Pricey, But Worth It

Soooo, it happened. 

While I was having breakfast with my mom at Hubbell & Hudson Kitchen this past Saturday, I ventured into the market area of the cafe and found....this.

Now, don't be discouraged by the price tag on this baby. 

YES, it is $12 for a jar of almond butter.

NO, it will not read you a bedtime story nor tuck you in at night.

But after tasting this amazing, mapley, nutty, buttery goodness and feeling the creamy yet gritty texture on your tongue, that $12 price tag starts to look very much like a BARGAIN.

And after seeing my four little sampler packets disappear all too quickly, I knew it was time to take the plunge on the full-sized jar.

...or get my mom to buy it for me. You know how that goes.

See that nice pink tint I have going on in my face and upper chest area? It's the sign that a nut butter booty shakin dance party has just come to a close. This only happens a few times a day...so consider yourself lucky.

And since we are on the topic of "Your Mom You Paid How Much For That?!?", I feel the need to talk about these new running shorts that I am currently obsessed with.

Ever since I started running my freshman year at Baylor, I have worn Nike Tempo running shorts. However, one of my colleagues recently introduced me to these Lululemon Run: Speed Shorts.

I mean, EVERYTHING that Lulu cranks out is simply amazing, but these shorts...incredible.

It literally feels like you are running in your undies.

Lululemon: Rundies

It could catch on.

And again, at $54 a pop, these will seem like a bargain.

Now I will update you on last night's dinner, for it was one that cannot be surpassed.

My sister makes this INSANE King Ranch Chicken Casserole, and in the attempt to use the rotisserie chicken that had been sitting in my fridge for the past 2 days (I have NO IDEA what my intentions were behind buying that thing), I decided to call her up and get the recipe.

As always, dinner started off with a big pile of greens.

And then, the magic happened.

(FYI: I did not plate myself almost an entire dinner plate's-worth of casserole. The above and below plate is a salad plate. Just felt the need to say that. Mk, moving on.)

I tweaked her original recipe just a tad, but not enough to change the overall concept of this amazing casserole.

Cheesy, creamy, easy nom-ness. I give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 can low fat cream of mushroom
• 1 can low fat cream of chicken
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 small can diced green chiles
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 15 corn tortillas
• 3 cups freshly grated, smoked cheddar cheese
• sour cream, hot sauce, and/or salsa for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, chicken broth, green chiles, salt, pepper, cumin, and onion powder until thoroughly combined.
3. Grease a 9X13 baking pan with cooking spray.
4. Line the bottom of the pan with 5 corn tortillas (you may have to tear a few in half to fit properly).
5. Sprinkle 2 cups of chicken on top of the tortillas.
6. Pour 1/2 of the sauce mixture of top of chicken.
7. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese on top of the sauce.
8. Repeat this process one more time.
9. Place the last 5 corn tortillas on top of the casserole and sprinkle the last cup of cheese on top of the tortillas.
10. Bake, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes, or until it is hot and bubbly and the corn tortillas are golden and crisp.
11. Serve warm with sour cream, hot sauce, and salsa for topping.

ENJOY!