Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos

 This was a hit in my house with EVERYONE who tried it.  So the exception was Two, my vegan.  

Highly highly recommend and super easy.  

Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos

Now comes the what I did different part, as you all expect from me. I rarely follow a recipe exactly (unless it's baking cause that's easy to mess up.)  This one is probably BOMB made a variety of ways, truthfully.  

I used chicken thighs.  I used vegetable broth.  Our little small town grocery store didn't have green chiles that day, so I just omitted it.  I've left it out every time I've made it, because it was so good without it.  But, maybe I'll throw them in next time.  Who knows.  

I also made Goya Mexican Rice and we mostly ate it over rice, instead of as tacos.  

It was super easy, delish, and requested again.  5 stars.  

Skinny Housewife: Vegan Stuffed Pepper Soup

Vegetarian Stuffed Pepper Soup

This recipe was liked by everyone, which in my house is impressive!  What she has to say about it being better the 2nd day is SPOT ON, we had it for dinner two nights in a row and YUMMMM.   Usually, I make alterations to recipes, but I didn't change anything this time! 

I used to hate stuffed peppers as a kid...and my grandmother made them pretty often.  I've been saying for years that I need to try them again as an adult, and this was my first step in that direction.  I loved the soup, and will definitely be giving actual stuffed peppers a go again in the near future, so stay tuned.

Skinny/Lazy Housewife: CutThroat Chicken

Honey Spiced Glazed Chicken Thighs

This recipe falls into BOTH categories of recipes I post.  Hoorah!  It is SO freaking amazingly outstandingly delicious.  EVERYONE in our house loves it!  (Ok, not EVERYONE, One is vegetarian.  But all the carnivores cheer when I announce that we are having it for dinner.)  The link provided is the originator of the recipe, and that is her name for the recipe.  However, in our house, we call it CutThroat Chicken.

It came to this name because after the first time I made it, Two and I said we would cut each other over the last piece!

I found the recipe on Pinterest, and had pinned it because I was looking for crock-pot recipes....the pin is incorrectly labeled.  I got all the stuff out to put it in the crockpot and discovered that it actually is NOT a crock recipe.  BUT it only takes a couple minutes to get it together and throw it in the oven, so I decided it was still do-able on the busy day.  I've made it a handful of times since discovering it.  I've made it with the boneless thighs, and also boneless skinless breasts (and breast tenderloins.)  I feel like I also made them once with bone-in thighs...but I'm not sure that memory is accurate.

The ONLY change I made is that I followed a suggestion she gives to cut the spice (because Three and Four are wimpy about heat...I have promised Two that I will make it soon for JUST SHE AND I and I will put ALL the red pepper flakes in, she and I both love spicy things!)  I add probably between a 1/4 and 1/2 of the red pepper flakes.  It is still spicy, and YUMMY.

Enjoy!

Lazy Housewife: Crockpot Beef Stew

Easy Crockpot Beef Stew 

This was probably the best beef stew I've ever made.  You know what, it was DEFINITELY the best beef stew I've ever made.


I only made ONE change.  You're shocked, I know.  I didn't use bouillon cubes because we have "Better Than Bouillon" in our fridge all the time, so I used that instead of the cubes.  That's the only change I made.  I ate it for 2 days straight--dinner, lunch, dinner, lunch.  Yeah.  Then we froze some of it and The Punk and I ate it for dinner a couple weeks later.  Still delish.

Flashback Friday

Back to that time I told you to stop doing it all...

Share the Wealth

Lazy Housewife/Skinny Housewife

This covers both my lazy side and my skinny girl...

Lazy Girl's Seated Arm Workout

Remember...in just a few months, you're going to want to rock those tank tops or cap-sleeves...it can't HURT to have banging arms.

Lash Housewife: Unsloppy joes.

So. You all know I *try* to be healthy. We eat pretty well most of the time. BUT...BUT I saw a commercial the other night for "Unsloppy joes" and thought "why have I not had THAT??"

I made it so. And I was not disappointed. There are some ways to make this healthier....but I didn't do any of those. Let's be clear.  Lazy. That's the road I chose. 

www.pillsbury.com

Biscuits. 

Manwich. 

Shredded cheese. 

Yeah, that's it. It's pretty much as simple as it sounds. Make the sloppy joes. Scoop the slopy Joe mix onto a biscuit (spread it thin,) top with cheese, fold it over (I crimped it with a fork to help it stay together)

And bake. 

