Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken Chili

I love crockpot meals!  It is perfect for busy mom or dads.  It is even more perfect for a person who has to be at work all day!  Who wants to come home after a long day at work and cook?  Not me.  It is the perfect way to prepare dinner for you or for the whole family.  Put the stuff in the crockpot in the morning and come home at dinner time to a delicious smelling house and a fully prepared meal.  *sigh* ahhhhhhhh........ No pots and pans.  Just the crockpot and the dishes you ate with.  Pop them in the dishwasher and you are done!

This crockpot meal is one of my all time favorites.  It puts a nice spin on the chili.  Please let me know if you try it!  I'd love to hear your thoughts.


Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken Chili 
6-8 Servings

Ingredients
2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (20oz) can pineapple chunks, drained with juice reserved
1 (10oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (14.5oz) can black beans, drained
1 Cup prepared BBQ sauce
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Instructions
1.  Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place in the crockpot.

2.  Top chicken with chopped up onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, beans, BBQ sauce, and the reserved pineapple juice.  (put pineapple chunks in the refrigerator for later use)

 3.  Stir chili powder, cumin, and ginger into the chili and set crock pot to cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

4.  Remove chicken from chili and shred into bite-sized pieces.  Return to chili and stir in pineapple chunks.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I hope you enjoy!  Please share with your friends and please go like my page for more recipes, fitness tips and more!  https://www.facebook.com/dramaticfitness

Pumpkin Chip Zucchini Bread

I made this delicious bread yesterday.  I had actually never had zucchini bread before so I was a little nervous.  I mean, I DO NOT like carrot cake at all!  I DO NOT like rice pudding either!  I tend to think that regular food items like vegetables or rice should not be a part of a dessert like dish.....HOWEVER.....this bread was absolutely delightful.  It was sweet, but not too sweet.  It was a nice treat that isn't too high in calories and it's clean.  The bread is easy to make and so moist.  Love it!  Here is the recipe below.  Leave your comments and tell me what you think!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ginger
Pinch of cloves
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup shredded zucchini, sqeezed of excess moisture
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 egg
1 tsp. natural vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

In a separate large bowl combine pumpkin, zucchini, honey, oil, egg, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.  Whisk in almond milk.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Gently fold in chocolate chips, reserving a few for sprinkling on top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes (mine baked faster...45 minutes) or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 10-15 minutes, then remove bread from pan and transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.

You can also bake these into muffins, but you may need to adjust the baking time.  I would check them around 20 minutes.

You can use different types of chocolate chips to make this bread your own.  

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Serves: 12 slices
Serving size - 1 slice
Calories:  153
Fat:  4.5g
Carbohydrates:  26.1g
Sugar: 13g
Fiber: 2.3g
Protein: 3g

   

21 Day Fix Approved - Crockpot Sweet Potato Chicken

My husband Joey made a fabulous crock pot meal yesterday while I was at work!  I have to say that when I found the recipe I was thinking that Joey would like it but I assumed I would not.  Well!  I was wrong!  It was fabulous!  So tasty and easy to make!  Who doesn't love crockpot meals when you are busy?  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
2 Sweet potatoes
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Directions
1.  Layer the sweet potato chunks and chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot.
2.  Season with salt and pepper.
3.  In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, red onion, apple sauce and vinegar
4.  Pour the mixture over the chicken and sweet potato chunks.
5.  Cover and cook on low in the crock pot for 6-8 hours until the chicken breasts are tender.
6.  Serve with a vegetable or side salad.

1 Red (chicken)
1 Yellow (Sweet potato)
1/4 Purple (applesauce)

I hope you enjoy!  Post your comments below if you tried it!

 

I Feel Like I'm Grounded

Whenever someone in my challenge group or my life gets injured or sick I will be the first one to turn into MOM and tell them that they need to take it easy and rest and recover before they begin working out again.  But, I find myself being a huge hypocrite when it comes to doing this myself.  I do it everywhere in my life.  I will be the person that still does a show with a 102 fever because I don't want people to be disappointed with  me.  (meanwhile I am infecting everyone).  I am the person that continues to workout even when I am injured or sick.

About a year ago I got the flu and it turned into pneumonia.  I was literally working out for an hour to an hour and a half a day with a fever and coughing so much that I couldn't breathe until God literally had to knock me on my rear end.  I had no clue that I had pneumonia when I was working out but I did know that I felt terrible.  I just knew I didn't want to lose the muscle I had gained or gain weight back because I was sick.  But I got so sick that I was forced to just lay in bed.  That was really silly of me.  I should have been listening to my body because what good is working out and being healthy if you don't take time to rest when your body needs rest?  It is all a part of being healthy.

Well....here I am....in the same predicament.  I have a sprained neck (or whiplash).  What was my first question to the Urgent Care doctor?  "WHEN CAN I WORKOUT AGAIN?"  This time when I said it, I almost felt ashamed of myself.  I KNOW BETTER.  I know that I can workout again when my body is feeling well enough to workout.  My first concern SHOULD have been getting well.  But it wasn't.  I am saying all this because I want you to know that it is still something I struggle with.  It is a part of the eating disorder that ruled my life for 26 years.  It is the fear of gaining weight....getting flabby... not having things in my control...etc.  It is the habit my brain has been in that I am working very hard to re-train.  I KNOW that me taking a break will not make me gain weight or get flabby especially if I keep eating healthy.  I know this.  But, my emotions sometimes take over and I need to remind myself of this daily.

So, the past two days have been difficult for me.  I see all the post workout selfies in my groups and on my news feed.  I get up early with Joey still while he works out to support him and make sure we have our quiet time together and I am JEALOUS!  I want to get moving!  But I cannot.  If I do not let my body heal I will wind up in worse condition than I already am.  If I do not let my body heal what kind of message am I sending to my children?  To my friends and family?  So, God is sending a message to me right now.  This is a period of waiting....and learning....and re-training my thought process.  What goals can I set for myself while I wait?  That way I can feel productive in a different way.  Let me know your suggestions.  I would love to hear them.