In the kitchen with Kat: Chicken Tacos

Recipes used to be a regular feature here at casa Sunshine and Lemonade. In fact, it was almost a year ago when I last posted a recipe. A yummy chicken and rice casserole. The perfect thing to offer to your family. Or someone in need of a meal. Much better than some of the more interesting offerings that we received while on braincation. Like pot roast pasta. Or carrot jello. Or boiled cabbage. Or lasagna with peas and corn. Not that I am complaining. Dinner made by someone else is always a good thing. Unless it's pot roast pasta. I am now the proud owner of a rather large hole.

One of the kitchen tools that I have never been a huge fan of is the crockpot. I have used mine occasionally. Never with much success. It seems like everything that I have tried ends up tasting the same. Or swimming in its own grease. Appetizing not. However. I do have a few crockpot recipes that I like. And I thought I'd share them with you.  Starting with the very easiest one. Easy. And most importantly - yummy.

This recipe is so easy that it only calls for three ingredients. Three. 3. T.H.R.E.E. That's it. Bonelesss chicken breasts. Salsa. And taco seasoning.



Just dump them all in your crockpot.

Maybe swirl it a bit with a spoon. And ignore it the rest of the day.

When it's cooked, that chicken will just fall apart. It might need a smidge of help from you and a fork. But it's rather effortless.

And voila! Chicken tacos.

What is interesting about this is that chicken you started with. Well. It's like it multiplies. After you eat your tacos. You will still have LOTS of chicken left. You can freeze some. You can make chicken nachos. You can make enchiladas. Taco salad. Tortilla soup. Or just keep noshing on it as you do the dishes. And wonder about the mystery of your disappearing leftovers.

Here is my simple recipe:
6 boneless chicken breast (frozen or thawed)
16oz jar of salsa spiced to your taste
1 envelope of taco seasoning

Put all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Enjoy!

So...what about you? Do you like your crockpot? Have a favorite crockpot recipe? Do you use those crockpot liners?

In the Kitchen with Kat: Can I bring you a chicken casserole?

I am not sure if I can recall the last time I cooked. I think it was in January. Maybe. Because ever since Michael went into the hospital, people have been bringing us meals. Neighbors. Friends from church. From our homeschool group. And this innundation of generosity is so wonderful. But sometimes. I am feeling a little bit ungrateful. And a lot a bit guilty.

Now, I fully admit we are a picky lot over here. There are a lot of things that we don't like. Like spicy foods. Veggies mixed with the other foods. Peas. Peppers. Peas. Sloppy Joes. Peas. Corn. Have I mentioned that we don't like peas?
Now we are certainly not limited to chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. But some of the things that have landed on my kitchen counter have been interesting to say the least. And I thought about telling you all the particulars of some of the concoctions. Because some of them were so "interesting" that they actually made me laugh. But then that guilt and ungrateful thing rears its ugly head. And I am reminded again of how thankful I need to be. So, I just put the interesting things in individual serving bowls. Freeze them. And plan to send them to work with Michael when he is ready. Because that Michael. Well...he'll eat anything.
So...I got to thinking. And thought I would share a family favorite - Chicken and rice casserole. I got the recipe from my friend Cindy. Who got it from her mother-in-law. I think it's a favorite because it's simple. Easy. Delicious. Contains NO peas. And would make a great meal to give to a friend in need.
Here are all the ingredients.I always double the recipe. And instead of using two cans of cream of mushroom soup, I use mushroom and cream of chicken. I also leave out the can of mushrooms that the recipe calls for. I know. I am such a rebel.
Pour the rice into the bottom of a casserole dish.
And then add the chicken pieces.
Mix up the soup in another container. And then add to the chicken.
Be sure to make sure that the soup gets under all the chicken. I like to sometimes mix it up with the rice. Because uncooked pieces of rice in your casserole are not so yummy.
Then top the whole thing with dry onion soup mix.Or you can be adventerous. And use onion-mushroom soup mix instead.
Cover the whole thing with foil.
You needed that picture didn't you? It might have been confusing otherwise. I love a pictorial cooking lesson.
Stick it in the oven. And when the timer beeps. And you peel off that foil. Oh, the aroma. Mmmmmmm. And the taste. Oh my. Delish!
Here is the simple recipe:
Put 1 cup of rice (not instant) into the bottom of a casserole dish.
Add your chicken pieces on top of the rice.
In a small bowl, mix a can of cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 can of water, and a small can of drained mushrooms.
Pour the mixture over the chicken. Be sure that it gets under the chicken so that all the rice is coated.
Cover the casserole with one package of dry onion soup mix.
Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350º
So...what about you? Has anyone ever brought you a strange meal? Do you have a "go-to" meal when you want to provide a dinner for someone?

