Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes

     This Christmas, my family all got together and did sort of a potluck meal.  Everyone brought something to the table!  For my offering, I made Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes.  So decadent, right?!?  Actually...these are made with Greek yogurt and only about 140 calories per cupcake!!!  CRAZY!!!  The original recipe is from culinarytuesdays.com.  Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients:
****Cake****
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet Cake Mix
6 oz container of Chobani 0% Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Two bowls with the two batters...

1 egg
1 cup water
****Cheesecake****
1 block of 8 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese (Philly)
1/4 cup Chobani 0% Vanilla (2 oz) Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup Light Sour Cream
2 Large Egg Whites
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Flour
1 tsp Vanilla

Gently swirl the two together.  So pretty!

Directions:

1. Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare muffin/cupcake tins with foil liners (24); set aside
3. In a large mixing bowl: beat all the Cake Ingredients on medium speed until all well combined; set aside
4. In a medium mixing bowl: beat all the Cheesecake Ingredients on med/low until all well combined
5. Add Red Velvet Cake Mix to the all the cupcake liners, approx 1/2 full
6. Add an ice cream scoop size of the cheesecake mixture on top of the cake mix
7. Swirl with a fork to combine slightly and get a swirled design (look at picture above)
8. Bake for 25 minutes until the cheesecake is set.
9. Cook and cool until they come to room temp
10. Refrigerate in a covered container for minimum of 1 hour.

Honey Mustard Pork and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

     A protein that I rarely cook is pork.  I'm not sure why...but it gets passed over most nights as the main course.  While watching a Rachel Ray show (not sure which one), I got this idea for a breaded and baked boneless pork chop.  She did something similar using the honey mustard mixture.  Here's is the recipe!  This pork is super easy and very tasty!  As my side dish, I roasted diced sweet potatoes with cinnamon and honey.  That recipe also follows!

Honey Mustard Pork

Ingredients:

2 boneless pork chops, thawed 

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon stone ground mustard (yellow or spicy brown mustard will work)

Splash of vinegar (white wine vinegar also works)

1/2 cup regular bread crumbs

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

If you have thick pork chops, you may want to pound them a little thinner.  This will help them cook more evenly and be more tender to eat.  Place one pork chop at a time into a ziplock bag and pound evenly on both sides.  Thinner pork chops don't need this step.  You don't want the pork too thin and flimsy.  

Create your honey mustard mixture by combining honey, mustard, and vinegar into a small bowl.  Whisk until everything is thoroughly combined.  I taste at this point to make sure it's not too sweet or too tangy.  Add or subtract ingredients as you need to.

Prepare your breading by combining bread crumbs and thyme onto a plate.  Mix with a fork to make sure the seasoning is all through the crumbs.

Bread your pork chops.  First, dip each piece into the honey mustard mixture and then into the bread crumbs.  You want to completely cover the meat with the sauce.  That's where the delicious flavor comes from!  

Place the pork chops onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  The breading should be golden brown and the pork should be white in the middle.  Time will vary depending on your oven and the size of the pork chops.   You could serve this will extra honey mustard sauce (not any that has touch raw pork!!!) or your favorite barbecue sauce.  Enjoy!  

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (the smaller the dice, the faster they cook...also make sure they are all the same size)

3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

Ground cinnamon

Honey

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  These will take a while!  Be patient!  Whenever I make these as a side dish, I get these in the oven first before doing anything else.  It'll be so worth it!

In a baking dish, lay out sweet potato cubes in a single layer.  Add oil and salt and pepper to taste.  With clean hands, mix everything up so that the oil is touching all of the sweet potato.  This helps them stay moist and keep them from burning.  Bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes in the oven, very carefully take them out and stir.  The sweet potatoes should be brighter in color and starting to get soft.  Drizzle the whole thing with a healthy amount of honey and sprinkle on your ground cinnamon.  Stir again and bake for another 20 minutes.  You should start to smell them towards the end of the cooking time.  Check them because they will burn and that's never good!  I always say....Your nose knows!  You eat with your eyes and nose first, so trust your senses!  

