Fat Kid Food- BUT Healthy!

Hi friends,
     In the time that I last wrote, the heater has been broken and fixed, my brother got married, the washer broke and is being replaced, and Spring weather finally made an appearance! I am so excited to share so many things with you, but we'll start with FOOD. (and end with crafts!!)
      As always, I am on the lookout for ways to make food that tastes like eating buffalo wings but will let me feel healthy afterwards. This is not a wing substitute- don't get me wrong! BUT it does have chicken and buffalo sauce. I introduce to you: Buffalo Quinoa Casserole.

You Will Need:

*1 cup of quinoa
*1 1/2 cups of chicken broth (I use bullion cubes sometimes)
*1 head of broccoli cut into florets
*1 cup of hot sauce (I buy it by the gallon now…haha)
*2 chicken breasts
*chili powder for seasoning
*1/2 a small onion chopped up
*olive oil for sautéing onions and cooking chicken
*your favorite shredded cheese if you want to top the casserole off with it!

Begin by sautéing the chopped onion in olive oil in a pan. While this is cooking, season the chicken breast with chili powder.

Add in the chicken breasts and cook completely. I sometimes put a lid on the pan to keep in moisture. When the chicken has cooked, pull it from the pan. I then shredded it and put the onions in with the shredded chicken. 

Put this to the side, and begin cooking your quinoa. I cook my quinoa in chicken broth ALL.THE.TIME now. Seriously- there is no point to cooking it in water…unless you don't like chicken. The ratio is about 1 cup of quinoa to 1 1/2 or 2 cups of water/broth. Bring the water to a boil with the quinoa in it and then put a lid on it and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Now, when I put it to simmer, I tossed in my broccoli florets to cook in some of the flavor with that as well. What results is perfectly cooked broccoli that is already in the quinoa! 

Finally I get a large oven-safe dish and poor my hot sauce in. The first time I tried heating it and adding a bit of cottage cheese to get a creamy/healthy effect. It worked- but you can definitely do it without as well. 

check out the fun nails! 

Toss in the chicken, and broccoli quinoa mixture gently. I added a bit of hot sauce on the top once it was mixed as well. (I know, I know…can't get enough of it) Then I baked it in the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes at 350. You could add the cheese for this step as well. (I waited and put it on my individual serving)

It's not the prettiest dish I've ever made, but it's DELICIOUS. I've been all about quinoa "casseroles" lately. They're great! You can do anything with it! (Will show you chicken with zucchini as well sometime!) 

Here is a final shot of my serving with the melted cheese on top. Seriously, it was just so yummy and filling. You don't even have to eat a whole ton of it to be satisfied. Just so tasty and popular with the hubby!

I will leave you with a few shots of my latest crafts! Most of the earrings are either available or can be reproduced if they've been sold already. The ring holders are able to be ordered to your personal liking. Choose the frame and the fabric color! Enjoy and cross your fingers for MORE SPRING! 

        <3 

Dinner: Quick and Easy

   Well, ladies and gentlemen, today has been productive to say the least. I am proud to say that, during this lovely, rainy, Harry Potter Marathon day, I got plenty done! I am about to show you a DELICIOUS dinner that is simple and easy. (And as usual, Pinterest finds...)

Today's meal: Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken and Crash Hot Potatoes

   Now, I will start with the chicken. The original recipe for the Pesto Ranch Chicken is made with chicken thighs. However, I had a whole chicken to cook, and that is what I did! Let me tell you, this chicken is stupidly easy and tastes fantastic.

You Will Need:
*1 whole chicken
*1 packet of dry Ranch Mix
*1-2 tablespoons Pesto
*1 cup Chicken Broth (again- I make mine with bullion cubes)

   In your crock pot, put the chicken broth and whole chicken. Take your Pesto and spread it all over the chicken. Follow by sprinkling the Ranch mix on top of this. Guess what??? You're done. Seriously, done. Doesn't it feel wonderful??? I left mine in the Crock Pot on high for about 3 hours.

  Now, while the hubby may have commented on this lil dude's color. (I believe the words Swamp Chicken were used...haha) We both found it moist and flavorful!

   Next up are the potatoes, and let me tell you. They are WORTH IT. Again, a Pinterest find, however, my recipe is slightly altered. In the future (because this will happen frequently now) I will use smaller potatoes, probably new potatoes.

You Will Need:
*Potatoes (enough for each person to have 2 or 3)
*Olive Oil
*Salt (I used a my favorite go-to spice, a sea salt and garlic grinder)
*Freshly Ground Pepper

  Begin by boiling your potatoes in salted water until they can be punctured easily by a fork. (Also pre heat your oven to 450)

    Once the potatoes are done, place them on an oiled cookie sheet. I used Olive oil and a brush to make sure the whole sheet was coated. I also had to cut my larger potatoes in half due to their size. You may not need to.

   The next step is to take your potato masher and mash each potato so that it is relatively even and flat. After each potato is mashed, brush it with Olive Oil and season it with salt and pepper.

   Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake your potatoes for about 25-30 minutes at 450 degrees. They will be gloriously golden and crispy when they are done.

   Again, this recipe comes with a warning. They were dangerously fantastic. To the point, that both hubby and I are afraid, that no matter how many I make in the future- we will eat them ALL. So, fair warning, eat at your own risk!

   The beauty of this meal is that I was able to accomplish even more while my crock pot chicken was cooking! While dinner was cooking, I enjoyed way too much Harry Potter and did my nails. I had seen the idea of a "gradual" french manicure look using glittery nail polish. I experimented with this using what I had in my polish collection.    

   I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. I may try different methods of applying the glitter in the future. However, if you'd like to try this exact look, I used two coats OPI "Passion" and then topped that with gradual layers of OPI "Happy Anniversary."

   Now, while you may be impressed by some of this. I feel as though you need to be even more impressed. And here is why. During this entire day of productivity, there have been 2 very adorable BABY BUNNIES hanging out in my backyard. That's right. I got ALL of this done, while spending far too much time gazing out my kitchen window. These two little dudes have been hanging around and munching in our backyard for days. I am very hopeful that these adorable ones will be residents for the near future. They are too sweet and cute, and I spend altogether waaaay too much time marveling in their adorableness.

   Well, that's it from me for now! As always, if you ever try any recipes, please let me know how they turn out! I'd love to hear what works or doesn't work for you. Good night and enjoy!

<3