They were gobbled up by my family. Now-you can totally make the SkinnyTaste sloppy joes (the link to that recipe is HERE, and homemade biscuits and you've increased your "health-o-meter."  Or you can be like me and just buy it all in a can. 

Also of note:  Three and Four managed to make them SLOPPY. They took bites from both ends, allowing for it to ooze out of the ends when they took another bite. But for the rest of us, these were very UNsloppy. 

Flashback Friday

For the next few weeks/months, for Flashback Friday I'm going to direct you to other posts on this page.  My favorite posts from the past.  We are going to start with this one because it's one of the best I've ever written IMO, and it makes me tear up every time I read it.  And, I actually read it often because I need to remind myself of those things that I can so readily tell others about how this homeschool thing can go.  Enjoy.

Poster Parent

Lazy Housewife: Crock pot

Almost a year ago, I broke our crock pot.  I cracked the porcelain crock that was in it.  Our schedule is getting crazier (I just joined 2 other homeschool groups and am really trying to be active. PLUS I now teach 4 classes a week, and have to keep the house clean and COOK??  Ain't nobody got time for that.)

We renewed our membership to BJ's (think Sam's Club and Costco) and as we were walking along to aisles to purchase ALL THE THINGS...I saw this:

6 quart iStir  (And just FYI....that's not an affiliate link, I just really like the product that I'm pimping out.)

Yes, ladies and gents of the interwebs, it STIRS itself.  I want it.  You know you can throw all the things in the pot for a stew or a chili, but if you don't stir it that outside edge gets crusty and goopy and you have bits stuck to the bottom....now it sort of defeats the purpose of the damned thing doing ALL the cooking for me if I have to remember to stir it every so often (c'mon this is the LAZY housewife post....) soooo voila!  I can be gone all day and my chili will still be stirred?  Yes please.

I'm not even kidding.

I need this in my life.  Universe?  Make it so!

Here is a link to my Pinterest Board on Crock Pot Meals, as a bonus!

Lazy Housewife: No Back Chocolate Eclair "cake"

No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake

I am being a scrooge about holiday baking.  I just don't wanna.  I'm in need of something to take to our co-op Christmas Around the world party tomorrow to represent France.  Who doesn't think France when they have an eclair?  This is my out.

Skinny/Lazy Housewife

Smoothie Packs will make your life easier.  Take a half hour on the weekend and make a few of these packs to make your morning/afternoon snack easier.  It's healthy, but it's simplifying SO it's both Skinny and Lazy Housewife approved.

Another thing I do to help me have healthy snacks without effort during a busy day/week is mix up our own trail mix.  Honestly, some of the pre-packaged stuff isn't really healthy (you should be reading labels!) and the TRULY healthy stuff is usually $$$ out of my budget.  So, I buy the items we want in bulk (cashews, almonds, raisins, mini-m&m's or marshmallows-c'mon it can't ALL be healthy!-dried strawberries/bananas/blueberries) and mix them in a big tupperware container so I can just scoop out some when the kids want it.

Done.

Lazy Housewife

This week I've been working on the task of re-writing our family chore lists.  Why?  Because the current system doesn't work.  For one, my BIG children (almost 16 and 14) never remember to DO the chores.  I have to remind them.  Every.  Single.  PROFANITY. Day.

I'd like to just ask them "Do This..." but I always get attitude about how they don't know how (Even though they've been shown, and I've told them I will show them again.) or "That's HER chore" because the other one actually LIKES doing it or DOESN'T like the way the other one does it.  Even with the current chore lists....they switch off.  One claims to not know how to load the dishwasher, so Two ALWAYS does it.  One hates the way that Two puts away their clothes, so One ALWAYS does it.  This is not the point of the chores.  The POINT of the chores was/is to make sure you know how to do "all the things!"  When you are a single gal on your own, or when you're a roommate, or when you're a girlfriend/fiance/wife....you will KNOW how to take care of the house stuff.

Ugh.  *bangs head against keyboard*  kahsduhfwieuahgfiuew4hrt893wygadsjun

My POINT goes out the window when they just switch things up.  I'm thinking of using a different system, but again, I will have to be responsible for the system, and as I pointed out in my first paragraph I get tired of having to remind them EVERY DAY.  I feel like they are almost grown.  They KNOW what needs to be done.  Why do I have to point it out to you that you don't have any clean clothes and you might want to do some laundry?  Why do I have to point out to you that the bathroom is disgusting and you should probably clean it up?  It's maddening.

