Drumstick dinner in 20 minutes... or 7 hours.

So, first thing first, I love this recipe for the timing involved. The prep is super fast, but the cooking takes a while and that is so perfect, because some times I have long shifts and I don't want to cook when I come home. The issue with that, usually, is that many slow cooker recipes are anywhere fom 2-5 hours... what about my 7.5 hour shifts?! That's why I love this recipe. It works for any time between 6.5-8 hours, and I don't even have to make a side salad or quickly zap frozen peas. Also, it totally looks and tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen making it and putting loads of effort in. Yay for tricking that cutie down the hall that you invited over for dinner!

You'll need:
-Chicken drum sticks, anywhere between 4 and 10
-Onion
-Potatoes (I prefer the tiny "new potatoes")
-Veggie (I usually use carrots, but just about anything will do)
-Spices (I use nutmeg, paprika, salt, pepper, basil, garlic powder, and a little itty bitty bit of curry powder)
-Tin foil

1. Cut up your veggies (bottoms off brussel sprouts, floret you broccoli, tip and tail beans, etc..)
2. Cut your potatoes to about inch-wide pieces
3. Cut onions into thick slices
4. Peel skins off (optional) and rub spices on drum sticks.
5. Loosely crumple a loonngggg piece of tin foil and cover the bottom of your slow cooker. I coil mine, because I have a small cooker. It's ok to use multiple pieces. If you're using more leavy veggies (brussel sprouts, broccoli, bok choi, etc...) pour a half inch of water at the bottom, under the tinfoil.
6. Lay down the veggies, potatoes and onion on the tin foil
7. Layer chicken on top
8. Put the lid on, set it to low, and leave it for 6.5 to 8 hours!


Another idea - Fresh rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon slices!

Chocolate mug cake

The best one I've had so far - here's the recipe!

4 tbsp all purpose flour
4 tbsp white or raw sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder (you CAN leave this out, but it won't be quite as fluffy imo)
pinch of salt

3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil
1 egg

optional: peanut butter, chocolate chips, chunks of berries, jam, or whatever else you want.




1. Mix the dry ingredients in a mug or bowl (has to be a big mug)
2. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl or cup
3. Add in whatever extras you want... or none at all.
4. Microwave at full power for 3 minutes.

Be careful, it will be very hot. If it's someone's birthday, maybe put some sprinkles on it and a candle in the middle!

No Stove French Toast

Sometimes I'm really lazy in the morning. Sometimes, I also want a really yummy breakfast that goes beyond "toast and peanut butter". I'm a huge fan of french toast. It's always been a favorite of mine, but I hate cleaning - and with french toast you have to clean the pan and the bowl and the fork you whisked the eggs with and the fork and knife and plate you used and ugh. It's just a mess. I saw this recipe a little while ago, but I forget where so don't ask me to tell you, and thought I'd give it a shot this morning. Happy to say, it was a success!


1 egg
1 tsp sugar
a shake or two of ground cinnamon
1 slice (depending on the size, maybe 1.5 if you're going with the classic wonderbread size) of a fluffy, thin crust bread.  (Basically, nothing dense like rye or pumpernickle, and try to avoid seeds - they're annoying)
optional - maple syrup and/or other toppings


- Combine the egg, sugar, and ground cinnamon with a fork in a medium-large mug
- Cut the bread into cubes. About 3/4" squares should work.
- Add the bread to the mug and slowly move it around, trying not to cut it up or squish it too much. Make sure every piece is covered.
- Microwave for 1m10s
- Top and eat!!

Strawberry Overnight Oats

1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt or greek yogurt
1/2 tbsp honey
1/3 cup steel cut or rolled oats
4-5 strawberries
6-7 almonds

-Combine milk, honey and yogurt
-Slice (and chop if you want smaller pieces) the strawberries
-Carefully cut the almonds so you end up with chunks and not shredded pieces of almond (yuck)
-Add oats to the milk mixture, stirring and eventually making sure there aren't any clumps of dry oats
-Add the strawberries, mix them in a little
-Press the oats down and make try your best to make sure they're covered by liquid.
-Sprinkle almond chunks on top, press them down lightly, don't mix them in
-Leave overnight in the fridge, preferably covered to avoid "fridge taste"


Microwave in the morning if you want to take the chill off :) Enjoy

Microwave Apple Crumble

This was an experiment.. a relatively successful experiment! Don't do what I did... I ate half the apple cubes raw because it was overflowing, totally forgetting that apples shrink when cooked! Whoops!

