Slow Cooker Chicken and Black Beans

This is such an easy and delicious way to cook chicken.  It only uses 4 ingredients, and the slow cooker does all the work.  Just dump everything in, walk away and six hours later you have perfect shredded chicken and black beans, which you can use as a base for so many different meals.  We made taco salads with the shredded chicken on top, but you could  make tacos or quesadillas or burritos.  The possibilities are endless.





Slower Cooker Chicken and Black Beans


1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. organic salsa
1 can black beans, drained
2 scallions, chopped

Put all four ingredients in the crock pot.  I put the beans in first, then added the chicken, poured the salsa over the chicken, and topped everything with the scallions.

Cook on low for 6 hours.

After 6 hours in the crock pot, the chicken will pretty much fall apart on its own.

For our taco salad, I served the chicken and beans on a bed of butter lettuce and radicchio, then added heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, and crushed tortilla chips on top.  For the dressing, I drizzled some of the leftover salsa over top everything.

Serves 4

Project: Patio

We FINALLY decided to tackle our outdoor patio this weekend.  Since it's covered (and it hardly ever rains in Southern California), we've been using it for extra storage in lieu of paying each month for a storage unit.  But, we've had big plans for the patio (which didn't include boxes and dust and grime), so it was time for the boxes to go and for our patio to become a little more functional.

Here's what it looked liked before we started.

Horrible, right?

First step: Clean off the boxes and take to storage.

Check.

Second step: CLEAN!

Check.

Third step: Assemble and arrange furniture.

Check.

Fourth step: Decorate.  With Lanterns.  LOVE these lanterns.

Last but not least: Strike up the grill and enjoy our first of many meals on our newly repurposed patio.  In December.  I love the weather here.

Simple.  Clean.  Functional.  And perfect for a game of Beirut or two :)

Friday Five

Here are five things I'm loving this holiday season...

I've had an advent calendar every Christmas for as long as I can remember thanks to my Granny Graham.  My sweet mom decided to help carry on this wonderful tradition this year.  I love opening the door each day and remembering the real reasons for the season!

Pine scented candles.  A must-have if you don't have a real Christmas tree.   We turn the lights on the Christmas tree and simultaneously light this candle every night.  Smells just like the real thing.

I bought this new mug last week at Crate & Barrel and  am in love.  I  love over-sized coffee mugs to start with, but this pattern just makes me so happy.  Such a great way to enjoy my morning coffee. 

Mint M&Ms....Have you tried these yet?  If not, you must.  They are SO delicious and SO addictive.  I've already had to refill my candy jar twice (and I'm the only one eating them!)

If I'm not shoving mint m&ms in my mouth, I'm chowing down on some of these.   I'm obsessed with "oreos," and these are delicious filled with candy cane cream. YUM.

What are some of your holiday favorites this year??

Turkey Meatballs

I made these meatballs the other night, cooked them in an super easy and quick-to-make tomato sauce, and served them as the main course with fresh ricotta on top.  I sauteed some zuchinni and winter squash as a side, and between the delicious meatballs and the zucchini slices to help mop up the sauce, we didn't even miss the spaghetti!

I usually bake my meatballs because I've had bad luck with them falling apart in the sauce otherwise, but I decided to try again.  This time I succeeded!  The size of your meatball is the key.  If you make them small enough, they'll hold together.  If you make them too big, they will fall apart.  At the suggestion of Gina, I made them about the size of a ping pong ball, and they turned out perfectly!

Turkey Meatballs

20 oz. (1.3 lb.) ground turkey

1/4 c. whole wheat breadcrumbs

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 c. parley, finely chopped

1 egg

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. salt

Gently mix everything together.  Be careful not to over mix, so that your meatballs aren't tough.  Form the meat into small balls, about the size of ping pong balls.

Sauce

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1/2 small onion, cut into large wedges

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 c. fresh chopped basil

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large dutch oven, saute the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant.  Add the tomatoes, onion, herbs, salt and pepper.  Bring a boil before turning down to a simmer.

