Some Recipes... Good and Not So Good

Sorry for the delay in posts! I have been busy coming back from vacation and adjusting to being back on a routine with my boys. I have made a few recipes I'd like to share with you all. The first is a super easy Caprese Chicken - I also made Caprese Pizza which was amazing, but forgot to take pictures of it! So I will include that in another post down the line. I love quinoa so when I saw a recipe for a Mexican Quinoa Bowl, I was thrilled! Plus is called for guacamole and that has to be one of my favorite things of all time to eat!

My son loves chips. Can devour a small lunch sized bag of chips. Can be quiet for 20 minutes eating said bag of chips. So I thought, why not try making my own 'healthy' chips?! Salt and Vinegar Sweet Potato Chips... not so good. But I will include it below in case you get adventurous!

Caprese Chicken

Ingredients

- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
- 10 basil leaves, finely chopped
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, sliced in 1/2 inch thick slices
- balsamic vinegar, to taste

1. Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a pan at medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cover pan for about 10 min. Flip the chicken and allow to continue to cook through.
3. In a medium saute pan, heat other tbsp. of olive oil and add garlic and tomatoes. Cover pan and let cook for 5 min. Remove from heat and add basil leaves.
4. Once chicken is done place two slices of mozzarella on each chicken and pour tomato mixture on top, cover for 2 min., or until cheese has melted.
5. Drizzle chicken with balsamic vinegar before serving.

Ingredients

Tomato Mixture

Chicken with Mozzarella Slices

Caprese Chicken

Mexican Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients

- 1 cup quinoa, not cooked

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I used Organic Chicken Broth)

- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

- 1 can diced tomatoes

- 1 cup corn

- 1/2 tsp.  kosher salt

- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, optional

- 1/4 of a lime, juiced

**Optional Toppings: salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, guacamole, crushed tortilla chips

1. In a large pan set to medium heat, add garlic. Cook for about 1 min. Add quinoa, broth, diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, and salt.

2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 25 min. 

3. Remove from heat and add cilantro and lime. 

4. Serve with your toppings of choice!

Mexican Quinoa Bowl

Salt and Vinegar Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients:

- 2 small sweet potatoes

- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar

- 1 tsp. sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.

2. Slice sweet potatoes as thin as possible.

3. Mix sweet potatoes in a bowl with rice vinegar and sea salt. 

4. Place sweet potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet.

5. Bake for 20 min. or until chips are crunchy. 

Ingredients

 Slice the Sweet Potatoes Thin

Mix with Sea Salt and Vinegar

 Single Layer

Sweet Potato Chips

Enjoy!

Brittney

Summer Recipes

Summertime cooking is fresh, light, and delicious! I have two recipes I want to share that I have made in the last few days. One is a light, pasta dish that has seasoned shrimp. The other is an easy breakfast Blueberry Coffee Cake. The blueberry coffee cake is actually a recipe I have made many times over the past couple of years. It is a great breakfast dish to share with friends, or to give away. It is simple and fresh!

Shrimp Pasta with Tomatoes, Lemon, and Spinach
*found on this blog

Ingredients
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and devined
2 tsp. lemon zest, divided
1 pinch crushed red pepper
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig oregano
2 fresh basil leaves, torn
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp. lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
1/2 lb. angel hair pasta (I used whole wheat)
course salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.
2. Toss shrimp in a bowl with 1 tbsp. EVOO, red pepper, thyme, oregano, 1 tsp. lemon zest, and basil.
3. Spread shrimp on baking sheet in one layer and place in oven for 6 minutes.
4. Bring a huge pot of water to bowl and cook pasta according to directions on pasta box.
5. Keep 1/2 cup - 1 cup of pasta water before draining all the water from the pasta.
6. Heat 1 tbsp. EVOO in a large skillet and add the garlic and tomatoes. Add the remaining 1 tsp. lemon zest and some salt and pepper.
7. Toss the shrimp in the skillet along with the pasta and spinach.
8. Squeeze the lemon juice and add the reserve pasta water to create a sauce.
9. Serve with Parmesan cheese. 

