Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

I know I'm a posting maniac in the last two days, BUT I know most of you have the day off today for the holiday! So either you're cooking and ideas are helpful or your relaxing and have some spare time. What better to do in your spare time than catch up on blog reading and meal plan? Thus you need reading material, ideas, and inspiration. Also... I'm trying to get to my 100th post! On the post I'll announce changes to the blog and other fun things. This is the 95th in case you were wondering. :) 

This recipe has quickly become one of my favorites. You know I don't repeat recipes often. I usually wait at least 3 months to cycle things back around, unless I absolutely LOVE them. Well this one has been repeated! It's so stinking easy and soooo good if you like spicy things. Three ingredients! AND you don't have to thaw anything. 

Ingredients: 

• 3 lb bag of frozen chicken breasts
• 1 bottle of buffalo sauce (I usually use Frank's but I got this Texas Pete one for free from an RA and loved it just as much)
• 1 packet of dry ranch mix

Directions: 

Add chicken to a large crock pot. Sprinkle with ranch seasoning. Pour over hot sauce. Cook on low for 6 - 7 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot, leaving sauce in. Shred chicken with a fork and add back to crock pot. Cook on low for 30 minutes to an hour. 

That's it! I like to serve mine on some nice rolls or buns. I used onion rolls this time and they were YUMMY! I made a batch of healthy ranch dressing using 1 packet of dry ranch, 1 cup of non fat Greek yogurt, and 1/2 cup of skim milk (1/3 a cup is 2 points and I used much less than that) to spread on the buns. I topped each sandwich with julienned celery, matchstick carrots, and some reduced calorie blue cheese crumbles. 

This makes 8 good sized servings at 4 points per serving, not including bread or toppings. 

Summer Holiday Foods

Tomorrow is July 4th! I always say I'm not patriotic. Don't hear me wrong. I'm VERY happy and thankful for my country and freedom, my dad's a vet! I'm not anti-patriotism at all. I just don't consider myself patriotic. But somehow... I subconsciously wore red and/or blue yesterday and today! And all I can think about is BBQ and watermelon. 

If you're like me and only have the one day off in the middle of the week, you might not have made any big plans. Therefore you might not feel BBQing a whole lot of meat (and your grill might be broken like mine). Or maybe you want to eat a healthier holiday meal! I made this meal a couple of weeks ago and when I ate it, it made me think of summer holidays. It was so good and so fresh. So if you haven't planned what you'll eat tomorrow yet (or if you just need some meal planning inspiration for any summer day), be inspired! 

Easy! Thaw some frozen tilapia fillets. Spray each fillet with a little olive oil cooking spray. Salt and pepper each side, heavy on the freshly cracked black pepper. Slice a lime or two into rounds and bake with the fish. Squeeze a couple lime halves over the fillets. Bake at 375 for 14-17 minutes. Serve with lime wedges, garnish with some fresh cilantro. An average sized tilapia fillet (4 oz) is 3 points cooked. Lime, seasonings, herbs, and lightly sprayed olive oil cooking spray are all zero. Healthy and so yummy.

So easy. So fancy. So yummy. This would be EVEN better with grilled corn. I roasted mine in the oven since the grill is broken. Butter is not healthy, but corn is! One medium ear of corn is 2 points. And you only need a little pad of compound butter per ear of corn, which I estimate to be about a half of a tablespoon. 1/2 tablespoon of butter is 1 point. So a whole ear is 3, not bad for this treat!

Compound butters can be anything! They are so fun to make and slicing into your compound butter will make you feel like a real chef. Let some butter sit at room temperature. I did less than a 1/2 stick because it was just for me and my leftovers. You can do a whole stick and it keeps for a long time. It can also be frozen. I mixed finely chopped cilantro and scallion, softened butter, a little cracked black pepper, and some lime zest. Place your mixed butter blob onto some plastic wrap. Wrap it up and shape it into a little log. Chill until hardened or until you're ready to use.

