Dinner Time Tuesday: Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

I have a REALLY yummy recipe to share with you today!  I've been so tired of the same old stuff for dinner, and I finally decided to try some entrée ideas from my "I Love Food" board on Pinterest (which I totally need to stop pinning desserts to, by the way.  OR I need to put more main courses to make it look like I have less desserts.....)

I digress.

This is a recipe for the slow cooker, which I love.  I threw everything into the crock pot the night before, stored it in the fridge, and then turned it on the next morning.  Before I give you my take, here is the link to the original recipe. 

Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 2/3 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. Sprite
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 T. low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 T. corn starch

1. Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and add the chicken.

2. Mix together brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Sprite, garlic powder, soy sauce, and pepper.

3. Pour over chicken.

4. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  (I'm finding that either my slow cooker is a SUPER cooker or that times are way off....I think I had this on LOW for 5 hours and it was done.)

5. However long it takes, when it's done, remove the chicken (most of it will fall apart), and pour the juice mixture into a sauce pan.

6. Turn the heat on high.  You will need to mix your 2 T. corn starch with a little water until it is a smooth consistency.  Then you can add the corn starch mixture to your sauce pan.  Let the mixture boil until it starts to thicken and turn into a glaze, about 2-3 minutes. 

7.  After this was ready, I put the chicken back in the slow cooker and poured the sauce over it.  Then I set the slow cooker to warm because I was ready to eat, but Scott was still sleeping.  (He was on night shift and would need to eat before going into work.

I served mine with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes.

 

I REALLY liked this.  It was almost too sweet for Scott, but he enjoyed it.  I finished the leftovers the other day with just the chicken and mashed potatoes.  Delicious!

 

Link up below to share something yummy you've had for dinner recently!  (I will have another new recipe coming soon!)

Dinner Time Tuesday 8/13: Ribs (again)

Please consider linking up!  All you have to do is:
1) Follow me via GFC or BlogLovin'.
2) Put my Dinner Time Tuesday button in  your post.
3) Snap a picture of your dinner and tell us what it is.  You don't HAVE to share the recipe.  I don't always do that.  I created this link-up to be sure I post something food related even when I don't have something new or exciting to share.  If you are in the mood, go ahead and tell us how you made your dinner.
4)  Be sure to link up with the URL to your Dinner Time Tuesday post!

Yesterday, I told you that Scott and I need to go grocery shopping.  We had just a few things left, and these ribs were one of them.  So it was ribs, mashed potatoes, and corn for us.

Anything good in your kitchen this week?

Dinner Time Tuesday: 1, 2, 3, 4 Mac 'n' Cheese

It's time for another Dinner Time Tuesday!  If you'd like to link up, just share a picture of something you had for dinner this week, and tell us what it is.  You can even share the recipe if you want!  Help us get some inspiration for something new to try in the kitchen.  :)

Now, I'm going to be honest.  The dinner I'm sharing today is weird. 

Celebrating Home Dinner Plate: Simply Summer $39

This would be meatballs and macaroni and cheese.  This is not a typical meal.  I actually made the mac 'n' cheese one day and the meatballs another.  I decided that rather than make more pasta and having spaghetti and meatballs, that I'd enjoy this macaroni and cheese again.

I'm sharing the recipe with you today.  It's so easy, you won't believe it's true.

1, 2, 3, 4 Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients

1 stick of melted butter
2 cups of uncooked pasta

3 cups shredded cheese*
4 cups milk

*You can use any kind of cheese that you like on your macaroni and cheese.  I had mozzarella and Kraft Mexican cheese on hand, so I used those.  I didn't love this with the mozzarella (BUT I liked it better reheated than I did the first time).  Cheddar is always a great choice!  :)

Throw all ingredients into a Bean Pot and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. 

Yes, that's all.

You can thank me later.

Don't have a Bean Pot?  I can help you with that.  I used this one for my macaroni and cheese.  It's the one I typically carry in my display when I do home parties.  (My other Bean Pot had left overs in it.)