Chew Chew Food Company (food truck)

     Today's "on the town..." post brings us Chew Chew Food Company.  This is a newer food truck in the Jax truck scene, but it has quickly become one of my favorites.  The menu is pretty diverse with BBQ, blackened fish, and curried chicken.  Of course, being a food truck, the menu does change regularly.  Chew Chew always has a variety of options to satisfy your pallet.  For me, this is super important and where this food truck gets much of my approval vote.  I like options!
     This time I ordered the the blackened fish tacos.  Now, if you've read any of my recipe posts you'll see that I make fish and shrimp tacos regularly.  I kind of think of myself as a fish taco snob.  If I'm going to order and pay you to make me a fish or shrimp taco, it has to taste better the ones I make.  Not too much to ask, right?  As soon as I ordered these, Chew Chew was set to a pretty high standard!
     And the verdict!  I can without a doubt say that these fish tacos are the BEST fish tacos I've ever had!  Now, I have tried several other taco offerings from restaurants (that will remain nameless) and they were far from acceptable.  I would order Chew Chew's blackened fish tacos again!  Here's why they're so delicious...three flour tortillas stuffed (I'm not exaggerating) with blackened Mahi, shaved cabbage, pineapple salsa, and poblano ranch.  The fish is blackened and cooked perfectly!  The salsa is sweet and tangy!  The ranch is creamy and sweet!  I can not say enough great things about this dish.

Check Chew Chew Food Company out on facebook!

Blackened Fish Tacos with Aardwolf's Hasselhoffenweiss beer :)

Vanilla Porter Egg Nog

     This year, we started a new Christmas tradition.  Christmas Eve now consists of a nice dinner at home, presents, movie, and egg nog.  For dinner, we recreated our anniversary dinner; bacon wrapped beef filet (recipe located here!) with roasted asparagus (recipe also located here!) and sweet potato fries.  For the movie, we watched "Wolverine."  Not very Christmas-y, I know, but a pretty good movie none the less.
    The main attraction was the EGG NOG!  In my research, I found of lot of different recipes with different key notes.  I originally picked a Weight Watchers egg nog recipe, but... silly me... trying to be healthy during the holidays!  In the decision dilemma, Tory took the cake with a beer inspired egg nog recipe.  Of course, Weight Watchers went out the door (sorry)!  The original recipe can be found at http://www.stonebrew.com/holiday/ along with some other beer based recipes. I will be trying these soon!

Vanilla Porter Egg Nog
Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 ounces Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean...I could not find this one so I used Breckingridge Vanilla Porter.  I also used the whole bottle (oops :)
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:
Place the egg yolks, vanilla and ½ cup of the sugar in the bowl of an
electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat for several minutes, until
the yolks lighten up and magically double in volume. Add the remaining
ingredients—except for the egg white and the rest of the sugar—and mix
until everything’s fully combined. Transfer the mixture to another bowl and
forget about it for a bit.

Wash the bowl and whisk, then place the egg whites in the bowl and
start whisking them up. Slowly sprinkle in the rest of the sugar and keep
whisking until thick and stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk
mixture and chill.

When you’re ready to serve, pour the nog into stylish goblets or your favorite
form of beer glass, garnish with a little more nutmeg and go spread some
beery holiday cheer.

Baby's Badass Burgers (food truck)

     I love to cook!  But, I love to eat twice as much!  Recently, Tory and I have gotten in to trying out different local food trucks.  So far, most of them are quite delicious!  It amazes me that such tasty food can come out of a vehicle.  Remarkable!
     Most recently, we tested Baby's Badass Burgers.  The food was just that; BADASS!  Tory ordered the "Original Beauty" with two patties, Swiss cheese, special sauce, and sauteed mushrooms and onions.  Is your mouth watering yet?  I ordered the "Cover Girl"...a turkey burger with Swiss cheese, sauteed onions, lettice, tomato, and special sauce.  Throw in a side of seasoned curly fries and OMG!  I highly recommend any burger lover to track this truck down.  We would definitely eat there again!  I've already picked out my next order :)

Check out their menu at http://www.babysbadassburgers.com/jacksonville/menu.php.  Follow JaxTruckies on facebook to find them around town!

The Cover Girl with Aardwolf's Pilot Batch The Crafty Rascal beer :)

Brunch Special:Bold and Spicy Bloody Mary and Hash Brown Casserole

     Recently I have had some serious cravings for a Bloody Mary.  This has been an acquired taste for me but I have now fallen in love with the tomato-y, spiciness that this brunch in a glass has to offer.  I have found some amazing Bloody Mary's in Jacksonville at BlackFinn (especially the Bacon Mary...OMG!) and Black Sheep.  Both are reasonably priced and very tasty!  I recommend both and all!
     While I love a good brunch and drink out on the weekends, it can get a little expensive.  This time, we decided to try brunch at home!  On the menu, hash brown casserole and (of course) Bloody Mary's.  I was actually a little nervous about the drink mixing.  I'm not really one for intricate and fancy mixed drinks, but after some research I tried it out.  Now, the Bloody Mary is in the recipe wheelhouse for weekend brunch (and "hair of the dog" hangovers).  Oh!  And the casserole was amazing too!

