Sweet and Sticky Chex Mix

I've made this recipe quite a few times and each time I make it, it doesn't last long.  We went through the entire bowl on Thanksgiving Day.  Once you start eating this stuff it's so hard to stop because it's so deliciously crunchy, chewy and sweet.  This recipe is so easily made gluten free and that's how I typically make it.  You can can change up the candy and nut pieces for your favorites, but I'll just list how I made it. Really - I don't need to spend much time describing it.  Just make it!!  I PROMISE you won't regret it... or you will because you won't be able to stop eating it!

Sweet & Sticky Chex Mix

Ingredients:

3 cups rice Chex cereal

3 cups corn Chex cereal

3 cups gluten free small pretzels

1 cup cashew halves/pieces

1 cup m&m's

1 cup Reese's Pieces

2 sticks butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup white Karo syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

In a large bowl combine Chex cereals, pretzels and cashews.

In a small sauce pan melt butter with sugar and syrup.  Bring to a boil and turn town heat while still boiling, stirring constantly for about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour sweet syrup over Chex mixture and combine using a large rubber spatula to stir it all up and cover everything with the sauce.  Add the m&m's and Reese's pieces here - if you add them early and the sauce is still too hot, the chocolate shells will melt.  Stir in the candy pieces and then spread it all out over a sheet of waxed or parchment paper to cool and dry.  Let sit out for a couple hours then put into a Tupperware bowl.  The mixture will still be sticky inside the bowl and you may have to break it apart to eat.

ENJOY!!!

Flavor God Wing Sauce

Maybe you've used Flavor God seasonings before and maybe this is the first time you've heard of them.  They have some great seasonings and I have loved each one I have ordered so far!  They keep their seasonings low sodium and don't add any sugars.  I also follow them on Instagram:  @flavorgod and @flavorgodrecipeguide and that's where I found this recipe for this AMAZING wing sauce!!  So while this recipe isn't originally mine, it has become my absolutely new favorite wing sauce.  I adore spicy foods but sometimes things just aren't spicy enough for me but this was like the perfect amount of spice for me.

You can use this as a wing sauce for about 2 1/2 pounds of chicken wings or as a dipping sauce for chicken.  I top my eggs with it and put it in my Spicy Steak & Egg Scramble.  Be creative with it's uses!!  I hope you love it as much as I do!

This is a paleo, clean eating and whole 30 compliant recipe (if you use ghee).

Flavor God Wing Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup ghee (or butter)
2 1/2 tablespoons Flavor God Everything Spicy Seasoning
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon garlic
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (original)

Instructions:
In a small saucepan melt ghee then add the spicy seasoning, lime juice and garlic.  Saute a bit then add the Frank's and bring up to a boil again.  You can either top chicken wings with it right away or store the refrigerator.  It makes about 3/4 cup of sauce.

Salted Dark Chocolate Latte

I hit it right on my very first try with this one.  Well - I guess that's my opinion.  I've never ordered a salted anything at any coffee shop.  I'm more of a mocha girl, but I so rarely go to any coffee shop anymore because of the amount of sugar that goes into those delicious concoctions.  Now that's not to say I don't enjoy them, because I sure do, but sometimes the sugar rush isn't worth my headache.  So I try to create my own mixtures at home.  If you haven't already made them, I also have a Bulletproof Pumpkin Spice Latte and a Dark Chocolate Mocha in my arsenal of delicious afternoon 'pick-me-ups'.  This is just another great one to enjoy!!  So - whip one up and savor!!  I love how the coconut oil gives you an energy burst and there are SO MANY health benefits to adding coconut to your daily food intake!!

This recipe is paleo & clean eating.

Salted Dark Chocolate Latte

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk (full-fat canned or unsweeted from the carton) heated up
10 ounces of your favorite coffee
2-3 teaspoons honey, depending on how sweet you like it
1 tablespoon cacao powder - I use this - Healthworks Cacao Powder, 1 lb
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, be careful with this, I prefer just a hare over 1/8th of a teaspoon in mine, if you over-salt it, it will not taste good!!

Instructions:
In a microwave safe mug heat up your coconut milk.  In another container combine the rest of your ingredients, without the coconut milk, and blend it for 10-20 seconds with an immersion blender or in a blender until it's frothy.  Pour in your heated coconut milk and blend a few more seconds.  Pour into a big mug and enjoy!!

Drink up that big cup!!

