Healthified White Chili

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• coarsely ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 green chile peppers, seeded and minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, sliced
• 3 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 bay leaves

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, cook chicken in olive oil with black pepper until brown. Stir in onion, garlic and chiles and cook until onion begins to soften.
2. Stir in bell peppers, mushrooms, beans, green onions and parsley. Pour in wine and chicken broth. Season with bouillon, rosemary, thyme, oregano and cumin. Place bay leaves in pot, cover, reduce heat and simmer 90 minutes.

I put all of the herbs in it and only 3/4 c white cooking wine and let me tell you it was so amazing! And completly satisfying! Mhmmm

The Weekend!

This past weekend was so wonderful based on the fact that Jake and I had a show marathon.
Not just any show marathon.
 I LOVE ONCE UPON A TIME.
I mean there are a few movies/shows that I will actually say I love:
Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings
As Time Goes By
and now....
Once Upon a Time

Yes. It's that good to make my list. The first time I saw it was on the airplane back in June where I watched the first two episodes. At the time I thought it was this amazing movie that I wanted to watch over again but didn't know anything about. Then on my last flight where I was throwing up the entire time in the airplane's restroom, this show calmed me down and helped me make it through that horrible 6 hour flight.



When I came back home my Aunt Sandy and Chanel asked me if I had ever seen it and I was just amazed how it kept coming back up in my life. I knew I was meant to see more. Oh goodness. Now for the next 6 weeks I can keep watching it!!!!
You can watch all 7 episodes for free at ABC's website. DO it. Now.

Before the amazing marathon; however, I had an incident. An incident that involved a VERY hot pepper, lips, milk, and vegetable oil. I was making this white bean soup (SO GOOD and I will share recipe) and 'thought' I had bought a regular pepper like the kind my dad grows out in the yard. The green kind. I forgot the name. Well anywase I washed it and cut it open and took a bite. At first I was like,''hmmm this is a bit hot.." and then went to go get my thawed out chicken to cut up. Then it happened. I have only had this intense pain once before in my life and it was in the second grade. We had a ethnic food day and each student was supposed to bring some type of food that characterized their ethnic class assignment. My best friend at the time had some 'pickle' juice in a styrofoam cup. I told her I drank 'pickle' juice all the time and could I have a swig? She looked at me and said, "are you sure?" I told her I did it all the time. So I took a HUGE gulp. It was jalepeno juice people. It scarred me. I spent the rest of the class under a water fountain.
Anywase back to Saturday. I stood there cutting up chicken when the intense pain hit. I grabbed my gatorade and it emptied so fast I'm suprised I didn't throw up. I called Jake and he just looked at my lips which had swollen up at this point. He asked me why I looked like that and why anyone would take a big bite out of a Anaheim chile.... he poured me some milk and I literally just stuck my face in the glass. It helped but only when my face was submerged. He looked online and found that rubbing vegetable oil over the area would help. I was up for anything. I got me some vegetable oil and rubbed the heck out of my lips, nose, chin, it seemed to hurt everywhere.
In a matter of minutes the extreme pain lessened to an unatural burning numbing sensation and then it stopped. Jake kept asking me why I was frantically rubbing the oil all over me instead of just my lips but I didn't care IT WAS WORKING!
So if this ever happens to you go grab the vegetable oil!
Just realize the next day your face will break out all over but its totally worth it.


Yesterday we went to church and came back home to watch the rest of the episodes of Once Upon a Time. Yesterday morning I finally woke up and hit the gym. I could literally hear the angels singing Hallelujah while walking to the gym. I felt so good afterwards. Showers just seem to be so much better after going to the gym. Last year, earlier on in the year, I would go to the gym every day. But then I went home and got out of the habit. When I came back I never went again. Then my little bit of depression came along and weight watchers came and THAT was just wonderfully pleasant.
Hopefully I will go again today. My thing is is that I will have to do my hair all over again.
I know....pathetic.

This week starts our vegetarianism trial. Hopefully it will be great! I'm really excited to see how our bodies react. I am still drinking tons of water! Well a lot more than I used to. I could go an entire day without drinking anything. Each day. Maybe a cup of tea for lunch. That was it. But I feel so good after this past week and drinking at least 8 glasses a day.

I am trying the Sassy Water this week as well.


Ingredients:

• 8 cups of water plus a little (2 Liters)
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, very thinly sliced
• A Dozen or So small spearmint leaves.

Instructions:

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS IN A LARGE PITCHER AT NIGHT.

