Happy Easter!

Not a whole lot of cooking going on in this house this weekend. Daydate today for the hubby and I at the Flyers game, then we had taco bell for dinner. Not exactly good for the whole trying to eat better thing but we have been dying to try the cool ranch doritos tacos. They did not disappoint! We thought they were better than the nacho cheese ones.
Easter Sunday will be spent visiting and eating with family. I made a dessert to take with us that I saw on Pinterest. There was no link just a picture but luckily it was a pretty easy idea. I made little "carrot" cupcakes.
1.Start out with a basic chocolate cupcake(I used a box mix). 2.Cut a hole in the center and set the cutouts aside. 3.Then ice them with a little bit of chocolate icing. Crumble up those cutouts and sprinkle on top for the "dirt".
4.To make the carrot, use a little food coloring in vanilla icing. 5.Top with some green icing for the stem.
FYI, a sandwich bag works great to pipe the icing!
Easy and cute dessert that I can't wait to enjoy tomorrow!
Hope everyone that celebrates has a fabulous Easter!

Happiness is...

A Weekend of Fun....

 and Buffalo Chicken Wontons

This weekend was a blast. Friday was a quiet night at home with my boys, which was great. Always love a night when we do nothing. Saturday we ran some errands in the morning and napped to get ready for the "Prohibition's Over" party at Jill and Frank's house. We had a blast laughing, dancing, and singing late into the night. And of course drinking. Jill had a bartender making specialty drinks and boy o boy did I have quite a few! Here's two of the few pics I took. I slacked on my normal job of party photographer because I started drinking pretty early in the evening!

Of course I brought my Jalapeno Popper Dip as always requested. But I also brought a new spin on an old favorite. I made Buffalo Chicken Wontons(see below for the recipe). I wish I had gotten a picture of these but they were GONE before I could even think to take one! They were a HUGE hit.

 

This morning we went to La Campagnola with some my hubby's family for the Easter Bunny Brunch Buffet. Shout out to my sista in law Chris for finding this last year. Its a nice tradition and so fun to see the kiddies reaction to the Easter Bunny- the food is great too!

Little man had a great time and loved the Easter Bunny.

 Tonight we dyed Easter eggs with K for the first time. He didn't quite get the concept but had fun putting stickers on them after they were dyed.

What a fun weekend. I'm sad to see it come to end, Monday's are cruel-and worse yet, its supposed to snow again tomorrow. Mother nature, get your act together soon please.

 

 

Buffalo Chicken Dip Wontons

the wonton wrappers are completely optional. this dip stands well enough on its own, I just wanted to put a new spin on an old favorite.

 

-1 lb chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I put it through the food processor for a nice even texture)

-1 stick low fat cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup light blue cheese dressing

-approx 1 cup Frank's red hot buffalo sauce (the amount used is your preference-something to remember, if you use regular cream cheese and blue cheese, you will need more buffalo sauce as the fat renders off the heat. Less fat=less sauce needed)

-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

-wonton wrappers (I find them in the refrigerated produce section where the tofu is)

 

The dip itself is easy. Cook your chicken, shred it up, mix all ingredients. If your serving as is, bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes(until bubbly and warmed through).

 

If you want to make the wontons, put a dollop of dip in the wonton wrapper and fold as instructed on package-really however you want, you just need to seal the pouch as best you can by moistening the edges with a small amount of water and pressing the sides together. This was time consuming and messy but well worth the effort. I used a deep fryer to make these, it took just a minute or two in the fryer. They pop to the top when they are done. If I didn't a fryer available, I would have done them in a pan with an inch or two of oil until they were golden and the dough started bubbling.



 

Hope everyone had a great weekend too!

 

 

Sunday Supper Special

My sister Jill has been bugging me for a few weeks to try this new recipe she came up with and blog about it. Its been a rather busy few weeks for me so yesterday I finally had the time to try it out. She's calling it Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas. Normally enchiladas are baked in the tortillas smothered in sauce....and I don't care for them because of how soggy and messy they can be. So while we are calling these enchiladas, they are more of a taco with enchilada sauce. And boy are they spicy!! If you're like me, the hotter the better. These were so good and the recipe was filling and made enough to have leftovers for lunch today..and tomorrow!

