Hammer & Chisel Results

At the beginning of January, I asked my husband to join me in completing a fitness program together, Hammer & Chisel.  It was the first one in just over 5 years that I've actually done at home with him.  When we were engaged, we did P90X, I think I made it until the 2nd to last week, and he finished...I know I know, I had 2 weeks left, I could have finished, but the past is in the past.

Before we began, I knew I wanted to gain more muscle tone. I did not want to lose weight.

Weeks 1-5 were AWESOME!  I meal prepped like nobody's business, and stayed very focused with the workouts.

Weeks 6-8 were a little harder.  That always seems to be the case for me. I got 'busy' and stopped meal prepping, and my stomach was showing for it, so I had to do a mini pause and do a 3 Day Refresh to help get my nutrition back on track.  That sorta helped, but I still couldn't quite pick up motivation like I had the first 5 weeks.

While I KNOW I could have done better about food, especially in the last week (hello pizza, burgers, and a few beers), but I am still SO proud of my results.  I wanted to gain muscle tone in my arms, and I truly did.  My biceps, shoulders, and lats all grew :) And I went up with heavier weights a LOT more than I thought I would have.

Over all, I ended up:

• + 2 inches in my shoulders
• + 0.75 inches in my chest
• + 0.5 inches in my left bicep
• + 0.5 inches in my right bicep
• + 0.25 inches in my waist - hehe I think that's some pizza, beer, and burgers ;)
• + 0.75 inches in my booty!!!
• - 0.25 inches right around my belly button
• My calves stayed the same
• My thighs stayed the same
• I gained almost 2 lbs, I hope that's muscle, but it could totally be pizza, beer, and burgers that I couldn't resist in the last week.  Yep even though I'm helping other people with their own health and fitness, I still have hiccups of my own :)

And here's my hubby's results (photo's only) I can't find his measurements - wah wah...but I am so proud of him for doing most of this program with me too!

Here's a pinterest board where I pinned some of the places where I got my meal prep ideas:  CLICK HERE :) 
Here's some of my favorite meal preps with links back to the original Instagram post :)

Zucchini Noodles, Shrimp & Quinoa

Meal Prep

Example Day of  Meals

...and again, towards the end of this, there was pizza, burgers and beer....so I didn't go 100% with the full program, but I am so glad I did the program, I totally loved the variety of the workouts, and that I could do them at home and at the gym.

The workouts included a lot of strength training with lighter or heavier weights.  There are cardio days, with and without weights.

I will certainly do many of these workouts again! I loved doing them especially with my husband, and we could bring the sheets to the gym, which was really helpful too!

What's the last workout you did with someone you loved?

A Clean(ish) Eating Mom's Take on the 3 Day Refresh

I like to think of myself as a pretty clean eater.

Sure, I love pizza, cookies and the occasional Taco Bell, but for the most part, I make my meals and I eat foods from the outer sections of the grocery store aka fruits, veggies, and meats.

I like to spiralize noodles instead of have pasta. I seriously do love vegetables and could eat them almost all day (especially steamed or sauté), and I make 'nice' cream instead of binge on ice cream because I truly know I feel a lot better without artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and extra processed foods.

But again...I like pizza, cookies and the occasional Taco Bell. I'm human.

Well after a little too much of those extra cheats in my life, I had started to feel really nauseous.  It was just a little here and there, truly not much, but my stomach was truly upset with me.  "YAY, I'm pregnant again!" was my initial thought, but 4 tests proved me wrong :(  So then I thought, oh nausea, here come my cycle, but nope, that wasn't it!

I realized it really was my little cheats here and there creeping in that left me feeling sick. I had let my 90/10 rule of eat clean 90% of the time, indulge 10% move more towards a 70/30 and that's just not something my body can handle.

So I decided to give the 3 Day Refresh a try.

I actually didn't do this to lose weight, although it's a great tool for helping with that. I just did the 3 Day Refresh to feel better.  All in all, I lost 1.5 lbs and 1.5 inches in my bloated belly.

