Lentil Salad (vegan)

Ingredients:
1lb bag of dried lentils
2 cups of shredded carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
3-4 cloves of garlic
Salt to taste
Optional: Parsley or shredded apple

Steps:
1. Cook the lentils according to the package
2. Once cooked and drained, mix the remaining ingredients with the lentils.
3. Cover and chill. Serve cold.

Vegan Chick(en)Pea Salad

Ingredients:
1 can of garbanzo beans
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup of diced dill pickles
3 cloves of garlic
Juice of one small lemon
1/2 cup vegan mayo (I use Just Mayo)
1 tablespoon of mustard
Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, celery seed

Steps:
1. Rinse and roughly mash the chickpeas with a fork or potato masher.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well.
3. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Serve with crackers, on a sandwich/wrap, or top off a salad!

My favorite way to eat this is in a toasted pita and drizzled with balsamic dressing.

Slow Cooked Pulled Chicken Dinner

Pulled BBQ Chicken, Light Cole Slaw, 5 Bean Salad & Corn

My first attempt to "slow cook" anything in a crockpot turned out to be a huge success!

I found a few simple pulled chicken recipes, shared with Trey, and we decided on one...and I went with it!

The prep and starting the crockpot was quite a scene; all done within 20 minutes on my lunch break! The sides were all prepped with a glass of red in hand AFTER work!

The Chicken

Link: http://www.food.com/recipe/pulled-chicken-sandwiches-crock-pot-242547

I followed this recipe very closely. Tobasco sauce was the only ingredient I subbed out with Stubb's Wing Sauce (this was a new buy, thanks to Tim, and I was just really excited to use it; plus it was very spicy, in a peppery way!). 

A few reviews of this recipe say how the sauce may get watery. This is true when you begin the shredding...however, if you let it sit on the warm setting and stir every 10-15 minutes, it will eventually be absorbed by the chicken.

The Slaw

1 Bag of shredded cabbage
Greek Yogurt - 2 tbs 
Mayo - 1 tbs (generous)
Sugar - 2 tspn (flat)
Apple cider vinegar - 2 tbs
Cumin - 1/2 tspn
Salt/Pepper - to taste

Mix the above, cool and serve

Delicious, light, crispy! Much better than a store bought/traditional wet, soggy, mayonaissy cole slaw.

5 Bean Salad

Link: http://www.food.com/recipe/five-bean-salad-608

Big Bill says I should get Pam's recipe ;)

Yes, it was still good, actually very good.

I used a quarter of the sugar this recipe calls for and omitted the green pepper.

Corn

Boiled :)

Feast

We prepared our toasted rolls open faced; one topped with slaw and the other topped with JALAPENOS. 

All in all, we were all very satisfied, even the Carolina boys! I was blown away, so goooooooooooooood!

Taco Salad

Taco Salad with homemade Guac

This is one of our "healthy" dinners!

Easy as can be: 

1 lb. of ground beef or turkey

shredded cheese of your choice

shredded iceberg lettuce

dice tomato and onion

tortilla chips

taco seasoning

two avocados+1 packet of spicy guacamole mix=the bomb

sour cream
your favorite hot sauce
and taco sauce...

BOOM!

1. Brown meat, drain, add seasoning with water and simmer
2. Grab a plate and add in ingredients in this order (or whichever works best for you my dear)
chips
beef
cheese
hot sauce
lettuce
tomato + onion
sour cream
guac on the sides
more cheese
more hot sauce
:)