Salsa chicken

Hey hey blog friends. Hope everyone had a boom-tastic weekend. Mine was great! I had zero plans going in to it, which makes for an interesting weekend.

On Friday night, I did this wine tasting deal at Giant Eagle Market District. It was pretty fantastic and I ended up buying 2 bottles of wine! A goal of mine for 2012 is to become more of a wine-o and figure out which wines I like and which ones I don't care for. I haven't really put much effort in to learning about wine so far and I'd like to educate myself so this is my "year of wine." The tasting was awesome: $6 for 6 tastings as well as a food pairing with each one. The grocery store had other samples out that night too so I was pretty full and  feeling good by the time it was over.

I meant to make mouth-watering chicken taco chili this weekend but couldn't drag myself to the grocery. Let's be honest: after you drink wine at the grocery, going for actual food items sans buzz isn't as much fun. Soo I didn't get around to making it but I did put my chicken to good use and stuck it in the crock this morning covered in salsa. I used two different kinds of salsa because it's what I had on hand. The four skinless, boneless chicken breasts are cooking on low for about 8 hours. I'm a little curious as to how it will turn out because of the salsa combo I used. One is super hot so I hope I can eat the chicken without burning my mouth off.

I spent all day yesterday over at my brother's playing with Ella. I went through a little bit of Ella withdrawal last week since I was able to spend so much time with her over the holidays. It was good getting my fix. She is getting smarter and cuter by the second!

She's figuring out how to get to things which is always an adventure. The above picture is from New Year's weekend. We usually put all the non-Ella friendly things in the middle of the table so she can't reach. Well, on this particular night, I looked over at her and I see her across the table looking taller than usual, almost reaching my cup. I looked around the table and saw she's standing on her drum! Clever little minx!

Yesterday she decided to use Bear as a chair. She just swung her little leg over and plopped right down on him. She loves Bear and he is so good with her. She will literally walk on his face and he doesn't even bat an eyeball. What a trooper!

Alright, enough baby talk, back to work. Have a great Monday!

Crock-pot Chicken Taco Chili

Well...I got in my 4 miles yesterday. But I ran it indoors on the treadmill. And I only ran the first 2 miles at a steady 9:13 minute-mile before having to switch to interval sprints for the final 2 miles. I just wanted more mental stimulation and the steady running wasn't getting it done. I was pleased that I was "bored" enough to want to do sprints. I know once my miles increase, I'll be able to occupy my mind and it will get easier to run at a steady pace.

It takes me about 4-5 miles before I get in "the zone" and kind of forget that I'm running. If you aren't a runner, that probably sounds bonkers, but the reason I like long distance running is because I get to the point where I don't even think about what I'm doing and then all of a sudden I'm at mile 10. It's actually pretty great. Since it takes awhile for me to "zone up," running short distances like 5k's or the 5-mile turkey trot are a little bit miserable.

Enough with the running...let's talk crock-pot chili! Chicken taco chili to be exact. I cannot wait to make this recipe!! I wanted to make it tonight but I don't have some of the ingredients so I'll settle for making it this weekend. The plan is to make it Sunday but I might get too excited and make it Saturday.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
Serves 10

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Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 16 oz. can black beans
1 16 oz. can kidney beans
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 10 oz package frozen corn kernels
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
chili peppers, chopped (optional)
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker.  
2. Place chicken on top and cover.  
3. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream.

The website I got this recipe from included the nutritional facts. Very convenient and considerate.

Nutrition facts

Serving size: 1 1/4 cups 
Calories: 203.7
Fat: 1.4 g 
Carb: 33.3 g
Fiber: 10.0 g
Protein: 16.9 g


Happy Hump Day!

Crock pot Balsamic Chicken

I set a new record today. I was annoyed with work things before 8am. Do I get an award for that? I just hate when people don't get back to you...and when they finally do, they've ruined your whole plan for the month of December. I was all set to enjoy my two weeks off in December and now I feel a little stressed about taking the time off. I've kind of figured out a way to make everything work but still. Very annoyed. It's a good thing I had a delicious dinner last night, and a delicious lunch planned for today, or else I might have really flown off the handle.

Anyway........I’ve found a new favorite recipe! And it’s easy to boot! Probably the main reason it’s my new fave. Also, it is delicious and very versatile!

I found this recipe on the website skinny crock pot. You know I love me some crock-pot cookin’ and this website is perfection. This particular recipe makes 10 servings and I’m already thinking of the many other ways I’ll be able to eat it.

Crock-pot Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (not chopped)

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp each of dried oregano, basil, and rosemary

½ tsp thyme

½ c balsamic vinegar

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

ground pepper and salt, to taste

Directions

1. Pour the olive oil into the crock-pot, coating the bottom.

2. Add chicken breasts and cover with onion slices and salt and pepper.

3. Add dried herbs and garlic cloves. Pour in the vinegar and diced tomatoes. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Serve with angel hair pasta.