Here's a video breakdown of my thoughts and feelings of this 3 Day Refresh - cleaning up my body - process.

If you are interested in giving this a try, let's chat, see if this is right for you, or find something that may work even better for your goals.  Helping people is what I do, I share what I'm doing, my experiences, and my knowledge to help you find something that could work for you.  It may be a Beachbody program, it may not.  I've tried a lot of programs within Beachbody and lots of them outside of Beachbody.  I'll recommend to you what could be best, and have helped may people find the perfect one for them.  From those that want to join our accountability groups, to those that just want a little information to get them going solo, it's what I love doing and I'm here to help :)

The easiest way to catch me is on Facebook
Next would be email - tamara.lee.bratton@gmail.com
Next after that would be here via the blog at the Contact Me section


Here's my breakdown day by day


DAY 1

Thoughts

• HOLY S**T THIS F***ING SUCKS!!!!
• I'M SO HUNGRY
• I hate today
• Hey, I'm not nauseous
• Hmm, it's now 7pm and I actually feel okay
• Alright, that wasn't so bad...I'm just a bit of a baby

Meals
    ***Lots of water - I mean like over 100 oz***

• Cafe Latte Shakeology, 10oz Water, 2/3 C frozen blueberries
• Chai tea to hold me over
• Fiber Sweep with cinnamon added - mixed just enough water for pudding consistency (LOVED IT!)
• Vanilla Fresh, 10oz water, 1/2 C frozen grapes
• 2 carrots cut up (it called for 1/2 a large but screw that), 1.5 t almond butter
• 1 G containers (1cup) Spaghetti squash with 1 t coconut oil
• Chai tea
• Coconut steamed veggies - broccoli, carrots, cale and coconut oil + salt free seasonings
• Vanilla Fresh with cinnamon made into pudding consistency = dessert YUM
• 1/2 C Beef Broth, it calls for veggie broth, but we had beef so that's just what I went with

Workout

• Walking around the mall with 2 of my mom friends and our kiddos - we did 2 or 3 laps, can't remember

DAY 2

Thoughts

• I feel amazing this morning
• I have energy
• I mean A LOT of energy
• I'm a freaking rockstar, this is awesome!
• I'm not even crazy hungry

Meals
    ***Lots of water - I mean like over 100 oz***

• Vegan Chocolat Shakeology, 10oz Water, 1 drop mint extract
• 1/2 banana
• Chai tea
• Fiber Sweep with cinnamon added - mixed just enough water for pudding consistency 
• 2 carrots cut up, 1.5 t almond butter
• Vanilla Fresh, 10oz water, 1/2 C frozen grapes, PB2
• 1 cup cucumbers and 2 T hummus
• Chai tea
• Coconut steamed veggies - broccoli, carrots, cale and coconut oil + salt free seasonings
• Vanilla Fresh with cinnamon made into pudding consistency 
• 1/2 C Beef Broth

Workout

• Body pump with a friend - I had 1/2 my carrots before and 1/2 after class followed by my Vanilla Fresh AM meal
• 4 Mile Hike with the Hike it Baby group
• note, I was not going to workout, but had been asked to do these events and I was feeling good, so I did them....I do not recommend this. I think if I had done one, not the other, I would have been better off :)

DAY 3

Thoughts

• I feel pretty great this morning
• I have good energy, but not as much as yesterday
• I totally over did it yesterday
• I'm a little bit hungrier today

Meals
    ***Lots of water - I mean like over 100 oz***

• Exact same as Day 2 only an apple instead of a banana in the morning
• I may have cheated and had part of my daughters PB, Banana Tortilla Wrap Up ;)

Workout

• Walking around the park and from store to store in an outdoor shopping area with the little one

All in all, would I do it again?  Absolutely. If I'm feeling as nauseous as I had been, then I know I need to make a clean and quick break of the extra trigger foods. 

