Friday, May 19, 2017

Tips to Organize Sports Equipment



Yes, we're still here!! As you might have noticed, we've been busy doing all kinds of things other than posting on the blog. But I've been planning a bunch of new projects, including getting our house ready for summer break, so just stick with me. 

As I count down the last days of school (I think I'm more excited about it than my kids), I start making a mad dash to organize the house for full time kid occupancy. And no where needed it more than our sports equipment area. Head over to Honest to Nod to see my attempt at helping the kids keep track of the ever-growing gear! 

p.s. this is Penny's blog debut and she's doing exactly what she's good at: getting into things and looking adorable doing so. 

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Greek Chicken and Potatoes (One Pan) + 30 Days of Dinner!!


This set of dinners is basically us getting on and back off the Whole30 train (and like a whole week of eating out after the first night of Passover). I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've been having a hard time sticking with it this go around. So I decided to switch gears a little bit. I love eating Paleo and the Whole30 reset, but lately I just felt like I was vacillating between eating all the things and eating nothing.

If you've ever met anyone in our family, you know moderation isn't really our thing. Even with things that are good for you. We're a kind of all or nothing bunch. And that's one reason I love Whole30 so much -- I don't really have to deal with trying to eat certain things in moderation. I just can't have them. And what I can eat, the portions are not super strict (there are guidelines, but ....) But I'm trying to be an actual adult, so I decided to try eating mostly clean but with more strict portion control. So you'll continue seeing lots of Paleo-friendly recipes around here, but more just all-around healthy eats too. We'll see how it goes!!

My favorite recipe from this 30 days was easily adapted to Whole30, but even more delicious (and still healthy!) with the cheese. It's really bright, flavorful, and super easy for weeknights.

Greek Chicken and Potatoes (One Pan)
(slightly adapted from Cafe Delites

Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tsp salt
- cracked pepper to taste
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast

Tray Bake:
- 17 1/2 ounces potatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces (about 2 medium potatoes)
- 1 red onion, cut into wedges
- 1 lemon, halved
- 4 tbsp pitted Kalamata olives
- 4 tbsp cubed Feta cheese

Directions
1. Combine marinade ingredients together and pour over chicken into a gallon bag. Marinate for at least 15 minutes, up to over night.
2. Preheat oven to 430 F. Spray a baking pan with cooking oil spray. Arrange chicken, potatoes, and onions on the pan. Drizzle the potatoes and onion with a small amount of olive oil and juice from half of the lemon. Season everything with a bit more of salt and pepper to taste. Toss the potatoes and onion in the oil to evenly coat. Slice the remaining lemon half into slices and arrange over the chicken.
3. Bake until the potatoes are golden/crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the chicken is completely cooked through (about 30-35 minutes). Change oven setting to broil and cook another 5 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. Add olives and cheese before serving (or leave cheese off for Whole30).

*                    *                    *

Day 1 (Sun) -- dinner out 

Day 2 (M) -- Grilled Chicken Tacos, cauliflower rice, salad 
Day 4 (W) -- brinner -- eggs, roasted sweet potatoes, salad 
Day 5 (Th) -- Balsamic Mustard Roast Beef (this was DELICIOUS!), green beans 
Day 6 (F) -- dinner out 
Day 8 (Sun) -- dinner out 

Day 9 (M) -- Passover: Slow Cooker Brisket and Onions (I made a huge brisket, so I did half in the slow cooker and half in the oven -- the oven batch was far better), Apple Walnut Charoset, Roasted Sweet Potato Slices with Pesto, Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts
Day 10 (T) -- dinner out
Day 11 (W) -- dinner out
Day 12 (Th) -- brinner
Day 13 (F) -- dinner out
Day 14 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 15 (Sun) -- Greek Chicken and Potatoes (One Pan)

Day 16 (M) -- Crockpot Paleo Chicken
Day 17 (T) -- Apple and Bacon Smothered Pork Chops
Day 18 (W) -- brinner
Day 19 (Th) -- Chicken Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (a family fave this month)
Day 20 (F) -- One Skillet Mediterranean Chicken 
Day 21 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 22 (Sun) -- dinner out

Day 23 (M) -- Slow Cooker Short Rib Chili 
Day 24 (T) -- Grilled Chicken, Burst Tomato, and Artichoke Skewers with Goat Cheese Dip (no dip for Whole30), riced cauliflower
Day 25 (W) -- Carne Asada, Green Beans and Beets with Balsamic Reduction (no cheese for Whole30), Crispy Lemon Oven-Roasted Potatoes
Day 26 (Th) -- leftovers
Day 27 (F) -- dinner out
Day 28 (Sat) -- brinner
Day 29 (Sun) -- dinner out

Day 30 (M) -- One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet (I used half ground turkey, half ground beef. Leave off the cheese for Whole30)

Friday, May 5, 2017

The Friday Five!!

I actually had several posts planned for this week and then several things just went off the rails. So ... here we are again at a Friday Five. And we're headed into a weekend of cold and rain. Ugh. I so needed this week to be capped off by a weekend of glorious weather. Oh well. Here's what we got in before the downpour started.

p.s. Happy Cinco de Mayo!!


Wanting -- I need some lighter wash skinnies for spring and I have my eye on these.

Cooking -- I almost forgot about my go-to easy chicken dinner, but thankfully pulled it out when I failed to start the slow cooker (AGAIN) one night this week. I just leave out the sugar.

Making -- Cam and I have been working on our spring manis and she has been loving these nail stickers (although some are totally bizarre).

Reading -- we are all enthralled with Wonder still, but I am also about to start Station Eleven.

Playing -- One of Cam's friends gave her this fabulous Djeco Paper Doll set --- there is such a great range of styles!