Spatchcock Chicken and Veggies

This recipe is something we do SO OFTEN. It's simple and all the kids love it. Not to mention, it gives you a ton left to save and make some chicken broth with. We have made this several different ways over time, but this is our favorite! You want a nice crispy skin with a juicy and tender chicken. Enjoy!

What you will need:

• 1 whole chicken
• 4 T olive oil (divided)
• Any seasonings you like
• Veggies if you like

Directions:

• Prepare your oven by placing the rack in the center and preheating the oven to 475*
• Prepare your pan by using a baking sheet that's been sprayed with cooking spray and drizzled with a couple tablespoons of olive oil
• Rinse your chicken and pat it dry on a towel covered cutting board
• Reach inside the neck and remove any giblets and bits there may be in there.
• Lay the chicken breast side down and find the backbone
• Cut alone both sides of the backbone with some kitchen scissors
• Flip the chicken back over and lay it breast side up on the prepared baking sheet
• Press down firmly on the middle of the chicken and the breastbone will break, allowing the chicken to lay more flat on the pan
• Rub with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings
• Cook chicken at 475* for 30 minutes
• Decrease temperature to 400*. If potatoes are part of your preferred veggies, add them to the pan at this point. Cook for another 25 minutes
• If you have any other veggies, at them to the pan at this point and cook for another ten minutes, or until center of the chicken breast has reached at least 160*

Rock Fish Taco & Not Gross Slaw

I guess one cool thing about having a recipe blog as my "job" is that I get to decide when I do it. So, here I am months and months after my last post (which wasn't even a recipe). We were blessed with our 4th child at the end of August and I decided to focus on that! Things have settled and I am good to go now. Wahoo!

My father in law took a fishing trip to Alaska and caught some amaaazing Rock fish. He had it filleted there and fresh frozen to bring back for us! Ooooh it was a beauty. Since it's more a mild fish, we were trying to think of what to do with it and how to season it. We decided we'd take the fish taco route. We were SHOCKED at the amazing flavor the fish had on its own! Somehow the seasonings were paired really well with it to where you could taste the seasoning and the fish both separately while having the flavors compliment each other as well.

Now, about the slaw. My husband and I are not slaw people. We can't even figure out how there are so many people who are. It makes zero sense to us. But, we couldn't just not have slaw with it. It's a fish taco. So this is a slaw that works without being the gross slaw ;). I actually just drizzled the dressing made for the slaw on my taco by itself without the slaw at all. My husband did both. We taste tested the dressing for the slaw and it was really good, but we were a little baffled that there was no garlic in it. "Should we add garlic? We never skip garlic. Should we? It's good without it....but we love garlic so much. Yes? No?" We didn't add any! Who are we?! It just had this magic flavor that seemed so right with a fish taco, we left it as is.

So, here's the deal. My husband knows a guy named George. He's our food guy. Everyone should have a food guy. He recommended Sazon Goya seasoning, claiming that, "if you don't want to spend the money on saffron, but want incredible taste, go with Sazon Goya." Yes, sir. Correct, sir.

(For the record, with the going price of a lb. of saffron being anywhere from $500-$5000, I don't buy saffron. I have tried it exactly one time at a brunch at The Grand America and I didn't like it. So I was nervous at his recommendation for this in place of saffron. Like I said, though, he was correct. Trust the process.)

What you will need:

Fish-

• Rock Fish fillets (I mean, if you don't have Rock Fish freshly caught in Alaska...cod will do ;) )
• 1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 T oil 

Slaw-

• Green cabbage, julienne
• Red onion, sliced
• Cilantro, chopped
• jalapeno, diced

Dressing for the slaw-

• 1/2 C salsa verde
• 1/4 C mayo
• 1 T lime
• Hot sauce to taste
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Fish-

• Bring a large saute pan to medium-high heat and add the T of oil
• Rinse your fillets and pat dry
• Rub Sazon Goya and salt/pepper on each side of the fillets
• Lay each fillet in the pan and cook each side 2-3 minutes

Slaw-

• Slice, chop and dice ingredients and add to a bowl.
• I don't have any measurements, just go with "some of each" and see where it gets you. Live on the edge.

Dressing for the slaw-

• Add each ingredient into a blender and blend until it's all mixed until smooth and saucy.
• Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well
• Maybe reserve some on its own in case you just want to drizzle the goodness by itself. Like me. Be like me.

It's Official: I FinallyTried Shakeology

Finally, after YEARS! I have tried Shakeology. 