And then this! My very first quinoa experience. I loved it! This was a perfect first dish to try quinoa in. I used her recipe exactly except I used a normal quinoa, not tricolor, I added a chopped avocado, and I used roasted corn instead of raw. Quinoa is a super food! It's really good for you and actually a grain.

If you're gonna use paper plates, use happy festive ones! Even if you won't just be staying cool at home and have a holiday gathering to go to, I promise your friends and family won't hate you if you come with any of these dishes in hand. Happy 4th! Eat some watermelon and watch some fireworks.

Meal Planning 101: Week 13

I'll keep it short and sweet! Meal plan and weekend recap because I know you love it when I force my life on you in the midst of food posts. 

Babies! I got to hang out with my best friend (and fellow bridesmaid) and her baby this weekend! Alice is the sweetest baby ever and I couldn't take enough pictures of her. She does this adorable thing where she hides her face when she eats. Just like a little Southern lady, always trying to look proper.

Finally bought a Roo Cup! 25 cent refills here I come. Why don't they make a Diet Coke Icee?! 

I've been a bridesmaid a whole lot. This rehearsal dinner was some of the best rehearsal dinner food I've ever had! No food pictures, but we were pretty. (My fellow bridesmaids said I looked like Belle! As in Beauty and the Beast, best compliment ever. She's totally my favorite Disney Princess.)

I love my friends! Was so happy to be part of Molly's big day.

AND I decided I want to become a person who has painted nails often. They were painted for the weddings, and I just loved it, like I always do. So I stocked up on some fun colors at a Payless BOGO sale. I peeled off all the weekend one while antsy yesterday at a meeting, but then painted them last night! I like this commitment.

Now the food. Still eating veggies with every meal! They are never ending but I'm totally not complaining.

Monday:

Leftover Edamame Rice and Veggie Stirfry with Rotisserie Chicken (from Walmart - I cheated! Was a tiring weekend and didn't want to cook.)

Tuesday:

Baked Chicken and Dumplings Casserole and Stewed Squash

Wednesday:

Leftovers

Thursday

Slim Potato Casserole and Grilled Ham, Cheese, Chip and Pickle Sandwiches

Friday:

Leftovers

Saturday:

Chili Con Queso Pasta Bake and Nanny's Salad (My best friends' grandmother's salad. Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, mayo - I use fat free, and Italian dressing all tossed together. Simple but I love it!)

Sunday:

Leftovers

For lunch and breakfast this week, I'm obsessed with jars. I got some wide mouth pint mason jars and they are perfect for the popular Overnight Oats cold oatmeal concoctions for breakfast and jar side salads for lunch.

Meal Planning 101: Week 12

I know I seem like a slacker and haven't been keeping my "post a weekly meal plan every Sunday which usually means Monday" promise. You probably think I've been eating frozen things or fast food like the last time I did this. But I promise, I'm not! 

Last Tuesday I went to the Farmer's Market, we discussed that. Then my Aunt came to visit on Thursday and boy did she deliver on the promise to bring me goodies from Pawpaw's garden! 

There are blueberries, corn, squash, zucchini, okra, banana pepperx, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, a watermelon and... The reason my meal planning has been lacking this week. 

TOMATOES! Oh my the tomatoes. I had tomatoes from the Farmer's Market AND Pawpaw's tomatoes. I could eat garden grown tomatoes like apples. No grocery store tomato tastes like these. I have lost count of how many meals have consisted of pretzels and a tomato sandwich. Soft bread, a little mayo, thick slices of tomato, salt and pepper. It's like heaven in my mouth. 

I hate summer. I do. It's HOT! We're possibly reaching record temps this week, breaking into the 100s and everything. But... there is one thing that makes me be positive about summer and not want to rush it away too fast. Tomatoes. And their sandwiches. 

Moving on to my not so involved distracted my local home grown fruits and veggies meal plan for the week... Seriously. I'm preparing you. It's not nearly as creative as it normally  is. I just want to eat veggies! 

