Pork Carnita Tacos with Slaw

If you love Mexican food, then we should probably be friends.

I mean seriously, like best friends.

Mexican food is in our weekly meal rotations at least once a week, but let's be honest - probably twice. As much as I wish we could eat out at our favorite Mexican restaraunts every single week, it's a little more budget friendly and waist friendly to whip something up at home. Normally, we're big fans of chicken fajitas or tacos with ground chicken/turkey. But at our local grocery story that we shop at, the pork tenderloin has been on sale recently, so that's what we've gone with. Plus, it mixes it up from our norm which is fun too.

These pork carnita tacos are delicious - picky husband approved too. They're relatively healthy, depending on what you add to them and what side you choose also. I'm always needing a veggie for dinner, so this coleslaw is perfect. It's sweet and a little salty, and really - I could eat it every day. 

And speaking of everyday, this meal is super great to meal prep on Sunday, and is great to pack for lunches the following week. I've done this on multiple occasions, and let me just say - lunch is my favorite part of the day when this is packed in my lunchbox.

Pork Carnita Tacos with Slaw

Ingredients

Pork

2 lbs. Pork Tenderloin

*I buy peppercorn marinated pork tenderloin and OMG. EVEN BETTER*

1 TBSP Chili Powder

1 TBSP Cumin

1 TSP Salt

1 TSP Pepper

1 TSP Cinnamon

2 Cloves Garlic (minced)

1/2 Jalapeno (diced)

1 Lime (juiced)

1 Orange (juiced)

1 Onion (chopped roughly)

Orange Seltzer Water (1 can or 12 oz.)

*less sugar than orange juice!*

Slaw

2 C Coleslaw Mix

1/4 C Sliced Red Onion

1/2 Jalapeno (diced)

2 TSP honey

1 Lime (juiced)

2 TBSP Cilantro (chopped)

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Optional Extra Toppings

Avocado

Salsa

Cilantro

Lime Wedge

Directions

1. Place pork tenderloin in slow cooker. Add seasonings over top of the pork (chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, cinnamon). Add minced garlic over pork, as well as diced jalapeno. Toss in roughly diced onion. Squeeze juice of one lime and juice of one orange over top of the pork. Pour can of orange seltzer water into the crockpot. Let pork cook on low for about 8 hours.

2. Before shredding the pork, mix together the cole slaw mix, sliced red onion, and diced jalapeno in a medium sized bowl. Add honey and squeezed lime juice over mix. Toss in chopped cilantro, a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and cumin. Mix until evenly combined. Let seasonings marinate together for 30 minutes to really bring the flavors together.

3. Remove the pork from the crockpot after 8 or so hours, and shred. Add over corn tortillas and top with coleslaw mix. If you want to be extra, add avocado slices, salsa, and another squeeze of lime if you wish.

Measurements

If you're really trying to portion out food - personally, I'm roughly rolling with the 21 Day Fix plan - then here are some helpful measurements below. I'm terrible with portions, so knowing how much I should eat of something to keep it healthy is helpful. Too many times I'm eating way too many carbs and not nearly enough vegetables...any carb lovers do the same thing!?

2 Corn Tortillas is equivalent to 1/2 C of carbs/starches (1 yellow)
3/4 C Pork Tenderloin (divided over the two corn tortillas) (1 red)
1 C Coleslaw (divided over two tacos, any extra can be eaten on the side) (1 green)
1/3 C Avocado (divided over two tacos) (1 blue)

Chicken Sausage + Veggie Quinoa Bowls

I like good, healthy food like the rest of y'all.

But when it's good, healthy food that's super quick and easy, well it falls into our meal rotations on the regular. These yummy bowls kinda came together for me on a whim one day when I had a bunch of ingredients leftover and no real plan. But I'm super glad they fell into place the way they did because these quinoa bowls don't disappoint. Sometimes it ends up being a family meal or sometimes I meal prep them for almost a week of lunches. Either way, it's an easy go-to meal that I love every single time. 

I first off want to just state, that I am in NO WAY a professional - just a busy workin' mama who likes to eat good food with a few extra pounds to lose, ya feel me? So, let's keep that into consideration when chatting about this recipe, k? :) 

Typically with these bowls, I really love using apple chicken sausage because it adds a sweetness to balance the sour lime juice and spicy veggies and quinoa. When I first made these bowls, I only had baby carrots, zucchini, and frozen corn in my fridge - which is what I thew together then. I loved it so much that that's what I continued going with from then on, but you of course, can exchange whatever you like. I also really liked the colors, and I'm totally guilty of thinking pretty food just tastes better.

