Jill Can Cook: Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

I want to start this post by telling you guys that we've had a big snow storm over Thanksgiving and we lost power at our house. We have a generator, but no internet. Boo hoo. I wrote out this post several days ago and decided to post it now (from my parents house) in lieu of my special Thanksgiving treats post, I've yet to put together. I hope this keeps you entertained until I get internet back at home!

Here ya go:

Joe and I really enjoy making Mexican-ish food for dinner. It's quick and easy to make; we stock all the ingredients; and the kids eat it. But it can get a little boring considering we usually end up with beef tacos or chicken quesadillas.

I decided to look around for something to keep our Mexican dinner nights fresh. I found this recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Tacos and loved that it only had a few ingredients and it was a "set it and forget it" method of cooking. Here's the recipe, cut down a bit:

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos



I added some chili powder to the recipe since I had the most mild salsa on the planet.

Ingredients:
1/2 an Envelope Taco Seasoning
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
6 oz. Salsa
2 tsp. Chili Powder
Directions:
Dump all ingredients into a crockpot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. You do not need to add any water to the taco seasoning. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

Serve as you like, with tortillas (or Tostitos), cheese, salsa, pico de gallo, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, etc.

These recipes always start out looking so gross.



I guess it still looks a little gross even after it's cooked all day.

After I "pulled" it with a couple of forks. Looks pretty good at this point!

I smothered mine in cheese, salsa, sour cream, and Mexican rice. I was too lazy to cut up veggies.

The rice makes it very big, so I folded it like a burrito.

I'm kind of torn about this chicken recipe. On one hand, it tasted pretty good, had few ingredients, and was pretty easy to put together. The kids, Joe, and I all enjoyed it, but it wasn't spectacular.

On the other hand, because it only had a couple of ingredients it was kind of bland. It tasted good because we loaded up our tortillas with a ton of other food that was flavorful. And it might've been easy to put together, but it had to cook for several hours. That's great if you want to start cooking dinner long before you're ready to serve it.

I don't think that I'd recommend this recipe for your average dinner. I would recommend it if you were having a party or feeding a lot of people, as cooking it in the crock pot would make it easier to keep warm while serving buffet style. I'd also recommend it if you added a few more ingredients, like maybe some creole seasoning, a bit of salt or hot sauce. It just needed a little something else to make it pop.

I think when it comes to our regular Mexican style dinners, I'm going to pass this one by again. But, try it if you want. It didn't completely suck.

More Boring Pictures Of The Kids!

I bought some "Happy Thanksgiving" cards a few weeks ago with the intention of sending them, like I have for every major holiday this year, to our parents/grandparents. Most of the time, I am able to take a good picture of the kids to send along, while a few times I sent the cards with just well wishes.

I had every intention of sending the T-Day cards pictureless. I mean, I'll be sending out our "fully loaded with pictures" Christmas cards out less than a month from now. Do people really need that many pictures of my kids? Do I really need to go through the hassle of making Quinn look cute and Mitchell sit still? The answers to these questions were a resounding, "No!"

Until I filled in all the addresses, put on the stamps, and went to seal the envelopes in order to mail them. I thought, "Maybe I'll just give it a try. If I get a good picture, great, and if not, oh well. At least I tried."

And then I spent 20 minutes curling Quinn's hair and setting up the shot. I was ready for some magic!

 

Mitchell was not ready for some magic. He was ready to try to escape.

Just a couple of shots in and I am so close!!!

Nope, Mitchell is begging to be picked up. Luckily, Quinn is holding him back!!

 

 

 

This is taking too long. Quinn is getting bored of smiling. Lol

We've been at this for like 20 minutes. Mitchell is starting to lose patience.Sometimes they cooperate, sometimes they don't. Mitchell is at that awkward stage that he just won't do stuff he doesn't want to do. Nothing will change his mind.

I was just about ready to give up. At this point, I'd taken 56 pictures and, even though I hadn't looked at them yet, I knew there wasn't a good shot in them. And then, out of nowhere, Mitchell looked at me and smiled and I clicked and crossed my fingers that I didn't miss it. I checked my camera to see this:

I did it!!! I took a picture that didn't suck!!!

I got the OK from Joe to send this picture, not that I needed it. I just wanted to brag that I took a good picture that morning. I got them printed and got them in the mail.

