Homemade Sushi!

I really did make homemade sushi with my friend Ellen! I am going to attempt to post these pictures here & explain this process...this is not really a recipe, but more of a way for me to try and retain this! 

 For starters, you can make this amazing super easy sauce that you see pictured here. Ellen called it "Volcano sauce."  It is basically that sriracha hot chile sauce that you can buy in the asian section at Walmart, mixed with mayonnaise! But I'm telling you, this stuff is amazing inside these Californian rolls!

 The ingredients we used were: japanese rice (she said to use this kind of rice b/c it's just the right amount of stickiness). We used sliced avocado, sliced cucumber, crab meat & the seaweed wraps. She bought all of these items at Kroger!  It is also helpful to have those small bamboo rolls--she said you can buy these at World Market, but Ellen said you could also just use a dish towel to roll the sushi if you don't have this mat.

So you lay a piece of saran wrap down on top of the bamboo mat. You spread out a layer of the cooked japanese rice--spread it nice and evenly in a square shape (basically the same size & shape of the seaweed wrap). You can see if you look closely at this picture that the rice is laid underneath the seaweed wrap.  Then inside the wrap you place your crabmeat, sliced avocado, sliced cucumber & top it off with a little volcano sauce.
The tricky part is just using that saran wrap to pick up the entire stack you've just created and you fold it over...kind of rolling it up (see the second picture for what it looks like once you've accomplished this).  After you've made the roll, use a sharp serrated knife to cut your sushi into the sushi rounds you see on the platter.  That's it!!
Ellen said there are many you tube videos showing you technique, etc.
I could not believe how "easy" it was to make this. Now I am hungry for sushi!
Hope I get brave enough to try this again before long!! :)

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken

Got this recipe out of the August issue of Eating Well magazine. This was easy & good!

1 8oz can tom sauce
1 4oz can green chiles, drained
3 TBS cider vinegar
2 TBS honey
1 TBS sweet or smoked paprika*
1 TBS tom paste
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp ground chipotle*
1/2 tsp salt
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken
1 sm onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

(*side note on these ingredients: I found a McCormick spice called "Perfect Pinch" Southwest Sweet 'n Smoky. This one ingredient had both the paprika & chipotle in it & worked great)

1. Stir tomato sauce, chiles, vinegar, honey, paprika/chipotle, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chipotle seasoning and salt in a slow cooker until smooth. Add chicken, onion & garlic; stir to combine.
2. Put the lid on; cook on Low until chicken can be pulled apart, about 5hrs.
3. Transfer the chicken to cutting board & shred with fork. Return to sauce, stir well & serve.

I served this on those whole wheat sandwich thins with a little shredded cheddar to help tone down spiciness, but my girls were able to eat it, so it wasn't too spicy.

Dark chocolate M&M cookies

Updating this recipe because I made a few changes that made it better! I substituted Coconut Oil instead of the butter and used the full 12oz bag of Dark Chocolate M&M's and that is the way to go!

3/4C light brown sugar
3/4Cwhite sugar
1C coconut oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 oz bag of Dark Chocolate M&M's

1.  Cream the coconut oil and sugar together.
2.  Add the vanilla & eggs and beat well.
3.  Add the flour, salt & baking soda, blend well.
4. Add the full bag of M&M's and mix in
5. Drop tablespoons onto cookie sheet.
6.  Bake at 350 for 12 minutes