Easy Shredded Chicken

This is where I remind you that I am in no way an "experienced chef" or a "professional". Because I just found out the easiest way to shred chicken, and I'm kind of embarrassed I didn't discover this before. You can shred chicken like this for pretty much all of my chicken recipes - baked penne, chicken pot pie casserole, or chicken and noodles, It even works for the slow cooker recipes, if you make it sans slow cooker: cheesy chicken and broccoli and chicken spaghetti 
*Note - this really only works if you have a Kitchenaid or some kind of mixer with a paddle attachment.

Teriyaki Chicken - Sarku Japan Style!

So I know I already have a post for teriyaki - and it's super easy and definitely still tasty! - but if you're willing to work for it, this chicken teriyaki recipe is TO DIE FOR. When I was pregnant last year, Sarku Japan was a huge craving of mine, so I learned this recipe, and it is excellent! It does involve a lot of prep, though. I always have to set a lot of reminders for myself when I make this recipe because you need to marinate it overnight! So be warned!

Ingredients
3 lbs boneless chicken thighs (if you're using less, make sure to make half the amount of the teriyaki sauce. I don't usually use this much chicken, so I make less sauce otherwise I have wayyy too much leftover)

MARINADE 
1 cup water 
⅛ cups Shaoxing wine or cooking sherry  (I omit this)
1 tsp garlic powder 
1¼ tsp pepper 
1 tsp baking soda 
½ cups Kikkoman soy sauce 
¼ cups Canola oil 

TERIYAKI SAUCE 
2½ cups chicken stock 
¾ cups + 2 tbs Kikkoman teriyaki sauce  
¼ cups Kikkoman soy sauce 
2 garlic cloves sliced (I didn't have this on hand, so I just added more garlic powder)
a piece of ginger, sliced (I omitted this)
¾ cups + 2 tbs of brown sugar 
2½ tbs cornstarch 

2½ tbs cold water

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

So I know I've been pretty quiet lately... but I have a valid excuse. We recently found out I'm expecting Baby #2, and my aversion to normal food has been terrible! I can't eat anything anymore! But now that I'm in the second trimester, things are normalizing a little bit, so I'm able to try new things, like this recipe.

We were expecting a big crowd for dinner, so I wanted to find something that would feed a lot of people. This easily fed ten people, and we had an extra serving leftover that Hubby took to work the next day. 

This recipe is a bit time consuming - if you can manage to cook and chop the chicken ahead of time, that really helps. Or your could buy chicken that's pre-copped or pre-shredded. 

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breast (I used 2 lbs)
12 oz frozen peas and carrots, thawed
2 cups frozen diced potatoes (like hash browns)
1 onion diced (I used half a cup)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup water (because of the larger amounts, I used 2 cups)
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (omitted because I didn't have any)
salt and pepper to taste

Fudgy Brownies

I know I'm big on desserts lately, but let's just say my son has entered the Terrible Twos and I'm needing desserts more frequently in my life haha.

Brownies made from a mix are delightful, but I'd never made them from scratch before and I wanted to try! And now I don't think I'll ever go back! This recipe is so easy, and these brownies are so fudgy and not at all cakey and dry like brownies can sometimes get.

Ingredients

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Frosting
3 tbsp softened butter
3 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk

Pesto Sauce

This recipe was certainly an adventure for me! I'll walk you through my trial-and-error experience, but in the long run, the sauce came out a success! It all started when I was trying to hunt down jarred pesto sauce in the grocery store and it was surprisingly difficult to find, so I thought, "Why not make my own?"


Ingredients
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup walnuts/almonds
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

First of all, it's really hard to find this much basil, so I actually ended up buying an entire plant haha. The leaves weren't even a third of what the original recipe called for, but the sauce was still pretty strong so I think 1 cup was plenty. And if the plant thrives, then awesome! More pesto sauce. If not, well, then, I would've spent $5 on basil leaves if they'd been available anyway, so no harm done.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Hubby gets full credit for this one. Chocolate cheesecake is my favorite dessert, and he surprised me with this on my birthday! He made two whole chocolate cheesecakes by himself, and kept it a secret from me. I was so impressed! This time around, I helped him make it and we contributed it to our family's Thanksgiving dinner. It is so delicious!

