crockpot beer chicken tacos
Since there is just two of us, eating a whole chicken is a week long process. So far I’ve really enjoyed the crockpot beer chicken that I made the other day. I have said it before, everything tastes better in a tortilla. I decided this is a good time to test that theory out by putting the beer chicken into a tortilla with cheese. My theory is still right. This makes a great little taco and was a great leftover meal!
Ingredients:
Chicken
Cheese
Tortilla… I used wheat tortillas because that is all I had.
Microwave for 1 minute. Then eat!
Beer Crockpot Chicken
Now that I have gotten in to attempting recipes, I’ve been trying to find things that I would like to cook. I really prefer to make desserts, but I also want to get better at cooking main dishes. I really enjoy cooking with the crockpot because it is so easy to put a bunch of ingredients in a pot and walk away. I got this recipe from My Daily Dish. I figured that I like chicken and I like beer so it HAS to be good!
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (according to the recipe I used, you can also use cut up pieces or 4-6 chicken breasts)
1 can of any kind of beer (I used a bottle of Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat because that’s what I had in the fridge)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
I put all the ingredients in first and then added the whole chicken.
Cook in the crockpot on high for 3 – 4 hours or on low for 7 – 8 hours. I cooked it on high.
The recipe said you could also cook a frozen chicken, you just have to cook it longer.
Graduation Season!
I have decided that everyone I know must have had children in the same year. I must have gotten 20 high school graduation invitations this year. I am so proud of all of my friends’ children because it seems as everyone of them has excelled in their education. Yesterday, we went to Houston for a graduation party for one of my favorite young ladies. It seems like only yesterday her parents were getting married and now they have a daughter that is a high school graduate! It’s crazy how time flies. Despite her choice of where to go to college, I am so proud of her! She has become such a beautiful, responsible, caring, young lady! I know she is going to do well in her life!!
One Lovely Blog
Driving around Dallas
I was in Dallas over the weekend for my nephew’s SECOND birthday. My sister asked me if I could watch the kids so she could get the house ready for all the party guests. I haven’t really watched them alone, so I was a little nervous. She suggested that I take them for a drive around town. I wasn’t really sure where to go, so I started out at White Rock Lake. I didn’t take any pictures there since there were a lot of bikers on the road. I loved listening to my nephew in the back talk to himself about the water and the “caca”, which I think means birds. He’s also getting really good at the alphabet. He’s so smart! 🙂 After the lake I drove down Central Expressway, back to Mockingbird. This led me to Peavy road, so I decided to do some reminiscing. I went past Bryan Adams, my old high school. I graduated from there in 84. I really loved it there. You can say what you want about it, but it was a great school for me.
I also went to Bishop Lynch as a freshman. I can’t believe how much it has changed since I went there. It looked nothing like this when I was there.
After going past Lynch, I drove past my old house. I lived there until I was 39. Most of my life was spent in this house. I sometimes miss living there.
I drove past my middle school. I loved W.H.Gaston too! I’m really sad they had to change the mascot from the Warriors to the Panthers.
On my way home from Dallas, I finally got to drive over then new bridge leading to Oak Cliff. I’ve been watching it being built for a long time and it was exciting to get to drive on it.
The last major thing I saw as I was leaving was Reunion Tower. I have such good memories there. I went there for my birthday one year with all my friends. I’ve had dinner and drinks in the bar there over the years. It’s one of the best places to go to see Dallas since the floor rotates when you are up there eating. I really enjoyed my weekend in Dallas. I miss my family and friends, but I love where I am now, too!!
Taco Salad
A bunch of the teachers at my school decided to participate in the National Screen Free Week this year along with about 120 of the students. We wrote down some of the things that we wanted to do instead of playing on computers/games and watching TV. Several of us wrote that we would cook more. I got the bright idea that maybe we should have a potluck with some of the new recipes that we were going to try. The first person that responded said she was going to make enchiladas, so I had to find something that would somewhat go with that. It also happened to be May 4th, so the potluck kind of turned in to a Cinco de Mayo theme. I’ve always liked taco salad, so that is what I decided to make. I found this recipe on Pinterest. It was pretty good, but I think it would have been easier if I just would have used a packet of taco seasoning. If you don’t like to use pre-made mixes though, this is a great recipe to try! I got this recipe from Taste of Home website.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 medium head iceberg lettuce, torn
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup taco sauce
- 1 package (10-1/2 ounces) corn chips
Nutritional Facts1 serving (1 cup) equals 245 calories, 17 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 22 mg cholesterol, 398 mg sodium, 14 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 8 g protein.