Having the fiber sweep to help clear out my digestive system and help get my intestines healthier along with my loved Shakeology full of superfoods to nourish my body, and the Vanilla Fresh protein to help stabilize me throughout the day, these tools were fantastic at getting me back on track.

I have some friends that do it once a month as a 'tune' up, others that do it seasonally to help cleanse when needed, and some that just need it at the beginning of their journey. 

If you want to know if this is right for you, then think about what I've said.  Check the video I'm posting here that goes in more depth, and let's chat. I want to work with you and help keep you accountable through this and your new healthy lifestyle.

The easiest way to catch me is on Facebook
Next would be email - tamara.lee.bratton@gmail.com
Next after that would be here via the blog at the Contact Me section

Freezer Meals For New Parents

This past weekend my family and I made a TON of freezer meals in preparation for Braelyn's arrival in the next 6-ish weeks or so (eek!).

I know a lot of my fellow #TIUpregnancy girls would love to know what we've made, so I've put it together for you in two word documents!  The first is the actual list of freezer meals and the ingredients/instructions.   The second file is a one page shopping list.  My shopping list was broken down by section of the store I find these ingredients in, thus I bundled them together to make shopping easier.  I spent about $400 total on all the food and packaging needs.

Please take note, there are not all TIU approved dinners.  Rather they are husband and wife approved!  My purpose of making these meals in advance was to give us some healthy meals (rather than running to Taco Bell or Sonic nightly out of exhaustion) as well as a few comfort foods to remind us of home.  We don't live near family, nor do we have a ton of friends around us to help out once our little one is here.  (BTW we totally miss everyone that's decided to move over the last year-ish...yea, we'll make new friends, but we miss you!)

With our freezer meals, I was able to make 16 different full meals.  Each meal has at least 4 servings with some even up to 24 servings (12 meals for each Neal and myself of our favorite...chicken enchiladas!)  We did a lot of "dinner" meals that will have leftovers for the next day's lunch.

We also made a few breakfast sandwiches, quiches, and breakfast meats in advance as we a HUGE breakfast eaters.  I know some people think it's strange, but I literally cook eggs and bacon or turkey sausage nearly every week day before work. I have always been big on breakfast!  If I'm not making that, we have steel cut oats with fruit or on occasion in a pinch, cereal.

Attached you will find my list of meals:  Freezer Meals by Lively Happenings

Attached here you will find a one page summary of the grocery list:  Freezer Meals by LH Grocery List

At the bottom of your first document (yes I know it's long, but that's 16 meals + some additional info!) you will find my notes/suggestions.  I recommend reading that section, even if you aren't interested in all of the meals. (also note, I'm not all about fixing my spelling mistakes everywhere...apologize, lazy mom to be on the little details!)

In the list of freezer meals, you will find the following delicious recipes for full meals, chicken broth, and the last 3 are items I freeze to add to meals!

1. Chicken Enchiladas
2. Chicken Quesadillas
3. Stuffed Shells
4. Quiche
5. Chicken Spectacular
6. Chicken & Broccoli
7. White Lasagna Chicken/Spinach
8. Shrimp Pasta
9. Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches (pinterest) (mama and baby love)
10. 16 Bean Soup
11. Chicken Broth
12. Cranberry Russian Chicken
13. Italian Beef for Crockpot
14. Beef Stew
15. Cranberry Pork Roast
16. White Chicken Chilli
17. Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken
18. Freeze Turkey Sausage Patties
19. Strawberry Slices for Oats
20. Cook and Freeze Bacon

 As a new breastfeeding mom, you may want to take into consideration what you are eating as that relates what your baby is getting from you.  A friend sent me this image for a non-colic diet for baby.  You can sub out ingedients in my meals to make your diet fit this more.