Shrimp Pasta

Blueberry Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pie pan.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda. Set aside.
3. With a KitchenAide mixer, cream the sugar and butter together. Add the eggs and vanilla.
4. While mixing on low, add the buttermilk to the sugar mixture.
5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture.
6. Pour half of the batter into the pie pan. Sprinkle 1 cup of blueberries on top.
7. Pour the rest of the batter on top and add the remaining blueberries.
8. Bake for 50 minutes.

 Top: Coffee Cake before and Bottom: After

  Slice of Blueberry Coffee Cake

Enjoy!

Brittney

Community

I've  been struggling with writing this post, but it is long overdue. You know the saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?" I do not believe this saying to be true at all. Words can hurt. Words, poisonous words, hurt. They can tear you up on the inside and cause you to question the type of person you are. I have been struggling with this for an entire year.

Without going into details, I will say that I was hurt by words. I was verbally attacked and treated unkindly. And I have been suffering. The words lashed out at me, just because I was being who I am: taking care of my family, being a good friend, daughter, mother, wife - really hurt me. These words caused me to question the type of person I was, and not in a positive way. I consider myself to be highly educated, smart, independent, strong, influential, and a giver in every sense of the word. I am a generous person. But I am not weak and I will stand up for myself and my family. These words made me hurt, and I cried more than I care to admit, for an entire year. I also felt incredibly alone, and at times, incredibly angry. To top off these feelings, I was pregnant with our second son and raising our toddler by myself, while my husband was away serving our country. So life has not been easy!

But I guess you just can't please everyone and do every thing to make others happy. Your happiness begins with yourself. It has taken me the better part of a year to accept this. I cannot change other people, I can only continue to be myself and to be strong for my family. I am an extremely busy mother of two with a husband who is Active Duty Army and not always home. But there is a silver lining to all this hurt and pain I have suffered through - realizing I have support. My support community is beyond anything I could ever have imagined. I am eternally grateful for my husband, immediate family, and friends. Without them, I would not have been able to function or pull myself out of this downward spiral of hurt feelings. Crying to my husband, explaining how hurt I was to my mom, or even just allowing the distraction of a friendly play date with a friend, helped me through this.

My Community is so much more than people, they have become like family to me. They have all showed me they care about me. Went out of their way to send me messages asking how I was, or stop by with dinner, or took care of my plants while I was gone. I have formed beautiful, long lasting relationships with my "mommy" friends and our children play well together. I have even kept up relationships with friends who are long distance and, although, we do not see each other often, we do keep in touch. I am so lucky to be surrounded by this Community. 

I struggled with finding and maintaining my identity after I was so brutally bashed last year. But I have found it again and realized that I can help others and others can help me through our common interests and current phases in our lives. I am a member of a few online "Army Wives Groups" where support is offered. Women who are military spouses and have children, and who like me, have questions and need advice and support. It is such a beautiful system filled with hope. "You are not alone" rings clear in these groups, and they have helped me out more than they will ever know.

I feel like I am at a better place. The love and support of my husband is even more strong now than it was when we got married. He gets me and I get him, and we love each other. I am so lucky. We have two beautiful little boys whose faces light up when they see me. I am so lucky.

So I want to thank all of you out there who have touched my life this past year. You may not have known that I was struggling inside, but by simply being a part of my life, you have helped me get through this rough patch.

 My beautiful boys

 My sweet "Mommy" friends

Play date with "Army" friends

 My Family

 My Love

Enjoy!
Brittney

Roasted "White Trees"

'Tis the season (Summer!) of roasted veggies! I came across this recipe and changed it up a bit: Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower. It turned out to be a little spicy and it has cheese on it- so a true winner! My son declared them "white trees" since it looked like broccoli, ("green trees") only white.

Ingredients

3 cups cauliflower 

1/2 tbsp Parmesan cheese 

1/4 tsp  garlic salt

1/4 tsp  pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp chopped parsley

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Grease a baking sheet. 

3. Toss all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Drizzle EVOO on top. Hand mix it all together. 

4. Bake for 17-20 minutes. 

Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower

Enjoy!

Brittney

Quinoa Fried Rice... Without the Rice

My family is about to go on vacation, so I have been cleaning out our fridge! What to do with all of those fresh veggies before we leave??? So I decided to make Fried Rice, by substituting the "rice" with Quinoa. It turned out so well! I'm excited there are leftovers so I can eat the rest for lunch tomorrow after my run!

