Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup

This weeks healthy recipe is Slow Cooker Cream of Chicken and Rice soup. Here is the link to that recipe.

I know I have been in a soup rut lately... but it's been chilly here in Utah on and off lately & I've been sick. So all I want to eat when I'm sick & it's cold outside is soup. But I am on the mend (I think...) and I promise my next recipe will NOT be soup!

I made a few changes to this recipe. First, I left out the corn starch & the milk at the end & it was actually really good with out them. The first time I made it, I left them out just by accident. I totally forgot to add them & didn't realize it until the next day.  So I have decided to always leave it out. It's healthier without them I think, and I have never missed them.  But if you want a creamier soup then you will definitely need to add them.  Second, I didn't chop up my chicken... I was slightly dis-organized and didn't think to take the chicken out of the freezer until I was reading the recipe and actually throwing everything into the crockpot to cook it. So I just stuck my chicken in frozen and shredded it right before I served it. Worked out great & cut down the prep time drastically! :)

This recipe is awesome for several reasons. First... it's total comfort food! It's the classic chicken and rice soup that you grew up eating when you were little and sick. It tastes so good & it really is good for your soul!!

Second awesome reason is, everything goes into the crockpot un-cooked, even the rice. And it just cooks all day.... hardly any prep. Just chopping up a few things & tossing everything into the crockpot and you are set for the day. Although the rice does use up most of the broth & I had to add 2 more cups of broth to get it to the right soup consistency before serving.

Third... everyone loved it!! Everyone had seconds!! Well, except for Carter... but that kid doesn't like anything but hotdogs & ham sandwiches.... he is the pickiest 5 year old on the planet!!  :)

This one is definitely one for the repeat recipe book.

Friday Donut Day

Today is Friday Donut Day... Yay!! Although... I will not be having a donut because I shared a HUGE cinnamon roll with my husband yesterday! It was so good, but so full of sugar... I'm amazed I didn't go into a sugar coma!! So no donuts for me today.... I have had enough sugary goodness to last me a few days...

Anyways... I am giving a shout out to Chick-Fil-A today. They are doing a fundraiser for the Month of April for the organization Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). What this organization does is they help family members of fallen officers.  You need to just go up to the cashier when you order and tell them you are there for the fundraiser and want to contribute to it. It's as easy as that!!

This one hits close to home for many people, including many members of a small city in Utah called Eagle Mountain. I lived in Eagle Mountain for about 8 years and on January 30th, 2014, in that small city of Eagle Mountain an officer by the name of Cory Wride was shot and killed while checking on a car he thought was abandon on the side of the road. He was killed instantly.

It was a very sad day for the residents of Eagle Mountain and his death will be something that will never be forgotten. He died protecting all of us and that is something you can never forget or take for granted. His family has sacrificed so much for our freedom and safety & now here is another chance to give back to them.

The donations to Chick-fil-A will be going to the Wride family so that they can attend the National Police Week Memorial in Washington this year.

Please help us honor all the fallen officers and their families by heading to Chick-fil-A sometime this month and donating to this organization. And... if you see a Police Officer, stop them and thank them for their service!!

There are a few articles here & here where I have gotten most of my information from. I hope you all have a great weekend!! :)

Crock Pot Enchilada Soup

Sorry I flaked out on posting a recipe last week. It was spring break... I don't think I cooked anything at all! :) Anyways, This weeks recipe is Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup. Here is the link for that recipe.

Okay, here is a little sad story behind this meal. We actually had this meal for Easter dinner... I know, you are thinking what kind of a meal is that to have for dinner on Easter Sunday?!?!?!  But it was out of pure desperation.  Both my husband and I were so sick on Sunday there was no way we had the energy to cook the Ham, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, rolls, and fresh green beans which was the menu for Easter dinner. Plus we would have had to clean the kitchen first, in order to be able to cook such an involved meal. So I hopped on pinterest & found this recipe.

 The best parts about this recipe were that it was a crock pot meal, I had all the ingredients for it on hand, it was super fast to throw together, AND..... everyone loved it!! I didn't have to fight with anyone to eat it. My kids all had seconds, and it felt like heaven on our sore throats!!! It made great leftovers for dinner on Monday night too. It was still just as good & everyone loved it just as much, and I didn't have to cook anything! :)

For this dinner I'm calling it a definite success, and one that we will be eating often I think. It was fast, easy, everyone liked it, and it didn't call for any weird ingredients. It doesn't get any better than that!! :)

Sticking to your goal no matter what....

Hey everyone, how was your Easter? I have been really sick all weekend long! Like chest hurting coughing, ears hurting, body aching sick.... NO BUENO!!! Not the best way to end spring break for my kids, and not the best way to spend Easter weekend either.

