Friday, November 15, 2024

Crockpot Bourbon Chicken

I made this for Mickey's birthday dinner (along with bourbon glazed salmon and crockpot macaroni and cheese) and it turned out ok but I think I'll tweak it a bit next time - I doubled the recipe and double the cornstarch slurry made it very gloppy. Hmmm maybe sticking to the actual recipe as written would have made the difference hahahaha. Also I did half thighs and half breasts, the resulting texture was more like shredded chicken than pieces of chicken - once again I should have just stuck to the original recipe and did what she said LOL. The flavor is good tho so I can still recommend this recipe - especially if you follow the recipe as written!

I didn't serve over rice and wish I would have! Also next time
I think I'll add some veggies to the chicken - mushrooms, zucchini,
broccoli, etc. would be good. 

  • 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
  • ½ cup low sodium soy sauce 
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup bourbon 
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 5 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper 
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • ¼ cup chopped green onions, for serving
  • 2 cups prepared brown rice, for serving 

  • In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, bourbon, brown sugar, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. 
  • Arrange the chicken in a shallow baking dish, then pour the mixture over the chicken. Cover the dish tightly, transfer to the refrigerator and marinate for as long as time allows (a few hours or overnight). 
  • Lightly coat a 4-to-6-quart crockpot with cooking spray and arrange the marinated chicken thighs in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the marinade over the top, then cover the crockpot. 
  • Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 2 1/2 – 3 hours, until tender and cooked through.
  • Remove the chicken from the crock pot to a serving plate and cover to keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into a small saucepan and place it on the stove.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to create a slurry. Heat the saucepan on medium-high, then whisk the slurry into the cooking liquid until evenly combined. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce bubbles. Continue cooking and stirring until glossy and thickened, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. 
  • Pour the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with green onions. Serve warm with rice.

11.15.23: non-alcoholic cocktails

11.15.22: seeing eye person 

11.15.21: pinecone wreath

11.15.20: ðŸ”¥ week 46

11.15.19: green bean salad

11.15.18: pinecone birds








11.15.17: Brooke's nutella mug cake

11.15.16: deviled egg short-cut 

11.15.15: Thanksmas

Thursday, November 14, 2024

11/14 ~ Thru the Years

Yep, I did it again and ran out of time to post anything new today - here's a look back at what happened on this day in years past!

11.14.23: turkey vegetable tray

11.14.22: bird of paradise painting

11.14.21: ðŸ”¥ week 46


11.14.19: MSIH: pumpkin snickerdoodles


















Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Kid Craft: handprint 'flower' card

Georgie's daycare person is amazing - she does lots of fun, interactive things with the kids and if I ran a daycare I would want to do it just like her! She sent home this card that Georgie made (with lots of help but still....!) that is too too cute and I asked if I could share. The 'flowers' are made from stamping G's little hands and cutting around them, then decorated with lots of glitter. Glued onto stems and leaves cut out of construction paper and glued to the front of a folded piece of paper forming the card. Oh my gosh I love this so much! 


11.13.23: wine cork reversible pumpkin and snowman (I forgot I made this and need to go look for it right now!!) 









11.13.22: ðŸ”¥ week 46

11.13.21: personal pumpkin pie shortcut

11.13.20: coin jar by B

11.13.19: candy corn cone








11.13.18: pinecone turkeys













11.13.17: crocheted beanie













11.13.16:  spanish rice








Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Tip-sy Tuesday: Christmas Tree Cupcake Cake

This isn't really a tip, more like an inspirational idea for a very easy Christmas dessert idea that you can tuck away until you need it. Frost 21 cupcakes green, and 2 cupcakes dark brown and arrange in a tree shape on a large platter or serving tray (or straight on the counter if you are hosting and don't have a dish large enough). In this picture the cupcakes are then frosting using multiple different tips and then sprinkled with red and white sprinkles - you can certainly get all fancy if you like to play with cake decorating, but don't let that intimidate you if that isn't your jam. Plain ol' frosted with the sprinkles is still going to be cute! Another cute idea would be to either frost the one at the top with gold or silver (or white with white icing sugar on top), put a star shaped something on top of the top green cupcake, or put a red bow at the top. 