Cookie Swap: Peanut Butter Cup cookies

A few weeks ago, Monogram Chick decided to host a cookie swap. I was matched with three other bloggers and we got our names right before Thanksgiving. My partners were quite on the ball. I got peanut butter cookies. With a fabulous recipe that I passed on to my friend whose daughter has to be gluten free. And then I got this wonderful tin of Andes candies chocolate cookies. Madalyn declared those hers. And then. Again. More cookies arrived. Pretty much a traditional toll house recipe - but with a box of instant vanilla pudding added. And. Oh wow. They were awesome. And finally. Last week. I finally decided to get my act together and make some cookies.

But what to make?

My favorite kind of cookie is chocolate chip. And I love to make toll house cookies. Without the chocolate chips. Scandalous. But delicious. Perhaps only to me. So, not that one. The kids and I always make these chocolate pretzel cookies. But part of the rules of the cookie swap was no kid fingers in the dough. I guess not that one if I am going to follow the rules. But wait - does it count if there is no dough? So. I decided to go with a tried and true favorite. Peanut butter cup cookies. Because who can go wrong with the combination of peanut butter. And chocolate.

Here is our cast of characters.

The recipe that I have says it will make 36 cookies. But it really doesn't. Maybe I make my cookies bigger than the recipe writer. I love big cookies. A doubled recipe - here at casa Sunshine and Lemonade - makes about 4 and a half dozen cookies. Your mileage may vary.

First thing to do - measure out the butter, peanut butter, and both kinds of sugar.

Cream them all together.

Please ignore all the spatters on my mixer. I keep trying to win one of those fancy Kitchen Aid mixers from Pioneer Woman. They come in all sorts of colors. Like pink. Or lime green. I want a red one. But out of the ten thousand or so entries, mine name has never been picked. I keep hoping that my contest giveaway mojo will rub off on my ability to win something one day. Have you entered my contest? Your odds are much better with me than with PW. Except that I am not giving away a Kitchen Aid mixer.

Where were we??

Oh. Yes. Beat in your eggs and vanilla.

This is the whole reason we are told to not lick the spoon. The beater. The bowl. All because of these eggs. Do you live life on the edge and lick anyway?

Add your flour. Gradually. Or else the mixer will send it all over your kitchen. Not that I know this from experience or anything.After all the flour is combined. Cover and put in the fridge. It will be easier to handle when it's a cold. Let it sit in there for about an hour. In the meantime. It's time to take the wrappers off of your peanut butter cups. I would like to suggest that you get extra packages of peanut butter cups. Because this process is sort of like going to a pick your own strawberry patch. Without the bugs. Heat. And bending over. You know. One for the bowl. One for you. And you keep doing this because no one is going to weigh you when you are done. And you just hope that no one notices the red dribbles going down your shirt from the berries. Or the smears of chocolate. Or is that peanut butter across your forehead? Not that I would ever do that. Or speak from experience.

Where were we?

Oh...okay. We are going to work with our hands here. Get some dough and roll it into a ball. Maybe 1 1/4 inches in diameter. I don't know. I don't cook with a ruler.Then press a peanut butter cup into the middle.

And roll into a ball again.

