Chloe @ Rainbows & Honeysuckle - {Guest Post}

I'm happy to introduce you all to Chloe, another amazing sponsor this month!  Be sure to check out her page...it is the cutest (just like her and her little cutie Travis), AND I just LOVE the name of her blog!

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Hi, I'm Chloe! I blog over at Rainbows & Honeysuckle, but I'm excited to be guest posting on Stephanie's cute blog! :)

I love looking at all of Stephanie's weekly meal plans and recipes, but I'm honestly quite jealous. I can't cook. I still meal plan and try to cook every night, but usually something goes wrong.

Give me something easy like spaghetti, hamburger or chicken helper, or something like that, and I'm fine. But recently I've been trying to use actual cook books for a bit more variety, and let's just say that I need to pay a little bit more attention to the directions.

A couple of weeks ago I made a "Spinach, Artichoke, and Lima Bean Rigatoni." Sounds great, right? I have a ton of bagged dried beans, so I decided to use a bag of lima beans. Apparently there are two parts to the directions: preparation and cooking. I only noticed the hour and a half long "preparation" and missed the two hour long "cooking." Needless to say, the lima beans were not cooked. They were crunchy and disgusting. Ruined the whole meal and I had to throw the entire thing out.

Then last week I decided on something easy like Italian Rice and Beans. The recipe called for brown rice, which I'd never used before, but decided to be healthy and give it a go instead of just substituting white rice. Well, when the recipe says you need "quick-cooking" brown rice, apparently that's different. My boyfriend just decided we'd call it "Crunchy Rice and Beans."

So even though Stephanie's blog is basically all about cooking, and I can't cook, I still think we'd get along fabulously. :) Maybe we can have virtual play dates for our babies. My little guy is already three months old!

One tip for when your little girl is born: it is okay to put her down! I think for the whole first week we were home, I carried Travis almost non-stop. I held him when he slept and even tried to go to the bathroom a couple of times holding him because I was terrified to put him down. I don't really know why, it's not like he was gonna get up and walk away. :)

What's cooking this week?

It has been a much needed lazy weekend (I always justify being lazy by saying it was much needed)!!!  The most exciting thing I have to report on (besides starting the nursery transformation) is that we went to a local farmers market yesterday, and I went as crazy as hubby would allow!  We bought some "fancy pasta"...you should have seen my face when we came across this tent!  

I was certainly in my element!  It was a tough decision but ultimately I decided on Lemon Pepper Linguini, and the Southwestern Blend.  I can't wait to share the recipes I end up whipping up with you all!!!  We also bough fresh guacamole, and pico...as well as a bunch of fresh veggies obviously!

Here is what's cooking...

Tonight:  Lemon Pepper Linguini with Shrimp & Lemon Cream Sauce

Monday:  Chicken Caprese Paninis

Tuesday:  Tomato Basil Soup and steak for Hubby

Wednesday:  BBQ Chicken Wings with sweet potatoes

Thursday:  White Bean Basil Humus Chicken Wraps

And OF COURSE, I want to wish all of you Mommies a very special Mother's Day!  I hope you enjoy your special day, I can't wait to *officially* join you all next time around!!!  XO

Happy Mother's Day to my best friend!!!! 

***One day left to enter the Real Life Blog Friends Giveaway to win a copy of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook & The 8-Hour Diet!

I hope you all have a great week ahead!

Easy Ranch Chicken & Rice

Just like all of you, I LOVE an easy recipe (duh, doesn't everyone)!  When the actual word "easy" is in the title of the recipe, it catches my eye immediately!  Back in March, Kaitlyn from Wifessional's posted this yummy chicken dish I added it to my weekly meal plan....and I've made it another time since.  Hubby LOVES it (and so do I)!!!  Another selling point for me was the few ingredients that you need....but of course I had to go an complicate things by adding 2 more.  

The only thing I did differently than Kaitlyn, was that I added fresh green beans and jarred sliced mushrooms.  I cut the chicken into small pieces (medallions might be the technical term?), cooked them all halfway through...then added the green beans and cooked them until they started to soften and the chicken was fully cooked.  After a few minutes, I added the jarred mushrooms....then the rest of the ingredients for the sauce - and let it all simmer for 15-20 minutes

CLICK HERE for her recipe!!!  

Don't forget to let Kaitlyn know how much you love it!!! XO

Another Friday

I don't mean to sound disappointed by the title of this post, but these weeks are FLYING by!  That is good because I am anxious too meet my sweet little girl, but bad because I am supposed to be cherishing every single moment!  I'm trying hard not to rush things, but these weeks are just coming and going SO quickly!  The fact that another Friday is here so soon, bums me out a little because it means my parents visit is already over!  It was short and sweet, and luckily I will be seeing them in another 41 days!  I'll try hard not to wish the days away, but I miss them already!  This distance thing is tough, and with my emotions all out of whack, it's been harder than ever.  Thankfully I have Stephen by my side, I couldn't do it with out him....and he is seriously a saint for dealing with the emotional roller-coaster we have been on.  Enough of the serious stuff, it is Friday after all...definitely something to be happy about!!!  There have been so many highlights this week, I just had to narrow them down and share my faves....

1.  The pic says it all....there was a lot of excitement throughout the week over a certain little princess in the making!  XO

2.  I can't say we "discovered" a new frozen yogurt place nearby, because it has been here for a few years now.  We FINALLY tried it, and we will be going again, and again....

3.  Mom Sko is so good to me...she sent me a little "Mother-to-be" gift for Mother's Day!!!  Sweetest!

4.  It's Staff Appreciation Week, and I have loved reading these incredible letters from students!  During all of the chaos, I often forget the impact I get to have on these kids lives!  It is amazing how even just the tiniest things can mean so much to them!  Well, remember when I said I was emotional....

5.  This crib is part of the nursery set we picked out for Baby Girl, I'm more than pleased with our decision!!!

Linking up...

***Don't forget to enter the Real Life Blog Friends Giveaway to win a copy of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook & The 8-Hour Diet!

Have the HAPPIEST Friday!!!! 

Grilled Chicken Avocado Salad

It's recipe time!

I've asked this before, and I'll ask it again....how AWESOME are avocados..seriously?!?!?!

When I'm at a restaurant checking out a menu, ANYTHING with avocado in it catches my attention almost immediately!  I made this salad for the first time a few years ago, and have been meaning to share it with all of you!  The honey mustard vinaigrette is SO YUMMY!  It's perfect for the upcoming summer months!!!  Don't you just want a bite right now?!

Ingredients:

Salad (*this is enough for dinner sized portions for 2 people...and some leftover)

4 grilled boneless chicken breasts (season with salt, pepper, and chili powder)

2 Bags of butter lettuce

1/3 of an 8 oz. block of monterey jack cheese - cut into small cubes

1 package of cherry tomatoes - cut in half

1/8 red onion - sliced 

Small can of sliced black olives

2 Ripe avocados - cut into cubes

Dressing

1 1/2 tbsp of whole-grain mustard

3 tbsp of red wine vinegar

4 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp of honey OR agave nectar

1/2 tsp of lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients for salad.

2.  Whisk together ingredients for dressing - pour on top of salad, and toss.

3.  Top with sliced grilled chicken breast. 

I hope you all enjoy this yummy summer salad (yes, I know I'm ahead of myself)!!!

***Don't forget to enter the Real Life Blog Friends Giveaway to win a copy of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook & The 8-Hour Diet!