The Best Chicken and Dumplings

   Chicken and Dumplings is a classic comfort food in my world. I remember a time when I was little that I did not like them at all, I think I had a problem with soups in general, but now I don't want to go without them in winter. My mom still makes the best pot out there but I have finally gotten my process down to where it is almost the same. The first winter we were married I tried to make my first pot all on my own. I followed Mom's directions but they turned out runny and not enough dumplings. Hubby was a trooper though and ate them with a smile, he's so sweet. I have made many batches since and they each got better, the last two though have been my best yet.

Healthy Options at McDonald's

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

   When you think McDonald's your first thought is probably not healthy, mine is typically fries and McDoubles. McDonald's has made huge strides in their offerings over the last few years and their menu is not lacking nutritious options. These are some of the great options you can pick breakfast or lunch. 
   
   If you have been following me long it is pretty obvious that chicken is one of my favorite foods, I could eat it for every meal. McDonald's has some of the greatest fast food chicken around. Their Artisan Grilled Chicken is my absolute favorite to have on a sandwich. The Chef Crafted Sandwiches give you the option to pick your protein, the grilled chicken on an artisan bun with the any of the toppings and you have a great healthier option.

Baked Chicken Wings

   Baking instead of frying chicken is not a new idea. These though you can get to the same crispness as a fried wing and I think they taste even better. We are following the Trim Healthy Mama plan and these are on plan and great for a date night or when watching a football game. These alone would be a FP but served with a side of sweet potato fries would make an E.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

   I typically don’t make chicken in the crock pot, I tried when we first got married and it turned out dry and one time burnt. I thought it was the crock pot, but it made everything else perfectly, so I decided no more chicken in there. But when I saw this recipe and the blogger said that hers is normally dry as well and this one was moist and perfect, I decided to go for it. I am so glad I did because it is amazing and on our list to make often.

McDonald's New Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own. 

   I've always enjoyed McDonald's chicken sandwiches; crispy, grilled, and of course, the McChicken. And now, there's the Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich...delicious.

Chicken Enchiladas

   We love some good Mexican food, and I am a big fan of chicken enchiladas! Mom always made delicious enchiladas with the best Mexican rice ever!! (that recipe coming soon) So I have been playing around with how I cooked the chicken lately. Here is the one that worked out the best!

Premium Salads at McDonald's

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

   I’m always looking for healthier options on the road and McDonald’s has made that easy with many of their menu items, including three Premium Salads.  I was surprised at the variety of these salads: Bacon Ranch, Southwest and Asian. There is an option for everyone and each salad can be ordered plain, with crispy chicken or grilled chicken.

An Indian Dinner, Butter Chicken with Nann

   Disclaimer these are not my recipes I just have to share them because they are so stinking good!!

   We have started to attempt to venture out in our food and try different things. If you’ve been around long you know that Italian used to be all the time in our house, but pasta, while amazing, is not something that we should be eating every night. We do Chinese(ish) often as well, so we went a little different and tried some Indian food.

Pesto Stuffed Chicken Thighs

    If you weren't aware chicken thighs are awesome! We eat them often they are my favorite probably because they are so moist no matter how you cook them. I have wanted to stuff chicken for a while now but could not think of what would be good to use. I finally realized it when I saw a recipe for pesto stuffed breast.

What's in that McNugget? Behind the Chicken at McDonald's!

 I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

   McDonald’s serves a lot of chicken! Of course, you already knew that though, I mean, who hasn’t ever tried a McNugget? They have many different types of chicken as well. I just found out they brought back the Southern Style Chicken Biscuit and was so pumped, plus they are 2 for $3!!! I am excited to share with you today TRUTH about the chicken that McDonald’s uses and how they make their McNuggets.

The Chickens

    McDonald’s recently released its new antibiotic policy. "McDonalds is committed to using chicken that is not raised with antibiotics important to human medicine. McDonald’s has been working closely with farmers for years to reduce the use of antibiotics in our supply, and are committed to stop using antibiotics important to human medicine in chicken production for McDonald’s USA by March 2017." Statement from McDonald's Corporate office.

   They will still use antibiotics to treat sick animals as needed, if it is medicine used in treating humans then that bird will not be purchased by McDonald's.

The Meat

McNuggets are made using white-meat chicken from the breast, rib, tender, and grind it with a bit of skin. Even though the meat is formed, it is 100 percent real chicken. They are formed in four shapes and partially fried then flashed frozen.  And then fully fried before serving. 

McNuggets

McNuggets from the local McDonald's

Chicken sandwiches are made using 100% real chicken. Each sandwich has its own formula for which meat is used. The grilled chicken uses a breast filet with NO preservatives that is seared in-house. Crispy sandwich uses a breast filet as well. The McChicken is a blend of dark and white meat,

Artisan Grilled Sandwich

McChicken 

Chicken Selects are made using chicken tenderloin that is then battered and fried.

Chicken Selects 

What is your favorite McDonald's Chicken??  Personally, I am a huge fan of the southwest chicken but the selects are so good!! 

Baked Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Sautéed Mushrooms

   As I mentioned last week in my Things I love Post we ate this meal in some form every night last week. We loved it, we did it for a couple reasons one being trying to have healthier foods and control portions, and the other is it is relatively inexpensive or a weeks worth of food.

   We used bone in skin on thighs and they were so moist and paired greatly with the sweetness of the onions and the richness of the mushrooms.  Serve with various different vegetables or a side salad.

Roasted Chicken and What to do With Leftovers

There are a lot of different things to do with a whole chicken, it can serve as multiple meals for two people.  

I start with roasting the whole bird. There is something so comforting about the smell of it cooking and eating a fresh leg.

Make sure your bird is thawed. Rinse with water and make sure there isn’t anything in the cavity. I like to cut off the fat and skin that cover the cavities so that it doesn’t make a nasty fat layer.  Pat the chicken and make sure it is very dry.

Chinese Chicken and Rice

 

  I did a stir fry before that is somewhat similar to this but this time I added hoisin sauce as a main part of the sauce. I love making Chinese food and playing with the flavors we have. My sauces typically come out pretty well but almost never the same.  This time it was a new flavor but very good. I will give amounts but take them lightly and adjust everything to your liking as you go.  This does have a sweeter note to it, if you want to add more crushed pepper that would raise the heat level up and balance out the sweetness, I liked it being sweet.

Chicken Marsala

   Hey all this is my favorite meal, I have a few favorites really but this would probably be at the top. Now before very recently I had to go to Olive Garden to satisfy my need for it but now, now I can make it on my own and it’s almost just as good. Only almost because I don’t have the minestrone and bread sticks to go with it. 

   The first time I had this outside of a restaurant was when Hubby and I were dating and he made it for my birthday. It was delicious! We’ve only had it a few times and usually I have him make it but this time I gave it a try and realized it’s a very simple recipe.  So let’s get to it.

Simple Delicious Stir Fry

  Who’s ready for a recipe? I know I’m always ready for one and this couldn't be any simpler. Tuesday I threw together a Chinese (well my version) Stir Fry using some rice noodles I had in the pantry, and some chicken.