Chicken Bacon Panini

I've surprised myself by making this recipe. This sandwich was delicious and real easy to make. Plus you can change it up in so many ways. Next time I'd like to add roasted red peppers to the sandwich! Mmmmm! But this one is a Chicken, Bacon, Swiss, with Pesto Panini. What a name! ;)

Chicken Bacon Panini

Here's what you need:

2 boneless chicken breasts

8 pieces of bacon

2 slices of Swiss cheese

4 slices of sourdough bread

pesto sauce

1 tbs butter

drizzle of canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the bacon on a rack on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

2. While the bacon is cooking, slice the [thawed] chicken breasts in half. 

3. In a sauce pan on Medium, drizzle canola oil in the pan and add the butter. Let it melt and warm. Then fry the chicken, until the juices run clear and the chicken is fully cooked. [Take it out of the pan and slice it to check to see if it is cooked thoroughly]. This will take about 12-15 minutes. Once it's done, let it cool then slice into pieces.

4. Slice the bread and butter each slice.



5. After the bacon and chicken are cooked, start preparing the sandwich.

Spread the pesto sauce on both sides of the bread. Place one slice in the pan, butter side down like you're cooking grilled cheese. 

Then assemble the sandwich: bread, chicken, Swiss, bacon, bread. 

[You can use a panini maker, but if you don't have one, use a grill pan and place a heavy pot on top].

6. Place the heavy pan on top of the sandwiches as they cook. After 2-3 minutes carefully remove the heavy pot and flip the sandwiches, then placing the pot on top of the sandwiches again. 

7. Once the cheese is melted and it's cooked to your liking, slice in half and enjoy! I served this with a side Caesar salad. Sooo yummy!!!! 

Taylor & I are off to Orlando, Florida to visit Jon & Julie! I hope you have a wonderfully blessed weekend!

The BEST Shrimp & Grits You'll Ever Eat!

I promise you, this recipe will become a regular in your household. It is delicious! I never had grits, let alone shrimp & grits, before I moved to NC. And even then, it had been 3 years living here before I tried it. It wasn't until I had this meal at Taylor's while we were dating, and man oh man! it. is. gooooood.!! :) So, let me not waste any time. . . here is the recipe!

Shrimp & Grits - [Thank you, Gisele for the recipe]!

1 cup stone ground grits
1/4 of a stick of butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 pieces of bacon strips, raw & chopped
1 pound peeled & de-veined, shrimp
1 medium garlic clove, minced
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp dried parsley
1 cup [or just under a cup] green onion, chopped
** 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper [optional] 

1. Cook the grits, follow the instructions on the grits box.


2. After the water boils & the grits are added, let it simmer 15 minutes.










3. Add the butter & cheese, set aside.

Hubby joined me in the kitchen :-D Such a blast!!! 

4. Fry the bacon in a deep pan until it's nice and crispy.










Remove the bacon and set aside on a paper towel. [Hide the bacon so you don't eat it]!

Run warm water over your shrimp to thaw them out.

[I'd do this while you are starting the grits & bacon to save time].  

Then, my amazing husband, de-tailed the shrimp!

* Simply pinch the tail & pull right off.

5. In the BACON GREASE, yes, keep the bacon grease - this is the best part ;). Put the crushed red pepper, garlic & shrimp into the bacon grease. Cook on medium for 3 minutes.

** With the crushed red pepper, the meal is real spicy. If you don't want spicy omit the crushed red peppers. If you want a hint of spice, add less than 1/2 tsp. I've had it both ways, and both are good. Tay & I personally like it with all the spice. :)

6. Add the lemon juice, parsley & green onion. Immediately pull off the heat.

7. Add the bacon, stir.

Then add the shrimp & goodies to the grits.

[Grab a spatula(!), you don't want to waste any of the goods]!

Mix together.

Enjoy!!! 

Broccoli and Chicken Pasta

This recipe is from one of my Slow Cooker recipe books. It originally calls for Beef, but Taylor is not a huge beef fan, so I used Chicken. This turned out great, and Taylor liked it! :-D

You will need:

2 cups of broccoli florets

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 can [14.5 oz] Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 can [14.5 oz] chicken broth

2 large boneless chicken breasts

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cups of rotini pasta

3 oz shredded Cheddar cheese

** If you want to use Beef instead of Chicken use 3/4 cup of beef broth and 1 pound of ground beef.

If cooking with Chicken: 

1. Layer broccoli, onion, spices, tomatoes and chicken broth in crock pot. 

2. Place the chicken and garlic on top of the vegetables. Then cook on High for 4-6 hours. Or until chicken is cooked all the way through. 

*Cooking raw chicken in a crock pot takes longer. Make sure to let it cook thoroughly. 

3. When the chicken is cooked, begin to shred the chicken. 

Then stir in tomato paste, pasta and cheese. Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes. 

4. When serving, add more cheddar cheese and salt & pepper to taste. 

Enjoy! 

*If you don't have all day to let the chicken cook through, cook the chicken first, baking it for 30 minutes on a baking sheet with oil, garlic, salt & pepper, while the vegetables cook in the crock pot. Then, using the beef directions, place the [cooked] chicken in the crock pot and let it cook for 2 hours. 

