Parade & Deliciousness...

...on actual Fourth of July, I got to be in the local parade for work. It was a 2.1 mile walk so I was looking forward to the exercise until it started pouring down rain! Before it did, I got some pics of the other floats. This is a local church, I thought the gumball idea was cute:

This was another local church that they'd built out of cardboard but don't the stained glass windows look great? We listened to "God Bless America" from their float on repeat the whole route!

A giant roller skate for the roller rink:

There were still quite a few people out there despite the rain. Here we have umbrellas in extremes...the teeny tiny lady bug that barely covers dad's head and then the gigantic beach one that could fit a small town!

Here's what I did to stay dry...raincoat! It worked out pretty well, only the bottom of my shorts that were showing got wet but I think I might have drowned my camera...cross your fingers that it revives!

Here's our great float driver Mattie and I who yelled at me in the middle of the parade to roll up the passenger window! I finished zipping my jacket up first THEN rolled up the window...priorities!

My husband had to work at the local festival 9 hours on Sunday and 10 hours on Monday. When I got home from the parade, I turned on the crockpot and started the Slow Cookin' Pulled Chicken recipe from Hungry Girl. I also attempted to make potato salad for the first time. I will have to say that the hardest part of the salad for me was getting the eggs all the way boiled!!! We also had leftover mac-n-corn casserole that I took to Jen's the night before and some DQ for dessert.

Verdict: DELICIOUS!!! Seriously, the pulled chicken or pork from Hungry Girl, always looks a little sketchy until the end and it turns out FAB!!! We had ours on whole wheat tortillas and I actually REALLY loved that! I omitted the celery from the potato salad and not even half of an onion...I think I could have omitted the entire onion. Anyways, full tummies were had at the G-house and we'll definitely be making those recipes again. Here are the recipes-enjoy!!!

Slow Cookin' Pulled Chicken from Hungry Girl

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts, halved
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder
Optional: red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients except the chicken in the crock pot. Stir until mixed. Add chicken and coat well with the sauce.

Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours OR on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.

Remove all the chicken and place it in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and mix well with the sauce.

If you're serving a group, keep the crock pot on its lowest setting, so the chicken stays warm. If you like, season to taste with red pepper flakes. Eat up!

MAKES 7 SERVINGS
PER SERVING (1/2 cup): 149 calories, 1g fat, 462mg sodium, 10g carbs, <0.5g fiber, 9g sugars, 22.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

This shredded BBQ chicken is FANTASTIC over salads, piled onto light buns, stuffed inside high-fiber tortillas with (rinsed) cole slaw, or eaten all by itself is what the Hungry Girl website says.
Great American Potato Salad by Kraft
Ingredients
1/2 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 cups cubed red potatoes, cooked, cooled
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/3 cup dill pickle relish

Directions
1 MIX first 5 ingredients in large bowl.
2 ADD remaining ingredients; mix lightly.
3 REFRIGERATE several hours or until chilled.

per serving  1/2 cup serving

Calories 190 Total fat 12 g Saturated fat 2 g Cholesterol 55 mg Sodium 400 mg Carbohydrate 18 g
We omitted the stalks of celery because Matt and I both HATE celery.