Personally, I love having candid shots of the kids with messy faces and messy hair. I like the real life aspect of it. But I like these posed shots, too. If I weren't so cheap, I'd probably pay someone who could do a better job than me to do this for me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all 6 of you that read this blog (not counting my mom, Hey MOM!!! See you later!!!) I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of good food and good times!!! Be safe on the road!!!

White Trash Party!!

My friend had a theme surprise party for her husband's birthday. The theme was "White Trash/Redneck." This was the perfect excuse to make some funky stuff I wouldn't make otherwise.

We save the pull tabs from our soda cans to donate. We've gotten pretty lax on donating them so we have a ton. These could be good for... jewelry! In high school, I was big into making beaded necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. I searched around for my beading craft bucket and was pleasantly surprised that it was easy to find. It had everything I'd need for this pull tab idea I had.

Can tabs, wire, wire cutters, and earring posts.

So, making these earrings is pretty self explanatory. I took the wire and wrapped it around the can tabs to keep them in place. I made different shapes with the tabs, some were simple and some were more advanced. Once I had a matching set, I used the wire to attach the earring posts and voila! I had a couple new pairs of earrings!!

Each set of earrings took about 15 minutes to make.

Aww.. They look so bland just sitting there on the table. Here are a couple of pictures of them in action!

Selfiies in the bathroom. Total faux pas!

This was probably the easiest and quickest pair to make. But they still looked pretty cool on.

I let my friend who threw the party wear this pair. She loved them.

When I made this pair, I fastened the wire a little tighter on the earring on the left, so it kept it shape nicely. But I didn't pull it tight enough on the other earring, so it kind of flopped around. Oh well. They were just going to be worn around drunk people. I wasn't worried I'd get graded on them!

I dyed my hair red that morning so it would be nice and fresh, like Peg Bundy!!

I love wearing big, huge earrings, so I made these specifically for myself. And when someone noticed that I had them on, my first reaction was, "Ohh thank you! I made these and a few others for this party." Then I felt like being a comedienne, so I added, "Ohh, these old things? He went to Jared's!! You know, Jared's Liquors over on Main St!" That comment garnered a few laughs. Mission accomplished.

Before I get too ahead of myself, I've gotta show you guys my outfit!!

I randomly bought some patterned footless tights that were on sale for $.48. I have no idea what made me buy them. They aren't my cup of tea, ya know?! But I was so glad I did when I realized I could dress trashy. These tights were mad trashy, Yo! I planned to wear them with some boots (since it's winter here) and shorts (because the one jean skirt I have is about 2 sizes too small). Now, what was I going to do for a shirt?!

I found this gray t-shirt while thrifting for $0.50 (of course!)...

I did all this right before we left, so for once I have good hair/makeup in a before shot!

Hmm.. Nautica? Sorry expensive branded shirt, I'm still going to annihilate you!

My first thought: Cut the collar off. I wanted to be a little "Flashdance-y." Jennifer Beals looked a little trashy in that movie, am I right?! Haha (I still wanted to be her though!!)

Everyone in the house was sleeping, so I did most of my work on the floor in the living room.

Damn, because of the V-neck collar, I ended up cutting WAY too much, I ended up having to sew from the shoulders back to the neckline about 3 inches on both sides. I wanted to be trashy, not stripper-y.

 

Here I am sewing up my mistake.

I wasn't even worried about doing a good job. Two reasons: 1) I was going to a white trash party, not a high class couture party; and 2) I didn't plan on wearing this shirt again. It's either going to become rags or kept for another project.

I sewed the sleeves up a bit, too.

After trying it on, I decided that the sleeves were a tad baggy, so, I sewed them a little tighter, from the armpit to the sleeve hole, so that I had a smaller opening for my arm.

So, that was it for the top of the shirt. Now to tackle the bottom. I thought of just tying it up in a knot in the front, but quickly nixed that idea as a little too '80's. What's on trend now that I could do? How about a high/low hem?

This picture is so terrible that it's not even worth looking at!!

So, I cut the bottom hem off all round, plus an additional 4ish inches in the front, to make it a high/low hem. And that's it folks. I got the rest of my clothing on and took a few selfies while Joe got ready...

I'm pretty sure I didn't look trashy enough. I kind of look like I normally look!!

And that's it for the craft portion of this blog post. Now onto the festivities!!

Me and the wonderful husband, Joe! He got really into character, too!!

We had my mom take this picture. She is not good at taking pictures. Sorry Mom, you know that's not your strong suit! Anyway, I bought Joe that flannel, thinking I'd cut the sleeves off but Joe wanted them on in case it ended up being too cold. So, I pulled this "Redneck Fishing" t-shirt out of his dresser to redneck it up! He also grew out his facial hair that week, then shaved it in a very "Larry The Cable Guy" fashion. Guys are so easy to dress.