Bold and Spicy Bloody Mary
Ingredients:
Absolut Peppar (If you use unflavored vodka, you'll need 1/2 teaspoon of prepared horseradish)
Bloody Mary mix
Lemon juice
Cajun seasoning
Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce
Garnish - green olives, bacon, lemon/lime wedge, celery stalk, pickle spear, etc.

Directions:
Fill your drinking glass with ice cubes.  In a mixing glass (I use the trusty solo cup!), start with about a tablespoon of lemon juice, 4-5 shakes each of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce, and a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning.  If you're using unflavored vodka, add your prepared horseradish here.  If you're using the Peppar, it can get pretty spicy!  We leave the horseradish out.

Add the vodka.  I fill about 3/4 of the cup.  Then, add the mix to the top.  Make sure your stir completely!  Pour this over the ice cubes.  I usually have leftovers and just top my glass off as I drink it down.  Garnish with your choice of toppings!  Bottoms up!

***Bacon tip!!!  Cook your bacon in the oven!  Lay the strips out in an even layer onto a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Drain excess grease on a paper towel-lined plate.  Perfect every time!  And you won't have to fight the grease pops!

Hash Brown Casserole (original recipe found at jensfunlittlethings.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:

2 cups of frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

4 whole eggs, beaten

1/4 cup half and half

3 strips cooked bacon, diced

1 cup of diced vegetables (I used black olives, baby spinach, tomatoes, onion)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Hot sauce

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  In an un-greased square baking dish, combine butter and hash browns.  Press down and up the sides to form a crust layer.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hash browns are golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Pour into the hash brown crust.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the eggs have set.  Top with bacon and shredded cheese before serving.  Amazingly delicious!

Birthday Special:The Breakfast Dog

      This month has been a very exciting month!  Not only do we have Christmas, holiday vacation from school, my sister's birthday, and Tory's birthday....we got ENGAGED!  Eeeeekkkkk!  This, of course, has nothing to do with this blog post, but oh well.  I'll be posting some wedding planning things as the experiences happen.  I've honestly already found a lot of help in other's wedding-related posts.  So I'll share my stuff too!

Me and my hubby-to-be!

     Anyways :)  Back to the post at hand!  This past Monday, Tory celebrated his birthday.  So instead of going out to dinner (my family had already taken everybody to celebrate), I decided to be creative a cook a new and special meal.  I do believe that it has become a new tradition!  The original recipe for the Breakfast Dog can be found at pinkpistachio.com along with some other hotdog variations.  They all look amazing!

Breakfast Dog

Ingredients:

hotdog buns (I used whole wheat by Nature's Own)

hotdogs (I used turkey hotdogs)

egg

shredded, frozen country hash browns

ketchup

garlic powder

salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook hash browns according to package.  Mine said to fry in a skillet using a couple tablespoons of oil until golden brown.  Lay them out onto a paper towel to soak up excess oil and sprinkle with salt.

Toast your hotdog buns.  Cook your hotdogs.  Tory worked the grill for this step!  You could just use your oven.  

Fry one (or two) eggs over-medium for each hotdog.  I use a little bit of canola oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Now assemble!  Bun first with a squirt of ketchup.  Then a layer of hash browns (I put more ketchup after this step on mine!).  Then your hotdog.  Finally, top with your runny egg.  And eat!  This is going to be messy!

That's a good lookin' dog!  I served this with a side of Family Recipe Baked Beans (recipe below).

Family Recipe Baked Beans: (This recipe is courtesy of Tory's mom!  So easy and so delicious!)

Ingredients:

1 can of Bush's original baked beans

1 heaping tablespoon each light brown sugar, ketchup, yellow mustard, honey, and maple syrup.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a baking dish, mix everything together.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until everything is bubbly!  Enjoy!

Meatless Monday:Cheese Tortellini Primavera

     We've started "Meatless Mondays" according to The Skinny Rules (found ...in the gym).  Last week, I tried this cheese tortellini recipe and it was a big hit!  As always, I modify the recipe to fit what I have on hand and my flavor preferences.  The original recipe is found at kitchendaily.com.  Try it out!

