Like that? Try this! Chicken BBQ with Pineapple BBQ Sauce
PIN IT!Now, per my promise to myself and to you, I’ve been hitting the kitchen every day this week to make something I’ve never made before. And, I’m so freakin’ happy to say, everything has turned out delicious!
[mini quiche, chicken tortilla soup, sour patch martini]
My biggest accomplishment was something I never, ever thought I’d actually crave.
Shredded chicken BBQ with homemade pineapple BBQ sauce. I actually CRAVED this stuff. After one sandwich, even though I was quite full, my mouth watered and I actually found myself fork deep in the bowl of BBQ laden chicken.
E walked in and said “I thought you made a sandwich?” I nodded in shame and quickly put the fork down. I can’t help it. This stuff is just INCREDIBLE. And I’m not one to actually rave about BBQ. I made this on Tuesday and there are NO leftovers. Not even a small shred of chicken left.
I know that this whole set up is quite monochromatic, but sometimes, there just isn’t place for vegetables. And I know, ME, the veggie obsessed health maniac, just admitted that. But with sweet, slow cooked, melt in your mouth BBQ, veggies would have just f-ed it up.
I ate probably about a chicken’s worth of this stuff, but really, I couldn’t help myself. You’d think after my binge I’d be sick of BBQ.
Nope. I plan on making this again on Sunday. I fear I may have just begun a serious addiction.
Crockpot Chicken BBQ with Pineapple BBQ Sauce
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Makes about 5 sandwiches
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: About 5 hours
Sauce recipe adapted from Southern Foods.
Ingredients:
- 3 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup crushed pineapple, strained
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3/4 cup Jack Daniels
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Dashes of salt and pepper
Directions:
- In a medium sauce pan, heat olive oil and cook onions and garlic until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. AddJack Daniels until translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and light; let flame sit for 20 seconds. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and turn heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and strain through a wire mesh strainer over a bowl to catch the onions and garlic.
- Chill sauce overnight.
- Next day, place chicken in a slow cooker. Pour sauce over it and set on low. Let cook for 3 hours if on high and about 5 hours on low. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from sauce and shred in another bowl.
- Place chicken back into the sauce and let sit for at least an hour to absorb the flavor.
- Serve with a whole wheat bun and enjoy!
Make this. Eat it. and enjoy every finger lickin’ second.
Nutritional information per 1 cup: 365 calories, 13 grams of fat, 45 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber and 22 grams of protein.
#WIAW: Sweet Home Cookin'
I now work full time from the cozy comfort of my home, making it easier to 1) eat and 2) photograph my food!
My home office 🙂
These eats are from yesterday, where I swear I was in the kitchen from when I woke up to when E got home. All signs of a good day, I suppose!
Breakfast:
Mini bacon and spinach quiches! These bite size breakfasts were AMAZING, and filling! Two of them kept me full until 2pm! Plus, aren’t they just freakin’ adorable?
Plus, coffee.
You trust me, don’t you 😉
Lunch:
A perfect parfait made with Greek yogurt, honey nut granola and fresh blueberries! Since I was still kind of full and, truthfully, too busy to eat a real meal, this was a perfect way I could energize and fill up before dinner.
Plus, a virgin sunrise made with OJ and a dash of grenadine. Yes, I’m 10, what of it.
Dinner:
Homemade chicken BBQ with a sweet/savory pineapple BBQ sauce. My first attempt at BBQ and I’m happy to report I got the MAN STAMP of approval! And, being the eh person that I am towards this food, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Normally BBQ just doesn’t wow me. Looks like I’ll have to just make my own now!
Normally people drink beer with BBQ, but I paired it with this dainty champagne cocktail. (Recipe up on She Knows today!)
As weird as BBQ and champagne is, the refreshing bubbly drink was a perfect pair to the hearty meat.
Dessert:
A slice of homemade cinnamon bread made with just a teeny tiny little bit of butter. AHHH-MAZING. I’ll be sure to link up that recipe when it’s live on She Knows.
So, friends! What did you eat today? Or this week? Share with me!
Eat Skinny Be Skinny: Mini Spinach & Turkey Bacon Quiches
I’m a creature of habit. As described here, and as shown by my nervous apprehension to do/try anything daring (read: poached egg). I’m not in a rut, per say, but I do mostly the same things day in and day out and, despite being a recipe creator, flock to right around the same types of dishes. As I laid in bed last night, reading Mr. Bourdain, I had a eureka moment. I’m going to make something I’ve never made before EVER SINGLE DAY this week.
Am I crazy? Probably. But had I not had this idea, these beautiful little egg cups would have seized to exist.
And I very well couldn’t live with myself if I was the reason you could not enjoy these crispy, yet soft, decadent and amazing little quiches.
