Cooking & Crafting Thursday: Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken & Current Project

 

Hello my Friends!

Happy Friday Eve and officially September. Yay! 

Kids are heading back to school, the nights are cooler, and football starts next week. I can just feel the anticipation of the Fall season ahead. 🍎🍁

If you saw my title, then you see that I thought I'd throw in some crafting on these Thursday posts with you. I always tend to be working on something. So let's begin with the crafting today, shall we? 

I have done lots of cross stitch things through the years...but I never tried my hand at embroidery. I thought it was time I taught myself so, I'm using some friends of mine as guinea pigs. 😂 I found a couple of cute Fall/Halloween kits (they both have Autumn birthdays) and I'm learning as I work on them for gifts. I've just begun on one of them and here it is. I will keep you updated on the progress I make (hopefully). Lol 

Speaking of Halloween, I caught this cute photo of Bubbs this morning. He is such a perfect Halloween kitty, isn't he?? :) 

And I'm SO excited to share this gorgeous gift we recently received in time for our 2nd wedding anniversary. My dear friend Alison made this for us. She lives with her sweet family in England. We met through blogging many years ago and started corresponding here. And then we started sharing letters and packages, and also lots of chatting and sharing photos on messenger too. We share a lot in common as she's about my age, has always been active in Mom life, and she also volunteers in hospice. She has a daughter about Annie's age and for several years they were pen pals too! I treasure Alison and her friendship so much. Matt & I were both touched (and I was so moved 😢) by this sweet and very thoughtful gift that must have taken her hours! We plan to hang it in our bedroom. It matches our wall color in there perfectly! And those sunflowers are stunning aren't they? Just like our wedding day. 🌻💛

I just love this blogland space for that very reason. To feel such a friendship with someone I've never even met in person. I just think it's something so special about blogging. 💗

And I think I may have shared a bit about this - it's a little mixed media piece I made and framed (I used the little black frame you see the edge of at the top). I forgot to take a completed pic of it all put together. But I sent this and a card I painted to a special Aunt for her birthday. That was my most recent completed craft. 

And I have another idea for a little decoration with a cute halloween jack-o-lantern pin I recently found at an antique store. So stay tuned and I will share that on another Thursday. 🎃

Ok, on to the cooking portion now which includes the honey garlic chicken I mentioned earlier in the week. This was such an easy recipe and was so tasty! I found it on social media and I included the person's name in the photo of the recipe below. First I put some boneless skinless chicken thighs in the bottom of the greased slow cooker. Then I made the sauce and put it on top and let it cook. Then towards the end of cooking time, I added a cornstarch slurry to thicken it. We had it with jasmine rice and some green beans from the garden and some broccoli. For the veggies - I just blanched them and then sauteed them in a little oil and with some garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and tiny bit of sesame oil. I then topped them with sesame seeds. 

we had a little sprinkle of peanuts on top for crunch too

The next day I thought it would be fun to make some crispy rice cups for our lunch (Matt works from home) and to have some of the leftover chicken on top of them. So I took the leftover rice and packed it in a sprayed muffin tin and baked them at 400* until they were crispy. About 15 minutes but keep an eye on them. I had jasmine rice which doesn't stick as well as regular rice so I actually added some cheese as a binder. But regular leftover white rice should stick just fine. Just push into the bottom and up the sides of the muffin tin wells.

 Then we put the reheated chicken on top along with some sriracha mayo and chili crunch (our favorite toppings!) They were so tasty and Matt said he loved the crispy rice addition to the leftovers.  

As you can see, I like to experiment and try different things. It's really become a hobby for me to have fun in the kitchen. Do you like to play in the kitchen too? And do you have any crafty projects in the works?? Curious minds want to know 😉

Oh, and last night I made a sheet pan chicken fried rice that was a stellar recipe! We have been on an Asian food kick here as you can see. I will share that recipe soon too! 

If you try - enjoy! 

xoxo

Cooking Thursday: A Couple of Yummy Quick Breads

 

Hello beautiful Friends!

It's a cozy rainy Thursday here and I've been soaking up the vibes. I got a new blackberry jam candle at bath & body recently and it smells so good! I have that going and a pretty early Fall scene playing on the tv with pretty piano music.

*I love that the lid of the candle looks like the top of a jam jar 

(it's the little things 😊)

 

And one thing I love to do on cozy days is bake. I recently made these 2 breads (about a week apart) also on gray cozier days. The first one I want to share is for an apple cheddar bread I made a few weeks ago before Annie left. She thought it sounded delish so I gave it a go. 

I had found the recipe at gimmesomeoven.com 

It's a pretty straight forward quick bread and I didn't use the sage it called for and used thyme instead and I also added some cinnamon. I just measured with my heart on both and didn't add a specific amount. I also just cubed up the apple and didn't shred it in.

