I use the crock pot a lot in the summer months. In the desert, summer runs from late April through late October.
Some of you are experiencing fall right now where you life. Here in southern Arizona it's cooling off to the 90's, but I am still avoiding using the oven and heating up the whole kitchen at dinner time.
Introducing Sriracha Pineapple Chicken. In the crock pot.
This stuff goes on buns, on a salad, rolled in a tortilla, or over pasta or rice. The serving suggestion is with guacamole. Do not skip unless you don't do avocados.
If sriracha sauce is new to you, take the plunge. After seeing it for years on tables at Asian restaurants, I bought it for the first time about six months ago when a recipe called for it. My husband and daughter instantly had a new favorite condiment for EVERYTHING - including burgers, eggs, Asian or Mexican food, etc.
Survey shows that 5 out of 5 Elliotts have declared this a "makeover." Translation: officially in the rotation!
Sriracha Pineapple Chicken 
Adapted from Here
 |
| sriracha sauce |
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion, diced finely
3/4 c ketchup
2 T sriracha sauce
1/4 c crushed pineapple
3 T pineapple juice
1/4 c brown sugar
1 T rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 t garlic powder
2 med avocados
1 T lime juice
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
Trim the chicken if needed. Cut each piece in half lengthwise (helps it cook more evenly and yields shorter pieces of shredded chicken). Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Place chicken and onions along the bottom.
Whisk together the ketchup, sriracha, pineapple w/juice, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce & garlic to make sauce. Pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Place chicken on cutting board and shred using two forks.
Place chicken back into pot and stir until coated. If it's too runny, just drain some liquid off.
Mash together avocados with lime, chili powder and salt to make the guac.
Serve as desired, i.e. serve chicken on bun with guacamole.
Tip: I often assemble crock pot meals the night before and store in the frig overnight. Then in the morning, it's plug in and go!
My oldest child is 12.5 years old, so naturally a book called How to Really Love Your Teen caught my attention.
Dr. D. Ross Campbell wrote this book based on his experiences of not only being the father of four grown children, but also on years of being a psychiatrist serving adults, adolescents and children.
What did I learn? Here's a few noteworthy tips:
1) Give Unconditional Love - love your teen no matter what he look like, no matter how he acts, no matter if he makes the honor roll, varsity team or first string in band, no matter which friends he chooses... we get the point.
On the converse, conditional love may make your teen feel insecure, damage his self-image and prevent him from developing more mature behavior.
2) Parents need to remember that:
- teenagers are children.
- teenagers will usually act like teenagers.
- much of teenage behavior is unpleasant.
Question raised at a recent middle school parent orientation: The speaker said something like "Let me see a show of hands of those who loved junior high, can say it was the best time of your life and would go back if they could." Not surprisingly, no hands went up. Hmm...
3) Most important question on a teen's mind: Do You Love Me? Even if they don't know it. This question is asked primarily through behavior, rather than with words.
4) Teens test their parents. Don't overreact emotionally and maintain self-control. Do you respect someone who responds with a tantrum? They test us with information designed to upset or irritate us to see if we can be trusted with what's on their minds. Recognize the importance of "Oh, by the way" - they are asking if we are in the right frame of mind can handle their issue.
5) Teens need training in how to handle anger. Anger is normal and occurs in every human being. Encourage them to bring their anger to you and praise them for doing so. Two serious long-term affects of not handling anger include distorting their personality and interfering in current and future relationships. Passive-Aggressive behavior is worst form of anger. The majority of organizational problems are personnel related as so few people learned how to deal with anger appropriately.
6) Even if they don't know that they do or act like they do, teens continue to need love, affection, assurance and care as never before. Yet their biological drive for independence is growing. No wonder it's tough. Give appropriate eye contact and physical contact.
7) In setting limits: it's better to start more strict and restrictive. If you begin with being "broadminded/reasonable/understanding," you have only one way to go when she pushes the boundaries and that's to be bad guy. Starting more restrictive, you can afford to be positive and grant privileges (the good guy) and reward your teen for taking increased responsibility.
8) Be civil to all of your teen's friends, even if you don't like them. If you are, he will most likely bring more friends around and you'll avoid pushing your teen towards them and away from you.
9) Why are teens so apathetic, lack initiative and poorly motivated? They need hope in the future. We need to pass on determination, hope & encouragement. We're not the first generation to experience problems. Most of us haven't even lived through a world war or The Depression or The Holocaust. Too many of us yield to pessimistic influences. Pessimism is not the teaching of Christ. His message is one of hope and joy. Read Mark 13:32-33. Watch and pray. Parents must possess a solid foundation in order to pass it along to their children.
10) Teenagers are children in transition, not young adults. Their needs, including emotional ones, are those of children.
11) Evidence indicates that the home is the stronger than any other influence in determining how happy, secure and stable teenagers are; how they relate to adults, peers or children how confident they are in themselves, and how they respond to new or strange situations.
