Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This was so easy, I couldn't believe it turned out so well.
Or that I had this much leftover. Oy.
The good news is that it can be used in a bunch of different applications: tacos, enchiladas, taco salad, taco soup. . .

Crockpot Chicken Taco

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Frozen Chicken Breasts (I used three, but one was probably enough unless you're feeding a firehouse)
1 cup salsa
1 can of "Mexican" style tomatoes, with juice
1 can of beans, drained and rinsed (I used black)

Put the chicken in the crock. Yes, frozen. You could use thawed chicken if you want, but frozen will work very very well.
Dump everything else on top.
Cook on low for 6 hours. Go pick up the taco fixin's.
Shred chicken with forks.

And that's it. This is a flour tortilla, romaine lettuce, fresh tomato, avacado, chicken taco meat, and salsa.
It was amazing.
By the way, here's what Crock Pot has to say about frozen food in the crockpot:

http://www.crock-pot.com/CustomerService.aspx?id=faq&fgid=41

Egg in a cup

It's my new favorite breakfast food and it is super customizable and super easy.
Take an oven safe dessert dish: about 3/4 cup total size
Spray with non-stick spray
add meat (I've used bacon, breakfast sausage, chicken taco meat) if desired
Crack an egg on top.
Add about 1/2 tsp of your favorite pepper sauce (Chaloula, tabasco, etc)
Salt and pepper to taste
Place in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or egg has reached desired doneness.
Sprinkle with cheese, as desired. I usually skip the cheese. It's good as it is.

Christmas Noms: Appetizers

Or: how to keep people happy while you're peeling too many potatoes.
So when I started fixing Christmas Dinner, I knew there would be lots of people ready to eat. So I laid out a table of snacky foods to minimize the "when's dinner going to be ready?" question. After all, it was a 3 hour endeavor.
Here's what we did:

Cheese plate with 3 kinds of cheese, salami, and grapes
tangelos, crackers, bananas
Christmas Cookies (thanks, Mom!)
Nut Crack
Brownies (Thanks, Pam!)
chocolates
and Rum Cake

Christmas Noms: Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These were good. AND I got to use my stick blender. But, peeling potatoes is only something I do for special occasions.
Alton Brown's Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
(there's a video on that link)
I used about 5 lbs golden potatoes, peeled and cubed, then boiled until falling apart
Here's how I look peeling potatoes:

I put about 8 cloves of peeled garlic in the mini-food processor, then added it to 3 cups of cream.  I put the cream mixture in a saucepan and scalded it
Then I drained the potatoes and added the cream.
I used my stick blender to combine and turn into lump-free goodness.
The result: very creamy and garlicky mashed potatoes. I used the leftovers to top shepherd's pie.

Christmas Noms: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I promised to post Christmas recipes and now January's half over.
Better late than never.

The biggest surprise of the evening was Ina Garten's Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

The easiest recipe ever.

No. I'm not kidding.

Take 2 lb of fresh brussels sprouts
Cut the tough white part off with a sharp knife
mix in a bowl with salt, pepper and olive oil
Roast in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes
add more salt to taste

The end.
Even if you don't like brussels sprouts, you'll like these.  They were gone at the end of the night.