Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

I made this tonight & it turned out pretty good. David & Noah both really liked it! I love a good crockpot recipe so I thought I'd share.

The recipe is below... The only things I did differently were: I cooked on HIGH for 4 hours total. I put the chicken breast in whole/raw for 3 hours then shredded & added it back to the crockpot for the last hour. I used dried bay leafs instead of fresh. And instead of making my own tortillas, I used tortilla chips. Topped it off with shredded sharp cheddar & sour cream. It made a lot & we'll have plenty for left-overs! :)


Ingredients:

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth 1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 7/24/2011

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/detail.aspx

Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ

I've been trying to find good crockpot recipes because first, it's easier. And second, if it's easier there's a better chance I'll actually cook! We all really loved this! If you go directly to the link, in the comments they talk about using a good barbeque sauce & this is true. I went exactly by the recipe but tweaked it just a little. Other than what the recipe calls for, I added some diced onion, minced garlic, black pepper, garlic powder & onion powder. I also didn't use frozen chicken breasts. I used fresh raw chicken breasts, cooked it for 3 hours on HIGH, shredded the chicken & added it back, then cooked it for 1 more hour on LOW. I used Jack Daniels original BBQ sauce. Put the BBQ chicken on toasted hamburger buns with chips & a pickle & it was a big hit! Yummmmmm.


Ingredients:
6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
1. Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
2. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 7/17/2011



Here's the direct link to the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/zesty-slow-cooker-chicken-barbecue/detail.aspx

Project 52: Week 10

Project 52: 1 photo a week for 52 weeks

Week 10
Theme: Childhood Toys

Quote of the day

Talking to a good friend this morning made me think of one of my favorite quotes...

"Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."

Some people do or say mean, insensitive, hurtful or inconsiderate things & it's so easy to let it get under your skin. But this quote is a reminder that if you let it bother you, you're only hurting yourself. You have better things to think about :)

Project 52

So I've been doing Project 52 through MCP Actions Blog where you take a picture once a week for 52 weeks & there are weekly themes. You can use the theme or not, not strict at all. The point is to practice, inspire, create, etc. Last weeks theme (week 9) was "Express Yourself" and here is my photo...



I normally post them on facebook but I think I may start posting them here. Anyway! The point of this blog post... is a picture & caption I saw from another photographer for this weeks theme "Express Yourself" that really touched me. Here's the picture & the caption:



Crystal Small
P52 | wk 9
Theme {express yourself}

This week I am going to express an idea....

...To each person who takes the time to view this post. What is life?? Are we living it to the best of our ability?? How many times in a day, are we trying to cram more into each and every hour, trying to be perfect mothers, friends, employees, and spouses. We spend our days running frantically from one moment to the next not taking the time to actually LIVE in these precious moments.

What are memories?? They are not photos, or stories... they are feelings. How did something or someone make you feel. We need to focus more on these feelings and not so much time on living our lives by the bare minimum. We try to do it all and at what expense. When our children are telling us stories about their day, how often are we trying to listen but in our minds we are also thinking, Oh I need to get milk, did I fold the whites??, oh I hope I have time to call so and so before dinner.....we don't stop to live in the moment. We don't stop to enjoy a memory, we don't stop to listen.

So today I listened. I got out of bed with a to do list to make all us overachievers proud!! Just as I was about to start my day engines running full throttle a tiny hand touched my arm and said "Wanna snuggo mommy??" and for once I listened and didn't brush off this sweet little man's request with a tale of "later honey" I lived in the moment, and you know what it was FANTASTIC. I want to challenge you all. To Live Life, don't let the small things slip by. It is the small things that make this journey oh so special.

Happy Friday everyone, try to enjoy some of it with the people you love the most, the to do lists and the gotta get done's and the I better hurry will be there tomorrow.

Enjoy the now......

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I thought it was beautiful & worth sharing! The theme for next week is "Childhood Toys" so that should be fun! ;)

Ever have one of those friends....