Many of these suggestions and ideas from Dr. Campbell can be used well before the teen years.
To read more, find the book here
I come from a long line of excellent bakers. Growing up, I remember eating my Great Grandma Schutte's date cookies and sugar cookies, dipped in hot tea in a fancy cup in her tiny kitchen.
Cookies are an expression of love in my Dutch/German heritage. My parental grandma, Dorothy, carried on the baking tradition. My Grandma Geneva is still baking love (albeit less often) at 91 years of age. Whenever I get to see her, she has homemade cookies ready - as does my Mom.
When I learned to bake cookies as a girl, my Dad tried them and told me, "Keep baking these and you'll find a good husband one day." Go figure, I married a man with a sweet tooth!
One of my many favorites is Monster Cookies. Have you had them? They have no flour, but instead oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chips and M & M's. How could that go wrong, right?
I believe they got their name from the size of the undertaking with this monstrous recipe, resulting in spending a few hours baking cookies.
Then, I heard about Monster Bars. BARS? My Aunt Pam was visiting and said she always makes them. Bake for 17 minutes and you're done? No taste compromised? Revolutionary!
These will please crowds wherever you go. Football tailgate? Check. Office potluck? Check? Taking dessert to friends? Check. A healthy treat for the kids lunch? Well, maybe not actually healthy, but less preservatives than anything individually packaged and there's oatmeal and peanut butter, after all...
Make them festive by buying the seasonal M & M's: fall, Christmas, spring, etc.
Monster Bars
printable copy
1/2 c margarine
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c peanut butter
2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
4 1/2 c oatmeal
3/4 c chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate)
3/4 c M&M'S
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together the margarine, sugars, eggs, peanut butter, baking soda and vanilla.
Add the oatmeal and blend with a mixer just until coated.
Stir in the chips and candy by hand.
Spray a large sheet cake pan (12x17) with cooking spray. I usually sprinkle a few more M&M's on top. Bake for 17 minutes.
Note: They will not look done in the middle but will set up as they cool.
Share the baking love and enjoy!
Mention hummus and you'll get mixed reactions. Some of us love every flavor, others don't care for it at all and many are in-between.
According
to Wikipedia, hummus is an Arabic word meaning, simply, chickpeas.
Traditional hummus is made with a combination of chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste),
lemon & garlic.
Store-bought hummus is good, but if you haven't made it by yourself, now is the time!
Making hummus is as easy as putting ingredients in the food processor and turning it on.
Talk
about a quick, healthy snack. Perfect to tuck in the kids' lunch,
to work as a mid-morning snack, to use as a sandwich spread, to tame a late night craving or to
serve to guests.
Hummus makes me me eat more raw veggies, especially if I don't have pita chips or crackers next to it. Unfortunately, I always prefer pita chips over pepper strips, mini-toasts over a carrot, a candy bar over an apple, etc. I could fill in a lot of examples here.
Moving right along...
I'm intentionally not sharing recipes with tahini paste in this post. If you haven't made hummus before, these are two great starter recipes for you and your family. I love tahini and use it regularly, but it does add a strong sesame flavor. The other reason is that the cheapest place to buy tahini is at specialty food store in larger quantities - and you might not want to commit right away. Try these recipes first and then add tahini next time.
With either of these, instead of canned beans, you may also cook your own. Use some and freeze some. More info on this in a previous post.
One of my favorites is this first hummus recipe. I
clipped it out of a magazine years ago (which I can't even reference as I don't remember which one) and have made many times. Originally, it called for non-fat yogurt, but I now substitute the Greek variety and have listed both as options.
Chickpea Dip/Hummus
Printable Copy
3 cloves garlic (use 1-2 gloves if you like milder)
¼ c plain low-fat or Greek yogurt
1 T lemon juice
2-4 t olive oil
¼ t salt
¼ t paprika
¼ t pepper
15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained
Drop garlic through chute with
processor on and process until minced.
Add rest of ingredients and process until smooth. Start with 2 t oil and add more if desired to preferred consistency.
Serve with raw veggies (carrots, pepper/cucumber/zucchini slices, snap peas) or pita chips.
My kids' favorite hummus flavor is Sweet Corn & Jalapeno. The texture is "fluffier" than traditional hummus and does not call for any garlic. And yes, it's naturally a bit sweeter, especially if you buy super sweet corn.
Sweet Corn & Jalapeno Hummus
Printable Copy
adapted from here
2 medium jalapenos, seeds removed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 c sweet corn, yellow or white, I use frozen
3-4 T olive oil
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Add chickpeas, corn and peppers to the food processor. Blend until
combined, then slowly stream in olive oil with the processor running.
Add in salt and pepper, then blend once more. Taste and season more if
desired.
Top with additional corn or peppers if desired and a drizzle of
olive oil. Serve with crackers, tortilla chips or raw veggies.
Let me know how it goes ~ Happy Snacking!
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