Grilled Chicken with Garlic, Lemon & Herbs

I am going to miss these lazy days of summer. I didn't get out of bed until 8:30 this morning. And then I puttered around, getting breakfast for the kids, making the hubby his daily dose of dense nutrition (Shakeology) and emptying the dishwasher before I started my workout. In two days, that all changes. In two days, I'll be up at 5:45. Yuck.

I decided to try a new recipe for dinner tonight. You know how I love a recipe where the work can be done early in the day so there's very little to do at suppertime.  I used this recipe from Once Upon a Chef. 

Here's the cast.

I did a few things differently than the original recipe. For starters, I did not use a meat mallet to thin out my chicken. Mostly because I was using chicken tenders and they were already pretty thin. Next, I mixed my marinade in a bowl instead of a bag because I thawed my tenders in a bag. And I didn't want to waste two bags. I'm cheap eco savvy like that.

That being said, I put all the oil, herbs, and spices into a small bowl. Then I set off to zest my lemon.

Confession: I had never zested a lemon. I have wanted to try it many times, but I didn't own a zester, and I was too cheap lazy frugal to buy one. When I saw this recipe, I decided I would finally make the plunge. I purchased my zester at Walmart for just under $6. 

Zesting didn't go quite as well as planned. I have no idea why, but all the lemon zest stuck to the zester and wouldn't budge. I ended up using a toothbrush (don't worry, it was new) to remove the zest from the zester. 

When I had finally collected my lemon zest, I added it to the bowl with the other oil and spices.

Then I whisked them all together. 

I poured them into the bag with the chicken tenders, and I let it marinade for about 7 hours.

Jeff was kind enough to grill these for me tonight. In the rain. He's the bomb.

I served the chicken with some grilled veggies. That Jeff grilled. In the rain. Did I mention he's the bomb?

Everyone loved this chicken! It was super tender and very flavorful. The recipe is definitely a keeper.

Grilled Chicken with Garlic, Lemon & Herbs

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-3/4 lbs. total)
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced (I used dried, minced garlic)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano (I used 1-1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning instead of the thyme and oregano)
• 1-1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• zest from one lemon

~Mix all ingredients except chicken in a small bowl. Place chicken and marinade in a zip-lock bag, seal, and massage marinade into the chicken until it's evenly coated. Marinade 4 - 12 hours.

Question of the Day:

What are your best lemon zesting tips?

Black Bean Soup

The week is off to a good start! I started a new workout program, and I am loving it! It's called Focus T25, and the workouts are just 25 minutes each!!! Believe you me though, 25 minutes is plenty of time to get in a great sweat. Here are Jeff and I after our first workout. Please note the sweat. And the happy expression Jeff is wearing.

In unrelated news, we all had dentist appointments today. It was baby girl's first one. Not surprisingly, she had TWO cavities. Have I mentioned she's strong willed? The first 3 years of brushing her teeth included using my limited knowledge of wrestling moves to pin her down, force her mouth open, and cram the toothbrush inside. Apparently, that wasn't the best strategy. But she sure looked cute in the chair at the dentist's office!

Last week, my friend Karen told me about a new recipe for black bean soup she'd tried. Karen got the recipe from the back of a can of Rotel. As soon as she told me about it, I knew it was going on the blog. Here's what's included.

First, you dice 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 cup onion, and 1/2 cup celery. I chose to chop mine in the food processor. And to make them pretty small so the kids wouldn't even notice they were there.

Next, you saute the vegetables in 2 Tbsp. of oil for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until they're tender.

Then dump in all the remaining ingredients except the cilantro. Bring it to a boil, and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

While that's simmering, mince 1/4 cup cilantro. I did this in my food processor this time - SO much easier than doing it by hand!!!

Stir in the cilantro just before serving.

So, so good! The boy said he loved it more than pizza. PIZZA y'all!!!

The recipe says this makes 6 servings, but I would say we easily got 8 or more out of it. Even at 6 servings, that calculates to just under 300 calories each and over 12 grams of protein!

Black Bean Soup

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cans black beans, undrained
• 2 cans Rotel, undrained
• 1 can Fiesta corn (recipe says drained, but I did not drain mine)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

~Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrot, celery and onion; mix well. Cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Add all remaining ingredients except Rotel. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

Question of the Day:

How do you brush a toddler's teeth?

Summer Break Workout

Aaahhhh. Sweet, sweet first day of summer vacation for my children. No lunches to pack. No children to wake. No rushing out the door. I even slept until 7:15!!! When I finally rolled out of bed, I fed the kiddos some breakfast, made the hubby his Shakeology, and headed downstairs for my workout.

