Loaded chicken recipe

I made one of our favorite meals tonight, and it's a recipe I think everyone deserves to know, taste and enjoy!

If you've ever been to Colton's Steakhouse, one of their best dishes is loaded chicken. This is a remake of that recipe. 

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts

Bacon: One slice of bacon per chicken breast

green onions

honey mustard (I make my own, but the store bought stuff works, too)

Your favorite shredded cheese mix

Fry the bacon in a skillet large enough to hold your chicken breasts. If you have to do the chicken in batches, you may need to add a bit of oil in between batches.

While you're frying the bacon, season the chicken with your favorite seasonings. I use Famous Dave's Rib Rub.

Once the bacon is cooked, cook the chicken in the bacon grease until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.

Preheat your broiler.

Chop the green onions and top the chicken with green onions and cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese is melted. Then top with some honey mustard. Since I make my own, I use about two tablespoons. 

This works with almost any side dish. Today, we paired it with zucchini sauteed with some garlic and topped with Italian cheese. 

It's a great meal with minimal cost and big flavors!

Toy storage in the living room

I've been looking for a way to organize my son's toys in the living room for some time. I tried crates and boxes and it just all looked cluttered. Now, I've found the perfect tools to organize his toys, and I'm so excited about it!

We had an old corner tv stand we were using, but our television was just a bit too big for it and we weren't using the corner for the television anymore, so we got a new entertainment center option and decided to use the corner unit for toy organization. We purchased the baskets from Lowe's in the colors we intend to paint the corner entertainment center. It's currently black, but I plan to trim it in a turquoise. 

This is perfect for Alex because his toys are accessible, but easily cleaned up and it gives a table option for him to color or read when he wants. 

 For now, on top of the unit, I have a zoo toy he received for Christmas. He loves this toy and often plays with it right on top of the table.

Unfortunately, this unit only held about half Alex's toys, so I set out to find something stylish for my living room that could also serve as storage for more toys. I found this great piece at Hobby Lobby. The old chest has photos of Europe all over it and will fit will in any room in my home for toys, personal storage, or just as a decoration piece. 

Do you have a rehabbed piece of furniture in your home? How do you keep from having a cluttered living room with a young child?

Pinterest Inspired; Stephanie Tested: Banana Bread and slow cooker pork

Today was a great day of testing things found on Pinterest! I have read about greek yogurt bread a couple of times recently, so today, I went to Pinterest to find a great recipe. The recipe I found was amazing. It called for greek yogurt, (I used vanilla, which was perfect because I ran out of vanilla last weekend and forgot to buy more) eggs, flour, sugar, mashed bananas, butter, baking soda and a touch of salt. The recipe called for walnuts, but I don't eat nuts, so I omitted them. I also added cinnamon. The bread turned out great! It was perfectly moist inside while maintaining a crisp crust. The banana flavor was present, but not overwhelming. 

This bread is a great option for someone looking for a no-mixer banana bread. Alex was even able to help me for this one by peeling the bananas. Click the photo to find a link to the original pin. 

Also today, I made a pork roast recipe found on Pinterest a few days ago. This was a honey-parmesan slow cooker pork. I love slow cooker meals because I don't have to do much to have a delicious dinner. The sauce for this pork roast recipe called for soy sauce, honey, garlic, salt, pepper and grated parmesan (very important! I used shredded and it was OK, but it was hard to mix with the shredded and honey sticking together).

Just pour the sauce over the pork and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. The sauce will mix with the juice from the pork and when the pork is done, the recipe calls for turning the juices into a gravy with cornstarch and water as a thickener. Here's the problem: crock pots have a very distinctive flavor. It's almost metallic and I don't like it. So I didn't love this gravy. I could be crazy. It's a real possibility.

The pork, though, was great. It fell apart when I pulled it out of the crock pot. That's another reason I love slow cooker meals. The meat is SO tender. The flavor on the meat from the honey and parm was great, too. I paired it with diced potatoes and onions, covered and cooked for ten minutes in the microwave and topped with light sour cream. Rob will top it with cheese. It's a go-to side dish in our house because it's easy and flavorful. I also cut up a cantaloupe for some sweetness with dinner.

All in all, it was a great day of testing Pinterest items. Click each picture to go to the original pin and as always, find my pinterest inspired; Stephanie tested pin board here.

Black bean burritos

A couple of weeks ago, I spent the evening with my sister and her husband. My sister is one of my dearest friends. She's incredibly motivational and being around her makes me happy. I stayed with her while at a job interview in Kansas City. I hope I get it for a lot of reasons (number one being that I am not cut out to be a stay-at-home mom) but one of them is that my sister motivates me to be a better person and care more about myself. She also leads a great life, which she writes about on A Listful Life. I highly recommend her blog. It's a great read.

While I was there, she made black bean burritos. I had never eaten black beans before, but this is a staple in my sister's house, and I didn't want to be a burden, so I decided to try something new.