Let me first start by mentioning that the Beachbody program drove me absolutely nuts from the start. The constant selfies with their "superfood, dense nutrition shake!" along with becoming a nutrition coach from simply paying a fee was not rubbing me the right way. So I stayed away from the whole thing. Far, far away.

Now of course, since it's been years of Beachbody not going anywhere, I have seen people actually benefit from it. My husband is a Chiropractor so we are no strangers to a holistic and nutrition based approach to health. He is required to attend classes and seminars with top nutritionists from all over the world every year, so there is no lack of knowledge in that area in our home. We have both scrutinized the Beachbody programs; the meal plans, the workouts, you name it. While it tends to follow "what sells" as far as the meal plans go and not always super up to date, there is no doubt that it's good for you!

For the past year or so, I have been very happy to recommend Beachbody to people who are looking to lose weight. Why? Because time after time I have watched nearly every person touched by this program become happier and more confident. They have not only lost weight, but managed to keep it off because the program focuses so much on learning to manage lifestyle changes and WHY. 

Would I ever become a coach? Absolutely not. Their compensation and business plan is TERRIBLE in my opinion. I know so many who really love it, though, and actually know a couple who have become VERY successful with it. So, while I personally don't see it as worth joining, I would never tell someone not to do it. We are all different with our own ideas so if this is your thing, I say go for it.

Now, onto the Shakeology portion of the Beachbody program. Number one, it's expensive. Beachbody coaches will kindly remind you that it breaks down to only about $3-$4 a shake. So you can decide if that's a reasonable price for a meal replacement or not! 

For me, that's not too bad actually. However, it better be pretty good for me to commit to that pretty chunk of change. The ONLY flavors I have tried are Strawberry and Chocolate.

Image Source: Shakeology.com

I started with strawberry and got the low down from my experienced shakeo friends. I tried every single thing they recommended. I could not get through more than a few gulps before giving up each time. However, I was not about to go down that easy! 

I researched what flavor is the "best," and it's pretty unanimous that chocolate is the best tasting over all. I got excited and my friend gave me a full bag to have (I mean... that's a big gift). Both my husband and I were almost giddy to try it. I started Pinteresting ways to make it immediately.

My husband tried first and he made one that was actually decent tasting. It wasn't the best, but for the first time I felt like maybe I could get used to it. I got optimistic and saw myself actually becoming a Shakeology person! I WANTED to be a Shakeology person. There is no denying how amazing it is for you and I wanted that for myself.

It was downhill from there. We could never quite find a way that we could get used to and enjoy enough to go for it seriously. I think my biggest issue was texture. No matter what ways we tried it, I just couldn't get past it. I sort of knew that would be my biggest hurdle because here's a secret; I have never liked shakes in the first place! Now my opinion might as well be completely void. My husband, however, loves shakes. He is not as picky as I at all. He gave up days after I did and we both just had to admit to each other that it wasn't going to happen. I feel strange about this, like I'm wrong in this opinion, like we are the only ones who don't like it.

Bottom line. Beachbody itself is an A. Even with Shakeology. Why? Because SO MANY PEOPLE love Shakeology, it can't be some mass club where they all initiate the newcomers by forcing them to lie about how much they love it, right? Okay, I've seen people lie for less. But you know what I'm saying. I know so many people who just drink the mix with water and they are totally fine with it. I have some leftover chocolate Shakeology and I still plan on trying out new recipes to use with it in the form of healthy snacks. I'm still a little in denial here, can you tell? 

I think over all this is definitely something worth TRYING. And I know that you don't need to drop a ton of money to just try it. You can contact a coach and get a sample first if you're skeptical! I am so glad that I gave it an honest go, and to be honest, I'll probably try again when I'm not pregnant and see if anything is different for me!

Easy Baked Chicken Taco's

I can't believe I don't already have these on here! This is seriously a family favorite, and considering that it's a sneaky way to make my kids eat tomatoes and onions, it's a big time personal favorite, too! It calls for a diced onion and a can of diced tomatoes. What I do is toss them in a blender until they make a sauce together and toss the shredded chicken with it. You can do it however you want, though!

What you will need:

• 1 pkg. taco seasoning of your choice
• 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• Mexican shredded cheese blend
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• Hard taco shells
• Topics of your choice

Directions:

• When your chicken is cooked and shredded, add the taco seasoning in and mix well
• Preheat oven to 350*
• Either add the diced tomatoes and onion to the chicken and mix, or blend them in a blender until it makes a sauce or chunky texture to mix in with the chicken
• Fill the taco shells with the chicken
• Top with the shredded cheese
• Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted
• Top with favorite taco topics

Maintaining Lemon Water

If you've been reading about the health benefits of drinking warm lemon water each morning on an empty stomach but not exactly sure how to go about that, this might be a great idea for you!