What you need:

About 1-2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast(the more chicken, the less "saucy" they are)

1 10 ounce can enchilada sauce

1 can Ro-tel(or any brand diced tomatoes and green chiles)

8 oz Frank's Red Hot Buffalo(please don't use another brand-Frank's is the best!)

1 packet Ranch dressing mix

4-5 tablespoons queso dip

shredded cheddar(I used cheddar jack this time)

 

O and if you're trying to avoid dishes(like the crock pot makes so many dirty dishes, right?)

Check these out

They weren't cheap but since I was using my crock pot again today, it was great to just throw away the liner and not worry about washing it.

Anyway, back to the recipe. Put chicken in the bottom of crock pot and pour ro-tel, enchilada sauce, buffalo sauce, and ranch mix on top. Stir and cook on low for a few hours(4 hours is just about right to get the chicken to shredable). Mix in the queso dip at this point. I accidentally bought Tostitos plain cheese dip instead of a spicy queso dip but this worked to give it just a little creaminess. FYI, that stuff tastes like crap on its own. Shred up your chicken and sprinkle in as much or as little shredded cheese as you want and your done. Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese on tortillas. You can probably use all the usual taco fixins that you like in your home, but that's about all we put on our tacos so that's all I put out!

Kenny actually was dipping lime Tostitos in it today for lunch. This was right up our alley in the heat department. Thanks Jill for the great recipe!

 

Now obviously I had this yesterday.. don't worry I wasn't being sacrilegious enough to eat Mexican food on St. Patrick's Day. Although, I can't say we are eating corned beef and cabbage today either. I settled on pot roast with potatoes and baby carrots. In the crock pot of course!

I don't have a picture of that since its still going but I can tell you how I make mine. Everyone has their own secret way I'm sure. I use yukon gold mini potatoes. One little bag fits nicely in the crock pot after I cut them in half. I throw them and the carrots in and place the roast on top of them. Then I mix one packet each of ranch dressing mix, italian dressing mix, and brown gravy mix with 3/4 cup of water and pour on top. I cook it low and slow(about 8-10 hours). Its so juicy and tender this way. Yummm

Hope everyone enjoys their St. Patrick's Day, Irish or not!

 



Lucky Leprechaun Swap Reveal

I signed up a few weeks ago for a book and nail polish swap through blogs that I follow. I thought it would be a fun way to make a blog friend and also let them decide the next book I was going to read. I got paired up with Amanda over at Dragonflight Dreams. She writes a great blog, check her out. The idea of the swap was to check out your partners interest and send them a book and polish that you think they'd like. Amanda did great!

Here's my polish.

Pretty nice, huh?

The book she sent was something on my wish list. I admit that I'm only a third of the way through it but I am loving every word.

This is set in 1920s Australia about a man and wife on duty for a lighthouse on a remote island. They deal with life in solitude and several miscarriages. That's a very basic synopsis. There's a great deal more to the story but I don't want to ruin it for anyone thinking of reading it! I highly recommend it!

 

This was my first swap and I will definitely sign up for more. Its so fun waiting for a package to come in the mail that's a surprise!

 

And a very Happy Birthday to my blog inspiration, Stephanie!! She writes atLife According to Steph and is hilarious. Check her out if you don't already follow her!

 

 



Relaxing after a big weekend

We were out all weekend. I didn't cook a single meal this weekend except instant oatmeal for breakfast(and I'm pretty sure microwaving does not count as cooking). We had my godson's first birthday party Saturday and the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday. Both were a blast. My husband has participated in the parade for the past three years as a member of Cairdeas Irish Brigade. This year, little K participated too.

The cookie monster cake and cupcakes were made by my cousin.(inquire within if you're interested in her making your next party cake!)

Pics of my handsome little man, the hubby, and his bestie

(Yes, I put my son in a kilt. He looks cute and you know it)

 

So needless to say, after not cooking all weekend, it was hard to get back into the groove of it. Crock pot Jalapeno Chicken is a dish I made up after trying to make a stuffed chicken breast recipe I had found that was sloppy and difficult to make. Its so easy and low fat that I could eat it multiple times a week. We even made it a few weeks ago when we went up to the Poconos so that after a day in the snow, we had a nice, filling dinner waiting for us.