They were delicious! She and Chase spent all of lent without eating meat, so she has a better handle on vegetarian dishes than I do. I have been telling Rob I was going to recreate her burritos for a few days, and today I finally did it!

This is the base of her black bean burritos. I added chicken, which I seasoned with McCormick's Quesadilla Casserole pre-measured seasoning. The recipe is super easy. 

(1) red pepper

(1) green pepper

(1) jalepeno

black beans (I used low sodium canned, but she uses freshly soaked beans. Either will work)

chicken breasts (I had a huge chicken breast that I butterflied and cut through to make 2 cutlets. It was plenty)

Minute Rice - (I cooked two dry cups with about 1.75 cups of water which turned out perfect)

McCorkmick Quesadilla Casserole pre-measured seasoning packet

cream cheese (use this to your desire. My sister used about 4 tablespoons. I used the entire brick because I added the chicken and rice and doubled the veggies.)

Burrito size tortillas
Mexican Cheese (if desired) 

Sour Cream (if desired)

Use olive oil to cook your chicken, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and the seasoning packet. Reserve leftover seasoning to add to the veggies

Once the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees, remove it from the pan and let it rest while you start to cook the two peppers, jalepeno and black beans.
At this point, you should also be cooking your rice. If you are using leftover rice, don't worry about heating it up. Once it's finished, add it to the pan of black beans and veggies.
Slice the chicken in thin slices and add it to the pan. Heat everything through. Add your desired amount of cream cheese.
Spread mixture on burritos leaving room around the edges. If you want cheese and sour cream, add those to the middle. Fold your burrito.

At this point, they are ready to eat. I actually like my burrito a little crispy, so I put a little oil in a pan and toasted my cooked burrito so the outside got just barely crispy. If you do this, start with the seam side down and don't overfill your burrito. I learned the hard way tonight.

This was sort of a mix of a recipe I found on Pinterest and my sister's black bean burritos. Either way, it was delicious and definitely will become a staple in my house. It's not that unhealthy and with better (for me) tortillas, it would have been even healthier. One of these burritos comes in around 400 calories and after one, I'm stuffed!

Enjoy!

Pinterest Inspired; Stephanie Tested -- Homemade donuts and a great marinade

I'm trying something new at home on Sundays. I'm going to make things inspired by Pinterest. It may not always be in the kitchen, but with the great recipes out there, it'll be tough for me to find crafts that interest me as much as the recipes!

This morning, I started my Pinterest Inspired; Stephanie Tested with some homemade donuts.

 These donuts used a few ingredients to make a great breakfast for my husband and me. I laid out these ingredients after I made the donuts, so please forgive a few missing items.

The donuts used vegetable oil (I used an entire container, but probably could have used a little less) and canned biscuits. I don't think it matters if you use buttermilk, southern style or any other style as long as it's not a flaky biscuit.

I started by heating the oil on medium heat. I didn't want it scorching, but the recipe suggested the oil be heated to 375 degrees. I chose not to use my deep fryer, but just a heavy bottomed skillet on my range.

I spread the biscuits out on parchment paper so they wouldn't stick.

 My biggest problem with these amazing donuts was finding something to poke the hole in the middle out. I started with the cap to my cinnamon, but it was too big. I didn't have any bottle caps in the house except for some really small water bottles, and I wanted something more than that. I finally decided on a honey cap.

In the future, I will likely buy a round cookie cutter made specifically for donuts.  While the honey cap worked, it was difficult to cut completely through the biscuit.

 I tested the oil with the donut holes first. They turned out really well, too.

Then I put the biscuits in the oil and cooked them on each side for about two minutes apiece. They came out great!

While they were cooking, I mixed cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and covered the donut holes in the mixture. Then, as each batch of donuts came out, I covered them in cinnamon and sugar, too.

AND HERE IS THE FINISHED PRODUCT!

These were a great way to spend the morning with Rob.

And bonus! I tested a marinade found on Pinterest tonight, too.

I mixed two tablespoons of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of EVOO, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a couple tablespoons of my favorite steak seasoning. Then I put the mixture in a plastic bag and marinated my pork chops. The preparation took about three minutes. I marinated for about three hours and then cooked them in a skillet. I would have rather grilled them, but my grill pan broke a few weeks ago and I haven't replaced it yet.

You can find all my Pinterest Inspired; Stephanie Tested! items by using clicking Follow me on Pinterest on the right side of my blog. You can also click here to find a board specifically dedicated to my tested items.

Let me know if you try any of these items by commenting! And don't forget to share your favorite Pinterest finds by tagging me on your Pinterest posts. You never know, they might show up in my next Pinterest Inspired; Stephanie Tested column.

Staying at home

There have been some big changes in our household.  At the moment, I'm staying home with Alex for awhile.  The good news: more time for crafts! The bad news: no money for them! I do have a few projects for which I already had the materials needed, so hopefully I can work on those and other cheap projects in the next few weeks. 

