An Amazing New Chicken Recipe AND Some Friday Fun!

With my newfound love for all things healthy, I have discovered the joy of cooking, and with cooking came experimenting! Luckily, everything I've made has come out amazing (with the exception of my first green smoothie.... I'm still hoping Muscle Man forgives me for that one... Too much superfood green powder= BAD), and this latest dish is no exception! Try it out!

Crockpot Chicken With Mushroom Gravy and Quinoa

I used Williams-Sonoma All-Natural Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy Base, but that's not necessary. Use another kind of mushroom gravy base or just a gravy base that you add mushrooms to, whatever floats your boat. We got this for Christmas, and I just happen to have fallen in love with it thanks to this dish.

Besides the mushroom gravy base:

* chicken stock, vegetable stock, or even just water
* 1/2 cup raw, diced onions (I used sweet onions)
* 2 raw chicken breasts (or more if you are feeding an army a family)
* Spices: I used rosemary, thyme, cayenne pepper, parsley, and basil
* Get out your crockpot!

1. Put the gravy in the crockpot and add the stock of your choice. I just filled this jar up with 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken stock, but again that's your choice. It's going to taste great regardless. :-)
2. Add in the onions and spices of your choice. Just a DASH of cayenne pepper, as it does not take much to spice this up. The others I used VERY liberally because it cooks down nicely together and makes for an amazing flavor. Stir this all together until it's a nice mixture.
3. Put in the chicken breasts. Make sure they're covered. If they aren't completely submerged, add more liquid.
4. Set the crockpot on high for 4 hours, or low for 6-8. I personally came home at lunch and put it on high for 4 and it turned out great.

Once I got home and saw it was done, I made a plate of quinoa for both me and Muscle Man, and carefully (the chicken falls apart easily after being in the crockpot) put the chicken on the bed of quinoa and ladeled the gravy (if you want to call it that by this point) over it. You want to know my go-to recipe for fluffy, perfect quinoa? Go HERE.

This was the result. I was so excited I made my own recipe! And it turned out amazing at that. :-)

Seriously, try it out. It's healthy, it's quick (to make that is), it's simple, and it tastes amazing. Bold flavors, very filling, and chicken does NOT get anymore tender than that. :-)

Moving right along...

One quick memo... At my age, I believe I am on the borderline of a MASSIVE generation gap. I was raised on simple yet effective mathematics (You know, 21-10= 11, that kind of stuff), I went outside to play, I knew what it meant to "adjust the antenna so we can watch the football game"... You get the picture... Well, I bought something today, and the conversation went like this:

*Total was $6.31, and I hand the guy $21.31*

Guy: "You handed me a dollar too much..."

Me: "Yeah, I don't want to deal with ones."

Guy: *Stares at me with a blank, confused look for a full 5 seconds*

Me: "Uh... My change?? It's 15 dollars...."

Guy: *Stares with a look that was either calculating or he didn't believe me*

Finally after, as I counted, 5 seconds, he hands me my change.

Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

And now for your Friday Fun!!

I got this little gem from this wonderful woman, and it's hilarious! Put together by part of the Fitfluential team, and it's so true, yet great for a laugh. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!!