If cooking with Beef:

1. Layer vegetables, spices, tomatoes and beef broth in crock pot. Cook and cover on LOW 2 1/2 hours.

2. Cook beef and garlic in a large skillet on the stove, until meet is no longer pink. Pour off the drippings/grease. Then add beef to the crock pot and cook, covered, for 2 hours.

3. Stir in tomato paste, pasta and cheese. Cook, covered, for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and everything is heated all the way through. 

Enjoy!

Yarn Wreath

What to do with all those leftover wedding flowers and pearls??? Problem solved! I ordered some wreaths, bought some yarn, and pulled out all my old wedding flowers. This project has been sitting in our living room staring at me for the past few weeks now. I must say, I am glad it is finished because I absolutely adore my wreath!! :)

Here is what you'll need:

A wreath [any size]

Yarn [Your desired color]

Flowers

Pearls

Scissors

Hot glue

1. First, tie the yarn in a double knot around the  wreath. 

2. Second, begin tightly wrapping the yarn around the wreath. Be sure to cover over the tiny piece sticking out from the knot. 

Here, I ran out of yarn. So I did a tiny strip of hot glue and placed the end of that yarn carefully down. Then, adding another strip of hot glue right next to that ending, I put the beginning of a new bit of yarn. [I had to do this a few times]

Almost there! 

After a few episodes of Cake Boss, it is all wrapped!! :-D

Be patient with it all, it takes time. :)

3. Decide where you want to lay out your flowers and begin to hot glue them down.

Have fun with it!!! 

4. After I got my "main" flowers down. I worked on the extra decorations.

[This took the longest because I knew what I wanted, I just had to figure out how to execute it]

5. I decided to then use these pearl push pins to create the letter "B" in honor of our last name!! :)

I just LOVE it!! 

6. Then I went crazy with the push pins and added a bunch at the top right of the wreath.

You can also see I added more flowers, leaves, baby's breath, and more [bigger] pearls to the bunch. 

Ta-Da! 

7. With placing the ribbon for hanging, I simply tied a knot at the top and put 3 push pins in [2 in the front, 1 in the back] to keep it steady. I tucked the knot under the ribbon once it was hung up, so it wasn't all hanging out. 

I think it looks cute. :)

One more [brighter] inside picture. 

Hurray!! 

All hung :) and the husband likes it too! 

The aftermath.... ha! 

This will break your heart.

Joseph Kony. . .  watch this video and learn about him. Children are being abducted. . . YOUNG GIRLS are being trafficked for SEX. Boys are being taught how to shoot guns to KILL. . . even kill their parents. All because of this one man. I think about that with tears. What if that was one of my nephews? What if that was my friends daughter? What if that was MY child?

I believe there are other people out there that are like Joseph Kony. But he is a huge target right now. And in stopping him, could bring FREEDOM! 

Let's make Joseph Kony famous! 

KONY 2012 IS A FILM AND CAMPAIGN BY INVISIBLE CHILDREN THAT AIMS TO MAKE JOSEPH KONY FAMOUS, NOT TO CELEBRATE HIM, BUT TO RAISE SUPPORT FOR HIS ARREST AND SET A PRECEDENT FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE.

Visit Invisible Children's site here to sign the pledge.

Micah 6:8 

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Fix it & Forget it

Quick & easy dinners are a goal of mine. Here is a quick meal. A fix it and forget it, Stephanie style :) with only 3 ingredients! And it was GOOD! 

You will need:

2 or 3 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1 [14.5 oz] can of Chicken Broth

1 Italian Seasoning packet 

1. Place your chicken in your crock pot. 

2. Add the chicken broth & seasoning packet. *The broth wasn't enough liquid, so I also filled the can up with water and dumped it in.

3. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. [Or until the chicken is fully cooked through].

4. Carefully remove the chicken from the crock pot, serve & enjoy!!

I served this over rice with a side of broccoli. It was delicious and the chicken fell right apart!

[Sorry I don't have a finished picture]

Freezer meal - Pork Chops

My sweet sister-in-law made a huge list of freezer meals for me, and the pork chops were a hit. This recipe couldn't be easier, really! All you do is add the ingredients with the meat and freeze. I'll give you the original recipe, and another I tweaked a bit for a different flavor. Both are so yummy and really you could play around with it in so many ways. I'd love to hear what you try!

Pork Chops

You will need:

Pork Chops [I split this pack up 4 in one bag, 3 in the other]
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 tablespoon Thyme

1. Place the pork chops in your freezer bag.

2. Add all the ingredients.

3. Close the bag keeping some air in the bag. Mix together, massaging the ingredients into the meat. Write the meal & date on the bag. Place in the freezer.


Can it get easier than that??? I think not!



The other recipe - Everything stays the same except I took out the balsamic vinegar and used Worchestire Sauce, dash of red pepper flakes and NO SALT! The Worchestire Sauce has enough salt. We had this the other night and both really liked it. So now, we have 2 pork chop flavors! Easy Easy Easy!

* 1/2 cup Worchestire sauce, dash of red pepper flakes, no salt *

Cooking the meat - Take the meat out and thaw. Dump the chops & juices in an oven pan and broil for 10-15 minutes. And Voila!

Enjoy!