Do NOT use too many jalepenos. Cheesy Pasta!

Friends, friends friends.

I have learned a hard lesson. Recently I was really craving jalepenos. Like, really craving them. I had my husband pick up about 6 of them on the way home, sliced them up (with the seeds) and just threw them in with some chicken I was making.

Friends. This is bad.

First of all, most of you probably know this, but jalepenos have a very strong oil that can get into your pores. Do. not. put your hands on your face after cutting up 6 jalepenos. You will regret it. I did!

Suffice it to say, our chicken was WAY too spicy. I also managed to get it in my eyes so I was crying, my husband was chocking and trying to drink enough milk to drown away the spice.... I had always heard that jalepenos were bad.. and you could endure immense pain from touching your face after handling them, but I ignored it, friends. I thought I was above that advice. Never again!!!

SO... what do you do when your kitchen is smokey, your house smells of jalepenos and you've finally stopped crying enough to make food?

PASTA!

This is (and Im serious) the easiest cheesy pasta you will ever make. Ever.

Grab ANY pasta. Doesn't matter what kind. Fresh, dry... grab it. Boil some water. Put your pasta in.

In a separate pot melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium-low. Once your butter is melted, add 2 tablespoons of flour, and constantly stir until its thickened. Cook it until it starts to bubble (but don't let it burn). You are making a cheesy béchamel sauce.

Alright. Now you need to add 1 1/4 cup of heated milk. I suggest using a microwave for that part or heating it before you melt your butter. Either way. After you have cooked the butter and flour, add in your milk. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat. At this point, add in 1/2 cup grated cheddar and stir it in. Salt and Pepper to taste. Now let it cook for another 2-3 minutes!

By now your pasta should be done, so drain your pasta and either mix it with the cheese sauce or add it on top of your pile of noodles on each plate. Its super easy and delicious and perfect for when you have failed and almost killed you and your husband with spicy jalepenos.


So friends. Don't put  six unseeded jalepenos in with 2 small pieces of chicken and cook them for a long time. They will be spicy and will make you bawl. Learn from my lesson. :)

Until next time friends!! Here's the official recipe below for your Cheesy Pasta!

Cheesy Pasta

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cup heated milk
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Noodles from your cupboard, any noodles.
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar

Directions:

1. Boil water in a pot for pasta. If you like to salt your water for your noodles, do so before it boils (And don't put too much).
2. Add pasta and let it cook.
3. In a separate pot, melt butter on medium-low and mix in flour, stirring constantly.
4. Once the butter-flour mixture is bubbling (not burning), add in your milk slowly.
5. Turn the heat up and bring mixture to a boil.
6. Turn heat down.
7. Add cheese and salt and pepper and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Drain Pasta
9. Add sauce on top.
10. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Chicken, YUM!

Hello again friends! Today I want to share my favorite recipe--Cinnamon Chicken! Before I get to recipe, I want to fill you in on the backstory.

When I was about 8 years old, my mom was pregnant with my youngest sibling. She didn't have much energy and so we started watching Little House on the Prairie so she could have some downtime! (Granted, I had already read the books by this time. TV is no substitute for good books!) In the middle of the series, Laura meets Almanzo Wilder (Manly). Nellie also has a crush on poor Manly and invites him over for dinner, hiring Laura to do the cooking. She asks Laura to make Cinnamon Chicken, Almanzo's favorite. Laura, bitter that Manly is going on a date with Nellie that SHE is cooking for, tears off the label of Cayenne Pepper and uses it generously, even adding more when Nellie demands it. Well suffice it to say, Manly takes one bite of the chicken and runs coughing out of the restaurant.

Ever since then I have been cooking Cinnamon Chicken! Im not sure if this is an actual recipe out there, Im sure it is. My recipe is my own, and its a bit different than most.

As you can see in this picture, my chicken is frozen. You can start this recipe with frozen chicken, or you can skip that and instead massage the cinnamon and water into the chicken about 30 minutes before you want to cook it. If it is NOT frozen, go ahead and stick it in the fridge (with cinnamon on it) and leave it there till you're ready to cook it.

Chicken is my nemesis. I always forget to take it out of the freezer. So instead of worrying about it, I take it out about an hour before I want to start cooking. I generously sprinkle cinnamon all over it. Then I pour a little water over the chicken and rub the cinnamon all around, making sure to get both sides. I sprinkle a little more cinnamon on, add some salt and pepper and a generous helping of red pepper flakes (both sides), and put the lid on the pan. Every 7 minutes or so I turn the chicken over for ultimate thaw-age.

