Anyone else a huge fan of buffalo chicken ANYTHING?! I stumbled across a few recipes for crockpot buffalo chicken but they all called for stock but I wanted to keep it more simple than that!
Feel free to double the recipe (I would keep the chicken to just a single layer on the bottom of your crockpot though).
What you need:
1 lb chicken breast
Water
Garlic (I used the freeze dried diced garlic)
Onion Powder
Frank's Hot Sauce (original not buffalo)
If you prefer, you can omit the onion powder & garlic, instead throw in a 1/2 onion (just cut in 1/2) & a couple of celery stalks for flavor, both are great options.
Instructions:
1. Place chicken in the crock pot. Cover the chicken with water.
2. Sprinkle in some onion powder and garlic to taste. (I did not measure, just winged it)
3. Cook on high for 3 hours.
4. Remove chicken, shred it.
5. Discard most of the water from the crockpot (and any funk in it). Keep about 1/4 cup water in the crockpot.
6. Add chicken back into the crockpot with the water and 1/3 to 1/2 cup hot sauce (depends on how much you want). Cook for an additional 30 minutes.
7. Serve over Romaine Lettuce. Add cheese and ranch.
Mixed Emotions
Of course my "twonager" decided to sleep in today, when she has school.
Let me start by saying, I am not your typical "STAY AT HOME MOM." I quit my corporate job with the intentions of going back to work someday and getting her back in daycare full time. It was a struggle for us to even keep her there 2 days a week with one income but I insisted when I left my job that we make it work and my husband didn't disagree, it is good for her, especially since she had been going full time for about 5 months before I decided to leave my job. I did not want to pull her out of there completely.
I have worked hard in my online health & fitness coaching business and I was able to grow enough in the past year that I decided to to get her on the wait list for a 3rd day of school. I was told it would be around summer when something opened up...(phew, I was sort of relieved). That gave me time to process the fact that I was "giving up" one more day with her during the week. But apparently that spot opened up way sooner, like 2 weeks after I put her on the list so here we are today, starting our new schedule and my emotions have been all over the place!
I LOVE being able to be home with her and having more freedom with my business but I also love working and having that time to myself to get stuff done. That is the beauty of this business I am running, if I want to take her into school late one morning because she needs extra snuggles, I can do that. If I want to pick her up early and take her somewhere special, I can do that. I have the flexibility to do what I want with my kids and that is amazing but I also feel that the school setting is super important for them. And even if I am home and have the option to have her here with me, I still feel it is best for both of us that she is at school 3 days a week at her age.
Now, you may disagree with me and that is fine, I don't expect everyone to understand my logic but that is why this is my blog, so I can voice my opinion. Hell, some moms leave corporate jobs and start home business so they CAN be home with their kids and that is great, but I would be lying if I didn't say I am working really hard to ensure she has proper schooling before Kindergarten and that I can get her brother back in some type of Summer Camp. My kids are such creatures of habit and need structure, especially the older one, so school and camps are great for him.
Everyone is different and I know for fact that I am a better mom when my kids get their time and I get mine.
Mason was in school full time starting at 3 months of age up until K and I loved seeing how much he thrived in that environment, the schedule, the learning, the socialization, all the stuff I know I can't provide as well as their school can. I am not your Pinterest project mom. I mean, don't get me wrong, I pin A LOT of shit, I just don't ever take the time to do it. LOL. I am not crafty, I decided not to be a teacher, because, well....I am not good at teaching. So when it comes to my kids, I like to let the experts handle it.
I digress. So last week when they told me she would be able to start 3 days this week, I had so many thoughts running through my mind, Should I take her 3 days? Should I tell them never mind and keep her home? Will she be sad if she is with me one less day a week? Hell, will I be sad? But she must have known how her mama was feeling because she immediately put my mind at ease yesterday morning when we told her it was a school day, she was so excited to get her coat on and leave that she was pretty much angry until we walked out the door (30 minutes later)....she didn't realize that while, yes, it was a school day we still had to wait for Mason to eat and then get him on the bus before leaving. And even though when I drop her off, she is quiet and shy, (unlike her brother was at this age) she doesn't cry, she walks over to her friends and joins in whatever activity they are doing. She doesn't even blink when I say "I love you, bye" and walk out the door.
So while some may find it selfish of me to put her in school when I am home and have the ability to have her here with me, I personally feel the opposite. I feel like it would be selfish of me to deprive her of the same experience her brother had growing up. I feel like she deserves to play with her friends, have gym class, music class and learn Spanish (yes, her school is awesome).
Even though it was really hard for me to bite the bullet and do it, I know we made the best decision for her. I know she is in good hands and loves being there.