I was planning to do Insanity Max Interval Plyo today, and to be honest I wasn't looking forward to it. I think it's the toughest of all the Insanity workouts. And when my 2nd dear daughter asked if she could accompany me, I tried to dissuade her. I told her how hard it was. I told her she should just make up her own exercise instead. But she insisted on doing mommy's workout. And I am so glad she did!

We really had the best time! We did power jumps.

We did pogo jumps. (Remember the pogo stick?!?!)

We did burpees.

And globe twists.

And let's not forget kickstand touch the floor.

55 minutes, people. 55 minutes of hardcore cardio, and my baby kept going the whole time. My favorite part was when she told me, "Mom, I feel like I'm going to die. As in die and go to Heaven." I told her she had my permission to take a break. 

She really made my workout so much more fun! It was a perfect way to start my day...and our summer break! 

Question of the Day:

What's your favorite summer break memory?

Crockpot Polynesian Chicken

I feel kind of guilty. While other people have been frolicking on the beach and taking their kids to do all kinds of fun activities this week, my kids have spent their spring break at home watching me do this.

This is what I have collected so far to donate to Goodwill. In a nutshell, I have FOUR children, and I had gotten rid of virtually NONE of their clothes. Sadly, I'm not even close to done. 

In spite of all the heavy labor I've been doing, I've still managed to squeeze in my workouts! In fact, yesterday I did Asylum 1 Vertical Plyo. The good part about spring break is I get to sleep later. The bad part is my kids have been awake everyday before I even started my workout. 

As I was doing Vertical Plyo yesterday, baby girl came down to do it with me. Yay. Just what I wanted in my child-free zone. 

She was actually pretty cute though. She was trying to copy everything I did. And then, at one blessed point during the exercise, she said, "Mommy, you're on the T.V!" 

I said, "Huh?" 'Cause I'm an eloquent speaker like that.

She proceeded to go over to the T.V. and point to one of the very fit and attractive women who was exercising in the Asylum video.

Now I'm not saying I have a favorite child. Because I don't. But if I did have a favorite, in that moment it quite likely would have been baby girl. For the record, I'm fairly certain I looked nothing like the fit and attractive woman in the video. We all know how I actually look when I workout.

Anyway, I decided to pull out the good old crockpot for last night's dinner. You know how I love to get all the work done on the front end of my day. We had Crockpot Polynesian Chicken. It's one of my favorite meals. Here's what you'll need.

First you're going to drain the juice from the pineapple into a small bowl.

I'm aware this totally looks like a bowl of urine. I knew it as soon as I took it. Which is also why I knew it was definitely going on the blog!

Next you'll add the soy sauce, garlic and honey to the juice and whisk to combine.

Finally, add the cornstarch, and stir until well-combined.

Next, put your chicken in the crockpot. I always buy my chicken when it's on sale and freeze it. I also like to go ahead and cube some of the chicken before I freeze it so it's totally ready for a meal like this one. Brilliant, right?!?

 Pour the pineapple over the chicken.

 Then pour your sauce on top. Or have your cute 10-year-old do it so you can take a picture at the same time.

Now you're ready to go! Cook 4 - 5 hours on low. About an hour before you're ready to eat, slice up a bell pepper into thin strips.

Add the bell pepper to the crockpot and let it cook for the last hour. Serve over rice.

So yummy and low calorie!

Crockpot Polynesian Chicken (adapted from Skinny Ms. recipe)

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded, sliced into thin strips
• 1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks in natural juice
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 Tbsp. + cornstarch

~Pour juice from pineapple into small bowl. Add soy sauce, garlic and honey to juice and whisk to combine. Add cornstarch and stir until well-combined. Place chicken in crockpot. Add pineapple chunks. Pour sauce mixture over chicken and cook on low 4 - 5 hours. Add bell pepper for last hour of cooking. Serve over rice.

Question of the Day

How often do you use your crockpot?

Sleepover Madness

Last night we hosted a sleepover to celebrate daughter #2's birthday (again). I was seriously so exhausted going into the party (after my poor night's sleep on Thursday) that I didn't know how I was going to make it.

The birthday girl loves the movie Brave, so she wanted a Brave cake for her birthday. But she doesn't really like cake; we settled on a cookie cake instead. Here's what momma came up with.

Once all the little guests arrived, the only things I could hear were shrieks of excitement and every Disney channel song ever made in the last 2 years. Then we had dance contests, and lots of them. Second grade choreography is a thing to behold.

The children feasted on nachos, chicken nuggets, and cheese puffs for dinner. Oh, and we had fruit. Followed by cookie cake and ice cream. It was the picture of health, really.