Yep. I confessed in my prior post that for dinner one day I ate nothing but Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze. I'm owning it!

Sunday:

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

Monday:

Leftover Ginger Pepper Basil Scampi Trenne with Turkey Bacon and Breadless Heirloom Bruschetta Salad (A rambly mouthful that means I made a scampi sauce, melted down some Ginger Pepper Jelly instead of wine, fried up some turkey bacon, tossed it with a cool tricolor trenne pasta I found at Home Goods and lots of fresh basil, sliced a beautiful heirloom tomato and some basil and sprinkled it with salt, pepper and balsamic and didn't know what to call any of it because I just made it up.)

Tuesday:

Veggie Stir Fry (fresh squash and zucchini with onions and carrots) and Sliced Tomato

Wednesday:

Leftover Veggie Stir Fry and Edamame Rice

Thursday:

Spicy Baked Tilapia with Sauteed Squash

Friday: 

Rehearsal Dinner! One of my very best friends is getting married this weekend.

Saturday:

Wedding Reception Food

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

We all deal with stress differently. Some people sleep. Some exercise. Some avoid. You've heard of stress eating right? Well I stress bake. Stress baking is almost as bad for you as stress eating when no RAs are around to feed your baking projects to! Remember that time I ate four blueberry cinnamon rolls for dinner and just that? Oops. I'm gonna need to move back into my apartment soon and have access to my craft box for other means of stress relief!

But seriously, if anything stuck with me from counseling it was the bit about doing mastery and pleasure activities in times of overwhelming sadness or anxiety. Translation... doing things you know you can master, finish and accomplish well and things that bring your soul pleasure. Knowing this is going to help me make it through the difficult times that lie ahead with my dad's health. Baking definitely meets both of those needs for me. I wish you could have seen my face when I opened the oven to the beautiful creation above. On second thought... I'm kind of glad you couldn't see me. I'm certain I looked like a super dork. But I was ecstatic! I had been crying for hours, got up, baked, and pulled that out of the oven! I was so happy and proud of my creation. I think I may have even bounced on my heels a little.

I'm claiming this recipe as my own because it really was mostly me. The cinnamon roll recipe was from food.com, but I altered it to be a healthier version using egg beaters, heart healthy mix, and low calorie butter. The blueberry part was inspired by recipes I've seen but my combination of ingredients. The glaze was thrown together by me.

Ingredients

Blueberry Filling:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
• Additional 1/2 cup of blueberries

Cinnamon Rolls: 

• 2 1/2 cups Heart Healthy Bisquick
• 1/3 cup of skim milk
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters (or 1 large egg)
• 2 tablespoons Brummel and Brown yogurt butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 3 tablespoons reduced calorie whipped cream cheese
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• splash of milk

Directions 

Dough: 

Preheat oven to 375. Mix baking mix, milk, and egg until a soft dough forms, I used my stand mixer dough hook for the first time! Place dough ball onto lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured clean surface. I'm OCD about germs so I always use parchment or wax paper to do dough work. Gently kneed the dough until mostly smooth. Roll dough into a 8 x 10 (ish) rectangle. If your dough is looking more round and not square enough, fold in the ends and keep rolling. Combine cinnamon and the 1/4 cup of sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture over buttered dough.

Filling: 

Combine 1 cup blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan. Cook on medium low heat until blueberries start to burst. I used a potato smasher to break mine down a bit more and thicken the sauce. When the sauce is a good consistency remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Spread the blueberry sauce on top of the cinnamon and butter topped dough. Sprinkle additional 1/2 cup of blueberries.

Baking:  

Roll up tightly starting with the long side. Pinch the edges of the dough closed. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cut 3/4 to 1 inch slits going almost through the bottom using a sharp knife. Don't go all the way to the bottom! It should make 8 rolls, 10 smaller ones. Bake for about 20 minutes or until light golden brown. 

Glaze: 

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a splash of milk in a small bowl or a large measuring cup and stir! I used my immersion blender and it made it a quick and easy job.