I had been interested in giving it a try for months and months, but every time I went for it, I wasn't sure how to maintain the whole thing. I didn't love juicing a lemon every single morning when I could barely open my eyes, nor did I have the time while cooking breakfast for the kids, packing lunches and getting them off to school.

So here we have what just so happens to be a great solution and you only need what's lying around your kitchen (unless you don't have any kind of juicer. I just use a good old fashion kind which you can find for cheap!).

Once you've juiced your lemons you can put them in your ice cube tray. Just pop one out into your mug of warm water each morning and voila!

The nitty gritty: It still might sound like a lot of work. I juiced 10 lemons here and it filled 14 slots in my tray. It took me about 10 minutes. So the way I look at it is that I spent 10 minutes juicing and only have to do it every 2 weeks.

Now, as far as the water to lemon juice ratio, everyone has their different ideas. Typically, 1/2 C of warm water with enough juice from half a lemon is standard. I figure that 1 cube for that 1/2 C is pretty good!

About the taste. If you're a tea drinker, this will taste better than any tea I've ever tried ;) (I hate tea). It's not delicious, but it's not gross and it's not daunting to drink. So do with that info what you will!

Braised Potatoes

I didn't realize braised potatoes was a thing that was kind of frustrating to get "just right" until I watched an episode about them on Americas Test Kitchen. Turns out the trick is to boil them with the butter, so when the water evaporates, the butter that's left will sizzle and brown the bottoms. I thought heck, might as well give it a try!

PERFECTION!

Who am I kidding, though. It's from America's Test Kitchen. As if they'd give me a recipe that wasn't tested a bajillion times with ensured quality. 

You must try these! They are extremely easy and actually cook up pretty fast. I especially like them in the summer time as opposed to roasted potatoes so I'm not turning on the oven. The bottoms of the potatoes can be a darker brown than this when they're done, but these were great for me! (There's also no chives in this picture so they don't look very pretty)

What you will need:

• 12" non stick skillet (I've used non stick, giant pot and everything in between and it's all worked out great)
• Baby red potatoes about 1-1/2" in size, halved
• 2 C water (or enough to fill the skillet up until just the tippy tops of the potatoes are peeking out)
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme (made them without as well. Still great!)
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

• Arrange potato halves with cut side down around in the non stick skillet
• Add water and salt
• Add butter
• Add garlic cloves whole
• Bring to simmer over medium-high heat
• Once it's simmering, reduce heat to medium and cover with a lid
• Let it simmer some more until it's just tender (about 15 minutes)
• Remove lid and remove thyme and garlic to set aside
• Keeping the lid off, allow the potatoes to continue simmering back at medium high heat, swirling pan occasionally until the water has evaporated and you can hear a "sizzle" sound from the butter started to work its magic (this will take about another 10 minutes)
• When garlic has cooled, mince into a paste and mix with 1 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp pepper and 2 T chives (or you can use whatever seasonings you have around that you want to try out!)
• Check the bottoms of the potatoes and when they're a deep golden brown color they're done! Toss them around with the garlic/lemon paste or whatever seasonings you've chosen

3 Ingredient Homemade Cheeze-Its

This week I decided not to refill the kids "snack box." They get to pick out one after school every day, but the choices were things like cookies, chips and, you guessed it, cheeze-its.

So I got all ambitious this week and was like hey, surely I can come up with snack box level deliciousness that won't cost my kids health quite so much. I stumbled on these homemade cheeze-its and thought well, at least these aren't going to be packed with over 20 crap ingredients.

The very best part about these? My kids LOVED them! My husband said they taste exactly like Cheeze It's....just....fresher. You're basically just eating baked cheese :). I call this a 3 ingredient recipe, but technically there's 4 if you count the 2 T water.....so...sorry I lied to you.

A few notes about this recipe:

On a scale of 1-10, the crunch/crispy factor was at about 7 with my first batch (I purposely baked small batches so I could do test runs first and not ruin them all at once). I made sure my cheese and butter were both room temperature so I thought about other ways to get them crispier. I tried rolling out the dough even thinner and baked them for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe says. (That was weird, considering that I usually have to cut my cooking time for most recipes with how my oven is). I also turned on the broiler for a minute at the end and I think that kicked up the score to a 9.

After using the 2 T of water like the recipe said, the mixture still looked dry and crumbly in the food processor. I decided to feel it and see how it was doing. It was PERFECT! So, make sure you feel the dough after the initial 2 T, you should be able to mold it all together into a smooth ball. It was a lot like play-dough. Hey.....a play dough recipe I won't panic if my 1 1/2 year old eats! Wahoo!

