This meal makes enough for a small country.  Adam and I had two big bowls and I am freezing the rest.  Freezer “take-out” is my kind of take-out. Total hands-on time for this dish was less than 10 minutes.  The hardest part was not slicing my finger on the top of the cans.  I failed at that.  If you fail at that, beware of the lime juice later.  Ouchie.

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 3 whole chicken breasts, frozen or fresh
• 3 (15 oz) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15 oz) cans whole corn, undrained
• 2 (10 oz) cans Rotel, undrained
• 2 (1 oz) packets Ranch dressing mix
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese or Neufchâtel
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Garnish:

• Tortilla Chips
• Limes
• Cheddar Cheese
• Lime
• Hot Sauce (If you’re feeling really saucy)

Instructions:

1. Place the chicken in the bottom of a large crock pot. Add the beans, corn, Rotel, Ranch dressing mix, onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, cumin. Stir together.
2. Add the cream cheese on top and put the lid on.
3. Turn the crockpot to low and cook for 6-8 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through. (Or do it on high, about 4-6 hours.)
4. Remove the chicken and shred with 2 forks – it may be tender enough to mix all the ingredients and shred the chicken in one motion!
5. Use a spoon to stir in the shredded chicken and the cream cheese (which should be melted).
6. Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.
7. Serve with tortilla chips, lime juice, avocado, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese. You can also serve this as a dip with tortilla chips.

*Inspired by Recipes Cookbook

I told you… I’m going to get mercury poisoning.  But, salmon was on sale and I got a huge piece that I broke up.  One thing Adam will never complain about is back-to-back salmon nights.  If back-to-back steak nights aren’t available.

Which… living in this landing spot townhouse, while we build, we don’t have a grill.  I MISS STEAK.  Warning… I’m going to have a whole week of steak posts as soon as we move into our house.

And yes… I realize I haven’t shared that yet.  We’re building a house!!  Is that not the most grown-up thing you’ve ever heard?  I mean, I had no idea there were so many colors of grout, versions of the color grey, beige, white.  We should be in by October – so until then, I won’t be grilling… since I have no grill.   I pretty much live in third world country.

So hopefully summer is in full effect wherever you are.  During the summer months, I often feel like I’m going to give Jeremy Piven a run for his money in the mercury poisoning department.  I just CAN’T STOP with the seafood for dinner on these hot nights.  And when you add the light and bright ingredients of tomato, basil and burrata it’s game over.

This dish is really just a way for me to make another version of my favorite salad, but it’s like a great article of clothing.  If you love it, buy it in every color.  Kind of like I did with Express’s editor pants in college.  Literally… every. single. color.

When I was in high school, I LOVED General Tso’s chicken so much.  During one summer of lifeguarding, I ate it almost daily.  I thought since it was chicken, it was healthy.  Well, let’s just say that by the end of the summer that swimsuit was a hell of a lot tighter than it was on Memorial Day.  ”If you can’t tone it, tan it,” was in full effect.  Since then, thank goodness I learned the error of my ways, but that does not make my love for take-out Chinese any less strong.  So, I’m constantly on the search for fake-out take-out that’s not going to put me in a moo-moo by summer’s end.

I found these Seasame-Soy meatballs on Cooking Light, and then I twisted them up a bit and added some new sides that were delish.

I’m pretty sure if you add “buffalo” to anything, my mouth is going to start watering like a lunatic.  Since I’ve been an incredible slacker when it comes to sharing recipes and life here… so much for resolutions… I thought I’d come back strong with these little bitties.  This dish is ready in 45 mins start to finish and you get to get your hands a little dirty.  Remember, you can adjust the ratios for the sauce according to your love for buffalo sauce. Which, if we’re going to continue to be friends… should be strong.

So, I’ve got to admit, now that I’ve joined society and am no longer working from home, putting together meals that take longer than about 45 mins (start to finish) gets a little tricky.  However, I’m still bound and determined to put healthy, yummy meals on the table at least 4 nights a week.  In honor of this new chapter (and cooking learning curve), I’m starting a new series – “MM” aka Minute Meals.  I’ll be adding “30MM” 0r “45MM” to recipes that are under 1 hour, from start to finish.  Remember, the right side bar has all kinds of categories in case you’re looking for something specific.  You’ll also now find “30MM” and “45MM” – so if you’ve got tighter timelines, you can hop in there and check out some great quickies. (Side note: Did that make you think of inappropriate things?  My mind is always in the gutter.)

Geez Court, GET ON WITH THE MEAL.  30MM, 3 hour long story.  Story. Of. My. Life.

Ya’ll, we’ve officially been Austin residents for three weeks.  My how time flies when you’re eating BBQ.  I thought I’d take the southern food festival down a notch and fix up something fresh.  These California Greek Chicken Bowls are delish and can be customized.  Hopefully my version will give you a good launching point to create your own:

Have you ever heard the saying, “The things you own, end up owning you”?  I heard that once from one of my Southern California hippie friends who shared a studio apartment and had lawn chairs for furniture.  I might have looked down my nose at that comment a few days ago, but I suddenly understand it all.  After these last two weeks, I have understood so clearly the pros of only having a lawn chair couch and a dream.  You guys, WE HAVE SO MUCH F’N STUFF.  We’re close to the end, but we have been unpacking, organizing, setting-up for daaaaaaaaays.

