Slow Cooker Soy Honey Chicken - A Crock Pot Favorite

I tried a new recipe (with a few changes of course) for slow cooker honey soy chicken and "oh my goodness" it was really good.   Please understand that I try new recipes every week and I only post my favorites on the blog.  Lots of recipes are good enough to think, "OK that made a good meal" but not good enough to make our repeat list.  A recipe really has to stand out for me to move it into our dinner rotation...and onto the blog.  This was that kind of recipe.  It excels not only because of the great flavors you get, but also because of how easy it is to get those flavors.  This is really a simple dish to prepare.  Plus it utilizes the crock pot, so that makes it perfect for Sunday dinners or busy weeknights.

Here's what you need:

Approximately 2.5 lbs of boneless skinless breasts or thighs.  (I used two of the packets of thighs from Costco, the ones that are portioned for easy freezing.  I love those things.  Also...FYI..I almost always use thighs in the slow cooker instead of breasts.  They cook more evenly, more quickly and stay more moist.)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
about 1/3 of a sweet onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2-3 tsp ginger minced
2 T vegetable oil
2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste, 2 tsp gives it a little kick...you might want to use less if you have small children but my 3 year old didn't have a problem)
3 tsp cornstarch dissolved in about 4 T water
sesame seeds if you like
salt and pepper

Rub the chicken with the salt and pepper on both sides
Place chicken in the slow cooker and cover with mixture of honey, soy sauce, ketchup, vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.

Cook on high for approximately 2-2.5 hours.  Remove chicken and cut into bite size pieces.  While you are cutting chicken, take cornstarch and dissolve in water.  Pour mixture into sauce in slow cooker and cook on high for 10-15 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.  Return chicken to slow cooker and stir to coat.

Serve over jasmine rice with sesame seeds sprinkled on top.  Snow peas or green beans make a great side dish.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Glow In The Dark Bouncy Ball Summer Wreath

I came up with this idea because I wanted to create a fun, summertime wreath using bright colors that would be visible at night as well as during the day.  Suddenly it hit me...glow in the dark bouncy balls!  I had seen gumball wreaths on Pinterest before and I figured this couldn't be much more difficult.  WRONG!  Let me just say that this wreath was a beast to put together...but that's only because I had nothing to go on but my own idea of how it should work and I made quite a few mistakes along the way.   However, you, my fine readers, will be the beneficiaries of my trial and error process.  Once I figured out how to do it, the wreath came together quite nicely.  So you should be able to whip one up in no time.

First, I ordered 288 glow-in-the-dark bouncy balls online.  I searched for quite a while to find the cheapest option available that also came in an assortment of colors.  I finally found what I was looking for on Amazon.  I bought two different sizes, small and large, to add texture and variety to the wreath.  (I did have extras.)  I then purchased a standard foam wreath form from the craft store.  About half way through my first attempt at attaching balls to the wreath form, I realized that the edges were going to look very bare.  So I found some cute ribbon that I had lying around and hot glued it to the inside edge and outside edge of the wreath form.  In hindsight, if I make another one of these, I think that I will first spray paint the entire form a cute color, like maybe bright yellow or pink, and then put the ribbon on, and then start attaching balls.  You learn as you go.

My next step was to get the balls onto the wreath form.  I decided to hot glue them....mostly because I hot glue everything.  I thought that it was working.  The balls appeared to be staying put and after about 2 hours I was done.  Imagine my horror when the following day, as I went to pick up the wreath, one quarter of the balls immediately fell off.  Another quarter fell off on the way back to the craft counter to assess the damage.  I realized that hot glue was not going to work.  So I decided to step it up a notch.  I found my husband's tube of crazy glue and went to town.  Believe it or not, the result was no better.

I was frustrated at this point and on the verge of scrapping my beloved glow in the dark wreath idea when my husband came up with a suggestion that saved the day.  He brought me some penny nails and suggested that I stick the sharp end of the nail into each ball and then push the dull end into the foam wreath form.  I eagerly tried this and it worked a little better, but some of the nails still fell out or dangled from the wreath at awkward lengths.  So I decided to try adding Gorilla glue to the equation and...VOILA...success!

