Cindy's Dressing

Brad's mom makes the most amazing dressing! It is seriously the best I have ever tasted. It is not soggy and all mushed together like most, it is just delicious. I wanted to write it down because I am planning on making it for Christmas turkey dinner and I don't want to lose this recipe!

If you know Cindy, her recipes are all just a dabble of this, a scoop of this, a handful of these. If you plan on making this recipe, keep that in mind and really you can't go wrong with this recipe!

Dressing (makes lots, probably enough for about 20 people)

1 cup of butter
3 cups celery
2 onions chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

fry this on low in a skillet for about 1/2 hour and then add:

About 6 cups of dry bread pieces
stir and add
1/2 cup cream + one egg, drizzle over dressing
2-3tsp sage
2 grated or chopped apples

steam for 1-2 hours stirring occasionally then add

2 boxes of stove top (prepared)
1 cup of craisins (more or less, depends on how much you like them)

Stir all together and serve! I hope this makes sense, you can call me if you want some help, or call Brad's mom!

Perfectly Shredded Chicken

Maybe I'm the last one to get the memo, and maybe I'm just repeating an amazing idea that everyone already knows. I don't care. I'll still share!

I love to put shredded chicken in pita pockets. Lettuce, cheese and ranch dressing, too. It's delicious. BUT.. I hate shredding the chicken! It takes a life time. So annoying.

Then. The heavens opened and pinterest saved the day.

Perfectly shredded chicken in 20 seconds.

I popped my chicken in the slow cooker, on high, for a good 4 hrs. Left it in there on "warm" until I was ready to shred the crap out of it. Then, wham-bam. 20 seconds later, it was done. I don't actually have a Kitchenaid, but my Bosch works JUST as well with the cookie paddle attachment. So awesome!!! A surefire cure for those "chicken shredding" woes.

Here's the link to the source.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

I've been super obsessed with everything PUMPKIN lately. I even stocked up on pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling. Mmmm! Anyway. Found this recipe on OurBestBites.com and honestly couldn't stop myself from making it. Although... I tried to keep it a little less fattening, so I just used milk and ice cubes instead of icecream. STILL good, but it probably would have been even tastier with the icecream. Try it!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 – 1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
1-2 graham crackers

Pop everything but graham crackers in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. I used somewhere between 1/4-1/2 C.  Sprinkle with crushed graham cracker crumbs before serving.

A note about blenders: Here’s the problem with making thick, diner style milkshakes at home: A lot of times you have to add so much milk to the thing to get the blender to process that it turns into a milk-slushie instead. Or you have to blend and plunge, blend and plunge, etc. You know the drill, right? So if you have any trouble with your blender, I would recommend blending everything but the ice cream first and then mashing it into the ice cream by hand (well, with a hand. Holding a fork or spoon :) If your scooped ice cream sits out at room temp while you measure the other things and get them all ready, then by the time you mash it all together it should be a good consistency.

Lemon Feta Chicken with Oregano

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 thighs

• 8 skinless chicken thighs (I used 4 breasts instead and filleted them)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tsp oregano
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375°. Trim all fat off chicken. Season chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and lemon juice. Place in a roasting pan and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes. When chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and sprinkle with feta.

Broil on low for about 2-3 minutes, until cheese is golden brown (careful not to burn).

I've been 90% SouthBeach-ing it for the past few days (gotta lose this preggo weight!!!) so I went browsing through the skinnytaste.com site that Rachelle posted about earlier. Found this yummo chicken recipe, and gave it a try. Super easy, super good.