Original Post Found Here

Also, another friend has recommended the following to help breast milk supply

• Mother's Tea, found here in bulk on Amazon
• A serving a beer - yes even my doctor said this helps increase milk production. That doesn't mean drink a six pack, it means one beer...
• Oatmeal (hello delicious steel cut oats in the morning and maybe even an oatmeal cookie at lunch!)

Look for my future post were I'll give you some of my favorite "Energy Bites" recipes along with other snacks I plan to have on hand for post delivery at the hospital as well as scattered throughout the house to keep handy when I'm feeding the little one and can't quite move around a ton or make a meal.

I hope this post is helpful to you!  If you have other suggestions of great freezer meals or prep for baby, share below!!!

Fall Is Here! Weekly Meal Time!

Happy Fall Ya'll!


Finally cool enough to wear boots, a scarf, and my fuzzy vest!

It's time I jumped back into the swing of things and really get back to meal planning on here!  I have still planned meals for Neal and myself, but I haven't been sharing them as I haven't been as active on the blog, being more active with the Etsy shop!

This week on the menu we have

• Salad topped with chicken, bacon (mmmm) goat cheese, veggies and balsalmic (quick meal!)
• Tilapia and broccoli (easy peasy meal)
• Chicken Casserole
• Steak with asparagus and sweet potato (Neal's meal!)
• Pumpkin & Carrot Soup from Tone It Up

For my chicken this week, I'm getting a natural rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to make my dinners simple and allow us to have some extra chicken leftovers for our lunches! 

The tilapia will be ones from our freezer, and same with the steak.  I buy in bulk when meats go on sale at the Fresh Market and I freeze the meat.  Typically, I buy about 10 lbs of chicken, 6lbs steak, and then my tilapia I get in the frozen section at many grocery stores where they sell the big bags already frozen. The chicken and steak will last us about 2 months, pending on what our meal plans are each week (hence sometimes buying rotisserie chicken).  Also, it's so easy to pull out the fish in the morning (tilapia or salmon that's been frozen), put it in the fridge for the day, and cook it up at night!  I really like my dinners to be as easy and as whole food containing as possible! 


Salad + Chicken

I'll be combining fresh organic mixed greens, sweet peppers, chives, dried fruit (berry mix), bacon cooked from breakfast and crushed, goat cheese, 1/2 and avocado and rotisserie chicken.  For my dressing, I'm using a raspberry balsamic drizzled over the top with some fresh ground pepper and a little salt.  That's it!  Simple and easy!  To see more easy salads & dressings, check out this post.

Tilapia & broccoli
Tilapia:  I'm not marinating my tilapia this time and will just use Penzy spices Northwoods seasonings sprinkled on top as I cook it with a little oil in a pan on medium heat.

Broccoli:  To steam the broccoli, Neal and I use a small strainer filled to the brim with broccoli that's been salted and peppered slightly, then put into a bowl that has about 1/5 cup of water in it.  Then we put that in the microwave for 3 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.

Chicken Divan Casserole
This recipe came from Neal's mom!

• 20 oz frozen broccoli
• 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut
• 1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs or crackers (using leftover bread butts to make ours)
• Cooking spray or 1T butter melted for the bottom of your pan (while oven is on, put the butter in the pan for 2 min and then pull pan out and swirl to move the butter)
• Sauce, combine the following in a bowl:
• 2 Cans cream of chicken soup (I'm doing mushroom for one can)
• 1 Cup Mayo (I'll probably knock it down to 1/3 C since mayo is a little much for me)
• 1t lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese (shred your own, it's SO much better!)

It's simple to make.  Layer the Broccoli and the chicken.  Pour your sauce over the mix.  Top it with bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Steak with asparagus and sweet potato
Steak:  on the grill with a little steak rub
Asparagus:  oven baked with this recipe using olive oil, lemon, salt pepper and garlic at 400 degrees for 10 min.
Sweet potato:  we will split one larger one oven baked at 400 degrees for about 35 min, or until tender.

