Fast Shrimp Paella

Happy Monday friends! I threw together this meal for the first time tonight and its definitely a keeper! Easy, not a lot of ingredients, tasty and quick!

For this recipe, I used brown rice and frozen peas and shrimp. This meal took me about 30 minutes all up to prepare and cook for (and thats including an intermission to get something for my son who came down from bed! Ha!)

I love this meal because using frozen shrimp and peas really cuts down on prep time. Rice is a super easy carb to make, and you throw it all into one pan! Also, tumeric is an EXCELLENT spice to use - there are so many health benefits to it (google it!).

Enjoy!

Easy Shrimp Paella

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice 
Olive oil 
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 cup chopped pepper (your choice what color) 
1-2 cloves garlic, minced. 
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup water
1.5 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (I use frozen) 
Salt and pepper to taste 
Cilantro for garnish (optional) 

Directions:

1. Cook rice as per directions 

2. Heat olive oil, garlic and tumeric in a frying pan. Cook until fragrant. Add peppers. 

3. Add shrimp and cook until no longer opaque. Add peas. Add water if needed (I had a little leftover water as the shrimp were defrosting, so I did not even need to add it!)

4. Mix cooked rice and mix. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. 

5. Top with cilantro. Enjoy!

Hope you all had a great Monday!

xo

Alex

Monday Meal Plan: Turkey Bolognese

Turkey Bolognese

Happy Monday friends! Wanted to hop on and share this awesome cold weather & family friendly recipe that is fast and easy…and also healthy!

A couple of notes- you can swap out the turkey for beef, and if you want to go lower carb, you can switch out the pasta for spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. BUT if you remember what I said earlier…Carbs are not bad. I eat it with pasta! I just make sure I eat it on a day I am more active :)

Most stores have the mirepox already made & canned peas means easy peasy with 3 kids. I put the red pepper flakes on when I have dished the meal out because red pepper flakes + kids = no bueno! Ha!

Ingredients:
Ground Turkey
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Pasta of your choice
Zucchini (2-3)
Mirepox (I think you get this at Wegmans already made-but basically its onion, carrot & celery. Super easy!)
1 small can Tomato paste
1 & 3/4 cup Vegetable broth
Can of peas (I use about 1/2 the can)
Red chile flakes to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. While the pasta cooks, prepare the turkey bolognase.

2. Chop and mince garlic. Cut the zuchinni into half moons.

3. In a frying pan, warm oil. Add mirepox, and cook until soft. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste and cook until carmelized. Add turkey and cook until lightly browned but not yet cooked through. Add vegetable broth and zucchini, stirring until turkey is cooked through and zucchini is tender. Add the pasta and peas.

4. Remove from heat. Season to taste with red pepper chile flakes.

5. Enjoy!

Have a great night everyone!

xo

Alex

Meal Plan Monday: Chicken Tetrazzini

Fall is officially here which means saying hello to crockpots and easy oven meals! I wanted to share this meal that is super easy and convenient to make (read: you can make most of it ahead of time)

Most importantly, this is kid and family friendly.

Now, before I get into the recipe, I want to let you all know that…YES. I do eat this with my family. I feel like sometimes there is a misconception that I only eat salads and grilled chicken! News flash…I DON’T! Carbs are good. Period. It is important to know that. The biggest piece of advice I could give anyone is be smart about when you eat them! I choose to eat a dish like this on a day that I’ve trained hard (ie. leg day or a longer run) to make sure these carbs go to good use!

My kids LOVE this meal- in fact when I made it last week my oldest asked if we could eat it every night! ha! Both of my older sons had seconds! He also asked for it again today!

I love oven meals because once you get them set up, you have the time they are in the oven to do other things and not stand in front of the stove. This is so important with three small kiddos.

For this particular recipe, the chicken, bacon, pasta and mushrooms can all be made earlier in the day. This is totally clutch for me. If you have kids at school, or who nap (naptime is a great time to prep), this is a great meal to bust out. Yes, I know that time is “yours” but I don’t know about you…but the stress I get cooking when the three kids are running around…making it ahead of time is worth it!

Once everything is made, all you have to do is dump it in the pan, make the sauce (which literally takes 4 minutes) and throw it in the oven. BINGO.

I think pairing this with a simple salad would really complete the meal!

