3 ingredients, Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sandwich

One thing you may not know about me is that I love snow cones (side note: I realize I say LOVED a lot. I like to think of it, as I am a passionate person ;). Anywhoo, I love snow cones! Having been born and raised in Hawaii till I was 8 years old, I have been enjoying the wonders of shaved ice (I know, not technically a snow cone) since I was a baby. And then in college, my mom bought me a snow cone maker with different syrup flavors! One of the best presents ever. Sadly, when I moved to Texas, bringing with me just two suitcases, my snow cone maker did not make it :/ It's okay, it is at my parents house and we use it for my niece's birthday parties. Kids do love snow cones.

An awesome thing about the South that I noticed, is that it seems to have the same love and appreciate for snow cones that I do! I see snow cone stands everywhere! When I started dating the hubby, it was my mother-in-law who took me to my first snow cone place in Texas :) In College Station we have 3 snow cone places. One of which just opened up, a national chain called Bahama Bucks. Whenever new places open up in College Station, they are way to crowded, for no reason. Well after taking the dogs to the dog park, my friends who went with the hubby and I to Yogurtland- decided that we should re-try going to Bahama Bucks, since we knew that they would be open. The line was absurd and the drive through was worse. They made a ton of mistakes and made people wait forever. BUT all-in-all, I really liked it because they have sour flavors!  Soooo good!

Another flashback for you: When I left my job at Texas Children's Hospital, the supervisor that I had threw me the sweetest goodbye party. I got a few gift cards to Amazon and decided to buy my very first slow cooker. I decided to get a small one, since it would just be me up in College Station (since the hubby at the time had to stay in Houston). Well, I used to make this dish when I first moved up here. I had Googled easy, few ingredient Crockpot recipes and this had popped up. At the time, I was not very good at cooking and so this seemed like a great fit for me. And it made for lots of leftovers. In general though, I love Crockpot recipes, because you get to throw ingredients in a pot and viola- it's done without having to stir or mix in just a few hours while you do other things :) And I especially love recipes that call for few ingredients. My very small kitchen does not allow for a pantry with a lot of ingredients. Since then I have upgraded to a large, self timing Crockpot! Yay!

So, if you know you are going to have a busy week filled with nights where you will be too tired to cook or your just plum lazy, like me on most day ;) this recipe is going to be great for you! And, what's better than a yummy, easy to make meal!?!

3 INGREDIENTS, CROCKPOT BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICH 

A For the Love of Dessert Original Recipe

INGREDIENTS

3 large chicken breasts
1 bottle (12 oz) of BBQ Sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is recommended)
1/2 red onion, diced (optional)
6-8 Sandwich buns

DIRECTIONS

In a large Crockpot, layout chicken breasts. Completely cover with BBQ sauce and evenly sprinkle onions over chicken breasts. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. When finished cooking, use two forks and shred chicken breasts apart. Stir shredded chicken in sauce and allow to marinate for an additional 30 minutes to one hour. This will allow the chicken to soak up the BBQ sauce. Make sure the sauce is soaked up- as extra liquid can make the sandwich buns soggy. Serve on sandwich buns garnished with extra onions if desired.

Serve with a side of chips and a pickle. And maybe some lemonade ;)

Enjoy,
Chika

Stromboli

Day 2 of the hubby's drive to Houston, leaving way too early in the morning and coming back way too late in the evening. Isn't it funny how used to things you get, when your married? The hubby and I did not live together until we were married, just our preference, really. And since I lived in College Station and he lived in Houston- everyday I had to take care of Ninja and get myself ready for work/school--basically handle all of the day to day things by myself. Well since the hubby and I have gotten married, he mostly helps with taking care of Ninja since my school schedule is so crazy. Getting back into doing it myself, seems odd-- even though we've only been married 8 months! I do not mind it, just weird, how fast I never thought I would adjust.

Though I do have say, going back to the dog park has been wonderful. Not only do I get to spend time with people whom I enjoy their company but Ninja comes home "pooped." He's a pretty active dog, even though he's a shar-pei and they arent' really known for that. So when he is cooped up in the house too long, he gets very antsy. But when  we take him to the dog park, he comes home, eats, plays with us for a little bit and then passes out! Which is great, because I always have school work to do :) Thank you dog park! I even went yesterday, when it was raining a bit-- he had a blast playing with his friends in the misty rain and getting all muddy!

To food I go: I made this recipe a while ago. Not sure, how I have missed posting about it. I made it along with the Onion, Spinach, Mushroom Alfredo Pizza. Both recipes required the making of dough. And the dough for the stromboli is very similar to the dough for the pizza. It was easier to just to prepare the two different types of dough at the same time and let them rise together. I really enjoyed this recipe. It was like a pizza-sandwich. I am not the hugest lover of bologna but it really worked with the stromboli because the meat is so thick, so you do not have to layer it on to get the taste to come through when eating it. It makes a fun dinner or an even better lunch :)

STROMBOLI

Adapted from Budget Bytes

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 400F Degrees

FOR THE DOUGH:*
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
3/4 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
3 c. flour

FOR THE FILLING
1 package of bologna**
15 slices of provolone cheese**
1/2 c. of banana pepper, sliced
3 tbsp. + 2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning blend

* Frozen store bought dough can be used as a substitute
**Can switch out meat or cheese with desired preference.

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water-- whisk together until the yeast dissolves. Let the mixture sit for about 5-10 minutes until frothy at the top. Then stir in olive oil and salt. Pour the yeast, into the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with dough hook attachment. Add one c. of flour- mixing until smooth. Next, continue adding flour, only a half a cup at a time, until dough is smooth but not sticky. (if you add too much flour just add water). I used about 2.5 c. of flour. In the bowl, knead the dough until soft. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let it rise for 2 hours (until it double in size).

