Posted by ashley jean on Jan 13, 2012 in Recipes | 0 comments
So this week has been rough. Nothing major has happened, I’m just really dragging and feel defeated. There are several things I feel like I’m just “waiting” on to move forward. I know that the Lord’s asking me to realize that even in this wait He’s teaching me things and life can’t just be wasted while I wait for the next big thing. *sigh*
So anyway, yesterday when I realized that both Husband and I were going to be home for dinner (this week has been a little crazy) I realized that I should probably figure out what we were going to have. And I felt like doing something easy with minimal clean up. So I whipped out a Slow Cooker recipe…Orange Chicken.
I LOVE slow cooker recipes. I love being able to dump everything into a pot, and after a crazy day when I’d rather do just about anything then cook, our food is magically done! So I always love getting a chance to try a new one. So here you go ::
Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
- 1/2 cup flour
- olive oil, for browning the chicken
- 1 tbls kosher salt
- 6 oz (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I’d opt for no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
- 3 tbls brown sugar
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbls ketchup
- * I also added green peppers. I LOVE them so I added a green pepper. This is entirely optional.
Directions
- Coat the chicken pieces in flour, and shake off the excess. (Throw away any remaining flour) Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. It doesn’t need to be cooked through, just brown it enough for the flour to stick and give coating.
- Drop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you’d like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a bit more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. I would only use low or only keep on high for a short time. Mine burned the first time I left it on low-and it was less than 6 hours…so I think its best to really keep an eye on this and move it to warm whenever its gotten really cooked through. Serve over white or brown rice.
This was really yummy. And I did have to make the rice, and I made edamame to go along with it as well – but I made it easy. I used boil in a bag rice (my fav in Colorado because I still can’t manage to make rice well at altitude…something about the way water boils)…and I had purchased steam-in-the-bag edamame…so I just threw it in the microwave. Easy peasy SUPER yummy dinner!
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Posted by ashley jean on Jan 9, 2012 in Recipes | 2 comments
So for over a year now I’ve struggled with what I will call “tummy troubles”. I’ve been able to manage it with medicine – but I’ve decided in the new year to do the best I can at eating more fruits and veggies. I need to add more fiber to my life – and I also just want to feel better about what I’m eating.
So I decided to try something I’ve been curious about – but horrified to try. Yesterday – I went for it.
It’s called “The Green Monster” – and I think the name itself scared me. But then the pictures – OH the pictures!
The green-ness was just too much. I was scared.
And I have this rule. I don’t care how healthy something is for me – if it doesn’t taste good, don’t eat it.
But I was feeling bold. And in need for more veggie-ness. And I’m serious, THIS IS GOOD!!
Here’s the recipe ::
The Green Monster Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk (I used Vanilla Almond Milk – not because I’m vegan – its just really good for you and yummy and I like to mix it up! But “cows milk” would be just fine too!)
- 1/4 cup quick oats
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 frozen banana
- handful of ice
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- And I added a Truvia packet for some added sweetness
Just stick it all in the blender – and blend it until creamy!
It’s seriously SO good! It tastes like a peanut butter banana smoothie! You really cannot taste the spinach! And holy fiber-tasticness! You can also add all kinds of stuff – flax seed, chia seeds – whatever your lil heart desires! So good for you and so yummy!
I know – it still looks so strange – but if you’re brave enough to try – you won’t be disappointed!
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Posted by ashley jean on Jan 4, 2012 in Recipes | 1 comment
I love pasta. No, I don’t know if this is clear enough – I stinking LOVE pasta. It’s comforting, and filling, and is just oh-so-tasty. This is how it makes me feel ::
So when I was trying to whip up something filling and substantial for the earlier portion of my dear friend’s bachelorette party, I thought pasta salad would be a good option! The girls loved it, and I forwarded the recipe to many! It was so yummy I made it again for my sister’s baby shower. Although, we had so much yummy food it was just one in the sea of deliciousness. This is a great dish when you’re looking to feed some rather hungry folks – or a small crowd!
Here’s the recipe ::
Ingredients
- 16 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni (or your pasta preference)
- 4 carrots, shredded (I just used some of the bagged shredded carrots)
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (or more if you’d prefer!)
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water, and drain.
- In a large bowl, stir together the carrots, red onion, green pepper, red pepper and celery. Mix in the mayonnaise, condensed milk, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the macaroni, toss gently, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. I usually make this a day ahead of time, and stir it occasionally to blend the flavors. The macaroni will absorb some of the liquid.
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Posted by ashley jean on Apr 5, 2011 in Recipes | 1 comment
So we had some friends over the other night – and one of them was lactose intolerant. I had NO IDEA how tricky this makes life! So many of my “go-to guest dishes” have some kind of cheese or dairy in them! SO finally I found a pesto recipe – which actually called for cheese (but I left it out and the rest of us added it as we ate) and heavy cream – but I substituted chicken broth…which actually made it healthier! Woot!