I woke up this morning still feeling like crap. I totally ran behind all morning and it made for a very interesting & memorable morning. (see my FB The Sew Fit Girl like page for this story!) I slept in & didn't get my workout in before my littles were all up and getting ready, so I had to do it after everyone was at school. 

I'm not gonna lie... I totally talked to myself all morning and gave myself a million excuses as to why I didn't need to work out today. The main reason being that I am sick & should just crawl back into bed and turn on the hallmark channel & rest.... That is pretty much the same thing as going to the Dr, right? 

*** totally getting off subject here, but I have this awful addiction to the Hallmark channel. I think that a pretty quilt, my bed, and the Hallmark channel can pretty much cure or fix anything!!***

But.. I was a SLUG all weekend long. I haven't felt good and I haven't done ANYTHING!!! Like not really even cooked for people, that kind of nothing. We have been having leftovers & frozen pizza for all of our meals. And I ate a TON of candy yesterday. Even though I kept the candy to a minimum this year, I still ate my whole bag of Lindt Truffles that I got from the Easter bunny. I was planning on that bag lasting me all week.... oops! :) (I have ZERO self control when I am sick)

So I just "womaned up" and did my workout. And you know what, I didn't die & it didn't make me feel any worse!! I just took it easy & did the 10 minute Ab Fix, nothing spectacular. But it worked, I got my workout done without dying, it didn't take that long, and I feel better for it.

I had this realization hit me today that no matter what.... I can still get my workout done. It doesn't have to be ideal circumstances!! It doesn't have to be this amazing workout, where I am sweating to death & I'm laying down so I don't pass out!! Not everything has to be perfect or going as planned to get it done. If that really was the case, I'm so dis-organized and scattered all the time I would never have time to workout. 

I worked out this morning in the clothes I slept in last night & with no shoes on because I didn't feel like trying to find them in the chaos of my house after being sick and doing nothing with it all weekend long. I didn't have to run to the gym, or even brush my teeth!! I just popped my workout DVD in & worked out in the middle of my chaos. 

*** totally off subject again, but I am just realizing that I didn't brush my teeth either this morning before I had to walk into my kids school to check them in because they were late... Crap!! My kids are going to be taken away from me one of these day...***

You can do this!! Working out every day is hard sometimes, it really is. I'm not going to sugar coat it for you or lie to you about it. But, it can be done. You don't have to look good while you are doing it, believe me, I post scary workout pics of myself on Facebook every day, and I'm 100% scary looking!  But I commit to doing it & I get it done!! Wether it's easy or hard, or if I'm having a good or a bad day. I just get it done & you can too. This is the same for any kind of goal that you have... be it fitness, or personal, or spiritual, or whatever.... find a way to make your goal fit into your life. Make time for it no matter what!!

Spring Break

Okay.... Sorry, I know I have been absent for about a week. But it's been spring break, and I've just had spring break brain. No one wants to focus or work... we just wanted to play. We took a little mini "staycation" and just headed about 1 1/2 hours down south to the Salt Lake area. Stayed in a hotel, went swimming constantly, visited our old favorite spots we used to go to all the time before we moved up north, we ate out a ton, and just enjoyed our little family for a few days!!

In the car & on our way!! YAY!!! 

Ready for bed at the Hotel. No matter what, if we are staying at a hotel my kids think it's the best vacation ever!! We could stay at a hotel in the same city we live in & my kids would think we were the greatest parents on the planet!! 

My girls excited and all ready for bed.... and no, no one got any sleep that night. Just too much hotel excitement for any kind of sleeping to occur!! 

We hit the dinosaur museum!! My kids love this place. Built our own dinosaur!!

Put together the dinosaur, magnet puzzles. My kiddos LOVE puzzles, especially my youngest. He could sit and do puzzles for hours. 

We did the whole wall of dinosaur bone puzzles!

And of course we had to get a picture in front of the giant shark that looks like it's going to eat you! :)

We went swimming ALL THE TIME...... Every morning first thing when the kids woke up, we went swimming.... 

In the afternoons when we headed back for a little break..... we went swimming.... If we weren't at a museum or doing something else fun.... we were swimming!! 

And then there was Target.... (sigh). I had to sneak away one night after my littles had fallen asleep and visit my old friend all by myself. I LOVE Target & there isn't a Target where I moved too! I know... you are all thinking "but how can you survive without Target?" I am wondering that myself still some days. But in situations such as these, we just survive the best we can. I do visit Target every chance I get though!! :) 

We also did the Museum of Natural Curiosity. That was so much fun. We have never been here before & my kids had a blast. We were there for a little over 2 hours & I think could have easily spent another hour there. We didn't do a lot of the outside stuff because it was a lot colder on the day we were there, so we spent most of our time inside. 

This was the Water Works section... so much fun!

 They had this Rain Forest section that was like a giant play area for the kids with all sorts of stuff to do. It was so much fun. It was really crowded and overstimulating, but my kids loved it. We spent most of our time in there. 