Pumpkin and Carrot Soup
I can't wait to try this recipe from Tone It Up!  I love how easy this sounds and simple the ingredients are!

Healthy Meatloaf? Weekly Meal Planning

Hello!  I made it a goal to post at Lively Happenings blog at least 3 times a week more times than I can count!  I always say I'm going to do it, but of course my IT job needs to be done and later I work on Lively Happenings jewelry!  You know people just like me...the constant 'overachievers', ehh umm maybe I just called you out :) 

It seems I will be getting even a little busier soon...I'm going to start working at one of my favorite little shops on a few Saturdays each month, Busy Beedz!  I'm so excited that Alex, the owner asked me to join her team while she and her husband begin to start a family.  I'm sure I will learn a lot about making jewelry, find a fascination for new beads, and finally be doing something were I talk to people face to face, not just on the phone (yep still working the IT job from home).

However, when I am busiest, I am most organized.  Thus, I'm back to posting my weekly dinner plans!  I try to provide links or my own recipes for most of these delicious at home meals.  Since it's just Neal and myself, nearly every time we make dinner, we both get a delicious meal for lunch the next day!  BONUS!

This week's meals:

Healthy Meatloaf - Turkey and Spinach Meat Loaf
Served with Cauliflower and potato mash as was as braised greens with onion and sun-dried tomatoes.  Well, yea I have to leave the tomatoes out...allergies.
Here's your links:
     Meat Loaf
     Braised Greens
     Cauliflower and Potato Mash

• Chunk/cube 1 potato, 2 cups of chopped cauliflower, & 4 garlic cloves into a large pot. 
• Cover mix with water and boil for 25 minutes.
• Drain.
• Add in a little milk and about 1 T butter
• Mash & Enjoy!  (add more milk if needed)
• top with fresh chives, mmmm!

Chicken Fajitas - Serves 4
Marinate your Chicken

• 1.5lbs chicken
• 1 t Cumin
• 2 t Chili Powder
• 1 t Paprika
• Dash of Salt
• Garlic, minced - to your taste (more is better in my opinion!)
• 1 T Olive Oil
• Drop of Liquid Smoke
• 2oz Lime Juice - squeeze to your taste

Cut your veggies

• 1 Green Pepper, sliced
• 1 Onion, sliced
• Optional:  Mushrooms, Tomato, any other veggies your heart desires!

To Cook

• Put a skillet on Medium heat, add in your chicken.  While your chicken cooks, add in a little Creole seasoning for even more flavor. 
• Once chicken is cooked, add in your veggies and cook for another 3-5 minutes
• Serve with your toppings of choice on a whole wheat tortilla, collard green, or brown rice tortilla!

Fresh Burgers
I have been trying to be more natural & caring about the environment with so many things, and now I am finally buying meat when I can from local farmers with grass fed cows. 

Neal makes THE BEST BURGERS EVER!  Seriously, no other burger compares.  He puts garlic spices, salt, pepper, oats, siracha sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  He never measures the ingredients, instead just going by what he 'feels' is the right amount.  These always turn out delicious!

I like to have goat cheese and avocado on my burger.  Then I have a side of carrots and chips.  Currently, I'm obsessed with Terra veggie chips!!!

Cajun Shrimp with Veggie Medley
Sorry, can't share this recipe with you!  It's part of the Tone it Up Nutrition Plan.  I love this plan, there's lots of great nutritional information and tasty meals.  Check it out here.

That's it!  Enjoy your Monday ya'll!!!!

Shape Magazine Inspired Meals

This past weekend, on our drive to and from Tennessee, I was finally able to read most of the last two issues of Shape magazine.  I get them monthly, but hadn't found the time to read March or April, so I was glad for the 3 hour car rides, Neal driving both ways, and some 'me' time.
 
In the March edition, there's an article "Shop Once Eat All Week" with recipes by Melissa Lanz.  I typically will choose one or two recipes from the magazine to try, but this time I saw the menu and decided to base my entire weeks meal's off of these items!  You can find the full article here.

