Crockpot Sweet and Spicy Shredded Chicken

Posted on by
Reply

Cooler temperatures (although short lived it would appear) always give me the urge to cook and roast more food, and lately I’ve been doing more with the crockpot (hi, easy!). This past weekend I had two packages of good quality chicken that needed to be used (boneless skinless tenders and breasts), so I decided to make something I could eat throughout this week.

In addition, I don’t typically use condiments anymore. Chemical shitstorms that I personally prefer not to eat, and when I left them behind I realized I didn’t really miss them all that much. I’ll consume some quality condiments free of refined sugar, corn, soy, canola, etc. occasionally, but really not that often. My deployed sailor left me with three opened 1/2 full bottles of (good quality) bbq sauce – one sweet, one spicy and one in the middle. I wanted them out of my fridge, so there we have it, crockpot sweet and spicy shredded chicken!

Crockpot Sweet and Spicy Shredded Chicken

  • 2 2-2/12 lb packages of chicken – really you could choose whichever you prefer
  • 3 large sliced jalapenos
  • 1 red onion diced
  • 8 garlic cloves diced
  • Random bbq sauces…probably totaling 1 cup worth
  • 1/4 cup grade B maple syrup
  • Fresh ground salt and pepper
  • TBSP garlic powder
  • Generous sprinkling of ground cinnamon

Throw everything in the crockpot and cook for 6-8 hours on medium heat, then shred with a fork. A couple notes: if you don’t like spice, use 2 jalapenos, this is spicy with 3. In my defense, I just made a recipe with 2, and there was next to no spice. LOL. I covered the top of the crockpot with a nice layer of ground cinnamon. I did not stir anything up, just left it as is and let it simmer.

I had it with over-medium eggs yesterday for breakfast, with avocado for lunch on Sunday and on a salad for lunch today.

IMG_7239[1]IMG_7241[1]IMG_7251[1]

Thursday Thoughts

Posted on by
Reply

The willingness to forgive is a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity. It is one of the great virtues to which we all should aspire. Imagine a world filled with individuals willing both to apologize and to accept an apology. Is there any problem that could not be solved among people who possessed the humility and largeness of spirit and soul to do either – or both – when needed.

–Gordon B. Hinckley

Simple Avocado Cream Sauce

Posted on by
1

This was my very first attempt at making a “paleo” cream sauce, without dairy! I totally winged it…and it was fabulous not to mention easy. Put it on eggs, steamed veggies, zoodles (or any other vegetable noodle), paleo biscuits, meat, seafood, etc.! I suppose you could eat it as a soup too, it’s rich. It’s very versatile and keeps well.

Avocado Cream Sauce

  • 2 cans coconut milk
  • 1 1/2 avocados
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 pkg baby crimini mushrooms, chopped
  • 2 TBSP garlic powder
  • Ground black pepper
  • Himalayan pink salt

Add the 2 cans of coconut milk to a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add the 1 1/2 avocados (I would’ve added 2, but the 1/2 of the 2nd avo was no good), and let the avo soften in the heat for a few minutes. With an immersion blender, blend the avocados into the coconut milk – took about 3 minutes. Add the garlic cloves, and all spices. Saute over medium heat for 15-20 minutes continuing to stir then add the chopped mushrooms. Continue sauteing over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft to your liking (I don’t like mushy mushrooms, but it’s taste/texture preference here).

Tip: If you use a quality coconut milk, you won’t taste any coconut 😉

First, I put it on my zoodles – which, don’t really look like “zoodles” because the gargantuan zucchini didn’t exactly want to work with my spiralizer. Haha. There was zucchini flying everywhere and puppy Lucy was happy about that.IMG_7139[1]IMG_7140[1]IMG_7143[1]

Thursday Thoughts

Posted on by
Reply

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

–Lucille Ball

Collard Pastrami Wraps

Posted on by
1

This meal was inspired by several things: 1) My obsession with reuben sandwiches, 2) this amazing post a friend of mine shared: The Un-deli: 10 Over-the-Top Breadless Sandwiches, 3) The fact that I cannot commit to buying Thousand Island dressing, 4) I don’t really do gluten-free bread, and last 4) The store was out of corned beef (what?), so pastrami.

And now…I’m kind of becoming obsessed with different wrap options…large collard green leaves have got to be the easiest wrap ever, not to mention, nutrient powerhouse. Fill them with whatever you want!

Collard Pastrami Wraps

  • 1 collard green
  • Sir Kensington’s sriracha mayo
  • Pastrami
  • TJs raw sauerkraut
  • Diced red onion
  • 1 thinly sliced kosher dill pickle

Wash collard leaf and pat dry, then layer the remaining ingredients in the order above on the leaf. Wrap and eat.

Holy shizz! I made a second, and therefore probably had about 5,000% of my daily value of vitamins K and A, oh!IMG_7130[1]IMG_7132[1]