The best thing about making any kind of bowl is how you can swap out any ingredient you're not crazy about for something you love in return. Not crazy about quinoa? Brown rice would be great too. Not too sure about carrots or zucchini? Swap it out for veggies you like better - broccoli, grilled onions, chopped asparagus, etc. You can probably find a combination that works for you and your family!

Ingredients

Chicken Sausage

(There are several brands - I normally go with Aidells or Johnsonville - Apple Chicken is my fav!)

Quinoa (2/3 cup)

Baby Carrots (1/2 bag, sliced in half)

Zuchinni (3 zucchini, sliced and cut in half)

Frozen Corn (1/2 cup)

Lime

Avacado

Plain Greek Yogurt

Cilantro

Olive Oil

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees 

(I prefer my chicken sausage and veggies on the crispier side)

*400 degrees if you don't*

Veggies

Cut veggies. Toss in a bowl with frozen corn with a little olive oil, enough just to coat. Be careful not to add too much, or they're super greasy, and nobody likes a greasy zucchini... :) Add a pinch of salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy or omit if you don't like it spicy at all) Lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet - line the baking sheet beforehand with foil if you want a super easy cleanup - don't we all? Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Check them halfway through, flip if necessary. 

Chicken Sausage 

Slice chicken sausage into quarters. Lay them in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet 

(line it with foil beforehand if you want easy cleanup again cause um, who doesn't...) Cook for about 16 minutes, flipping halfway in between.

Quinoa

While veggies and sausage are baking, heat about 2 tsp. of olive oil in a small pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in 1/4 tsp of garlic, 1/4 tsp of cumin, 1/4 tsp of chili powder and let it get a little bubbly and fragrant. About 1-2 minutes. Add 2/3 cup quinoa, stir to coat it in oil. Add 1/4 cups of water. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil of high heat. Reduce heat back to medium, and simmer for about 12 minutes until water is evaporated. Remove from heat when finished.

Bowl Time

Grab a bowl and add cooked ingredients. Obviously. :)

I measure my food out to make sure I'm getting proper portions, but if you don't care about that - you fill that bowl until your little heart is content. I'll add my measurements at the bottom for those interested! Add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt (or fat free sour cream), cilantro, avocado, and a big squeeze of lime. And prepare to fall in love with a super quick and easy meal. Seriously.

Measurements

I follow the 21 Day Fix meal portions - because it just works for me - but here's the breakdown of what I typically serve myself. You absolutely don't have to have the containers, you really just need measuring cups and BAM. Go you and your proper portions. You rock.

1 CUP - roasted veggies

3/4 CUP - chicken sausage (1 link of sausage is enough for me though)

1/2 CUP - quinoa (take roasted corn into consideration - it's a carb, not a veggie)

1/3 CUP - avocado

1 TBSP - plain Greek yogurt (counts as a protein)

21 Day Fix Plan: 1 R 1 Y 1 G 1 B + oil (but I have never really kept track of this, I just don't use a lot)

Let me know what y'all think if you try it!

The BEST Ooey-Gooey Chocolate Chip-y Cookies EVER

I wish I had a really cute name for these cookies, but really all that comes to mind is "BEST" and "EVER." 

I have this thing with chocolate chip cookies.

They taste good. They're chocolate-y. They remind me of being a kid.

They're just kinda homey too, ya know?

Comfort food for sure.

And really, it's just plain impossible to be sad when you're eating a cookie.

They're little round treats of happiness.

When I think about good chocolate chip cookies, I think of these things:

Bigger the better

Soft and chewy

Ooey and gooey

Extra chocolate chip-y

I've had a few chocolate chip cookies in my day, but my most favorite ones are those that have those four things listed above. I'm not a fan of crunchy or thin or lacking in the chip department. If I'm going go all out and eat a cookie or three, they better be well worth it. Y'all know what I mean?

These cookies that I'm sharing came from a combination of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. I definitely tailored them to my liking, but I'm pretty sure if you like REALLY BIG, pillow-y soft, and extra chocolate-y chip cookies, you'll probably like these too. The vanilla pudding mix adds that extra decadence. And having the combination of the regular chocolate chips with the mini's - there's a guaranteed chocolate explosion in your mouth with every bite.