Cheese Tortellini Primavera
Ingredients: 8 oz. vegetable broth

1 tbsp, all-purpose flour
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp dried chives
Pinch of salt
4 cups vegetables, frozen (I use crinkled cut carrots and sugar snap peas)
9 oz. package frozen tortellini

Directions: 1. Put a large pot of water on to boil.

2. Meanwhile, whisk broth and flour in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth mixture to the pan, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese, tarragon (or dill or chives) and salt.

3. Add vegetables and tortellini to the boiling water; return the water to a simmer and cook until the vegetables and tortellini are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain; add to the pan with the sauce and stir to coat.

Skinny Shrimp Alfredo

     One of my favorite meals is Shrimp Alfredo.  But as we all know, alfredo sauce is not that great for you.  I recently bought a jar of Bertolli Light Alfredo sauce.  It's only 50 calories per quarter cup.  This is not too bad if measured out properly.  As I researched alfredo based recipes, all I found was pasta dishes.  So I decided to lighten it up and leave the pasta out!

Skinny Shrimp Alfredo
Ingredients: 2 cups of medium white shrimp, peeled and de-veined with tail off
1/4 cup Light Alfredo sauce
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 package of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup of baby spinach
1 tablespoon of canola or olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: In a medium fry pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute onion until translucent and fragrant, just a couple of minutes.  Add shrimp and cook until pink all the way around.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add baby spinach and tomatoes.  Let everything cook down and soften.  Add Alfredo sauce and stir thoroughly.  Allow everything to sit and meld together.  It's so delicious!  Enjoy!

Huevos Rancheros

[Apparently every kitchen post starts the same and I need to change the name of my blog to "Everybody loves..." lol.  But I can't think of anything else to open with right this second!  So here it goes.]

    Everybody loves EGGS!  Or at least they should.  :)  I personally could eggs for every single meal and not think twice.  I found this recipe for huevos rancheros on bevcooks.com and wanted to try it one night for dinner.  So in my quest for healthier cooking and eating, I did some research on the ole egg to justify this meal. I found out that eggs are a great source of essential vitamins and minerals, and are also a great source of low calorie protein.  They also help in weight loss and have been found to prevent breast cancer (source: http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eggs).  Therefore, I can eat as many eggs as I want, right? ;)
     This particular recipe was very easy and delicious.  The only thing I will do differently next time would be to fix the tortilla part.  Maybe I didn't cook it long enough, but we found it to be useless.  The meal just turned into a runny egg salsa scramble.  Don't get me wrong, it was very tasty.  Next time I'm going to do more of a fry on the tortilla so that it'll be crispy.
     Below is the original recipe with my notes in italics.  Enjoy!

Huevos Rancheros (1 serving)
Ingredients:

* about 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, divided (For the frying method, you will need more)
* 2 corn tortillas (I used one medium soft taco flour tortilla)
* 1/2 cup black beans (from a can, drained and rinsed)
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 tsp chili powder
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 2 Tbs. salsa 
* 2 eggs
* 1 Tbs. sour cream
* fresh cilantro, for garnish, optional
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:In a mini food processor, add the beans, garlic, cumin, chili powder, a tsp of oil and a small pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz until you get a puree. Transfer to a small sauce pan and set it on a low heat. Stir (or press around) the mixture until it’s heated through. Remove from heat.  (This by itself would make a great black bean dip!  We actually ate the leftovers with wheat thin crackers the next day.)

Put a small skillet over the heated burner and add the tiniest bit of oil. Lightly fry (it’s almost toasting really) each tortilla until slightly browned and bubbly. Transfer to a plate.  (Again, in the future, I'm going to add more oil and fry my tortilla.  This will make it crispy!  This part is completely up to you.)

Add a tsp of oil (or a little more) to the skillet and crack your first egg in. If you want to use a bigger skillet and just fry both eggs at the same time.  Continue to fry the eggs until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny.

In the meantime, spread the bean mixture over each tortilla, followed by the salsa. Then top each with an egg. Dollop with a little more salsa, fresh cilantro sprigs and a good grind of black pepper.  (Since I used a larger tortilla, I put both eggs on it.)

Serve with lime wedges and sour cream!

The Skinny Rules

     Today, I found a great list called the "Skinny Rules" from Bob Harper (the guy from the Biggest Loser).  It lists some doable things to help in weight loss and overall health.  Most of these things we already do.

Rule #1 is interesting.  We know that we need to drink lots of water but drinking right before every meal will help with getting full.

