Monday, December 14, 2020

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos - Whole 30 and Paleo

Last week, I made Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos. The recipe was from a pin on Pinterest that led to The Real Food Dietitians. I doubled the recipe since the package of chicken came was two pounds. I'm glad I did. It was an easy recipe to make and tastes great! 


We used tortillas. However, the Real Food Dietitians said it could also be served in a lettuce wrap or on a bed of greens. We topped the meat with onions, yellow peppers, fresh tomatoes, and salsa that we got at the local farmers market this summer. Fresh cilantro and some sliced avocado would taste good on the chicken tacos as well.

The Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos take about 10 minutes to prep and cook for four hours.

Ingredients

1-1 1/4 lb. chicken breast or thighs
1/2 cup organic or homemade salsa
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground coriander (optional)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (more for more heat)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Salad greens or bibb lettuce
Fresh cilantro
Toppings: Fresh chopped veggies of choice, olives, avocado, fresh salsa, lime wedge, etc.

Directions

Place all ingredients except the toppings and salad greens/lettuce in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks (Note: I did this right in the slow cooker). Return to slow cooker and cook on low for an additional 30 minutes. (Note: I cooked the chicken for 4 hours and then kept it on warm until dinner). 


Serve chicken taco meat in a lettuce wrap or on a bed of greens, top with cilantro and desired toppings.

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Christmas Cookies and Treats

I was going through drafts of posts on my blog and came across one for Christmas Cookies and Treats. When I opened the document, I realized I had almost finished it except putting the fudge recipe in it. I don't know which fudge recipe I used, so I'm just posting with two recipes for Peppermint Shortbread Cookies and Mint Chocolate Cookies. 

The Peppermint Shortbread Cookies is a recipe from a friend who I knew for many years. We happened to be visiting her and her daughters one day when she was making these cookies. She shared the recipe and we've been making them at Christmas ever since.

Peppermint Shortbread Cookies

The shortbread cookies are the ones 
with the crushed candy canes on top.

Ingredients:

Cookies
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

Frosting
1 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Peppermint extract
Crushed candy canes or peppermint candy

Directions:

Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flour and cornstarch.

The mixture will be crumbly, so it is best to squeeze the dough by hand at this point.

Form into 1-inch balls and press down slightly on the cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the undersides begin to brown.

Cool 5 minutes, drizzle with frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy.

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I saw a pin on Pinterest for Mint Chocolate Cookies that led to a blog. The cookies, when they come out of the oven, are soft and delicious. They turn into crisp cookies once they cool. I wish they would stay soft. They taste better that way, and it's the way I prefer them. Although I like the mint flavor, I would not make these cookies again.

The Mint Chocolate Cookies are the green cookies 
in the center of the plate.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp mint extract
15-20 drops green food coloring
1 bag of Andes Mints (chopped) or Andes Baking Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) together and set aside. Solicit your kids to unwrap the Andes Mints. A. was more than happy to unwrap them (knowing full well, he would be sneaking some).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and mint extract. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Add green food coloring and mix until evenly colored. Last, but not least, fold in the chopped Andes mints. Doesn't it look just like the ice cream?

Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls (you may need to shape with your hands), flatten, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool.

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I had a fudge recipe for many years that I wanted to try. It called for nuts, but I didn't put them in the recipe since no one in our family likes nuts in fudge. This recipe made a very large amount of fudge - way more than what we needed. It could easily be halved or quartered and put in a smaller pan.