Jeff had to take the boy to a baseball game while the party was going on. Have I mentioned that baseball is a high maintenance sport? Because it is. So I was on my own with 8 girlies for about 2 hours. Jeff did snap this cute photo of the boy at his game though.

Two of the girls had to leave at 10:00 p.m., so I hung until then. But once the girls had settled down for a movie I went to bed. Jeff stayed up with them until the movie was over (what a guy!). 

I had planned to get up and workout before the girls woke up this morning. I figured when you go to bed at midnight, you sleep until at least 8:00. Right? Wrong. I could hear them waking up while I was tiptoeing around putting on my workout clothes at 6:50. I decided then and there that my workout was going to have to wait. So I worked on breakfast instead.

What kind of breakfast do you serve to follow up a nutritious dinner like the one we provided? Monster  Cookie Pancakes, of course! I won't give the entire recipe away, but I mean how can you go wrong with this?

And here's the finished product. Yes, that is chocolate syrup instead of maple syrup.

After all the guests were gone, I managed to squeeze in a workout. I did Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning and Cardio Abs. It was brutal.

Later this afternoon, I found this.

And then a few minutes later someone else had joined the fun.

The boy probably would have been asleep here too except he was too busy killing a pinata at his cousin's birthday party. Apparently we need to start throwing candy at him instead of balls when he's playing baseball, because he made quick work of the pinata and then came home with this.

So it will be early baths and bedtimes all around here tonight. Once the children are all in bed, I'm pretty sure the hubby is super pumped to watch this with me. 

My man is amazing!

Question of the Day:

Team Edward or Jacob?

Weekend Recap

It's been a busy weekend! I've got to become one of those people who really embraces all the stuff their kids do for fun. It's just a little overwhelming times 4!

I started off the weekend with P90X's Core Synergistics. I love this workout! It has a lot of different exercises that really work my entire core. Afterwards, we hit the ground running. It was time to divide and conquer. Jeff headed with the boy to baseball, and I grabbed my Shakeology and went to the soccer fields.

I really do love watching this girl play soccer. 

When I said divide and conquer, that meant I got all the girls and Jeff had the boy. We really need to work on our math. We all met back up at home after the games for a quick lunch before heading out to the first Easter egg hunt of the season. 

It really was a beautiful day! I knew there were going to be cupcakes galore and candy at the egg hunt, so I came prepared!

Have you tried these new Fiber One protein bars? I got them on BOGO, and I had a coupon for another dollar off, so they were super cheap. I love a quick snack that packs a protein punch. These remind me of an Almond Joy. Really yummy!

After the egg hunt, we headed back to the baseball fields. Baseball games make me nervous. It's a lot of pressure for a kid. But how cute is this boy?!?

He's the best player on the field as far as I'm concerned!

While I was at the game, I got my 2nd workout of the day. Baby girl had a lot to drink between the egg hunt and the water I packed for her. Our field was approximately 4.5 miles from the restrooms. Okay, so it probably wasn't quite that far, but it was far! This is when I wish baby girl had some boy parts so I could take her over to the edge of the woods and let her take care of business. Instead, I got to run her back and forth. I tried to focus on the amazing calorie burn I was getting.

We stopped for some pizza on the way home. After dinner I got all buck wild and crazy and made my PB&J's for the week on Saturday instead of Sunday! I knew we had baseball Sunday afternoon and wanted to get ahead. Then we Jeff got everyone bathed and put to bed. I fell asleep on the couch about 6 seconds later.

When Sunday morning rolled around, I decided to get in a quick workout. Sunday is normally my rest day, but I'm coming off a recovery week so I wasn't sore and figured my body could handle it. After all, exercise is my drug of choice. I used the bonus workout I got with Asylum 2. It's called Pure Contact, and it's a quick 20-minute video where Shaun T gets you jumping around like crazy! I always get a good sweat in even though it's a short workout.

As I came up the stairs from my workout, the smell of fresh bread greeted me. I had 2 loaves of sourdough rising overnight and put them in the oven right before my workout. That's right, people! I was multitasking while I exercised! I think it goes without saying what I ate for breakfast this morning.

Since it's St. Patrick's day, the kids and I all dressed in green.

Jeff said he isn't Irish and refused to conform. He did find a four-leaf clover sticker on the ground that he applied to his shirt later.

After church, we hit the ballfields again, then came home for a Sunday afternoon nap. I try to get one of those in every Sunday. 

Even though it was crazy busy, it was a fun weekend! I am so thankful for 4 healthy kids who get to participate in all these activities!!!

Did you wear green for St. Patrick's day?