They'll probably end up being what causes you to gain two extra pounds, because once you have one, there's no turning back. But I promise, they're SO very worth the extra cardio at the gym the next day. And every time I've served these ooey-gooey chocolate-y babies at a gathering, I've been a pretty popular gal. You'll love them, and everybody will love you for bringing them. Guaranteed. 

THE BEST OOEY-GOOEY CHOCOLATE CHIP-Y COOKIES EVER

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1/2 C light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 2 TSP vanilla extract
• 1/2 TSP salt
• 1 1/4 C all-purpose flower
• 1 package of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 TSP baking soda
• 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips + extra for tops
• 1/2 C mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a bowl - stand mixer's work great, but electric mixers are perfect too - combine the butter, sugars, egg an vanilla. Beat ingredients on medium-high until creamed and combined. About four minutes, scraping sides periodically.

2. Add the flour and dry pudding mix into the sugar mixture. Add salt and baking soda also. Beat on low speed until just combined. About one minute.

3. Add both the regular and mini chocolate chips. Stir in by hand until just combined - do not over mix.

4. Use a 1/4 cup measure to form cookie dough mounds. With your hands, roll each mound and then press them slightly to flatten. Cookies should be about 3/4 to 1 inch thick and fit about the size of your palm.

5. Place cookie mounds onto a large tray. Grab a few extra chocolate chips and place on top of flattened cookie dough mounds, pressing them in slightly. Cover tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two-three hours.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Depending upon how big your cookies are, place 4-6 cookies per sheet - at least two inches apart. Bake cookies 12-13 minutes. If cookies are smaller, reduce time. Edges of cookies should look set, but cookies will look a little gooey still in the middle, maybe even pale. DO NOT OVER-BAKE COOKIES!! 

7. Once cookies are taken out of the oven, KEEP them on the baking sheet for at least ten minutes. They will firm up as they cool, and even cook a little bit more on the hot sheet. 

8. Eat cookies, maybe two or three... No judgment here. Share if you're feeling really nice. Cookies can be stored in Tupperware for about a week. Reheat in microwave for about ten seconds if you want that right out of the oven ooey-gooey-ness!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

So, I wanted to share one my favorite dinners because...
1) It's delicious
2) It's super easy to make
and
3) It's 21 Day Fix Approved - which I'm all for!

I have a thing for finding healthy recipes that make me feel like I'm cheating on my healthy eating plan - and this one does just the trick. I stumbled upon a BBQ chicken pizza one day on Pinterest and instantly craved BBQ and Pizza - pretty much the two greatest edible gifts to the entire world. I wanted to recreate it, but a healthy-fied version.
Most store bought BBQ sauces are full of sugar, which is not 21 Day Fix approved I'm sad to say. So I needed to do some research and find a clean BBQ sauce I could make from scratch at home. Here's a list of 21 Day Fix BBQ Sauces, and you can just try and test out what you like. :) I have made a pretty basic BBQ sauce before when I've had time. But I will admit - I am guilty of finding store bought sauces occasionally that are low in sugar so I don't feel as guilty - but technically they wouldn't be on the 21 Day Fix approved list. So if you want to stick to approved foods only, definitely go with a homemade version - low in sugar or no sugar at all. If you aren't into the whole healthy BBQ sauce thing, do as you wish, and pick away at the grocery store - I won't judge. :)
Organic Annie's Original BBQ Sauce - 4 grams of sugar pretty good store bought option

So here's how I make it - nothing fancy y'all.
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients: 6-inch Whole Wheat Tortilla BBQ Sauce Mozzarella Cheese BBQ Chicken
Directions: 1. I cook my chicken in the crockpot - I place 3 or 4 chicken breasts in there and cover them with a BBQ sauce, let it cook on low for 8 hours. You could also shred a rotisserie chicken to keep it simple.
3. Once your chicken is cooked, preheat oven to 400 degrees and shred the chicken outside of the crockpot (I do this so it doesn't soak up anymore BBQ sauce and add to my container count).
4. Place a tortilla on a baking sheet sprayed with olive oil. Pour desired amount of BBQ sauce onto whole wheat tortilla (I use an orange container to measure if you're participating in the 21 Day Fix eating plan).
5. Add chicken to the tortilla (I use one red container) and sprinkle cheese on top (one blue container).
5. Bake in oven for 8-12 minutes - depending on how crispy you like it and how powerful your oven is. :)
Container Count 1 Yellow (6-inch whole wheat tortilla) 1 Red (shredded chicken) 1 Orange (homemade BBQ sauce) 1 Blue (shredded mozzarella cheese)
EXTRA You could add onion, peppers, or even pineapple to get some green or purple containers in there. I like to eat this with a side salad or baked broccoli (some kind of veggie) to make sure I get all my containers eaten through the day!