Ingredients
1 package Oreos (about 36 cookies)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp flour

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

It's time for pumpkin-flavored everything!! I love this time of year, and I'm keeping the tradition of baking pumpkin treats every fall. This is a new recipe I tried this year, and it was super tasty. The original recipe yields two loaves, but one loaf was plenty for my family, so I'm going to share the halved recipe that I used. With a half-recipe, you only use half a can of pumpkin, so I used the other half to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Everything was delicious!

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg (I had none, so this was omitted. It still tasted great)

1 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/2 can of pumpkin

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tbsp chopped pecans (also omitted)

1 tsp sugar

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins

I love banana bread! It's (slightly) healthy and still super delicious when you add chocolate chips. This recipe is fantastic. I was able to freeze a few leftovers and munch on them later for a nice, indulgent snack.

I highly recommend freezing bananas! If you notice your bananas are looking super ripe and you don't know if you can bake them in time, peel them and freeze them! Then you don't have to mash them later.

Ingredients
½ cup butter, slightly melted
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, reserve a few for the tops (original recipe calls for 1 cup of chocolate chips, but the muffins taste SO much more moist and delicious with a little more chocolate chips)

Baked Penne

I love pasta dishes, and this one is excellent. It requires a bit of prep, but you can get it done the night before if you prefer and just combine all the ingredients before you bake it.

This recipe calls for two jars of Alfredo sauce, but I ended up doubling my recipe for homemade Alfredo sauce and it was delicious!

Also, please note that this meal serves 9, so if you're cooking for a small group, make sure to half the recipe.

Ingredients

1 box (16 oz) penne pasta

1 tbsp olive oil

2 lb uncooked chicken tenders, cut into chunks

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bag (12 oz) frozen broccoli cuts

2 jars (16 oz each) Alfredo sauce (or double my Alfredo sauce recipe)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 

Restaurant-Style Mashed Potatoes

I have always struggled with making mashed potatoes from scratch. I usually mash the potatoes and mix it with milk and tons of seasoning and it always tastes incredibly bland. So I hunted for a recipe to try, and these potatoes were amazing and super easy to make!

Ingredients
5 red potatoes (about 1.5 lbs)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened

The Best Fudgy Brownies

When we make brownies for dessert, Hubby always suggests we just eat the batter. And I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm really tempted to do that! Sometimes my brownies come out too cakey and not very fudgy.

Well, look no further for fudgy, melty, gooey brownies!! This recipe is the secret to your brownie problems. I attempted this three times to make sure it was perfect because I was determined to get the exact art as shown in the Tasty video, and I did it. It is possible, folks. Let me share my secrets with you.

Ingredients

8 ounces good-quality chocolate

¾ cup butter, melted

1¼ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

dash of salt

Roast Beef, Funeral Potatoes, Bread Crumb Green Beans

I know I've been quiet lately, and to all of you who read my blog, I apologize! Baby's nighttime sleeping difficulties have gotten out of control, and this sleep-deprived mama barely has time or energy to make a sandwich, let alone find a new recipe to make!

To make it up to you, I have a triple recipe post for today! This was a special meal we were planning around Easter, but due to various circumstances, we didn't get to it until this past week. Hubby helped with this one - he has a talent with the green beans!

I know the funeral potatoes are more of a western thing, but I fell in love with them the first time I had them and I can't stay away from good food, no matter where it's popular!

Chicken and Noodles

So I'm breaking the norm a little bit since this recipe is pretty time-consuming. It also isn't as cheap as my other recipes, but it feeds a lot more, so it evens out.