I’ve never made a quiche. Ever. And before last year at my bridal shower, I’d never eaten one either. I know, I know. How the FREAK have I lived 26 years on this lovely planet earth without enjoying such a delicacy?
Not only are quiches ah-mazing, these mini versions are just the cutest. I’m a fan of mini anything, not only for the cute factor, but for the built in portion control factor too! When things are smaller, like these shooters and these ice-cream cakes, it is much easier to control how much I eat. And, seriously, how flippin’ cute?
If you aren’t as wowed by bite size food than I am, just make these for the taste. Which is out of this world. Mmmmmk?
Recipe adapted from All Recipes.
Mini Spinach and Turkey Bacon Quiches
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields 6 quiches
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: About 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 pieces of whole wheat bread
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of light cream
- 1 cup of frozen chopped spinach
- 4 pieces of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup grated fresh mozzarella
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a muffin tin liberally with cooking spray.
- Using a round cookie cutter that equals the size of the bottom of the muffin tin, cut out a hole in the middle of the bread. Place the circle bread on the bottom of 6 muffin cavities.
- Place spinach in a microwave safe dish and cook on high for 3 minutes, or until defrosted. Let cool for 5 minutes. Evenly distribute spinach, chopped onions, garlic and cheese among the 6 pieces of bread.
- Mix eggs, cream, salt, pepper and parsley in a medium bowl. Using a scoop, pour egg mixture evenly over the spinach cups, careful not to overflow. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top and bake for at least 20 minutes.
- Let quiches cool (they will sink in a bit) and enjoy!
Such perfect little quiches for breakfast. or lunch. or a party! (You could eat them in a hat, with a cat!)
Nutritional information per quiche: 185 calories, 8 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber and 7 grams of protein.
The Great Poached Egg
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Much like Charlie and the gang, I was on the quest for something great. Something that wouldn’t be easy, something that would take some guts and something that would give me a feeling of accomplishment. Like them, I did not give up and soon was met with this great, wonderful masterpiece.
Okay, I know. An egg is not a masterpiece, per say. It’s not like I stumbled upon a great pumpkin. However, the creation of this egg in question was not exactly the easiest thing I’ve ever done. But, I promised to try new things and so began my adventure poaching an egg. After reading many horror stories, I was convinced this would be equivalent to rocket brain surgery. So, I gave myself a 3 egg limit. If I failed at all 3, I’d try again another day.
So, with my water and rice vinegar in hand, I grabbed the first egg to begin. After reading 10,000 tips, I made sure my water was perfect, simmering away but not quite a boil.
I poured in about a teaspoon of rice vinegar. I cracked my egg into a cup then slowly poured it into the bubbly water. Happy that the yolk didn’t break on impact, I was a little irked that the egg whites did not follow my large spoons gentle movements. Instead, they sort of broke apart and floated on their own agenda.
However, it was beginning to look a bit normal so, as per instructions, I turned off the heat and let it sit, hoping it would somehow coagulate. I let it sit, turned the heat back on low for a few seconds, let it sit again. It just, didn’t look right. But, I took it out and gave it another lookski.
It looked and felt….wet. I even ladeled it out with holed spoon. And still, it oozed liquid and looked really, really…wet. I’m sorry, there are few things I won’t eat, but a dripping wet egg is one of them. So, back to the drawing board I went. Cracked another egg in a cup and poured it in. Except this one, fearing it’s life into a simmer pot of water, immediately broke on contact and I was left with a very unappetizing egg drop soup.
This is when I started to get frustrated. I only had one egg left and I was damn determined to have a freakin’ poached egg for breakfast. So, I, more carefully this time, cracked the third and final egg into a cup. I gently poured it into the water. Not only did this lucky egg stay in tact, the egg whites followed my push and moved right over the yolk. In about 5 minutes it was done and it looked AWESOME. Not perfect, but hey, baby steps.
So, naturally, I ran downstairs to show off my prize possession to E and he responds “that looks like sperm.” Yeah, that’s real. So, I went back upstairs, ignoring his comment, and proceeded to make breakfast. Sauteed mushrooms, onions and bok choy with a poached egg and a dash of feta cheese.
Yes, I had bok choy at 10:35 am. What of it.
Sauteed Veggies with a Poached Egg
Serves 1
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time; 10 – 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 egg (or more if you are a novice poacher)
- 1 stem of bok choy with leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup of mushrooms, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Directions:
- Heat a pot of water on high. When heat is just about to boil, reduce to low heat. Add vinegar. Crack the egg carefully into a small cup and gently pour into water. Using a large spoon, gently push the separated egg whites over the yolk to cover it. Turn heat off and let egg sit for an additional 5 minutes. Carefully remove using a deep, slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel to dry.