We all thought the flavor was amazing and this would be such a great bread with soup in the Fall. It had a very kind of biscuit texture to it. My notes on this were that I think next time I'd use a little less flour and I would shred some of the apple in and cube the rest. I think it would make the bread a little less biscuit-like and more moist. Either way though we gave it a thumbs up! Of course it helped that I made a cinnamon honey butter to top it with too. 😉

The next bread I made more recently. I had a can of pumpkin in the cabinet and wanted to use it up...so I thought August was close enough for our first loaf of pumpkin chocolate chip bread. 🎃  I found the recipe at sallysbakingaddiction.com (she has the best baking stuff!). It turned out amazing and the only thing I did was add milk instead of orange juice (I didn't have any oranges and that was her suggestion if you didn't). And I did add the chocolate chips (because of course I did 😋) and some chopped pecans I needed to use up. Total 10 out of 10! It tasted so good to have my first taste of something pumpkin!! I brought some to my Mom and step Dad too. Definitely recommend this one for Autumn. 

Have you started any Fall baking yet? Do you have a go-to you like to make on rainy days? 

If you try these I hope you enjoy! 

xoxo

Cooking Thursday: Green Goddess Pasta Salad

Hello dear Friends!

Happy Thursday to you and I hope you're doing well. 💗

It has been rather interesting here in the northwoods. First we had days of 90 to 100* temps. Now we have had wildfires from Canada and also some areas closer to us in the states and the Boundary Waters too. So we have been enveloped with a thick blanket of smoke. It looks like we're fogged in, but if you go outside it smells and tastes like you are in the middle of a campfire. It's the worst air quality we have ever had in our area. We have always been known for our pristine air, lakes, and forests. And with the environmental issues affecting our world we are once again dealing with wildfires. I have lived here my whole 54 years and never had these issues until the past 4-5 years it has become a regular thing. I pray for all those truly suffering through this and hope it clears up soon!🙏🏻 

So needless to say, this summer has now started to feel like we are trapped indoors. We only go out when truly necessary. We haven't been able to mow or do the yard projects that need catching up. I know there are far worse things... and I'm grateful we are healthy and don't have issues from the air. But it's frustrating when our summers are already so short. 

This was the sun coming up this morning:

I was out (quickly) watering my flowers earlier today. Our lilies have been popping out and I took this pic and you can see off to the right the thick haze:

But I'm sure you didn't pop by to listen to my belly achin'. Lol 

What I wanted to share for a recipe today is this green goddess pasta salad. I follow a young gal on social media called cooking.em and she does a lot of healthy twists on yummy food. And I knew Annie would especially love this salad... so I made it for us all a few weeks ago. 

Now with the worries about fresh produce - it may not be something you want to make right now, as it has a bit of fresh produce and herbs. But I'm sharing it anyways as it was really yummy and fresh and you may want to make it sometime. 

 

The recipe is below but she had a video for her instructions. So I will share what I did. I boiled the pasta (I used tricolor veggie pasta). While it was boiling I washed & cut up the fresh veggies and herbs. When there was about 2 minutes of boiling time left I threw some frozen peas, frozen edamame, and fresh asparagus (cut up) into the pot too... in order to blanch them a few minutes. Then I drained all into a big colander and rinsed with cold water to stop the cooking of the pasta and veggies. I put all into a big bowl.

To that bowl I added the cut up fresh veggies of pepper, cucumber and instead of green onion I threw in some chives from my garden. I tossed everything together. 

I then blended all of the dressing ingredients in the blender. 

I then put the dressing onto the pasta and mixed it all together.

I didn't use arugula - I had some spinach to use up. So I added that and some mozzarella balls (I wanted to use mozzarella pearls but they didn't have them at the store). So I cut the balls smaller - but you could just cube up some cheese too. 

This was really easy and so fresh and tasty. It's wonderful as a side for a BBQ or to have as a main dish. If you wanted to add more protein, as a main dish, I would throw in some grilled or rotisserie chicken too. Here is the recipe:

Enjoy! And have a great weekend ahead. xo

Cooking Thursday: Peach Overnight Oats & Berry French Toast Bake

 

Hello Friends and Happy Thursday 🌸💗

Today I thought I'd share a couple of recipes. 

First of all, I wanted to share overnight oats I made the other day. Peaches are so good right now and we got a really yummy box of them from Costco. So I had been having one for breakfast almost every morning. And then I decided one of the days to make overnight oats to top with cut up peaches. I have always used the same basic recipe for overnight oats which is: Equal parts oats and yogurt (I used a peach flavored one)...and then adding a milk of choice, chia seeds, some honey or maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla. And often a pinch of salt too. Let soak in the fridge overnight. Then the next morning I added some chopped peaches, coconut and walnuts. It was so good! Overnight oats are so versatile and you can add your flavors of choice.