Ingredients:

1 lb spaghetti noodles (I use wheat or barilla protein)
1 container mushrooms
1 lb bacon cut in pieces (I use turkey bacon)
4-5 lb chicken breasts
Shredded mozarella

Sauce:
2 tablespoons melted butter
2-4 tablespoons of flour
1/2 pint Heavy cream
1 cup Chicken broth
Pepper

1. Boil Water & cook pasta. Cut bacon & dice chicken.

2. While pasta is cooking, sautee mushrooms in frying pan. In different pan, cook chicken. Place in dish.

3. Preheat oven to 375 F.

4. When mushrooms are finished sauteeing, brown bacon.

5. Place cooked pasta in 9 x 12 pan. Put cooked chicken, bacon and mushrooms on top of noodles.

6. Make Sauce: Add flour to melted butter and stir until there are no lumps. Pour into pot and add 1 cup chicken broth. Add 1/2 pint of cream. Heat over stovetop until thickened. (you may have to add more flour/more broth depending on thickness. More flour if it is too watery, more broth if too thick)

7. Stir sauce and pour over pasta mixture.

8. Put motzarella cheese on top and cook for 25-30 minutes or until browned. (sometimes I put the broiler on at the end to make it crispy)

   Enjoy! Happy Monday!

   xo

   Alex

Meal Plan Monday: Sesame Chicken Stir Fry

Happy Monday! I’m a week into FASTer Way to Fat loss and I’m feeling great! I can already see a difference in my body and my milk supply has been great! I’m so excited to go through the full 6 weeks and share results!

Its been awhile since I threw a recipe on here…mostly because I have been eating the same thing over and over the last month or so #BASIC..haha. I did try this recipe at home yesterday though and it was easy to make so I had to share. It IS kid friendly but I would lay off the paprika in the dredge if you have young kids.

This meal is literally bomb.com and some of it can be prepped ahead of time (rice, and sauce!). I can’t take credit for this amazing-ness though-a friend of mine made it for me during my postpartum phase and it was pretty much heaven on earth. This is pretty much the first stir fry that isn’t sunbasket that I’ve made that actually tastes like a legit stir fry! So I’m here to tell you that this recipe can be mastered by anyone! Special shout out to my friend for this recipe! xo!

Anyway, enough talk. Let’s get to this stir fry!

Sesame Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound chicken breasts sliced into frying pieces
Canola oil for frying
Broccoli
Rice

Batter:

1 C Flour
3 t paprika
1 t garlic powder
2 t salt & pepper
Mix above ingredients in large dish for chicken to be dipped in.

Dipping:

2 eggs beat (separate bowl)
1 C corn starch (separate bowl)

Sauce:

5 oz Mae ploy sweet chili sauce
5 Oz water
1/4 C low sodium soy sauce
1/8 C rice wine vinegar
1/4 C honey
1 t Thai chili sauce (more if want spicier)
1 T sesame oil
2 T corn starch

Combine all ingredients except cornstarch and mix well.

To Serve:

Sesame seeds
Cooked rice
Steamed Broccoli

Instructions:

1. Heat adequate oil in large frying pan

2. Dredge the chicken in the cornflour, then dip in the egg and then dredge in flour mixture.  Add to the frying pan and cook on medium high heat for 7-10 minutes or until brown on both sides.  Remove from the pan and place on paper towels.

3. While chicken is cooking, cook rice. Remove broccoli from stems, and steam.

4. add all the sauce ingredients to a hot pan. Mix in corn starch with whisk through fine sleeve to prevent clumping. and cook to thicken, generally 2-3 minutes.

Enjoy!

xo

Alex

Fast & Easy Family Friendly Recipe: Turkey Pepperoni Chicken

Recipe: Pepperoni Chicken

I wanted to hop on and share a quick recipe that our whole family enjoys…I know how it can be a struggle to make only one meal (thats somewhat healthy!) for the whole family, especially with toddlers/kids in tow!

For this meal, our boys love the pepperoni and they LOVE pasta. My oldest son loves this meal and requested it for his birthday!

I put a healthier, lower carb spin on it for my husband and I with the zucchini noodles, but you can totally make yours with pasta.

This meal is kind of like pizza…minus the carbs and packs a mean protein punch with a little zing with the pepperoni. I usually get this in the oven, and steam so veggies and I’m good to go! You could even make this ahead of time and throw it in the fridge in the morning, and when you’re ready to cook or get home from work, just put in the oven and you’re good to go. I’ll definitely be using this trick when baby 3 comes along because…#witchinghour !!!!

Pepperoni Chicken

Ingredients:

Turkey Pepperoni Slices
Breadcrumbs of your choice (1/4 or 1/2 cup)
1 egg, mixed
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Chicken (I use cutlets, if i happen to use breasts I slice and pound them so they cook faster)
Motzarella Cheese
Pasta of your choice (you can subsitute zucchini noodles)
Red jarred sauce (any kind you like, I happened to use Chefs)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Put parchment paper on cookie sheet or pyrex dish ( I always use parchment paper, the breading never sticks to it!)

