O.M.Y. {oh.my.yum} Featuring Joanna from Brock Paper Scissors!

Hey party people! I'm Joanna from over at Brock Paper Scissors. Today I'm filling in for Court, while she's down visiting fam in (my home state of) Texas. Cool, right? And, while she's out, she asked me to write about one of my very favorite topics: FOOD.

On my blog, I have a regular feature called "What's Cookin'?", where I pass on yummy recipes that I've recently made. Lots of em' tend to be Crock-Pot recipes because, well, they're easy, and I'm all about the easy. For my visit, Courtney's asked me to share one of these slow-cooker recipe with her peeps (you)! But, instead of just re-posting something I've already done, I took this opportunity to try out a new chili I've been dying to make: Crock-pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili (say that three times fast!).

Looks yummy, right? Trust me when I say, you'll be going back for seconds...and perhaps even thirds. It's that good.

Here's what you'll need/need to do...

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts (mine were frozen)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, undrained 
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 package ranch dressing mix 
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 1 tbsp chili powder 
• 1 tsp onion powder 
• 1 8 oz package 1/3 less fat cream cheese

Directions:

1. Place chicken at bottom of crock-pot.
2. Top with diced tomatoes, black beans and corn (undrained). 
3. Add seasonings + ranch mix, then place cream cheese on top. 
4. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6 hours.
5. Once timer goes off, stir cream cheese into chili.
6. Shred the chicken using a fork, mix everything together and serve.

We ate it as is, but, it would also be good over rice or maybe with tortilla chips.

*Original recipe found here.

Enjoy! And feel free to pop on over to my neck of the woods to say hello! Later dudes!

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If you are like me and love using your slow cooker…you have to get over and check out the mouthwatering recipes Joanna has on her blog…mouthwatering good.  :)  Thanks Joanna for another delicious recipe to add to my collection!

O.M.Y. {oh.my.yum} A little Sugar for your Sweeties ~ Featuring Lish from Imprintalish!

Hello Baxtron {Life} readers! My name is Lish and I blog over at Imprintalish.You'll find crafts, photography, tales of my two little men and a little bit of everything else in my corner of the web.  We love baking around here and this recipe that I am sharing with you is so easy to do with the little people in your life. A bit messy, but fun! It's also the perfect recipe for Valentine's Day. Heads up though, probably not so good for your waistline!! HAHA!

Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup of butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Assorted Food Coloring (makes roughly 5 dozen)

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar, until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until dough forms.

Separate dough into sections for each color you want to do. Add a couple drops of food coloring to each  section until you reach the desired intensity. Stir to blend color evenly.

Under the command of my 2.5 year old, we did pink, purple, blue and green. Cover and chill for at least an hour in fridge (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on a well floured surface, 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes.

Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Or a pizza tray in my case, LOL, while the other tray was in the oven! Bake 6-8 minutes. Cool completely. These also freeze well too, just do so before adding the icing.

Icing

1 cup icing sugar

2 tsp milk

2 tsp corn syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla/almond extract

Assorted food coloring & sprinkles for topping

(this is enough icing for a dozen cookies-if more is needed, I would recommend doing one batch of icing at a time)

 In a small bowl, stir together icing sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. Divide into separate bowls, add food coloring to desired intensity.

Paint cookies with a brush or spatula. This icing is really forgiving to work with, the bumps and ridges just melt away into a smooth and glossy finish! Sprinkle with whatever pretty topping you have!

Well there you have it, the perfect little cookie to share with friends, teachers, family and of course to eat yourself!!!

Thanks so much for having me over to hang out Courtney! It was tons of fun and I hope to see some of you over at Imprintalish. I love meeting new people, so don't be shy-say hi!

Lish, what a fantastic Valentine's cookie recipe!  It looks super fun to make with the little ones as well…and currently Zion is on a big baking kick…what can I say, like mother, like daughter…so this is going to be put on our baking list pronto!

What's for Dinner? Menu 11/5-11/11

More recipes from blogs I love reading this week…with a focus on slow cooker recipes.  I just FINALLY got my first ever crockpot! I may be the happiest homemaker in all the world!