When dough has risen, take it out of the bowl and place on a floured surface. "Punch" the dough so that it deflates slightly. Then roll the dough into a rectangular shape and gently keep rolling/stretching until reaching a 12x18 size (yes-I measured it to make sure my dough matched the original recipe). Brush a light coat of olive oil (3 tbsp) over the stretched dough.

Once the dough is stretched to the right size and brushed with Olive Oil- arrange topping on top of dough. First lay out cheese so that the entire surface is covered (I used three rows of 5 slices of cheese, only slightly overlapping). Next, evenly top with bologna slices and finally sprinkle with banana peppers.

Okay this is the slightly tricky part: Roll the dough up so that it forms an 18 inch log (meaning you want to roll it lengthwise). I needed the hubby to help, since rolling something so long, with only two hands was not working for me. Have the seam side, facing down. Brush the top of the roll with 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Then sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Place the stromboli on an aluminum foiled line baking sheet and allow the stromboli to rise for about an hour. **I did not let my stromboli rise for about an hour- and I thought it came out just fine.** Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool slightly and cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces!

Enjoy,
Chika

The Guilt-full Sandwich

I am so excited that it is Tuesday! Because tomorrow I am taking off, bright and early to drive to Kansas City to visit my sister- we are going to a Batman Show and stuffing our faces with all the must-have places to eat in Kansas City- so I am excited. And worry not- as I plan to share my foodie adventure with you all :) Would I ever leave you out of a delicious cupcake? I think not.... I am ready to jet home, pack up (because the hubby is not to be trusted with packing, as he is many wonderful things but not mindful or a planner) and hit the road!

Today was a laid back type of day for me. I have about 1.5 hours to kill before teaching. I thought- what shall I do in this time. I have caught up on a lot of work- keep in mind a lot of work NOT all my work ;) but some procrastination is needed- it is only a fundamental characteristic of my personality that I dare not get rid of. I thought instead I would  post about a recipe I made this weekend for a sandwich. I do not think I have made a sandwich (other than a grilled cheese- which I have found a great grilled cheese sandwich recipe that I am just dying to make) and saw this- cue the instant drool. It was so delicious but soooo guilty looking. 

Well the brave hubby that I had was up for what I called the Heart attack sandwich and ate TWO up. Afterward, he shared with me that this sandwich was, sure, a Heart attack sandwich but what it really was but a guilt-full sandwich. He stated that there are many recipes claiming to be Guilt-less but this was the opposite, every bite filled with wonderful, delicious guilt ;) Ohh...Hubby- so I decided to steal that name. And there you have it! It is lunchtime and I say we all eat- and hopefully one day for lunch you shall make this and love every guilty bite :)

THE GUILT-FULL SANDWICH

Adapted from Paula Deen 

INGREDIENTS

(for two sandwiches)

2 pieces of bread (I think sourdough might be extra wonderful)

Butter (softened)

4 oz. cream cheese

Green onions (finely diced)

1/4 tsp. pepper

5 strips of bacon (cut in half)

2 large eggs

1 avocado (sliced)

1 tomato (sliced)

DIRECTIONS

Spread butter on each side of bread. In skillet, atop stove top set to medium heat, brown both sides of bread- do this for all slices. Then in a separate bowl combine cream cheese, diced onion and pepper. Then spread the cream cheese mixture on one side of each bread slice. 

In skillet- after toasting bread- cook bacon- reserving oil (fat). Set bacon on paper towel to absorb fat. Using the reserved oil (fat) fry eggs (flip so both sides are cooked)- one at a time. Place each egg on one piece of toast each (one for each sandwich). Then, for each sandwich, top with bacon (5 mini strips each), followed by two tomato slices, and finally avocado slices (I placed 3 on each sandwich)- top with another piece of toast. 

Enjoy,

Chika 

Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Yes..you are correct- I have not posted in a week! Why? Oh my goodness- this week was horribly busy- I got maybe 3 hours of sleep a night. I was constantly working. It was gosh awful! Thankfully- some of the things I had been working on are now done and I spent all of Saturday sleeping! I had soo much sleep to catch up on and it felt so so so good! Today I woke up knowing that I was going to spend a good chunk of it doing what I enjoyed- some baking and some cooking :)

In all my cooking- I realized, with some help, that I had never made a grilled cheese sandwich. Actually I do not think I have ever eaten a grilled cheese sandwich- not really a traditional Sri Lankan food my mom ever made. But I thought- how odd! I attempt to make all these different things, and yet I have never made a grilled cheese sandwich. Well I brought it up to one of my professors and he helped me learn how to make a good grilled cheese sandwich and that I could make it with pepper jack cheese. I love pepper jack cheese :) So in my Sunday Funday of Cooking ;)...I though I could whip up a quick, never-tried lunch for the hubby of grilled cheese.

He actually really liked it! And so did I. Hmmm..who woulda thunk...one, that I had never attempted a grilled cheese-- two, that it would be so yummy-- and three, that I would actually post about it on a blog. But I figure- maybe someone else had never made a grilled cheese and wants to know how or maybe they want to know if you can make a grilled pepper-jack cheese sandwich.

PEPPER JACK GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

A For the Love of Dessert Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Sour Dough Bread

Butter

Pepper Jack Cheese Slices

Tomato Soup 

DIRECTIONS

Take two slices of sour dough bread. Spread a thick layer of butter on one side on each slice of bread. The sides with the butter will be the outside of the grilled cheese. On the inside, place three slices of pepper jack cheese. On the stove top, heat a skillet on medium heat. Place grilled cheese and cook 1-2 minutes on each side- until cheese melts. Make sure not to over cook- because the bread will burn easily. Eat with some tomato soup (I hear its a good pairing).

Enjoy,

Chika