kung pao

Favorite Song – Bush Glycerine – This song is on my “rock” list for Spotify and it played randomly yesterday and nostalgia came flooding in. The song came out when I was in 8th grade I believe. I freaking loved this song then, and I still do! Enjoy!

Favorite Picture: One of my favorite things about waking up at 4:30am is getting to see the sun rise after my work out. The colors were just AMAZING Thursday morning. The picture was taken through one of our windows and doesn’t begin to do it justice.

Favorite Delivery: I broke down and ordered the Julep box. I really wanted to try the nail polish itself and I wanted one of the monthly boxes. I figured you couldn’t go wrong with some polish! I am in love! I got profiled for the bombshell box, naturally. Let me know if you want an invite 🙂

I was excited to try them out and decided to go with the pink first. The pink is called Laree and it has a really pretty iridescent to it. I also used Nicole by OPI Kissed at Midnight as an accent nail because glitter is fun! I topped it off with Julep’s top coat. I love the application of the Julep polish, I didn’t make as much of a mess as I usually do. It also dried nice which is great!

Favorite Meal: I made my Kung Pao chicken and stir fry veggies Monday night and it was delish!!!

Favorite Olivia Picture: She’s sweet when she sleeps.

Favorite Funnies:

Know the difference:

Some fashion advice, because I have seen too much of each of these:

I wish….

How I feel with my friends:

Linking up with Amanda for the Friday Favorites!

Sooooo I saw this quiz on Buzzfeed the other day and I HAD to take it immediately. There were two questions that I had a hard time picking between two answers for…so I did it twice and this is what I got.

The first time I got a Great Dane, the second time I got a Pug. Not quite sure how these two dogs are similar enough based on two different answers….but its what I got. I am not surprised about the Pug seeing as how I have a Puggle! The first suggests I should be the duchess of Cambridge. Sure, I will take it!

So if you want to have some fun, go take the quiz and let me know what dog you would be! Then lets join a pack, because I love all dogs 🙂

And if you are here for my weekly recipe, I cant promise that this weeks is super healthy. What I can promise is that it is delicious!!!! And not horribly bad. Just a little bad.

You guys. This is seriously one of the easiest most tastiest recipes that I have. Cake Batter Dip! The name alone has me drooling on my keyboard. This is great to have to snack on throughout the week or serve at a party. Adults and children alike will devour this stuff, it is quite amazing!

What you need:

1 box of cake mix, any flavor that you choose! My favorites are the vanilla and white cake mixes.

1 container of cool whip (I usually prefer to use the lite but this is all my local, rural Dollar General had when I had my hankering, so you gotta do what you gotta do!)

1 and 1/2 cups of yogurt, you want to use plain or vanilla

Nilla Wafers, Animal Crackers or Fruit for serving (My favorite is Nilla Wafers!!)

What you do:

Combine the cool whip, yogurt and cake mix. Let it chill a little bit. That is it!

See, so easy!!!! I even mix it up in a Rubbermaid container that I can throw a lid on and put directly into the refrigerator to make it even easier! Less mess/dishes to clean = huge win!

Also note that if you use white cake mix, the dip is going to be white. When I am just making this for us to snack on I leave it that way. If I am making this for a party or my nieces and nephews…I will add food coloring or sprinkles to make it look pretty. I just don’t like adding that just for snacking purposes.

On the menu this week:

Lunches:

Tomato Soup and Pita Bread with Hummus

Salad with Tomato Soup and carrots

Dinners:

Kung Pao Chicken with Stir Fry Veggies

Salsa Chicken with Brown Spanish Rice

Mexican Skillet Casserole (We ended up not having it last week due to snow and used the ground beef for something else this weekend.)

Workout Plan:

I am re-doing the 2nd week of T25. I missed 3 days last week because of the damn snow and being thrown off schedule. I am determined to do this entire workout the correct way, so if I miss more than one day…I start over for that week. Damn illness and weather. I might not finish the entire 3 month series before the end of winter to meet my goal, but I am very proud of myself for sticking to it and keep coming back even though I get off track. I almost have the cardio day memorized because I have done it so much! I feel like having started over, I am nailing the work outs better and doing less modified versions now, which feels amazing! I can rock the Beta month full force this way.

These are all about the number 4!

• NSYNC (Seen them in concert)
• Back Street Boys (Seen them in concert)
• Good Charlotte (during their Little Things days)
• Marvelous 3 (Seen them in concert – Freak of the Week anyone?!)

Fun Fact- I have seen Marvelous 3 in concert several times while I lived in Atlanta. I was even at their farewell concert at Olympic Park in 2001. Butch Walker then toured on his own for awhile, and I saw him a few times also. They threw one hell of a concert!

It is really  hard to pick just 4!!! Music from the 90’s and early 2000’s is the best ever! Honorable mentions go to Britney Spears, Bush, Matchbox 20, Sum 41, Oasis, Orgy, Shinedown, Hoobastank, Eve 6, Destiny’s Child, TLC and so many more!!

