The Best Crock Pot Chicken -- Ever!

No, that title is not hyperbolic. This is really the best chicken you can make in the slow cooker-- and there are two versions!

Most crock pot recipes I find usually creep me out. Cans of soup, dressing, and other processed foods are used way too often, the results resembling a Great Aunt's mushroom soup casserole you have to choke down while trying to guess what mecca of unholy ingredients your mouth has stumbled upon.

I played around a little bit with some spices, and created two recipes that make fall-off-the-bone, tender and flavourful chicken every single time. One is spicy, and the other is more mild, so there's something for everyone's tastes.

By the time dinner rolls around and the chicken is done, my family is way too hungry and impatient to let me take pictures of the final product!

Nut-free Quinoa Granola Bars

It turns out being 27 is an awful lot like being 26.

It was my birthday this Tuesday, and I'm a terrible person and forgot to take a picture of the chocolate ganache and raspberry cake my son and mom made for me. But know what this means? We'll just have to make it again.

I've been a bit skiddish about food lately. Last week my body gave me the honour of my very first anaphylactic reaction to some Presidents Choice S'mores. (Have a nut or coconut allergy? Stay the fuck away from them, k?). 

While I no longer sound like a beached whale taking its last sad wheezy gasps for air, I am as paranoid about potential allergens as someone in my position should be. Which is why it's time to re-evaluate my clearly defective 'avoiding allergy' plan and start from square one.

Square one involves making pretty much everything from scratch, like these awesome nut-free quinoa granola bars. The best part? They won't kill me! The next best part? You can easily customize them to fit your own dietary needs, too.