The Real Super Bowl MVP

This post is sponsored by Febreze. All opinions are mine alone. 

All good Super Bowl parties have a whole lot of food. All that food smells really really good until the party is over. Then the smell lingers and by day three of smelling little smokies and crockpot meatballs, you're convinced the smell is stuck in the walls for good... right? What if I told you there was a way to clean away those tough, lingering odors better than ever before? You'd jump on any chance you could get, right?? I know I would! This year I'm planning on doing a nacho bar for the super bowl with literally ALL the toppings you can think of... I'm talking chopped onions, lots of cilantro, all sorts of salsas, melty cheese, shredded chicken, jalapeños, sour cream, tomatoes, black beans... the possibilities are endless! Nachos are a favorite dinner over here and I love that everyone eating can customize them how they like! The only problem is, between the leftover onions, the stinky garbage disposal, and the salsa jar smelling up the fridge there are a lot of unwanted post-party smells. I'm super excited to tell you guys about a simple solution that'll make it so you can make all the delish Super Bowl dishes without the leftover smells! Make sure to read to the end because I'm sharing my favorite crockpot shredded chicken recipe with you guys so you can make a nacho bar this year too!

Does anyone else hate dishes? A sink full of messy, dirty dishes full of leftover food is pretty darn bad... but even worse is after finishing cleaning the kitchen and realizing it still smells anything but clean! You've wiped the counters, mopped the floors, done the dishes, taken out the trash and still your house has lingering odors that are tough to get out. That's when Febreze AIR comes in! Febreze will hands down be the MVP of your Super Bowl party thanks to it's OdorClear Technology that cleans out odors in two simple ways. It seeks out tough odors and cleans them away by deactivating and replacing them with with a light, fresh scent! From experience, I can promise you that as a guest there is nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable at someone else's home based off the smell. Somehow stinky smells make a home feel less clean and comfortable. So make sure to add Febreze to your game day shopping list. It will save you, your party, your home, and your guests from pregame and postgame odors. Check out this hilarious video with Terrell Owens that shows what will happen at your party if you don't have Febreze!

Now on to my favorite simple and yummy crockpot shredded chicken recipe!

Here's what you'll need:

3 frozen chicken breasts (or thawed but who has time for that? ha!)

one can of diced green chiles

one packet of taco seasoning

-1 tsp garlic salt

-1 tsp chili powder

-2 tbsp water

All you do is add all the ingredients to the crockpot and cook on high for 6 hours! Once it's cooked through, shred your chicken and you have the perfect chicken for tacos, enchiladas, taco salad, and of course... nachos!

I hope you all have a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday with friends and family! Just remember to add Febreze to your list to help the day smell and run smoother!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy 

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Crockpot Shredded Barbacoa Beef

Every year in Hunter's family, we do a big Christmas Eve party. It's filled with laughter, cousins running around, a gift exchange, sweets, activities, and really good food! We've done several different things over the years, but this year's menu was definitely a crowd favorite! We had a taco bar and every couple brought a different meat. Carne Asada and Pollo Asada got taken pretty quick so I decided to get creative. I loooveee Chipotle. I don't care what you have to say about how it really isn't good for me and what not... I would eat at Chipotle every week if I could! I love their barbacoa and always have. I always say I'm going to try something new, but literally always go back to the barbacoa. Sooo I thought, why not try to make it?? Barbacoa is a really tender shredded beef with a smoky, spicy, chipotle sauce on it. I did some research and decided to experiment. The experiment definitely worked because this stuff was soo yummy! Anddd... so easy! Gotta love crockpot dump and go meals! I'm sure it could be made in the instant pot too, but I loved that I could just dump it all in when I wasn't busy in the morning and let it cook all day so I used the crockpot.

Ingredients:

-Chuck Roast. I don't have a specific pound requirement. I just buy a 2 pack at Costco and use one of them!

-1 small can of chilis in adobo sauce. 

-1 cup beef broth

-4 tsp minced garlic

-1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp black pepper

-1/4 tsp ground cloves

-juice of one lime

-4 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

1) Thaw your meat. I usually buy the 2 pack of chuck roast from Costco, separate them in different bags, then freeze them. I'll usually take one bag out and put it in the sink to thaw it overnight. 