Rule #2 will be very difficult for us!  If you've read anything else on my blog, you know that I love beer (lol). Beer is very high in calories.  This is going to be the trick...keeping the beer drinking to the one allotted splurge day.

I admit that I had to do some research for some of these!  Rule #4 just means that we need to eat more whole grains.  I also looked up some foods that are fiber-rich for rule #5.  Check out this link from Dr. Oz for food choices: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/50-fiber-rich-foods.  Some are common in our house like spinach, broccoli, and whole wheat bread.  Others are not so common.  I'm definitely going to need my list the next time I go grocery shopping.

Rule #10 will also be difficult.  We use sweetener daily in our morning coffee.  I guess that's not very much...just one packet per day.  I'm gonna say that our one pack is ok :).

Rule #12 will be fun to do.  I get to research and try new delicious recipes!  We have decided to do "Meatless Mondays."  The first day of the week is always the hardest and the alliteration is fun!

     I hope that we can stick to these Skinny Rules and I hope that you will too!

Two-Ingredient Cake and Tortellini Pasta Salad

     Whenever I'm invited over to someone's house for dinner, I like to bring something.  Nothing crazy but something to participate in the meal.  Every year for Thanksgiving, we go to Tory's grandma's house.  This year I brought my Super Saltines (look under "in the kitchen" for the recipe!), pasta salad, and pumpkin cake.  I really tried to make some healthier options to offset all of the other extra delicious and fattening foods.  Let's just say I got an "A" in my attempt to be healthy this holiday effort :).  These recipes are great for everyday meals as well.

Two-Ingredient Cakes
Ingredients:
Spice Cake mix
Can of pumpkin puree

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the two ingredients together using a hand mixer.  The batter will be very thick!  Spread into a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.  To check, I stick a knife in the center.  If it pulls out clean and with no problem, it's done!  Let the cake cool before transferring or cutting.  You could make an icing or simply flurry with powdered sugar.  I left mine plain and they were still excellent!

I have also made a blueberry cake with the "two-ingredient trick."  Mix Angel Food cake mix and a can of blueberry pie filling.  I did the same oven temperature and baking time.  Very delicious!  I want to try some other combinations.  This is a great alternative to sugary calorie-filled sweets.  It's also very easy!

Tortellini Pasta Salad (the original recipe is found at bettycrocker.com)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoons of canola or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, dried parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic powder
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1/2 box of grape tomatoes, halved
1 9 oz. package of tortellini

Directions:
With this recipe, it's fun to play with the colors of your veggies and the filling of your pasta.  For today's pasta salad, I used a yellow pepper and chicken and prosciutto tortellini.  Any kind and color works the same.
First, cook the pasta according to the package directions.  While that's going, heat oil in a saute pan.  Cook peppers until tender, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, and seasonings.  Cook another 3-4 minutes, so that all vegetables are tender and warmed through.  Combine vegetables and pasta.  Viola!  Easy and tasty, every time :).

Super Saltines

     Everyone loves a good crunchy snack (or at least they should).  Whether it's sweet, savory, or salty, the best foods make a sound when you bite.  For "snacky" people like me, saltine crackers are on the bottom of that food list.  Although they have the desired crunch and saltiness, saltines are tasteless and dry otherwise.  But, at the same time, they're cheap, easy to find, and a much healthier option to chips and other fried snacks.  Here is a recipe to help satisfy the snack-lover in us all (and help cut down on the grease and fat).

Super Saltines

Ingredients: 

Two sleeves of unsalted saltine crackers

1/2 package of ranch seasoning

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  In a small bowl whisk together oil and seasonings.  In a large bowl (I use my large soup pot :) ), combine crackers and oil mixture.  With clean hands, gently stir so that each cracker gets some seasoning.  Spread crackers out on a cookie sheet (you may need two) in a single layer.  Bake for 15 minutes.  After 10 minutes, I check and shake the cookie sheet a little to make sure the crackers aren't burning.  Let these cool after baking, then move into an air tight container.  Enjoy!

     This recipe is great for variations and playing with different flavors (just like those weird chip flavors!).  You will always need the saltines and the oil, but everything can be substituted.  I have tried a chili powder, salt, and lime (juice and zest) version.  They were delicious and a perfect pair with Mexican chicken chili.  I'm thinking that a Montreal Steak seasoning would be excellent also.

Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Tacos...updated 4/28/2014

     Everybody loves a simple crock pot meal!  Everybody also loves tacos (or they should!).  This recipe is so simple and can be updated and altered for a variety of different meals.  The concept is to cook chicken breast in the crock pot with whatever sauce and/or seasoning.  That's it!  Below is the chicken salsa taco recipe.  Like I said, you can substitute different sauces and flavors.

