This weekend saw the first big snowstorm for the East Coast this winter. Somehow we missed the brunt of the storm, but it was still enough snow for me to cancel my Saturday evening plans which was a real bummer.

On Saturday we got out the crock pot to make a bunch of shredded chicken! I use the famous recipe from Skinnytaste as a starter for my shredded chicken – her Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken. (If you have not tried this recipe, what are you waiting for!? It is a great one!)

I added five chicken breasts to the crock pot, 32 ounces of low sodium chicken broth, two cans of tomatoes with green chilis, two cans of black beans (drained), 1/2 a cup of frozen corn, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. I also added a pinch of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro. The chicken cooked for 6 hours and the entire house smelled amazing!

After five hours and forty-five minutes, I took the chicken breasts out to shred them. I love how easily this chicken comes apart after cooking for so long! We had a lot of chicken:

I let the mixture continue cooking in the crock pot for another half hour (maybe a little bit more as I got the rest of dinner together!).

Because we had so much extra liquid leftover, I sort of thought of this as a shredded chicken stew. It really hit the spot as the snow kept falling on Saturday night.

I cooked jasmine rice to go with our ‘stew’ and cut up avocado and squeezed fresh lime juice on top of both bowls:

This dinner was so satisfying and filling – thanks to all of the protein from the chicken – that I did not have to go back for seconds. It was the perfect dinner for a night in due to the snow.

Sunday morning I woke up hungry and wanting a nice breakfast. After cleaning off my car (we had a few inches – but nothing like New York and Washington, DC thankfully!) I came in to start my breakfast. I made an over medium egg and topped it with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, freshly cut tomato and diced avocado. On the side was a slice of Wegman’s rosemary olive oil bread (this is one of my favorite breads – which says a lot because you know how much I love bread!).

This breakfast really hit the spot and kept me going until after I did forty five minutes on the treadmill a couple of hours later.

After my forty five minutes on the treadmill I worked on a healthier oatmeal cookie recipe at SC’s request. I think what I came up with turned out pretty well! (I’ve had two cookies already – no more for me!)

Recipe: Healthy-ish Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 C flour (Whole wheat if you have it!)

3/4 C oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

Sprinkle of cinnamon & nutmeg

Pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C coconut oil

1 egg

2 T milk

1/3 C dark chocolate

1/3 C raisins

Instructions:

Combine flour, oats, baking powder & soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a small bowl. Whisk together the ingredients so they are evenly distributed.

In a larger bowl, combine your coconut oil (if it is in solid form, warm the coconut oil until it is back to its liquid state – make sure it is not warm because you don’t want it to cook your egg!) mix your coconut oil, brown sugar and egg together until smooth. Add vanilla and mix again. Gradually add your dry ingredients to your wet. When the mixture starts getting dry, add the milk one tablespoon at a time. Once the dough has come together add your raisins and chocolate chips.

Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Turn your oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once the oven is ready, take your dough out and using a cookie scoop, form your cookies onto the baking sheet. Press the cookies down slightly with a spoon. Place baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove your cookies when they start browning.

Gently remove your cookies from the parchment lined baking sheet and place on a wire wrack to cool.

ENJOY!