Sour Cream & Coconut Milk Berry Crumble Bars

Holy heck batman, I sat down and decided it was HIGH time to create a dessert.  And there was success!

We don't generally keep dessert on hand on a reoccurring basis do you?

Growing up we didn't have meals that were followed by some sort of treat unless I was at my Omi and Opa's house and nine times out of ten it was ice cream - guess that's where my love of it came from!

If its in the house it gets eaten, and I like to fill us up with goodness (i.e. veggies, proteins) not bad for you goodness.
BUT every now and then my sweet tooth kicks in (actually it never goes away) and there is a desperate need to have something to curb my cravings.  Sometimes rifling through the baking cupboard to find a handful of chocolate chips just doesn't cut it!  Don't tell me you've never done that.....marshmallows?  Never mind.

Confession:
I've never actually made a crumb bar before - eaten em, yes.
The ones I have had were boring, flat tasting.
However I saw a photo of some sour cream crumb bars on Pinterest from Crunchy Creamy Sweet which looked like they would have a depth and decided I could enhance this recipe to my own tastes (or rather what I had in my cupboard).
My creation turned out awesome!
Just the right combination of textures and flavors, really proud of how they turned out first go - I mean sometimes when you start messing with ingredients and proportions when it comes to baking the first 6 rounds turn out to be a failure, not the case here.

Want some?

Trust me, you'll love em!

I'm listening to: Rio - Duran Duran

Bring On The Heat! BBQ'd Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Oh lordy lordy, where is our summer?
Wait, I'd just settle for spring!  I don't know how your weather has been in the past few weeks but I thought we were all concerned about global warming?  BRING ON THE WARMING.
Actually, the heat scares me a little this year since I'll be ohhhh Fatty Mc Fatster all pregnant and ready to give birth in August.  Thank goodness for air con right?

While we are still far from being seasonal (our tree JUST started budding) we did have a couple days this past week where it was remotely enjoyable to stand outside long enough to BBQ and not have to either grab an umbrella or a parka.
So, like any normal person, I opted to grill!
BRING ON THE WARMING!

We buy our chicken in bulk, I always portion them out and freeze for meals so sometimes it can be a little tough having leftovers (because the boys wont usually eat them for some strange reason).
I had taken out breasts (packaged in 3, one for each) but it seemed the men were hungrier than normal.....right, so I have to make these go farther.....in one meal.....without pasta or stir fry because they didn't "want" that.
Ok, I'll halve them, and make 6 pieces (I'm a genius aren't I?)
If I add some ciabatta bread to the mix that'll fill em up more.

Maybe even sneak in some veggies?
Now, the flavor.
Buffalo chicken wings were once one of my favorite things to eat (truth be told I'm more of a suicide wing gal) and haven't had them in years.  Why not right?
Lets begin the flashback memories
Wing nights:
10 cent wings (man do I wish they were still that price)
copious amounts of wet naps
burning tongues
friends gathered in a dive bar
beer (what was I thinking?)
I'll stop there.

Dinner menu set, BBQ Buffalo Chicken Sammies it is.  (with a ranchy type sauce because I don't blue cheese it - EVER)

I'm listening to:  Like a Rock - Bob Seger

Jerk Chicken Soup - Or Burn Yourself Into Spring!

Its April.
How's your weather?  Ours has been SO unpredictable!
There's been no April showers bring May flowers.   More like April snow, sleet, ice brings wool socks, mittens and SOUP!

I know I hate soup.
Maybe this pregnancy is helping with my aversions? 
I'll take it....as long as it doesn't want me to eat tripe or seafood.

They say soup warms the insides.  Let me tell you, this soup is going to warm more than your insides!  I would bet this would burn the cold right outtya.
It is certainly not for the heat challenged.

For now this is a 2 part recipe (making your jerk chicken first) but I am working on a one pot crock recipe for you to make this a simpler execution.
But really, when I make pulled jerk chicken its in mass amounts so that I can eat it, freeze it and give some to the Mr. to bring to his co-workers.  This is just an added bonus.

You will need:

1 bottle Jerk Marinade
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
1 small/medium onion
4-6 cups fresh baby spinach
1 can white kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels
6-8 cups beef broth

**If you have a favorite jerk marinade you make from scratch or you buy go ahead use it!  This recipe was for ease of execution and so I use a product called Memories of Montego Bay (a President's Choice product here in Canada)**

For the Jerk:
In a baking dish coat the chicken thighs with the marinade (you do not need an entire bottle) I estimate it to be 1 1/2 cups marinade to 12 chicken thighs.  Cover with tinfoil and bake in a preheated oven for 45 - 60 minutes.  Remove the foil, start shredding.  If you cannot easily shred the chicken toss it back in for a little longer (covered).  Once you've shredded the chicken put back into the oven for about 15-25 minutes UNCOVERED.  If you feel there is not enough liquid feel free to add a little more sauce, but with the amount of juices that will escape through baking you should be ok.

For the Soup:
Saute onions, celery and carrots together until slightly soft.  About 10 minutes on medium heat.
Add in your broth and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a low simmer and add in as much of the shredded chicken as you'd like - I used about 1/2 to 3/4 of it (as I wanted to save some for tacos), beans, corn, tomatoes and lastly the fresh spinach. 
Let simmer 10-15 minutes then season to taste.  You will likely not need to add salt, maybe a touch of black pepper if you desire but with the jerk seasoning it permeates the broth and flavors everything!

Enjoy with a few slices of fresh crusty bread with butter and you're golden!