Cook the meat over medium heat until it is no longer pink, then drain.
Stir in the ketchup, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. After it boils, reduce the heat and let it simmer with a lid on it for 10 minutes.
To make the dressing, Mix the taco sauce and the mayonnaise. I had to use my hand blender to get the lumps out.
Since it was for a potluck, I served everything separate and let people add all the ingredients the way they wanted for their plate. It can be pre-made for a family if you wanted, but you would need to serve it immediately.
Carmelitas
Last week was National Screen Free Week. I’ve never participated before, but this year I decided to give it a try. I didn’t get on the internet other than for work or to research something and I didn’t watch any TV. I thought I would be miserable, but the week actually was quite nice. I haven’t even reactivated my facebook account yet. I’m pretty sure I will do that this evening though. One of the things I said I would do with my free time was to cook something new. I decided I would make carmelitas and bring them to the office for everyone to try! I really liked them, but they are REALLY sweet! I got the recipe from Lulu the Baker Her picture of the carmelita is so much better than the one I took.
32 caramel squares, unwrapped…I used a bag of caramel morsels
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Mix the caramels and cream in a saucepan over a low heat.
You will know the caramel is ready once you see it get really creamy. Once it’s done, put it to the side until the cookie part is ready. 
Mix the rest of the ingredients (minus the chocolate morsels) in a bowl and then put half of the mixture in the bottom of the 8×8 pan. Put it in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.
Top the mixture with the semi sweet chocolate morsels.
Cover the chocolate with the caramel.
Put a layer of the left over cookie recipe over the caramel and put it in the oven and bake on 350 for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are brown.
Let it sit out until it cools. You can refrigerate it if you want it faster, but they should be stored at room temperature. 
My husband said he wishes he had some ice cream to top it. I think it would be too sweet.
Home again!
I’m back in Austin and everything is starting to get back to normal. The only issue I’m having is with allergies. They are KILLING me. I’m afraid I’m going to OD on zyrtec, because I’m taking as much as I can to keep the allergies to a minimum.
Yesterday I didn’t wake up and walk because the allergies were so bad. I made it a point to exercise in the afternoon. I’m glad I did, because we went to Lady Bird Lake/Town Lake and walked around there. I love walking by the water. Even though there are tons of people there, it is very peaceful. There are small hills there, too, so it’s a little more of a challenge than walking in the neighborhood.
After walking at Lady Bird Lake, we went to Torchy’s for dinner. I’m pretty sure Torchy’s is my favorite place to eat. I got queso and a baja shrimp taco. YUMMY!! It turned out to be a nice evening.
Creating My Own Polyvore Type Picture
It’s official. We are finally going to take the plunge and get new floors in our family room. We’ve been fighting the smell of dogs since we first built this house, so I’m hoping hardwood floors will help us get rid of some of those odors. We’ve decided to go with bamboo floors because they are supposedly very durable. I hope they are right about that! This afternoon, I went by Floor & Decor one last time to make sure I like the color that we have chosen. I think it’s going to work.
Since I was already in the area, I decided to go to my favorite store, MARSHALLS!!! While I was there, I bought two sundresses, a shirt and a pair of sandals. I’ve always wanted a white sundress to wear with cowboy boots. I have no idea if it even looks good on me, but I don’t really care because it’s a look I’ve always liked. I can’t wait to have a reason to wear this cute outfit.
I was about to put my new clothes away, when I got distracted and got on Pinterest. While I was looking on there, I got the great idea to create my own Polyvore type picture with my own clothes. I wish I had something to do a better backdrop, but the carpet really didn’t work. It was kind of fun putting it all together! I wish I had a fancy camera to take professional looking photos. I really love taking pictures! 🙂
Bluebonnet Beauty
One of the things I love most about my friend, Shannon, is that if we do something fun it becomes an annual event. We have an annual road trip, annual gingerbread house making event, and an annual bluebonnet photo shoot. Because of the drought last year, when we went we found about 3 bluebonnets. It wasn’t a great photo shoot but it was a great time. We went again this year and found a lot more bluebonnets and other windflowers that we could work with. We went to St Edward’s and took blue and yellow flower pictures with our many props. Who doesn’t sit in a field of flowers playing the bongos? It was very normal. We later found a field with some red flowers on the side of the road. We didn’t use props that time.
Once we were done, we went and ate at Galaxy in the Triangle. I really liked my chimichurri wrap, or whatever it was called. We had a great time just enjoying the day. I’m ready for next year’s shoot!!!
Fabulous after FIFTY 