 found here at beyondfrosting.com 

Monday, November 11, 2024

Birthday Coupon Book

Mickey didn't give me any ideas for her birthday gift so I went old-school and made her a coupon book. At first I just cut up square pieces of paper and hand wrote the coupons and was going to staple them all into a card, but then for just a few minutes longer I printed each one out on a sheet of blank business cards. I didn't take a picture of the finished product - I used washi tape to tape a couple gift cards and a scratch-off ticket to the 'coupon', others I just typed out things like babysitting, a cake, a 'my niece is hungry' meal with delivery, etc. and then I folded them into a strip of cardstock just a little wider than the business cards. Turned out cute! 







11.11.23: words

11.11.22: unfinished projects

11.11.21: creamy chicken and rice soup

11.11.20: chessman banana pudding


11.11.17: DIY paper bows













11.11.15: fleece scarf
 

Sunday, November 10, 2024

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 45)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

11/3: ðŸ”¥ week 44

11/4: roasted pumpkin

11/5: TT lint roller

11/6: thru the years

11/7: pizza bombs

11/8: broccoli cheese spaghetti 

11/9: words (canning)

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)


Sincerely ~

Jill
camp counselor

11.10.23: dilly bean and pickled onion re-run

11.10.22: msih buffalo chicken casserole

11.10.21: spinach salad with beets

11.10.20: TT storage wrap tip




11.10.16: baked egg cups

11.10.15: button earrings

  

Friday, November 8, 2024

Broccoli Cheese Spaghetti

I saw this the other day and thought I'd try it, cottage cheese seems to be the 'new' trendy ingredient to work with and this sounded pretty good (found here  on Youtube, if link doesn't work search for Zach Coen and broccoli cheese spaghetti). It came together really quick, the texture wasn't super super smooth but we didn't mind it, and it tastes really good. I've never had protein+ spaghetti - it's got a different texture than regular pasta and felt more like whole wheat, again we didn't mind it and I would buy it again. I followed this exactly other than I only had whole milk on hand so I mixed it with a little water. 


Directions: 

boil pasta

heat broccoli

in blender: cottage cheese, milk, broccoli soup, spices - blend til smooth and creamy

add sauce to pasta, add broccoli and 4oz of shred cheese, heat thru. 


11.8.23: Thanksgiving Gingerbread Houses part 1

11.8.22: button storage

11.8.21: framed wedding keepsake

11.8.20: ðŸ”¥week 45

11.8.19: salmon 2 ways

11.8.18: green tomato muffins (don't be scared, they taste like zucchini bread!)

11.8.17: the school psychologist is in sign

11.8.16: dish washing tip

11.8.15: provencal summer vegetable bake



Thursday, November 7, 2024

Pizza Bombs

I made these pizza bombs for lunch and they were a huge hit!! Easy to do, fun to eat hahaha. I made one can of biscuits into ball shapes (the 'bombs') and the other can I just flattened the biscuits and added pizza toppings to make little mini pizzas. Both shapes taste the same, the difference is only in the presentation :)

oops, I didn't sprinkle this batch with the Italian seasoning or parmesan!
  • 2 cans Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits (10 count each)
  • pepperoni (I cut slices into smaller pieces)
  • shredded cheese
  • 1 beaten egg (for the balls)
  • parmesan cheese
  • Italian seasoning
  • pizza sauce
For the bombs: flatten each biscuit, put a little pizza sauce in the middle (not too much or it'll squish out when baking), add some pepperoni pieces and shredded cheese and roll the edges up into a ball. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with parmesan and Italian seasoning. Bake at 425' for 15-18 minutes until golden brown and the dough is cooked thru. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping. 



PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMI!!! 

Wednesday, November 6, 2024