2) Heat oil in a non stick skillet. To test if it's hot enough, flick a little water on the oil. If it starts to crackle and pop like crazy, it's ready!

3) Coat both sides of your roast in salt and pepper then sear in oil. Searing usually takes 3-4 minutes per side. You'll want a golden crust on both sides. Use tongs to make your life easier!

4) Stick your roast in the bottom of the crockpot and make your sauce. I use a Vitamix to make it, but I'm sure any blender on high speed will work. Add allll of your ingredients other than oil and roast obviously... If you can't handle spice very well... only do 1/4 to 1/2 the can of chilis. I do the whole can and it definitely is spicy but can be mellowed out with sour cream. Soo add all remaining ingredients to blender and blend on high speed. Once all ingredients are combined to make a thick sauce, you'll know it's ready!

5) Pour sauce over roast and cook on high for a minimum of 6 hours. After 6 hours shred your meat. It should literally fall apart. If it doesn't, cook it longer! Once it's shredded, you can stick on low or keep warm setting until ready to serve.

6) You can serve it two ways. You can either keep it in the crockpot with all the spicy juices or mellow it out by scooping out the meat and leaving the juices behind. So far we've eaten it in tacos and burritos and loved both!

Let me know what you guys think!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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Tasty Tuesday: Perfect Sunday Crockpot Roast

Okay, so you don't have to only make this on Sunday haha.

It's just more of a Sunday meal for us!

I love making a big meal on Sundays because I have the most time and I just want to keep it a tradition in our little family.

Sundays are a special family day for us so I like to make a special meal that we wouldn't have any other day of the week.

Hunter is obsessed with pot roast.

Like, if you want him to be in a good mood all day... just make pot roast haha. 

I remember when we first got married, he said he always looked forward to Sundays because he knew there was a good chance his mom would make a pot roast.

Because of that, I decided to make my first ever roast!

I was SO disappointed when it was tough, chewy, and dry.

There was zero flavor to it and it was almost hard to eat haha.

I was so bummed because I knew it was Hunter's favorite, so I tried out different things and finally found a combination of things that work!

So, here's what I do to make our Sunday roast :)

Ingredients:

-Chuck Roast or Chuck Tender Roast (either of these work, but stick with chuck! No rump or anything else)

-Potatoes (I usually either use russet or red. I quarter them and do probably 6 red or 4-5 russet)

-1/2 Yellow onion sliced

-1 packet dry onion soup mix

-3/4 cup water

-Salt and pepper

-Garlic Salt

-Garlic powder

-2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1) Put your oil in a frying pan and get it sizzling

2) Coat your thawed roast in the dry onion soup mix with salt and pepper

3) Add your meat in the sizzling oil and sear for a few minutes on each side until browned. 

4) Stick your roast in the crockpot and add your potatoes and sliced onion over the top. Pour the water over the top. Sprinkle with garlic salt and garlic powder (about a tsp each) and cover.

5) Now here's the part that you HAVE to make sure you do. You need to SLOW cook it to get it to fall apart. And i mean like realllyy slow. I do like 7 hours on high or I'll do 8-10 hours on low. Remember, the longer the better! 

6) Take a fork and twist it in the meat. You know it's done when it is tender and easily breaks apart. If it feels tough, let it go longer. 

7) Place on a plate and and serve the potatoes and onion on the side. Use your drippings to make a gravy as well. I usually strain the drippings to just get the liquid. I'll do about 1 stick of butter melted in a saucepan and add 3 tbsp of flour to make a roux. Then I add my drippings and whisk together. I usually just add a little water if it seems too thick and more salt if needed. Then serve with some rolls and veggies!

I hope this works for the rest of you that just couldn't seem to get your roast right.

This is tried and true and the only way I do it now!

The browning of the meat gives such a good flavor and the slow cooking just makes it so tender!

Now go ahead and make yourself a delicious roast ;)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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Tasty Tuesday: Crockpot Tomato Tortellini Soup

I originally took these photos back in December.