I followed this recipe I found on Pinterest. But I made a few adjustments based on all the veggies I had in my fridge. You could really add just about anything you like to this dish - the teriyaki sauce will make it all taste delicious, even to those "picky eaters"!

Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups water or chicken stock (I used water)
1/4 cup small onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 scallions, chopped and divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 eggs, lightly scrambled and still raw
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
2 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
3/4 tsp. sesame oil

1. Cook quinoa according to directions.
2. Mix teriyaki, soy sauce and sesame oil together in a bowl and set it aside.
3. Heat 1/2 tbsp. olive oil to a large pan. Add onion and carrot, cook about 2 min. Add ginger, garlic and scallions, cook for another 2 min. Add 1/2 tbsp. olive oil and the quinoa. Stir fry for about 2 min.
4. Add sauce and stir fry for about 2 minutes until well incorporated.
5. Make a well in the center of the stir fry and add the eggs. Scramble and toss in the peas until everything is heated through.

Veggies I used: onion, zucchini, broccoli, yellow bell pepper, carrots 

 Mixing my Stir Fry

 Scrambled eggs and Teriyaki Sauce

 Adding eggs to the "well" in the center of my Stir Fry

"Fridge Clean-out" Quinoa Fried Rice

Enjoy!

Brittney 

Kiwi Crate for Kids!

Well I recently posted about receiving a monthly gift of Birchbox, well there is something similar out there for kids. It's called Kiwi Crate and you can buy a monthly subscription and get a different themed craft box each month for your kiddo, or you can simply go on their website and pick out "Single Crates" or "Mini Crates" to buy on  your own without a subscription.

This month, since its summer time, I decided to purchase a Single Crate and Mini Crate for my toddler. I got him the "Making Music" Single Crate, where he can make an xylophone and rhythm bells, while leaning about music and music notes. It's a special Kiwi Crate did with Carnegie Hall to encourage a love for music!

The Mini Crate I got for Kinley was the "My Shadow Puppets" crate. He is obsessed with flashlights, and this box came with one to create the shadows, so it really was a no brainer for me! We already completed this crate box, and he had a ball decorating his shadow puppets and of course, playing with the flashlight.

These boxes are a lot of fun to try out. Even just the Kiwi Crate website has great craft ideas for kids, so if you don't feel like buying a crate, its always nice to "window shop" for a new craft to do yourself at home!

Kiwi Crates arrived!

Carnegie Hall Partnership

Make your own Rhythm Bells and Xylophone Single Crate

My Shadow Puppets Mini Crate

 Kinley decorating his shadow puppets

 Playing with the Flashlights and Puppets

Enjoy!

Brittney

Gettin' Fit... Again

I love to run. Running cleanses my soul, makes me feel great, and makes me sweat. However, pushing a BoB Duallie stroller with two kids in it when every path around your house has at least one huge hill- just stinks! My run times are not anything to brag about when I am hauling this stroller, but boy am I smoked afterwards! To counter the running/pushing, I decided to try out the Celebrity trainer, Tracy Anderson Method: Post-Pregnancy Workout video. I LOVE it! It works abs, legs, butt, and arms. All those parts effected by pregnancy. It's low impact and you only use 3 lb. weights twice. I feel myself getting better at engaging my muscles again and getting stronger.

I really have been seeing a huge difference in my body shape in just 2 short weeks. It took me 4.5 months to get back into my skinny jeans after my first son, but hopefully by continuing to run and do this video when I have some time during the week, I can get back to where I started soon. I know everyone says that it "takes 9 months to grow a baby and could take 9 months to get back to normal," so I am not too hard on myself. However, I really look forward to fitting into my clothes better!

I have been drinking a lot of smoothies these days! I make them with frozen berries, bananas, oranges, Greek yogurt, flax seeds, skim milk, or orange juice as a few ingredients. I have also started eating a healthy snack of a 1/4 cup of nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, and yogurt drops. I think having a healthy body and eating healthy, while working out has really helped me to lose this baby weight.

 Tracy Anderson Method: Post-Pregnancy Workout DVD

 39 weeks pregnant (3 days before giving birth) and 13 weeks post-partem

 Nuts and Berries Snack

Smoothie Time! My toddler is a HUGE fan!

Enjoy!
Brittney