There was no specifics on how long to chill the dough. I stuck mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes the first time (remember that was the batch that resulted in a 7 on the crispy scale). So I left the dough in the freezer about 20 minutes the next couple times around. I think that helped!

I added some kosher salt to the crackers right before I put them in the oven on my last two batches. the first batch wasn't salty enough for me even with the original recipe calling for 1 tsp. salt. So I would just skip that part and add crunchy salt to the tops instead (but I have an insane salt tooth so judge it for yourself!)

All in all, make sure you're rolling the dough out thin enough and chilling the dough long enough and these will be perfection!

What you will need:

• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, room temp.
• 1 C all purpose flour
• 4 T butter, room temp
• 1 tsp. salt (optional)
• 2 T ice water

Directions:

• Add grated cheese, flour, butter and optional salt into a food processor and pulse until it's blended into a fine crumbly mixture
• Add in the water and blend until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the processor (will probably still look crumbly, but FEEL IT for a playdough-like consistency first before adding more water) 
• Preheat oven to 350*
• Shape dough into a ball and chill in plastic wrap until dough is more firm (keeping mine in the freezer for about 20 minutes I think gave me the best results)
• Roll the dough to 1/8" thick and slice with a pizza cutter into little squares
• Use a toothhpick or skewer to poke holes into the middles
• Add salt if desired
• Bake for about 15 minutes and check every 5 minutes after that until they are desired crispiness

Baked Salmon

I am SO excited to be posting about this! Right now I haven almost 11 month old son. This son is seemingly always in an extreme Mama's Boy stage. Cooking dinner is almost always a challenge with him around (or really, looking in any direction but towards him is a challenge these days). I really really really wanted to make some salmon, but babysitting it with oil splattering around while my boy screamed "MAMAMAMAMAMAMAAAAA" in tears and pulling my pants down didn't seem worth it.

Thankfully I remembered seeing this idea somewhere on the interpin (my mash up of interweb and pinterest) and went on the hunt!

Wouldn't ya know it? Pioneer Woman. Duh. She basically just tosses the sucker in the oven. I figured I could do that just fine with a mini me-monster in the house. But then....what to season the salmon with?

Well don't you worry. After many many many many'o tests, I think I've found "it." THE flavor for salmon, if you will. 

 Click right here for my Garlic Bread recipe for the Garlic butter instructions (the BEST garlic butter ever...ever ever), because you'll be using that here, but adding some lemon juice into it.

Between that deliciousness, some kosher salt, pepper and a Garlic/Rosemary spice blend it was absolute perfection, especially with this cooking technique. Completely flawless!

You will need:

• Boneless, skinless salmon filets
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• Garlic and Rosemary seasoning blend (I found mine at Sam's Club)
• Garlic butter
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

• Line a baking sheet with foil
• Place salmon filets onto the baking sheet
• Sprinkle with salt & pepper
• Add Garlic and Rosemary seasoning blend and lemon juice to the garlic butter
• Coat the salmon filets with the butter
• Put in a cold oven
• Turn oven on to 400*
• Set the timer for 25 minutes

Fresh Peach Ice Cream

Ice cream for breakfast?! Yes you can!

A little while back we stopped at the local fruit stand and grabbed a bazillion peaches. We went through those peaches SO FAST. Our family can't get enough. My husband and I crave late night bowls of cubed up peaches on the couch while we snuggle up to a movie. We choose it over brownies or other junk food when it's around. Which we find pretty weird.

We had a big bag that we froze also so we could pull some out for smoothies and such. Today we were all sick with the cold and it's been so windy and yucky outside we've all been curled up in blankets all day staying warm.

I opened the freezer to see if I could find a snack. I saw the frozen peaches and remembered the banana ice cream my kids loved a long time ago. I thought I'd give it a try with the peaches! The banana ice cream uses a little peanut butter if you want so it can get a nice creamy texture. I figured I'd just use some yogurt for the peaches.

I have to warm you, you need to be patient with this haha. It took me a good 5 minutes or so to pulse the peaches to the point of an ice cream consistency and about 2 T of yogurt. But let me tell ya, when it was done, my kids when NUTS over it! And hello, it literally is healthy for them. I have zero complaints about this!

What you will need

• Frozen peaches, whatever amount you want. I probably had 2 C of large sliced peaches
• 2 T yogurt or more (be patient with your pulsing and you won't have to add much in)

Directions

• Add your peaches to a food processor or a good blender
• drop 1 T of yogurt in and pulse for a bit
• Scrape the frozen crumbles off the sides and pulse some more
• Repeat a bunch of times
• Add another T of yogurt and pulse until it's done! Just keep scraping the sides and you'll be able to tell if the consistency is getting there!

