Slow Cooker Sweet Garlic Chicken

     One of my favorite kitchen appliances is the slow cooker.  It is marvelous!  It will do all of the work for you while you're at work or out and about enjoying the day.  You come home and the house smells delicious!  All you have to do is get a plate and dig in!
     We recently got a brand new five quart crock pot as a wedding gift.  I was thrilled!  I could not wait to throw away the hand-me-down one quart slow cooker from the '70s and test out this new kitchen wonder machine :)
     My favorite protein to cook in the crock pot is chicken.  It's a cheap buy and when cooked low and slow just falls apart.  I'm a sucker for a good pulled chicken salad or sandwich.  It's so tender and juicy...it's making my mouth water!
     This recipe was the first tested recipe in the brand new crock pot...and it was amazing!!!!  It's super easy (as is tradition with slow cooker meals) and can be served on a bun, over rice, or just as is.  Enjoy :)

Slow Cooker Sweet Garlic Chicken
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (frozen, fresh, or thawed)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (diet or regular)
2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 Tablespoons water
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken (frozen, thawed or fresh) inside slow cooker. Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper together. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. 

Take chicken pieces out of slow cooker (mine basically fell apart) and pour remaining sauce into saucepan. Place saucepan over high heat. Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools down).

Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if desired. 

"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert

     I have been insanely stressed this year!  One of the things I've picked up in order to keep myself from internal combustion is...reading for pleasure.  As a teacher, I read constantly.  Whether it's my class novel or story, my students' writing, or a professional book or article, I have to read in order to stay ahead and in the game.  I kind of lost the feeling of JUST reading.  Over the past couple of weeks, I've started to read for me.  It is a really easy way for me to escape and forget all the stress of the real world even if it's just for a half an hour or so.
     Before I began this "new adventure," I did a little research and self-evaluating to come up with a Book Bucket List.  These are some books that I've either come across as interesting or been recommended by a friend.  I deliberately left off professional reads so that I can escape in what I'm reading.  I'll read the education eventually as work demands.  I started out with some books that I never read through high school but always wanted to...like Life of Pi and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.  Then I researched some of the books trending in the past couple of years...like The Fault in Our Stars and The Help.  I also found a blog that discussed the "Rory Gilmore Book Challenge."  (Rory Gilmore is a character from a TV series on the WB.  Through out the series, she mentioned 250 books in some way, shape, or form.)  I'm not going to read them all because some are just not my cup of tea but I copied the list just as a guideline.  A lot of them I had actually already read!
     My first book of the "season" was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  It has now been made into a Hollywood movie staring Julia Roberts.  I actually have a really hard time reading a book after I've seen the movie.  For example, I'd love to say that I've read the Lord of The Rings trilogy but...I've already seen the movies.  My fiance highly recommends the Song of Fire and Ice series but...I've already seen four seasons of Game of Thrones.  It's like I already know what will happen next so my brain stops reading.  Weird, I know!
     Anywho, I don't exactly know what made me choose this but I'm so grateful that I did!  The story is a diary almost of Gilbert's journey in Italy, India, and Indonesia.  She goes through a rough patch and decides to get away.  She eats in Rome, prays in India, and loves in Bali.  Who wouldn't want to do this?!?!  The novel is so relatable...everybody has had a rough patch (come on ladies, we've all cried in the bathroom at some point) and dreamed of getting away from it all.  Gilbert just actually did it!  We get to read about it.
     Her journey and transformation brought so much perspective and peace for me.  I may not take on Sanskirt meditation, but a lot of the thoughts will stay with me in those times of stress.  I'm going to watch the movie this weekend and look forward to reading the sequel, Committed.  I highly recommend this book!

Some of my favorite quotes:
“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.” 

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it."

“Tis' better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's perfectly.” 

“Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.” 

“Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation.” 

“You have the opposite of poker face. You have like.. miniature golf face.” 

...there are so many more that I can't think of or find...but OMG reeeeaaaad this book :)

Honey Garlic Pork Chops

One of my favorite side dishes to make is my fried rice (check out my recipe here...).  I could serve it every day of the week.  Unfortunately I would run out of main dishes to serve with it by Wednesday!  This pork chop recipe is perfect with vegetable fried rice.  It has all of the Asian flavors of ginger, sage, honey, soy, and garlic.  It’s pan seared and then baked, which makes it crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside.  Give it a try!

Honey Garlic Pork Chops

Ingredients:

Two boneless pork chops, thawed

¼ of all-purpose flour

2 eggs beaten

1 teaspoon each of dried sage, coriander, and ginger

Salt and pepper, taste

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of honey

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

Directions:

Pound the pork chops so that they are about 1 inch thick.  On a plate, combine flour and spices.  In a small bowl, beat your eggs.  Set up your breading station.

Preheat your oven 350 degrees.  In a medium skillet, heat a couple of tablespoons of canola oil.  Bread your pork chops by dipping them first in flour, then egg, and then flour again.  Once your oil is hot, place your pork chop carefully into the pan.  Allow it to cook for a few minutes or until that side is golden brown.  Carefully flip you pork chop and cook on the other side.

Move your pan into the oven and cook for about 5-7 minutes.  Because the meat has been pounded out, it shouldn’t take long to cook through.  As always, when cooking time is finished, allow the meat to rest tented with foil for a minute or two.