Celebrating Home Veranda Home Bean Pot: $44

What's on your dinner table this week?

Dinner Time Tuesday 7/23

It's been a couple of weeks, but I'm back with Dinner Time Tuesday!  I would love for you to join me and link up with a picture and post (however brief or long you desire) of something you've had for dinner recently!  Just show a picture of what you've had or share the recipe!  The link-up button is on the right!

Here's what I had for dinner:

We hadn't bought Steak-Eze in a while, so the last time we went grocery shopping, we bought a package.  I really do love these cheese steak sandwiches.  I also made my potato casserole and corn on the cob to go with it.  SO yummy!

Have you had anything good for dinner lately??  Link up below!

Dinner Time Tuesday 7/2

It's Dinner Time Tuesday again, friends!  :)   To link up, please remember the following:

1. Follow me.
2. Use my button in your post.
3. Snap a picture of your dinner, share it, tell us what you had, and/or share a recipe.
4. Link up your post below.

Here's what I had:

I don't think I can completely express how much I LOVE zucchini!  What you can't see in the picture is that there's spaghetti in there.  I love taking some kind of pasta, cooking up a little zucchini, and putting it all together with sauce and some Parmesan cheese.  Mmmmmm....

While I can get zucchini year-round, it just screams summer to me.

What's your favorite summer vegetable??

Dinner Time Tuesday: Ribs

Dinner Time Tuesday is back!  Today, I'm sharing a yummy meal with you, AND I'm going to tell you how I make it.  :) 

Before I do, please consider linking up!  All you have to do is:
1) Follow me via GFC or BlogLovin'.
2) Put my Dinner Time Tuesday button in  your post.
3) Snap a picture of your dinner and tell us what it is.  You don't HAVE to share the recipe.  I don't always do that.  I created this link-up to be sure I post something food related even when I don't have something new or exciting to share.  If you are in the mood, go ahead and tell us how you made your dinner.
4)  Be sure to link up with the URL to your Dinner Time Tuesday post!

Scott & I love to make ribs.  We've finally got it down to an art....or something like that.  The first thing we do is use a rub on the ribs.  I lay down two layers of foil on the counter and set the ribs on top.  I rub in the rub.  (What a weird sentence....)  Then I cover the top with more foil and place in the fridge over night. 

The next day, I place the ribs, in the foil, on a baking sheet.  I add just a bit of water.  Then I putthem in the oven at 170*.  (That's the lowest our oven will go.  It works perfectly.) 

Then you can go to work, read a book, watch a movie, clean the house...do whatever you want because these are going to cook all day.  Low and slow.  While they will be done enough to eat after probably 7 or 8 hours, I've had days where they've cooked for about 10-12 hours.  At this temperature, you will not over cook them.  About 1-2 hours before you're ready to eat, take them out.

Then brush on some BBQ sauce.  We use Sweet Baby Ray's.

If you can or want to, you can then cook these on the grill for a bit to give the BBQ sauce more of a glaze.  We don't have propane for our grill right now, and we're too cheap/lazy to get more. ;)  SO I just throw them back in the oven until it's time for dinner.

The ribs are so tender and juicy.  They just fall off of the bone, which makes them so much easier to eat.  These are so good, I don't even eat them with ketchup.  And I ALWAYS use ketchup to eat ribs, other kinds of pork, and beef.  Don't need it.  Trust me.  That's good.

When we had these ribs this time, I served them with my potato salad and corn on the cob.  Mmmmm summer time.  :)

Don't forget to link up below!

Dinner Time Tuesday 5/28

It's Dinner Time Tuesday! 

Have you seen this?

 

Obviously, Taco Bell is probably the worst place not the healthiest of places a person should eat.  But one time, when I was living at home with my parents, there was left over taco meat but no taco shells.  There were Cool Ranch Doritos, though.  I figured, "Why not?"  I just made my taco salad with those instead.  SO I technically had this idea first, Taco Bell. 