Me and my "mini me" :) I just love her!! 

They also had this room with all of this Science type of stuff. I don't remember what it was called, but it was such a cool room. One this one table they had this rotating circle & all these balls you could roll around on the spinning circle. We had a blast trying different things to see how we could get the balls to stay on the spinning circle. We ended up getting them all on & spinning with the circle. It was fun! 

Anyways, so we headed home. Exhausted & happy! 

And then this happened.....

Poor kid. The night we came home he started running a fever, and we are going on 2 days of this. It's a sad way to end spring break... but at least he waited until after the fun was over to die... that was really nice of him!! 

 

So on top of playing, I've had sick kiddos & I, myself haven't been feeling 100%. So that just led up to nothing getting blogged at all... 

But, I'm home now & I'm back in business. :) 

Friday Donut Day!!

Okay friends, I am trying something new. I have decided that every Friday will be Friday Donut Day.

What is Friday Donut Day, you ask?? Is it about eating Donuts? ABSOLUTELY!!! :) I LOVE donuts, they just make me happy. Don't they make you happy? Just thinking about a warm, fluffy, gooey, sugary donut relaxes my body! (yes I know... I have a serious problem!! But I just can't help myself)

Anyways... back to my post.. I have decided that every Friday I will pick a family, or an organization to dedicate a donut to! Donuts just brighten your day! They put smiles on peoples faces! For a few seconds you can step out of the chaos of the world and smile and enjoy something. I usually end up eating a donut once a week anyways, so why not try and eat one for a good cause, other than just because they are awesome!

So, here's the scoop.... I will find a family that is going thought hard times, or an organization that is maybe doing some type of fundraiser, and I will give them a shout out on my blog every Friday. I will post about any type of go fund me account, or ways to donate to their cause.

My first family I am dedicating a donut to is the Rinn family.

This first family means a lot to me. We lived by them for about 8 years & I love this family. Brett and Heather are amazing people, and are the wonderful parents to 4 amazing kids. I have really gotten to know Heather through church and we have become close friends. This family is so nice & they really will do anything for anyone. They spend most of their time out and about in their neighborhood doing things for others and constantly serving everyone!!

Brett has recently been diagnosed with Liver Cancer and he needs a liver transplant. He will be receiving chemo & radiation treatments until he receives a new liver. This has been a major blow to them, but they are handling it so well. Brett is always smiling and always can find a reason to laugh and be positive.

They have a go fund me account if you would like to donate. Here is the link. If you are able at all to donate, even just a little I know it would be much deserved and appreciated!

Healthier General Tso's Chicken

This weeks recipe is a healthier version of General Tso's Chicken. Here is the link for the recipe.  This one was another one that I really didn't have to fight anyone to eat. My youngest just announced that he wasn't hungry at all, so he wasn't eating. He's the picky one & so I'm not sure how this recipe will go over with picky eaters because he wasn't interested in eating at all. But my girls both loved it & ate it without complaint. The hubbie and I really liked it too. This one will definitely be put in the book of recipes to have more often. I cooked up a pan of brown rice to go with it. I cook my brown rice in the pressure cooker & it cooks it a lot faster. Here is the post about how I pressure cook my brown rice.

I love Chinese food, so I was really excited when I found this recipe. I love finding healthy versions of my favorite foods.  I will say that with this recipe had a few things in it that I have never used or cooked with, like Rice wine vinegar, Hoisin sauce, and fresh ginger. Maybe I'm just not that experienced of a cook, but I was a little hesitant to make this recipe because of those few things I had never used. But I am happy to announce that I was able to find everything for the recipe at the store really fast and with no problems.

I have never cooked with fresh ginger, ever. So I was a little unsure what to do with it.  I just googled it when I got home and it was pretty easy to figure out! :) I peeled it with my regular vegetable peeler, chopped it up and I was good to go. The recipe didn't specify a certain amount of ginger to use, so I just cut off a chunk, called it good, and hoped for the best.

This is the stuff I used. It was kinda fun cooking with fresh ginger, I think I'll use it a lot more in the future.

Anyways, I was reading through the recipe and it says that it's only 25 minutes with prep and cook time! Yeah... not really!! :) I was soooo hoping that would be true! This took me about an hour to make. I picked a day that I didn't have anything going on after the kids got home from school, just in case it took way longer than it was supposed to.  I'm glad I had a low key night to do this on. It just seemed like it was a lot more work than I was expecting it to be.  Maybe the more I make it, the faster I will get at throwing it together. But right now, this one is not one that can just be thrown together.

This also took longer to cook than the recipe said. It took almost double the amount of time to cook & we ended up having to put the oven on broil to get it to brown & crisp up a little.

Even though this recipe was a little high maintenance, I still really liked it. I will definitely make it again. Just on a night when I don't have a bunch of other things going on. :)