Busy, Busy, Busy!

Last night while I was making our weekly grocery list, I got a call from Landen's soccer coach giving us the practice times...let me be honest, it threw me into a slight panic. I had each meal carefully planned out with our already very busy schedule and now, another night is gone to another practice. I was telling my sweet husband, "How are we suppose to eat healthy and be gone all evening." It makes it hard to cook healthy meals for the family to eat on the go. This morning we ran to Target to get some items and found a slew of quick organic items that we can throw together at a moments notice. Here are some of our finds from today's shopping trip. 

 Simply Balanced Organic Soups:  

• Southwestern-style Black Bean (Joe says adding a little bit of Sour Cream and Cheese takes this soup to the next level)

• Butternut Squash Soup (to the soup I added 1 TBSP of organic heavy whipping cream to make it creamier like Wolfgang Puck's Butternut Squash Soup).

Annies Homegrown Macaroni and Cheese: 

Lydiann is our Mac & Cheese lover, she eats it all the time and you can pretty much bet if we're out to eat and the restaurant has Mac & Cheese, she will get it. My dad has even nicknamed her, "Mac & Cheese" to which she normally just giggles and says, "Pickle Papa!"

Annie's Homegrown Organic Bernie O's: 

This is another lunch staple for Lydiann. She loved regular Spaghettio's, so one day my mom got a can for Lydi to try and she loved it. This is a great quick and easy lunch hit.

Pacific Organic Free Range Chicken Broth: 

A great substitute for homemade chicken broth, for those times when you do not have the time to make chicken broth.

Archer Farms Organic Penne Rigate Pasta:

I had forgotten to grab some pasta from Trader Joe's so this is what Target had. Now, I know its an enriched product, but to use once every blue moon when you can't find exactly what you need, it's a great fit. Archer Farms also has Gluten Free pasta available at Target.

Now, We do not use all of these all the time, but for those days when we need quick and easy, this sure beats driving through those Golden Arches. Sometimes it's about making the BEST choice for what is available at that given moment.

Much Love, 
Chas

Stuffed Cajun Chicken

We found another recipe that we love. Even our Landen loves it. You can adjust the spices according to the spiciness level that you like.


Stuffed Cajun Chicken
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
2 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
2 oz mozzarella, shredded
1 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained (you can also use fresh cooked spinach)
1 small onion
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning (we used less than this amount)
1 tbsp breadcrumbs (I use Italian style)
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• You will make a slit in the side of the chicken breast (This is where you will stuff the chicken) Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

• In a medium bowl, combine the pepper jack cheese, mozzarella, onion, spinach, mushrooms, salt and pepper.

• Combine the Cajun seasoning and breadcrumbs together in a small bowl. 

• Stuff each chicken breast with about 1/4 c of the spinach mixture onto each chicken breast.

• Brush each chicken breast with the olive oil.  Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning mixture evenly over all. Make sure you get underneath, too.

• Place the chicken onto a tin foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup).  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

 

I like to serve this with Couscous and some lightly sauteed Zucchini, Onions and Mushrooms. (We even had some of the spinach filling left over, so I added that into the Zucchini mix also.)  Hope you all enjoy this as much as we have! We are now stuffed and watching our last show for the night....Time for some very tired kiddos to get some sleep.

Much Love, 
Chas

Gluten-Free Recipes

I am so excited, Joe's cousin Holly sent me this link for gluten-free recipes...I can't wait to try some of them. What gluten-free recipes do you have, that you love?

Gluten-Free Recipes

Much Love, 
Chas

Labor Day, Family, Chicken Wings and Florida State Football!

We had a fabulous Labor Day with my family. We FaceTimed with my baby sister who is in college at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She is an R.A. so she was not able to leave and spend the weekend with us. :(

My momma and I, FaceTiming with my baby sister, Danielle. (we're making sad faces, since she isn't with us.)

Love my kids reaction to seeing Aunt DD.

Joe volunteered the first part of the day at the God and Country event here in town. Then he met the kids and I at my parents house for a good ole' cookout. See, I was raised in a family that LOVES Buffalo Chicken Wings, seriously, we all love them! So my dad grilled the chicken wings on the grill and then we made Buffalo Sauce and tossed the wings and placed in the oven to stay hot. They were delicious! We also did our own fries, you know the old fashion way where you actually peel and slice the potatoes your self. So easy and again delicious. We used REAL ingredients, ones that we could actually read and understand what the back of the label said. :) 
 

Baked Fries
8-10 Potatoes, Peeled and Sliced into Fries
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
1 TBSP Olive Oil

• Add Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Paprika, Salt and Pepper to taste and toss until combined. 
• Drizzle with Olive Oil and place on a cookie sheet. 
• Bake at 350* until almost done (30-40 minutes) then bring heat up to 500* to crisp the fries.

Grilled Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Chicken Wings (Frozen or Fresh)
2 Sticks of REAL Butter
Franks Hot Sauce

• Grill wings until done.
• Melt butter in a sauce pan add Franks Hot Sauce, more or less depending on your spiciness level. 
• Toss wings in buffalo sauce and serve immediately or keep hot in oven. 

That's it! It's a great way to have a favorite food without all the unnecessary calories, grease, and preservatives.

Now to finish out a perfect day, my sweetie and are watching the Florida State game....Go NOLES!! 

Much Love, 
Chas

Chicken Alfredo

I love chicken alfredo! I have been searching for a decent recipe that wasn't horrible. That's when I came across this alfredo recipe from heavenlyhomemakers, what I love about this recipe is that it uses REAL ingredients. Adding the following grilled chicken recipe makes it just what I am looking for....DELISH!   

