Cheez It Chicken

In our quest to become healthier I have been on the hunt for some yummy and unique dinners that I can make a healthy version of.  I found this delicious recipe on Pinterest...check out the recipe here!

 

The hubs LOVES cheez its...literally would probably eat a box a day if I let him...so I knew he would LOVE this recipe!

 

The recipe calls for 8 chicken tenders, sour cream, cheez its and butter.  I modified it a little and it turned out AWESOME!

 

I started by cutting chicken breasts in half, using a total of 4 chicken breasts to make 8 tenders

Then you roll the chicken tenders around in sour cream, I used light sour cream to make it a touch healthier.

Then you crush up a box of cheez its, I used reduced fat cheez its.

Then you roll the sour cream dipped chicken in the cheez its until they are covered.

Then you place them in an ungreased baking dish, I sprinkled some of the leftover cheez it crumbs over the top.  Then the recipe calls for drizzling 1/2 cup of melted butter over the top, I substituted olive oil instead and used a little less than a quarter cup.

 

Toss it in the oven on 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

 

 

Voila...cheez it chicken!  Tasted delicious!

 



Craft-O-Rama

Hi...I'm Kirstin...and I'm a craftaholic...

 

Say it with me people...Hiiiiii Kirstin!

 

My friend Carryn and I have gotten really into making fun yarn wreaths...the ones you see on Pinterest and think...oh how cute, I could never make one of those.  But believe me people, they are a lot easier than they look.  We have I think perfected how to make these and super cheap, that way we can make more!!  Here are a few tips and tricks we have come up with...

 

1. Instead of buying those ridiculously overpriced foam wreaths at the craft store...hit up the dollar store and buy a pool noodle with the hole in the middle.
2. Wrap the pool noodle all the way around with packing tape...it makes it easier to slide the ribbon tightly around the noodle
3. STOCK UP on yarn and fun little doo-dads from the clearance section at Michaels, we have found some fun beads and pins on the end caps of the bead section at Michaels.  They also have bins of clearance yarn, ribbon and trinkets in the back of the store. 
4. Check out the dollar section at Michaels and Target.  They normally have some fun decorations for the wreath.  I have had good luck finding monogram letters in the dollar section at Michaels as well.

 

Now lets get down to it...I'll show you the goods!  This is the very first wreath I ever made!

I started with sticking a thick highlighter in both ends of the noodle and then taping with packing tape around the area where they join. 

The first time around I didn't wrap the whole thing in tape so this picture is from the second wreath!

Start with taking the end of the yarn, wrap it around the noodle and tie it in a knot.

I got a tip from a Pinterest post that said to take the big spool of yarn and wrap it around something small and easier to hold...you will be doing a lot of wrapping around...and around...and around some more!

 

Yes...I am aware the ribbon color changed but again this is from the second wreath...this photo shows about how many times to wrap the yarn around before pushing it down flush against the other yarn.  I typically just set my mini spool off to the side and use both hands to grab the top piece of yarn and shimmy them all down until they are tight and flush.

Once I hit the end of my mini spool I put a little dab of hot glue on the end to keep it all in place.  TIP:  Make sure you glue it on what will be the back side of your wreath and keep it consistent each time you glue.

Voila...after a whole lot of wrapping your wreath should look something like this.

I chose to add a second color...use the same method and just wrap small sections.

Next I laid out all of my little trinkets for my wreath and figured out where I was going to place them all.  I got all of the trinkets, feathers and glitter letter from Michaels.

I hot glued everything on the front side of my wreath.  All that for $10...hard to believe but we priced it out and like I said we got some great deals!

 

To hang the wreath just pick out a thick ribbon and wrap it around the top and tie it in a bow, get yourself a nice wreath hook or a fancy 3M hook and you are set!

NOW...

 

Typically I craft with my gal pals but lately I have gotten Stephen into the craft craze...I know wild right!  Who knew my dear husband liked to craft...I sure didn't.  In our nearly 4 years together he has never once joined me in crafting...but apparently that is going to change!  I totally love it!

I will leave you with this proof of my husband painting canvas' with us...

 

HAPPY CRAFTING!!!



Fitness And Food For Thought

 

The hubs and I are going through a phase of trying to revamp our diet and exercise routine.  Things had gotten a little out of control.  Too much eating out and not enough exercise lead to both of us feeling less than pleased with our bodies.

