Easy Chicken 'Cordon Bleu'

I haven't ever had real Chicken Cordon Bleu, but this I know the basic components of the recipe. There are a couple other improvisations floating around Pinterest, and I threw this one together. 

You will need:

• Thawed, boneless skinless chicken breast
• Seasonings
• Cheese (of your choice)
• Ham

Flatten the chicken breast. We don't have a meat mallet, so I was classy and used wax paper and a hammer. It worked!

I used Provolone Mozzarella cheese, which is a delicious combination! I also got thick-cut deli ham. The seasonings are a basic combination in my kitchen: pepper, salt, garlic and dill.

Layer cheese and ham on each chicken breast.

Fold in half and season both sides of the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until they are not longer pink inside.

Just for the yummy factor, we added another piece of cheese and ham on top and let it melt before eating! Let me tell you it was pretty good! Double meats is okay in my book! =)

Pulled Pork Tacos

I have an obsession with making meals in my crock pot. And for good reason. How else can you let something cook while you work and come home to a delicious meal? 

You will need:

• Pork tenderloin (mine was 1.2 lbs and southwest peppercorn seasoned)
• Garlic/onion
• 1/4- 1/2 cup Salsa
• Taco seasoning packet
• Beef broth

I had some leftover elephant garlic, so I used that for this recipe. It has flavors similar to garlic, but is in the onion family. Chop it finely.

Here are the rest of the ingredients. I used beef broth, but you can also use water. [Do they make pork broth?]

Mix the salsa and broth with the garlic and onion. You can use as little or as much salsa as you want.

Mix the taco seasoning with the rest. If a whole packet is too much for your taste, use less.

Place the pork in the crock pot. Pour the mixture over the top. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

About 30 minutes before eating, take out the tenderloin and shred the meat. You will know if it has cooked long enough, because it will shred easily. Place the meat back in the sauce for 30 minutes. To make tacos just scoop out the meat and place in tortillas with any fixings you like!

This meat is so juicy and tender! I love coming home from work to meat that just falls apart! =)

Grilled Pineapple

This dessert is delicious, not too mention more healthy than the average. Skinny Taste is where I found the recipe and she grilled her pineapple in 'burgers'. We cut it up and skewered it. Either way would be great!

You will need:

• Fresh Pineapple
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tsbp Honey
• juice or 1/2 or 1 Lime
• 1/2 tsp Cloves
• Skewers (soaked in water)

Cut the edges off your pineapple. Then cut in slices around the core and cut those slices into chunks.

Place the chunk into a bowl or plastic bag and add the rest of the ingredients. Let sit in the marinade for 30 minutes to a couple hours.

Skewer the chunks on wooded skewers that have been soaked in water.

Grill them up. Be sure to flip them.

Eat straight off the skewer or with some vanilla ice cream! Mmm!

DIY Wall Letters

I made these for my house a couple months ago. They were really easy and look great hanging in our kitchen. You can do any size, font, and fabric you want!

You will need:

• Printed 'actual size' letters
• Cardboard (ANYTHING)
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Fabric
• Straight pins

Start by printing out your letters in the size you want. They could be bigger than a page size, but that would take some work on your part. Cut out the letters.

When I said any cardboard I meant it. We just moved it, so I used lots of random boxes. 

Pin your letter(s) to the cardboard and trace then. Then use an ex-acto or scissors to cut the letters out.

Here are the letters for my kitchen. Loving the font. Check out Kevin & Amanda for beautiful free downloadable fonts!

Take your letter and lay it on the fabric. Cut out the fabric from around the letter, leaving 2-3 inches extra all around.

Place glue on the front side of the letter. Place this side on on the wrong-side of the fabric. Glue and pull the fabric tight all around the letter. Make cuts in the fabric to make the strips fit correctly.

Voila! And the back! 

Loving them!

Now, hanging is the tricky part. I rigged up a folded paperclip and hot glued it on the back of the letters to make hooks. Then I hung the letters on simple straight pins in the wall. If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know! <3

[Crock Pot] Pasta Sauce

This recipe is long overdue. We made a huge batch of pasta sauce a little while ago for a neighborhood get-together. I didn't expect to like it so much. And we had a lot left over. We froze it in batches and it is almost better the second time! =) You can make a large batch like me or a smaller one.

You will need:

• Tomato Paste (Large: x3, Small: x1)
• Diced Tomatoes (Large: x6, Small: x3 or 2)
• Tomato Sauce (Large: x3, Small: x1)
• Garlic
• Onion

I used a variety. The diced tomatoes can be seasoned. We used Italian and a Garlic blend I think.

The trusty crock pot. Use the liners if you have them! 

Chop up your onion. The amount is to your discretion. I think I used half an onion.

Chop or mince the garlic. Again to your discretion. For the L batch I used 3 or 4 I think.

Saute the garlic and onion in a pan with some olive oil. Let the onions soften up.

My hand felt pretty beastly after opening all those cans! Add all the cans, onion and garlic to the crock pot. I also added a little bit of water (half to one of the 'tomato paste cans' worth of water). Stir well.

This needs to cook on low for 4-8 hours. The longer it heats the better the flavors will mix. Make sure to stir it occasionally. This sauce is chunky and so delicious on pasta or as a pizza sauce!

As I mentioned, I recommend making the large batch and freeze any leftover sauce. It is great to have already made later! 

Enjoy =)