Category: Food

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Food

Cheez-it Chicken

I saw this or a similar recipe online somewhere at some point kind of recently {how’s that for specific?!}. Of course Sunday night when I went to start cooking, I couldn’t find it. Thanks to pinterest & it’s search function, I found this blog post. I altered the recipe some, so I’m posting what I did.

Cheez It Chicken

Ingredients

1 1/3 c cheez its, crushed

chicken breasts, boneless skinless & cut into strips

honey mustard

non-stick spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 475. Place aluminum foil in lipped baking pan. Spray it with non-stick spray {I skipped this & regretted it}.

Place crackers in a bowl & smash them as much as possible.

Squirt out honey mustard into another bowl. I didn’t measure & added more as needed.

Coat chicken with honey mustard then crackers. This is messy but easiest if you just use your hands. Repeat for each strip, placing them on the pan afterwards.

Spray chicken with non-stick spray. Cook for 15-20 mins, flipping once, or until golden brown.

My husband’s paranoid of raw chicken. We cooked 20 minutes & as you can see some of the bigger cheez-it pieces were burnt. I dipped mine into BBQ sauce & ketchup {I’m like a two year old that loves to dip}. I liked it plain or with BBQ sauce. I think the internet also recommended dipping in honey mustard.

We started with veggies & chips with Wholly Guacamole {thanks BlogHer coupons} & then I served the chicken with Spanish rice since that’s what was in the pantry. It was a great, easy but still kinda-made-from-scratch meal.

Categories
Food

Burgers anyone?!

So the food treats here have been lacking recently. Not holding out on y’all. I just haven’t cooked or baked much recently. First it was my work traveling, then just being out of habit, then it being hot out & Jason working late, but yeah I think it’s mostly lazy.

I’ve been trying to do better, but admittedly, most of our “cooked-at-home” meals recently have come from store {aka rotisserie chicken} or freezer {pizza, pasta bag}.

But since this was cooking-at-home for us, I thought I’d share Tuesday’s dinner. Kraft Caesar pasta salad mix {on sale for 94 cents at Food Lion} & burgers. Angus Bubba burgers cooked in the skillet for Jason & microwaved black bean burgers for me. Both topped with fresh tomato slices & served on 100 calorie white wheat buns. The pasta salad was enough for us & then again as a side for lunches.

Easy, simple, pretty quickly put together home-made meal.

[flickr id=”5938311987″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Categories
Food Photography

Memorial Day Weekend Saturday

My immediate family {minus the husband who had to work} gathered at OIB late Friday night. Nana & I caught up on the final Oprah’s waiting for the others.

[flickr id=”5791538057″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Saturday morning, Beth, Mom & I went for a three mile walk where even a little rain didn’t slow our strides & chats. We were at the beach from 11-430 staying chilled with Sunset Slush & Firefly pink lemonade. Hungry & a little pink from the sun, I made Jenny’s Sundried Tomato Bagel appetizers {gotta love a 4 ingredient app}. [flickr id=”5792096284″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Thanks to call ahead seating, we walked right to our table at Inlet View. [flickr id=”5792096794″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] [flickr id=”5791538767″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Mom, Beth, Steven & I waiting until after we’d ordered dinner to check out the top deck. [flickr id=”5792097360″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

I loved the company, the food, the whole view & those great chairs. [flickr id=”5792097482″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Categories
Food

Forest City~ home away from home

Since Monday, the  Holiday Inn Express in Forest City, NC had been called “home”. That & the local NCFB claims office.

In between working & watching DWTS & AI finales {yay Scotty!}, we’ve eaten our way through Rutherford Co. Monday was Wendy’s (apple pecan chicken salad) & Chili’s {we stuck with what we knew}.

Tuesday we branched out to “downtown” FC to Smith’s Drugs. It’s an ole timey drug store {just like the ones from your grandparents’ days}. I think the prices hadn’t changed since then either as my grilled pimiento cheese sandwich with pasta salad & tea was around $5! [flickr id=”5779453300″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] And while we were eating, I was able to get my Femara prescription filled. We met an agent who’s about to retire & his family at the Flat Rock Cracker Barrel for dinner that night. Go try the summer Strawberry salad while it’s still on the menu.

Gwen & I ventured back downtown on Wednesday for lunch. We walked around checking out antique stores, furniture places & a great local independent pet store {who gave me a few food recommendations for crazy Moekitty} before settling on eating at Ole Blue’s BBQ. [flickr id=”5779453998″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] I enjoyed a pulled chicken sandwich & probably the best mac n cheese I’d had in a long time. [flickr id=”5779454654″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] We met an agent & his wife at their son’s restaurant, The Water Oak, for dinner Wednesday night. Go check it out online & if you’re ever in this part of NC, go! I had a cup of the best she crab soup outside of coastal SC as well as Scallops with risotto & asparagus. [flickr id=”5778910493″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

After spending $$ out Wednesday, we went for cheap & close by Thursday. We’d heard great things about Cafe at the Mall & I had the best sandwich {so good that I got it again to go on our way home Friday}. Although we’d sworn we would work out every day, Thursday was the first time we got the chance. I kicked my own butt running on the treadmill. We ran out in the rain to Walmart & the local Mexican restaurant, Mi Pueblito which was featuring $1.25 bud light drafts for dinner. [flickr id=”5778911101″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] Then I *had* to finish my box wine {because you know you can’t leave wine behind!}.

I all but finished Unbroken this week staying up until 2 am Wednesday night because I couldn’t put it down. After packing up I read a little more Thursday & hope to finish it this weekend {I’ll post a review after book club  next week}. We drove back in the rain today & soon I’m on my way to meet up with my family in OIB.

I have to say, I wasn’t expecting much out of Forest City & it was definitely better than I thought! My FB coworkers were so nice & I’d definitely volunteer to work there again if there are any future storms.

Categories
Food

Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes {revisited}

I’ve never done this before, but this recipe is the number one search that brings random people to this blog. Hi! 🙂 {My posts about my Lilly Pulitzer scarf are a close seconds.}

I relooked at the cupcake post this weekend. Just mentioning them, Jason said you have to make those cupcakes! I thought my coworkers might enjoy them too. So after realizing I had all the ingredients {minus the lime} on hand, I decided to make them Tuesday night. I’m reposting because {1} the original photos are horrible {2} the fonts weird & {3} it’s a three year old post!

So if you followed me back in 2008 {praise you!}, you can ignore this post {or come over & have a cupcake}. I have to say they’re just as good as I remembered! I know I’ll make them a few more times this spring/summer.

Ingredients
box of white cake mix
can of frozen margarita/daiquiri mix, thawed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 egg whites
1 tbsp lime zest

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine cake mix, margarita mix, egg whites, & oil in stand mixer. Stir in zest.

Filled well greased or cupcake papered muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake 22-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. I let cool for a few minutes in the pans before transferring to cooling rack.

Lime Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
1 stick butter, softened
1 pkg cream cheese {light ok}, softened
2 tbsp lime juice {I squeezed the post-zested limes}
1 tsp lime zest
4-5 c powdered sugar

Cream softened butter & cream cheese, juice & zest until light & fluffy. Add 4 c sugar 1 c at a time. I ended up doing 4.5 c sugar.

We don’t love a ton of icing on our cupcakes so this icing recipe will be enough for making 2 sets of the cupcakes. {I froze the unused half.} I also attempted to “professionally” ice these babies. But later last night decided they looked weird & smoothed them out.

These cupcakes were dessert last night, breakfast this morning & again dessert tonight. I’m taking them to work tomorrow & to save us from eating all 23!