Salsa Chicken

Another easy recipe coming your way.

We are used to grilling a lot over here. Like every night when the weather is nice. But a few changes in William’s work have brought a few changes in our schedules and dinners. Basically, we haven’t had time to grill unless we want to eat at midnight. Juggling entertaining Wills, bathtime, cooking, finishing the laundry, blogging, and tidying up the house, right when Wills is starting to get tired, means I needed to...

Dust off the Crockpot!

I stopped by the house and turned on the crock-pot around noon and dinner was hot and ready by six. It can’t get any easier than that.

I was able to read books (over and over), fold a few clothes, give Wills a bath, get his clothes, breakfast and lunch ready for tomorrow, play outside, and sweep the floor without giving a second thought to having dinner ready when William got home.

Here’s what I used.

All thrown in the crockpot and set on low for about 6 hours.

I enjoyed mine over brown rice with light sour cream and home-made guacamole plus a few blue corn chips on the side. William ate his wrapped in tortillas and loved every bite.

Tonight’s task: find more crockpot recipes…asap.

Sunday Lasagna

Remember my best friend, Ree?  :)  Well, she came through BIG, again.

We had my family over for lunch after church, and I made her lasagna this morning from her first book The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  The garlic, sausage, fresh herbs, and cheeses weren't too appetizing at 6:30 am, with my coffee in hand, but they certainly came together and made for a delicious family lunch, ready and waiting.

I browned ground beef and hot sausage in garlic.

After pouring off the grease, I added two cans of whole tomatoes and one can of tomato paste, plus salt and pepper....but not enough salt.  It needed more.  :(

I let it simmer while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

I chopped fresh basil and parsley which reminded me that I want to plant my own herbs asap!

I added half of the herbs to the meat sauce.

Two eggs, three cups of cottage cheese, and Parmesan cheese. 

And the other half of the herbs.

Then I began to layer the lasagna starting with the noodles.

The clock was ticking closer towards church time, and I started rushing.  So, this is my last picture.  I finished layering the lasagna, and put it in the fridge to pop into the oven after church.

It baked on 350 degrees for 45 minutes until hot and bubbly.  Thanks, Ree!  You're my favorite!

And so it begins...

Happy Friday!

I had an interview at my yoga studio today, so I decided to multi-task in order to prepare.  I desperately needed a pedicure and to study the Journey into Power Sequence before teaching to my yoga teacher and co-owner of the studio.

After it was all over, I was so excited about the feedback she gave me, that I decided to celebrate with headstands in my living room.

Wills wanted to practice dropping into back bends. :)

I am teaching community yoga on Monday evening at 6 pm.  Come join me and two other incredibly inspirational girls as we make our teaching debut!  All of our donations will go to Africa Yoga Project which is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping empower youth in Africa through yoga.  This charity is creating opportunities for greatness in some of the poorest communities of East Africa and we at Dancing Dogs Yoga are excited to join in the endeavor.  

"First times are sacred.  We'll never have this moment again.  So pay close attention.  We have something for you."  ~ Danielle Laporte

"What I ate Wednesday" a little late

Sorry it's Friday, and I am just posting my WIAW post.  It wasn’t the healthiest day I’ve ever had, but sometimes splurging is exactly what I need. 

Breakfast was coffee and a whole wheat English Muffin with peanut butter, honey, and half of a sliced banana.

Lunch was a Jimmy John’s veggie sandwich #6. I’m obsessed. I don’t know what it is, but I crave Jimmy Johns. In Athens, they delivered to the dorms on their bikes, and one night, I was up late studying, and they delivered me a chocolate chip cookie. Just a cookie. I’ve been in love ever since.

Wills and I had a much needed Mexican date with Sissy and Tony. I had two beef soft tacos with guacamole and sour cream and of course chips and salsa.

Wills ate an entire cheese quesadilla and plenty of cheese dip. 

Soaking it Up

I saw this on Shay’s (Bachelor Shawn’s sister) blog, Mix and Match Mama, last night, and it really resonated with me. William has had a few late nights at work, and instead of dwelling on the fact that I have been home by myself in the evenings, I have really tried to soak up every second with Wills. He is growing up so fast.