So here's the process as we have now perfected it:  Take each bouncy ball and push a short nail with a small head into the ball about half way (sharp point goes into the ball.)  Have a bowl of water handy and roll the top of the ball in the water so it is damp.  (Gorilla glue requires one surface to be damp in order to bond properly.)  Squeeze a small drop of Gorilla glue onto the foam wreath and immediately press the ball with nail into the foam.  Hold firmly for about 30 seconds and then move on to the next ball.

Here is the result:

I think it looks fun, summery, festive, colorful and unique.  And the fact that it glows at night is just too cute!  In the end, I was glad that I took the time to figure it out.  Happy Glow In The Dark Bouncy Ball Wreath Making!

Orange Hibiscus Lemonade Recipe

I wanted to throw together something cool, refreshing and little out of the ordinary last night and this is what I came up with: Orange Hibiscus Lemonade.  It is very refreshing, full of flavor and perfect for summer parties or lounging by the pool.  As with most of my recipes, measurements aren't exact and you should experiment with quantities to taste.

Start by filling a medium sauce pan 3/4 full with water and bringing to a boil.  As soon as the water reaches a boil remove it from the heat and add 4 herbal tea bags.  I used Orange Spice by Celestial Seasonings, but you could use almost any other fruity type herbal tea, many of which also contain hibiscus.  Another good one to try would be Red Zinger.  I would avoid teas with more robust flavors like vanilla, almond, etc.

Allow the tea to steep for up to 30 minutes while you complete the next step.  Juice 3-4 lemons directly into another saucepan.  Add roughly equal parts sugar to your lemon juice  (approximately 1 1/2 - 2 cups)  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat.

Remove tea bags from tea and pour simple syrup into the tea.  Allow to cool then transfer to serving pitcher and dilute with cold water to taste.  That's it!

This orange hibiscus lemonade will sound and taste very impressive at a summer get together but is super easy to make.  Enjoy!

Pistachio Cupcakes

I am bringing to you another Lemmon tested, Lemmon approved recipe.  These pistachio cupcakes are some of the prettiest, tastiest cupcakes I've ever baked...and, even better, they are also some of the easiest.

Ingredients:
(2) 3.4 oz. boxes Jello pistachio pudding mix
1 box yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 cups cold milk (separated)
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Approximately 20-30 pistachios

Get started by preheating the oven to 325 degrees on a true convection bake setting (350 if you don't have convect bake.)

Cupcakes:
Whisk together 1 box pudding mix with 1 1/2 cups cold milk.  Gradually add cake mix and whisk until completely blended.  Add vegetable oil and mix thoroughly.   Pour batter into lined cupcake tins.  Fill each tin approximately 3/4 full.  I was able to bake 15 cupcakes.

Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.

Frosting:
Whip together 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup milk, 1 box pistachio pudding mix, and 1/4 cup powdered sugar until peaks form.  Spoon frosting into gallon size Ziplock bag and refrigerate until ready to use.  Chop pistachios and set aside until needed.

Wait for cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.  Snip corner of Ziplock bag and pipe frosting onto cupcakes.  Sprinkle chopped nuts onto the top of each cupcake.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

These cupcakes are great for company because they look and taste a lot more time consuming than they really are.  Enjoy!

Cherry Limeade Sandwich Cookies Recipe

These cookies are very similar to the strawberry lemonade sandwich cookies that I posted a few days ago.  However, when I made these cherry limeade cookies I altered the recipe for the cookie a little bit in order to try to get a little softer, more moist texture on the cookie itself.  It worked.  The recipe below is pretty yummy if I do say so myself!

Cherry Sugar Cookie:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup (1/2 stick) shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more to roll cookies in)
Coarse red decorator sugar
1 3oz. box Black Cherry Jello mix (I couldn't find a 3 oz. size for Black Cherry, so I poured the 6 oz. package into a measuring cup and poured half into the mix)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons milk

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees or 375 degrees using a true convection setting (recommended.)

Begin by creaming the shortening, softened butter, sugar and Jello mix.  When ingredients are well mixed add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Next take the baking soda and, in a small bowl, stir together with the milk.  Add this to your mixture along with the baking powder and mix well.  Finally, add remaining dry ingredients and stir slowly at first then on medium for about 3 minutes.

Unlike many sugar cookie doughs, this dough does not need to be refrigerated before manipulating.