And bake. And when you pull these out of the oven. They are gorgeous.

Look at them. With their secret cache of peanut butter cup. Right in the middle.

Let them cool completely. And then you can make the drizzle.

Get your ingredients out. Put them in a bowl. Stick it in the microwave to melt. And stir. Then I scraped all the melted goodness into a baggie. Cut a small corner off. And drizzled the chocolate and peanut butter over the cookies.So pretty.But not too pretty to eat.Absolutely sinful.

Here is the recipe (I always double it. Except for the drizzle. You can keep those proportions the same):

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

13oz package of minature peanut butter cups

Drizzle:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 tsp shortening

Cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars.

Beat in egg and vanilla

Combine flour and baking soda - gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Cover and refrigerate for about an hour

Roll into 1 1/4 inch balls. Press a peanut butter cup into each and reshape into a ball.

Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes or browned.

For drizzle, combine the chocolate, peanutbutter and shortening and melt in the microwave.

Stir until smooth

Drizzle over cooled cookies.

So...what about you? Do you have a signature cookie? Ever done a cookie swap? Do you lick the cookie dough from the spoon? What color Kitchen aid mixer would you want?

Theme song: Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar

In the Kitchen with Kat: Sausage Pinwheels

I was roasting in the sun...so I came inside for some wonderful a/c. A little peace and quiet. And some blogging time. And I look over at my live feed...and see that I have had a bunch of hits from a site called "Start cooking." What is up with that? So...I click over to see what this site is all about...and today's post is 35 ways to cook with sausage. And there I am. Number 7. And my delish sausage muffins.

I had no idea anyone was coming over for muffins. I would have let them know that I had gone to the beach. And I haven't put on make up or blown my hair dry in days. I might have even wiped the cracker crumbs from my counters. And then I remembered. I have yet another recipe I can post. Sausage seems to be a theme in my recipes. I even created an index right below my menu section. Just in case you might want to make Oriental Salad. Or have some strawberry shortcakes for dessert. Or check out my other sausage main dish: grits casserole.

And in honor of "start cooking"...here is yet another easy,yummy sausage recipe.

Look. This is all you need. Can't get much better than just two ingredients.

I like to use the Turkey sausage. It has a really nice, mild flavor. Feel free to change this to whatever sausage you prefer.

Open one of your cans of crescent rolls and lay them on your cookie sheet. Press all the perforations together. Lots of finger prints make it taste better.Next, take half the sausage and spread it over the crescent rolls. How easy is that? You don't even have to brown that sausage!Then roll it up.And it will look like this when you are done.Next, all you have to do is to slice up the roll. How thick is up to you.How about this thick?

When you are done slicing...your cookie sheet will look like this:

Pretty, pretty. Just follow the directions on the crescent rolls. You might need to add a few more minutes. Cook until the crescent rolls are brown and beautiful.Now, you have to tell people that these are sausage pinwheels. I have put them out at a brunch before and people didn't realize that was sausage in there. Someone even told me that she didn't get any because she thought it was cinnamon rolls. Do they look like cinammon to you?

Whatever they look like...they taste yummy. Perfection!

Here is the simple recipe:

2 packages of crescent rolls

1 pound package of turkey sausage.

Open one of the crescent rolls.

Smooth out perforations.

Spread half of sausage over the dough.

From the long side, roll the dough into a log.

Slice.

Bake according to crescent roll directions. Might need to add a little extra time.

Repeat with remaining sausage and crescent roll dough.

Enjoy!

In the kitchen with Kat: Oriental Chicken Salad

While we are driving to the beach, I thought I might regale you with a yummy recipe. Perfect for summer because there is really no cooking involved. I should have posted this earlier so you could have made it for your 4th of July cook-outs. But I was busy shopping at Target packing. And plagarizingborrowing lame Thursday Thirteen lists. And procrastinating. And coming up with a million and one other ideas. Just without the follow through.