So here’s an easy peasy Chicken Pesto Pasta recipe for yall!
Chicken Pesto Pasta:: 
Ingredients
- 1 (16 oz) pkg fettuccine pasta (substitute your fav pasta or use whole wheat for added healthy-ness!)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts – cut into chunks (I just eyeballed the amount bc I used tenders!)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (i used the jar kind
– thanks mom for the tip!)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth (Originally it called for heavy cream – so use that if you want it creamier)
- 1/4 cup pesto (I have friends that make this homemade-I’m too lazy and have a jar)
- 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese (We left this out to keep it dairy free and added some as we ate)
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until “al dente” (oh you’re so fancy); drain.
- Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and garlic until chicken is almost cooked. Reduce heat and stir in salt, pepper, broth (or cream), pesto and Parmesan cheese. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Stir in cooked pasta.
YES my friends – it’s that simple! And it’s DELICIOUS!! So you should give it the ol’ college try when you want to mix up your menu – or if you have a guest with dairy issues!
We served this with salad w/ all the fancy fix-ins and some yummy bread!
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Posted by ashley jean on Mar 25, 2011 in Recipes | 4 comments
So a lot of you have heard me talk about “No Pudge” Brownies in the past – I made them a lot in Georgia, but always just used the box. Which is FANTASTICALLY easy by the way – but I also have a “from scratch” recipe that I was given that is cheaper (if you have the ingredients on hand) and still SO easy!! So here you are::
No Pudge Fat-free Brownies::
Ingredients::
(This is for an 8×8 pan – so a little one. So just double it if you’re making a bigger pan!)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 egg whites (add this if you want “cake like” brownies – I always like gooey brownies so I leave it out)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt (I use Dannon Light & Fit bc its my fav)
nonstick spray
Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients together. Add yogurt & mix well. Batter will be thick!
Spray 8×8 pan pan and unload the batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes (I’m not sure if its the altitude, or that I don’t like them too “done” – but I’m usually ready to take them out at 25 min).
Remove and cool (if you can wait that long) Dip knife in warm water to cut.
If you’d rather go the box route, the pic to the left is what you’ll be looking for! They are not uber-cheap for only an 8×8 batch – but they are easy and yummy! They are in the aisle with the brownie recipes, but in our stores here they have them by the “specialty mixes”…like the gluten free and stuff, not by all the other mixes.
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Posted by ashley jean on Mar 24, 2011 in My Life, Recipes | 0 comments
So I was out of town, for my friend Bradley’s wedding…in Charlotte, NC. It was fabulous, and so fun to see everyone, but it was spring break and people were fleeing Denver like it was on fire…and I was stuck in security for too long – that was after the check-in line was so long that I didn’t get to the check-in people soon enough so my bag wasn’t able to be checked – so I had to throw out all my liquids. Please don’t get me started – I had some pretty amazing hair products that are now in some freaking dumpster somewhere – and I didn’t even get to tell them how much I loved them. lol But in all seriousness – I almost didn’t make it to the wedding – and I may or may not have cried at the gate when I got there and the door was shut. But – it’s okay, it got me bumped to first on stand-by and I made it!
My camera was broken (of COURSE) so I didn’t get any pictures – but this is a fun pic of some of the gals that were there! We had lots of fun
I also wanted to share with you something I whipped up while my hubby was away visiting some friends in California a few weeks ago. I didn’t used to like sweet potatoes, but a few years ago I fell back in love with them. I tried them because they are far healthier than normal potatoes…so I’ve tried to use them to make different dishes. I’d made sweet potato fries before – but never with cumin. But a friend told me to try it with some – so here’s my attempt And it was a very successful attempt! YUMMY! And SUPER easy!!!
Mexi-Style Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
- 1 sweet potato
- Olive Oil
- Cracked pepper
- Salt
- Ground cumin
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Slice sweet potato into fry shapes.
(If you choose to, you can soak the fries for 20 minutes – it can make them less starchy-but be sure to dry thoroughly before you cook em up.)
Toss in Olive Oil and then place on baking tray (I also used parchment paper – but you dont have to) and sprinkle with cracked pepper, salt, and cumin.
Bake about 20 to 25 mins, depending on the thickness. I also flipped mine, to make em perf. Then enjoy with ridiculous amounts of ketchup, because ketchup is simply fabulous.
PS. :: Sweet Potatoes are way for delicate than a regular potato and can burn very easily. So keep an eye on them – and don’t get gabbing on the phone, or caught up in the telly…you’ll be very disappointed if you burn these babies! Been there my friends…been there.
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