Relaxing...Productive...Weekend? What is that???

The Holidays are here and there is something happening every weekend, almost every weekday, plus work, plus the everyday stuff, and it was beginning to be to much.  I needed a relaxing weekend to GET STUFF DONE and that is what I did.

I had the house to myself.  So it was pretty quiet, the TV was off most of the time, except for when I was watching Pretty Woman.

I achieved so much and now I can say I feel ready to take on all of our festivities.

Here are all of the items I checked off my To-Do List:

1. Went through my childhood boxes, consolidated 3 big tubs into one small shoe box of the best pictures. 

2. Dropped clothes, books, and toys off at the Good Will. 

3. Cleaned out my closet and rearranged my clothes in my drawer like they did here.

4. Made Home-Made Sausage and breakfast casserole for the week.

5. Ate Trade Joe's Joe-Joes and watched Pretty Woman.

6. Made Spaghetti Squash and Tomato sauce for the week. 

7. Cleaned my stove.  I placed the burners in ammonia.   I tried the all natural salt, vinegar, and baking soda for the stove top, but that didn't seem to work great, so I used 409 after.  It still isn't as clean as I would like on my main burner, but I will try again soon.  I need more vinegar and baking soda.

Ta da...

8. Cleaned my bath tub with Borax.  (The marks on the bottom are from a previous tenant and won't budge, any ideas?)

9. Made grain-free Pumpkin Pancakes and Apple Butter from Apple Hill.

I'm Obsessed...

Someone at Trader Joe's a genius and made coleslaw much more nutritious! Combined with a soy sesame dressing, is makes it a wonderful side for any summertime dinner or BBQ.

This is very simple!

1. Buy the Trader Joe's Organic Broccoli Slaw and Trader Joe's Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette Dressing.

2. Combine in a bowl.

3. Stir and dress the broccoli slaw. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tonight it was grilled streaks and broccoli coleslaw!

  

Okay, I know this isn't the prettiest dinner, but I can say it was delicious, nutritious, and very satisfying. 

Check out more of my obsessions!

Quinoa Quest: Quinoa Duo

I recently found the Trader Joe's Quinoa Duo with Vegetable Melange in Trader Joe's frozen section.  This is a quick and easy, microwave in 7 minutes side dish that is ready to go at any time.   The vegetables, herbs, and spices take this plain and nutty grain and give it so much flavor and makes me wanting more! I never thought quinoa would ever do that to me!

Microwave Directions: 

1. Place in a microwavable dish. 

2. Microwave for 3 min covered. Stir. Microwave for 4 minutes. 

3. Eat!!

Check out more Trader Joe's favorites & Quinoa Quest dishes.

Sarah's Southwest Stuffed Chicken

A few weeks ago while wondering the isles at Trader Joe's I stumbled upon Trader Joe's Southwest Stuffed Chicken.  It looked amazing and I knew this was going to be a winner on a busy night.  And it was...after devouring the Chicken Breast stuffed with a pepper and cheese and topped with enchilada sauce, chips, olives, and more cheese, I thought to myself, I want to try to make this on my own.  Yes, I took something that was quick and easy and made it hard, but I love to cook, so I would say I made it fun!

This was going to be our next dish for our weekly dinners.  I hate being stressed out with company over, so I did all the prep the night before.  The chicken was almost ready to be put in the oven, I just had to add the final toppings.


Sarah's Southwest Stuffed Chicken 
Inspired by Trader Joe's Southwest Stuffed Chicken
Servings - 9 Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients:
9 chicken breast
9 whole green chiles (canned)
8 oz. Pepper Jack cheese
4 oz. cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
sliced olives
enchilada sauce (large container, you may not use all)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1. Mix shredded pepper jack cheese, Greek yogurt, cream cheese, garlic, cumin in a bowl.
 

2. Slice the chicken breast in half.

3. Drain, dry, open and lay the chile peppers flat.  Too much liquid will make it hard to work with.

4. Stuff the chicken.  Open the breast, place a flat pepper inside, add a spoonful of the cheese mixture, and then secure the breast closed with tooth picks.

5. Top with enchilada sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.  Refrigerate.

6. An hour before dinner: Set the oven to 350 degrees and remove the chicken from the refrigerator.

7. Crush the chips into small pieces, drain the olives and top the chicken.  Spoon some additional enchilada sauce on top.  Place into the oven.

8. Place into the oven and cook for about 45-55 minutes.

9. Remove from the oven and serve.

 We served our chicken with some Spanish rice and jalapeno cornbread. Delicious!!!  I have to say, I think my version is a bit healthier, but takes much more planning. So the choice is yours, make it or buy it. Enjoy!

Sarah

I'm Obsessed...

"I'm obsessed" is something I often say when I find something new that I can't get enough of it.  I am one of those people that will enjoy it over and over again until I am sick.

Recently, a friend brought over desserts when we were hosting a dinner.  They were cutest little ice cream cones, first part of my obsession anything mini just gets me.  But then biting into the hard chocolate shell and chocolate ice cream brought the biggest smile to my face, probably the best chocolate ice cream I have had in a long time.  You still get everything you would in a full sized ice cream cone but you have no guilt, you can't, it is mini, right?

You can find these delicious treats at Trader Joe's in the frozen section, Hold the Cone! Trader Joe's Mini Ice Cream Cones, Chocolate.  And if you were wondering just 70 calories (30 from fat)