However, I need/want them to pitch in, and once they don't live with me and therefore don't have me reminding them...they will probably live in filth.  But I will have done my best.  Damnit.  Since I need/want them to pitch in, I'm moving to a different system.  An "odd/even" system.  On Odd days One has to do ALL the chores I ask.  On Even days Two has to do ALL the chores I ask.  This also means that there are some more opportunities to get Three and Four in on this chore action.  Honestly, have you tried to write up 4 chore lists before?  I couldn't come up with enough stuff to do.  Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough.

I'll try to report back in a month about how my new slave efforts are going.

Lazy Housewife: Crockpot Apple Crisp

Summer is upon us, and I'm looking for as many opportunities to use my crockpot (and not turn on the oven) as possible.

Yesterday, I marinated some pork chops and did them on the inside grill and made brown sugar carrots (a family fav) and this Healthy Apple Crumble.  It was so easy to make--I had Three core and cut the apples with the apple corer--and was seriously YUMMMMMM.  We had it as a side dish to our pork, but there was JUST ENOUGH left over for me to have it as dessert tonight with some vanilla ice cream on top.  Yeah, it is hidden in the back of the fridge, cause I'm that kind of mom.

We used only 4 apples-because that's how many we had-and I turned it up on HIGH for 2 hours because I didn't get my stuff together until 2 hours before we needed to eat.

Bon Appetit!

Lazy Housewife-Share the wealth.

Tip of the day:  Make your kids help around the house.  Why do we martyr ourselves into thinking WE need to do all the work ourselves?  Did we make all the mess ourselves?

Great advice given to me once by my mother-in-law when I was explaining my need to "do it all:"

I explained that I see myself as the CEO of our family, I'm the one in charge of making sure everything stays on track and things get done in the manner in which they should and on time.  She (the mother of five herself) then told me CEO's don't do it ALL, they know how to assign people to get the right tasks done-delegate.  You are still in charge of making sure it gets done, and on time, and done properly, yes.  But that doesn't mean YOU do it all.

I really and truly had never thought about my position in that light.  It was freeing.  I don't HAVE to do it all.  My girls are older, teens (nearly teens when this advice was given,) and are capable of doing MUCH around the house.  My eldest child complains and acts as if I ask her to scrub the kitchen tile on her hands and knees with a scrub brush daily (Did you just imagine Cinderella in your head??  Because that's what I was going for there.)  It's really not that bad.  Daily chores for my girls include things like putting away their own laundry and cleaning their room (gasp!)  Unloading the dishwasher.  Sweeping the kitchen.  Twice a week they mop it (with a Swiffer, you've seen the commercials--this is not HARD!)  Twice a week they vacuum.  Once a week someone is scheduled to help me cook meals.  This NEVER EVER EVER happens!! I need to get better at not letting them slack off on this one, they do need to know how to cook more than grilled cheese, quesadillas, mac and cheese, and frozen pizza and nuggets.  I'm sure of it.  Once a week they vacuum their room, and their brother's room as well as help me sort the toy bins out and put them back in order.  Those chores are broken down over 4 days and split between two people.

Three also has his own chore list for each day (Tuesday-Friday) that includes taking out recycling, bathroom trash (the bag is more manageable,) dusting, helping with the dishwasher, straightening the shoe rack, and cleaning windows.

On Monday's (which are insane) and weekends, they are only required to do what is asked of them-which usually only involves their own rooms and/or laundry.

Tragic lives they lead, are they not??

Now, I'm not saying be lazy and lie around all day eating doughnut holes and watching trashy TV and playing on Facebook (coincidentally what my eldest child will tell anyone that listens that I myself DO everyday.)  I am saying take the pressure off yourself.  You gave birth to these people, and you spent a good portion of their lives taking 100% care of them.  It's time for a kickback.  ;)

Lazy Housewife

Yesterday, around 4pm I realized I had no idea what we were going to do for dinner.  I asked the boys (the girls were not here) what they would like.  Four yelled "I want pasta!"  Sweet.  Boy after my own heart, I tell you.