 

Anyway, you're probably wondering what this has to do with Dinner Time Tuesday.  Well, Scott has been a bit....ummm...addicted to Cool Ranch Doritos lately.  And let me just say, it's hard not to be.  Have you ever just eaten ONE Cool Rand Dorito???  The answer is no.  Because it's impossible.

 

I decided that rather than getting a Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell, I would make my taco salad with those Cool Ranch Doritos.  (I know these are not the healthiest of choices either, but gosh, they're SO good.)

 

I would be lying if I said that this wasn't the best taco salad I've ever had.  Seriously.  Do this.  You can thank me later. ;)

 

Tell me about what you had for dinner!  Link up below!

 

 

Dinner Time Tuesday 5/21

Ok.  I realize that the last time I posted was Dinner Time Tuesday last week.  Please forgive me.  Before I share some dinner, here are my excuses for slacking in blog land.

Last week, though I shared it on Tuesday, I had dinner on Monday with Kristin and her husband.  I came home, and quickly assembled last week's post because I was so excited about it.  Tuesday night was the Ice Cream Social for the Kindergarten through 3rd grade students at my school.  Long story short, students who demonstrate good behavior and excellent grades get invited to the ice cream social with their families.  I was the main person in charge, and by the time I got home, I was EXHAUSTED.  (AKA...I came home and went to bed.)  I don't really have a good excuse for Wednesday other than just being tired.  On Thursday, I came home and Scott and I took care of some garbage in the garage.  On Friday, I headed to Rochester, New York with two friends from work for an amazing professional development conference about The Daily 5.  It's a teaching structure that is just wonderful.  (Teachers look it up!)  That was all day Saturday plus traveling home.  Then I was gone with my parents and brother to a surprise 50th birthday party on Sunday.

Truth be told, I'm writing this on Monday night. 

If that doesn't sound busy to you....*whew*  I don't know how YOU do it!  :)

Here's a yummy (but healthy!) dinner for you today:

I've shared that I've had chicken salad before.  Usually, that includes french fries.  I was a good girl this time, and kept the fries in the freezer. 

This salad is green leaf lettuce and spinach leaves, 1 chicken breast tender, some chopped up baby carrots, a small handful of croutons, and some poppyseed dressing.  I realize I could probably eliminate the croutons and use a low fat dressing of some sort.  But what fun is that.

Life is too short to not have croutons on your salad.

Dinner Time Tuesday 5/14

Today, I bring you an extra-special edition of....

Don't be disappointed by the fact that this happened yesterday and not today.  :)

Yesterday, I had the chance to meet up with one of my favorite bloggers for dinner!  Kristin from Kristin's kNook has finally gotten out of Alaska!  :)  She and her husband, Scott, are actually from a town not far from me.  (In fact, it's the town in which I currently teach.)  So after their long drive from Alaska to Missouri, they drove up to Pennsylvania to visit their families and see their moms for Mother's Day.

Fortunately for me, they took time out of their busy schedule to have dinner with me.  They were also very gracious and wouldn't let me pay for mine.  (Thank you both so much.)

We had dinner at a little Italian place in the town where I teach.  It's called Lia's.  I had a cheeseburger with fries.  Kristin had a ridiculously large calzone (for a medium) and got to take the left overs!  haha

I have mentioned before, I think, that I have actually met Kristin in person before.  She was a sub in my school district before she got married.  I always say that I wish I had gotten to know her better then, but I have gotten to know her so well through her blog, I think.  It was great to sit down and chat in person...we talked a lot about teaching things.  First graders and fourth graders are not all that different, it turns out.  AND I'm pretty sure we bored Scott to death.

So anything special or yummy happening for dinner in your life this week??