2. Slice/Pound the chicken if needed. Crack the egg in a medium sized bowl, beat.

3. Pour breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a different bigger size plate or dish.

4. Dip Chicken in egg, then in breadcrumb and cheese mixture, coating.

5. Place on baking sheet and continue until all chicken is on sheet. Put in oven.

6. Cook for 25-30 mins, flipping halfway. (at the halfway point I throw my veggies in the steamer and cook my zucchini noodles & pasta)

7. The last 5 minutes, pull out of oven and place pepperoni on chicken breast. I usually do 3-4. Sprinkle cheese over. Place back in oven for 3-5 more minutes. (If you like it crunchy you can broil it!)

8. Warm the sauce, and drizzle it on the chicken and/or pasta. My boys don’t really have the red sauce but I do!

9. Enjoy!

   
   Have a great day!
   xo Alex
   

Appetizer 101: Rustic Guacamole

Tuesday Vibes

Happy Tuesday friends..can get a heck YES for a 4 day week??! So basically its really like Wednesday or Thursday?? Something like that. Whatever. Its a short week! YES! Its going to be freeezing here Thursday on Thanksgiving day so I’m already thinking it might be perfect weather for an afternoon snooze (something I never get to do these days because #thatworkingmomlife!

I’m so lucky that my brother and sister in law host so I get to chill (which is esp amazing bc I’m pegnant AF rn) I’m planning on decorating my house for Christmas on Thursday, or at least starting it out ha. My 4 year old has asked me about 18 times when we were decorating so we are going to get that party started! Have you guys already started decorating?

Rustic Guacamole Recipe

I thought I would share an awesome appetizer you can all make now that we are in the height of entertaining season! This is one of our go-to’s to make when we have some company over and it is def a big hit! You can make it all year round and serve it with chips (of course) but also with any sort of cracker, veggies or even throw it in your taco/fajita if you’re just having a quiet night with family for taco night!

Ingredients:

2 Avocados (picking good ones is key!)
1 diced roma tomato
2-3 cloves garlic minced
Cumin
Cayenne
Cilantro
Salt
1/4 cup onion (optional)
1 small jalepeno pepper diced

Directions:

1. Cut the garlic, tomato, cilantro, and jalepeno and onion (if using).

2. Mash the avocados

3. Mix in all of the above ingredients

4. Add water if needed (you will be able to tell if it is too pasty!)

5. Lastly, add your cumin, cayenne and salt. This is based on how spicy you like yours! We like to use a decent amount and the first time make sure you take a taste as you are sprinkling in!

   Normally, we use onion but lately we haven’t been adding it just because I get the worst indigestion with pregnancy! And honestly I don’t even really miss it that much!! So its worth a try, and if you don’t like onion, this recipe is still AWESOME!

   Hope you guys have a great afternoon and let me know what you think!

   xo

   Alex

Make your own Panera Bread: Family friendly Chicken Avo Panini

Happy Monday! I’m dragging a little this morning and not sure why. I feel like last week is finally catching up with me. Sometimes I get on a high and work on adrenaline and that might be the case after our big trip last week!

I wanted to share a favorite recipe of ours that I’ve modified in a couple of ways to make more healthy! It is honestly one of our go-to weekend meals because its quick and easy; but also satisfies us like we’ve gone out for a meal even though we are too tired to go out! ha! #thatparentlife Also, bonus, the kids like it!

I am so obsessed with paninis and if you love them too, you NEED to try this recipe. We have a KRUPS panini machine that my mom got us for Christmas but I think you could probably cook this on the stovetop or even in a George Foreman. Looks like you can panini presses at all levels of price including like $20 so its a good investment if you have kids & want to make sandwches, paninis or even a fancy grilled cheese!

Chicken Avo Panini

Ingredients:

Chicken Cutlets
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil
1 Lemon juiced
2 garlic minced
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
3 tablespoons mayo
1 tomato sliced
1 avocado sliced in pieces
Cheddar cheese (shredded)
Bread: we use soft sided Italian (a lot easier for the kids to bite down than regular Italian. I have tried to find wheat but haven’t found it yet! That could also work!)