 

 

 
The meal plan is simple, allowing you to cook a bigger chunk of the food on Monday and then use portions of that meal to incorporate on foods you will prepare throughout the week.  I love this idea!  That means making Monday's dinner will take about 50 minutes, but Tuesday - Friday's meal will take less than 20!
 
Even better, I spent less than $70 on my groceries this week, and because these meals are for servings of 4, Neal and I will have leftovers!

 
We had to switch our days around from the article because I wanted The Fresh Market antibiotic free chicken which is on sale today (and every Tuesday this month) for $2.99/lb!  We buy in bulk and freeze.
 
Here's what's on the menu in the order we are cooking:
 
Monday:  Mediterranean Lettuce Cups with Mint Yogurt Dressing
 

 
Tuesday:  Lemon Chicken with Red Beans & Quinoa
 
Wednesday:  Tilapia with Asparagus and Mint Couscous (recipe calls for red snapper, but we have the tilapia)
 
Thursday:  Creamy Spinach Salad with Cumin Chicken and Quinoa
 
Friday:  Lemon-Asparagus Linguine with Italian Turkey Sausage

Question of the day:
What helps you to meal plan each week?  If you don't meal plan, would you give it a try? 

Weekly Dinners & Druzies

Neal & I finished putting up our kitchen back splash on Friday evening, and now we need to take time to cook some yummy meals & enjoy our beautiful 'new' kitchen!

This week we are finishing up some leftovers, making my new favorite crock pot dish, Italian beef, and going back to a tasty recipe I used to make a ton before I found out I was allergic to tomatoes!

Meal 1 - Burgers
Neal made some burgers on Saturday when we had some friends over, and we had a few extra, so we are going to be warming those back up to enjoy!  Neal seriously makes the best burgers.  He gets good ground beef, adds in spices, grills to perfections & tops with cheese.  These burgers always rock!

Meal 2 - Shrimp Pasta
Cooked shrimp, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, whole wheat pasta, & roasted red pepper Alfredo sauce here we come!

Meal 3 - Italian Beef, crock pot style
This was my favorite recipe from the Crock Pot Challenge.  I love how flavorful the beef gets & it's so simple & great for leftovers!  Here's the original recipe.

Meal 4 - Chicken Parmesan Bundles
I used to make these as a specialty before I realized I was allergic to tomatoes.  I cut them out of the meal plan since they have marinara in them, however I am going to substitute a creamy pesto sauce for the marinara.  Here's the original recipe from Kraft foods.

That's it!  We will have plenty of leftovers from these meals for dinner or some lunch mixings.

Happy start of the week!  I'm off to go get creative with these beauties.  New designs will be on the Etsy shop over the next few weeks!

 

Weekly Dinner Posts with Super Easy Meals!

My husband & I are in the middle of a minor kitchen 'remodel'.  Okay, really we are just putting up a new tile back splash & our project keeps taking just a little longer than planned. 

First, we thought we would be finished by Saturday evening.  We watched DIY Videos and were set!  Well today is Monday, our kitchen is still a wreck, and we said we would finish today.  Oh life, how you get in the way with work, Etsy business, working out & the numerous other excuses we can find to put off finishing the back splash until 'tomorrow'.

I am writing this as I am munching on what may be the last little bit of food that we don't have to prepare, a lovely pimento sandwich on Ezekiel bread &  a salad with homemade balsamic dressing, nuts, peppers & cheese.  I am desperate for a real home 'cooked' meal.  We ate our Friday, Saturday & Sunday! WHAT!  Normally we only eat out one day a week, and that's on Pizza Sunday where we order pizza, pick it up and really eat in while watching "Weeds", "Lost" or a movie from the library.  If you haven't checked out your library for free movies, you need to do so!