Roasted Vegetables

So I tried out a few different ways to roast vegetables since I'm pretty picky about the whole thing :). I eventually came up with this and to me it is PERFECT! I'm just now getting around to posting about it because every time I make it I end up eating all of it before I can snap a pic.

But this time, I was making a huge amount so I could have it for the week along with some chicken for lunches (chicken at the bottom of the post).

I have been completely forgetting to each lunch lately (perks of having 3 kids and one of them just 4 months old right?) so I figured it was time to do some make-ahead stuff! This is my favorite way for the veggies!

What you will need:

• Red potatoes, quartered
• Asparagus
• Broccoli, chopped
• Green beans
• Or whatever vegetables you like

Directions:

•  Preheat oven to 400*
• Drizzle baking sheet with olive oil
• Lay the potatoes on the baking sheet and roll around in the oil
• Add whatever seasonings you like to the potatoes
• Bake for 10 minutes
• Add the rest of the vegetables onto the baking sheet
• Season again and add a little more oil for the extra vegetables
• Bake for another 25 minutes

Here's my chicken! I just get a package of the chicken tenderloins (they come with about 20) and lay them out on a baking sheet. Add seasonings (I did different seasonings for each row) and bake at 375* for 25 minutes.

Golden Garlic Chicken

I made this up tonight for dinner. I knew I was going to cook up some chicken breasts but didn't know what to do with them. So this is what I came up with. I have to say........it is really good. My daughter finished hers and then sat next to me staring at me. When I was about to start onto the second chicken breast, she asked me if she could have it haha. It was just so tender and flavorful!

I love the light golden brown crust it creates (which is why I call it Golden Garlic Chicken. I didn't know what else would fit!). I like breaded chicken, but it's hard to make a good breaded chicken that's gluten free sometimes. Plus, it's a little more work that I was unwilling to do. So this nice crust was wonderful! I paired this up with some steamed broccoli and garlic mashed red potatoes and they complimented each other really well! I was afraid it'd be too much garlic happening, but that wasn't the case. Try it! You'll love it.

To be honest I'm not sure how much of each ingredient I used, so this is all approximate and I'm sorry if it turns out disgusting because of my guessing ;)-

What you will need:

• 3-4 chicken breasts (I cut my in half)
• 1/3 C melted butter
• 6 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 T Onion Powder
• 1/2 T Garlic Powder 
• 1 tsp. Creole seasoning
• 1 tsp. Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix together. It will form into a somewhat liquidy paste.
• Spoon some onto each chicken breast and coat them each evenly
• Cook for about 45 minutes or longer (depending on when your chicken is done)

Baked Chicken and Spinach Flauta's

*Hello, Pinterest friends! I am so happy you stopped by. You will absolutely love this recipe. As mentioned in the comments below, it has a bit of a kick to it! Feel free to tone down the chili powder and jalapeno's for the kids if you need to! 

*Also, make sure you SUBSCRIBE right over there on the sidebar!--->


We're on another health week. That means testing out some baked chicken and spinach flauta's!!!! Yummm yumm. I mean yes I know it is a flour tortilla and shredded cheese in there but give me a break. I still like food you know.

By the way, these are CRAZY GOOD! Make these tonight! You will love me forever!

What you will need:

• 4 9" burrito flour tortilla's, cut in half
• 2 chicken breasts
• 16 oz. chicken broth
• 2 C water
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 3 C spinach, chopped
• Grated cheese
• olive oil or cooking spray
• salsa or cilantro lime dressing for dipping

Directions:

• Place the chicken breasts in a large pan and cover with chicken broth and water
• Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes (or until chicken is done)
• Shred chicken and mix with seasonings
• Pour out all but 1/4 C of the broth and cook spinach and jalapeno until spinach has wilted (about 2-3 minutes)
• Preheat oven to 450 degree's
• Grease a baking sheet and set aside
• Place shredded chicken, cheese and spinach/jalapeno along the edge of each cut tortilla and roll up starting from the edge
• Place seem side down on baking sheet
• Brush with olive oil or spray with cooking spray
• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes each side

Banana Snacks (Gluten Free Friendly)

We have a system in this here house. When the youngest child is taking her nap, the oldest chooses between playing outside with friends or quiet playtime inside. Reading, drawing, writing in her journal and "discovering" as she calls it are all quiet play time friendly. But what am I suppose to do when both of my kids are occupied?

