Sweet Tooth Fix

Ok.... so I recorded this last week in an effort to help you find something sweet when you JUST have to have something :) However, due to "technical difficulties" my entire video got deleted half way through. So.... here is the 2nd take and hopefully you can follow along. As always, I keep it comical in some parts so this my be entertaining lol. My husband says after watching this he thinks I should have my own cooking show! haha So supportive isn't he! You may have seen my post a few weeks ago that a friend shared about cake batter ice cream made out of BANANAS! Yes, you heard me right. BANANAS!

I had to try this because if this really did taste good then it would be an awesome treat! I used to love ice cream but have cut it out. Follow this video for the recipe....

http://youtu.be/SNWzgZ9pTtE

Crazy dreams!

Have you ever had a longing desire for something, but felt as if it was so far off and far stretched?! Maybe you want to start your own business, but have no means to do so. Maybe you have a dream to sing, but can't find your way.... or maybe you are like me and desire to stay home with your family, but with bills and funds needed to live off of it doesn't seem like it will ever be! 

Well, I want you to know today that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! You CAN go for your dream! No matter what people may think I don't want to be a statistic of the 80% of people who never "go for it". I know that there is a great potential for me to stay home, but I've got to work at it and develop my HOW! :) So, the last 6 months I started my own personal weight loss journey. I was heavy and uncomfortable in my skin which led to me seek out other means besides just going to the gym. I started doing Beachbody. I was so excited with the first 6 pounds I lost that first month that I started actively working my "business" with it. I began to help others find the same results as I was seeing for myself. 

Was I physically fit already? No way! Did I know everything there was to know about the nutrition and exercise? Nope! BUT, I did have a huge passion for people and a desire to see other's succeed. So, here I am 6 months after I started. You want to know what I have to show for it? Not only did I lose 20 pounds so far, but I am also making 1/2 of my full time nurse salary already! My goal is by the end of this year to be making my full time salary so I can choose when and what I want to do about it. Sounds awesome right?!

There are stay at home moms and dads doing the same thing and able to devote much more time than I have for it. It's possible for anyone with a heart and a passion to drive them towards their life goals. I'd love to show you how to do the same! This is geared for anyone 18 and up. I have senior adults to college kids doing the same. So, what are you waiting for? You want to actually get paid for the effort you put into your job? You want to work for yourself and not worry about PTO when you have to take your kids to the doctor? Have you wanted to travel the world without a time frame to abide by? Want to have a job where you can take your work ANYWHERE with you? Join me now! You won't regret this! Contact me today!

ashleycrew7@gmail.com 

Not Your Usual Chicken Enchiladas

Happy snowy Wednesday! This mama didn't load up at the store before the storm so we are going to play the game "Clean Out Your Pantry!" First, trying to put ingredients together is not always easy. Here's what I found that I had tonight that might just do the trick...

Tyson all natural chicken strips
Vegan black bean soup
Ezekiel tortillas
Plain Greek yogurt
Shredded cheese
Cream cheese
Enchilada sauce

I decided to try a recipe on my own because in this family they know I like to break out of the cookbooks and create my own twist to things. So, here we go!

Add the following to the wok:
1T minced garlic
1t pepper
Cook chicken tenders and pull apart with forks

Added water to cup of soup and cooked

Poured some enchilada sauce in bottom of dish. Lined bottom of pan with tortillas. Top with softened cream cheese, chicken, and top with black bean soup and shredded cheese. Layer 3 times. Bake on 425 for 10 min. Top with plain Greek yogurt.

Family rated A-A+

Try it and let me know what you think!

Some days you just have to be a little creative. For me it's all about prep time. I don't cook anything that takes longer than 30 minutes. With church, family life, and every day activities I just don't have the time to devote to preparing meals. I would rather spend another half hour eating with the kids and talking about the day. Remember, there are always fun ways you can change up your menu! :)

Coffee Queen

This mommy NEEDS that cup of Joe in the morning! :) I never drank coffee until after I started my family. Now, I can't imagine a day without my cup! You can take all my sweets, but don't take my coffee. However, I've run into a dilemma recently because I am trying to eat as clean as possible. So with this, I now need to start making my own creamer if I want to continue my coffee drinking. Let's dig into some recipes and try them out. I'm game! I don't want to work so hard trying to eat healthy every other way and still hold onto something that just isn't good for me. I'm a hazelnut fan, but I'm going to share a few recipes with you tonight.

HAZELNUT
This is the real deal, and it tastes like real, honest-to-goodness hazelnuts! Toasting the nuts is a necessity; don’t skip this step. If you do, you’ll be disappointed in the taste of your creamer.