I have been experimenting more in the kitchen, which doesn't take much for me. I've always loved to cook, but haven't ever been much of a baker. I have been working to change that.

A few weeks ago, I made a beer bread.  It was OK, but not a recipe I would make again. It came out much more cakey than I generally like my bread.

I used a recipe from CD kitchen which called for flour, baking soda,, butter, beer, salt and a touch of sugar.  It really was a simple recipe to make, but like I said, it turned out more like a cake with a crust.  

Today, I'm making my amazing brown sugar pork chops.  These chops are the perfect mix of sweet and salty. They can be made with any kind of pork chop, but we generally buy the thin chops which are 10 for $10 at Hy-Vee!

Season the chops with salt and pepper.  Then put a pad of butter on top of each chop and 1/4 cup of brown sugar.  Cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes (until the chops are 165 on a meat thermometer).  The butter and brown sugar will mix together to form a great sauce.  Serve with your favorite side dish!

I got that recipe from an anchor at 10/11 news in Lincoln, where I served as a producer for a little more than a year.  I've sworn by it ever since and shared it as often as I can.  It truly is an inspired way to make pork chops.

Now, for what I'm reading this week.  Being home, I have a lot more time to read, so it's more like what am I not reading.  I'm focusing on finishing a great book about love, courage and acceptance, though.  

I have been obsessed with the show Sister Wives for a couple of years now.  I've recently realized the show may have started about the true polygamous relationship in which Kody and his four wives find themselves, but the show really is about acceptance.  

This book is about how the four ended up together and the struggles they've had along with the triumphs in their lives.  The struggles they endure are rarely different than those most monogamous marriages experience.  Sure, he has 26 (26!!!!) kids and four wives, but each of their relationships is separate and distinct.  

I know some find him sleazy or creepy, but when I take each of the relationships in its own regard, he's not different from my husband or yours.  

I highly recommend the book.  It's a little longer than most of the books I read, and more in-depth so a one day reading just is not going to happen with this book.  It's a fascinating book, though. 

As far as what I'm watching, don't ask.  If I hear the Caillou theme song one more time this week, I might scream.  And I know far more about the family in Good Luck, Charlie than any 29-year-old should EVER know.

Until next time, what are you reading? Any book recommendations? Do you have craft ideas for kids? Leave a comment and I'll post photos when A and I use the recommendation!

National Chick Lit Month

Wow. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted last!

I've been working on this entry for a few days in my mind, but finally tonight, it's time to just get it all out there.

I told everyone who would listen about May being National Chick Lit Month. I spent almost the entire month reading. I read so much I barely even cooked!

I know many of my readers are women and I wanted to share with you some of the better books I read (and some unknowns that were fantastic!)

The Bro-Magnet was a fascinating tale of a guy's guy who couldn't find a girl. I won't ruin the ending, but he gets the girl.

My Big Fake Irish Life, written by Caitlin McKenna, was one of the last I read in my month of Chick Lit (which actually started around Easter, but who's counting?). This tale of a struggling actress trying to find her footing in L.A. was funny and the underlying themes of recreating oneself is widely appealing.  Linda (or Meghan as she renames herself) is a witty character who struggles between her American Life and her acted "Irish" life.  As a character, she's easily likeable and creates a web which is heart-breaking.

I feel obligated to write about the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. I technically read this "mommy porn" book before national chick lit month began, but for weeks, I couldn't get the characters out of my head. I wanted to know more about Ana and Christian. I wanted to know why they acted or thought they way they did. One of the "extras" in the electronic version of the final book was the first few chapters of the first book written from Christian's perspective. Even having read this entire series in about four days, I'd happily read all three books again from Christian's perspective.

I read both Kissed in Paris and Sleeping with Paris this month. While these books are technically a series, the character in each book is new. There are cameos of the previous book's leading character.  Truly a fascinating way to create a series of books.

The Pastor's Wife was quite possibly my favorite book I read during National Chick Lit Month. This book was well-written with a theme of acceptance and growth and was free on amazon.com (I read all my books on my Kindle fire, or my iphone's kindle app.) As a member of a tight-knit congregation at church, I felt for the main character in her struggles to fit in with a group who didn't understand her or who she was.  This is a must read!

I started reading Kyra Davis' Sophie Katz mysteries when I was pregnant with A.  I couldn't put them down when I was pregnant and when I found she'd recently released a new novel, I couldn't put it down either. I have the rest of this series in paperback, but this on the Kindle. It's the kind of book I can read a hundred times and find something new each time. I have and do recommend this entire series to anyone looking for a character to love and hate at the same time. Her inability to listen when people say "stop" really lies with me as I have very similar tendencies.

In the six weeks after I started reading the Shades of Grey series, I read 26 books, all chick lit.  I have another 10 I've purchased (or downloaded for free) that I haven't gotten to, but I had some books on the backburner in May I'm working through before I go back to Chick Lit.

I have about a million things I could write about right now, but since I spent the last month reading, I have a backlog of blog entries I need to write. Until then, keep the pages turning!