Chicken Salsa Tacos
Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 jar of salsa...I prefer Tostitos Mild
Taco sized tortillas
Taco toppings....sour cream, cheese, olives, corn, black beans, etc.  I usually just use whatever is in the pantry.

Directions:
Season chicken with taco seasoning.  Lay the breasts flat in your crock pot.  Pour salsa over the top.  Move chicken around so that the sauce gets around and under all of the meat.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Once cooking in finished, shred chicken and stir around in the salsa.  Fill a tortilla or simply serve over yellow rice.  Always yummy!

     I use the same cooking technique for barbecue chicken.  Substitute mesquite barbecue seasoning for the taco seasoning and your favorite barbecue sauce for the salsa.  Pile on a Hawaiian roll or hamburger bun.  Viola!

**BONUS** Make chicken taco bowls by propping flour tortillas onto the back side of a muffin tin.  Bake until golden brown and crispy.  This will take around 10-15 minutes.  So yummy and fun!!!

Reader's Response letters

   Since my school has had issues with overall reading gains, the "Million Word" campaign and monthly reading goals have been the focus of our work.  As primary teachers, we always push our students towards reading success.  In an effort to track and motivate my students to independently read, I tried out several reader's response templates.
     At first, I had a simple book log and reader's response journal.  In the response log, student completed one question or activity per book read.  Each one focused on a different strategy or reading skill (visualizing, summarizing, compare and contrast, etc. )  I actually found that this was not rigorous enough for my third graders.  Some of my more advanced readers could finish the whole packet in a week or two.  I've attached the journal document I created if you would like to see and/or tweak for your classroom!

Reader's Response Journal

     As I was talking with another teacher, she shared a response letter that she had used in the past.  It is amazing!  Students read independently (a book on their level).  When they have finished, they write a friendly letter to me or my co-teacher.  They have a list of suggested response topic to choose from.  I've attached this topic list below.  I'm not sure where she got these from or if she created them, but it works perfectly and allows students to choose what they want to share about their reading.

Suggested Response Topics

  I also created a rubric to post for my readers to follow.  This is attached.  If they earn at least 3/4 points, based on this rubric, students receive a sticker.  After five reading response stickers, my third graders win a Book It! pizza coupon!  Although this program/routine got a slow start, the reading has really picked up!  My students really like to write the letters and ask all day long if they can work on them.

Response Rubric

Baked Lemon Garlic Tilapia with Spinach and Tomato Rice

     In my pursuit to find simple, fairly cheap, and healthy week day dinners, I have found that my two favorite proteins are chicken and tilapia.  Both are easy to find in any grocery store and both are easy to cook.  Fish is not as versatile as chicken but with simple ingredients it is a great week night dinner option.  Here's an easy recipe I came up with a while ago to incorporate tilapia in our weekly recipe rotation.  We have this dinner once a week!

     I also included a spinach and tomato brown rice side dish.  This recipe came from a cleanse we did and I only had certain ("clean") ingredients to work with.  Surprisingly, this recipe was amazing and became a regular, eve outside the dreaded cleanse.  :)

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

Ingredients:

Tilapia fillets, about 4 oz each (I buy the individually wrapped frozen fillets and thaw during the day)

Unsalted sweet cream stick butter, 1/2 tablespoon per fillet

Minced garlic, one teaspoon per fillet (You can use garlic powder but the fresh is much better)

Lemon juice, to taste (I use the bottled lemon juice, I would say you need the juice of one whole lemon)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lay your tilapia fillets out on a greased cookie sheet.  Sprinkle your salt and pepper first.  Squeeze lemon juice to cover the top of your fillets.  Spread the garlic over the top of each fillet.  I use my finger to make sure the garlic covers all of the fish and not just in one spot.  Place your butter pad in the center of each fillet.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  The fish is done when it flakes.  To check, I take a fork and scrape.

Before the oven...

Spinach and Tomato Brown Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup baby spinach, chopped

1 cup or one whole large tomato, diced (I prefer beefsteak tomatoes...Cherry or grape tomatoes are really good too)

2 cups cooked whole grain brown rice (Cook according to package...I always use low sodium, fat free chicken broth as my cooking liquid but you could use water)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

     While your rice is still warm from cooking, mix everything together!  That's it :)  I usually add some hot sauce, but that's up to you!