For the apple part:
-1 apple, diced
-1 tbsp margarine or butter, melted
-1 tbsp sugar (brown or white, your choice)
-dash of cinnamon

For the crumble part:
-2 tbsp granola
-1 1/2 tsp margarine
-dash of cinnamon
-1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

I'll put the directions to how it SHOULD have been done instead of how I did it.

Combine all the ingredients for the apple half. Stir them up, and try to get them ALL into a ramekin dish. Even if it's a massive pile on top. Microwave for 30 seconds.

Combine the ingredients for the crumble and spread over the apples. Microwave again for 2m30s.

Allow to cool for about a minute, and enjoy!

The Pasta Panini Wrap

I call this the "Pasta Panini" because it combines my two favorite pasta things, pesto and tomatoes. This can be eaten "raw", pressed with a panini press/grill, or the good ol' clothes iron method.

-White or whole wheat tortilla, though I prefer white
-Roast beef
-Tomato
-Bocconcini or mozzarella
-Pesto
-Cooking spray for grilling

Preheat your grill... or iron. Spray the grill, don't spray the iron.   Spread a generous helping of pesto on one half of the tortilla. Slice or shred your cheese and place it down as a strip in the middle of the tortilla. Leave about a 2 inch space on either side, so the ends can be folded in. Place your roast beef and your tomatoes over the cheese. Take the side covered in pesto and fold it over your fillings and curl the edge under them. Fold the ends into the wrap, and roll the rest of the way. If you're using a panini press, throw it and let it do it's thing. If you're using your iron, wrap it in sprayed tinfoil and place on your ironing board, and rest the iron on it for about two minutes, flip, repeat, unwrap and eat!

Be careful that the pesto doesn't leak out and stain the white sleeve of your boyfriend's hoodie....

Savory Rosemary Crepes

This recipe was adapted from poorgirleatswell.com. I served this for my friend and I one night as a celebration for her getting accepted to college for the first time, and I actually loved them so much. She, being a chicken lover, devoured hers in a second.

Crepes:
-1/2 cup all purpose flour
-2 eggs
-3/4 cup low or no fat milk
-1 tbsp melted butter
-butter or oil spray (eg.PAM) for cooking

Cream sauce:
-Half and Half cream
-1 tbsp margarine
-3/4 tbsp fresh rosemary coarsely chopped
-1/2 tbsp cream cheese
-Salt and pepper for taste

Filling:
-4 to 8 chicken thighs, depending on the size
-thyme
-rosemary (fresh or dry, doesn't matter)
-2 cloves of garlic
-salt and pepper to taste
-oil


1. Chop the garlic and cut the chicken into small cubes (1 inch by 1 inch) while the oil heats in the pan at a medium heat. Throw the garlic into the pan first, allowing it to turn a golden brown colour. Throw the chicken in after it and season. Stir and mix and flip liberally to evenly distribute the seasoning. Don't be afraid of "over seasoning", unless it really is a ridiculous amount. A heaping teaspoon of everything will do the trick. Let the chicken simmer, stirring occasionally, until it's a nice dark brown.

2. Whisk all the crepe ingredients while your skillet pre-heats to a medium low temperature. Spray or butter the pan. Take about a half cup ladle-full and pour slowly into the center of your pan. Pouring too quickly will give you a weird looking crepe. After a minute or two, when the edges look cooked, flip it and allow it to cook for about a minute more before moving it to a plate. Repeat until all the batter is used.

3. Heat the butter in a sauce pan and quickly saute the rosemary. Add the cream cheese, and once that's melted, the rest of the ingredients. Make sure it's well combined. Let it simmer down to be a bit thicker, and then you're ready to eat!