Sassy water is an easy way to increase weight loss as part of a weight loss system. Help yourself by adding this mix to your daily routine. Before you go to bed, slice the lemon and cucumber, grate the ginger, and snip off some fresh spearmint leaves. Put everything in the same pitcher and stir a little.

ALLOW MIXTURE TO SET OVER NIGHT IN THE FRIDGE.

Any weight loss system is partially about discipline and routine. This part of the routine is easy ... just let it sit. If you get it done the night before, the flavors will mix overnight, and your drink will be cold, refreshing and ready to go the next day. 

DRINK THE ENTIRE PITCHER BEFORE BED.

A weight loss system always begins with a principle (drink 8 glasses), moves through discipline (routines), but always ends in execution ... nothing helps if you don't do it. The pitcher provides an easy way to keep track of your water intake. If you drink it all, you drink it all. Some people prefer to strain out the water before drinking to remove the rinds and grains that have not been absorbed.

 

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a wonderful Monday! I'm so excited that I didn't have to go back to school today!!!!!

 

Best Swedish Meatballs EVER!

So last night I made Weight Watchers Swedish Meatballs with egg noodles.

OH MY FREAKIN WORD!

Thats all I'm going to say.



http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/swedish-meatballs.html



Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 1 lb 93% lean beef
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 2 cups reduced sodium beef stock
• 2 oz light cream cheese

Directions:

In a large deep saute pan, heat oil on medium heat, add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 more minutes. Let cool a few minutes.
In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and allspice. Mix well and form meatballs with your hands 1/8 cup each (fill 1/4 cup then divide the meat in half).

Add beef stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside in a serving dish. Strain the stock, add to blender with cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Return to pan and simmer a few minutes to thicken, then pour over meatballs.

Each Serving is 5 meatballs and 4pts! It should make around 22 meatballs. Pair this with a nice salad and your good to go.

I didn't add the celery stalk because I didn't want to buy a bag of celery just for one stalk and I seriously didn't miss the taste of it in my meatball ;)

Goodmorning Goodmorning

Goodmorning everyone! Jake has left for work and I just finished my devotional so I thought I would blog. I am still jet lagged so I wake up entirally way too early and can't go back to sleep. Yesterday I was up at 2:50 AM just sitting there. This morning it was 4:15 which wasn't too bad since Jake went for a run around 5:30. I guess I fell right back to sleep because when he got back home he came and kissed my cheek and started another As Time Goes By episode for me....he's so romantic.

Started the morning off with some fresh pineapple and raspberries. I have been craving some raspberries ever since Sarah's wedding reception. Brent's uncle Marty made the BEST fresh raspberries ever I guess by soaking them in sugar but i just put them with vanilla yogurt and YUMO!

It is beautiful outside today so I may go and clean the garden out since everything has overgrown by leaving it alone since December 12th. Oh well, I have gotten to the point where I really don't care anymore and I am just ready to leave!

I got to skype with my family yesterday as they celebrated having Chase home. It was nice seeing them all again and I felt right at home.
I've been practically obsessed with pinterest and the baby finds on there. I love classic Winnie the Pooh Themed rooms and can totally seeing myself doing that for my future child. I also found this awesome portable fireplace:



$250 compared to thousands... :)

 Wouldn't this be great in the nursery or bedroom? When I was home, one morning I woke up super early and went downstairs to lay in bed with mom. Dad was just leaving to go to work so he tucked me in and turned the fireplace on in their room. It was absolutley wonderful. I went and got all the dogs and accidently woke mom up but we just layed there and enjoyed the morning with the fire going.
I want to have that every morning!

Oh and I found the perfect project I need to do!


Isn't it beautiful? All you need is 2 king size sheets, a sewing machine, scissors, and patience. This would be a great project!

Well now I am wanting to go scour Pinterest again so I'm gonna get off of here. Hope everyone is rooting for the Hogs today!

Trying Some New Meals!!

Well it is a new year and I have yet to make any resolutions other than just one which is to drink more water. Which reminds me, I need to go make me a glass right now.....ok so other than drinking more water I haven't really thought of anything. Both Jake and I want to be stricter with our budget (which personally I think we are pretty strict already but...).
While thinking about some new resolutions, I am always aware of the fact that I need to be more physical and eat healthier. Last year I was on Weight Watchers for 5.5 months and lost a total of 6 pathetic pounds. Pretty depressing.
Have I mentioned I hate my birth control?
So anywase, while still trying to contemplate whether or not I still want to be on the devil pill I start thinking about how much meat costs Jake and I each week. 3 chicken breasts alone costs us almost $7. We eat alot of chicken people. I usually just buy the frozen bags of chicken but it still makes me sick to my stomach to see the prices.
So....
While I was searching for WW meals on Pinterest, I came across a few vegetarian meals that looked SO GOOD! It made me start thinking about limiting our amount of meat more.
My dad's a butcher. We had meat at each meal. This may be difficult.