Onto the meal planning.  This week I plan on making the following:

Green Goddess Grilled Cheese with bacon.  This is one of my favorites because I am in  love with goat cheese, pesto, avocado & of course, bacon!

Shrimp Stir Fry, because we ended up not making it last week.

Ingredients

• 15-20 Medium Cooked Shrimp (or you can cook yourself)
• 3 Cups of frozen veggies. Walmart actually sells a stir fry veggie bag in their frozen section that I use
• 2 T Olive Oil
• Homemade Teriyaki sauce, the sauce that's in the Walmart bag, or a mixture of sauces from the fridge is what I do

How to cook

• Prep your shrimp by defrosting them if frozen or cooking them if they are uncooked. We put ours in a bowl of water, changing out the water with luke warm to cool water until they are no longer frozen. Pat them dry & remove the tails.
• Put your shrimp with your sauce mix in a separate bowl so it can marinate some flavor.
• Heat a pan on medium, add your olive oil & cook your vegetables how you like them. Add a little of the sauce to the pan while you are cooking.
• Toss the shrimp and rest of the sauce into the pan. Warm it all up and serve!

Fish with Julie's Ginger Curry Cauliflower.  This is super easy and delicious.  Fish is kinda my go to meal when I need something easy & quick.

• We simply thaw out frozen fish & lightly season it with pre mixed seasoning.  My favorite is Northwoods seasoning.  Then we put a pan on medium heat, melt a little butter & coo for 2-4 minutes on each side.

Lastly, another crock pot recipe, Chicken Gumbo Ya Ya.  This one is from my father & his girlfriend Kim.  We can't wait to try it!


This makes my week nice and easy when I have it all planned out for dinner.  Hopefully our kitchen will be back to normal so I can cook up the fish or shrimp stir fry tomorrow!

Question of the day:

What's your go to easy dinner meal?

Cutest Home Decor and Some Cheesey Meals

I'm feeling rather cheesy this week.  Not only do the weekly meals planned contain two meals that are focused around cheese, but I will completely admit my major obsession with "The Bachelor".  Yes, the super cheesy, hoaky show is one of my favorites.  It falls in line right before "The Real Housewives".  I am a sucker for some dramatic reality shows.  I even watch a little bit of "Dance Moms".  Yes, it's getting worse with each confession!

On Monday, I had a girls night with Erica & went to her house to watch "The Bachelor" and have some super tasty home cooked southern food!  Everything in moderation, right!?

Erica cooked us breaded pork chops, mashed red potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, mushroom gravy sauce & a side salad with sweet walnuts, spinach, feta & raspberry vinaigrette.  Erica lives in the same apartment Neal & I lived at when we first moved to Evansville, and I will be the first to admit hers is decorated much cuter than I ever did our place!


She even makes a mounted deer look pretty!

And she can make art...dang!

It's not girls night without chocolate & wine!

For the rest of the meals this week, Neal & I will be cooking the following:

Stuffed Shells (cheesy)

• Our recipe comes from EMeals, so I can't give you the recipe, but this is a great one I have found that's similar!

Shrimp Stir fry

• Ingredients
• 15-20 Medium Cooked Shrimp (or you can cook yourself)
• 3 Cups of frozen veggies.  Walmart actually sells a stir fry veggie bag in their frozen section that I use
• 2 T Olive Oil
• Homemade Teriyaki sauce, the sauce that's in the Walmart bag, or a mixture of sauces from the fridge is what I do
• How to cook
• Prep your shrimp by defrosting them if frozen or cooking them if they are uncooked.  We put ours in a bowl of water, changing out the water with luke warm to cool water until they are no longer frozen.  Pat them dry & remove the tails.
• Put your shrimp with your sauce mix in a separate bowl so it can marinate some flavor.
• Heat a pan on medium, add your olive oil & cook your vegetables how you like them.  Add a little of the sauce to the pan while you are cooking.
• Toss the shrimp and rest of the sauce into the pan.  Warm it all up and serve!

