Shredded Chicken Taco Bowls

Tonight's dinner was a sort of "dump and go" meal-I threw all the ingredients in my trusty crockpot this morning and pretty much forgot about it (minus a little stirring once or twice) until it was ready to go. I love being able to start my meals at the beginning of the day when I have a little more energy, and having the majority of the work done for me! All I had to do before serving was make some rice (which could totally only take 90 seconds if you go the instant route, but I chose not to), chop up the cilantro, and put the shredded cheese in a bowl. Oh, and heat up the queso dip, which is what I served as a little appetizer (although you really don't need anything, this meal was SUPER filling). Overall, the meal was a success, but J and I both agreed it was lacking in the seasoning department. I think it needed a little more salt, there was still a pretty good "kick" to it, but it needed something more. I also think I'd go easier on the rice and have the "taco" part be more of the focus. Here is the full recipe, I really love how she breaks it all down by cost, this one was less than $11-totes affordable and seriously SO easy. Trust me, if you have a crockpot, you can make this. Now, onto pics...

Here is the chicken, beans, corn, and seasonings (I didn't just use taco seasoning) just bakin' away

And here is the finished product, served with Blue Moon's Harvest Pumpkin Ale which is DELISH!

Overall, I think I'd give this one a solid B. J is taking the leftovers to work tomorrow to share with the guys, so I'll let them be the final judges!

Enjoy!

Menu for the week: 11/15-11/21

I think I should have posted my weekly menu before I posted my first meal yesterday, but I'm still trying to figure this all out, so I'm allowing myself a bit of a freebie. I also wanted to add that not all my meals will be from new recipes since my husband likes to cook a little too, and he usually just "does his own thing"; meaning, he makes it up as he goes. He's down with me blogging about our dinners, so I'm hoping I can get him to give me a step-by-step this week. His meals are underlined, mmkay? Oh, and we're on a pretty tight budget, so we rarely go out, but this week is an exception since we have the hubster's TaskForce semiformal and get a free meal! I'll post more about that on Friday-give you the breakdown of my outfit, hair, and make-up. So anyways, here's our menu for the week, and the reason that it goes from Tues-Mon is because I plan our meals around paydays which are the 1st and 15th of each month. I plan them out one week at a time for now, since two weeks just seems too overwhelming!

Tuesday (yesterday's meal): Campbell's Potato Broccoli Cheese soup, spinach, grape tomato, carrot, and feta cheese salad, and the Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
Wednesday: Shredded Chicken Taco Bowls and some sort of side, we'll see what we're in the mood for!

Thursday: Chili and cornbread. Since my husband is cooking tonight, I'll try and make a new dessert. :)

Friday: Out for the semiformal (first date night since J got home from the 'Ghan)!

Saturday: Chicken Enchiladas-here's the deal with these: my husband has a weird fascination with Hamburger Helper-it was the first meal he asked for when he got home. He usually adds a bunch of seasonings and ALWAYS adds green pepper to the Mexican dishes. I'll still make sure to take pics and let you know what was added, but I also plan on rolling them in tortillas and baking them to make a sort of taquito.

Sunday: hamburgers, Crispy Parmesan Asparagus Sticks, and Hasselback potatoes (I think I'm most excited for this one!).

Monday: Champp's Pasta Cake (my own recipe, so I'll share that within the blog post) and one of those handy-dandy veggie steamers (luuuuurve those).

So there ya have it. That's my week. I know it's not much of an inspiration, but once little nugget goes down for his nap, I plan on printing off more recipes for next week. It's supposed to start snowing here soon, so I'm sure there will be a lot more comfort foods thrown in the mix!

Also, if you have any bomb recipes that you think I might like, throw 'em my way! All my blog stuff can go to fashionlustrocks@gmail.com-but please leave me a comment here (or anywhere on the blog) letting me know you emailed me!

Enjoy!

Cheddar Bay Biscuits!

If I could eat at Red Lobster every single day, I would. No lie. I could live off of their Caesar salad, crab legs, and, oh yeah, CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS. Hell, I could probably eat just those everyday and not get sick of them. And for some odd reason, their soda even tastes better there!

On the first day of my recipe challenge, I decided to take it a little easy on myself and try out a biscuit recipe. It was SO simple that I'm almost embarrassed to post it, but I'm still proud of myself at how delicious they turned out, so I'm gonna go for it. And don't hate on my cell phone pics, I'm no shmancy pants photographer, so those grainy ones will just have to suffice for now.

And P.S.-make sure to comment on my AWESOME Fiestaware. :)

Wine is Moselland Lighthouse Series Riesling- a little bubbly, semi-sweet, and a little spicy! Delish!

You can find the Cheddar Bay Biscuit recipe here from All Recipes. I cut it in half and it made 8 large biscuits. We also used Sharp Cheddar cheese and used a tad bit more butter.

Enjoy!

Oh hi!

You made it! Were you just over at Fashion Lust? Or were you creepin' on my FB and wanted to check my new endeavor out? Either way, I'm super glad you're here. This is my new little corner to write about anything and everything I want-the idea started this morning when I challenged myself to step outside my comfort zone when it comes to cooking and try a new recipe each night for the week. I thought instead of writing a simple status update about it, I'd blog about it, and throw in other random things as well. Fashion Lust is strictly for all things fashion, but I really wanted a place where I could talk about my crafts, my newest beauty products, and what I'm cooking for dinner (recipes included)-proof that anyone can make an edible meal! ;)

Knowing me, the layout will change a thousand times, so don't be surprised if you come back and it looks different, that's just me, being indecisive.

Thanks for following me, and I hope you enjoy this new little gem I'm slowly polishing!