BUT, I also realized this weekend that there is a second piece that I was worried about but afraid to admit...my business. By me making the commitment to send her to school 3 days a week, I am committing to continue to grow in my online business. If I were to move backwards, slack or not spend my days wisely, it would definitely be hard to pay the bill to keep her there 3 days a week. And I am not going to lie, that scared the shit out of me! I mean, don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do, I have no doubt in my mind that I am only going up from here but making this decision makes it REAL. It becomes so much more real when things you envisioned for your family and your business start to come to life. And it leaves me anxious to see where the rest of 2016 is going to take us! I know it will be hard, building a business is not easy, there are sacrifices to be made, but I know the end result will be worth it. <3
Believe you can & you will.
Southwest Burgers
Southwest Burgers. Don't worry, they are not spicy, they are just a perfectly seasoning burger, although adding some fresh jalapeños sounds amazing!
This is a staple in our house, we probably eat them 3 weeks out of the month! I love them topped with homemade guac or even plain!
When I made these, I double up! I love to individually wrap these bad boys and keep them in the freezer for my weekday lunches or quick dinners! Have you guys learned by now, I have to simplify meals?!
What you need:
2 lb 93/7 or 94/6 Lean Ground Beef
2 tbsp Southwest Seasoning
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp mustard
1. Put all ingredients into a bowl except for the ground beef, stir them together.
2. Add ground beef, mix well by hand.
3. Make your patties (I make 7 4oz patties for Aaron and I, then 2 2oz, for the kids). I am a fan of measuring and using my burger press. You do not need these items though.
4. Place burgers on grill or heated grill pan. Press thumb into middle of burger, this helps them cook evenly & not plump up, do not smash the burger with your spatula or you squeeze out the juices.
5. I cook about 10 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through. You can cook until your desired doneness.
6. Throw on your favorite toppings and enjoy OR wrap them and freeze!
And if you have not learned by now, this seasoning is a must have in your kitchen at all time! You will see it on my blog often!
Southwest Seasoning:
2 TBSP chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregno
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt
Mix seasonings together and put in a container, there should be some left after you season the chicken! I use this seasoning for taco meat, chicken, anything really!
Whirlwind Delivery continued..
“You can’t control everything. Sometimes you just need to relax and have faith that things will work out. Let go a little and just let life happen. ”
Hi!!! Sorry it has taken me so long to finish my story about Maren’s birth but life happens and I get sidetracked easily by bright, shiny objects.
Now, when I said I remembered everything that happened the day she was born, I do, but my 5 days in the hospital are somewhat blurred together as well as the days (2 weeks total) she spent in the NICU.
So let me back up a bit…I have anxiety. And that anxiety worsens when I am pregnant. I constantly worry about what I am doing and if it will impact the little human growing inside of me. Am I eating the wrong food? If I workout, will my heart rate get too high and hurt her? Will the stress at work impact my pregnancy? Did the tool the chiropractor just used on me effect my tiny human in my belly? (yes, these are all real thoughts I had)
I worried much more with Maren than I did with Mason, I am not sure why…but I almost drove myself batshit crazy with unrealistic concerns and I am fairly certain my family hated me for those 7.5 months. I mean, just really stupid stuff that most normal people do not even begin to think about when pregnant…or at all.
So as soon as “flu” season hit, you can bet this mama was in full panic mode. I am not able to have flu shots due to having Guillain-Barré when I was in middle school. I made Aaron do the grocery shopping, I would make Mason wash his hands or shower immediately after school (ugh, my poor family) and I rarely left the house.
I even considered cancelling my baby shower the week before Maren came in fear of catching the flu from my friends or family who were attending. I mean, who does that?
So yes, not only do I have anxiety, but when my anxiety is heightened, I go to silly lengths to try and control situations thinking it will make things better.
The point of that little tidbit will make more sense when I conclude this post but for the record, we had my shower on Feb 8th, I didn’t get sick from anywhere there yet I still had to deliver early due to some unknown (to this day) infection. Coincidence? I think not.
The day I was released & my first time holding my baby girl.
So where I left off…the first couple of days after Maren was born, I didn’t venture to her room as much as I should have or could have. It broke my heart to see her hooked up to so many machines, her little belly struggling as she breathed. Even worse, I couldn’t hold her. And the machines…every beep just made me worry more!
Most of the time when the NICU Dr’s would talk to us, I didn’t understand what they were saying, I relied on Aaron to retain the information and then tell me again later when I asked him a million times if she was going to be ok and what the Dr’s said and then I would analyze it all over and over again in my head. What did it mean? All I wanted to know was whether or not she would be ok and WHEN! By the way, those were the two things they won’t straight up answer in the NICU…they dance around it.
Meanwhile at night, when things “calmed” down, I would find myself shaking in bed, not able to sleep or control my body. I couldn’t really pinpoint if it was anxiety or if it was from one of the many antibiotics they had me on for the possible infection. They ended up giving me meds to help me relax so I could sleep but now that I look back, I am 100% certain it was all anxiety related.
