Tortilla Roll-up with Spicy Shredded Chicken

Who says a yummy appetizer can't be the main course for dinner?! Not me! I whipped up this party pleaser appetizer last night for dinner and it was delicious! Spicy"ish" chicken and a cream cheese mixture all rolled up in a flour tortilla...Yum! We have left-overs too, which have made a great snack last night and lunch for today!! I grabbed this recipe from a cute "homemade" blog titled, Homemade by Holman. I love the recipes on here, though I haven't gone through them all, but I'm working my way through her blog day by day! This dish can be taken to a party as finger foods, or you can do what we did, and pair with some chips and salsa and have it for dinner! Once again, it's easy to make and will leave you with no regrets! So let's get started!

Ingredients
1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can Rotel (drained)
12 oz cream cheese
1 c shredded Cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
6 green onions
6-8 large tortillas

Her recipe starts by saying that you coat the chicken breasts in salt, half of the cumin (1/2 tsp), and one teaspoon of the chili powder! I took the "salt" to be the garlic salt instead of regular salt. I'm not sure if this is what she was meaning, but it tasted great so that's how I'll do it next time I make it! Once you have your pieces of chicken coated, add the chicken to a large skillet with one cup of water (you can add more water if needed), and cook on high/medium until the chicken is cooked through. I continued to turn the chicken so it would cook evenly and I think I left it on the stove about 8-10 minutes.

I love spices!! I love spice cabinets and the way they smell when you open them! Yum!

Spicing up the chicken 

Cooking in the skillet

Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the skillet and let it cool slightly before taking two forks, and shredding the chicken!

Shredded chicken

While the chicken is cooling is a good time to get the cream cheese spread mixed together. In a large bowl you're going to mix together, the cream cheese, drained rotel, cheddar cheese, and all the remaining spices with the green onion! Mix together thoroughly!  

Pre-mix spread

Once the spread is mixed together and the chicken is shredded, throw the shredded chicken in with spread and mix everything together. Divide the chicken mix evenly over 6-8 tortillas and spread out thin, making sure the edges of the tortilla remain clear! Roll each tortilla up tightly (not like a burrito...leave the ends open), and cut them into once inch sections. Place them on a serving plate, cover them and place them in a fridge until you're ready to eat! It's easy as a dinner, snack, or party dish...you choose! 

Finished and ready to eat!

I ate one tortilla dipped in salsa, and was satisfied the rest of the evening (until I wanted a snack so I grabbed a couple more from the fridge) lol!! Stay tuned for another Pinterest project in the next couple of days, a wonderful breakfast from Game and Garden, and an update on my reading and photo a day challenge!! In the meantime, I want to wish my mom and huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! 

Always having fun in my family! Never a time without laughter and hilarious shenanigans!

Until next time...

~Happy Eating~

Black-eye Pea Dip for New Years!

Eating black-eye peas on New Years seems to be a more Southern tradition. I have looked it up just out of plain curiosity, why we have this tradition! Is it superstitious? Is it because it's healthier than bringing in the new year with a bowl full of sugar? Although I can't remember finding an exact answer (this was many years ago because I was hoping the tradition was wrong and it was actually something more delicious), I do remember that it says the "tradition" dated back the Civil War days. Black-eye peas are hearty and had no problems holding up in winter temperature, they were cheap and readily available to everyone! With that being said, I wish strawberries or tomatoes made the top list of "readily available farm foods", but no here we sit bringing in 2013 with black-eye peas on our plate! It's said to bring luck to your New Year (I'm not superstitious, but why not?)! So, I'm going to share my yummy way to eat black-eye peas! It's simple, and I've made it for years! I can't remember where we came across the recipe! I've seen many variations since, but none of them make my taste buds do a little happy dance quite like this one! I've taken it to many parties and family gatherings and can honestly say, I have NEVER heard a complaint. I've actually had to "re-make" it in front of groups of people because we ran out, and then everyone wanted to know how to make it! So I had a, "make this incredibly simple dip" session in the middle of a get together and felt so silly because in about 5 minutes, I was done, all the while I felt like I should have done a cartwheel/back handspring to give a more "wow" effect! So let's get started so ya'll can hopefully enjoy this tomorrow (I've already grabbed a couple bites and then had to make myself stop or it would be GONE!)