And it was super awesome that our colors coordinated very well.  Puple and pink makes me happy! :)

Dinner Time Tuesday 5/7

Hello out there in blog-land.  I'm back this week with Dinner Time Tuesday.  As you know, I've been less than thrilled about my own blog lately, so I'm just taking things one day at a time.  I'll be here tomorrw for My Harry Potter Fix with Kim & Tarole, too.  I hope you'll join me today and all of us tomorrow! 

 

Confession.  Scott and I haven't been eating very well lately.  Now, we haven't really been eating "bad" stuff, but we haven't been following a very good routine.  If we eat unheathly things, we are eating them in moderation.  We need to go grocery shopping, too.  I have not been making anything new or exciting in the kitchen.  I have been trying to take at least one snack to work so that I'm not starving by the time I get home.

 

Anyway, I made this chicken salad.  I used green leaf lettuce, spinach, carrots, grilled chicken, and a handful of croutons.  (Sorry, Insanity, but salad isn't nearly as good without croutons.)  I used my poppyseed dressing (mmmmmm).  It was scrumptious. 

 

Anything good in your kitchen this week?

Link up below to share! :)

Dinner Time Tuesday

Hi everyone!

Thank you to those who responded to my post on Monday.  Your heartfelt thoughts, suggestions, and advice mean so much to me.  I know that I have loyal readers out there.  I'm just in a bit of a funk in the blogging world.

Because of this, Dinner Time Tuesday will be back next week.  I would love it if you could join me!  Sometimes I share a recipe, but I often just snap a picture of what I had for dinner and share it with everyone. 

I started Dinner Time Tuesday because the main focus of my blog is about recipes I try.  I wasn't making/trying a lot of interesting things, and I thought I would share what I was having for dinner once a week.  This way, if it wasn't "interesting" I was still sharing food.  :)

I hope to "see" you next week, and I will be here tomorrow for My Harry Potter Fix with Kim and Tarole!

I also did a button swap with my friend Kristin from Kristin's kNook.  It's on the left side bar.  If you haven't read her blog, you totally should.  She makes amazing desserts and she's super sarcastic, which means she's totally awesome! :)

Dinner Time Tuesday 4/23

 

Let me tell you about this deliciousness.

 

It's chili. 

 

That's nothing out of the ordinary.  I love chili. 

 

This is also not ground-breaking news, but to make it healthier, I just took my usual chili recipe and used ground turkey instead of ground beef.

 

I had a 1 cup serving, and 1 slice of cheesy garlic bread.

 

Bowl: Celebrating Home, Simply Summer Collection: Medium Bowls, set of 4

So good.

Do you having anything yummy for your dinner this week?

Dinner Time Tuesday 4/16: Healthy Fries

I was so excited last week.  There were people besides me who linked up for Dinner Time Tuesday!  :)  Thanks Kristin & Kristin.  (P.S. I love that they both have the same name AND it's spelled the same AND they're people I've met IRL.)

All excitement aside, please feel free to grab the Dinner Time Tuesday button.  Follow me, and link back to the post!  Most importantly, post your link to the link up at the bottom!

Here's what I had for dinner:

Scott and I have decided to try making healthier choices overall, and trying to stick to using foods suggested in the Insanity meal plan.  This incorporated both ideas.  This is a "Lean Burger" as insanity calls it.  It's 80/20 lean ground beef.  I seasoned it with salt, pepper, onion powder, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.  (Yes, I had to look up how to spell that...)  It is on a whole wheat English Muffin.

I made my own fries thanks to inspiration from my friend, Suzanne at Not Enough Chocolate.  She's doing a series of posts called "Small Changes."  One of those posts mentioned the weird ingredients in frozen fries.  She started making her own, and not just with potatoes!  I decided to take this healthier approach, as well.  I just cut up some fries, drizzled them with olive oil, and baked them at 400* F for about 45 minutes.  Then I lightly salted them.  SOOOOO yummy! 

So there you have it!  A perfectly normal American meal done in a much healthier way!