Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

I don't think this slow cooker shredded chicken can get any easier.  I've seen it on a few other food blogs and I wanted to try it out.  The cooked chicken is easy to shred with just two forks.  The chicken only takes about 3 hours to cook but I left it on for almost 4 hours and it was fine.  I would suggest not going over 4 hours if cooking on high.  This shredded chicken is plain so its great to add into other dishes.  The chicken is perfect if you want to make enchiladas, wraps, salads or soups.  

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 large pieces)

chicken stock or water

Directions

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker.  Add in enough chicken stock or water to cover chicken breasts.

Cook on high for up to 4 hours.  

Shred chicken with 2 forks.

Ham and Swiss Omelet

This was probably the best omelet I have ever made!  I actually watched a youtube video to see how an omelet is properly made.  Click here to see the video I watched.  I didn't follow the exact recipe for her omelet, but used what I had already.  I followed her technique on how to cook the omelet.  It really was easier than I thought it would be.  I love that you can eat an omelet for any meal since it is so filling.  I made it for lunch this weekend and it was so good.  Enjoy!

Ham and Swiss Omelet

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

3 eggs

2 tablespoons water or milk

2 slices ham, diced

¼ cup shredded swiss cheese

1 tablespoon butter

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, water, salt and black pepper.

In a small non-stick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.

Add egg mixture to skillet and allow to cook for 1 minute.  

Lift edges of omelet with a spatula to allow uncooked egg mixture to flow underneath.  Allow to cook additional 2 to 3 minutes, until almost set.

Flip omelet over and top with ham and cheese.  Allow to cook for 1 minute.

Carefully using spatula, roll omelet into thirds (French style) or fold omelet in half.

Serve immediately.

Leftover Ham Soup

Yesterday felt like it should have been Friday already.  Earlier this week my dog Buddy may have had a mild seizure.  It was so crazy because he was asleep and then woke up all of a sudden.  He was shaking, couldn't stand or walk.  He was trying to come to me and kept falling so I just let him lean on me.  It was so scary to watch and I could tell he was scared too because he wouldn't let me leave him to even get my phone.  It only lasted about a minute and has never happened to him before.  I am not sure what is wrong yet because I am still waiting for his blood test results.  I hope it is nothing serious since he has been fine so far.  He's almost 11 and getting older but not too old yet!  Anyone have something like this happen to their dogs?  Here is Buddy with his favorite bed on top of his doggie couch of course. 

Now, onto this leftover ham soup recipe!  I was thinking of making a creamy potato and ham soup but I didn't have any milk or cream.   Does that happen to you?  When I really want to make something, I am usually missing an ingredient.  Basically I started with whatever I had on hand to create this soup.  You might notice in the ingredients photo I usually include in my posts that I don't even have all the ingredients pictured.  After tasting the soup, I had to add in the tomato paste to give it a deeper flavor and the rice to make it less salty.  Initially the soup tasted too much like ham but by the time it was done, the soup was delicious.  This soup is comforting and hearty.  What is also great is that it tastes even better the next day.  I've already had compliments from several coworkers who tried this soup.  Enjoy!

 

Leftover Ham Soup

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups cooked ham, diced

2 cups carrots, diced

2 cups potatoes, diced (1 large russet potato)

1 cup onions, diced

2 cups rice, cooked

3 cups chicken broth, low-sodium

3 cups water

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt (optional – I omitted it since the ham was salty.)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

In a dutch oven or heavy pot, over medium heat, add olive oil.  Add in onions and carrots.  Sauté for about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic, thyme, and black pepper.

Add potatoes and ham.

Pour in chicken broth and water.  Stir in tomato paste and parsley.

Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes.  

Stir in cooked rice.  Cover and continue to simmer on low for additional 20 minutes.

