! The recipe below makes enough for 8-12 servings, depending on the size of your eaters.

2 lbs Italian Sausage (I used mild)

1-2 bunches of kale, torn into small pieces

10 potatoes, cut into thin rounds

4 cups half and half

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups milk

salt and pepper

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons of heavy cream (why not?)

Directions:

• In a large pot, saute the onions until they are tender. Then add the Italian Sausage and brown. In my case, the Italian sausage came in casings so I had to remove the sausage from the casings prior to browning. If you can find Italian sausage just ground up- awesome!
• When the meat is brown, add all of your liquids (except the heavy cream) and seasonings, let cook 3-5 minutes. 
• Then add all of your potatoes that have been sliced. If you want more potatoes, add more. I liked having a little more potatoes to make the soup thicker.
• Let cook until the potatoes are al dente (slightly firm and has a little "bite" to them)
• About 5-10 minutes before you want to serve, add the kale and let it cook
• Serve it up!