Kitchen Krazy!

So yesterday I went to Walmart to buy one thing from the kitchen aisle, a glass jar. And this is what I came out with…

I just NEEDED all of this!

A measuring cup, the glass jar that I came in for, two sets up mini measure cups, and the best purchase of all: a Bubba Keg Tumbler! There is just something so irresistible about the kitchen aisle. You KNOW what I’m talking about…right? :]. I’m totally obsessed with this Bubba Keg Tumbler because it’s amazing for my recent smoothie addiction! It can keep drinks hot or cold, sweet. Speaking of my smoothie addiction, the reason I needed a glass jar was to have a container for my Xanthan Gum. What is Xanthan Gum, you ask? Well, it’s only the best thing to ever happen to smoothies! It’s a very fine powder that is used for thickening food. It makes the yummiest, thickest smoothie. And I mean thick. Half a teaspoon of this bad boy and you’re good to go. I thought I’d give you my most recent and favorite smoothie recipe. I’m a lover of coffee and peppermint so if you are too, prepare to be dazzled.

•One scoop of chocolate protein powder         •Half teaspoon of Xanthan Gum       •Dash of peppermint mocha coffee creamer

•1 Starbucks Via Packet (instant coffee)
•Half teaspoon of Xanthan Gum
•4 or 5 ice cubes
•Half a frozen banana
•some water (as much as you want for desired thickness)
•dash of cinnamon

This may sound like a weird combo to some, but it’s so delicious. Kind of a healthier take on a frappuccino. I buy my protein powder (found where the nutrition bars are) and xanthan gum (found in the baking aisle on the organic kiosk) at publix.

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe?

Chicken Flautas

Possibly the best thing I’ve ever eaten: My boyfriends spin on chicken flautas! I feel like if I didn’t share this recipe with you guys I would be committing a crime. It’s that good. The first time I ever had chicken flautas was at Tijuana Flats. One day my boyfriend, Stephen, decided to cook them for me and I thought there was NO way he could make them better, no offense to him :]. But boy was I wrong. They were ten times better! So here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken Breasts

Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

Red Peppers

Cilantro

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Caribbean Jerk Marinade

Vegetable Oil

1. Marinate chicken in the Caribbean Jerk Marinade, cook until done, shred chicken with a fork.

2. Cut up the red pepper into strips and put it into a small pot. Pour in some of the marinade and cook on medium, covered, until the peppers are soft. Cut up into small pieces.

3. In a big bowl, think cake mix sized, add the cheese, chopped cilatro, chicken, and peppers. Stir it up!

4. Put a pan on the stove and add some vegetable oil, heat to med-high. Throw the tortillas on the pan one at a time. Flip over once and wait until the the tortilla starts to bubble to take it off the pan. (This step is to make the tortillas a little crispy! Yum.) Pat excess oil off the tortilla with a paper towel.

5. Now comes the fun part! Take a spoon and add a few big spoon fulls of the chicken mix onto a tortilla. Now roll it up like a burrito! I’m an expert on this because I used to work at Moes, haha. If you’re unsure of how to roll it up, you could probably find a youtube video on burrito rolling lol. Maybe I’ll do a tutorial one day! This is always my job of the cooking process :]

6. Now turn the oven on 350 deg. and cook the flautas for about ten minutes or until they start to brown just a tad. Voila! Delicious dinner!

Before we end, we must talk about the dipping sauces. First is sour cream, obvi! Next is another one of Stephen’s delicious creations. (Can you tell the he’s a really good cook by now?) We simply call it jelly. Here’s what’s in it: Sweet Orange Marmalade, Sweet Chili Sauce (can be bought at publix), and red pepper flakes. Add equal parts of marmalade and chili sauce and top with a dash of red pepper flakes and stir it all up! This sauce is literally amazing on everything. I especially love it on chicken. If you wanna get really crazy stir the sour cream into the jelly and be prepared to get addicted!

Have you ever had chicken flautas?                                                        

Do you have your own  recipe?