Then pregnancy sickness hit and even looking at pictures of food made me want to throw up.

It was so sad! 

All I really wanted was gatorade, popsicles, in n out, and french fries. Awesome diet I know haha.

Once we got out of the first trimester I got my appetite back and found these pictures and was SO excited to post this recipe!

This is one of the easiest, if not THE easiest soup recipe, like ever.

Hunter also approves because it's definitely filling with tortellini and sausage... he's usually not a soup fan because he has to eat like 5 bowls to get full haha.

Crockpots are quite possibly the best invention ever.

And soup is the best meal when Utah decides to still be cold in March...

Enjoy friends!

Ingredients:

-32 oz chicken broth

-1 can diced tomatoes (even better if they're Italian style)

-3 cups tomato juice

-1 cup heavy whipping cream
-1/4 cup tomato paste

-1 pound mild Italian sausage

-1 bag frozen cheese tortellini

-1 bunch spinach

-1 tsp dried basil 

-1 tsp dried oregano 

-1 tsp garlic powder

-2 tsp garlic salt

-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato paste, seasonings, and sausage to crockpot. (I've made this where I cook the sausage in a pan first, and I've made it where I add the sausage raw and let it cook in the crockpot. I think I prefer making it on the stove first but either way is good!) Stir it up and cook on low for 6 hours.

2) After six hours stir it again and add heavy whipping cream and tortellini. Recover and continue to cook for about 30 minutes or until tortellini is no longer frozen and cooked. At this point I also taste the soup to see if I want to add any more salt or pepper.

3) Right before serving I add the spinach in and let it wilt. 

4) Serve in bowls with a good amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese  and crusty bread!

You guys that's literally all you do!

Technically the fourth step isn't even really a step so there's like 3 steps to this!

#winning

That's all from me today!

I sure hope you guys enjoy this simple yet tasty soup!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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Tasty Tuesday: My Favorite Crockpot Meal

I'd like to start off by saying, pardon my absence!

I've kind of been in a blogging rut lately.

Bloggers block is a thing right? Like writers block?

Also, I'm doing the 12 days of giveaways over on instagram and it's pretty time consuming ha!

But, I couldn't let Tuesday go by without posting a recipe!

This is actually on oldie but definitely a goodie.

I LOVE these seasoning packets!

I'm sure they are wonderful for the grill... but they are so perfect to use in the crockpot.

There are so many different flavor options and they are on sale so often!

Even when they aren't on sale, they're still super cheap!

Switch up the meats and veggies you put in and the possibilities are endless.

I've done smoky applewood with shredded pork, Brown Sugar Bourbon with little steaks, Island wood fire grill with pork chops, Baja Citrus with chicken... seriously there are so many ways to use these handy things.

This time I'm going to show you what I did with the Zesty herb packet (my favorite one), russet potatoes, and green beans.

No matter which packet I use, I do the same thing, just with different veggies and meats to keep it interesting ;)

Ingredients:

1) 1 packet of McCormick Grill Mates Seasoning

2) Your choice of meat (this time I did 5 frozen chicken tenders. I also add in 3-4 breasts and guesstimate other meats.)

3) Veggies of your choice (I did the frozen green beans from costco and added potatoes as a starch because I LOVE potatoes in the crockpot!)

4) Water

5) Vegetable, canola, or olive oil

Directions:

1) Place your meat in first, then layer whatever veggies or starch you want on top. Only add the veggies at this step if they are frozen. When using fresh add at like the last hour or so on top.

2) Mix together seasoning packet, about 1/4 cup oil, then fill the rest to the 1 cup line with water.

(make sure to mix it good, I also add a shake or two of salt and pepper)

3) Pour mixture evenly over the top of everything in crockpot

5) Cook on high for at least 4 hours or low for 5-6. I like letting it go a little longer so the flavors really soak into everything. I stir it a few times periodically while it's cooking so nothing burns on the sides and it all has it's turn to soak in the seasoning. Yum!

And that's all! 

Seriously... it's that easy!

Serve it up and enjoy!

I realize that's not the most flattering photo but... just trust me on this, the stuff is yummy!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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