Recipe: Juicy Roasted Chicken

Have you ever wanted to roast your own chicken, but the though of prepping it and roasting it yourself is just scaring you away? Never fear! It is WAY easier than you think. Whether you are a seasoned pro in the kitchen or just learning how to cook, this recipe is for you!

My husband is not a fan of chicken, unless it's moist and hidden within dishes.  So, I'm always trying new chicken recipes that he will enjoy.

Tonight was my second time making this recipe and both times was absolutely delicious. The celery keeps it so moist and the meat falls right off the bone. Plus, we now have lots of leftovers for future recipes!

What you need:

1 (3 lb) whole chicken- with giblets removed

1 celery stalk, cut into 3 larger pieces

1/2 c. butter

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step 2: Place chicken in roasting pan. Add 3 tablespoons and celery pieces inside the chicken cavity.

Step 3: Rub the remaining butter all over the outside of the chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Step 4: Bake uncovered for 1 hr 45 min (until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees). Remove from heat and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

Wellness: Self Love

Self love takes hard work.Lately I have been feeling a little off balance and wanted to share my realizations with you about how to find yourself, feel more authentic and come back to reality.

"If you can take care of yourself, you can give more to everything else."- Miranda Kerr
Your body and mind need to be taken care of properly otherwise they won't give you the experience that you need in this life. I realized this when I found myself engulfed in what the media and other people were doing, saying and wearing and forgot to slow down and listen to the most important person, myself. I let my feelings of being stuck, unsuccessful, and self-doubt become an excuse to lose motivation for tasks that make me feel good such as working out, eating clean, and positive thoughts. In yoga there is a theory that there are two fighting factors in your head. One is your intuition. The other is your ego. Your ego is that voice in your head that says negative and self doubtful comments to you about your body, life, dreams.. you name it, it will fight against it. Your intuition is that feeling you get when you feel happy, confident, energetic and positive. Meditation, eating clean, and exercise are things that bring us back to our intuition. It is a daily struggle to do the things that help your body because the ego promotes laziness, fear, and self doubt which makes us fail to promote the positive things in life. From this quote I remember the lesson that you need to fight against the ego  to take care of yourself in order to help your body and intuition shine.   


"There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful than a women being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me that is the true essence of beauty." -Steve Maraboli
When I was feeling down about my self worth it caused me to to stop taking care of myself and start admiring others such as celebrities and successful friends. I viewed them as having better qualities, looks and lives than I did. I found myself stressed when I thought about my daily tasks almost as if to think that some people do not have to deal with the same daily stress and self esteem issues. I clearly needed to WAKE UP!  Every person has the same insecurities and daily stress that they encounter every day. The secret to being accepting of your life and achievements is to realize that you can only look within for happiness and that every human is equally as important. You need to fight against those negative feelings. Individuals that you admire have worked hard  to obtain their achievements and with those achievements comes twice as much stress and insecurities to overcome. I have found that when I get stressed because of the fear of failure or overwhelmed with tasks I just sit still, breath, and repeat the idea that absolutely no one is perfect. All you can do in situations where you feel less than perfect is relax, realize your mistakes and decide on actions to take to make the situation better. 


"Non-violence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him." _Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hate is such a strong feeling. Accepting to feel that way is the easy route. I have learned, when I was engulfed in jealousy,  hate and negativity, that holding those feelings against someone only weighs you down. When I am extremely angry or stressed at someone I try to stop, recollect, breath and view their side. I do not judge if it is "right" or "wrong", I only try and understand. The ego tries to make us feel these hateful feelings so that we are disconnected from other people who , potentially, will help us learn a lesson. By accepting the challenge of understanding the other person you may start to see that they are harboring insecurities and stress. Their insecurities and stress actually has nothing to do with you as a person. For example when I started my new job I was hired on with no prior experience. I would become stressed when I was given a bad review and given constructive criticism on how to change. I started to build up resentment against my boss and self hatred to myself. When I took a step back and cleared my head I realized that my boss was only trying to help me complete the work that I needed to get done in order to succeed. I realized that, with no experience, I was doing a great job and working hard. I now take my job step by step and am not afraid to ask questions. Ever since I confronted my fears and stress I have been excelling in my new position. Life is a never-ending learning experience. Apart of learning involves making mistakes and to be accepting of that fact.