Easy Homemade Tomato Soup and Pepperoni and Cheese Quesadillas

     With winter on its way, I've been looking for some great and easy soup recipes.  Soup is great for those bone-chilly nights when you don't want to move. Here's a recipe that I actually came up with last year.  It's very easy and always delicious!

Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
One 18 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
One 18 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 large onion, diced
One tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 box of chicken broth (I prefer reduced sodium)
Dried basil, to taste
Crushed red pepper, to taste
Olive oil and margarine (for softening onion and garlic)

Directions:
In a large soup pot, heat about a tablespoon each of oil and margarine.  Cook diced onion until softened and fragrant.  Add minced garlic for about one minute...be careful not to burn.  Add both cans of tomato and stir so that everything is mixed well.  Bring to a boil then add the broth.  Continue to stir and boil.  Add dried basil and crushed red pepper to taste.  I added 2 tablespoons of basil and 1 teaspoon of pepper.  Be careful because the red pepper can get very spicy.  You can leave this out if you don't like any heat at all.  Allow soup to simmer covered for about ten minutes.  Here's where I make the quesadillas (recipe follows)!

After soup has simmered, stir in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese.  I use an immersion blender to smooth things out.  I don't do too much because I like my soup to have chunks of tomato, but it's your preference.  Taste here, then add salt and pepper.  Most times I don't actually add any salt because the cheeses and broth are enough.  Serve in a deep bowl and prepare for "hot soup belly!"

Pepperoni and Cheese Quesadillas
Ingredients: 
Whole wheat flour tortillas, taco size
1/2 cup of turkey pepperoni, sliced into strips
Italian blend shredded cheese (amount depends on how cheesy you want the quesadillas to be)
Dried oregano
Canola oil spray

Directions:
Preheat a sprayed skillet on medium high heat.  Sprinkle cheese, oregano, and pepperonis on one half of each tortilla.  Fold in half and press down.  Cook one quesadilla at a time on the skillet.  Flip after about one minute per side.  Allow to cool then cut into thirds for easy dipping!

Anniversary Special:Bacon-wrapped beef fillets and Macaroni and Cheese

     This year for our anniversary, Tory and I wanted to do something special but on a budget...and on a week night.  We, conveniently, had a home visit last week from a salesperson for Oceans 6 (http://www.oceans6.net/) and we bought a six pack of frozen filet mignon.  This was perfect!
      So I did some research on Food Network.  I found a recipe for bacon wrapped grilled filet.  I kept looking and found a recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese.  I've copied and pasted the original recipes and added my notes in italics. 
    It was so delicious! I love that we can cook together, watch a movie, and stay home in pajamas. It was perfect and I look forward to many more nights like this =)

Bacon Wrapped Filet...by Paula Dean

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) bottle zesty Italian salad dressing
2 beef tenderloin fillets, 1 1/2 -2 inches thick
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons steak sauce (recommended: Lea and Perrins Steak Sauce)
2 teaspoons water
Directions
Pour the salad dressing into a shallow pan, place the steaks in the pan and let them marinate for 3 to 4 hours. Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. Wrap a strip of bacon around each steak, securing it with a toothpick or kitchen twine. Grill the steaks over hot coals for about 8 minutes per side (5 minutes per side for rare). Baste with a mixture of steak sauce and water. For perfect steaks, turn them only once.  We have a small electric grill, so the time was a little longer.  It took about 12-15 minutes per side.  

Macaroni and Cheese...by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat pasta)
4 cups milk (I used fat free)
2 or 3 sprigs thyme
4 cloves garlic, smashed and divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar (I used mild cheddar)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Leaves from 1/4 bunch fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)
Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes, until al dente. Drain.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small saucepan heat the milk with the thyme sprigs and 2 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, to keep lumps from forming. Strain the solids out of the milk and whisk it into the butter and flour mixture. Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth. Stir in the 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked macaroni and the parsley and fold that all in to coat the macaroni with the cheese mixture. Scrape into a 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
While that bakes, heat a saute pan. Add the bacon, render the fat and cook until crispy. Add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook for about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, scatter the bacon mixture over the mac and cheese. Use a big spoon to scoop out servings, making sure you get some of the smoking bacon mixture on each spoonful.

The complete meal!  Grilled filet, homemade mac and cheese, and baked sweet potato fries.