Shannon, the hostess, and I eating cheese in a can on crackers, my favorite ghetto snack!

Joe and the birthday boy, Bob, playing Beirut!

Shannon remembered that I love White Russians, so she made me one!!! Yum!!

But I couldn't let Shannon make my drink without supervision, she would've doubled it!!

What a crappy cake!!

Umm.. I'm not sure a about this cake. It's funny, very well done, and freakin' perfect for the party!! But I don't think anyone would want to eat the brown frosting!!

Joe got a hold of a mullet!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

He really rocked that mullet. We talked to this couple for a while and they must've thought we really were trashy. Between Joe's facial hair and my bright red hair, plus our clothes and this mullet, we really committed to this theme!!!

P.S. I love this man!! I am glad he really got into it and didn't act like a bump on a log because he had to go out of his way or out of his comfort zone a bit!!

P.P.S. We had an awesome time at the party!! We only knew the hostess and birthday boy, but that didn't stop us from having a few conversations, meeting some new people, and eating SO much good food!! It helped that we had a couple of drinks (while I'm sure some people had more!!), to loosen us up!!

P.P.P.S. I am so grateful to my parents for babysitting our extremely well-behaved kids!! Seriously, our kids didn't whine, didn't fight, listened to my parents, ate their food, cleaned up their toys, etc.!! And when we picked them up at 11:30pm, they were WIDE AWAKE!!! I'm not even kidding you! For some reason, they wouldn't go to sleep somewhere besides home, even for an hour or two. I've got some weird kiddos!

I can't wait for the next party! Who has a birthday coming up?! (-;

DIY: Gray Sweater Into Legwarmers!

I have been seeing these cute little leg warmer things all over the place lately. I think they're the cutest things and as much as I hate to admit it, I want a pair (or five). But the ones I've seen are a little more than I'd want to spend. I'd just have to make due with something I already owned, so I grabbed this sweater out of my closet:



Doesn't my winter outfit go well with my summer flip flops?! (-;

I bought this gray sweater a few months ago for, you guessed it, $0.50. I tried it on in the store to make sure it had a nice fit, which it did. Not to toot my own horn, but I look pretty good in this before picture (for once! Hahaha). The reason I chose it for my project is not due to the fit, it's due to the fabric. It's just a tad itchy and after wearing it for 15 minutes, it feels like sandpaper against my skin. Plus, after I washed it once, it got a little pilly. Not cool, otherwise awesome sweater!

So, I got to hacking...

I only needed the sleeves for this project, so I cut them off.

I cut the sleeves pretty high up the arm, then I measured to make sure they were the same length before I cut them evenly across the top.

This was the easiest way to pin the raw edges.

I was a little worried that the ends would fray, so I made sure to fold the raw edge over twice in order to hem it.

Then I sewed the edge shut. I had to take a piece off my sewing machine in order to do so.

This is when I realized that this is probably the easiest upcycle that I've done. Anyone with an ill-fitting, stained, or otherwise unwearable sweater can just cut the sleeves off, sew the edges down, and have some leg warmers. The best part is that you don't even need a sewing machine to do this. You don't even need to measure anything either. Who cares if they're not the same length, you can adjust them once they're on. Easy peasy!

This picture reminds me that I need to repaint my toenails!! They're still orange from Halloween!

Since my original sweater fit pretty well to start, I ended up with really tight fitting (and short) legwarmer thingies. I'm actually glad they fit like this. That means I won't have to keep pulling them up. If I'd had a baggier sleeved sweater, I would've fitted them around my leg, then pinned/sewed them until they were roughly this tight.

Here's what they look like with my boots on.

They fit just above the knee. This will save me from investing in those super trendy over-the-knee boots.

My whole look.

I can't wait to make a few more pairs. I have an ugly white sweater that would be much more useful as legwarmers. And maybe next time, I'll add some extra flair with some buttons or something!

Milla likes her moments in the spotlight!

 

Ohh.. Is anyone wondering what's going to happen with the rest of the sweater? Me, too. I'll definitely save it for a future project, but what that project is, I have no idea!!