Recipe: Quick 'N' Easy Bacon Green Beans

Need a quick 'n' easy side dish to go with your protein?

Here is my all time favorite "go-to" side dish recipe!

What is great about this recipe is that you can customize it to feed 

your family or a crowd. 

I promise there is no real science to it...

but for those who need measurements (i usually eye-ball it)
here some basic ones....

What you need:

1 lb fresh green beans (trimmed)

1/2 Tbs minced garic

3-4 strips of bacon, sliced

3 Tbs Grapeseed oil or a clean oil of choice 

(I used roasted garlic grapeseed oil)

Step 1: Rinse and trim your green beans

Step 2: Slice bacon into little chunks, add to a medium sized skillet pan. Heat on medium heat for 1 minute.

Step 3: Add beans and garlic to the skillet with  bacon.

Step 4: Drizzle the grapeseed oil over beans, just enough to lightly coat when mixed. 

( I love grapeseed oil because its cholesterol free and one of the cleanest oils. Plus it has a higher burn temp, so it doesn't smoke in your eyes like olive oil)

Step 5: Saute on medium heat roughly 5 minutes or until bacon is cooked and you achieve desired tenderness (I like mine with a little sauteed color to them..yum!)

Serve with your favorite protein!

Enjoy!!






Wanna try a little twist?

Variation: Sub out the green beans for some fresh sliced Brussels spouts!

Happy Cooking!

Recipe: Whole Wheat Penne with Mushrooms and Artichokes

So recently I have been on a hunt for new recipes

to switch up our "normal" rotation of meals. 

Winter can be so gloomy, so what better than a nice pesto pasta.

Usually in the summer I make homemade pesto,

since we have an abundance of fresh basil on hand.

But since its winter,

and I failed to grow basil inside this year,

store bought pesto had to do.

I found this recipe from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook.

(I admit, I changed a few things slightly. I can't seem to just leave a recipe alone!)

I really liked this recipe,

because most of the ingredients I usually have on hand

or are easily accessible in our local grocery store.

As a mother of two small children,

quick and easy is a MUST.

What you need:

6 oz whole wheat penne pasta

3 Tbs evoo  or grapeseed oil

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 small sweet or red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large tomato, chopped

1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and slightly chopped

1/4 c. pesto

5 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese (for topping)

salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: In a large pot, bring water to boil. Add penne and cook according to package directions.

Drain and toss with 2 tbs evoo.

Step 2: Heat 1 tbs evoo in large nonstick pan on med-high heat. Saute mushrooms and onion for about 6 minutes until juices start to caramelize.

Step 3: Add garlic and artichokes, saute 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook until softened.

Step 4: Add pasta and pesto. Toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serves 4

Happy Cooking!

Wellness: Follow Your Fears

This past weekend I auditioned for the television show The Voice. I drove 7 hours and woke up at 5 am day of the audition. Then I waited in line for hours all for the chance to sing for 45 seconds to a group of 11 people. I did not receive the beloved "golden ticket" but it was far from a waste of time.This experience opened my eyes to just how important fearful experiences are. Experiences that frighten you,that cause you anxiety, that you need to work towards, that scare you until your pale in the face, that make you second guess yourself...

I am proud of myself because I gave it my all and failed. I am proud of myself for practicing every night for months forcing myself to use self discipline . I am proud of myself for putting myself in a vulnerable state. I am proud of myself for looking at my biggest fear and forcing myself to face it. 

"expose yourself to your deepest fear. After that...you are free."- Jim Morrison

I am sharing this journey to you because having fear shows us the things we must overcome. The only way to grow is to confront your fears otherwise you will live a life of excuses. I hear way to many loved ones saying " I am not the type of person to do that.."or " I am not good enough to do that.." before they even attempt to try.

This experience was overwhelming because I learned to control my inner ego. Your ego is that voice in your head that tries to steer you away from positive feelings and life choices. I could have chose to have listened to my inner ego that was saying

 " Are you listening to that girl? or that guy? He is so much better than you!"

 or

" You cant do this.. your going to make a fool of yourself".