I needed to be creative since I didn't take anything out for dinner yesterday.   Hmmm.  Pasta-well, I have boxed organic mac and cheese (that is actually safe even with Four's allergies, thank you Annie's Homegrown Organic Mac and Cheese!)  I have peas.  I have...bacon.  Yes, everything is better with bacon.

I made the mac and cheese, per box directions.  I used the broiler pan and cooked the bacon up in the oven.  At the 6 minute mark on the mac and cheese cooking, I dumped in a bag of frozen peas.  Once the water came back up to a boil, I called it done.  I made the cheese sauce, and added 1/4 cup of shredded cheese to the mix.  Add the noodles and peas back to the pan, stir to coat it all.  Crumble the bacon and mix it in.

It was simple, and easy, and quick.

A New Year staple in the south is black eyed peas.  I'm not a black eyed pea fan.  I found this on Pinterest, and thought "oh my word, that sounds delish!"  I went right out and bought what I needed, I did alter the recipe slightly (my version isn't vegan) and let me tell you-it got added to our "regular rotation."  Yum-O!!!

http://madejustright.com/blog/post/quick-vegan-chili-recipe (This link is...I don't know.  It doesn't seem to matter that I tried to link you right to the recipe, you get the main page.  You have to go in to the search box at the top and type in blackeyed pea chili.)


The changes I made:

I used regular stick butter, one and one half sticks (because, honestly, that's what I had.)
I used regular chili powder, and regular paprika (again, it's what I had.)
I didn't add the cilantro or the lime.
I didn't have garlic salt, so I just used a teaspoon of minced garlic.
I also like my chili a little more liquidy (that's not a word, but you know what it means,) so I added a can of tomato sauce to it.
My kielbasa wasn't vegan in any way, shape or form.  Yum.
I 'browned' the kielbasa in the melted butter with the onion, pepper, and garlic.Then I added the seasonings and let it "reduce" some to strengthen the flavor.   Then I added the roasted tomatoes, all the beans and the tomato sauce.  Add the roasted tomatoes and all the beans first, then gauge how liquid you want your chili, and adjust accordingly.

It was so good.  The Punk was mad that I made this while he was out of town, because he likes black eyed peas and I never cook them.  Oops.  There's some in the freezer, babe.

Today-I have to get back to cooking.  I haven't really cooked since Christmas dinner (we've had leftovers, spaghetti, and then these 2 dishes which are really more "dump" and stir than actually COOKING.)

Lazy Housewife....

So, normally Thursday posts are about food.  Today,  I'm going to post an EASY dinner BUT then an olympic food link AND then I'm going to post some more Olympic stuff...'cause ya know, I'm obsessed, as are my children (parenting WIN right there.)

Your Lazy Housewife Dinner:  Crockpot Lasagna

Fun Olympic food:

http://hoosierhomemade.com/olympic-torch-cupcakes/  FTR, I won't be making these...but how cute are they??

I'm making this:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/olympic_medal_chart.htm

The kids (well, three of them) picked a country.  One chose Canada, Two chose Brazil, Three chose United States, and I am taking the host country.

We did a torch craft, see yesterday's blog hop link for the craft we did.  I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Skinny Housewife

The season of fresh veggies is upon us!

For Sunday dinner this week, I made 3 things.  I'm going to post a link to each one.

Summer Vegetable Casserole;  This blog has the cost breakdown.  For me, this casserole was nearly free since we got all the veggies from the garden (my next door neighbor has a small garden, but it still produces more veggies than just their family can eat!)  I left out the tomato, because we don't have any ready from the garden yet, although, I can see why it needed it for the moisture.  It was a tad dry, and the potato was slightly underdone...both would have been remedied by the added moisture of a tomato in there I think.  I look forward to making it again in a month or so, when we have fresh tomatoes too!  Overall:  One and I were the only people in our house who ate this.  The Punk, Two, and Three don't care for squash or zucchini, and I made it with a cheese that Four can't have...  One and I both loved it though.

Pioneer Woman Green Beans are the very best green beans I've ever eaten.  Tru dat.  I made these back in January (with frozen green beans) when my MIL and SIL were here.  The last night that SIL was here The Punk asked her to choose what she wanted for dinner....I had already made the green beans three days prior, but it was the ONE thing she REALLY wanted with dinner before she left.  They are just that good.  As I said, I've made them with frozen beans, they are way better with fresh, but you work with what you have, and they are still fantastic.  I've never added the red pepper, and I've made it with both fresh onion, frozen chopped onion and dried onions.  This is a FOUR star recipe in our house.