Also: those who DON’T like Mayo: please do not let this scare you away from the meal! I don’t ever eat mayo and I LOVE this sandwich :)

1. Marinate the chicken in a ziploc bag- put the cutlets in a bag with olive oil, italian seasoning (to taste), 1/2 lemon juiced and 1 garlic minced. Make sure you mix it around so it all gets covered. Place in fridge. You can do this 8 hours before or 20 minutes before!

2. Make the sauce. Combine garlic, the other half of the lemon, the greek yogurt and mayo. Stir and put saran wrap over the bowl and place in the fridge.

3. When you’re ready, put some olive oil in a bowl and cook the chicken in a frying pan. Slice your tomato and prepare the avocado while the chicken cooks.

4. Turn your panini machine on.

5. Take the sauce out of the fridge. Spread on the bread, add chicken, 2 slices tomato, avocado, and desired amount of cheese. Spray machine & put sandwich under panini press.

6. Remove from press and repeat process with any other slices of bread. Let cool. Enjoy!!

So, there you go! What I love about this is its pretty quick and you can either prep before you are gone for the day (before work or a weekend day) and throw in the fridge, or you can make it right before! To me there is really no taste difference it just depends on how much time you have!

I also always use cutlets; if I have breasts than I cut them in half and pound them because it cooks so much faster & you need it thin for the sandwiches!

Hope you all enjoy!!

xo
Alex

Meal Plan Monday & snacks I'm loving

Anyone else have a sunshine hangover? Can we all just skip work today and celebrate SPRING and no more snow?! Kidding...{kind of} Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to get after this week!

Today I'm sharing a unique recipe... Pork is not something I have in my usual meal rotation but this meal is actually super tasty, healthy, and even kids like it because its more sweet than spicy. The Hoisin sauce I use to flavor this meal is pretty low in sugar and carbs which makes me love this recipe even more.

Pork Stir fry with Snow Peas

Pork Tenderloin, cut into cubes
4 cloves garlic
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled & minced (2 tablespoons)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
2/3 pound Snow Peas
1/2 Red & Green Pepper, chopped
Mushrooms
3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water
Rice

1. Toss the pork with half the garlic, half the ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. 
2. While pork is marinating, start cooking the rice. Heat a skillet over high heat and add olive oil.  Add the remaining garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add mushrooms and peppers. When mushrooms begin to sautee/peppers soften (3-4 mins), add sugar snap peas. Cook for 2-3 mins. Remove into a separate bowl to cool. 
3. Heat the same skillet used for the vegetables and cook the Pork mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the vegetable mixture to the skillet when Pork is nearly cooked through. Add the hoison sauce and soy sauce to taste, cook until juices thicken. I like to add 1/4 cup of water as the juice thickens- I think it makes it perfect to spread over the rice! Totally up to you though. 
4. Serve over rice and enjoy!! 

Snacks I'm loving

Also, I wanted to share a few snacks that I've been loving for me...and a few for the kids. My boys love the Nature's Bakery fig bars. I just saw today that they have an Organic Oat and Honey option so I snagged it and they LOVE them. I like how there is no high fructose corn syrup, that they're organic, and not too messy!

Strangely enough,  Neither of my boys like cow's milk. I don't really force it because I'm not super sold on cow's milk anyway...so we try to get their dairy through almond milk in their oatmeal, yogurt (Seb really isn't feeling it at the moment..hopefully that changes!) and various cheeses. These Horizon cheese stars are Max's favorites. I think he likes the taste as much as the different shapes :) These I have only been able to find at Target. Just what I need, another reason to "force" me to go into target..ha. 

I've completely overhauled my diet the last 3 weeks and cut out all sweets so finding alternatives for my sweet tooth has been a challenge to say the least. I've been loving the thinkthin Cake pops lately though. My favorite flavor definitely has to be the chocolate. Low sugar and it hits the spot after dinner when I crave something sweet!

Last but not least... is this Buff Bake Peanut Butter spread. GUYS. This is so freakin good. Not nearly as good as Nutella, or Peanut Butter Company  {{these are clearly off limits at the moment}},  but it certainly satisfies and packs some extra protein. Beggars can't be choosers at the moment so I'll take what I can get,  I love how these two treats are somewhat guilt free and help me satisfy that sweet tooth that never seems to disappear! 

Have a great week everyone! 

xo

Alex

30 minute meal: Chicken Arugula Salad

Hey guys! I thought I would hop on here real quick and share one of my favorite recipes!  Now that I'm a mom I try and find ONE meal I can cook for the whole fam. There is nothing worse than cooking two different dinners....Who's with me on that???!! And lets be honest we can't be eating the same four meals that our kids eat LOL. This meal is SUPER easy to make and fast and changes things up!! 