Maybe this will enlighten you on my amazing ability to procrastinate. I took these pictures and made this salad in May. And am just now getting around to telling you about it. I also have about 10 different Thursday Thirteen lists saved in Word. But they only have 7 items on each list. One day I will grace you with my brilliance. When it chooses not to show itself...we learn about aliens.

But I digress...

I think that everyone has heard of this salad. Or one of its various incarnations. I think my church cookbook has 4 versions in it. My recipe is an amalgam of those. Plus a little extra. And let me tell you why there is an extra. The reason I made this salad in May was because the PTA for Madalyn 's elementary school was having our annual end of year meeting. And everyone on PTA was supposed to bring a salad. Why is it that when women get together, they only want to eat salad? And things that are healthy? Are we eating our peanut m&ms in the closet? Do we only eat bacon cheese burgers in the privacy of our cars? Is it a secret that we like sour cream and onion potato chips?

My first end of year meeting was last year. And I dutifully brought my salad - a fruit salad - and when I left - I had to stop at Sonic for a cheeseburger. So, this year, I decided to put a little extra into the salad. I added a secret ingredient. Shhhh...it is chicken.

So...here is Kat's interpretation of Oriental Chicken Salad.

Here are our players:

Break the ramen noodles. I just use the heel of my palm, leaving the noodles right in their package. Be careful that you don't pound them too hard or the noodles will spew out of said package into all the nooks and crannies of your stove, counters, burners...and onto the floor where you will step on those noodles for weeks even though you swept them up...and when you step on them with your bare feet, they tend to really hurt...and you'll have to send someone to the store for another pack of noodles. Not that those things happened to me. It is just an example. I am always careful when I cook.

Where were we? Oh, yes. Break the noodles and then put them on a cookie sheet. Add some almonds and stick them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Just so they toast a little.

This salad really serves a lot of people. So, when you put your broccoli-slaw in a container, make sure it's big enough. I use my mom's ginormous tupperware bowl from the 1970's. Isn't it pretty in there?

Next, mix up the ingredients for the dressing - and then pour it over your slaw. Even if your bowl is not empty when you get home, this salad is still delicious the next day. And even the day after that. The dressing does not make the slaw mushy - it stays crisp. If you are making this for a ladies luncheon...don't get offended if it's not all gone when you leave. Cause you are going to add that magic ingredient. And, the ladies are saving room for their Chick-fil-a sandwich and a hand-churned milk shake that they are going to eat in the car on their way home.

Are we still making salad? Oh, yes...the chicken. Because I like easy...I just buy a bag of Tyson grilled chicken strips...and then marinate the chicken in some teriyaki sauce for a bit before adding it to the slaw. You don't have to marinate it. If you are vegetarian, you can leave out the chicken. If you just want a nice salad side dish to go with your dinner, leave out the chicken. But trust me...if someone wants you to bring a salad to an all salad get together...add the chicken. Everyone will thank you. And they'll really thank you if you bring a little steam-y to your get together as well.Hmmm...What was I saying? What was I doing? Is it hot in here? Oh...yes...salad...I like to add some sunflower seeds to this, too. Gives it another flavor. And adds more protein. We might not have to stop at Mickey D's on the way home after all...Those noodles and almonds are probably nice and toasty now...so just dump them on top:And mix it all together:Did I tell you that I love this salad? It makes a great meal. Sorry Sonic...maybe next time...Here is my simple recipe:

2 (10 oz) packages of broccoli slaw

2 pkgs Ramen noodles (I use beef flavor - it really doesn't matter what kind)

1 c. sunflower seeds

1/2 c. slivered almonds

Bag of tyson grilled chicken strips - marinated in teriyaki

Dressing:

3/4 c. oil

1/3 c. vinegar (I usually use Apple Cider vinegar - but whatever you have on hand will work)

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

both seasoning packets from the Ramen noodles

Break up noodles and toss with almonds. Toast at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

Mix dressing.

Combine all ingredients.

Chill before serving.

Steam-y optional.