I’m finally in a place where I can take a few moments to make some dinner and share the ridiculousness of my life with you (albeit, dinner was eaten on TV trays surrounded by packing paper and boxes).  But regardless, it’s good to be back in the saddle.  I wanted to share a recipe I made right before we left San Diego when we had a few friends over.  It was bright and super flavorful.  A perfect Friday evening meal with your lova or your favorite ‘Bachelor’-watching gal pal.

Happy New Year!  I hope your new year is off to a great start.  I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch for so long, but I’ve been working on something big that’s been taking up allllll my time.  Drumroll….

I got a new job and Adam and I are in the process of packing up our lives and moving to Austin, Tx!  I could not be more excited for this new chapter, but I must say leaving my old company, with which I’ve worked for over eight years has been very bittersweet. So… we have a couple more days here in San Diego, surrounded by boxes and I thought I’d take the opportunity to put together my list of 14 in 14… 14 things I want to do in 2014.  I think rather than making one big resolution, I’ll try to accomplish 14 things – some big, some small – but all list worthy.  So…

1. Start a new job
2. Move to Austin, TX
3. Blog at least 3x a week (I mean, c’mon.)
4. Talk to my mom on the phone every other day
5. Plan a BIG international travel trip
6. Get Gidget groomed more regularly (gurl be lookin’ ridic sometimes…)
7. Go skydiving
8. Begin the home buying process
9. Make a new best friend at work
10. Go FULL Paleo for one month
11. Go to a food blogger/healthy living conference
12. Go hiking/Barton Springs-ing with Adam
13. SECRET (I gotta have a couple of these)
14. SECRET (for reallllll)

I have a bunch of yummy recipes to share that I’ll post on my road trip out to Austin in a couple days.  Send good thoughts and please share any spots I should look  at stopping on my way out from San Diego to Austin!

This salad, oh em geeee, this salad.  Not only does it go perfectly with my Christmas-themed tablescape (weirdo-alert), but it is packed full of everything you need, as well as some of my favorite ingredients.  We’ve got a superfood, healthy carbs, fresh veggies, calcium, protein and flavor for days.  This would be a great lunch, light dinner OR you could pair it with a small skirt steak (like we did tonight) for an extra punch of protein.

You could probably do this with regular mozzarella, but then you’ll miss the creamy goodness that burrata provides.  If you’ve never had burrata before – it’s a fresh mozzerella with a mix of cream and mozzerella in the middle.  It’s like what Maya says, “When you know better, you do better.”  So now that you know better… try some burrata.

So, I’m insane and this weekend I spent the better part of Sunday decorating the house for… (wait for it)… Christmas. Yep.  I just love how festive and cozy the house feels with all the little lights, the tree, the candles… the smells.  I go back to the East Coast for work and family so early in December that I feel like I deserve the extra couple weeks on the front end, since I’m going to miss out at the end of December. Naw’ Mean?

I took Adam with me to get a tree and some ornaments and we almost left with a Santa toilet bowl cover.  I left him alone for 32 seconds and by the time I’d found him again, he had a gigantic bow for the front of his car, a Christmas-themed soap dispenser and the toilet bowl cover. And he’s Jewish.  Who knew he had such a warm place in his heart for the bearded fat man with the reindeer sleigh??

Two out three of those decorations went back on the shelf and the huge bow is now adorning the top of our tree (thanks to this month’s Better Homes and Gardens for the inspo). I’m SUCH a Scrooge.

I made a healthy dinner casserole tonight that I threw out, it was soooo bland (I hate when a new recipe just falls on its face!).  So, instead of wasting your time with that, I thought I might share some holiday trends that I’m loving this year in case you need some inspiration, when you start your decorating (like a normal person, AFTER Thanksgiving):

Unconventional Trees:

No room for a big tree (or want to add a tree to smaller room or office?)

Via

 Make your room glow even in the mid afternoon with shimmering gold garland and accents

Via

A great girly tree for a man-free home

Via

Unconventional tree toppers- Obviously, I’m a big fan of the bow this year, it’s cheap and it really “ties the room together” – muwahaha, get it??

Via

DIY Decorations:

What a crafty little way to Deck The Halls? (step-by-step instructions and custom print-outs at the link below)

Via 

DIY done elegantly

Via

Spell it out

Via

The Next Level of Table Decorations

Utilize your chandelier & an elegant color scheme to create a moment at your table

Via

Or if you don’t have a chandelier – make one!

Via

Get crafty with your place settings

Via

You don’t have to spend a ton of cookie dough to take your home to the next level.  I hope this helps inspire you a bit.  What are some of your favorite trends this year???