These thoughts are only the beginning of the ridiculous ideas of self doubt that accumulate when you try to make steps towards a positive decision. This experience has fueled me to test myself and helped me gain skills I never would have gained if I would have let this opportunity pass due to fear.  I feel lighter and more empowered. I stopped and looked around at the mass crowd that was around me. In that moment i realized the beauty in the fact that we were all there for a common passion and all the heartfelt messages of support I received from close family members and friends.. When I slowed down my mind and stopped worrying about myself and my petty insecurities, I met interesting people who only wanted to encourage the people around them.

I urge everyone to do something that makes them want to run the opposite way. I guarantee it will be terrifying but if you start making excuses instead of working to test yourself you will never achieve the growth that you are born to achieve.

Me in the first of 4 lines

Only one of the lines.

DIY: Lacey Book Page Glass Candle Holder

Well I couldn't come up with a great name for this project so I gave it a long one! Here is a great simple little project that takes about 10 minutes and has awesome results!

 

What you will need:

-A sponge, or sponge brush, or even a paint brush would work

-Mod Podge, I used a Matte finish

-A few pages from a book, cream pages work best

-A glass candle holder (mine was $1.00 from Michaels)

-A flower punch ($3.00 from Michaels)

 

(Don't mind my couch, it's my favorite crafting location!)

 

 

Step 1:

Use your flower puncher to punch out a bunch of little flowers from the book pages.

 

Step 2:

Start by placing a dab of the Mod Podge on the glass candle holder, then spread it out using your sponge brush (I used a dabbing motion) you will be working in small sections at a time.

 

 

 

Step 3:

Begin placing your flower punches randomly onto the gluey surface. Once you have them on use your sponge brush to dab over the top of them so that they are all coated in the Mod Podge.

 

Step 4:

Continue this until the entire surface of the candle holder is covered (I did not do the bottom, but you could if you want to!)

 

 

Step 5:

Let it dry, once it is completely dry, place a tea light candle inside and enjoy!

 





 

 



Recipe: Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I am obsessed with cauliflower...I am. I'll admit it.

Its so easy and delicious!

Cauliflower is an easy veggie to incorporate into any meal. Its high in vitamins and important nutrients.

It cooks fast so its great for roasting or steaming. Avoid boiling because it will lose a portion of its nutrients...boo for lost nutrients.

My favorite is to toss it in grapeseed oil and roast it with some garlic.

If you have not tried it roasted, please do. Amazing!

So when I heard about cauliflower pizza crust,

I knew I had to try it. 

Plus, what a great way to sneak in some veggies and its gluten free!

Makes 2 personal sized pizzas

What you need:

1 medium sized cauliflower head

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese 

1/3 c Mozzarella cheese 

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 egg

Step 1: Cut up the cauliflower head into smaller chunks. Discard the green stem. 

Preheat over to 420 degree F.

Step 2: Place cauliflower chunks into food processor and mince for about 30 seconds until get you a fully texture.

Looks light and fluffy like this!

Step 3: Place your fluffy mixture into a microwave safe bowl. Cover (I used a small plate) and microwave for about 5 minutes. This will steam it.

Step 4: Once done steaming, let it cool. Trust me..its hot! Then place your fluff into a clean tea towel or paper towel. You want to try pat out as much moisture as possible. Otherwise you'll end up with soft crust and no one wants that.

Step 5: Place cauliflower back into the bowl and add the cheese, seasonings and egg. Mix well. 

Step 6: Line your baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Lightly grease with oil. Place your mixture into 2 piles on your pan. Pat down mixture and form a crust circle shape. 

Make sure to not have it too thick. 

 Step 7: Bake at 420 degrees (temp for parchment paper) for roughly 15-20 minutes. This time will all depend on your oven and thickness of crust. So watch until its forms a golden color. 

Step 8: Take out and add your favorite pizza sauce and toppings.

Step 9: Bake for 10 more minutes until your cheese is melted and starting to turn golden.

Step 10: Take out of oven and enjoy!!

MMmmm... Yummy!

Happy Cooking!