Crockpot BBQ Chicken

I am envious of those of you who take beautiful photographs of the main dishes you've prepared. I struggle to get the shot set up and still eat before everything is cold. This is one of those photos! Photo aside this is a great chicken recipe. Chicken is a staple at our house and I am always looking for new recipes.

I found this one over at One Crazy Cookie. Tiffanee, thanks for a great addition to my chicken repertoire.




Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken
chicken pieces (I used 4 chicken thighs)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette (I used balsamic vinegar)
1/2 cup pop (I used Root Beer. Tiffanee says Cherry Coke Zero is her favorite to add. )
1 Tablespoon minced onions
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
Place all ingredients in crock pot. Stir to combine and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Update: (Optional) About 30 minutes before you are going to eat mix up 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch in a little bit of water and mix it in the sauce. Replace the lid, keep it on low and cook about 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. This will allow the sauce to thicken up a bit.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday's at The Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Your Recipe My Kitchen!

Meet Me On Monday

Did you have a nice weekend? Hot and humid here but a wonderful weekend just the same!

Monday means two things, back to work and Meet Me on Monday! If you'd like to join Meet Me on Monday, you can find the details here!

1. What feature of the opposite sex do you notice first?
Okay I know I am getting older, I don't even know!

2. Do you talk to yourself?
All the time! Sometimes, I even answer myself, too!

3. What is your current relationship status?
Very happily married to the love of my life! Maybe that's why don't have an answer for #1.

4. Do you have a garden?
Yes, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, brussels sprouts, peas and beans. Sounds MUCH bigger than it is. Most of those, it's just one plant!

5. What is your favorite licorice flavor?
I don't like licorice!

How about you, what's growing in your garden this summer?

Pink Saturday

I've been absent from Pink Saturday the past few weeks. We've been out of town, without internet access, so I've had no way to link to Pink Saturday. I am guessing there's a way from my phone but have yet to be successful.

Today I am sharing a couple of pink roses from my garden.

Happy Pink Saturday !!!!!

From The Good Life

Sadly enough today's From The Good Life doesn't reflect such a good life for many. Here in Omaha, as well as all around us we're experiencing terrible flooding. Having lived in the midwest all of my life, I've experienced flash flooding and some river flooding but never anything like this. Farmland and towns have become lakes, highways are closed and levee's are breaking. I was amazed on Sunday when I spoke with my son, who lives in Los Angeles, he hadn't heard anything on the news about what was going on here. Just this week, I've started to see a bit in the news about the devastation but certainly, or so it seems, not as much as when disaster occurs on the east or west coast.

Photograph courtesy of St. Joseph Post

The really sad part is this could go on for weeks or even months, as the release of water continues from Gavin's Point Dam in South Dakota. Please keep all of the people effected by this in your thoughts!

Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcake Club

When Rachael asked me to host June's Martha Stewart Cupcake Club, I thumbed through the book trying to decide which recipe to choose. Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes, the perfect choice for June.

Don't tell Martha but I cheated a bit on these. (Didn't she do that on something, too?) Anyway, with a lot going on preparing for Mike's graduation party in Minnesota, I used a boxed cake mix! Okay and canned frosting, too! At least I am honest and letting you all know, I could have passed them off as homemade and you'd you have never known.

These cupcakes were so fun to put together. After searching everywhere for something to use for the golf ball, I settled on a white gumball. Since the gumball was kind of large, I made giant cupcakes. The balance of the ingredients were easy to find! I used construction paper for the pin flags. If you're looking for something fun to make for Father's Day, give these a try.

