FAST and EASY Recipes!

My life is busy. I have two jobs, I try to get in exercise and keep the house tidy and I really do like to cook...But honestly, things are too hectic for fancy meals. My husband and I get off work at different times and I don't want to prepare something nice that he's not going to eat until several hours later. I'm sure a lot of women struggle to find recipes that are quick, easy, and convenient. Deciding what's for dinner is often the most laborious part of the whole thing! Over the next few weeks I'm going to start posting a few of my favorite FAST AND EASY recipes that I KNOW you will love! :-)

CHILI
-1lb ground turkey
-1lb ground turkey sausage
-1 sweet potato (chopped) --optional
-1 onion (chopped)
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 can kidney beans
-2 tbsp Chili Powder
-1 1/2 tsp Cumin
-Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown the meat and throw it and the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot. Stir and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with some cheese and sour cream if you like. Easy!!

CHICKEN THIGHS
Out of one large package of chicken thighs, divide up into 3 equal portions. Put the 3 portions of thighs into separate ziplock bags. Marinate 1 in Maple Syrup and Dijon Mustard (plus a little minced garlic, salt and pepper if you like), Marinate 1 in BBQ Sauce, and Marinate the last one in Teriyaki. Toss in the freezer for quick meals you can pull out and eat whenever you want!

To cook--thaw and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Easy!!

SALSA CHICKEN
-2 frozen chicken breasts
-1 cup of salsa
-1 cup of cream of mushroom soup (make this from scratch using chicken broth, butter, and flour--find recipe here.)
-1 taco OR fajita seasoning packet

Throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred the chicken and then add shredded cheese and serve in burrito shells, taco shells, or even just naked with your favorite toppings! EASY!!

LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN
-2 Thawed Chicken Breasts, sliced in half to make 4 thin chicken breasts
-1 lemon
-2 tablespoons minced garlic
-Italian season, salt, and pepper to preference
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

In a glass baking dish, line up the four pieces of chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning on both sides. Then squeeze 1 half of the lemon over the top. Spread the minced garlic over each piece of chicken and then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Slice the other half of the lemon and place the slices on top of the chicken. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Easy.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH
-1 Spaghetti squash (cut in half and seeds removed)
-1lb ground turkey
-1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
-1tbsp minced garlic
-1 onion
-1/2 package of mushrooms
-1tbsp honey
-1tbsp red wine
-1 tbsp Italian seasoning
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
-Salt and pepper to taste

Put spaghetti squash cut side down on a microwave safe dish. Put water in the bottom of the dish and then place in microwave on high for 10 minutes. While microwaving, brown and strain the meat. Add in onions, mushrooms, and garlic until vegetables are tender. Add in the sauce. Stir well. Add in the honey, the red wine, the Italian seasoning. Stir and then taste. If you think it needs a little kick, add in the cayenne pepper. If it needs salt and pepper, add it to taste. Then simmer on low. Remove the squash from the microwave and use a fork to shred the squash into "noodles." It helps to hold the squash in one hand with a hot pad and scrape out the insides. Put the noodles into a strainer to help drain excess water. Serve on a plate and top with sauce. Super yummy!! And easy! :-)

 SIDES
 All of these basic dinner recipes can be served with yummy sides like a salad or you can cook asparagus, beans, or broccoli. My current favorite way of cooking the veggies is to put them on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Really easy, delicious, and healthy.


I hope these make life a little easier for you! Stay tuned for  more recipes in the weeks to come!

--Kayla

Charting Our Course

My husband, Jon, and I have been married just over a year now and marriage has been a beautiful blessing full of struggles and triumphs. As a passionate photographer, writer, and foodie, I decided that it was time I started blogging about my life as a way of documenting the journey our marriage is taking us on. First things first, though. You should probably get to know me and my crazy husband.

Jon and I met in 2008 at a church retreat and I basically stalked him for several weeks after that because I thought he was so cute (I also thought he was way too old for me, so I'm just a creeper all around). I finally got up the nerve to call him when I noticed he had his number on Facebook. I called him and told him he was a weirdo (great start) and then proceeded to have one of the best conversations of my life as well as find out that he WASN'T too old for me and a relationship was totally foreseeable. From that point on we were inseparable. I think we managed to talk on the phone every single day for nine months straight until I finally made the move from Michigan to Indiana to be with him. In between all that was a lot of craziness. Several church retreats and parties and a list of dares that had to be completed between the two of us before we could see each other again (Let's just say they involved doing a lot of insane things in public--i.e. eating with your face and dressing up in costume. I think a unicorn was even involved at some point... but that's another story). Needless to say, we are quite the pair.


Jon and I dated for four years before he popped the question (everyone was in on the "isn't it about time you guys get hitched?" joke--even his grandma--for all four of those years). But something you should know about both of us is that while we have the same sense of humor and general zest and zeal for life, we are essentially polar opposites in every other way. Jon is the youngest child of four and I'm the oldest of four. Jon is wild and reckless and I'm steady and cautious. Jon is a people-pleaser and I could really care less about pleasing everyone. Jon has never-ending patience and I have zero patience at all. Jon likes to be prepared for all circumstances and I usually just approach life in whatever moment I happen to be in. You can see how a marriage between two people so incredibly different can lead to chaos and disorder right off the bat, but somehow we just manage to balance each other out for the most part. He tells me when I'm being irrational and I tell him when he's being a crazy person who's going to get himself killed. It's win/win I think. We both end up better people because of each other (Aw. Isn't that sweet?).

So now that you have a better idea of who's going to be writing this crazy blog, we can get down to the nitty gritty of WHY I'm writing this blog.

I'm just a woman on a mission to learn about myself and discover what's possible with the power of the written word. I'm on a mission to become a better wife and a better person overall and I think this blog is going to be a way of looking back on my life and seeing not just the memories we are making as a new family, but also seeing progress in my journey of self-exploration.

Expect posts about fun my husband and I have as well as my recent food creations and projects, and random thoughts on life and faith and everything in between. The course we are on may be a bit muddled by chaos, but it's going to be a worthwhile adventure and I invite whoever happens to be reading this to share in it with me.

--Kayla