Just for me…At his 18 month appointment Wills was 29.3 lbs and 35 inches tall. He is putting together two words and is obsessed with trucks – dump trucks, fire trucks, fuel trucks, mail trucks, tractors, big trucks – he knows them all and repeats them constantly. He says please and thank you. He can count to 14….but skips three and four. We are working on this. He also sings “Wagon Wheel” saying “Heeeeyyyyyy, mama rock me.” He LOVES music videos and will sit and watch the entire video while dancing and playing the drums. He still loves to play the “tar” (guitar) with daddy. We read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” almost every night. I know; I know. I try to suggest another book, but he only wants “Santa.” He’s still a great sleeper and takes a 2-3 hour afternoon nap. I love this age!

Feta and Tomato Italian Stuffed Chicken

The first comment from William, when he walked through the door last night, was “Wow, what smells so good?”

One point for me! Yay!

Seriously, the smell coming from the oven seeped into the entire house, making it smell as if I had transformed my home into a small, romantic café in the countryside of Tuscany. So I poured a glass of wine, and pretended I had.

You’ve heard me talk about Jenna at Eatliverun. She is my hero when it comes to simple, delicious meals, blogging, and yoga inspiration. This recipe is adapted from her website.

All you need is three ingredients, plus salt and pepper. That’s right - three ingredients! I could hardly believe it.

I simmered the tomatoes for about 10 minutes to remove the excess liquid and warm it enough to mix in the feta cheese.

All mixed together.

I cut a deep pocket in these large chicken breasts and stuffed them with the feta cheese and tomato mixture.

I salt and peppered the chicken breasts and cooked them in the oven on 400 degrees for about an hour.

Served alongside a mixed green salad.

Smells and tastes like a night in Italy over here. :)

Veggies ASAP

After Doritos, cookies and milk, Gin and Tonics, fried red fish, and strawberry shortcake, Wills and I both needed an extra dose of veggies on this Monday afternoon.

Enter a Green Monster plus Shakeology.

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 cup of water, four strawberries, 1/2 banana, handful of leafy greens, 1 T of peanut butter, a small scoop of chobani Greek yogurt, and a 1/4 of an avocado plus a packet of Shakeology.

It all went into the blender and was enjoyed in a frozen Sam Adams beer glass.

Between the two of us, it was gone in about 5 seconds.

The ingredients in this shake continue to amaze me!  Along with all of the proteins, probiotics and enzymes, the vegetable equivalents are incredible.  Three cups of romaine lettuce.  Four cups of mushrooms.  Seven carrots.  Four cups of radishes.  Four cups of broccoli.  Ten cups of of cauliflower.  Incredible!

I have some simple and delicious recipes coming this week.  See you soon, from the kitchen!  

Loving Land's End

What a great weekend!  I will let all the pictures, and a few captions, tell the story.

Eating watermelon with Sissy when we arrived Friday afternoon.

Wills can't get enough of the golf cart.

Playing at Fort Fremont.

Beach time!

Learning how to dip cookies in milk, thanks to Aunt Sissy. :)

These three handsome boys took Tony's new boat for a maiden voyage in the Lowcountry.

Hanging out on the dock.

Daddy's girl.

Land's End sunset.

Cooking was a joint effort after arguing over discussing who would be supervising. :)

Gin and Tonics with my mom.

Fresh red fish.  My dad caught these a few days ago, and they were beyond delicious.

Hard at work writing and loading pictures...G & T in hand. :)

Eating Doritos with Uncle Tony.

A beach weekend isn't complete without a guitar and a few tunes.

Sunday morning, the firetrucks had to make a visit to Land's End to check on a house.  Wills is obsessed after reading a book about different trucks and says firetruck over and over.  He was so excited...

Until we tried to get him to sit in the firetruck.  Bad idea, I guess.  :)

This little boy is exhausted after playing so hard at Land's End.  Thanks for a great weekend, Mom and Dad!

"If you don't like this place, something is bad wrong with you." ~my dad  

I couldn't agree more.