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

This recipe was so simple to throw together.  I put my chicken breasts in frozen, you can brown yours before you put them in.  It's your choice.  If you brown them before, then there will be less liquid from the chicken later on, but that's easily remedied by leaving the lid off your crock pot for the last 30-50 minutes of cooking.  We enjoyed this served over mashed potatoes (you can kind of see them peeking out from underneath all that yummy meat!).  You could also eat it in a bun or even just plain!  This makes a large batch, so be prepared for some leftovers.  It would be a great meal to make freeze half of it for later use or just to have a ready supply of leftovers in your fridge!

This recipe is clean eating and paleo (as long as you use a paleo Worcestershire sauce or recipe).

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

Ingredients:
5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 small onion finely chopped (or 2-3 tablespoons dried minced onion)
1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons paprika (I use 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 heaping tablespoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt


Instructions:
Put all the sauce ingredients listed below the chicken breasts in the bottom of a 5-6 quart slow cooker and stir until very well mixed.  Add your chicken (and obviously the lid) and cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-7 hours.  Make sure to move your chicken pieces around in the sauce at certain points.  About an hour before you are ready to eat, use a potato masher and mash all your chicken.  It should shred very nicely.  It may look like there is a lot of liquid, but once you get all the chicken shredded it should be better.  If there is too much liquid for your liking, place the lid on about 3/4 of the way so that it allows all the sauce to reduce nicely for a wonderfully flavored pulled chicken!

Pork Carnitas

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It's been a while!  Winter has been busy for us and I have put any blogging on the back burner. I've now got 2 new recipes to post!  My first one is pork carnitas.  Carnitas means 'little meats' and these little meats have big flavor.  This time around I broiled them after cooking them so they would be crispier.  My kids liked them crispy, my hubby and I would preferred them directly from the pot.  We thought broiling them dried out the meat a little bit.

This recipe is so simple and delicious.  Give it a try!

This recipe is whole 30 compliant, paleo & clean eating and just plain good.

Pork Carnitas

Ingredients:
4 pound pork loin or pork shoulder cut into 2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cilantro
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like things)
juice of 2 limes
2 cups of water

Instructions:
Put your pork chunks into a ziploc bag.  In a bowl combine all the spices and seasonings except for the lime juice and the water.  Pour all the seasonings over the pork and shake it all until every piece is covered with the mix.

In a large pot or dutch oven pour in a bit of olive oil and then warm to medium heat.  Then add the pork chunks and sear the edges just a bit, it doesn't have to be perfect, just 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side.  Pour the lime juice into the bottom of the pot then add the 2 cups of water.  Bring the pot to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat so that it's still boiling just a little bit.  Do not cover this dish.  That water needs to evaporate and reduce out to create the delicious flavor of the dish and the lime will tenderize the meat.  Let the pot simmer over your stovetop for about 2 hours and then check it.  Your liquid should be reduced to almost gone.  When there is just a small thick layer of sauce in the bottom take turns flipping over each of the pork chunks so they darken a bit on each side.

Serve just the meat chunks with some baked sweet potatoes and delicious green veggies or shred the meat and serve in tortillas with some salsa and guacamole!!  

Slow Cooker Enchilada Meat Sauce

This was such a simple dish to create.  I hadn't thawed out any hamburger, so I threw it in my crock pot and cooked it, drained the drippings then added my sauce and seasonings.  I enjoyed my meat sauce over a potato with some lettuce, my 5 minute guacamole and some jalapenos.  The hubby and kids enjoyed it inside a flour tortilla with some shredded cheese, lettuce, black olives and sour cream.  Really yummy with a great flavor.  So simple to make - why would you buy a can of enchilada sauce?!  This makes a pretty nice sized batch of meat sauce.  It would be easy to keep half and put the other half in your freezer for later or just eat the leftovers for a day or two!

This recipe is paleo, whole 30 compliant (read your labels for compliance!!) and clean eating.

Slow Cooker Enchilada Meat Sauce

Ingredients:
3 pounds ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
32 ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
4.5 oz can chopped green chiles

Instructions:
If you're like me and don't think of what to make for supper the night before and have frozen ground beef, throw it in your crock pot (with the chopped onion) on high for about 2 hours.  Chopping it up a few times with a wooden spoon to crumble it.  Then drain the grease.  After ground beef and onion are cooked together add all the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 3-4 hours or high 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.