Boxed Cake Mix Can Taste Homemade | Chocolate Chip Vanilla

Ok - I hardly have time to shower some days, much less bake a cake from scratch.

So with company coming over last weekend, I wanted to have a treat to share, but not spend hours in the kitchen - because quite frankly, I probably need to spend hours cleaning my house, not licking the cake mix spoon ten million times. The struggle though.

I thought a cake would be an easy dessert and serve quite a bit of people, so that was my game plan. I'm not a huge fan of cake box mix since normally they can be pretty dry and crumbly. So the need to spruce it up a little was a must. I was a little hesitant at first, but let me tell y'all - this little slice of heaven was delicious. And was a hit among guests. 

Here's how to make a boxed cake mix with a little extra jazz:

I decided to go with a Betty Crocker "Super Moist" white cake mix. I followed the directions for preparation, but substituted ingredients to make the cake seem more authentic, rather than box-like. I also added some ingredients to add extra flavor and give it a more homemade feel.

Substitute

Water for Milk: The box called for water, I replaced it with an equal amount of milk.

Butter for Vegetable Oil: Pretty much everything is better with butter, so I switched out the oil for the same amount of softened butter for more richness.

Add

Eggs: The recipe calls for eggs, but add extra. I used 4.

Sugar: I added about 1/2 of sugar to the dry cake mix.

Flour: Added another 1/2 of flour to the cake mix.

Pudding Packet: I feel like this is really the secret. It added so much flavor and made it even more moist and yummy. Just use the Jello dry pudding mix in the little boxes. You could choose any flavor to make it extra special.

Vanilla: Mixed in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for an added dose of vanilla flavor.

Salt: 1/2 teaspon of salt to bring out the flavors and balance the sweetness.

A Little Somethin' Extra

Toppings + Mix-Ins: To really make it seem like the cake was homemade, I added some fun extras to make it a little more authentic. This is really where you can truly make it your own and create whatever masterpiece you'd like. Sprinkles, nuts, peanut butter chips, dark chocolate - oh, the delicious possibilities!

Frosting: To really make the cake seem like you slaved away in your kitchen for hours, make your own frosting. It's SO simple and SO easy. For a buttercream, all you need is butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. So simple!

I'm telling y'all. These ingredients made all the difference in the world. And nobody had a clue that this cake originated from a box in the grocery store. It's worth the extra effort, but saves us mama's so much time! You won't be finding me making any homemade cakes anytime soon...

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Vanilla Cake

Cake Mix:

1 box of Betty Crocker "Super Moist" white cake mix

1 stick of unsalted butter

4 eggs

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of flour

1 box of dry pudding mix of your choice

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of milk

1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature

5 cups of powdered sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1/4 cup of milk

Optional for Topping:

3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup of crushed walnuts

*I'm probably a little heavy handed when it comes to icing a cake. I actually had to make two batches of frosting to ice the entire cake. #sorrynotsorry

Directions for Cake:

1. Using directions on the cake mix box, heat oven accordingly.

2. Grease bottoms of pans with cooking spray or butter.

3. In a large bowl, empty dry cake mix.

2. To the mix, add granulated sugar, flour, dry pudding mix, and salt. Whisk together.

3. Once whisked, beat in eggs, vanilla, butter, and milk. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Pour batter into two 9-inch round cake pans.

5. Bake using the directions on the cake mix box. Add time as needed.

6. Once baked, cool cake layers completely before icing.

Directions for Buttercream Frosting:

1. Beat room temperature butter until fluffy.

2. Gradually, add powered sugar.

3. Mix in vanilla and milk.

Topping:

Sprinkle mini chocolate chips and walnuts to top.