Ingredients:
2 cans of plain black-eye peas (no extra flavorings...I've tried them and it just takes a wrong turn)
1 can of white hominy
1 can of petite diced tomatoes (again no extra flavorings)
3 green onions, chopped
1/2+ of red (you can use any color or combine colors) pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, chopped (more or less depending on how spicy you like your dip)
1/2 bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing
A splash of red wine vinegar ("Splash" means I start to pour count to 1 and put the lid back on)
A couple shakes of salt (really one or two shakes from the salt shaker is all you need because your chips will probably be salted and then it becomes too much)

To start off you're going to open and drain all your "canned" items (peas, hominy, and tomatoes). Once they are drained, pour them into a large bowl. Next chop your green onions and peppers, then add those to the bowl! Now hold your breath and stand on one leg, and turn yourself around (not necessary but it makes me feel like I'm not giving you the EASIEST recipe ever lol)! Add the dressing, and splash of red wine vinegar along with the salt! Mix together and you're done!! It is BEST if chilled overnight, but you can pop it in the fridge covered for a couple hours and you're still good to go! Seriously, THAT EASY!! 

Here are some hints I've heard along the years:
Too Spicy: Easy fix, don't add jalapenos/remove the seeds of the jalapenos/use less jalapeno
Too "Runny": Easy fix: Use a slotted spoon so excess liquid drips off/use less dressing
Would garlic taste good: YES!! Add it if you so desire!
What about chopped onion?? Of course! I love onions, so the more the merrier!

So DELICIOUS

I hope you all have a wonderful New Years! I'm working on some blog ideas for 2013! Ya'll have been so good to me this past year! I'm looking forward to another year of sharing recipes with you! Until next year...

~Happy Eating~

Jalapeno Dove Poppers from Deer Camp

So, I'm back!! It has been a crazy last month and a half with traveling, work and hunting season starting back up! We had the opportunity to get some vacation time with some great friends of ours at Grand Lake here in Oklahoma! The guys did a lot of hunting, although I did get to go sit in the blind with DJ for the first time this year!

Of course "deer camp" would not have been the same without all the wonderful food we cooked up and shared with the Copes! So the next couple of posts will be me sharing with you everything we got to eat! Let's all be real here...I LOVE to eat and I LOVE to be outdoors! This girl was HAPPY!! Also, in honor of the holiday we just had I want to say thank you to all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives and their time to serve this wonderful country. Sitting out in the woods surrounded by nature, peace and quiet, and the man who has my heart makes you suddenly very aware that we are lucky to get to have these experiences and live in a country like the good ole' US of A!

 Beautiful sunrise coming up over the field

So, let's get started on these dove poppers!!

He started with 15 dove breasts (bones removed) and marinated them in a Ziplock bag in the fridge for 2-4 hours in Allegro game tame! (We love Allegro...although it is a bit salty so if you're cooking with it you may want to hold back on the salt until you do a taste test)!

Luckily Dee Jay's best friend, Eric was there with us to share a couple of his recipes with us! Truly, all I had to do was stand by with the camera and learn as he cooked! Ladies...can we say SPOILED???!!! He started by soaking some toothpicks in a glass of water like so..

Next, he took 8 jalapenos and cut them in half (length wise) and dug out the inside (core and seeds)!
NOTE: If you like your poppers a little more spicy, leave a couple seeds in there!

Now he took 8 pieces of regular bacon and cut them in half (to make a shorter piece of bacon not two long pieces)! He put one piece of dove breast into a halved jalapeno and wrapped that goodness in bacon. Skewer with the toothpick and place on a grill over medium heat until bacon is done and golden brown!