Prepare your sauce.  In a small saucepan, combine the three ingredients and bring to a boil.  As soon as it gets here, turn off the heat and whisk.  Be careful not to let the honey harden (this will happen if it boils too long). 

After your pork has rested, plate the crispy chop and drizzle on some of the sweet and salty sauce.  

Green Beans and Tomatoes

     One vegetable that I absolutely love, but quickly get tired of is the green bean.  They yummy and good for you, but until now I haven’t been able to find any exciting recipes for the lowly green bean.  You can sauté them, blanch them, boil them, wrap them in bacon, or dress them in a vinaigrette…but something new needs to break up the monotony!

     I was watching Trisha Yearwood’s show on Food Network one day and she made a side dish of green beans with canned tomatoes.  I’m not really a fan of tomatoes but I thought that I would give it a try.  It turned out so deliciously!  This will definitely be on a regular rotation.  Enjoy!

Green Beans and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

8 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (Substitute for regular diced tomatoes if you don’t want the heat.), drained

2 14 oz. cans of cut green beans, drained

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 small bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Directions:

Over medium heat, sauté the bell pepper and onion in a medium skillet under tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.  Add ketchup and canned tomatoes.  Continue cooking and the sauce will begin to thicken.  Add the dried basil and salt and pepper, taste.  Lastly add the green beans.  Stir them so that the tomato sauce coats the beans and they are heated through.  Serve as a side dish or over rice/pasta. 

Hollandaise Times Two

     One dish I absolutely love is Eggs Benedict; all varieties!  Every time we go out for breakfast or brunch, that’s what I’m looking for.  I love every aspect of this dish; the toasted muffing, the salty meat, the runny egg, and the creamy Hollandaise sauce.  I've always been afraid to make my own hollandaise sauce.  You always hear that that’s a temperamental recipe that could fall apart at any moment.  The packaged kind is okay but doesn't really satisfy the creamy lemony taste that I crave.

     Most weekends, I try to make a real breakfast for me and Tory (and Maverick!).  Since our weekday mornings are usually early and busy, we don’t always eat a nutritious A.M meal.  On the weekends though, I've made everything from pancakes to French toast to omelets (check out my recipes …in the kitchen).  This particular weekend, I mustered up enough courage to make a real Eggs Benny….it actually turned out beautifully!  And it wasn't really that difficult.

     The only trouble I came into was what to do with the leftovers.  Hollandaise sauce is made with raw egg yolks so the shelf life is almost non-existent.  You really have to use the sauce instantly or it will spoil.  Below, you will find two recipes: my Turkey Sausage Eggs Benedict and a round-two egg muffin.  I made both recipes on Saturday morning.  The muffins were then saved for a reheat on Sunday morning.  These little bites would also be good to save and microwave throughout the week J

Turkey Sausage Eggs Benedict

Ingredients (per portion):

Two eggs (I actually preferred fried over-medium eggs…traditionally the eggs should be poached.  It’s your preference.)

One English muffin, toasted

4 oz. of cooked meat (I used pan seared turkey sausage.  I cut the links in half so that they will lay flat on the muffin.)

For the sauce:

4 egg yolks, at room temperature (Save the egg whites for your egg muffins.)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

12 tablespoons of melted butter (1 ½ sticks)

Directions:

In a blender, combine the egg yolks, salt and pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice.  Blend until smooth.  With the blender still running, add the melted butter.  The sauce should thicken.  Leave in the blender for up to an hour…until you’re ready to serve.

Assemble your Eggs Benedict, by toasting your English muffin halves.  Then top with the turkey sausage pieces and your fried (or poached) eggs.  Drizzle the hollandaise sauce on top.  Eat immediately!!!

Egg Muffins

Ingredients:

Any leftover hollandaise sauce

Leftover egg whites

Sauteed veggies (We love onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach.  You could also add diced, cooked meat.)

Shredded cheese of your choice

Directions:

Grease a muffin tin and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine thoroughly.  Using a ¼ cup measure, divide your egg mixture into the muffin tins.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until the eggs are cooked through.   Top with cheese and tent with aluminum foil.  This will melt the cheese as they cool.  Once they are completely cooled, you can remove the muffins and place and an air-tight container.  They will last in the refrigerator for about a week.  I recommend eating them the next day.

Interval training:Cardio

     So, today the plan was cardio intervals....but as I started I was mentally over it within the first set (that's like 45 seconds worth of work)!  So I took a moment and decided to just do something different each time my interval timer beeped.  It was awesome!  I got really into it because I could choose the next activity!  Below is what I chose and repeated three times...OMG I know!!!!  I set my timer to work for 30 seconds then rest for 30 seconds with 7 rounds.  After three rounds, the total time is right at 23 minutes.  I added the times to each exercise below in case I really confused you :)  Of course....stretch first!

Cardio Intervals

Repeat entire routine three times

30 seconds jumping jacks

30 seconds high knees

30 seconds butt kickers

30 seconds speed skaters

30 seconds rest

30 seconds jumping jacks

30 seconds mountain climbers

30 seconds plank jacks

30 seconds speed skaters

30 seconds rest

30 seconds jumping jacks

30 seconds walking lunges

30 seconds plank

30 seconds wall sit