Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Holy Momma.

This recipe was good. And I'm talking finger lickin' good. I loved it. And our neighbors loved it! And Devin loved it! A+ for me, right?

And the best part of all? It literally takes 10 minutes. Did you hear me? 10 minutes! In a world where I don't even have time to shower in between homework, teaching, and wiping my puppy's butt, 10 minutes for dinner rocks.

So here's the recipe. Go paint your nails. Or take a nap. Or praise the heavens. I know. I know.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 TBSP Butter
1/4 cup Honey
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Hamburger Buns/Large Rolls

Directions:

Start by boiling the chicken. Mix all of the rest of the ingredients together in a microwavable bowl. Mix until blended (there will be some chunks). Microwave for 30-60 seconds. Mix again until well blended and creamy.

Once the chicken is done, shred it and add into the bowl of sauce. Mix together and serve on a bun!

And that's it. Your family will thank you! Enjoy!

Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole

I wasn't sure how this one would turn out, as Devin's all-time favorite meal is the hamburger helper cheeseburger version (did I mention he's 5 years old?). Anyway, I didn't think anything I could cook would beat out hamburger helper for him... but sure enough, it did. I had him begging me for seconds! For a picky eater, I felt like I hit the jackpot this time. I thought it was really good, but a little rich. I don't imagine making this too often (or I'll probably put on 15 lbs) but, it's a go-to when I want to do some hubby pleasing!

Anyway HERE's the recipe and the site I got it from. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2lb chicken, cooked and cubed

1 box (10oz) Rotini noodles
7-8 slices of Bacon cooked and chopped up
3 cloves of garlic, minced (I substituted w/ garlic powder)
2 tbsp flour
1 cup of Milk (I used 2%)
3/4 cup of Ranch Dressing (I used Kraft)
3 tbsp of butter
2 cups of Mexican Cheese Blend
1 small can of Green Chile (I used Hatch Green Chile)

Directions

Cook your chicken thoroughly. I sauteed them for 7-8 minutes, but time will vary depending on the size/thickness of your chicken.

While your chicken is cooking, make your bacon and make the noodles per directions on the package. Chop up your bacon and chicken into bits. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Keep a small bit of your bacon drippings in the pan.   Heat your garlic powder (or cloves) and butter just until melted (don’t brown). Toss in the chicken and the flour and cook for about 1 minute mixing it all together. Dump in the milk and ranch. Mix over medium/low heat for about 2-3 minute until slightly thickened.

Add in 1 cup of cheese. Mix it all together throughly. Then fold it in with the noodles. Get it all mixed up together.  At this point you can add the green chile — I actually used half a can of green chile as I did half the casserole with the green chile and half without.

Dump the casserole in a large casserole dish. Pour the remaining cup of cheese over the top of the casserole. Cook for 15 minutes at 350 until cheese is nicely melted.

Enjoy! We had it with salad. So good!

The Start of a New School Year

Today was my last first day of school... well being a student that is... unless of course I go to graduate school... well, you get the point!  I have this semester left of classes and my practicum, and then I student teach second semester (January-April). Boy am I excited! This semester might be a drag though... I mean, I'm psyched for my classes, I'm just not psyched that I have to take so many. And because this is my last semester. It also means I have all of my capstone and senior courses, which are hard. Here are the classes I'm taking:

Practicum - 4 credits
D&C - 2 credits
Shakespeare - 3 credits
Teaching Reading - 3 credits
American Lit to 1800 - 3 credits
The Senior Course (devotional lyric) - 3 credits
= 18 whole credits.

I just have mixed feelings really. I'm SO ready to be done with school and just WORK already, but at the same time, I want to learn as much as I can before I have to teach. I feel ready and not ready at the same time... Sometimes I seriously consider graduating with just an English degree. But then something always pulls me back to this insane major, and I stick with it. I think I'll be glad when I'm done.

Our student teaching/practicum assignments were revealed today! I will be teaching at Vista Heights Middle School in Saratoga Springs (Alpine School district). My mentor teacher's name is Natalie Thomson. She looks super cute and close to my age, which is exciting. It'll be nice to be teaching up near Lehi where I might be able to get a job next year! (Fingers crossed)

I was going to post of photo of what I looked like on this first last day of college pic, but I was so exhausted I came home right away, let Zeus out, played with him, changed (it's 90 degrees outside), and collapsed on the couch. So the picture I post today might be a little scary, honestly. Let's hope tomorrow is less exhausting and I might put one in here.