Eric preparing the poppers

Here they are all ready for the grill! The extra meat was just leftover

 dove breasts we had that they grilled up after it had been marinated!

Hot off the grill (insert drooling face here)

That's about it! So easy and incredibly delicious! Get ready for some more great recipes!! Hope everyone has a safe weekend and as always...

~Happy Eating~

I almost forgot: I have to brag a little here about Dee Jay :) He harvested an 8-point buck with his bow over the weekend and got a doe! This is the nicest buck he's dropped since he started hunting! Eric's wife Tara owns her own photography business and you can find here at Full Feather Photography! She does really awesome work and is just getting started (that's how amazing she is)! Luckily we not only had a great guy cooking for us this weekend (who I might add harvested a really nice doe) but we also had an incredible photographer! Here is a shot she got of Dee Jay's buck! GREAT JOB GUYS!!! Can't wait to start cooking all this meat we now have in the freezer!!

springy recipes to get you our of a dinner rut

Leah here---and I'm openly admitting that sometimes I get in a cooking rut. Some weeks I rip out a handful of recipes I find in magazines, pin dozens of tasty looking entrees on Pinterest and can't wait to plan my week. Other weeks I've got nothing. Nothing sounds good. "Can't we just eat scrambled eggs for dinner every night?" I think. A nice side of buttery toast...I see nothing wrong with this picture.

But because I like to make things adventurous (sometimes difficult, my family would say) I like to keep dinner different each night with a sprinkle of familiar standbys. Now, that's not to say breakfast never happens for dinner. It's actually some of our favorites.

Here are a few new recipes I've tried in the last few weeks that got rave reviews at my house and they're so simple, I'll spare you the step by step photos. Hopefully they'll get you in the "try something new" mindset.

As mentioned, breakfast for dinner is a hit at my house. These lemon cornmeal pancakes from Two Peas and a Pod blog were so delish! There's nothing wrong with the flour based, fluffy flapjacks we all love, but the thought of adding lemon sounded like a nice switch. The cornmeal base makes them more cake like than normal. I'm a two pancake girl. I may have nibbled on a third later that night. I loved these topped with warm blackberry jam.

I'm ready for warmer weather and this southwestern avocado and black bean salad from Paula Dean sounded like a good transition to lighter meals. I did want some protein or texture so this night I sauteed some large shrimp in olive oil after tossing them in a few warm spices like cumin and a dash of cayenne plus garlic and onion powder. Both my husband and I cleared our plates but I can't help but think it could have been improved with even more lime juice and some cumin mixed in to the dressing.

I have to warn you--if we eat sushi together, I'll probably ask if I can have your pickled ginger. Yes, the garnish. The palate cleanser. I can't get enough of that hot pink pickled goodness. But I figured out how to make a good substitute to snack on at home. Picked red onions. This recipe on Bon Appetit's web site was so simple.

I made these to go on pork tacos--and promptly ruined the pork. Didn't matter. I've been eating these with a fork (and, ok, my fingers) all weekend. Simply slice a red onion thin and soak in apple cider vinegar, a little salt and sugar. I let these soak overnight....so good! Would be great on a barbecue sandwich. I might be making these all summer.

A few more "hits" at my house lately:

French dip crescent rolls from Mama Loves Food. Wish I would have doubled the recipe! This might be my new secret weapon at parties.

Strawberry season is too short. I'm making this addicting strawberry bruschetta from Annie's Eats until the last berry falls from the vine.

I'm not sure which was tastier, this blackened chicken from Sarcastic Cooking or the avocado cream on top. Use what you've got. She blended avocado with yogurt. I blended it with a little sour cream and mayo.

Like what you've seen here? Almost all of the recipes were found on Pinterest. Are you on Pinterest? Follow me here, I'll follow you and we'll find new favorites together.