Ever have one of those friends that blows you off & you're not sure why? Or the super competitive one? Or the one that wants to judge your parenting & just about anything else you do? I think we can all agree that friendships take work just like any relationship but you know the "types" I'm talking about ;) I've gotten to a point in my life where I have a great group of close friends & don't have the time or energy for any games, drama or added stress. So when I came upon this blog post, it made me laugh a little & I wanted to say You Go Girl! Because God knows I've been in this position before & know exactly what she means! Check out the blog post at Yeah. Good times.. Here's the letter from the post ;)

Dear Would Be Friend,

Lord knows, I’m not in a position to be turning down friends, but I’m not sure this is working out. I know that, as the Aspie, I’m supposed to be the one who’s clueless about the whole interpersonal relationship thing, but I’m gonna give you some clues about how to be my friend.

Don’t blow me off. My concerns and worries are just as valid as anyone else’s. If you want to be my friend, you should respect me enough not to laugh and make some flippant remark indicating that these aren’t things I should be “wasting time on”.
Stop the power plays. I’m not interested in being friends with someone who periodically feels it necessary to play some kind of passive/aggressive game to make sure she “stays on top”. It’s stupid, childish, and hurtful.

I’ll tell you what, being a friend of mine could be a great thing for you. I’m fiercely loyal, an excellent listener, and extremely generous with my friends. I also have a great sense of humor and am a lot of fun. But continue in your current course, and you’re not gonna get to find that out. And that’ll be your loss. I’m thankful for your assistance, and I respect your knowledge, but that’s as far as it’ll go if you don’t change the way you treat me. I might be insecure and immature, but I’m smart enough, and respect myself enough to not allow you or anyone else to be crappy to me, whether it’s intentional or not.

Sincerely,

Not That Desperate

Useful Tidbit #1

Maybe some of you may already know this little trick but I didn't & thought it was worth sharing!

So have you ever had one of those days or nights when you're getting ready to go somewhere & realize you've got a few more breakouts (zits!) than normal? Like the little ones that are hard to cover up because they just look red & irritated?

Well... I'd vaguely heard this mentioned on tv last week & it worked! I took some Visine *I had extra strength to "get the red out" ;)* and squeezed some drops on a q-tip & rubbed it on each blemish. I did this a couple times just to be sure. Within about 10-15 minutes I noticed a difference! Obviously the zit didn't go completely away, but I noticed a difference in redness & inflammation! Enough of a difference that I could then cover it up with concealer.

If you try it, let me know if it works for you! And feel free to share any tricks you may have that work :)

Quote of the day :)

"Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you."

— Christian D. Larson

Can I get a Woot Woot!?

Got our income tax return today! All together now... "Thank you Jesus!!" ;) Hope everyone has a happy Friday & a blessed weekend :)

Turn that frown upside down! ;)

Today started descent but went downhill fast & Mr. Stress showed up & didn't want to leave. I was so very stressed out & spent most of my day worrying. But then I reminded myself to put things in God's hands. I have zero control (which I often forget!) so what's the point in worrying? After that my day improved so much :) I was productive, got a lot of laundry done. Took a family walk & walked the dog while Noah rode his bike. Had a good dinner & did some cardio kickboxing. It really shows how much your attitude affects everything else. Super excited it's almost Friday!! Supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow! I'm excited about a photo shoot I'm doing Saturday morning then taking Noah to see The Jungle Book play at the college. And Sunday... Rest! :) So the moral of the story is... (he he!) Turn that frown upside down! We have no control over anything anyway so you might as well enjoy yourself & everyone around you!! :)

Lesson of the Day! ;)

When it snowed Sunday we played in the snow & made a snowman with Noah. He decided to name him Rudolph :) Every day since then, he looks outside to see Rudolph. Well today the temp finally got above freezing & more snow melted. Noah looked out the window at Rudolph. His pine-cone hair had fallen off from the melted snow & there were no more Hersey Kisses eyes or Peanut M&M mouth. He burst into tears because his snowman was melting! I felt so bad for him & comforted him. I explained to him that it's just snow & we get it sometimes but it melts. And it goes away but it's still ok. He was still upset & went to his room crying. About 15 minutes later he comes back into the living room smiling & says "Mom! I'm happy now! That just means we have more grass!" :) So the Lesson of the Day is 'Be happy with what you have & don't worry about what you don't have!' :) Gotta love kids & their fresh perspective!