A Peek Into My Lunchbox

Last week I tried meal prepping for the first time in my entire life. And I have to say, I am hooked.
I try to bring my lunch to school as much as possible. It saves me money and I know exactly what I'm eating and how much. When things get busy during the weekdays and especially after a long day at work, the last thing I want to do after I cook dinner is pack my lunch for yet another 30 minutes. So many of nights, I'd chose to cuddle with Maci or spend much needed time with my husband instead of putting together a lunch. Which of course resulted in me hitting up the teacher's bar in the cafeteria the next day, eating pizza, burritos or something completely unhealthy for me. But hey, I added a side salad so bonus points for me. Except not really.
Since I know I need to be back on my healthy kick, I decided to prep my lunches on Sundays for an easy grab and go the next morning, forcing me to eat something healthy and nutritious without emptying my pockets. Here's what I came up with:

A yummy, delicious salad with tons of nutrients and good fats. I'm digging it.
Here's what's in it:
romaine lettuce || ok. so I really didn't want romaine lettuce this week, but my grocery store is low on leafy greens. Last week, I had a mixture of spinach, kale, chard and some other plant I've never heard of. It was good, but I think next week I'll be mixing my own leafy bunch using romaine, spinach and kale. Tons of vitamins.
apple || I used Gala apples in my salad. And to be honest, I'm normally not a fan of fruit in salad, but this totally works in this one. I cut up the entire apple into small bite sized chunks the day before only. This is the only ingredient that I don't add to the salad on Sunday when I'm prepping because they'll turn brown. But I'd much rather take three minutes from my evening to cut up an apple, than to throw a whole salad together.
cannellini beans || I actually forgot Chickpeas at the grocery store yesterday, so my back-up is cannellini beans this week. Since I don't have a protein in my salad, this adds a little to help fill me up.
walnuts || I don't add a lot of walnuts to be honest, but enough to get a nice crunch. Walnuts have good fat in them which is perfect.
fat-free bleu cheese crumbles || I wanted a cheese that added a different texture, but not high in fat or calories. I used fat free feta last week, which was yummy. So this week I'm trying the bleu cheese.
thyme, salt, pepper || Just for taste.
fat-free raspberry pecan dressing || The perfect sweet dressing for this yummy salad. It balances the sweetness of the apple with the richness of the cheese and walnuts. It's fat free too which means 0 fat grams of course, but only 50 calories per two tablespoons. And that's really all I use. I found tiny dressing containers at the grocery store, so I fill those up on Sunday to throw into my salad containers for the week.
This salad is yummy y'all! And it holds up the entire week. I packed five salads (minus the apples until the day before) on Sunday, and had fresh, put together salads all week. Even on Friday! After the success of lunch prepping last week, I prepped all our dinners for this week also to see how that goes. I can already tell it's going to be life changing and time saving. I'll let y'all know how it goes. :)

How Pinteresting: Sausage & Tortellini Soup

I love a good soup during this time of year.

They're so comforting during the chilly fall weather.

And are typically pretty easy to make.

Last week, my sister and I tried a new Pinterest recipe.

I've come to learn that Pinterest recipes are usually a hit or miss.

So of course we were skeptical, but this soup was definitely a BIG hit.

I present to you, Sausage and Tortellini Soup.

 We found the recipe on Pinterest, but the recipe was linked here.

Here are the ingredients and directions.

[We kinda changed them a little]

Ingredients:
1 lb. mild sausage

1 lb. sweet sausage
1 19oz. bag frozen cheese tortellini

1 can evaporated milk

28 oz. chicken broth

1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. parsley
1 tbsp. chives
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook the sausage in medium size pan. Drain the fat from the sausage, and pat dry of grease.
Put all ingredients except tortellini in medium size sauce pan and bring to boil.  Allow to simmer about 15 minutes.  Add tortellini and allow to boil according to pasta pkg. instructions.  Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

It was incredibly simple and super delicious.

When I make this again next time, I might change out 1 lb. of sausage for white beans instead. Maybe even mix in some Italian shredded cheese to make the soup cheesy and delicious. 

Enjoy y'all :)

Tailgate Recipe: Boiled Peanuts

Here's the recipe I used to boil peanuts for last Saturday's tailgate.

They turned out perfect, and they're definitely something I'll be making a lot more.

I mean, they cook while you're asleep.

How awesome is that?

Southern Style Boiled Peanuts

Friday night I went to Kroger and bought two 16 oz. bags of green peanuts.

They were $2.99 a bag.

Yes, they're cheap too.

I used my big crockpot, and dumped a bag and a half into the pot.

I used my little crockpot for the other half of the bag.

In the big crockpot, I added 1/2 cup of salt and 2 1/2 quarts of water, maybe even a little less.

They were all floating in water, and that's what you want.

Turned it on high, and let them cook for 8 hours.

Drained the water, dumped them in tupperware, and was ready to go.

They were delicious, and lucky for us, we had a ton left over!

So we enjoyed them a couple days after Saturday.

Cheap. Easy. Delicious.

My kind of recipe.