Once the sauce is simmering.  Add the meatballs gently to the sauce.  Cook for about 20 minutes.

Serve with fresh ricotta on top.  (For the zucchini on the side, I sauteed two zucchini in about 1 tbsp. lemon olive oil and added 2 tsp. fresh chopped basil.)

Source: Gina

Westie Wednesday

We took Mack to the dog park in our neighborhood for the first time this past weekend, and he had a blast.  He got to do all of his favorite things:

Like sniffing

And peeing all over EVERYTHING in sight

Running around

Making friends

and lovin' life!

Lightened Shepherd's Pie

This is not your average Shepherd's Pie.  So comforting.  Just as delicious.  But actually good for you.  You use mashed cauliflower in place of the mashed potatoes and lean ground beef with edamame for the filling.  I actually found this recipe in the one of the South Beach Diet cookbooks that we have laying around our house for the bi-yearly occasions when B decides to go all Phase-One-South-Beach-Diety on me.  I've adapted it slightly over time, and this recipe is so good that it's entered the regular rotation at our home.  I love dishes that taste good, and are good for you!  Win-win!

Lightened Shepherd's Pie


2 small heads fresh cauliflower, chopped
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef (I use 85%)
12 oz. defrosted frozen shelled edamame
1/2 c. reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp. low-fat sour cream
2 large egg yolks (save the egg whites in a container for a egg white omelet the next day!)
1/2 c. shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Add the cauliflower.  Cover and cook until tender.  About 10-15 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a large bowl to cool.

In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic until translucent.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add the ground beef and cook until browned.  Add the edamame, broth, and Worcestershire sauce.  Season again with salt and pepper.  Transfer the meat mixture to the casserole dish.

Pour half the cauliflower into the blender and puree.  Mash the rest of the cauliflower with a potato masher.  Pour the pureed cauliflower back into the bowl with the cauliflower that you mashed.  I like to keep the cauliflower mash a little on the chunkier side, but if you like it completely smooth, just puree it all.  You will probably have to puree the cauliflower in two batches, though, so that your blender doesn't get overloaded.

Once the cauliflower is mashed, add the egg yolks, sour cream, salt and pepper.  Mix everything together and spread on top of the meat mixture.

Top with cheddar cheese and bake the dish in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serves 4

Adapted from The South Beach Diet Super Charged cookbook

Holiday Blooper

Our weekend started out with a bit of an unexpected twist.  I ended up having to give B his Christmas present.  (I still have a few small things planned to give him, but this was the main event.)  Yes, I know Christmas is still like three weeks away, and yes, I AM very impatient when it comes to giving gifts (I just get so excited), but that is not why Christmas came a little early this year.  Here's why:

DO YOU SEE HOW BIG THAT BOX IS?  SERIOUSLY?! I mean, honestly, I could have fit inside of it.  Oh, and did I mention it weighed a ton.  Where in the world did I ever think I was going to hide that? I couldn't even move it inside myself.   Great planning, Amanda.

Not to mention that the night before I had a dream that this exact thing happened.  Well, in the dream the grill actually came in like 50 different boxes, with each part labeled on the outside of the box, and B was the one that opened the door.  But, the reality wasn't that much different.  Instead of 50 boxes, there was just one, the size of 50 huge boxes put together and the stinking thing was labeled.  I couldn't stop laughing the minute I opened the door.  When B asked if I could just hide it in the closet, I started laughing so hard I was crying.  I couldn't stop laughing long enough to formulate an actual plan, and I certainly didn't have anywhere to hide that mammoth box, so I asked B to come to the entrance, shouted Merry Christmas, and told him to open the door.

Oh well.  Guess that just means that we get to enjoy B's grill at little bit sooner, and enjoy it we did!  Here's B cooking  on his grill for the first time this weekend.

And here's what he made. Yum, yum, yum.

He, of course, loved the gift and was such a good sport about getting his present so early, so it all turned out just right in the end!