- Heat oil in a medium pan over medium high heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add bok choy and cook another 4 minutes longer, until veggies are browned and bok choy is wilted.
- Add salt and pepper and remove from heat.
- Place veggies on a plate and carefully place the egg on top. Garnish with feta cheese and enjoy!
The runny yolk over the sauteed vegetables was a TO DIE FOR combination. Plus, the egg whites were perfectly cooked and tasted amazing paired with the crunchy bok choy stems. If you are looking for a delicious, hearty and healthy lunch or breakfast salad, look no further than here my friends. Just make sure you know how to poach an egg 🙂
Nutritional information: 225 calories, 10 grams of fat, 14.5 grams of carbohydrates, 2.8 grams of fiber and 10.4 grams of protein.
My Goals & Promises: Only 2 weeks late
[source]
I’ve been writing this post since the New Year so I should get some points for not completely giving up on it, right? Truth be told, I’ve been holding off on hitting publish because I didn’t want to rush to post something just because everyone else did. I wanted to actually sound genuine. Not saying that every post titled “resolutions or goals” that was published on January 1st is a phony, not saying that at all, I just wasn’t sure what my goals were and I didn’t want to say a bunch of BS just to be timely.
Yay me?
Goals for me are hard. Not because I’m not driven or ambitious or excited, because I’m scared sh**less I’m not going to follow through with them. I’ve set so many goals in the past that I haven’t accomplished and accepting that you failed at something is hard and emotional. But, I know goals give us something to measure our successes and push us, so I knew I needed to set some. Here are my GOALS for 2012:
- Complete a 10k
- Lose these last 20 pounds
- Finish my novel
- Pay off my debt & save
1. Take More Chances
Like, eat octopus, for example. I’m by no means timid, but I’m also not what you call fearless. I shy away from things that are really challenging, really scary and stick to what I know, both in real life and in the kitchen. When I was looking through my Italy photos, I saw the caption under this photo, written shortly after I got back home. “EWWW. Octopus!” Have I ever tried it? No. How would I know? I want to take a chance with things I’m scared of and things that aren’t normal. I want to eat octopus, bull testicles and pork belly. Will I like them? Who knows. But I can’t well say something is gross, or boring, if I haven’t tried it. I also can’t say I won’t like something (like traveling to a third world country) if I haven’t done it. So, I need to take more chances, be braver and do things that scare me. Because isn’t that what life is about, anyway?
2. Be the Best ME
In all facets of my life. I need to be the best me by allowing myself to relax once in a while, by pushing myself to climb the highest mountain or run a long race and indulge every now and then by having drinks and fried fatty food with friends. I’m not very good at balancing the different parts of me. I feel like if I’m relaxing, I’m being lazy. Or if I’m working out, I’m not doing ENOUGH. I’m not pushing myself hard enough. Or if I’m drinking and eating a hamburger, I feel like I’m not structured enough. I need to learn that I’m never going to be perfect and that has to be okay. I need to learn to be the best ME, not the best, period. I compare myself to others constantly and it’s exhausting. I’m never good enough. So instead of comparing myself to others who have done more, I’m going to push myself to do what I can do to be the best I can be. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect when the most important thing is just to be the perfect YOU.
3. Not be so hard on myself
I haven’t looked like THAT in over 2 years. And I beat myself up for that every single day. Every time I look in the mirror I judge myself. “You look awful.” “Wow, you are fat.” These thoughts pass through my head with every passing glance, every too tight pair of jeans and every time I’ve had to put on a hoodie to cover the less than toned stomach of mine. I’m so hard on myself that sometimes it’s unbearable to even be me. I’m not happy at this weight and I know some “tough love” is what I need to motivate myself. But at the same time, I need to learn to not be so hard on myself for gaining weight. So many factors go into gaining weight, things I could control and things I couldn’t. I was so unhappy for 2 years at a job I hated, and I gained weight because of it. Not because I was lazy, unmotivated or too busy drinking, I was so miserable I couldn’t even get myself to get out of bed sometimes. Life happens and I need to learn to let myself have a few slip-ups and just move on.
Same goes for the kitchen. If a recipe fails, I break down in tears and begin to question my ability as a cook and a recipe creator. I don’t think “hey, it happens, you aren’t perfect and sometimes recipes fail” I think “you are never going to make it as a chef and you are absolutely horrible.” Healthy, right? I’m not perfect, no one else. Not even you, Giada. So I need to learn to relax when something doesn’t turn out and understand that it does happen to everyone. Even the best chefs fail.
Accomplishing my goals and following through with my promises won’t be easy, but I know I can do it. Especially with the help of you guys. Thank you all again for your incredible words of wisdom and advice!
What are your 2012 goals? More importantly, what are your promises to yourself as you work to accomplish them?
