Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves or 10-12 chicken breast tenders 
5 chopped cloves of garlic
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon ginger
dash of allspice
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Chop up chicken into small pieces and put into crockpot. Chop up the onions and garlic. Put into crockpot on top of the meat. In a mixing bowl, mix the liquid and spices and then pour over top of the meat.

Cover and cook for 4-6 hours on high, 6-8 on low.

Serve over lettuce leaves.

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Every day is pretty much the same. I wake up in the morning, eat some breakfast, play with my friend Sadie, eat some dinner and go to bed. The only thing that sometimes changes is what games Sadie and I play. We love to play pirates. It’s fun to swish a sword around and say “argh”. It’s also fun to play tag. Sometimes we play that if Rorschach comes over to visit. He lives in an apartment nearby but likes to come out and hang out with all of us by the school.

Today seems different though. I woke up, ate breakfast, and played with Sadie, but when I went to eat dinner, it wasn’t sitting out like it usually is. Sadie and I looked and looked, but we couldn’t find it. It was so weird! Then, after Sadie had given up and gone to lay down, I decided to look one more time. I knew I smelled it, but I just couldn’t see it. Then, I rounded the corner of a bush and there it was! I thought about going to get Sadie, but she was probably asleep, so I decided to have dinner and then go and let her know where it was.

Except, when I walked up to the bowl, something strange happened. First, I heard a snap noise and then something came down behind me. I turned around quickly, but instead of the bush, I saw a wall. It was so weird, guys. I could see the bush through the spaces between the bars, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get past it. I was stuck!

Then, a hand reached in and took away the food bowl. I thought for sure that they were going to let me out, but nope! They removed the bowl and then walked away. A few minutes later, they came back and suddenly I was floating. I wondered if this is what a leaf felt like when the wind picked it up and carried it.

I wasn’t scared. I know I should have been, but I wasn’t. I was more curious. I was wondering what was happening, who was carrying me, and where we were going. I didn’t have very long to wonder because it seemed like I had just been picked up when whoever it was set me down again. I peeked through the crate’s door and there was my friend, Kim. She smiled at me and told me that she would feed me again as soon as we got to where we were going.

I nodded and she closed the door to the car. Oooh, I forgot to tell you, she put the crate on the backseat of her car. Then, we were off! I couldn’t really see where we were going, but from the way that I swayed, I could tell that we took a few turns. I’d sway to the left, sway to the right, and then finally I just curled up before I fell over. The ride must have been pretty relaxing because I woke up when the car stopped.

The door opened and within moments after that, another door opened, and we walked into a well-lit laundry room. The crate door was opened, and Kim invited me to come out. “Sorry to scare you, Mittens, but I needed a safe way to bring you here.”

“Here? Where is here?” I meowed.

“I’m hoping that you’ll like it here and decide to live here from now on. I promise that you’ll be well taken care of. You’ll have delicious food, water, and lots of toys.”

I blinked up at her. Home? I was in a home? I had dreamed about living in a home, but I didn’t think that it would ever happen. I decided right there that I would give this home a try. I noticed that Kim seemed nervous, so I smiled up at her and gave her a hug.

That night, I had a cozy bed made of blankets to sleep in. Kim fed me the best food I had ever tasted. It looked and smelled just like the food that I ate all the time, but somehow it tasted better. There was always fresh water whenever I looked. It never had dirt or leaves in it. It was getting late, so I decided to get some sleep before I checked out these toys that she had mentioned. I had never really had anything other than sticks and my imagination for toys before.

The next morning, I woke up early and explored the house. It seemed nice, but it was really quiet. I was used to the noise of being outside and other cats being around me. That reminded me…what about Sadie? Was she okay? Did she know where I was? I had to talk to Kim immediately so I jumped up on the bed where she was and started nudging her with my paw.

“Well, good morning, Mittens. What can I do for you?”

“What about Sadie? She’s my best friend. Does she know what happened?”

“Sadie knows. I made sure that she knew about it. I even asked her if she wanted to come along too, but she said she’s an outdoor adventuring cat, but that she knows this is your dream. I hope she was right. I’d really like for you to stay.”

I nodded, thinking about my best friend. It would be just like her to want this for me while she followed a different adventure. I hoped that she had an amazing adventure and that I would hear about it.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll hear from her. She said she’d send you postcards and letters.”

I smiled and hopped back down off the bed. It was time for breakfast, and I was ready to eat and then check out those toys. Guess what, guys! Toys are awesome! Kim had bought me balls and things to chase and even a great big tower for me to climb.

It took me a few days of thinking about it, but, in the end, I decided to stay with Kim and to have a home of my own. I even convinced her to get a kitten since I missed Sadie. I thought the best thing to do was to give another kitten a home so that neither of us would be alone. After all, I had plenty of toys to share. 

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20-40 Clove Garlic Chicken:

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds chicken breasts or thighs
1 large onion, sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
20-40 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact

The Directions.

Place onion slices on the bottom of the crockpot. In a large mixing bowl, toss chicken parts with olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and all of the garlic cloves. Pour into slow cooker on top of the onion.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. 

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Rotisserie Style Chicken:

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (4-5 pounds)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of chili pepper (optional)
4 whole garlic cloves (optional)
1 yellow onion, quartered (optional)

Directions:

In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub the spice mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Place the bird breast-side down into the crockpot. If desired, shove 4 whole garlic cloves and a quartered onion inside the bird.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8. 

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Moroccan Chicken:

Ingredients:

4 Frozen chicken breasts

1 cup salsa

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons hot sauce

1/3 cup toasted almonds

5 cloves smashed and chopped garlic

1/3 cup golden raisins

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

 

Directions:

Put the frozen chicken into your crockpot. Mix the spices, salsa, and broth in a separate bowl and pour evenly over the chicken. Add the raisins and almonds.

Cover and cook on low for 4-8 hours.

Serve over couscous or quinoa.

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Indian Curry:

Ingredients:

 1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk

 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
 4-6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken thighs 
 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
 2 Tablespoons curry powder
 1 teaspoon ground coriander
 1 teaspoon ground cumin
 1 inch peeled and grated ginger
 few dashes of hot sauce
 1 yellow onion. chopped
 2 or 3 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic
 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
 1/2 of an eggplant, chopped (no need to peel)
-1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

Directions:

Assemble all of your spices, coconut milk, hot sauce, and tomato paste. Combine the sauce ingredients in the bottom of your crockpot. The sauce will be a lovely yellow. Add the chicken, flipping it over a few times to coat it nicely. Pour in the garbanzo beans. Wash and chop all of the vegetables, and then add to the Crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. Stir carefully to mix flavors. If you stir too rough, the sweet potato will fall apart.

Serve over rice.

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If you've been around me very much, you know that I love a few different things when it comes to backing Kickstarter campaigns. I've already showed you our first set of stickers and today I'm going to show you one of my other loves...pins!