This is a recipe I attempted to recreate from what my grandmother used to make me and my sisters when we were kids. She loved to work all day to make this meal and feed her constantly hungry grandkids. We could seriously eat this stuff all day (and we did). It was especially important to me that I try to make this exactly like she did. It's been seven years since she passed away, and it made me feel closer to her. 

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
1 package of No Yolks extra broad egg noodles
2 celery stalks
3 carrots
1/4 onion
3 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Christmas Cookies

'Tis the season for holiday baking! Every year we make plates and plates of sugar cookies to give to friends, neighbors, and families from church so I thought I'd share the recipe. Please note, this recipe is not for the faint of heart. It involves a little more effort than the easy, simple recipes I try to provide on my blog, but since it's only once a year that I have to put in some extra effort, I think it's worth it ☺

Ingredients

2 sticks butter or margarine
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
5 cups flour

Other items needed:

wax paper
rolling pin
cookie cutters
vanilla frosting
sprinkles
food coloring (if you want to go all out for this. I just stuck with normal white frosting because I'm boring)

Fried Chicken

Hey there! Sorry it's been a long time, but holiday madness is here in full swing!

This was a spontaneous attempt on my part. We're trying to save as much money as we can to give ourselves a little cushion for the new year, so I didn't do any meal planning. But we had chicken, eggs, flour, and bread crumbs, so I thought I'd give this recipe a shot!

There are many different ways to make fried chicken. Obviously this isn't going to be the "finger-licking" fried chicken you can get from fast food or anything, but it sure is delicious!

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
3 tbsp butter
1 lemon cut into wedges (I omitted this. I think lemon with chicken is gross)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

'Tis the season... for pumpkin recipes!

I'm trying to instill fun Fall traditions with our family that I didn't really get to do growing up. First, I carved my first Jack-O-Lantern. Next, I made my first batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! I thought I would share with you, since they were a great success!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 can pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Combine ingredients

Preheat oven to 375.

Normally I throw caution to the wind and just throw the ingredients together unceremoniously. But there is a benefit to separating them, and that's what I did with this recipe. It makes the flour especially more manageable. 

Honey Garlic Meatballs

As of three weeks ago, I had never tried a slow cooker meatball recipe in my life! My argument for this was that it's only meatballs. If I'm going to use a slow cooker, I'd at least like to make a full meal with it.

For Baby's first birthday party, I wanted a selection of meat to label it "Carnivore Cave" for a dinosaur-themed party. So I decided to try this honey garlic meatballs recipe, and it is so delicious! This can be served as an hors d'oeuvre, or you can throw it on top of rice or pasta! 

Ingredients

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup ketchup

2 TB soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28oz)  bag fully cooked, frozen meatballs

Green Smoothie

Straying a bit from the dinner theme, here's my go-to green smoothie recipe. I drink a green smoothie every day - or every day I can manage. One batch in the blender usually lasts me three days, unless Hubby takes some - and sometimes he does, because it's so delicious! You can't even taste the spinach (and I'm not lying). This smoothie really cleanses me and helps prepare me for a healthy day. I drink one every morning as part of my goal to have veggies with every meal. I highly recommend it!

Ingredients
2 cups spinach
2 cups water*
2 bananas
1 cup frozen mangos
1 cup frozen pinapple

*For a thinner drink, I usually do 2 cups juice (your choice - I use Cran-Grape) and 1/2 cup water. I prefer my smoothies to have the consistency of juice instead of frosties. Adding juice will also make it sweeter.

Baby Food - Pears

For those of you who want a more detailed set of instructions to apply for most foods (produce) if you're looking to make your own baby food, here's what I do:

1. Wash

Wash the food well, even if you're going to peel it - those germs can spread through the knife or peeler!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know what you're thinking: everyone knows how to bake chocolate chip cookies! Well, in case your batches are hit or miss (like mine usually are) here's my fool-proof cookie recipe! Seriously - perfectly soft, but not too mushy cookies every time! Without fail!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I omit this because I hate nuts)