Sweet and Spicy Chicken and Rice w/ "Asian" Salad

So, my mom gave me these fun asian sauce packs in a care package the other week (thanks mom!), and I decided to use the "Sweet and Spicy" one on Saturday. Technically it was for ribs...but I don't eat that much red meat (and I had chicken), so I made chicken instead! WAY good/better than I expected!

This is the sauce I used:
Ingredients:

Lettuce
Carrots
Green Onion
"Sweet and Spicy Sauce" (or whatever you can find)
3 chicken tenders (raw), cubed
Basmati Rice
Water
Rice Vinegar
Canola Oil


Directions:

Chop lettuce, carrots, and onion into a salad bowl set aside for later. Brown chicken in a pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp. sauce, 1 tbsp water, and cover over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat, covered, until cooked in center. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, and the simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until cooked throughout. Place rice on plate and top with chicken. Combine 1 tbsp. sauce, 1 tsp. oil, and 1 tsp. rice vinegar to make a dressing for the salad. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Jar Oatmeal

So, this is not at all my own idea...it comes from Eating Bird Food which is my new favorite healthy food blog (haha clearly not a theme that I chose to put into my own!).

Anyways, basically the idea is that when you've come down to the bottom of a jar of peanut butter, you can put oatmeal in it, add toppings, and you've got both a delicious meal and a somewhat more clean peanut butter jar! It just made some with Smuckers Natrual Peanut Butter, plain oatmeal, cinnamon, and sugar. SOOOO good!

Apple Cider Cookies

I made these cookies last week for The Overtones! They were delicious...but I would suggest bringing plates or napkins, because the powdered sugar can get kinda messy!

Ingredients:

1 package spice cake mix
1 1/3 c. water
1/3 c. oil
3 eggs
3 1/2-4 c. flour
1 tsp. cloves
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease baking pans. Mix all ingredients together and spoon out tablespoon sized cookies onto baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes and cover immediately in powdered sugar!

These are GREAT with tea!

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Fall deliciousness:

Ingredients:

5 large carrots, cut into fourths
10 small red potatoes, washed
1/2 large sweet onion, cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine the all ingredients in a roasting pan. Cover all ingredients equally in the butter, salt, and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil. Roast for 45 minutes on the top rack. Uncover, toss, and roast for another 30 minutes, uncovered.

Cranberry Chipotle Chicken

I had this can of whole cranberry sauce in my pantry at school for, like, ever...and I just didn't know what to do with it! So, I finally looked up some recipes online and then came up with this one!

Ingredients:

4 bone-in chicken thighs
1 can whole cranberry sauce
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. hot sauce
2 tsp. seasoned salt
2 cloves chopped garlic

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot, and set on low for 8 hours (allowing steam to leak out, if possible).

I'm thinking of serving this with some sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and some herb roasted carrots!

Best Gin and Tonic Recipe

Gin and Diet Tonic is my new drink of choice.

1 1/2 shots of gin (I'm using Seagram's right now)
1 c. ice
2 shots Diet Tonic water
1 lime wedge

Fill short glass with ice. Pour in gin, then diet tonic water. Squeeze lime wedge into drink, stir, and then throw the lime wedge in there.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made for my wonderful, awesome, cookie-loving boyfriend!

Ingredients:

2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. flour
3 c. quick cooking oatmeal
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 4 cookie sheets and set aside. Combine vanilla, brown sugar, white sugar, and butter. Whip until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating each time. Add flour slowly. Add salt and baking powder and whisk until smooth. Spoon in oatmeal and chocolate chips, and stir until 1 consistency.

Take 2 teaspoons. Using 1 teaspoon, scoop a full amount of dough. Use the other spoon to slide the dough onto the cookie sheet.

Bake for appx. 10 minutes each. Cool off of cookie sheet. Enjoy with a big glass of milk!