My husband is one of those who has to have meat at every meal.  In fact he eats leftovers for breakfast.  He doesn't really like many breakfast foods, but loves dinner food so leftovers for breakfast is his usual fare.  

Since we have been so busy and my husband really likes/craves/must have meat to live, I made a crock pot of slow cooked chicken breast last week which we enjoyed in many things all week.  We had these taco salads, chicken salad sandwiches, panini's, and burrito bowls which were all fantastic and fairly simple.  

I know a plate of shredded chicken isn't much to look at, but this is just to give you an idea of how much chicken I made.  I slow cooked 5 chicken breasts all day with fresh ground salt, pepper, and garlic powder sprinkled over it (no measuring, just eyeball it).  No need to add water, the chicken bastes itself in the slow cooker.  Once the chicken is done, simply shred it and pour any juices left in the slow cooker over it for added flavor and moisture.  

​Our boys ate dinner at Vacation Bible School every night last week so we were able to get 4+ meals out of 5 chicken breasts.  If the boys had been home for dinner, we would probably have only gotten 2 to 3 meals from this much chicken.  

In case you are wondering how busy we have been, we have been incredibly busy around here.  First, we have four children, including a nine month old who crawls everywhere and has decided he has outgrown naps.  He is tired and falls asleep on little car trips around town or when he is nursing, but as soon as I try to lay him down in his crib, the crying starts.  It is more like crying/screaming and he sits up the whole time.  I have tried to leave him a while to see if he will give up and lay down for a nap, but he is persistent.  He literally sits up and cries forever until I pick him up.  Luckily he sleeps really well at night, but naps are hit or miss right now.  I know this isn't a parenting post, but I will solicit your advice on this one.  

In addition to being busy parents, we have done some traveling this summer and have more travels in our future.  Packing for 4 kids (including a baby) is no small task.  I am a list maker and my to to-do list is looking a little crazy right now.  We are road tripping it and I am trying to be prepared for all of the things we will need to travel with kids.  We'll see how it goes, maybe I will post our packing/traveling adventure with tips on what worked and didn't work.  Any travel/packing tips are also much appreciated.  

Making a taco salad is like painting on an empty canvas.  You can make it however you like.  I started with sweet potato and blue corn tortilla chips then added black beans, shredded chicken, fresh corn, lettuce, and diced tomatoes.  We drizzled salsa verde on top before serving.  You could also add guacamole, sour cream, fresh squeezed lime juice, shredded or crumbled cheese and of course salsa.  So many delicious possibilities.  

Ingredients:
​(To make shredded chicken)

Chicken breasts (desired amount)
Fresh ground salt and pepper
Garlic powder
If you want to throw in anything extra, go for it...maybe cumin or cajun seasoning...the possibilities are endless.

Slow cook chicken breasts all day (until done) on low with fresh ground salt, pepper, and garlic powder sprinkled over it (no measuring, just eyeball it).  No need to add water, the chicken bastes itself in the slow cooker.  Once the chicken is done, simply shred it and pour any juices left in the slow cooker over it for added flavor and moisture.  If you make extra, you can refrigerate leftovers and use for several days in all kinds of delicious meals.  

Ingredients:
(For Taco Salad)
Tortilla chips
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 to 2 ears of fresh sweet corn, cut from the cob (can microwave a couple of minutes if you want it warm)
Shredded lettuce (I use Romaine)
Diced fresh tomatoes
Shredded chicken (recipe above)

For added flavor you may like:
Guacamole
Salsa or salsa verde
Sour cream
Fresh squeezed lime
​Shredded or crumbled cheese

Simply arrange ingredients on plates to make taco salads.  
​

​You might like:

Linking up at Dream, Create, Inspire, Inspire Me Monday

I know it's July and around 90 degrees everyday, but I had to turn on the oven for these delectable, chocolaty, amazingly delicious cookies with perfectly tender crisped edges and just right centers.  I know, so modest, but cookies (and often their bakers, LOL) are not humble.  

​I like my cookies a little crispy on the edges, but tender in the center and these are spot on.  I think about 10 minutes in the oven produced what I think of as the perfect cookie.  