Chicken Fajitas

• Our recipe here

White Pimento Cheese Sandwiches (cheesy again!) 

• I am planning on making some bacon to stuff along in there with the Fresh Market White Pimento Cheese & serving these on Ezekiel bread.

Weekly Meal Planning - VDay Week!

I am a day late on my weekly meal planning!  Opps, but I promise there is a solid reason. 

I had severe abdominal pain and upper esophagus pain Sunday night into Monday morning, and we finally ended up going to the ER to ensure my esophagus wasn’t torn & nothing else was wrong.  The doctors believe that I might have strained myself by running so hard in the cold weather for the 5K on Saturday as well as having alcohol later that night.  Had I thought more thoroughly, I would have avoided alcohol and I would have also maybe not have signed up for the 5K the day after my endoscopy, even though the doctor said it was okay to run & didn’t tell me to avoid alcohol.

Here’s the meals we have planned for this week, they include some of the usual, chicken fajitas one night and fish with veggies another.  We have a new treat, Cranberry Apple Pork Tenderloin that I think I am going to love! My father & his girlfriend had it and sent me their pictures and recipe.  I can’t wait to try!   

Monday:  Steak, Potato & Veggies

Neal grilled up our filets from his birthday gift of Omaha Steaks and we had them alongside the baked stuffed potatoes & leftover asparagus

 

Tuesday:  Chicken Fajitas

Chicken Fajitas - Serves 4

Marinate your Chicken (mine has to be without the spices this week…sad esophagus!)

• 1.5lbs chicken
• 1 t Cumin
• 2 t Chili Powder
• 1 t Paprika
• Dash of Salt
• Garlic, minced - to your taste (more is better in my opinion!)
• 1 T Olive Oil
• Drop of Liquid Smoke
• 2oz Lime Juice - squeeze to your taste
• Cut your veggies
• 1 Green Pepper, sliced
• 1 Onion, sliced
• Optional: Mushrooms, Tomato, any other veggies your heart desires!

To Cook

• Put a skillet on Medium heat, add in your chicken. While your chicken cooks, add in a little Creole seasoning for even more flavor.
• Once chicken is cooked, add in your veggies and cook for another 3-5 minutes
• Serve with your toppings of choice on a whole wheat tortilla!

My favorite toppings

• Avocado
• Shredded Lettuce
• Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)
• Cheese (Mexican, Goat, Feta, whatever you desire, I like to keep it interesting!)

Wednesday Friday:  Crock Pot Cranberry Apple Pork Tenderloin w/ steamed veggies & sweet potato

• 2lb pork tenderloin (plain/original) (Feeds 2-3)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• ¼ cup brown sugar (you can always sub honey, maple, or agave)
• ½ cup apple juice
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
• 1-3 carrots, chopped (about same size as apples)
• 1 shallot, diced (or any kind of onion)
• 1 pkg lipton onion soup mix, mixed in 1 cup hot water (make your own)
• 2 Tbsp Pork “Roasting Rub” or any mixed pork seasonings
• 3 Tbsp Apple Balsamic or any balsamic or red wine vinegar
• Optional:  pinch of celery seed, fennel seed and caraway seed
• Salt and Pepper (depending if your pork seasoning has it already in it then don’t use)

Directions

• Place pork tenderloin in a crock pot then top with all ingredients in order listed above. 
• Cover, and cook on low 8 hours.  Or on high for 4 hours and low 1
• Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus. 

Thursday:  Neal’s taking us out to Red Lobster! 

Friday Saturday:  Fish & veggies

Simply by putting your fish on the stove top with a little oil or butter, sprinkle on your favorite seasoning, cook about 3 minutes. Flip your fish, sprinkle on your seasoning and cook another 3 minutes.

Want a more unique recipe?  Try the Cilantro Baked Fish 

Steam up some veggies in the microwave or stove top, and you are good to go!

 

Do you have a meal I should try next week?