I was released after 5 days, standard c-section time in the hospital and when I went to lay down that night at home, I was feeling pain in my chest. Now, this is something that is not taken lightly after a c-section so I called my Dr to talk about it. She told me to go in for some tests which led to basically an entire Friday spent getting blood work, X-rays and scans making sure there were no clots, etc. from the c-section. Everything turned out to be ok, again, if I had to guess, 100% anxiety related.
Maren was "ONLY" in the NICU for a total of two weeks but that two weeks felt like a lifetime. There were a lot of ups and downs. A lot of crying. One of the positives was I was so busy worrying about her, I never really felt too much pain from my c-section, got to find the silver lining, right?
We had amazing nurses who put things into perspective for me when I would find myself crying or upset if there was little to no progress when I would arrive to visit her. They told me there were babies in the NICU for over a year, can you imagine?
We had Dr’s who made sure Maren got the best care possible and they always had the best of intentions when deciding what the next steps were for our baby girl. Even when they know it is heartbreaking for parents to hear, "sorry, she isn’t going home today,” "probably not tomorrow either," they still stick to their guns because that is their job. And while I may not have seemed like it then, I am forever grateful for the Mercy NICU staff for taking such good care of my little girl.
9 days after her delivery, on 2/23 we finally made a big step: Oxygen/Cannula came off and it was time for her first bottle feeding. After that she spent a week getting used to taking her bottle without any desaturations, if she “passed” that test, we could go home. Every time we fed her a bottle, I was secretly praying that the monitors did not beep. Every beep was a setback in getting our girl home! The day she came home, we were definitely not expecting it! It was March 1st in the morning when the Dr told us we would be going home. We didn’t have warm clothes for her or a blanket for her carseat! But I didn’t care, we took the hospital blankets and BOLTED out of there all smiles…heart rate monitor in tow (PS - those things are not my friend, false alarms while you are driving are enough to make you shit yourself).
Finally having our little family of 4 under one roof felt amazing! Of course, we still weren’t in the clear, we had the heart rate monitor for a week after she came home to make as a precaution. We had an in home nurse come check on her and we had to get her shots to help reduce the severity of rotavirus should she contract it. And I wasn’t allowed to take her anywhere for like 3 months and guests were to be limited. To say that was challenging for me was an understatement but I was going to do everything I could to keep my little nugget healthy at home!
Now I promise, there is a point to me sharing this story. We never had any answers as to why I had a fever that day or what type of infection I may have had…none of the test ran came back with anything conclusive. While that is really frustrating, I also feel like it all happened for a reason.
Was it how I planned for her to be brought into this world? No. Was it really hard for me to accept the fact that the first two weeks of her life were in spent in a hospital and not at home snuggling on the couch without machines and monitors? Yes. Was it hard to balance having a kid at home while one was in the NICU? Yes. Was it hard as hell as on us as a family mentally and physically? Yes.
That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?
I feel like someone was trying to teach me that while I try REALLY (really) hard to control all aspects of my life, it is not all in my control. This little girl came into the world 6 weeks early whether I liked it or not that day and she was going to teach me all about learning to not take life too seriously, to calm down, relax a little more, to go with the flow (not all the time, haha) and to love and appreciate more.
Now I can look back and say while it still hurts my heart to remember those days, it is part of who she is and she is a fighter. She is independent and brave. She is strong and curious. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to let you know. And most importantly, she is a perfectly happy and healthy almost 2 year old. And for that, I am grateful. <3
Cover photo by Lisa Parsons Photography.
Turkey Chili
Alright guys, I attempted my first recipe video! I hope you liked it. There is some room for improvement for sure but I have to start somewhere, right?!
Anyways, if you stumbled across this post, this is by far my most FAVORITE Chili recipe EVER. It is a modified version from a meal plan of a program I have done in the past and has become a staple in our house!
This recipe makes 6 servings at 1 cup each however in the video, I made double, so 12 servings total at 1 cup each. I prefer to double any recipe I can so that I can portion it out and put extras in the freezer for those busy weekdays or weeknights! Work smart, not hard!
Turkey Chili
1 tsp. olive oil
1.5 lbs. raw 93% lean ground turkey
1/4 med onion, chopped (you can use one whole onion, we don't)
1 med green bell pepper, chopped
1 cloves garlic, finely chopped (you can use 3 cloves, again, we don't)
1.5 tsp. ground cumin
1 Ttbsp chili powder
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste; optional)
2 (15oz) cans black beans (or pinto beans) drained & rinsed (I prefer to use one of each)
1 (15oz) can all natural diced tomatoes, no sugar added (do not drain)
12 fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, I prefer to use my dutch oven!
Add turkey, onion, bell peper and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 8 min or until turkey is no longer pink (this time will be longer if you doubled the meat)
Add cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper; cook, stirring constantly for 1 min.
Add beans and tomatoes (with liquid). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 min, or until thickened.
Serve warm, sprinkled w/ cilantro.