Lightly grease two cookie sheets.  Prepare a bowl with granulated sugar.  Spoon dough out of the bowl in roughly consistent amounts using a spoon and roll the ball of dough in the sugar.  Then place dough on the cookie sheets.

Once all balls are down, take the bottom of a glass and press the cookies to about 1/4" thickness.  Sprinkle red sugar over the top of each cookie.  Bake for 6 minutes.  Allow to thoroughly cool before frosting.

Lime Butter Frosting:

1/2 of a 2 lb. bag of Confectioner's Sugar (approximately 3 3/4 level cups)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) well softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 shake salt
1 tablespoon milk
zest from 2 limes
juice from 2 limes

Mix all ingredients together in a mixer on low until just blended and then on medium for 3 minutes or until fluffy.  Spoon mixture into gallon size Ziplock bag and refrigerate for approximately 15-30 minutes.

When cookies have completely cooled, snip the tip off the Ziplock bag and squeeze frosting onto the unsugared side of half of the cookies.  Lightly press the other cookies on top to form the sandwich.  Refrigerate cookies that are not immediately eaten in an airtight container.  They are even better on day 2!


Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies Recipe

This may be the perfect summer cookie recipe.  It's that good.  These things are incredibly addictive.  Bursting with flavor and oh so pretty...don't say I didn't warn you.

Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies:

Strawberry Cookie:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
(1) 3 oz. box of Strawberry Jello
1/2 cup (1 stick) shortening
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees or use true convection setting at 375 degrees (I highly recommend convection for these cookies if you have that option available.)

Start by creaming the shortening, butter (well softened first), sugar, Jello and vanilla.  After these ingredients are creamed then add both eggs and beat well.  Finally, add remaining dry ingredients.  Unlike many sugar cookie recipes, this batter does not need to chill before manipulating it.

Prepare a bowl of granulated sugar.  Scoop dough from bowl in reasonably uniform amounts (I used a melon-baller.)  Roll ball of dough in bowl of granulated sugar and place ball on lightly greased cookie sheet.  After all balls are laid on the sheet, use the bottom of a glass to flatten dough to approximately 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.   Finally, go back over the cookies and sprinkle coarse pink sugar over the tops of the cookies.

Bake for 6 minutes.

Remove cookies and cool thoroughly on the sheet.  While cooling, you can make the frosting.

 Lemonade Butter Frosting:

1/2 of a 2lb. bag of Confectioner's Sugar (approximately 3 3/4 level cups)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) well softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 shake salt
1 tablespoon milk
Zest from 1 1/2 lemons
Juice from 1 1/2 lemons

Mix all ingredients together on low until well blended and then on medium for approximately 3 minutes or until fluffy.  Spoon mixture into gallon size Ziplock bag and refrigerate for approximately 15-30 minutes.

When cookies are completely cooled, cut tip from Ziplock bag and pipe frosting onto inside of each cookie, adding another cookie on top to create the sandwich.  Once you create the sandwiches, you should refrigerate the cookies and store in an airtight container.  I thought that they tasted better the day after.

There you go!  I think these cookies just taste like summer...let me know what you think!

Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Meatballs

I am a huge fan of Sandra Lee and her semi-homemade cooking show on Food Network.  Don't get me wrong, I'm also a fan of completely from scratch cooking, but sometimes I have to choose between completely homemade and occasionally sleeping.  I also like to indulge in semi-homemade because it works well with couponing.  Frozen meats tend to go on sale with coupons more often and for deeper discounts than fresh meat.  For example, I got the meatballs for this recipe on a 2 for 1 sale with a coupon to boot. 

You will need:

1 bag of frozen meatballs (this recipe calls for a 2.4lb. bag of approximately 76 meatballs)
Jasmine rice
2 cups ketchup
1 1/4 cups raspberry chipotle sauce (from Costco...a lot of things can be substituted for this: BBQ sauce, grape jelly, or even hoisin sauce)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic (or one clove finely minced fresh garlic)
2 teaspoons jarred or "tubed" minced lemon grass 
2 teaspoons jarred or "tubed" minced ginger

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.  Place the frozen meatballs in the crockpot/slow cooker and pour the sauce over the meatballs.  Stir together.  Set the crockpot/slow cooker on high and cook for 1.5 - 2 hours or until warm.  Serve over jasmine rice.