I prepare for when my kids aren't occupied of course! ;) I really do love that time of day where I get to catch up on a few things, and it's also the perfect time for me to make these lovely little snacks for when nap/playtime is over.


It might not look very cute in this picture, but that's because the only gluten free cereal we had on hand was cocoa pebbles. Fruity pebbles would probably look more appealing! She did ask me to dust some powdered sugar on it. Not sure why, but I went ahead and did it. My youngest requested sprinkles on hers that day. Whatevs!

I whip these up in about 2 minutes and stick them in the fridge until they're ready to eat them. They go banana's over these! (heehee) They really do. They absolutely love them. Banana's, peanut butter and cereal. That's it. I could probably coat the thing in flaxseed and sprinkles and they wouldn't complain a bit!

Today I tried out froot loops on one of them. The options are really endless here. It's just so easy and kid friendly I thought I'd share!

Single Serve Peach Cobbler with Peach Complexion Mix

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Visalus.  Visalus provided  me with the Vi Shake Mix with the intention of creating a recipe with their product and write a review. All opinions are my own. As always, check with your doctor before considering any nutritional supplements. 

Wow! I have been on quite the hiatus. So many crazy things have been going on the past couple of weeks it's been hard to keep up. My plan was to make this single serve peach cobbler on Father's Day and didn't even get around to doing that!

Well, today I got around to it, and I was so excited because I was able to play around with an extra little ingredient!

This honestly would have been fine on its own, but thanks to a little scoop of Vi-Shape Shake Mix, it bumped it up from ordinary to extraordinary!

I feel a little silly, because out of all of the samples I was given, I chose one of the smallest packets to test out! I got so excited when I saw the Peach Complexion Mix and had to try it first!

Wondering why it's called the Peach Complexion Mix? Because it's designed to improve your complexion. Pretty straight forward! Each of their mixes do something spectacular! Your immune system, energy and heart can all benefit with the different Vi-Shape Shake Mixes.

You may notice that I only used 2 1/2 tsp. of the mix in this recipe (normally you'd want to use a scoop or two in your shakes or recipes). For one thing, that's all I had :). For another thing, it didn't even matter! My entire kitchen smelled like the peachy smell from the mix. It was strong enough to be prominent but subtle enough to be a great accent to the fresh peaches and cinnamon. I also added a scoop of ice cream in there :).

Like I said before, Vi-Shape Shake Mixes come in different flavors. I was given a massive package of the cream flavor and can't wait to start using it all up! My head is already spinning with the ideas of things I can do with their Chocolate Cardia Care, Banana Energy Charge, Orange Everyday Defense and Strawberry Phyto Power.

What you will need:

• 1/2 C peaches
• 3 T yellow cake mix (grab a sugar free box if you're into that sorta thing)
• 3 T 7-up (I guess you could use diet sprite or something gross like that)
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 2 1/2 tsp. Peach Complexion Vi-Shape Shake Mix
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degree's
• Gently whisk cake mix, 7-up, cinnamon and shake mix until combined
• Grease an oven safe bowl or ramekin 
• Scoop peaches into the bottom of the bowl/ramekin
• Cover the peaches with the batter
• Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes (my oven cooks things faster than normal, so check it at 40 minutes but it may take longer) or until a toothpick comes out clean

Be sure to check out their Facebook page and Blog  to learn more and get the "scoop" on what's new!

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Freezable Breakfast Sandwiches

In my quest to make sure I eat breakfast daily, I thought this would be a great idea! If you've ever made an egg mcmuffin, you'll know why I love this. They are soo good! However, I would only make them every once in a while because if it takes longer than making a bowl of cereal, chances are I won't be bothering with it in the AM!

The solution? Just make a bunch and freeze 'em. Duh. Do a quick zap in the microwave in the morning while you take a shower and it's cooked and cooled a little by the time you're out.

What I really really love about this, is that you can make it so different each time. You can be a health nut and get whole grain english muffins, all natural turkey bacon, cage free eggs and use the egg whites only, low fat organic cheese slices, and add as many vegetables your little heart desires!

