Our Spin on Chicken Taco Pizza

Last night, my bf and I were craving something a little different than our Sunday night Soup tradition. After bouncing several ideas, we decided to create our own version of a Taco Pizza. If you have a Casey's General Store in your area - you've probably experienced one before. :) We borrowed ideas from this recipe at Jo Cooks here. 

Chicken Taco Pizza

You'll Need:

• Pizza Dough (we picked up the premade kind)
• 1 cup refried beans 
• 1 pound of chicken breasts, cut into strips 
• Shredded cheese
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 package of chicken taco seasoning
  
  Toppings (go wild!)
• Lettuce 
• Tomatoes
• Green peppers
• Salsa
• Cilantro
• Plain Greek Yogurt (substitute for sour cream)

Make it!

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. 
• Begin assembling your pizza from the bottom up. We covered the pizza with refried beans and salsa while the chicken cooked in the taco seasoning. 
• In the mean time, cook your chicken in a skillet with the taco seasoning. We followed the directions on the packet of seasons.
• Add the cooked chicken and shredded cheese to your pizza. 
• Pop it in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
• Polish off the pizza with toppings of your choice. We went with: lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, green peppers, cilantro, and yogurt. 
• Slice your pizza up and enjoy!

I don't mean to toot our horns or anything... but this was a delicious dish. I'm looking forward to the leftovers tonight for dinner. We watched ours with an episode of Walking Dead and the NFL playoffs. Are you a fan of Walking Dead too? We are catching up on season three and things are getting emotional. 

Happy Monday!

For the Love of Quinoa!

I felt it was time to dive into the quinoa phenomenon since I've pinned hundreds of recipes already. Many of my Sunday evenings are spent enjoying a delicious bowl of soup, so this week my bf and I decided to make a little vegetable soup with quinoa. Thanks to this recipe found here. 

The recipe has all of your classic vegetable soup staples (and then some) to enjoy on a chilly evening. Naturally, we had to make a few modifications because I thought I had all of the ingredients. Soon enough, I found they were missing from my pantry. We also made this into a slow-cooker soup by letting the vegetables, spices, and broth cook all day then added the cooked quinoa at the very last minute. 

In addition to the soup, we also added a few other spices and whatnot (which means I don't have an exact measurement.. just go with it).

Frank's hot sauce
red wine

lime juice

minced garlic (more!)

After an afternoon of smelling vegetables simmer all day in the crock pot, I can assure you that this bowl of quinoa soup was enjoyed with the Golden Globes (and the playoffs!) playing in the background. 

Enjoy your evening, folks!

Welcome to Missouri, Georgia!

This weekend was our (Missouri's) first game as part of the SEC. If you're a follower of college football, you may know that the game didn't quite turn out the way we wanted it to. Oh well, I still love my Tigers - win or lose!

To celebrate the inaugural SEC season and FIRST game of the SEC, my bf and I decided to have a little contest. We are quite the competitive duo, so it only made sense for us to strike up a friendly competition.  Since Georgia was making its way to Missouri for the first time, we decided to have a Peach Salsa Off! The two of us made our very own peach salsas and brought them to the tailgate Saturday morning. Around 2:00, a friend and I took the salsa to different tailgates and had a blind taste test. One salsa was on a black plate and the other was on a gold plate (naturally). Strangers gave us their feedback on the salsa.

Scott on the left. Jordon on the right.

The benefit to this 1st Annual Peach Salsa Off is that now I know how to easily peel and dice a peach. Thanks to google and youtube of course.

Peach Salsa:

2-4 peaches (peeled and diced)

Juice of 1 lime 

1 red pepper diced

1 jalapeno diced

1 can of rotel (I only used the tomatoes, not the juice)

1 clove of minced garlic

1 cup chopped red onions

Combine all of your ingredients and let the salsa sit overnight. The flavors and juices combined for a deliciously sweet and tangy treat. Serve with tortilla chips! 

Now, the competition is over with and I wish I had better news to report (on my end). Sadly, I lost the taste competition 10-7. For awhile, it was stiff competition. Then the victory slipped away from me. My salsa and I would like to thank everyone who helped us on youtube and those many people who complimented my salsa. In the end, I was informed that my salsa was a tad too spicy. Who knew!? I don't even like spicy food! Although, my bf was a gentleman and said he liked mine more. :)

What's For Dinner? Lettuce Wraps!

From most of my food blogging you can probably tell that I a major sweet tooth. I usually don't branch out very much in the dinner department, but I've been searching for more healthy alternatives to my favorites. One of my favorite genres of food is Mexican. Yummmmm! Nothing makes my heart smile more than a big 'ol batch of white queso and tortilla chips. Combine a yummy taco slopped with sour cream and I'm in heaven.

As a little alternative to the traditional taco, we swapped out the tortilla shell for lettuce. Wild huh? I'm sure you have tasted something similar in your eating days!

I modified this recipe a smidgen to suit our needs. Plus, I forgot a few ingredients at the store. One of these days, I'll become an expert at grocery shopping.

Chicken & Pepper Lettuce Wraps (for two!)

2 chicken breasts 

2 Cups Zesty Italian Dressing

1 tbsp Cumin

2 bell peppers sliced (I picked a yellow and red one!)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Head of lettuce

Fun fact: Until recently, I had no idea that cumin actually made things spicy. I found out the hard way.