Grilled Island Chicken this was a first time recipe (as was the casserole) and it was simple to throw together.  I let it marinate while we went to the pool.  It was yummy, everyone ate it, and no-one complained.  :)

Today, I'm going to do this "Dirty Thirty Workout" and an additional challenge that my birth board weigh loss group is doing.  Recently, I've run into several people who I haven't seen in at least 3 months, and all of them have said things like "You look amazing."  "You're really slimming down!"  "What are you DOING to look like this?"  It's a big confidence boost, but honestly,  I'm really working hard at it.  I'm proud of my body, and I feel sexy....for the first time in YEARS.  You can do it, too.  I promise.


Now, my phone just reminded me that Four has his 3yr well check and we need to leave in an hour....then we're going to head out to the farmers market because Three has been asking to go (it's mostly for the cookies...but he likes to pick out veggies too.)  Have a great day!

Thrifty Housewife

Stretching a chicken:

Sunday we had a "big Sunday dinner.". We had a whole roasted chicken, on a bed of carrots and onions. I made mashed potatoes with pan gravy. It was delish.

Monday I pulled all the remaining meat off the chicken carcass and put the bones in the crockpot with the few remaining carrots (there were no remaining onions because those are my favorite part!). Cover it with water and add whatever seasonings float your boat. I add bay leaves, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Let it boil all day. I turn it off, let the crock cool, put the crock in the fridge overnight.

Tuesday, skim the fat (I make one I the girls do this) from the top, carefully pour the liquid through a strainer. Then I bag it up in one and two cup increments. Freeze. This is so great for me. I can use this broth in things for Four, which is awesome because of all his allergies.

Wednesday, shred the chicken meat, and prepare one of two ways. In the winter, I do chicken chili. In the summer though, I make a family favorite--BBQ chicken sandwiches. I put the shredded chicken in a pan, add as much BBQ sauce as you like, put in low until just warmed. Slice a loaf of French bread. Butter the slices. Place on griddle (I use my George Foreman grill) and top with a scoop of BBQ chicken and another buttered slice of bread. I serve it with fries (sweet potato or regular) and veggies-last night it was a pan of roasted broccoli but whatever you have or want will work just fine.

Lazy Housewife Dinner

I made the most fantastic fettuccine alfredo last night. I've made it 2 other times, but last nights was a hit out of the ballpark. I've been tweaking the recipe, and last night I was working loosely off of Emeril's Recipe.

Changes I made:

I used minced garlic instead of shallots. I added dry italian seasoning, and 1/2 a container of Philly Cooking creme savory garlic variety. Seriously. That shizz is the bomb. And SUPER easy. I used the minced garlic in the squeezy bottle. And, all that cooking this meal involved was boiling water, dumping things in and stirring. WIN.

Lazy Housewife Dinner

Ok, I've tried 3 new recipes in the last couple weeks. I try to put at least one new thing in a week, but last week there were 2. :)

I tried this recipe out last week: Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken. It's a really simple main dish to throw together. And, if you serve it along side roasted broccoli/cauliflower, dinner is done and easy-peasy. The review was good on all fronts. The Punk said "it was alright." but what does he know, really? He doesn't get as excited by food as I do, so I'm going to dismiss his lackluster assessment. I thought it was YUMMY. The kids all ate it up too. Yay. Definitely a keeper.

Last night, I made breakfast for dinner. Potato Bacon Casserole. The kids all ate it, and there weren't any complaints, but The Punk and I both felt sort of blah about it. I wasn't impressed. I LOVE Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole and was hoping this would be a "make at home" version of that...it fell short. I won't be adding it.

Lastly, a skinny housewife moment. :) I made this Baked Ziti with Spinach in my head, my family wouldn't balk at the fact that there was spinach in it. I mean, I tasted it, and I didn't think the spinach even tasted like spinach after being cooked in the tomato sauce. *shrug* My silly family couldn't get past it. One and Two did try it. One ate it with me, but Two didn't like it. *eye roll* The Punk and Three didn't even try it. One and I ate it for dinner, and lunch and then I shared the rest with neighbors (who also really liked it!) I would def make this again, and probably will make it in half, and use it as a lunch option.