Just look at it! They are so very good and just pretty! In the words of a coworker I shared one of these cinnamon rolls with, "These things are gourmet!" Easy and impressive. You can never have enough recipes like that. 

I'm not suggesting that these as "healthy" BUT they are a much healthier version of most cinnamon desserts and cinnamon rolls. According to the Weight Watcher's Recipe Builder they are 7 points with the glaze. For comparison, a Starbucks Morning Bun (their cinnamon roll) is 10 points with no icing or glaze. A Corner Bakery Cinnamon Roll is 17 points! A Pillsbury Supreme Cinnamon Rolls is 10 points. 7 doesn't seem bad at all in comparison!

Meal Planning 101: Week 11

Remember that time I had a REALLY bad week? I mean just bad on top of bad on top of bad. An awful cold in June, of all months. Summer colds just feel worse than winter colds, it just feels wrong! Then there was family trauma/drama that resulted in lots and lots of tears, like days of tears, and then days of Netflix to recover from tears and new favorite shows happened (Jane by Design, Drop Dead Diva, and Firefly). Then I lost my voice and had a severe case of #firstworldproblems when I had no food, didn't feel like grocery shopping, and the people in the gross fast food restaurant drive through lines couldn't hear me. THEN... monthly girl curse. No exaggerations. All of this happened from a Wednesday to a Saturday, not even a whole week! And then on Tuesday I fell out of my desk chair.

So maybe just maybe you can forgive me for not following through on those promised recipe posts? What if I share a coffee trick with you that I tried this week and love? Coffee is always a good bribe right?

I made coffee ice cubes! You know me, I don't drink hot coffee in the hot months. BUT this is actually perfect if you do drink hot coffee. Always have leftover coffee in the bottom of the pot? Freeze it in ice cube trays! I brewed a whole 10 cup pot just to make a big batch of these to have on hand. They are great as ice cubes in iced coffee if you're a super coffee fan and hate when the ice dilutes your iced coffee. What I've been doing that I saw on Pinterest (of course), is pouring milk and a little creamer over the coffee ice cubes. They suggested vanilla almond milk... I tried that. Yuck! Just give me my regular organic skim milk please! And some creamer. Don't forget that part. Unless you want to. Then do. I also added a Splenda packet. I'm a slow drinker, so it's perfect for me. The coffee cubes start to melt into the milk flavoring it with that wonderful coffee taste. Note - although I love my Tervis tumblers, I highly recommend not using a Tervis for this trick. Why? Because they really do keep your drink cold! The ice will met A LOT slower.

This weeks meals are inspired by my Farmer's Market finds! I went with a twenty dollar bill and a mission to spend it all. I came back with three fresh garden tomatoes, two heirloom tomatoes, a cantaloupe, local honey, lemon thyme, basil, mint, rosemary and dill. I even had some spare dollars for a snack from the Market! The honey stand also sold honey lemonade and made while you watch sweet and salty kettle corn! All of that with one dollar left. I'm sold! Main Street Clinton's Fresh at Five Market will be getting my money every Tuesday!

Monday:

Potluck Birthday Dinner with friends (I'm brough Garlic Cheddar Biscuits)

Tuesday:

Breakfast - Sausage and Cheese Muffins (skinnied with added onions and lemon thyme), Egg in a Basket, Rosemary Breakfast Potatoes and Mint Honey Fruit Salad

Wednesday:

Leftovers

Thursday:

Edamame Fried Rice and Veggie Stir Fry

Friday:

Leftovers

Saturday:

Basil Ginger Pepper Jelly Pasta and Cucumber Tomato Basil Salad

Sunday:

Leftovers

Meal Planning 101: Week 10

Oh hey! I'm back. The summer has this nice lazy facade it puts on, but really, it's always so busy! Friday until Thursday I was in Upland, Indiana at Taylor University for the annual ACSD (Association of Christians in Student Development) Conference. I barely had time to sleep in my own bed before being gone again from Friday until Sunday for Bridesmaids Bachelorette Weekend. This coming weekend I'm going to visit my dad for Father's Day. Then there is one not busy weekend. And then the wedding and bridesmaid duties weekend. July is a little more calm, which is good since August all the crazy begins again!