• 2 cups base (whole milk/almond or coconut milk)
• 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted
• 1 T sugar (I use organic sugar for this recipe, you can use honey or maple syrup, but that will affect the taste.) or Stevia
• 2 t pure vanilla extract

Take your hazelnuts and toast them over medium heat in a skillet, stirring constantly, until they begin to brown and start giving off a lovely aroma. (You can also place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally). They are done toasting when the nuts are fragrant.Pour your toasted nuts into a kitchen towel and let them cool completely. After the nuts are cool, fold your towel up and give the nuts a good shake and rub; this will remove the papery husks from the nuts (this won’t work well until the nuts have cooled). If there are a few stuck hulls, don’t worry. You just want most of them gone. 
Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor for about 15 seconds or so, until the nuts are broken apart into small pieces (but don’t turn your base to whipped cream…while the end result of over-blending is great as a pudding-like dessert, not so much for a creamer). Pour into a saucepan and heat over low heat until warm. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes, then strain and pour into a container to store in the refrigerator. Shake well before using.

COCONUT

• 2 cups milk base
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 2 T sugar or Stevia (I use organic)

Place all ingredients in your blender and whizz until incorporated and the coconut flakes are chopped fine. Strain your creamer to remove the larger bits of coconut flake, and store in the refrigerator.

MAYAN MOCHA
.If you like spicy food, give this creamer a try! You might find it to be a bit addicting! But I did make this spicy, so be prepared for a kick!

• 2 cups milk base
• 4 T cocoa powder
• 5 T honey
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in your blender and whizz until combined. Pour into a container and store in the refrigerator, shaking well before use.

FRENCH VANILLA
You can’t beat the taste of real vanilla! While you can use all pure vanilla extract for this, using beans will just make it that much better (but be sure to shake before use; as you can see from the photo, the beans will float to the top).Since vanilla is the star here, elevate it with real beans!

• 2 cups base
• 1 t fresh vanilla beans, scraped from about 10 vanilla pods (or you can use vanilla paste)
• 1 t pure vanilla extract (double if you’re not using the real beans)
• 1 T sugar or Stevia

Place all ingredients in your blender and whizz until combined. Pour into a container and store in the refrigerator.

Sweet Snack Fix

Today I took off work for a "mental health" day as I like to call it. Working full time and maintaining a home with 5 kids does not always come easy. The older I get the more I enjoy having a sparkly home :) So, today I am off and hard at it. Cleaning my home and jamming out to Mandisa! I'm also hungry so I decided on this healthy snack. 

Brown Rice Cakes (I got caramel)
Pb
Banana

Try it! It hit the spot and helps keep me going today!

No Plan No Dinner?! No Way!!!

Hey friends! So today was one of those days that just got away from me. You would think with a large family I could keep it together at least for meals, but nope! :) I still have a lot to learn! Haha so, here I stand in my kitchen at 5:15 figuring out what to cook when groceries are low. So, tonight I have some chicken, peppers, mozzarella, and tortillas. So.... It's quesadilla night in the Ashley house! I'm missing my secret ingredient..... Artichokes..... But I'm sure they will still be yummy.

Sam's Quesadillas:

Chicken breasts, strips, or whatever you have.
Red/yellow peppers
Onion chopped
Mozzarella shredded
Artichokes, canned (if you have them)
Flour tortillas
1T minced garlic
Salt/pepper

Cook chicken in a skillet with garlic, salt, and pepper until fully cooked. Pull apart with forks. Then add in chopped onion for a minute or two and stir on med heat. Pour chicken and onions in a bowl then throw thinly sliced peppers on heat to brown a little with artichokes chopped. Add that to chicken and onions and wipe down skillet with a paper towel. Allow the skillet to get warm on medium heat. Spray with olive oil. Lay out a flour tortilla and cover 1/2 with mozzarella. Top with 2 spoons of chicken mix then top with another layer of mozzarella. Fold other half over and place on skillet. Brown both sides then remove. Only takes a minute or less per side until its crunchy. Top with sour cream and salsa!

Feeding the Fab 5 for less than $15

By the "Fab 5" I mean my 5 children not including me and the hubs. We have to eat too! So for less than $15 we get a yummy healthy meal! Tonight I made Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (galabki). Sounds difficult to make but it was easy AND fun! So, let's get to it!

1 pound ground beef, browned
1 onion chopped
2 cups white rice cooked
1t garlic powder
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 egg

1 head of cabbage
1 can tomato soup

First, cut the head off the cabbage. Using a large pot, fill with 2 inches of water and place the cabbage head down in the water. Salt water a little and bring to a boil and cover. Steam this way for about 10 minutes.

While steaming, brown beef. Then in a large mixing bowl mix beef, chopped onion, egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. For a little kick I added a squirt of chili paste. Mix well.

When cabbage is soft, dump hot water in sink leaving cabbage in the pot. Add cold after and flip cabbage to allow water to fill the head.

Now you are ready to fill the cabbage rolls. Take a piece of cabbage and cut the hard top off. Then spoon in filling making nice and full. Wrap like a pillow and place seam down on the Pyrex dish. Repeat this step until Pyrex is full. Do not stack. Then top with the can of tomato soup and spread to cover. Bake on 350 degrees for 30 min.

Kids rate this one A+!!!! Everyone loved it and it is gone! Enjoy it! :)