 

We recently began thinking of ways to change up our workout routine.  We both enjoy working out, he LOVES to lift weights and I LOVE to zumba, or as Stephen likes to call it "zumba, zumba, zumba, shake what your momma gave ya!"  We both workout at our local community center...but I have to say its less than motivating to me to be working out alongside the elderly population in our community...so instead I like to recruit my lady friends to come take classes with me!  Unfortunately we have both hit a fitness plateau so we decided to add our favorite past time back into our workout routine...RUNNING!  Now the hubs and I used to run quite a bit, we have both run a couple half marathons and he has run a full marathon as well.  The Twin Cities Marathon is coming up this fall and they have lots of other fun runs, a 5K, 10K, and 10 miler.  So we have decided to do the 10K (6.2 miles)...don't tell Stephen but I am totally kicking his butt with training :)

 

In addition to revamping the workouts we are doing an overhaul on our diet too.  I work a mixture of day and evening shifts, including every other weekend and Stephen works day shifts Monday-Friday.  Our crazy schedules lead to us eating many meals alone, typically meaning that we eat out instead of cooking the food we have at home.  So we decided to do a trial run of cooking up a whole bunch of food at the beginning of the week and packing it up into individual sized tupperware. 

 

Naturally I started with logging into my Pinterest account and checked out my FOOOOOOOD board.  We both love chicken as our main protein source, so I decided to make one baked chicken dish and one crock pot chicken dish.  In addition I boiled up some brown rice and roasted some broccoli and cauliflower.  I started with a trip to Costco and the grocery store to stock up on all the ingredients I needed.  We try to eat as much organic food as possible, but at a bare minimum all of our meat, produce and dairy is organic.  Costco is a great place to stock up on organic products.  I buy all of our meat and milk at Costco and try to buy as much produce there as I can, it typically is significantly cheaper than the grocery store.

 

I started with making this Hawaiian Chicken in the crockpot.

 

You can see the link to the recipe here!  The only thing I did different was make more of it.  I did a 1.5 of the recipe since I had 3 pounds of chicken set aside for this recipe.  To be honest when it was done cooking it looked nothing like the picture...it was way more runny.  I think there was just WAYYYY  too much liquid...next time I would try the same amount of liquid that the recipe calls for and still add more chicken.

 

The next thing I made was Parmesan Garlic Chicken

 

You can see the link to this recipe here!  Again with this recipe I did 6 chicken breasts instead of 4 like the recipe calls for.  So I 1.5'd the recipe again.  I think there was way too much mayo...got a little greasy looking in the pan...so next time I would do less mayo, maybe just what the recipe calls for and still do more meat.  I took the chicken out of the pan right away after baking and set them on paper towels so that it would absorb the grease.  The hubs says it wasn't greasy when he warmed it up for lunch today at work and that it tasted like fried chicken...AWESOME!

 

For the broccoli and cauliflower I just chopped up a head of each and put each type in separate Ziploc baggies...then added 4 tbsp of olive oil to each bag along with salt and pepper.  Then I spread them out on a baking sheet that I had covered with tin foil and baked them at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

 

Cheers to a healthier lifestyle.  BON APPETIT everyone :)

Here Goes Nothing...

As an avid reader of "mommy blogs," I thought it would be fun to start my own blog!  Although truth be told its a little nerve-wracking spilling your guts for the whole world to see!  I am hoping this blog will be a place filled with crafts, fun recipes and every day life of me and my love, Stephen James! 

 

So lets get down to it...a little about our family of two!

 

I am an RN at a large hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  I work in child and adolescent psychiatry,  I know what you're are thinking, this girl is bat s*** crazy working in that area, but I love my job and the people I work with!  There are very challenging days for sure but it is also very rewarding!  In my spare time I am a craftaholic, runner, zumba machine, and I like to dabble with cooking as well!

 

My husband, Stephen, works as an ambulance dispatcher in St. Paul, Minnesota and also as a firefighter in our home town.  He is a true adrenaline junkie!  In his spare time he likes to spend time with me and that's it!  Just kidding, he really enjoys anything active: lifting weights, running, bike riding, etc.

 

We were married on September 15, 2012.  It was a beautiful fall day in Minnesota and everything went according to plan because I am an organized freak. 

 

 

 

We have spent this past year loving our time together as a newlywed couple, traveling, house hunting, and enjoying time with our families and friends!  We are so blessed to have our families and a close knit group of friends so close to home!

 

Stay tuned for more blogging fun!