I love the combination of dark, milk, and white chocolate chips.  I found bags of Nestle triple chocolate chips on clearance at Walmart and knew exactly what I was going to do with them.  TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHIP MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES!!!!!!  Need I say more?  My son actually made a batch of these without nuts for a 4-H food-a-rama.  They were a hit and he is 9, so yes even if you don't have much baking experience, you can make these and they are so much better than store bought.

Look at that perfect crumb.  I actually started craving these cookies when editing the photos late one night and raided my frozen stash.  Did you know you can freeze baked cookies and they will taste as good as the day they were made?  This way they are always fresh.  Actually it's a bit of cookie control in our house or the boys would eat them all in one day.  I froze several in containers in the freezer so that we can have fresh cookies again and again without having to go to any trouble or heat up the house.  Although it doesn't help the waistline when late night photo editing cookie cravings strike.  

Ingredients: 
2 ¼ C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c butter (2 sticks softened)
¾ C. sugar
¾ C. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 C.  triple chocolate chips (mix of dark, milk, and white chocolate chips)
1/2 C. chopped macadamia nuts
parchment paper

1.     Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
2.     Combine in your mixer bowl:  
butter
2 eggs
sugar
brown sugar
vanilla
3.     Beat at low speed until creamy.
4.     Slowly add flour mixture and continue to beat until combined.
5.    Stir in chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
6.     Line cookie sheet with parchment paper 
7.     Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
8.     Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls (or use cookie scoop) onto cookie sheet.
9.     Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.  Remove cookie sheet from oven and let cookies rest on cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes.  Then remove cookies to a cooling rack.

Recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.  Adapted from my favorite White and Milk Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies.

Linking up at Inspire Me Monday

Since my main focus here at Home Ec @ Home is on homemaking and my favorite part of making a house a home is cooking, I have to share this amazing deal on Joy of Cooking.  This is the cookbook of all cookbooks that every home cook should have.  This is also the best deal I have ever seen on Joy of Cooking.  So if you don't already have this masterpiece in your culinary library, check it out.  
​

 I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions.
Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

This was my first time using Restore.  In fact I wasn't really even sure what it was before receiving the package in the mail.  Restore is a liquid supplement used to help boost gut biome diversity.  You may have heard of the term "gut health".  It seems to be a popular buzz word these days.  Restore was created to help people "restore" their gut health.

About Restore:

Restore creates an optimal environment in the gut membrane for good gut bacteria to flourish.

Good gut bacteria protect our immune system, because about 60-70% of our immune system is in the gut membrane system, the gastrointestinal-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), and the GALT produces 80% of the body’s antibodies. 

Restore strengthens the gut lining, which keeps chemicals and fiber from escaping through that lining and getting out into the bloodstream, which the immune system would have to deal with. Unfortunately, the chemicals in our modern world, including the chemicals in processed foods and in agriculture, such as pesticides, weed killers, and the antibiotics fed to farm animals, have invaded our food supply. 

Restore has been shown (in lab studies and as reported in peer reviewed journal articles) to protect the gut lining against the effects of both gluten and glyphosate.

Since I am nursing our 9 month old son, I only take about a teaspoon of Restore a day.  It is recommended that you check with your doctor if you are nursing or pregnant.  I just took a smaller dose.  I was surprised that it doesn't really taste like anything.  I guess this makes it easy if you have trouble with flavored medicines.  

There is even a handy travel size for airline travel so you can stay healthy on the go.  

My favorite Restore product is the sinus spray.  A couple of weeks ago I started getting a bad runny nose which always leads to a full blown cold with a sore throat and then a bad cough (from the post nasal drip).  I immediately started using Restore Sinus Spray and within 24-36 hours my runny nose had stopped and the cold never manifested.  It is really easy to get run down mothering 4 children and never getting enough sleep so I love this product and use it regularly now to help cleanse my sinuses and maintain good health.  

If you would like to try Restore products you can get a 20% off discount at 
restore4life.com/try-restore-today/ using code B7X66JY.  Code expires July 16, 2017.