Spicy chicken chili

I've been on a meat kick lately and all I've been wanting is beef (which is a far cry from my former vegan lifestyle) so I took it as a sign that I might be needing some extra protein in my life, what better than chili? And to kick up the protein factor I used chicken (organic, free-range), 3 different beans, kale and quinoa.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)

1.5 cups quinoa

2 cups of kale, shredded

1 can of stewed whole tomatoes 

1 diced onion 

1 diced yellow pepper

1.5 cups diced carrots 

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of white beans 

1 fresh jalapeño, sliced 

1/2 cup of picked jalapeños 

1 tbs minced garlic

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1 tsp h. Sea salt 

1 tsp smoked sea salt 

1 can of organic chicken broth

 1. Boil chicken breasts in salted water and shred before hand

2. In a large pot put 1 tbs of olive oil and sauté peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic and carrots for 5 minutes

3. Add chicken, kale, salt, paprika and jalapeños and stir until spices are distributed evenly

4. Pour in chicken broth plus one can's worth of water. Cover and bring to a boil.

5. Once boiling add quinoa and beans, turn to low and let simmer for 2 hours

We topped ours hot sauce, sour cream, lime, fresh and picked jalapeños, green onions and tomatoes 

and served it with a big green salad

*i have a portion problem and can never make a dinner for just two people so with days worth of leftovers we later had:

Chili-stuffed bell peppers and

Chili soup!  (Chili over rice not pictured)

Vitamixxxxxx!

For years I have been dreaming over vitamix blenders. I've tried convincing everyone around me to buy one. The entire time I've known my husband I've sang its praises to him and yesterday I was finally rewarded by the food gods with one, actually my husband bought it for me but whatever. It's beautiful. It's amazing. It's the 5200S model with 10 speeds and I love it. We made a few experimental drinks in it. First one with banana, almond milk, cocoa powder (and that's where the healthy part ends) chocolate cookies, chocolate chips and a handful of m&m's. We were just curious about what would happen and let me tell you after that combo got blended into oblivion it came out so smooth and creamy and tasted like the worlds best chocolate milk. We then made pomegranate juice with the seeds from the previous post. Just used Pom seeds and filtered water, blended it, poured it through a sieve and enjoyed. 

This morning I made green smoothie with water, banana, apple, romaine, cilantro and celery which didn't taste as good as the cookie but whattayagonnado?

 Dan made a carrot banana apple one that was amazinggg. I'm really excited to get this thing going. Now that Dans on his new routine and dropping weight I get to focus on tweaking mine which will now probably involve a whole lot of blendables. 

How to seed a pomegranate

One of the perks of my husbands job is that he knows where all the little treasures of the city are, including where there are fruit trees growing on city property. The crown jewel being the pomegranate trees not far from our house but not easily found by the public. We went picking and although I was on spider watch the whole time I kept reminding myself that while I'm filling up target bags of these babies they are currently going for $2.99 each in the grocery store.  When I was little my mom gave us pomegranates maybe twice a year and when she did we had to put on old clothes and sit in the backyard picking out one seed at a time. My mother-in-law however blew my mind when one day I came over and there was a huge bowl just full of seeds. It was amazing and beautiful and since then I've come to learn that poms are a big part of Persian culture and also how crazy easy they are to seed! So I've decided to share the knowledge. 

>>make sure to wash the outside

>>when cutting in steps 2 & 3 be careful not to go too deep so as not to burst the gems

>>sometimes I'll sprinkle a little Himalayan salt on top or a little sugar or just eat them in all their naked glory. 