Chicken
Juice of 1 lemon (3Tbsp)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil or oregano
2 boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts

Combine first 6 ingredients and mix well.  Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour marinade over chicken.  Marinate overnight in the refrigerator (If not able to marinate overnight, give at least 30 minutes to marinate).  When ready, grill until done.  Allow chicken to rest for a few minutes and then slice into strips to serve over pasta.

Alfredo
1/2 cup butter
One pint of cream (2 cups)
1 garlic clove
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
** Capers **I added these for my own personal taste

Bring the butter, cream, garlic and cream cheese to a boil.  Turn down the heat, simmer and stir for about two minutes.  Add the grated cheese and stir until melted.  Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes until it becomes “thick and saucy”, stirring occasionally.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!


Much Love, 
Chas

Peanut Butter Cookies

I'm typically not a big sweet eater, most of the time if I'm offered chocolate, I will decline....I know what is wrong with me! Haha! Trust me when I say, my lack of sweet tooth is made for by my husband's sweet tooth. He is what you would call a cookie monster. The way to that man's heart is through cookies and speaking of cookies have you every tried Paula Deen's Magical Peanut Butter Cookies? Oh Boy do they taste good! But, definitely they are not the best for you. 

Thursday night was a rare night for me....I wanted something sweet. So to the internet I went, I was on the hunt for something half way decent and that didn't require a grocery store trip. That's when I found this Peanut Butter Cookies recipe. I went to the pantry and sure enough, I had all the ingredients. So I made these with one adjustment, instead of baking them in one big dish, I used the Pampered Chef Small Scoop and then used a fork to flatten them. Hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I did, my boys even asked for us to pack them in their lunches on Friday. 

Much Love, 
Chas

Water, Water, and more Water!

Confession time....I have a hard time drinking plain water! After so long, I just cant take it anymore and I tend to crave either very sweet tea (we call this Tallahassee Sweet Tea) or a soda. But, when I was diagnosed with Pseudotumor Celebri (optic nerve swelling) in May, I began to notice that when I would drink sodas, the vision loss would progressively get worse. Of course, we all know that sweet tea isn't the best for us but, I would dare to say it's definitely better than a coke. I've tried over and over to drink unsweet tea and I just can't. I do not like the taste, GIVE ME MY SWEET TEA!! Haha! I have done the half sweet, half unsweet....But again, I just have to make myself drink it. 

A few months ago, my mom and I went to visit my sisters at college in West Palm Beach. The hotel we were staying at, had ice cold "spa water" in the lobby for guest. So I thought...Wait, I could make these in a beverage dispenser and keep it in my fridge to drink from all day long. Great Idea, I know...I'm giving myself a pat on the back. Just Kidding......Well, maybe! 

This recipe is for the Lemon Lime Mint water, but the possibilities are endless. I have made spa water with strawberries, watermelon, mixed berries. Whatever your taste, go for it!

Lemon Lime Mint Water
3 Lemons
3 Limes
several sprigs of Mints

You will chop the mint.

Slice the Lemons and Limes

Then, muddle (crush with wooden spoon) the mint leaves and few slices of lemon and lime together.

Add everything into the dispenser and fill with water.  

YUM!! Now, what would be some of your favorite fruits to make spa water with?

Much Love, 
Chas

Potato Sausage Soup

I have always love Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup. So I made a few changes to the recipe so I could enjoy it without all the extra calories and unnecessary additives. 

4 Slices of Turkey Bacon
1 pound of Mild Turkey Sausage
1 small yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
7-9 organic potatoes
48 ounces Organic Chicken Broth
1/4 -1/2 cup of Organic Heavy Whipping Cream
1 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

• In large pot, add olive oil, bacon, sausage and onion to brown. 
• Once browned add garlic and let simmer for about 2 minutes.
• add Potatoes and Chicken Broth, bring to a boil and let simmer until potatoes are cooked through. 
• add whipping cream and turn heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.   

You could add some parmigiano-reggiano cheese to make it more authentic to Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. 

Enjoy!
Chas

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This past weekend, my sweetie and I took a drive to Gainesville to Trader Joe's. This was my very first time to Trader Joe's and I loved it! Do you have a Trader Joe's in your area?

I made this recipe from http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/easy-chicken-pot-pie-real-food-dollar-menu and it was delish! I made a few changes listed below:

• I used frozen organic carrots, peas, corn and green beans.
• organic chicken broth
• Once the veggies, chicken and potatoes were cooked,  I added a little organic heavy cream to the chicken/veggie mix, just to make it a little more creamy. 
• To the crust, instead of milk, I used unsweetened coconut milk.

My Sweetie, myself and two kiddos loved this. We even had enough for lunch the next day.

I am learning, just a little more work and you can have healthy and wholesome meals prepared for your family. 

With Love,
Chas

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! First, let me tell you a little bit about myself, my name is Chasity. I am 30~something, have been married to the love of my life Joe for over seven years. We have three adorable kids: Joshua 6, Landen 5, and our only girl Lydiann 4. My husband is the children’s pastor at our church here in Ocala, and I am blessed to be a stay at home mom/wife. 

After dealing with a couple health issues this year, I have began to drastically change the way my family and I eat, and exercise. I will be posting the recipes I try and what we thought about that recipe. Come along for the ride, we’d love to have you join us! 


With Love,
Chas