Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

I started out coating 2 boneless chicken breasts with the following taco seasoning recipe. I then placed in a refrigerated container and covered with 10 oz light beer. Refrigerate overnight and place in Crock Pot in the morning. Save the remaining 2 oz of beer for later though. If there's no time to marinade, don't worry about it. Just coat the chicken before placing in the crock pot.

Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all the ingredients.

Chicken Taco Chili
16 oz black beans, drained
16 oz kidney beans, drained
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 jaleneno, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
14 oz can diced tomatoes
4 oz can green chiles
2 boneless chicken breasts covered with taco seasoning, discard liquid
2 oz remaining beer
1/2 cup water

Combine all the ingredients and place in a crock pot. Add extra spices if desired, but the majority of my spices stayed on the chicken after marinating.

Cook on low for 7 hours.

Stir before serving. The chicken should be juicy, tender, and fall apart.

Serve with cheese, avocados, tortilla chips, cilantro, or your favorite toppings!

Italian Salad Dressing

I decided to make home made salad dressing. I am not sure if I did it because I thought it would be cheaper or healthier- both are yet to be determined. I eat a salad everyday for lunch so it is definitely consumed.

6 tablespoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons garlic salt
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons dried parsley
3 tablespoons lemon pepper
3 tablespoons dried red and green bell pepper mix
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon celery salt

1. If you have trouble finding dried red and green bell pepper mix like I did, follow these simple steps. Dice fresh red and green peppers and place on parchment paper in a 200 degree oven with the door open. In about an hour, the pepper should be dry. Place in food processor to grind into flakes.

2. Place any of the larger spices into a food processor and blend to achieve a finer mix.

3. Mix all the ingredient and store in a tightly sealed container.

4. To prepare dressing, whisk 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of the dry mix.

Spinach Dip Pasta

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded mozzarella
4 oz chopped spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped tomato
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon garlic
2 cups mini bow tie pasta

1. Cook and drain the pasta according to box instructions and continue with the following steps.
2. Heat olive oil with chopped garlic until brown over medium heat.
3. Add spinach, tomatoes, and onion and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce temperature to low and add the shredded cheese and cream cheese.
5. In a serving dish, combine spinach dip and pasta until well combined.
6. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese if desired and use the same recipe for spinach dip.

My Valentine

So my Valentine needed a snack for his party at school. I signed up for strawberries without realizing how bitter, bruised and out of season they were. I threw away more than I chopped. To compensate I made a simple dip and added some blueberries.

Fruit Dip
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz vanilla yogurt
1/8 cup sugar

Blend all the ingredients together.

Add your favorite jam, jelly, or try your favorite yogurt flavor for variety.

Super Bowl

So for the Super Bowl, my wonderful sister made these super delicious Sprinkles Red Velvet cupcakes from Williams-Sonoma. I have never tried the real thing but I imagine they are wonderful as well (without quite all the work).