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sat.11/5	Muffincup Frittatas	LO Rosemary Chicken	Thai Curry Soup
Sun.11/6	Pancakes, Eggs, Bacon	LO Thai Curry Soup	Yogurt Chicken, Baked Potatoes & Corn
Mon.11/7	Granola w/Yogurt & Honey	LO Chicken	Crockpot Zucchini Ziti
Tues. 11/8	Cheese Omelets with Toast	LO Ziti	Tacos
Weds.11/9	French Toast	Taco Burritos	Crockpot Beef Stew
Thurs.11/10	Granola w/Yogurt	LO Stew	Santa Rosa Steak
Fri. 11/11	Steak & Eggs	LO Ziti	Crockpot Creamy Broccoli Chicken Soup

Let's Connect!

       

Chronic. Sleep. Deprivation.

I'm staring at this page, willing to write, yet my brain is running on reserve power.  Therefore, I'm throwing in the towel and hoping to resume after a good nights rest.

Here is what we have been up to:

I finished my fall yarn wreath and quite satisfied with the results.  :)

I cut out cardboard letters, Z-I-O-N, to finally make a sign for Zion's door, planning on using yarn for this as well.  I've yet to actually wrap a single letter, or figure out how I want to finish it.

I'm knitting again…and lately wondering if I have post-partum-arthritis, I had no idea that this actually exists, but my joints have not been the same since I had Zion, and I am starting to wonder if I should get them checked out.  (Stay tuned for more on my current knitting projects.)

Baking, baking and more baking.  I just did a dozen or so each: M&M Sugar Cookies & Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Zion is great at stirring, and quite territorial about it as well.  Future baking plans…definitely want to do more cupcakes, for starters these and then definitely these as well!

FAIL notice…remember this post here?  Yeah, well, I totally nailed the starter, but I couldn't find a good/easy enough recipe to start out with…and so, well, the starter went right into the trash.  Boo!

While I'm admitting FAILures, I might as well update you on this journey here.  Yeah, remember that running thing I was talking about?  I haven't. Not even once. Ran. Double boo!

I'm blessed to be working my tail feathers off to coordinate sending Christmas care packages to the MacDella Cooper Foundation Academy in Liberia, Africa…if you are interested in participating…send me an email.  60 boys and girls, orphaned by violent civil war will be receiving backpacks filled with goodies to ring in the holiday.

The winds of change are blowing in our family, if that sounds vague, it is intentional, and you'll have to stay tuned for details.  Don't you love cliffhangers?

Let's Connect! Click the heart…share the love.

       

Recipe of the Week: Mole Chili & Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

One of the best recipes I have ever discovered…this flavorful aromatic chili is the perfect fall dish to make at home or make for friends.  When the secret ingredient is chocolate, how can you go wrong?  And you know how most chili dishes taste better a few days later?  This one tastes AMAZING and cooks in 20 minutes!  Don't be fooled by the daunting mention of jalapenos, baking them removes their heat!

Mole Chili Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 c. chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)

1 garlic clove, minced 

1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained

1 c. water

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Reduced fat sour cream (optional)

Fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1.  Cook beef in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble.  Drain, if necessary, and return beef to pan.

2.  Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender.  Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients; cover and simmer 7 minutes.

3.  Serve immediately.  Top with sour cream and cilantro, if desired.

Jalapeno Corn Mini Muffins Recipe:

Ingredients:

3/4 c. self-rising cornmeal mix

1/2 c. fat-free buttermilk

2 Tbsp. minced, seeded jalapeno peppers

1 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil

1 large egg

Cooking spray

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425.  

2.  Lightly spoon self-rising cornmeal mix into measuring cup; level with a knife, and place in a large bowl.

3.  Combine butttermilk, jalapeno peppers, oil and egg in a small bowl.  Pour buttermilk mixture into cornmeal mixture.  Stir just until combined.

4.  Coat 12 miniature muffin cups with cooking spray; spoon batter evenly into cups.  Bake at 425 for 17 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from pans immediately; serve warm.

Source: Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals, Oxmoor House 2010

Let's Connect! XO, Courtney