I didn’t have an onion so I made mine without. Mine was delicious but I know the onion really adds some extra flavor so I’m excited to make this again with the sliced onion. I also only used 3 chicken breasts and when I ate this on Monday night, I ate one whole chicken breast. For my other servings, I shredded the chicken, which was super easy because it was so moist from cooking. I'm going to eat the wrap suggested on the original recipe for lunch today and also try it over rice. I’d also like to try it cold over salad since the sauce is pretty much balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Any other ideas on how to eat the rest of this, let me know!

heaven in a bag

At least I have these babies waiting for me when I get home tonight. They are the perfect combo of dark chocolate, peppermint and pretzel. Have I mentioned how much I love dark chocolate and peppermint together? If you haven’t noticed, I’ve declared my love twice in the past two posts. It’s the pumpkin of the holiday season! Blonk!

Crocking it out

As of yesterday, Yuengling is officially sold in Ohio! Now that you don't have to go out of state to buy the stuff, I wonder if people will drink it all the time or if it will lose some of its appeal. You know what they say, you always want what you can't have...

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I mentioned this fantastic crock-pot recipe website a few posts back and this weekend I made one of the recipes from the site. I have a few picked out that I want to try but on Sunday, I decided to make white bean and sausage soup. I loooove sausage but it's not the healthiest. However, chicken or turkey sausage is a great alternative that I'm hoping to incorporate into more meals. Sunday was gorgeous but chilly and this soup definitely hit the spot. It was super easy too! I calculated the calories in the soup because I was curious, since it seems pretty low-calorie based on the ingredients, and it came out to approx. 1,510 calories for the whole thing! If you divide that by six servings, it's only about 252 calories per serving. Healthy, hearty, and delicious!

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White bean and sausage soup

1 can white kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 tsp thyme
2 cups fresh chopped vegetables (I used carrots, celery and broccoli)
1/2 chopped yellow onion
2-4 spicy chicken or turkey sausage, uncooked
1/2 cup rice (she used cooked rice but I used uncooked brown rice and it came out just fine)
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

Drain beans and put in crock-pot. Chop vegetables and onion into small pieces and add to crock-pot. Slice sausage and add to crock-pot. Add rice and broth and cover with lid. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-9 hours, until vegetables are tender and sausage is brown.

I cooked on high and ate some at about 4 hours in. Then, I turned the crock-pot to low and kept it cooking for another 2-3 hours, mostly because I was reading my nook and being lazy and also because it made my apartment smell delicious. I used 2 natural spicy chicken sausage but next time, I'll use 4 because that's my favorite part! I've had this for lunch and dinner every day since Sunday (no judging please) and the longer it sits, the more tasty, flavorful and thick it becomes. This is definitely one of those "better after re-heating" meals. Love, love, love it!

All in all, this soup was a great success! It reminds me of the jambalaya Tiff makes that I am OBSESSED with. I'm planning on making taco soup next. I said before how I'm not a huge fan of soup, but I seem to be proving myself wrong with all these soup posts. Ole!

My Dream Job

Recently, I was searching the world wide web (vintage) for crock-pot recipes because they are so convenient and usually easy-peasy. I found this sweeeeet crock-pot-recipe blog and started looking around her site to see what else she's writing about. I saw a link called "The CrockPot Diet" so I immediately clicked on it and read through the post. She referenced Jennette Fulda's blog and book, Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir, chronicling Jennette's weight loss of 186 pounds through diet and exercise alone. Since I received a handy-dandy nook for my birthday, I downloaded the book and went to her blog right away, formerly called PastaQueen, now called JenFul. Holy hell. This is what I hope to do with my blog: get paid to write about myself. I read some of the book online and the first 10 pages or so are MY LIFE. Granted, this woman was morbidly obese through her 20's and my story is not as extreme as hers by any means, but I'm sitting here nodding my head and thinking to myself "YES! YES! I know what you mean!!!" It's like she's speaking TO me. Needless to say, I can't stop thinking about going home and reading her book to see what else she has to say. Also, don't judge me for getting excited to go home and read.

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Whenever I find a new, interesting blog, I like to read the first few posts to see how the blogger started and what he/she blogged about in the "early days." Jennette's second post on November 30, 2003 included 7 Habits of People Who Lose Weight and Keep It Off:

1) Expect failure, but keep trying
2) Don’t deny yourself
3) Weigh yourself often
4) Exercise regularly
5) Find ways to add little bits of physical activity into your daily routine
6) Eat a high carbohydrate, low fat diet
7) Eat about five meals a day starting with breakfast

Her first blog entries mirror my own weight-loss struggles. Jennette's weight loss was urgent due to her health issues and she absolutely understood that. But she also writes, "I feel like I’m missing a major period of my life by being fat. It affects my self confidence. It makes me self-conscious in crowds. I’d like to feel good about the way I look for once." (source) That's how a lot of young women feel, regardless of size, myself included. Honestly, it's hard out here for a chick! I can really relate to each and every blog entry she writes and I have so much respect for her ability to write about her struggles and emotions honestly and openly. I didn't even start my blog until after I had lost a significant amount of weight. There is no way I would've started blogging about my goals without accomplishing some first. I'm not a huge fan of failure in the first place, and documenting it would be too damaging for me personally. That's why Jennette is so remarkable to me: she wrote about it and actually DID it. Anyone who has attempted to lose weight and either succeeded or failed at reaching their goals knows how difficult it can be. She is the exception to the rule and that's what makes her story so unique and sellable.

Lately, all these people are turning their blogging in to a career (The Pioneer Woman, Jennette, crock-pot lady Stephanie O'Dea) and that would just be my dream come true! Hopefully someone out there will hurry up and discover me! Until then, I'll be here, waiting...