Chicken Tacos

One night I couldn't figure out what to make for supper.  Being lazy I decided to just dump some things together and put it in the oven.  An hour later I shredded the chicken and my family LOVED the meal.

1 or 2 frozen chicken breast
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can green chilies
1 small can tomato sauce (or at least I think that is how much it was, I had a little leftover homemade tomato sauce in the fridge.)
Taco seasoning (I make my own with chili powder, garlic powder and onion salt)

Back 350 degrees for an hour.  After an hour or more using 2 forks shred the chicken breast.

Then my family prefers corn tortilla fried in a little oil.  Top with lettuce, sour cream, salsa or whatever you like on tacos.

Makes good leftovers as soup for lunch also!

Menu Planning

A while back I started a 3 ring binder with all my daily stuff.  It's not overly impressive so I am NOT going to take any pictures of it.  But it consists to list for each day, calender, menu, weekly to do, and goals in plastic sheets to I can cross them off.  I'm a BIG cross off my list kind of person. 

Then on pintrest the other day I saw a menu board.  Since the kids are always asking me what's for supper each night I thought it might be a quick and fun project!  And it was.  Zeke has the influenza so wants to be held all the time, so I stuck him in the Ergo and worked on this project :)

First I started with a cheap frame that I had bought some framed art in years ago from Walmart.  Sorted through my scrapbook paper until I found a sheet that I thought went with my red, tan and green apple kitchen.

Cut the paper to fit into my frame.

Cut down a chocolate box to fit for my meals in.  Turn it inside out since it was white inside.  And hot glued it to my paper.

Then I hot glued my clothes pins for each day of the week.  And my MENU sign.

Finished project, it's a little on the small size but cost me nothing since all things I had around the house :)

Then in Bible study a few week ago we transformed some yard sticks into art centers with construction paper, Modge Podge, and clothes pins.  So I hung that next to my menu planner and hung our holiday cards from people on it.

Not sure if I like where I hung it but....

I have my own mini command center! 

Chocolate Cake

This is the favorite cake at my house.  Today is Ezra's half birthday and he wanted to take a treat to school tomorrow.  This is the cake he asked for. 

The one I normally make for everyone's birthday cakes.  And I am told to NOT make a boxed cake.  Well this cake is so easy and pretty much fool proof (minus me not being able to get any cake out of a pan for decorating!) there is no need to use a box of cake mix.

Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees grease and flour pan of choice.  I've done either 2 9" round, a 9x13 and 24 cupcakes with 9 mini cupcakes.

2.  Mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.  Mix together for 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water which makes the batter very thin.

3.  Pour into prepared pan/cupcakes.

Cupcakes fill between 2/3 to 3/4 full.

4.  Bake
        2 9" round pans 30 to 35 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan.
        9x13 pan 35 to 40 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan.
        30 cupcakes 22 to 25 minutes.

5.  Frost when cooled.

Frosting

1/2 cup butter or shortening
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla



Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa and vanilla.  Add powdered sugar and milk a little of each until you have the thickness you want.

Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

Pizza!!!!

For New Years Eve we had a pizza party!!!

My regular pizza is pretty fool proof and normally doesn't have much for leftovers :)  And I even made gluten free pizza from scratch.  So figure I will share my recipe.  Sadly I didn't get pictures taken of my steps.  Or the finished product besides only lonely piece of regular pizza.  Next time I make it I will try to get step by step.

Pizza Crust
3 cups flour
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1.   Add 1 cup warm water to bowl, add 1 1/2 tsp yeast and 1 tsp sugar to dissolve and start to bubble.  Let sit 5 minutes.

2. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 cup oil to the yeast water.  Then mix in 3 cups of flour.

3.  Form dough into a ball in the ball.  Then put onto counter and kneed 10 times.

4.  Put back into bowl and cover with a wet dishcloth and let sit 15-20 minutes to raise.

5.  Grease cookie sheet or 2 round pizza pans.

6.  Take dough and spread onto the pans.

7.  Add tomato sauce (then add pizza seasoning to it) or pizza sauce.  Top with mozzarella cheese, other cheese, and topping of your choice.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until dough is lightly browned on the edges.

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1 1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 tb oil
1 egg
3/4 cup warm water

1.  Add 3/4 cup warm water to 2 1/2 tsp yeast and 1/2 sugar.  Let sit for 5 minutes to dissolve and start bubbling.

2.  Add egg, 2 tb oil and mix together.

3.  Add brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour and xanthan gum to the mixture.

4.  It will be very sticky dough.

5.  Spray a round pizza pan with oil.  Put dough onto pan and either us a plastic baggie sprayed with oil or I personally put a little corn starch on my hands and on the dough to spread it out.

6. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes to raise.

7.  Bake for 8 minutes at 425 degrees.  (The original recipe only calls for 400 but since I am always making this this my regular pizza I don't change the temp and it turns out just fine.)

8.  Brush baked crust with olive oil then add sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice.

9. Return pizza to the oven to finish baking for 15 minutes.  Then let sit for a few minutes before cutting it.

It is VERY yummy and Zeke eats it right up!   By no means is this little boy deprived :)