Month: December 2016

As many of you know I am close with my Instant Pot!  Besides my coffee pot and Vitamix it is my most used kitchen appliance!

I have been wanting to try to make Red Beans and Rice in my pot for a while, but couldn’t find a recipe that I liked.  So, as I usually do I took like 3 recipes I found and make one that I felt pretty confident me and the boys would like.

Here it is…

Red Beans and Rice

• 1 pound of dry red kidney beans
• 1 pound of turkey kielbasa or sausage, sliced (I used Wellshire brand Smoked Fresh Turkey Kielbasa)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp Adobo Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Thyme
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
• 5 cups of organic Chicken Stock
• 2 cups cooked rice (I used organic brown rice also made in my Instant Pot)

Put all the ingredients with the exception of the rice into your Instant Pot.  Using the Manual mode set for 30 minutes.  Once done, use a 10 minute natural release then vent the remaining steam.

Serve over 1/2 cup of rice.  This makes about 8 servings- 1 cup each.

This was a big hit with both of the boys.  It has already been requested that I make it again!

Enjoy!!

It’s December 11th and life is moving at the speed of light.

To add an extra layer of fun to our lives I am going to be helping out a friend and doing some fragrance freelancing the last 10 days before Christmas.  This kinda gives me mini-panic attacks!!!  😉

So…it’s not a good week for me to wing it with our meal plan!

It took me a few hours to get all this done- but I am basically set up for the week with breakfasts for myself and the boys, lunches for myself and food prepped for easy packing for the boys and dinners are planned.

Breakfast:

• 4 jars of overnight oats for me- click here for recipe!
• pancakes and french toast made for the boys
• hard boiled eggs on morning I don’t have the time or patience to make scrambled

Lunch:

• 4 jars of salads ready to go- here’s my favorite dressing!
• hard boiled eggs to add to salads (if I don’t eat them at breakfast)
• 2 sweet potatoes cooked in my Instant Pot to quickly warm up.
• shredded chicken made in my Instant Pot to add to salads or to a wrap
• mystery tupperware defrosting- it is either spaghetti sauce or chili- either will make quick lunches for the boys.
• fruits drawer full of apples and cuties
• veggies cleaned and cut for easy adds to lunches or to snack on

Dinner:

• Monday- Red Beans and Rice in my Instant Pot (new recipes- I will share if it works out)
• Tuesday- eating out while visiting Santa
• Wednesday- Perfect Chicken and potatoes
• Thursday-Tacos

After sitting down to plan and doing the work to prep all of this I am feeling pretty good about the busy week ahead.  I also love that since I did most of the work today there is much less mess and dishes to wash through out the week!

Here we go!  Its almost Monday.

As a kid I always looked forward to our advent calendar and as a mom I couldn’t wait to start that tradition with my boys!

I started with this little house and filled each box with candy.  The boys loved it!

After a few years of filling it with candy came Jacob’s Type 1 diagnosis and my focus on our health.  I started to think about how all holidays and traditions are centered around food.  I wanted to find a different way to enjoy our countdown to Christmas.

After some Pinterest searching I came up with a list of fun activities we could do each day to make our countdown more fun.  These simple activities have become tradition and I think we look forward to our little advent house coming out on December 1st even more now!

I think my favorite part of this new countdown is that it makes us take a little time every day to do something together.  This time of the year it can get really easy to get so busy with the hustle and bustle!  If you blink the month is over and you missed out on opportunities to create lasting memories.

This year I needed to do a few updates to our activities since the boys are getting older so I figured why not share it with all of you!

I created 30 total activities so you can chose the ones that work for you!

Countdown to Christmas Activities #1

Countdown to Christmas Activities #2

Countdown to Christmas Activities #3

I hope you enjoy the fun activities and can create some fun holiday traditions and memories of your own!

Merry Christmas!