Autumn air, full of prayer

Happy October 1st! Yesterday was so gloomy and perfect and wonderful, hopefully after this weekend the weather will start getting more autumnal.  I live for October, it's my favorite month and part of what I call the Holy Holiday Trinity because I love November and December equally but in different ways. In honor of the first day of autumn weather and the last day of September I made a little stew for lunch. No recipe, just pictures

(Grass fed organic beef from a local farm, used only 1/2 lb. and fed 4 people) 

Fun fact: I dropped another 5lbs, holla. I took the dog for a little 2 mile run and then when Dan came home we went and did sprints and a few drills, just enjoying being outside in the cool weather before the rain comes and we're forced into the gym. We go for long walks together almost every night and we use the time to recap the day, voice any concerns and really just hold hands and kiss like teenagers. When I go for walks by myself I spend a lot of the time praying and getting connected with God and I pray constantly, it's what gets me through the day and now Dan and I do it together on our walks. I've never been one for public prayers as I feel it's a personal act but every day my husband becomes more and more a part of me that there isn't anything I would rather do alone that I wouldn't much more prefer to do with him and now praying is one of those things. We just walked in the wind hand in hand saying prayers for each other, for others, for ourselves, for growth and love and forgiveness and it settles my heart in such a way that I see the world so differently. I made a mid-year resolution to cut out all types of backbiting. Whether it be "venting" or sending a text that I think is funny or harmless but is at the expense of another and as part of that purge I had to ignore or redirect when others would want to vent or make a joke to me. It gets hard at times because you become so overwhelmed by the actions of other that you just want to brew up this shit talking storm but I've learned if I can hold it in for 24 hours and pray on it, the next day I feel absolutely nothing, the anger and frustration is gone and the whole thing seems silly after all.  So here's to a new month in continuing to be a prayerful and cheerful being, amen.

Protein power

Now that DB and I have gotten in the swing of regular workouts together I'm shifting him onto my eating plan because he's got this disorder where he mindlessly snacks on whatever he sees and although that's fine now I'm anticipating his metabolism slowing down any minute now as 30 is upon him. So for lunch today I made a big pot of quinoa and made some all natural chicken meatballs and tossed them in 2 tbs of teriyaki sauce. I put the quinoa in a bowl, seasoned it with salt, pepper and ginger then put a bed of raw spinach which softened with the hot meatballs on top and then I added some orange pepper and some Thai basil.

I had a lot of quinoa left so for dinner I made a chicken brocolli bake which I used to make with brown rice but tonight I subbed in quinoa.

First things first I put the quinoa in a baking dish 

Next I sautéed 1 large onion, 1 garlic clove sliced and and 8 sliced mushrooms. I seasoned these with salt and pepper and once they were mostly browned I added 1 cup of homemade chicken broth. I took this mixture and poured it over the quinoa

Next I added a layer of broccoli

And then a layer of spinach which I sprinkled with more salt, pepper and garlic powder

While this was all going on it had 3 organic chicken breasts cooking on the stove. We don't eat or buy a lot of meat so when we do we make sure it's all natural, organic and free range or grass fed. Anyway! Sliced the chicken and layered them across the top, poured another cup of broth over it, covered it in foil and baked it at 375 for about 30 minutes.  While that was cooking I made a salad (butter lettuce and heirloom tomatoes is my go-to fave) and that was it. Super protein packed for the macho man in my life 

Dream a not-so-little dream

While I've been loving this whole (f)unemployment kick I've been on, I got a little too bored and had to get myself a job.  The last 2 weeks of my boredom led me to dabble in some neat little things which I decided to put into an etsy shop because let's face it, I will never throw anything away.  So all of my projects are now up for grabs, HERE.  I've sold a few trinkets but it's more for fun, I find peace knowing I can experimentally make something and don't have to find a place for it in my closet to sit and collect dust.  I did however make this super awesome dream catcher which I've had in the back of my mind since I got engaged and it's pretty awesome.  I'm so pleased.  I also realized I'm a pretty legit feather drawer.

Buy This

Or This

The end of a season

Today is the first day of fall and so summer is officially over and with that being said I've come to realize 1. I love fall more and more every year. And 2. This particular change in the seasons is a little more symbolic than I would have liked but I'm fully and completely embracing.  Over the last few months a lot has changed, more than I would have imagined. Future plans, present goals and the usual characters of my everyday life have all somehow morphed and rearranged almost as if God is reminding me that he's in control. I wasn't a fan of all that's happened but after a lot of prayer I've realized my life has played out this far perfectly and I have faith it will continue to do so.  We are all responsible for our own happiness and how we choose to look at situations and I will continue to thank God for everything I have and all that he's allowed me to do.