Mix one cup of the Italian Dressing and the cumin in a bowl with your chicken that has been cut into strips. Stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to marinate.

Add remaining dressing to skillet and toss in chopped peppers. Cook until they are a little crispy. Set aside to let them cool.

In the same skillet (with dressing) toss in your chicken until it's cooked through. It will probably take about 10 minutes. Add your veggies for about 2 minutes and stir.

Spoon your chicken and peppers into your lettuce wraps and top with cheese. Add some salsa if you're feeling fancy!

Awkward arm

Yuuum

Delicious and colorful!

Seriously, these were ah-maz-ing. I think I said "WOW! These are really good" several times during our meal. I think I set the bar pretty low in my mind, so I was very suprised how much I enjoyed them. Once upon a time, I was a very picky eater (my sister can testify to that) and I would have never tried something like this. I guess this means I'm growing up.

Banana Splits - Texas Sized!

I very rarely save room for dessert. Usually when the waiter swings back toward our table and asks the famous question, "Anyone save room for dessert?" my face begins to shrivel up and I sadly respond, "No..."

I have a new philosophy. Since I never save room for dessert, sometimes it is just necessary to eat dessert first. I believe many people will agree that this is probably the best thing I've ever blogged about.

Let's back track a few months to spring break - hop in your delorean if you will. We took a little trip to Dallas to visit my best friend. It was a spectacular vacation and great to be with good friends. One afternoon before hitting up the pool we went to the most amazing grocery store, Central Market.

For example, they have TEXAS SIZED bananas for everyone: Not just for families ... but singles too!

After staring at the bananas and photographing them for way too long, I selected a bunch and continued on my merry way. I was eager to make a mini banana split and spring break felt like the perfect time to try it out!

Mini Banana Splits

• Bananas
• Chocolate
• Sprinkles
• Cherries
• Whip topping

Baked Pita Chips Not Included...

Here comes the easy part:

• Chop your bannas into thirds (or halves) and dip them into melted chocolate. 
• Roll the warm chocolate in sprinkles and let harden. 
• Top with whip cream and a cherry!
• Eat quickly or else the whip cream will melt!

Abby, the food model!

Tasty Treats!

The banana splits were tasty and a huuuuge mess! I'm not sure how food bloggers make their whip cream look so perfect, but ours was a hot mess. We HAD to eat them immediately. Which brings us back to my new philosophy of eating dessert first. Not a bad idea, huh?

A Few of My Favorites

... this week that is. My mind changes frequently. My brain has been overloaded this week and I'm ready for Friday. Anyone with me?

Enjoy a few things that made me smile this week, maybe they will do the same thing for you! :)

I made these delicious little treats for a Tuesday yummy and my first eMINTs session.

Cake Info 

You need:
pretzels
hugs (real and candy kind!)
candy corn

Melt the hugs on the pretzels for 3-minutes in the oven (275 degrees). Top with candy corn! Yum!


Now onto the smiles.. Enjoy!

We Hear It

Simply Indecisive

We Hear It

Yarsly

Tiny White Daisies

Somee Cards

Shirt Shovel

Talk about a hodge podge of smiles/laughter. I hope you giggled a bit reading my post. My seester and I are crafting this weekend, I can't wait to share our adventures!

Energy bites, say what?!

I vote we add one extra day in the weekend. We can call it "schmatterday". Then, I will have enough time to lay around and be productive.

Tonight, I tested out a fancy little recipe I pinned awhile ago on the oh-so-wonderful Pinterest. Smashed Peas and Carrots posted a recipe to make No-Bake Energy Bites. Yum!

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Smashed Peas & Carrots photo

These yummy bites are waiting for me in my fridge. I couldn't be more excited. Even without the coconut, they will be delightful!

In honor the Emmy's and quite possibly the greatest week of television, I shall leave you with my favorite television shows. Happy Sunday!

How I Met Your Mother

Photo Source

Glee

Pinterest Photo

Modern Family

The Office

The Sean Lewis

Finger Lickin' Good

I'm on a roll! I decided to participate in today's prompt on Clutter Free Classroom's blog.

Share a recipe that you often make during the school year. Bonus points will be awarded if your recipe freezes well or can be made in a crockpot.


Well well well.. have I got the best recipe for you? Yes, I do. That was a confusing sentence. Let me clear things up.. I've got a perfect dip to bring to your next staff carry in. 


I have made this Spicy Corn Dip on several occasions. Once, I made it for a weekly staff carry in and by the time my lunch shift rolled around at 12:15 ... it was gone! I had several people asking me for the recipe. The credit goes to my oh-so-wonderful All Recipes app on my iPhone. 

Delicious mixture of sweet and salty

Now, I won't make you wait any longer. The recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 (11 ounce) cans Mexican-style corn
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together sour cream, mayonnaise, corn, green onions, jalapeno chile peppers, green chile peppers and cheese. Ready to serve!

Is that easy or what? You literally dump everything in a bowl and viola! You've got a delicious dip that will have everyone drooling over.  Trust me, I speak from experience.

World Famous!

(or so I've been told!)

Yesterday, I made my dad's sloppy joes for Andy. According to my friends, it's the best. The absolute best sloppy joe they have ever eaten!

So, I'm going to share the recipe with you fine folks.

Just kidding! It's a secret family recipe. My lips are sealed.