Jill (and Joe) Can Cook: Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti

Joe bought $15 worth of steak during our last outing to the grocery store. He showed me the package of steak during the check out, he told me the price, but as usual, I was probably tuning him out. (-; Sorry Joe, but when I pulled the steak out of the fridge for dinner, I almost fainted when I saw the price! We never spend that much on steak. I did have a vague recollection of him saying something like, "Blah, blah, blah, I picked up some steak.. blah blah.. since we never go out to eat.. blah blah.."

He told me he had some super special, secret way to cook the steak. He said he cooked it for his co-workers, as a test run, so that he could tweak it to perfection when he made it for me. Aww, sweet husband! Since he was showing his love for me through food, I planned to show him my love for him through food as well.

I found this recipe from Pinterest  that sounded good (that I have no idea where it ended up, so I'm not linking it. Sorry!!). This recipe seemed like it would complement Joe's steak nicely.

 

Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti

Ingredients:
1/2 a box of spaghetti noodles (any type of noodle would work)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. parsley
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
In one pot, cook pasta as directed on box.
In a medium/large size pan, heat extra virgin olive oil and sauté garlic in it.
Add in cooked and drained pasta.
Add in cheese, parsley, and salt and pepper. Mix well and serve.


As soon as I started cooking, I realized that Joe was using a lot of the same ingredients. It made the house smell super delicious.

Since this is mostly a dump and toss, I only have one picture of me cooking:

It's barely even worth adding. Nothing interesting happening here.

Joe and I do this sometimes, where we each cook a dish or two for our dinner. I'm glad we have a kitchen big enough for both of us because we both enjoy cooking, especially together. I sautéed the garlic in the oil as the noodles cooked in another pot. Since my part of the meal was pretty easy, I spent a lot of time watching Joe cook our expensive steak.

I wish my blog had smell-a-vision or was scratch and sniff or something. The smell was amazing!!

I didn't take specific notes on what he was doing, but I do know that he was cooking the steaks in oil, butter, garlic, and some fresh herbs he picked up while grocery shopping. He looked like a real chef as he basted the steaks in the juices.

Once my noodles were fully cooked, tossed with all the other ingredients, and seasoned to perfection, it was time to eat.

Extreme close-up!!

My cheesy noodles went deliciously with Joe's herbed steak.

We all really loved this meal, along with our little side salads (we're really into salads lately). Joe's cooking never disappoints, when he manages not to burn something (sorry, Joe!!). And the recipes I've been trying out lately seem to be pretty well worth it, too.

Before I met Joe, I tended to use garlic salt or that minced garlic that comes in a jar because using fresh garlic was too much work if I was just cooking for myself. And that's how I felt when it came to lots of ingredients/spices. As time goes on and we use more fresh ingredients, I'm noticing that I prefer the taste of the fresher ingredients and "from scratch" meals over the stuff I've grown up on and/or cooked for myself in the past. I always considered myself picky and a creature of habit, so it kind of surprises me that my food preferences are changing. And the best part is that they're changing for the better and it will benefit my kids.

Although, we'll still eat rice-a-roni. There's just no way I'll ever get over my love of that!

Jill Can Cook: My Mom's Peanut Butter Fudge!

I have no idea where my mom originally got this recipe from, but she gave it to me about a year ago. I have since made it twice and both times it came out soupy. I just could not get it to set. Don't get me wrong, I ate it anyway. It still tasted very delicious, it was just pretty runny. And even though I got this recipe from my mom, I will give you guys a link to a website with the recipe, so you believe me that it's real. You can find it here.



Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:
In a saucepan, bring sugar and milk to a boil, while constantly mixing.
Continue to boil for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Add in peanut butter and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into greased (or lined with wax paper) 8X8 pan
Cool for 4+ hours. Cut and serve.


This couldn't get any easier, or so it would seem. I don't know why I screwed it up the other times I made it, but let me just brag for a second: I did not screw it up this time! That mother fudging fudge set!! (Excuse the pun and the sort of swearing!!)

This probably won't last very long in our house. It never does, even when it's more soup-like than fudge-like.

She's my life-sized doll!

Quinn was very excited to get a late night snack.

Who's my silly head!?

So much so that she was more than willing to pose for multiple pictures as she ate the goodness that was the fudge!

My messy living room was a great back drop for my pictures. I have no shame!

Mitchell was not sure that this was a special treat, but it didn't take long for Joe to convince him.

Nom, nom, nom!!

And one second later, he stuffed the entire piece of fudge in his mouth.

I'm lucky in that my family loves being my guinea pigs for all the recipes I've been trying out. I guess it also helps that I'm trying out a lot of sugary snacks!