For my test run, though, I used what I had. That did not include whole grain english muffins, but regular. I also used the whole eggs and although my bacon wasn't all natural, it was turkey bacon at least. :)

What you will need:

• 6 english muffins
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 6 slices of cheese
• 6 slices of bacon
• 1/2 red pepper, minced
• 1/2 green pepper, minced
• 1/2 onion, minced

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degree's
• Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray and line bacon on top (I placed a cooling rack on top of my baking sheet, sprayed that and lined my bacon onto that instead)
• When oven is ready, place bacon in the oven and cook for 5 minutes
• In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs and add in all your preferred veggies
• Spray a muffin pan with non stick spray
• Pour eggs into 6 of the muffin tins
• Place eggs into oven on the rack above the bacon and cook them all together for an additional 12 minutes (or until bacon and eggs are done)
• Toast the english muffins while everything is cooking
• Place eggs, cheese and bacon onto english muffin and top with other half
• Press down until it's flattened a little
• Wrap muffins up and stash in the freezer

To Re-heat:

• Unwrap the muffins
• Place in the microwave for about 3 minutes

Cooking Challenge; Sweet Potato, Cinnamon & Chicken

I posted my first Cooking Challenge up on my Facebook page last week (like my page so you can chime in with your ideas, too!). I asked people to choose any 3 ingredients to try and make a meal out of; Chopped style, if you will. I chose at random, and it was Veronica's ingredients I was challenged with!

Sweet potato

Cinnamon

Chicken

My biggest problem with those ingredients? I HATE sweet potatoes! And cinnamon? To me, that belongs in desserts. It is very rare that I would find that to be acceptable spice in a savory dish. However, this wasn't entirely a "savory" meal I'd be putting together, because although it dealt with potatoes, it was a sweet potato. So it was a comforty, savory, sweet meal I'd need to put together.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

I did take the safe route and tried to come up with a soup. And guess what? I'd honestly give myself a 7 out of 10 for this one. Let me tell you why..

I'll go ahead and take you through my head during this process...
1. I used the cinnamon to flavor the sweet potato as it was boiling. My entire home smelled like cinnamon and sweet potato while it cooked and it was surprisingly heavenly.
2. I felt like a bit of a "nutty" flavor would go well with this, so instead of using olive oil or water to help smooth out my sweet potato in the food processor, I used browned butter instead.
3. I typically like soups to be smooth, so I went ahead and blended the grated garlic and minced onions into the sweet potato puree before mixing it with the broth

What I'd change: 

1. The chicken. I chose to do a soup, so my options for how to incorporate the chicken was a little bit limited for my knowledge, and having it just mixed in didn't fit well. I think croutons would be a better fit to top this off.
2. I am convinced that if I'd blended some roasted red bell peppers into it and kept it thick like a spread for some baguette slices, it would be ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I will be testing that idea out soon.
3. I feel like I copped out with the cinnamon. I could not taste it at all, so I think I'd try and be a little more bold with it next time around.

Bottom Line:

1. It was pretty darn good for someone that doesn't even like sweet potato. But again, omit the chicken and turn it into a spread with some roasted red peppers and it would be to die for.

What you will need:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled, washed and cubed
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 4 T butter, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/4 C onions, minced
• 1 T flour
• 1 C Chicken stock or broth (I had broth on hand)
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 1 tsp. thyme
• Shredded chicken to top (but....lesbianest, you don't need it)

Directions:

• Boil the cubes of sweet potato with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Using 2 T of butter, make some browned butter and set aside
• When the sweet potatoes are tender, add to a blender, food processor or mixer of some kind and blend, adding in the browned butter until smooth
• Add in garlic and onions and blend again until smooth
• Using the other 2 T of butter, mix with the flour over medium heat with a whisk until it's smooth and has turned to a light caramel shade to make a roux
• Add chicken stock/broth and brown sugar into the roux and bring to a boil
• Turn down heat and let simmer for a couple of minutes, stirring often
• Add the sweet potato puree to the broth and blend well
• Add in heavy cream until it reaches desired consistency
• Add in thyme and simmer until it's blended well and warm
• Top with chicken (but don't)
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Turkey Kielbasa Stir Fry

What do you do when you get home late with a starving stomach and have a little leftover rice and some turkey kielbasa? You make a delicious stir fry on the fly of course!

Daaang. This should be served in a restaurant. The flavors definitely have their act together.

What you will need:

• 1 C rice, cooked
• Turkey Kielbasa, sliced
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 jalepeno, minced
• 1/2 tsp. Ginger
• 1 1/2 T Soy sauce
• 2 tsp. Sriracha hot sauce
• Salt&pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a non-stick skillet, saute' the sliced kielbasa in the olive oil over medium-high heat until both sides are starting to brown
• Add in green pepper and onion slices and cook until they've reached desired tenderness
• Add in jalapeno's, garlic and sriracha sauce and stir together
• Add in ginger and salt&pepper, stir
• Add in soy sauce and stir
• Cook and stir the stir fry until the sauces have reduced to desired thickness
• Pour over prepared rice

Cafe' Rio Shredded Chicken

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow! YAY! Everyone loves Cinco de Mayo, right? We have a wonderful group of friends that get together every few months to do a Cafe' Rio pot luck dinner party, and we scheduled another for tomorrow. Perfect way to celebrate!