Fast forward about 40 minutes. The chicken should be pretty much defrosted. Its not a big deal if its not all the way. At this point, I usually take the chicken out of my pan and rinse my pan out. There will be a lot of excess cinnamon at the bottom and you don't want it to burn onto your chicken.

Heat up your pan on medium heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Add a little olive oil to it and wait for it to sizzle. After your pan is sufficiently heated up, add your chicken back in. There should be a good amount of cinnamon and red pepper flakes on your chicken still (on both sides) as well as salt and pepper to taste. Put the lid on the pan and let the chicken cook, turning it over every 3-4 minutes or so. Once your chicken is cooked all the way through and sufficiently bouncy. (Clench your fist and feel the muscle down from your thumb. It should feel like that.) You can always cut into your meat to make sure its well cooked.

Serve with sweet potato and jalepeno fries!

I forgot to take a picture of it looking perfect, but this picture just shows how delicious it was!!

Share your experience or questions in the comments below!

Cinnamon Chicken

You Will Need:

- 1 Chicken Breast (Double, triple recipe, as needed)

- 2 tsp (up to 3 tsp) of cinnamon, divided 

- 2-4 tsp Red Pepper flakes, divided

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- 1 tbsp olive oil, divided

- 1/4 c. water

Directions:

1. Sprinkle 1 tsp cinnamon over chicken. Rub the cinnamon into the chicken breast (even if frozen). Flip over, repeat.

2. Add water, sprinkling over chicken as you pour into pan. Massage the chicken breast, rubbing the cinnamon into the chicken. Sprinkle both sides of chicken breast with extra cinnamon. 

3. Add 1 1/2-2 tsp of red pepper flakes, flip chicken. Repeat

4. Salt and Pepper both sides of chicken breast.

3. Add 1tsp olive oil, making sure to coat the chicken. 

4. Let chicken defrost if frozen, otherwise put chicken back into fridge for 25-30 minutes.

5. Once chicken is thawed, take the chicken breast out of the pan. Rinse Pan. 

6. Heat up the pan on medium heat with the rest of the olive oil.

7. Add the chicken and put the lid on. 

8. Flip chicken every 3-4 minutes till finished.

9. Serve immediately!

Crock-Pot Tacos!!

Hello Everyone!

Well I recently got married about 8 months ago (on Valentines!) and when we came home from the honeymoon I figured out that I didn't know how to cook! Thus started my journey in the kitchen. Slowly, and I do mean slowly, I learned to cook. Around December I found myself with a lot of extra time and so I cooked, and baked, doused myself (and the floor, and my clothes, and my husband) in flour and did TONS of research!

And NOW I am here to share my journey with YOU! As I've been talking to people around me, I've learned that I'm not the only one who didn't know how to cook when they got married. Turns out, its pretty common! So I am here to teach you brand new beginners how to do this thing called "cooking". Every couple days I will post what's going on in my life, new recipes, and fun adventures I'm going through! Please join me for the ride!

Without further ado... our first recipe!

Crock-pot Tacos!

I love this recipe! Its SO easy and tastes SO good. 

I love frozen chicken. It is my friend. All I do is take some frozen chicken, put it in my crockpot on LOW for 6 hours with my olive oil and some spices,  and a little bit of water and WALLA!

For tortillas I love Costco's uncooked flour tortillas. They actually taste like I made them myself...without me actually having to make them myself! They are also thinner than a lot of tortillas. My husband loves these too. They also provided a nice background for me to learn how to spice chicken.

Crockpot Tacos

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours

Ingredients:
- Chicken Breasts 4-6 (Or Chicken Tenders)
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/3 c. Water
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp chill powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- Any crunchy vegetables you want on your tacos (carrots, onion, etc.)
- 10-12 uncooked flour tortillas (Or normal tortillas)

(These spices are just what I found that I love. You can easily mix them up.)

Directions:
1. Put the FROZEN chicken breasts (or tenders) into the crock-pot.
2. Drizzle chicken with water and olive oil. Make sure all of the chicken gets some.
3. Sprinkle the spices on with your fingers (Wash them first!). This helps make sure the chicken isn't too heavily coated with spice in one area.
4. Add the vegetables around the seasoned meat.
5. Set the crock-pot to low for 6 hours and walk away. (Cue Kelly Clarkson)
6. When the chicken is almost done, get the pan out and cook up your tortillas.
7. When the timer goes off, shred the chicken with some forks, put it on your tacos with sour cream, veggies, or whatever you like and ENJOY!



Let me know how it goes in the comments below! This recipe is super great for busy family lives, busy work lives, or any sort of busy life in general. I love it, my hubby loves it, and its so easy!