I decided I would give it 1 week. See how it goes. See if Jake notices that there are more beans and veges and less porks and chicken.
I've never really done this before. I mean, we have pinto beans and cornbread for meals and that doesn't really have meat in it right?

I have found some recipes that look so good even Jake should like them:

• Crock Pot Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
• Black beans and Sweet Pot. enchiladas
• Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
• Zucchini, Corn, and Tomatoe Casserole
• A variation of a Crock Pot Black Bean soup

Dried beans and potatoes are inexpensive here and so I hope to pair these meals with extra veges and salads.
This is not a resolution just a test to see how we like it and to see how our bodies react. Jake may still have some bacon or turkey for breakfast or lunch but for dinner we are trying these.

      



Hopefully this next week we can save some money and learn to try new things!

WW Crock Pot Enchilada Soup

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/12/crock-pot-chicken-enchilada-soup.html

Do you like healthy, tasty, and affordable meals? What about meals that you can prepare earlier on and put in a crock pot to cook throughout the day to be ready for you when you get home? I'm sure everyone does! I love skinnytaste.com and was so excited to see her recent crock pot recipe for enchilada soup. Each serving is 1.5 cups and it is so filling! Even Jake was full after just one serving! This soup could easily be eaten without the chicken if you want to cut the cost even more.


Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1-2 tsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce (or more to taste)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish)
•  15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 8 oz skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total)
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions, for topping
• 3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
• fat free sour cream (optional)

Directions:
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and chipotle adobo sauce and bring to a boil. Add cilantro and remove from heat. Pour into crock pot.

To the crockpot, add drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir. Add the chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.

Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Add chicken back into the soup, adjust salt and cumin to taste. Serve in bowls and top with fat free sour cream, cheese, scallions and cilantro. You can also top with avocado or crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Welcome 2012!

Hello Everyone!
It has been awhile since I have updated this blog and since I am back to almost my normal life once again, I promise to update more often.
Jake and I just got back home last night after a long and depressing day full of flights, layovers, and tears. We really hated to leave our families. These past few weeks have been so wonderful and I sit here really not knowing where all the time went? I have so much to blog about that I will probley have to break it into sections.
Sarah June got married! She was absolutley beautiful but who would have thought anything different? The News Years weekend went by so fast and was filled with pictures, decorating, tears, smiles, and lots of family and friends.





Getting ready for the big day!



I love them both so much



My friends are so beautiful!



Sarah at her tea party



Love you Rachel!



Fell in love all over again with this little guy at the Tea Party!



Cleanup crew and future bride!

 We all loved seeing our friends and having showers and a wonderful tea party. I loved hanging out with everyone after Sarah's wedding and staying up till the ball dropped to bring in the new year.

We have so many decisions to be made this year that could change our life completly. We had decided to reinlist before we came back home for the holidays. We don't want to base any decisions on emotions but what we feel led to do by God and for what will be the best for Jake and I. While home however, we were reunited with family that loved us and that we got to be with and with friends that loved us and shared our values and beliefs. We laughed and smiled the entire time and felt at 'home' of course. Now after all of those wonderful moments we don't want to ever leave again. It is such a hard decision.

Christmas was so WONDERFUL! We both had such an amazing time with our families and reuniting with some family we haven't seen in so long. Once again we were both extremely blessed, my husband is sitting here right next to me enjoying his christmas present (new xbox...). This morning I woke up and asked him if Zumba had to have a kinect to be able to play it because I thought that would be really fun to do; however we don't have a Kinect so I didn't think anything of it. While I was grocery shopping Jake suprised me with using his store credit at gamestop on me and bought a kinect! He is so kind to me. We spent the afternoon trying to figure everything out and are downloading some demos to try to see what we like.

My mother suprised me by getting me the most wonderful bedspread ever from Pottery Barn!!!!!


Seriously the most beautiful quilt ever

 I can't wait until we move to the mainland so I can start using all my new things! I am getting a stand mixer and vacuum also! Haha doesn't christmas lists change so much over the years?



Our annual Christmas picture with our matching jim jams



Girls weekend in Silver Dollar City!



Christmas dinner with my family :)


Needless to say we had such a wonderful time and we can't wait to go back home soon!
I have a WW enchilada soup in the crock pot and am thinking about having a classic Disney marathon with all of the new Disney movies we recieved but I am jet lagged and am tired so a nice bath and As Time Goes By may have to suffice for now :)