 

What you need:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast(I use tenderloins for easy shredding)

1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

1 block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

3-4 jalapenos(you can use pickled if you're afraid of the heat, but fresh is best)

2 cups cooked white or brown rice

I used to chop the jalapenos but at the suggestion of my girlfriend, I started using the food processor to make them more of a puree.

Place the chicken in the crock pot and top with soup, cream cheese, and jalapeno puree.

 

 Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken with 2 forks or leave slightly chunky. Serve over rice. Voila!

Next week on the menu: A buffalo enchilada crock pot meal by my sister

Have a great week!

Something Personal

In the interest of privacy, and because I don't have her permission to say it, I am omitting names here. Now on to my post.

 

To the beautiful woman starting treatment tomorrow,

          I wanted to take a moment and let you know how truly wonderful I think you are. In our relationship, serious words are few and far between but always right there under the surface. Its an unspoken love that we use sarcasm and laughter to express. I wouldn't have it any other way. Since I am not very good with face to face emotion, I took to the blog to let you know what I'm feeling.

        You are a shining example of what it means to be a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. You are an amazing(I know you love that word) role model and someone I look up to in every way. I am in awe of your commitment to your family and your faith. Your marriage is one that we all try to emulate on a daily basis. I love spending time with you and I feel fortunate to call you family and friend.

         Your diagnosis came as quite a shock, but in true form, you somehow made us feel better and comforted us by cracking jokes and keeping a positive attitude. Your strength and courage is a lesson to us all. I know you will get through this because you are a fierce, tenacious, brave woman. Cancer, you have met your match.

        On the night before your first chemo treatment, I have changed my blog to pink and it will remain that way in support of you until we hear the words "Cancer free". I love you so much and am here for you every step of the way. Don Pablo's 2014 <3

Love always,

Lauren

       

       

          

A Change In Topics-Feeling Unwelcome

I know my posts up until now have been about cooking but I felt the need to vent. For the past few weeks, we have been taking the little man to a local kids gym for a sports class on saturday mornings. He loves it. It's a small group of kids his age and each week they are introduced to a new sports skill and color and activity. It's great that after a busy week we can spend 45 minutes of uninterrupted time dedicated to him.
This gym we take him to also has "open play time" that is available all week. Today was the first opportunity i've had to take him to open play since we joined. So, super excited to spend the afternoon with my boy, I picked him up early from daycare and we were off. There was a class going on when we arrived so the gym was almost empty except for a mom and 2 little boys. The employee at the desk greated us very nicely and told us to have fun. Thats where the friendliness stopped. Little K and I entered the gym and were immediately stared at by the mom(who was playing on her cell phone btw). She actually got up and ushered her boys to the complete opposite end of the gym as soon as K started playing near them. Ok that was weird, right? But whatever, we kept playing. He was having a blast. A young female employee then came in and said hi and asked how old he was. I told her 20 months and she made a face and said "oh". And then walked away. Seriously? Ok..just keep playing mom, don't think too much of it. At this point the class let out and those kids all came into the gym. With their moms and 2 more employees who appeared to be managers or higher ups of some sort. This is where I suddenly felt the need to leave. Not one person acknowledged my presence, or my son's for that matter, not even the employees. They started pulling the kids around on wheelie things and almost knocked him over twice, no one said a word either time. They all seemed to rotate around the room away from us, making faces and staring the whole time. I know I can be hyper sensitive sometimes but this was definitely not me making it up.
Little K and I put our shoes back on and headed out, both feeling confused about why we had to leave. It had me thinking the whole ride home. I felt like such an outcast because I'm not able to be there during the week on a regular basis and these moms seemed to have formed some sort of club with exclusivity to stay at home moms. I felt like I had a giant sign over my head that screamed "working mom-please avoid me!" I just don't get it. Stay at home mom, working mom. Doesn't the word "mom" mean the same thing either way? We are all just trying to do the best we can for our little ones, right? Believe me, I wish I was fortunate enough to stay home more with my son but I work out of neccessity to support our family. It's frustrating to me that as women we are so quick to place labels and judge each other about the way we parent. We have enough battles to face in this world, shouldn't we band together and support each other instead of making one another feel lousy about the choices we make?
I know one thing for certain, I'll be sticking to K's normal Saturday class until the session's up and we won't be renewing our membership there.