We each pick a Cafe' Rio copy cat recipe to bring and we make yummy taco salads and burrito's. One of us is usually assigned to make the Cafe' Rio shredded pork. I don't have that recipe on here, yet. But I do have this one!

 This one is a family favorite and the chicken is sooo good and it's great leftover in other meals! I always make extra so we can toss them in soups, enchilada's, salads, etc. It's wonderful!!

Unfortunately I have been using this recipe for so long that I have it memorized so I don't know who to give credit for the recipe. If this looks like the recipe you've posted somewhere, let me know and I'll link up to ya! :)

What you will need:

• 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken
• 1/2 bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
• 1/2 T minced garlic
• 3 T ranch dressing mix (recipe asks to mix this with 1/2 C water, I did not. See below.)
• 1/2 T chili powder
• 1/2 T ground cumin

Directions: 

• In a bowl, mix together the dressing, garlic, ranch mix, chili powder and ground cumin
• Pour mixture over the breasts making sure to coat each breast entirely
• Place all ingredients in the crock pot on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 8 hours
• Drain crock pot and shred chicken (I toss it in my Kitchen Aid)
• OR, if you are pressed for time...
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Place chicken breasts in a cake pan
• Poke a few holes in each breast with a toothpick or fork
• In a bowl, mix together the dressing, garlic, ranch mix, chili powder and ground cumin
• Pour mixture over the breasts making sure to coat each breast entirely
• Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge until you are ready to cook them (or until your oven is preheated)
• Cook at 375 degrees for 45 mins-1 hour
• When the chicken is done (in the crock pot or the oven), roughly cut chicken into cube chunks and toss them in a KitchenAid to shred.

Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

This is my favorite way to make garlic mashed red potatoes. Once I'd played around with some spices I ended up with this and came to love doing it this way. I hate sweet potatoes, so in my mind this is the healthiest I can get with potatoes. :) I love the flavor and you don't need any gravy so that does take the health factor up a notch, right? Also, you may notice the fairly large amount of garlic I use. That is personal taste, but honestly the amount I use for this will not make you feel like you're eating straight garlic. It's not too subtle and not too over powering. Promise.

What you will need:

• 6-8 red potatoes, washed (I leave the skin on)
• 8 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 1/2 T onion powder
• 1/2 T olive oil
• 3 T sour cream
• Milk to desired consistency
• Dash of salt (or keep it out if you're trying to cut back)

Directions:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil
• Add 4 cloves grated garlic, 1 T onion powder and salt to the boiling water
• Cube the cleaned red potatoes and put them into the boiling water
• Allow to boil for about 20 minutes, or until potato slides off a fork when you try to pick it up out of the water
• Drain the potatoes (I save some of the water to steam my broccoli with)
• In the now empty pot you boiled your potatoes in, grate the last 4 cloves of garlic into the pot
• Add 1/2 T olive oil and saute' garlic for about 2 minutes
• Pour potatoes back into the pot with the garlic
• Add the sour cream, 1/2 T onion powder and a little bit of milk (I also add another dash of salt cause I love salt!)
• Mash them up a little until most of the pieces have been mashed once or so
• Using a hand mixer, whip those potatoes and add in milk until it's reached the desired consistency 

The Best Corn on the Cob in the World

Our wonderful neighbors ran over some crab to us the other day that was super fresh. Don't you just love awesome neighbors? I do! Anyways, let me tell you something about this here corn.

IT IS THE BEST CORN ON THE COB YOU WILL EVER HAVE EVER EVER EVER.

Sure, you'll have to have some crab (or probably Lobster would do just fine) on hand to get it just right, but how is that a bad thing?

All of these ingredients were just tossed in and are all approximate. It seems a bit foolproof though. :)

I was a little sad that we didn't have any Old Bay Seasoning on hand, but after tasting the corn, I didn't miss it one bit. I'll still be tossing some in next time, though. Just to see! :)

What you will need:

• Crab or Lobster, cleaned and ready to boil
• 4-6 ears of corn, shucked and read to boil
• 1 big pot of boiling water
• 2 tsp. Creole Seasoning
• 1 T garlic salt
• 1 T black pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 5 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions:

• Put all seasonings into boiling water
• Boil your crab or lobster
• After crab or lobster is done, place corn in the boiling water
• Let them boil for about 8 minutes
• Smother them in butter and EAT