30 day cardio challenge...updated 12/17/2013

     I started a new workout schedule this past Monday!  So far I'm 2 for 2 in eating healthy and exercise.  Let's see how far I can get (lol).  I'm walking/running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I plan on doing 3.5 total miles this week and gradually build up to full run and 10 miles per week (high expectations I know).  Then on the opposite days, I'm doing a 30 day cardio challenge I found on Pinterest (picture below).  Saturdays are off days as always!  If I complete this plan, I'll have to look for another to keep me motivated and healthy :)

***UPDATE 11/3/2013

I've completed week one! I'm very proud of myself.  I feel great...not bloated, sluggish, or fat.  I think I've found a schedule and goal that I can stick to!  Next week, I'll start running (short miles and slow pace of course).  I'm excited to keep going =)

***UPDATE 11/24/2013
So as I read the above update, I feel terrible writing that I fell off the band wagon :((  I'm honestly pretty disappointed in myself. I know that it's no excuse, but I've been very busy and stressed at work.  I'm still on week 2 and will start again on Monday.  The motto for right now is, "If you're tired of starting over....stop giving up!"

***UPDATE 12/17/2013
I started week 4 today!  This is my last week with the 30 day cardio challenge!  WOOP WOOP!  I have also been running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I feel great and look forward to the next challenge (I have already been looking!).

Super Easy Chicken Fried Rice

     Every now and then, I get a Chinese food craving!  Who doesn't?  But ordering take-out is not on the weekday meal plan.  I found this quick and simple chicken fried rice recipe from iowagirleats.com.  She calls it the "take out fake out" and it's just that!  I do some things a little different, so I added my notes in italics.

Ingredients:
2 cups prepared rice (I use whole grain brown rice)
1 chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with salt & pepper (I use two chicken breast cut into strips)
1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 green onions, chopped (omitted)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg (omitted)
3 teaspoons sesame or wok oil, divided (I use canola oil)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Add two tablespoons preservative free stir fry sauce

Directions:

1. Whisk egg with 1 teaspoon oil in a small dish then set aside.  (I don't use egg...so skip this step)
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add seasoned chicken then stir fry until cooked through and remove to a plate. (Toss chicken in stir fry sauce while it's warm)
3. Heat remaining teaspoon oil in the wok then add frozen mixed vegetables and green onions. (I leave out green onions) Stir fry until tender, about 2 minutes, then add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Push vegetables to the side of the wok then add egg and sesame oil mixture into the center and scramble.  (I leave out egg)
4. Add cooked chicken, rice, and soy sauce to wok then toss well to combine.  (I combine rice to vegetables and top with chicken in the serving bowl)

Curried Rice with Shrimp

     I have officially decided that shrimp is one of my new favorite main courses.  I was never really a seafood eater growing up but as I've started cooking healthier, shrimp is a tasty and easy option. :)  This recipe originally came from RealSimple.com.  I usually pair this dish with a roasted vegetable.  This week it was roasted broccoli.  Yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped (I actually use one "snack pack" of baby carrots chopped into to small pieces.  I always have these as snacks!)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 1/2 cup fresh basil (I actually sprinkle dried basil on before serving.  I never have fresh herbs...I'm bad about letting them go bad :( )

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes.
3. Add the rice, 2½ cups water, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
4. Season the shrimp with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Nestle them in the partially cooked rice. Cover and cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes. Fold in the basil.

     As you can see, the recipe is very simple.  It's so delicious and just the right amount of heat.  I'm sure the base recipe will work with other proteins as well :)

Interactive Reading Journal

     This year, Duval county schools has revamped some of the classroom practices.  One of the new initiatives in our instruction is the interactive journal.  These are designed for students to capture their own learning.  Each lesson or benchmark has a notes page where the teacher prints out something and/or students take notes during the mini-lesson.  Then students do a page of independent practice.  This allows them to look back and use the notes page as a model.  Below are some pictures form my 3rd graders :)  I'm very excited about how they have been independently using these to hold themselves accountable for their own learning.

Each week students are given 7 vocabulary words.  During center rotation, they use picture cards, thesauruses, and dictionaries to find the meaning of each word.  They paste this flip book into their source-books each week to refer to.

As we've been reading Charlotte's Web, we have been creating character trait playing cards.  For each character, students create a card listing the character traits.  As the characters change throughout the story, the character card is added to.  This made several character development activities so much easier!  Students can quickly pull out their cards and refer to the notes they've taken.

This is an example of a teacher-directed notes page.  Students pasted the nonfiction text feature, then as we discussed each one they made their own notes.  This has really helped teach a somewhat complicated concept.  As we read nonfiction and point out important text features, they can quickly refer back to these notes.