Ok..so whenever I go out to dinner I am such a sucker for Chicken Arugula Salad. I love the balsamic, fresh tomatoes and the fact that it has some greens in it. So freaking good. Its definitely a "healthier" option when eating out. However, I don't love the fact that its made in the frying pan...so I thought to myself..hm. I can totally make this at home. Just without the extra grease!

The trick is that I throw it in the oven which gives you crispy chicken without the oil! WIN! And...you can give the kids the SAME crispy breaded chicken. I mean, who doesn't love breaded chicken? You can enjoy your Arugula salad...and Give the kids some ketchup, BBQ, or hot sauce (if they're old enough to like sauces, my two toddlers just eat it plain) and bingo...you have a meal for the whole fam. If you want extra credit, you could honestly cut the chicken into smaller pieces for the kids so they look like nuggets! Steam some veggies on the side for them and donezo. You have dinner in 30 mins...and a majority of the time its in the oven which means time to do something else..like play with the kids, clean up, un -wind from work..whatever it may be. 

Ingredients: 

Chicken Breasts (however many you need)
4 cups Arugula
Breading:
1 cup Breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs (I like Edward and Sons)
1 egg
2-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Topping:
1/2 tomato (the firmer the better)
chopped onion
Balsamic Vinegar to taste
Olive Oil to taste

*I've been pretty loose with the amounts of the above only because everyone is different in terms of how much they prefer. If you love onion, use a 1/2 of an onion. If you don't like it as much, use a 1/3 or 1/4 of an onion. Same with the parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar(I'm obsessed..so I use a ton), and olive oil. 

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Pound the chicken breasts so they are flat (this is super important. It cuts down on the cooking time). Put a sheet of parchment paper on a oven safe baking sheet. 
2. Crack the egg and whisk in a bowl. Place the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a separate deep dish or bowl. 

3. Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs making sure the breast is covered with the crumbs. Place on the parchment paper on baking sheet. Repeat until all breasts are on the baking sheet. Cook for 10-12 mins per side. Flip when they reach your desired "crisp level."

4. While the chicken is cooking, rinse the arugula. Chop the onion and tomato. Place all three in a large bowl. 
5. When chicken is complete, take out of oven to cool. Add your balsamic vinegar and olive oil to the salad. 

6. Serve Arugula salad over the chicken. Enjoy :) 

xo
Alex

Hot Chicken Recipe: The healthy alternative to Chicken Wings

Morning everyone! I thought I would share a super yummy recipe thats been one of my favorites for years {{courtesy of my late aunt Qui...we miss you!}} For lack of a better name we call it "Hot Chicken." 

So Yummy......

When I was a kid I LOVED chicken wings. I mean, ate them by the bucket. literally. When I got older I realized they weren't the healthiest for you so I stopped eating them cold turkey. Haven't had a wing in about 20 years. I haven't stopped my *love* of chicken wing TASTE though. This recipe can fill this void and is a lot healthier {{read: #guiltfree }} Warning: You must like spicy/hot food to like this. I would recommend this dish to anyone who like medium, hot, or extra hot wings! I am so obsessed with hot sauce that I add Franks to my plate as well ha ha! 

What I love most about this recipe is that it is only 4 ingredients! And you can pop it in the oven and is low on prep time which is key when you have kiddies {{or you're just super busy. which is everyone!}} running around. Also, even though you do use flour, there is only 26 Carbs in the entire recipe which is a keeper for me! Divide that up between 3-4 breasts and you're looking at about 10 g carbs per breast of chicken and tons of flavor! 

Hot Chicken

1/4 cup flour (I use Arrowhead Mills enriched unbleached white flour)
3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3-4 breasts of chicken

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in microwave in glass bowl. Mix in hot sauce and juiced lemon to melted butter. Put 1/4 cup of flour in different bowl and place next to hot sauce mixture. Line a pyrex dish with foil. (I find that foil works better than parchment paper). You can cut the chicken breasts into tenders or leave them as breasts-up to you (I do both-below they are in tenders and the above photo is just breasts). Dip chicken in flour, then into hot sauce mixture and place in pyrex dish. Repeat with all breasts of chicken. When complete, if you have extra sauce leftover, you can dish the rest on spots that may have not been covered with the hot sauce mixture.  In this photo I show using parchment paper but like I said I find it works better with foil. 

Bake for 30-40 mins. I like to broil mine the last 3-5 mins to get a little crisp on them. This is served great with mixed veggies & salad! 

Next time you have a hankering for some chicken wings...try this recipe! Have a great day everyone....

xo

Alex