I love Fall...love love love love it! I love decorating for Fall more than I love decorating for Christmas. The cooling temps, cozy sweaters, my favorite blue jeans, football (Go Ohio! Go Bengals!), pumpkin patches, hay rides, corn mazes...I just love all of it.
My Fall wreath was looking a little tired and old, so I perused Pinterest looking for something else I could do. I came across a lot of burlap (I also love me some burlap!) and felt rosettes. I decided to come up with my own version. I think it turned out pretty stinkin' cute! I love the subtle Fall colors, the rusticness of the burlap and twigs and sweetness of the rosettes. You can find the tutorial on the rosettes here and how to make a burlap bow here.
The door from the garage into the house enters into my office. I was super sick of how disgusting the white door got from us going in and out all the time, so I decided to paint the door with chalkboard paint. Now the kids can draw all over it and it's also a metal door, so they can hang pictures and artwork up on it too. No more nasty fingerprints and black marks!!
Fall is in the air! YAY!! Time to break out the stick to your ribs, comfort food recipes :) Chicken noodle soup is a favorite comfort food of mine, so I was excited to find an easy recipe that looked really good. It turned out great!!! It was a super easy recipe and so good! It makes a ton, so you'll have the extras to freeze for lunches or another dinner.
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Adapted from adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com
5 cups chicken broth (or bouillon) (use homemade to keep it clean)
2 cups carrots, sliced thin
1 cup celery, sliced thin
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp pepper
2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast (rotisserie chicken would be awesome in this!)
1 cup dry egg noodles (look for an all-natural egg noodles to keep it clean)
Mix all ingredients except the noodles into the crock pot. Keep chicken breast whole (or use pre-cooked, cut up or shredded chicken) and cut up or shred before adding in noodles during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Cook on high 4 hours, then turn to low until ready to serve.
I've been complaining lately about my crockpot chicken dishes turning out dry and bland. I finally found a crockpot chicken recipe that wasn't dry or bland...yay! I'm not sure if it didn't turn out dry because there was plenty of liquid for it to cook in or what. At any rate, Santa Fe Chicken is a keeper! It's very versatile as well and can be eaten in a number of ways.
Santa Fe Chicken
From Skinny Taste
24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth (or homemade broth to keep it all-natural)
3 scallions, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot
. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top.
Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning to taste. Serve over rice or tortillas and your favorite toppings. We ate ours with tortilla chips, salsa verde, sour cream and shredded cheese.
One of my favorite pasta dishes I like to make is my homemade chicken Alfredo (check out the original recipe here). I was going to make it last night again, but decided to mix it up a little bit. Since we've been eating more low-carb meals, I swapped out the pasta for a thin pizza crust. My hubby had found this amazing recipe for thin crust pizzas made on the grill and so we combined the two recipes. AMAZING! The Alfredo sauce made for a perfect pizza sauce and combined with the chicken, veggies and lots of mozzarella cheese, it was super delicious. The pizza dough sounds like a lot of work, but it's actually pretty easy and you can double or triple the recipe and freeze the extra crusts.
Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Homemade Alfredo Sauce (recipe here) **Double the sauce up and freeze the extras for another meal
Thin-Crusted Pizza Crusts (see recipe below) **Double the recipe and freeze the extras
1 large onion cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 package fresh mushrooms
1 or 2 large chicken breasts, diced
2 cups mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper
oregano
Saute the chicken with salt, pepper and oregano until no longer pink. Add in the onions and mushrooms and cook until soft.
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350° to
450°F).
Lay the dough on the cooking grate, with the paper side facing
up. Grab one corner of the paper with tongs and peel it off. Grill over
direct medium heat until they are marked on the underside, 2 to 3
minutes, rotating the crusts occasionally for even cooking. Don't worry
if the crusts bubble; they will deflate when turned over. Transfer the
crusts to the back of a baking sheet, with the grilled sides facing up.
Spread about ½ cup of the Alfredo sauce across each pizza crust, leaving a
½-inch border around the edges. Arrange the onions, mushrooms and chicken over the
sauce. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Transfer the pizzas from the baking
sheet to the cooking grate. Grill until the crusts are crisp and the
cheese is melted, 4 to 5 minutes, rotating the crusts occasionally for
even cooking. Sprinkle with more oregano. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut
into wedges. Serve warm.
Thin-Crusted Pizza Dough
Adapted from Weber's Real Grilling by Jamie Purviance
1 envelope active dry yeast
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
¾ cup warm water (105° to 115°F)
2-½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling dough
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
In a medium bowl combine the yeast and sugar with the warm water. Stir once and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Add 2-½ cups of the flour, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and the salt. Stir until the dough holds together. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the ball to cover the surface with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 1-½ hours. Punch down the dough in the bowl. Transfer to a lightly floured surface
and cut into 4 equal pieces. Cut parchment paper into 9-inch squares and
lightly oil each sheet of paper on one side. Roll or press the dough
flat on the oiled side of the paper into circles about 8 inches in
diameter, leaving the dough a little thicker at the edge than in the
middle. Then lightly oil the top side of the dough. At this point, the crusts are ready to grill or can be frozen to be used later.
Liesl is so proud of the watermelon she grew! Look how huge it is...almost half the height of Liesl!! And it tastes delicious too! Yay gardening :)
Another crockpot chicken recipe, another disappointment. I'm just not loving how the chicken turns out in the crockpot...dry, flavorless and bland. Any suggestions on cooking chicken in the crockpot??
Crockpot Balsamic Chicken
Adapted from Keepn Up With J
- 4-5 frozen chicken breasts
- 2 small yellow squash
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium purple onion
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
Place frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of a medium/large crock pot. Slice all of your veggies – squash, zucchini, onion – and throw into the crock pot over your chicken. Add Worcestershire sauce and Balsamic vinegar. Cook on High for 4 hours. Keep heated on Warm until ready to serve. You can shred or leave your chicken whole
Before going clean, I used to make a meatball dish that was delish and super easy. I wanted to make it last week, but when I looked at the frozen meatballs, I was surprised once again at the amount of preservatives. So, I decided to make my own. Well, technically, I decided that my hubby would make his own ;)
Unfortunately, my husband lost his job two weeks ago and so he's been very bored at home while he job searches. To keep him occupied (and out of my hair!), I've given him some cooking and baking tasks, since he loves to cook and bake as much as I do. (Sorry ladies, he's all mine and yes, I know how lucky I am to have a man who cooks ;)
Anywho...here's his recipe. They turned out so yummy, I didn't even use the sauce I usually pair with them.
Homemade Meatballs
Adapted from The Kitchn
2 lbs. ground meat of your choice (Matt used ground beef)
2 tablespoons of either or a combination of: dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands. Mix well but don't overmix or you will end up with dense meatballs. If the mixture does not stick together, add a little more tomato sauce a tablespoon at a time. Form the meat mixture into balls about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Don't pack them too tight. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve the meatballs over pasta and sauce.
Additional Information:
You could try adding chopped vegetables such as onions, peppers, and eggplant for more flavor. You can also cook the meatballs in a skillet for 7 to 8 minutes if you don't want to use an oven.
