Honey Teriyaki Chicken & Peanut Lettuce Wraps

I posted this pic of my dinner this week and lots of people asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Honey Teriyaki Chicken & Peanut Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

2-3 Chicken breasts, cubed
2 Tablespoons EVOO (or Avocado Oil)
2 Tablespoons Onion Onion
1 - 1.5 teaspoons of ground ginger
2 Cups COOKED Quinoa
1/3 Cup Honey Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 Cup chopped carrots
1/3 Cup peanuts, chopped
Whole Lettuce Leaves

Directions:

Saute chicken in oil and with Onion Onion until chicken is no longer pink. Reduce heat.  Add ginger, quinoa, peanuts, carrots and Honey Teriyaki Sauce.  Gently stir ingredients together and heat through.  Serve chicken mixture wrapped with whole lettuce leaves and enjoy!

Terrific Taco Tuesday

If there is one meal that all of us can agree on, it is Tacos!  And with the promotion from The Lego Movie of "Taco Tuesday," I often get asked to make Tacos on Tuesdays at the White House.

This week was no exception.

But, I do not like to get into a rut when it comes to tacos.  Sometimes we do soft shells, sometimes hard shells; sometimes ground turkey other times pulled chicken!

This week was no exception.

I had forgotten to add taco shells (#fail) to the grocery list that Gary so wonderfully shopped with, but I <had> put on Multi-Grain Tortillas for him and I and we had left over Scoops from the Super Bowl (#win).  I did NOT want to make another trip to the grocery store bc I simply did not have the time or energy after school.  So, I took this as a spring board to jump onto Pinterest and find how I could get creative in the Kitchen for Taco Tuesday!

First off, I have done tacos with the kids using Scoops before.  We fill it with taco fixings and have mini taco shells fit for a Cabbage Patch.  But I didn't want Gary and I to ruin our #CleanEating by indulging in the deep fried goodness.  I found on Pinterest a way to make your own Scoops here.  But I took on my own version...

First I used only multi-grain tortillas.  I personally like the flavor of these a little more!   


I then found an object with a circle that was about 3 inches in diameter (1.5 inch radius #mathteacherwife).  I actually chose my Pampered Chef Handheld Chopper and detached it to use as a cookie cutter.

I cut out circles from the tortilla.  <<Note - next time I do this, I think I would warm them in the microwave in a moist paper towel first to make them more manageable>>

Next I brushed each circle with a new Tastefully Simple product, Avocado Oil, part of their new #TSEatWell line.  Avocado oil has many healthy benefits plus it helped to crisp up my tortillas when they baked.

Finally I gently folded and stuffed each circle into my mini muffin tin.  Some formed easier than others and I do believe if I had warmed them first, it would've been easier.

I baked the tortillas in the oven at 350 for 12 minutes.  <<Note - When I do this again, I probably will reduced the time to 10 minutes>>

I let them rest and cool for a bit and then we got to stuffing our tacos!

For our Tacos I love to make them as all natural as I can.  Luckily Tastefully Simple has this amazing #allnatural seasoning called Fiesta Party Seasoning.  It is very spicy, so just a little goes a long way.  The Tastefully Simple website has a great recipe called Taco Terrific, but I have adjusted it a bit to make it a little more healthy and to suit my family's taste buds:

Terrific Taco Tuesday:
1.5 lb Ground Turkey
1 capful Fiesta Party Seasoning (all natural!)
1/2 capful Onion Onion Seasoning (TSeatwell)
1 can Petite Diced Tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Brown ground turkey in frying pan and drain any grease.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add remaining ingredients and cover to simmer for 10 minutes.

And to make Terrific Taco Tuesday just a little more fun, I like to put all the fixings in little bowls and let the kids get creative in how the make their tacos.  It's not unheard of that we have Taco Competitions for the best looking, most creative, and tastiest taco!  Olé!

January Randomness

I was trying to come up with a cute theme or idea for today's blog, but I guess I just have randomness to share!

Confession: I hate the holiday of New Year's.  Maybe it's because in my mind, the new year starts in September with school.  Or maybe it is because somehow I always feel let down at midnight that there was so much more I should have done.  Whatever the reason, I find myself kind of grump on New Year's Eve (just ask Gary!).  Does anyone else feel this way?

We did celebrate an early "New Year's Eve" with the kids.  They each got to toast sparkling grape juice which was a treat!  We also had a snack dinner - My favorite, although, it is time to cleanse my body with some clean eating! {More about that later!}

Evelyn had her second birthday over break.  She had her first little friend over for the big day.  She loved the idea of presents and kept saying "Mo presents?"  Just this week, her last present finally arrived in the mail.  It's a Stroller and a bike in one!  She isn't too fond of a stroller, but she LOVES this!  She can climb in all by herself and loves to put her stuffed animals in the back bucket.  Only drawback is that it does not fold up, but the long handle does come off, so we will adjust as needed!  PJ also enjoyed pushing her around :)

Speaking of PJ I have seen a side of him that is very sweet lately.  He actually played with his sister!  They went in her tent (that was handmade by a friend of mine!) and played "house" with her.  It melted my heart to see my oldest and youngest play together!

And don't worry, Isaac is around, too!  This guy cracks most people up.  He is awful smart for his britches and in those glasses can give quite the impish look!  He is loving his new XBox One Infinity game.  We do have rules set for it, though; no video games during the week.  I have to say, he is wonderful about this and doesn't complain.  Counting my lucky stars on that one!

                  




So, now as January begins, I am ready to make healthy choices, again.  I let myself go a bit and was totally fine with it, knowing I would take charge of my choices in the New Year.  On Sunday, I made 10 meals in one hour.  I did a Paleo Inspired Freezer Meal Workshop by Tastefully Simple with a Mama friend.  We drank wine and pulled together meals that are kid friendly and healthy, too!  I am so excited to start trying them next week - BECAUSE - next week I start another Advocare 24 Day Challenge.




My focus is to lose weight - specifically 7-10 pounds.  I want to cleanse my body and regain my energy level again.  I have really seen it drop lately.  I find that Advocare is a plan that works with both Gary and I as far as our eating habits and preferences.  I LOVE that I can still eat real food and lose weight!  It's all about the choices I make when I eat - High Fiber, High Protein, Low Carb (at least the bad ones!).  Keep checking back for this journey I take with Advocare and how I incorporate Tastefully Simple in it!