Father's Day Tee Time Cupcakes

24 Cupcakes (Your choice of flavor)
White Icing of your choice
1 to 2 cups green sanding sugar
18 round white candies
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (3 -4 sheets finely ground in food processor)

1. Using an offset spatula, spread each cupcake with a smooth layer of icing. Pour green sanding sugar into a small bowl. Dip tops of frosted cupcakes in the sugar, then sprinkle more on top to coat completely.
2. To create putting greens, make flags (you will need 18). Cut out lengths (3 to 4 inches) from white grosgrain ribbon. Fold each length around one end of a wooden skewer, and adhere folded sides together with hot glue or double sided tape. Cut ribbon into a triangle shape and plant the skewer into a cupcake. Place a small white candy "ball" near the flag.
3. To create sand traps, spoon about 1 teaspoon graham cracker crumbs in the center of each of 6 cupcakes. With your thumb, make an indentation in the middle of each pile of crumbs, shifting to one side to form a steeper side or an irregularly shaped trap.

Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow frosting to set.




You can find the other MSC member's cupcakes here!

I am linking this to Sweet Tooth Friday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday !!

Quick Crescent Taco Pie

Have you participated in the Celebrity Cook Along over at Happier Than A Pig in Mud ? If not, you should check it out. Each month, she chooses a chef or in this month's case, a company. You pick a recipe and blog about it.

This month's Celebrity Cook Along is Pillsbury! To make it even better, Jo at LazyonLoblolly is giving away a Dough Boy and a cookbook! Gotta love that Dough Boy...and Pillsbury!

When I think of Pillsbury, I often think of desserts. Since I am always looking for new dinner ideas, I chose a main dish. If you like tacos, give this one a try! It was DELICIOUS, one I will be making again soon. It's quick and easy to put together and make's a great weeknight dinner.



Superspeedway Taco Pie
Recipe Courtesy of Pillsbury
Ingredients:

1 (1.25 oz) package taco seasoning

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup water

1 (8 oz) package refrigerated crescent rolls

2 cups crushed tortilla chips

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large pan brown your ground beef. Drain of the grease and stir in the seasoning mix and water. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles. Place the triangles in a ungreased 10 inch pie pan, pressing to form a crust. Sprinkle 1 cup tortilla chips over the bottom of the crust, Spoon meat mixture over crust and chips. Spread sour cream over meat mixture and cover with cheese. Sprinkle the remaining chips over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until crust is brown.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tuesday's at the Table, and Tuesday Night Supper Club.

Secret Recipe Club

One of my favorite things about participating in a blog hop is the new friends you meet. Secret Recipe Club introduces you to new blogging friends and new recipes! Here's how it works, each month you're assigned another person's blog, you choose a recipe from their blog and post about! Can you keep a secret? If you're going to participate in Secret Recipe challenge, you have to! You can't reveal the blog or the recipe until the posting date! How fun is that!! Secret Recipe Club is the creation of Amanda at Amanda's Cooking!

This month I was assigned the blog, Haggis and the Herring! Haggis and the Herring is a husband and wife blog team who feature "tasty recipes tested in our kitchen – drawing from flavours around the world including our English, European, Mediterranean and South-Asian food experiences." There were so many recipes to choose from, it was hard to narrow it down to just one.

We love roasted potatoes, so after much deliberation, I chose Crunchy Roasted Potatoes and Carrots. In this recipe you boil the potatoes and carrots before roasting. I've seen lots of recipes where you boil potatoes before deep frying them. I cut my potatoes into large chunks instead of a dice. I used 1/2 regular paprika and 1/2 smoky paprika. Mine didn't get very crunchy but maybe that's because I made them on a silpat instead of parchment? We really enjoyed these, they were just a little spicy with a lot of flavor.




Crunchy Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
by Daniel Saraga November 3, 2010
Courtesy of The Haggis and The Herring

Serve it as a side or eat it alone for the pure comfort-food value.
Ingredients
5 or 6 potatoes, diced, (peeled, optional)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 3/4" rounds
3-4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
to taste salt

Instructions
1. Boil potatoes and carrots in salted water until soft (15-20 minutes).2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.3. Drain and run potatoes and carrots under cold water for 2-4 minutes, drain again and let dry for 2-3 minutes.4. In a small bowl, mix oil, paprika, cayenne and a pinch of salt.5. Toss potatoes and carrots in oil mixture and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.6. Roast for 30-45 minutes, until outside is golden and crispy.
Details
Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 6 servings