I'll give you a quick-ish (okay, maybe not so quick, you know I like to talk) summary/recap of my trip via Instagram pics.

Trip preparations! I have to travel to do laundry for the summer. Not fun! But then there was a pedicure and coffee
(and staying up until 2:30 am packing) and I was ready to go! 

On our way! 

Three of us went early for the New Professionals Retreat. It came with lots of fun,
lots of connections AND a t-shirt. No regrets! 

And there was a campfire. With s'mores! The weather was perfect and not Mississippi-like at all. 

Due to the nice temperatures, I drank hot coffee! A lot. Because they offered it at
everything with yummy creamer options! And cute clear mugs. Who could say no? 

And then everyone else arrived and they welcomed us with an ice sculpture.
I was impressed.

Aren't we a good looking bunch?! I mean who wouldn't want to work with us. 

I take a lot of notes. And I just might happen to color code them. #OCDproblems

There were themed hang outs each night each with cute decorations and yummy snacks. Coffee House Night was my favorite. 

The Conference theme was Cultivating Wisdom. I loved this fun play on the theme
 for sports night! There were wings, a nachos bar, fried zucchini chips and
 loaded fries. Oh and some sports game on TV. 

During free time we toured the nearby BEAUTIFUL campus of
Indiana Wesleyan University. 

And had more coffee of course. With reading. And a cute little coffee shop with huge fun lanterns and fun things on the tables. 

One of the highlights of the trip. Ivanhoe's is a famous ice cream shop and
restaurant in Upland. They have 100 shake flavors and 100 sundae flavors!
But the star is their Strawberry Shortcake! The best version of my favorite
 dessert that I've EVER had. 

To wrap up the week they had an Indiana themed picnic dinner outside. The decor and weather were LOVELY.
The food was so good and very Southern cuisine like. 

A great week indeed! Happy to home though and able to control my own food again though. Speaking of food. Meal plan! That's what you came here for right?

Monday:

Shepherd's Pie (Pre-frozen from St. Patty's Day) & Cheesy (as in healthy Laughing Cow cheesy) Broccoli

Tuesday:

Chicken Pot Pie Baskets (inspired by this recipe, but almost everything will be too different to say it's that recipe) & Fake Fried Okra

Wednesday:

Fake Fried Fish Tacos topped with Wild Rice and Homemade Salsa & Spicy Potato Hash

Thursday:

Buffalo Chicken Sliders, Blue Cheese Baked Potatoes & Carrot Chips and Celery with Healthy Ranch

Friday:

Visiting Dad and Stepmom in Arkansas for Father's Day

Saturday:

Visiting Dad and Stepmom in Arkansas for Father's Day (maybe they'll let me cook!)

Sunday:

Out with Brother (traveling home)

Secret... I kinda spent all my grocery money on the trip and buying stuff for Bridesmaids' Weekend. All of these meals were planned with stuff I already had (with the exception of the celery and ranch that I'll buy on Thursday since I get reimbursed). It's amazing what you can come up with when you think you don't have any groceries!

Since I ran out of bread but need lunchy meals for lunch too, I came up with something to make it through the week for that too! Peanut butter and jelly meet graham crackers (which for some reason I have an abundance of...)! You will make lunch time happy this week.

And just because I can't leave well enough alone, one more picture and highlight of the week.

I finally got to meet my best friend's baby, Alice! She liked me and I love her. And now I will stop talking. :) I will be playing recipe post catch up this week. Expect recipes for Eclair Cake, French Dip Cups, Espresso Chocolate Cupcakes with Crunchy Chocolate Hazelnut Filling and Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting, and maybe Chai Banana Bread Muffins (I didn't take great pictures of those, so we'll see.)