So for the overnight oats:

1/2 c. of oats

1/2 c. yogurt (I used a honey peach flavor)

1/4 c. milk (I used fairlife protein milk)

honey or maple syrup to taste

1 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Cover and put in the fridge overnight. The next morning add chopped fruit (in this case peaches) and toppings of choice (nuts, coconut, granola etc) Sometimes I have added a little natural peanut butter to overnight oats and topped with berries... it makes a very pb&j flavored oats. Mmmm

Just be creative!

Then last weekend I made this berry cream cheese french toast at the lake. Matt's folks are eating more keto - so I used keto buns, fairlife protein milk and a little bit of half and half for the custard, and some natural sweetners, and some brown sugar. It was so tasty!! I found this recipe at Sallys Baking Addiction I liked that it was very patriotic looking for July 4th weekend too. Everyone loved it! It was kind of like breakfast bread pudding. We topped with some syrup (I think they had sugar-free at the lake). It was a hit ....and I think it would be even better soaking it overnight, as opposed to only 3 hours the day I made it. His Mom wanted the recipe. :) 

When it was all done and baked up - I topped it with a little bit of confectioners sugar. Yum! The bits of sweetened cream cheese were so good in this!! Definitely recommend you give it a try. Here is the recipe:

 

Cooking Thursday (on a Friday): Date Treats & Happy Independence Day!

 

Hello Friends!

Happy Friday to you. I was busy with a few things yesterday - including making some meals and goodies to bring my Mom & step Dad. By the way, thank you so much for your kind words and prayers for them. My Mom said the meds are helping her shingles and she's doing well overall.

So that's why I didn't get here for Cooking Thursday but I'm doing it today. Also, Happy July to you!

I'm not sure when that snuck in here because it feels like it was just May. But such is the speed of time these days I swear. It has definitely been feeling like July here. The last couple days have been close to 90* F! Hot stuff ☀️ 

It was a nice evening once it cooled off last night so Matt, Annie & I went out for sushi for dinner and then got in some mini golf. The summer is so fleeting here that it feels wonderful sneaking in fun summery things even on the week days. 

Today I thought I'd share more about the dates I had made and brought for our weekend at the lake. Matt's folks have been trying to be better about their diet and so instead of bringing bars, pie or really naughty treats I brought those dates. They still give a richness and candy bar like fix - but they are less calories and at the base of them a date...which also adds fiber. 

They are pretty self explanatory. I bought a box of medjool dates from Costco. These were nice as they were pitted. But otherwise, just cut them open and scoop out the pit. Take a litte teaspoon and fill with your filling of choice. Top with a dollop of melted chocolate (semi sweet chocolate chips I microwaved until they were melted and stirred until smooth). And sprinkle a little sea salt on top. Chill and then dig in. 

For the dates in the photo above I placed a piece of walnut inside and then stuffed with a tsp scoop of peanut butter. You could put whatever nut you like or just do peanut butter. Once the dates were done I put them in the fridge to chill and set up. And I kept them in a container in the fridge. 

And feel free to get creative with how you want to make them. I have also made Dubai chocolate dates:

I picked up this pistachio cream with bits of kadayifi in it (shredded up crunchy phyllo dough bits) and then filled the dates with that. Then topped with the melted chocolate and sea salt just like the other ones. Just like a Dubai chocolate bar. So good! 

I think next I'm going to fill them with marshmallow cream or fluff and a little piece of graham cracker and then the chocolate topping to make a s'mores version. Just have fun and get creative with them! They are nice little bits to have in the fridge and so easy to grab for a very satisfying treat. To make them even healthier you could use Lily's chocolate chips which don't have added sugar and use plant based sweeteners. I just couldn't find them the last time I was at the store. 

Have you ever made or tried these? We really like them and hope you do too if you give them a try. 

And for those in the States that will be celebrating July 4th this weekend - I hope you have a very fun and safe one! For those who don't live in the states this will be a weekend of parades, picnics, BBQ's, sparklers & fireworks, and often time in or on the lake/beach (weather permitting). All to celebrate our Independence Day. And this year is extra big as it's our country's 250th birthday! Otherwise known as the Semiquincentennial (say that 5 times fast 😂)

So I thought I'd share a little vintage July 4th inspiration. 

No matter where you are in the world I hope you have a very blessed weekend ahead.

For the weekend I made these July 4th strawberries with white chocolate bark and some blue sugar. 

 Bubba & Ruby wish you a Happy 4th too! 

 🇺🇸❤️💙