Serves 8.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

I cheated making these cupcakes and they are somewhat healthy, minus the chocolate sauce of course.  The chocolate cupcakes were easy to make with just 1 box of devils food chocolate cake mix, plain greek yogurt and water.  Can you believe that is it?  No eggs and no oil were needed at all.  The cupcakes were moist and light, similar to my pumpkin spice cupcakes (made with 1 box of spice cake mix and 1 can pumpkin puree).  I also topped these chocolate cupcakes with my homemade chocolate sauce, which is really easy to make and stores well in the fridge.  I brought these double chocolate cupcakes to my aunt and uncle's holiday party and they were a hit! 

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 box devils food chocolate cake mix

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1 cup water

2 cups homemade chocolate sauce (click here for recipe)

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mini-chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the box of cake mix, yogurt and water.

Fill cupcake liners halfway with batter.

Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Place cupcakes on wire cooling rack.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Warm homemade chocolate sauce in microwave if needed.

Spoon warm homemade chocolate sauce over cooled cupcakes just enough to cover the tops.  Sprinkle with some mini-chocolate chips (optional).

Allow chocolate sauce to cool and harden slightly.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

If making ahead of time, store cupcakes in refrigerator.

Cilantro Lime Rice

This cilantro lime rice was super easy to make, especially if you have a rice cooker.  Throw all the ingredients into the rice cooker and press start, about 20 minutes later you have fully cooked rice!  I love this rice and it was a great side dish along my honey lime chicken with asparagus.  Enjoy!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups white rice (I used jasmine.)

½ cup onion, finely diced

1 lime, juiced

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1 ½ cups chicken broth, low sodium

1 cup water

Directions

Rinse rice a few times until water runs clear.

Add rice to rice cooker. 

Next add in onion, lime juice, cilantro, chicken broth and water.  

Stir and cook rice according to rice cooker directions.

Serves 4.

Honey Lime Chicken with Asparagus

This honey lime chicken with asparagus is so flavorful.  You can bake, saute or grill the chicken too, whatever is easiest for you.  The key thing is to make sure you marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes or longer to get the great flavors.  The sauce is bright and refreshing which is why I used it for the asparagus too.  You can probably use it for another vegetable like green beans or broccoli.  I was really excited to use my new pampered chef stoneware for the chicken too - cleanup was easier than I thought it would be.  Enjoy!

Honey Lime Chicken with Asparagus

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

5 chicken breasts, thin-sliced

1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed

¼ cup olive oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 4 cloves since I like garlic.)

½ teaspoon ginger, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon cayenne

salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In an 8x8 inch baking dish, whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, honey, lime juice, garlic, ginger, cumin and cumin.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

Add seasoned chicken to marinade.  Flip chicken halfway through marinating time.  (I marinated for about 45 minutes  – you may marinate overnight in the fridge too.)

Place chicken on a baking sheet.

Bake chicken for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Flip chicken halfway through cooking time.  

Place asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet and drizzle with remaining marinade.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serves 4.

Banana Pudding

Happy New Year!  What better way to start the new year by not going on a diet right?  This banana pudding is delicious and somewhat healthy.  It has bananas and fat-free and low-fat ingredients...haha.   Banana pudding is so much easier to make than I thought it would be.  Instead of the usual vanilla wafers, I used maria cookies.  I had a post about maria nutella cookies before and I just love these cookies.  This would be a great dessert to share with friends and family at your next party.  Enjoy!

Banana Pudding

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 package of maria cookies

3 to 4 bananas, sliced

1 package (5 ounce) of instant vanilla pudding

3 cups cold milk (I used low-fat.)

1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I used fat-free.)

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together milk and instant vanilla pudding until set.

Stir in whipped topping to combine with pudding.

Layer maria cookies in a loaf pan or 8x8 inch baking dish in a single layer.

Top with a single layer of sliced bananas.

Top with 1/3 of the pudding mixture.

Next, add another layer of maria cookies, top with sliced bananas and 1/3 of the pudding mixture.

Repeat until final layer are the maria cookies on top.

Serves 8 to 10.