• Kung Pao Chicken
• Mexican Skillet Casserole
• Chili
• Tacos

• my husband
• my dogs
• coffee
• food

• mascara
• foundation
• under eye concealer
• lip gloss

• Cartwheel App – I grocery shop at Target every week and this app along with the 5% I save with their card?! Bring on the money saving, yo!
• Ski Safari- Freaking addicted to this game. I just love it!!!
• Retail Me Not – If I am out shopping, I love to look on here and see if there are any deals or coupons.
• Spotify – I listen to Spotify in the mornings when I am doing my make up, in the car on my way to and from work, and just if I feel like jamming out. I have a ridiculous amount of playlists for my different moods. It is seriously the best ever.

What are your 4?

So you know me, always trying to “healthy up” a meal that I enjoy. A little confession, I didn’t have a sloppy joe until sometime in college. What? Crazy, right?! My mom didn’t like them, so she never made them. While I don’t love the mystery meat in a can version, I do love a good home made sloppy joe. This recipe I am about to share throws a little kick into it with some hot sauce. I make a lighter version of potato salad that is around 100 calories per serving to serve along with it! I start putting the potato salad together first because I prefer it cold. The original recipe actually calls for it to be served at room temp, but room temp potato salad does not appeal to me.

What you need Potato Salad:

4 cups of red potatoes cut up into pieces

1/2 green pepper

1/4 cup of red onion, diced

3-4 geen onions, diced

1 tbsp. light mayo

1 tsp of Dijon mustard

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

What you need Spicy Sloppy Joes:

1 lb of extra lean ground beef

Whole wheat buns

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tbsp ketchup

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

1/4 tsp hot sauce

8 ounces tomato sauce

2 tsp sugar

What you do:

Cut up the potatoes, boil them in water for about 10 minutes until soft. While this is going on, cut up all your veggies for both the potatoes and the sloppy joes.

Mix the peppers, red onion, mayo, Dijon mustard, olive oil and red wine vinegar in a bowl and season with salt and pepper and set in refrigerator to keep cool.

When the potatoes are done, place them in a bowl and stick them in the freezer for a few minutes so they are no longer steaming.

Mix together the potatoes and the mixture in the bowl and place in refrigerator (or freezer) to keep cooling.

Now add the ground beef, onion and green pepper to large pan for the sloppy joes. Cook until the ground beef is browned.

Now add the tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, vinegar and sugar to the mix.

Simmer on medium-low for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Remove your potato salad from the refrigerator and add the green onion.

I like to serve this on wheat buns with a side of pickles too!

The potato salad is 107 calories and the sloppy joes with the bun is around 280-310 calories depending on what type of buns you use.

On the menu this week:

Lunches: Salad with lite Catalina dressing, edamame and a piece of fruit.

Dinners:

Mexican Skillet Casserole

Kung Pao Chicken and Stir Fry Veggies

Turkey Meatballs and Green Beans

I love Mexican food. I could eat it just about every day and not be tired of it! I am not quite sure how that is, seeing as how most of the time it is the same base ingredients with a different name for the dish! Either way, it is delicious! A little too delicious. I like to find healthier ways to be able to keep it incorporated into weekly meals instead of just the occasional “splurge.” Enter: The Mexican Skillet Casserole.

It might sound simple enough, but let me tell you….this meal delivers on the flavor! Chris even said “Wow!” after sampling his first bite. I don’t think he has ever said wow to a meal before. So you know this shit is good!

What You Need:

olive oil

4 garlic cloves (I use minced)

1/2 onion, chopped/diced

1 lb extra lean ground beef

2 tablespoons of chili powder (this sounds like a lot, but it really adds flavor!)

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of Rotel

1/2 bag of cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese

2 cups of cooked brown rice

What You Do:

-Prepare rice according to package. I prefer Uncle Ben’s, as the cook time is much less than most of the store brands. (About 20 minutes)

-Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the onion and minced garlic and cook for about 3-4 minutes.

-Add the ground beef and brown.

-Stir in your seasonings: chili powder and cumin.

– Add the Rotel, black beans and rice and cook until all blended and heated through. About 4 minutes.

-Sprinkle the top with cheese, cover and leave on low until cheese is melted.

This is delicious re-heated in the same skillet another night!

Menu for the week:

Lunches:

Vegetable soup with elbow wheat noodles, pita bread, hummus and a piece of fruit. (I changed up the soup this week and added lima beans, peas and corn in addition to the carrots, potatoes and onion that I made last week. I also added a beef bullion cube for some additional flavor.)

Dinners:

Kung Pao Chicken with Stir Fry Vegetables

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Caribbean Jerk Chicken with Green Beans (Basically this is just the Lowry’s Caribbean Jerk marinade sauce tossed with some chicken in the crockpot, then some green beans with a some balsamic vinegar, a beef bullion cube and a splash of olive oil.)

What are you cooking up this week?

Linking up with Ashley and Jessica for Taste of Tuesday!