Recipe for Mint Tea and Homemade Chicken & Dumplings!!!

How to make the perfect gallon of Mint Iced Tea - well, in my opinion =)

Directions:

• Take 6 Lipton regular size tea bags and 1 Plantation Mint tea bag
• Boil water
• Meanwhile, open tea bags and tie them together with a knot - this makes it so much easier to pull them out when they are finished brewing.
• Once water boils, pour into a gallon tea pitcher and add tea bags.
• Brew 10 - 15 minutes
• Take out tea bags
• Add 1 cup of sugar and stir well.
• Fill up the pitcher with cold water and continue to stir.
• Refrigerate and Enjoy!!!

tea bags tied together

my little helper

adding the goodness

he loves to help stir

Now for one delicious dinner recipe!!!

Irish Chicken and Dumplings

goodness!

Ingredients:


    

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup

3 cups water

1 cup chopped celery

1 onion, quartered

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

5 carrots, sliced

4 potatoes, quartered

Directions:

In large, heavy pot, combine soup, water, chicken, celery, onion, salt, poultry seasoning, pepper, potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook over low heat about 1 hour.
Remove chicken from pot and shred. Return to pot on low. 

Tip - using a potato masher to shred the chicken is a simple, no mess solution!!! Also, Don't worry if you get some veggies out of the pot when you pull the chicken. It won't matter in the end.

Meanwhile, prepare the dough for your homemade dumplings




Homemade Dumplings:


Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon salt

consistency) I probably use around a cup (give or take)

 3 cups simmering Chicken broth or 3 cups simmering water with chicken flavored bouillon cubs

Directions:

1.     Mix together flour and salt. Cut shortening into flour/salt mixture using a pastry blender, fork or two knives. Stir in water to form a soft dough.
2.     On a floured surface, roll out dough very thin with a rolling pin. Cut into 1 inch wide strips (I use a pizza cutter, but a sharp knife works also). Tear 1 inch long pieces of dough from these strips and drop into simmering broth.
3.     Cook 10 minutes with the pot lid off, then 10 minutes more with the lid on. Add dumplings to Chicken mixture and let them hang out about 10 minutes. ( This really makes them flavorful )

dough ready to be rolled out

Once rolled out, use pizza slicer to slice into strips

Now, go the other direction (as you can see - they don't have to be the same size)

drop very carefully into your hot liquid

They gave this meal the stamp of approval =)

Today was another great day in the gym.  I ran 3.25 miles in 31 minutes! That's .05 farther and one minute shorter. YAY!  After cool down I worked my abs for about 15 minutes and ended with a nice stretch. 

Blessings, Allie

Yay for FRIDAY

Today's dish is one of my favorites.  Fish, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Uncle Ben's Rice. I know it's not the healthiest meal ever with 2 starches, but who cares - It's delicious!!!

Ingredients for the Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

• 8 potatoes (Yukon makes the best mashed)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• fresh minced garlic
• heavy cream
• cream cheese
• milk
• salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Scrub and dry potatoes - heat a large pot on the stove with a dash of salt
2. cube potatoes
3. Add cubed potatoes to boiling water
4. Mince about 4 cloves of garlic
5. Add garlic to potatoes
6. Once potatoes are fork tender - drain water and return to pot
7. Grab your hand mixer and little by little add milk to it's desired consistency & mix
8. Once your potatoes are just about the perfect mashed consistency, add about 1/2 cup heavy cream
9. Add  2 oz.. room temp. cream cheese
10. Mix well
11. Salt and pepper to taste

These are heavenly!!!!


Ingredients for Tilipia:

• 6-8 Tilipia fillets (adjust to fit your family - mine were super tiny fillets so I made 8 and we ate about 6)
• Chef Paul Prudhommes Magic Seasoning Blends - Seafood Magic
• EVOO

Directions:

1. Thaw fillets
2. Heat Evoo in pan (enough to coat the bottom)
3. Add fillets to the hot pan
4. Sprinkle Seafood Magic over each fillet
5. Half way through cooking time, flip and season the other side
6. Fish is done when white and flaky

YUM!!!

Today was a great day in the gym.  It was cardio day!  I felt so much better running today.  After I posted yesterday I realized that I failed to explain why yesterday's run was so hard.  First off I had lifted heavy weights with my legs for 30 minutes and then I set the 'mill at a  much faster pace than I normally run. I also had a slight incline.  Ha-ha - makes more sense now. But I truly think the days you push yourself to the max are some of your most productive days! So, now for today's workout.  On cardio days I run first.  I decided not to set the timer on the 'mill today and see if I could exceed my previous 3.05 mile run this past Monday.  I felt pretty good the entire run and am happy to say that I ran 3.20 miles in 32 minutes! Yay!!! Gotta love progress.  After I ran I decided to do some weights.  I worked my abs for about 10 minutes, legs for about 15 minutes, and arms about 5.  I left feeling great!!!!

Blessings,

Allie

Be sure to check out my new Blog Header - I designed it this morning =)

Pressing through

Leg day is one of the hardest days in the gym but also one of my favorites! It never fails to wear me out! There are 7 leg machines and I do each one 3 to 4 times 20-30 reps each time.  One of my favorite machines in the gym is Horizontal Calf machine. I have a slight obsession with working my calves.  =)

After legs it was 20 minutes of cardio.  I ran 2.15 miles - Let me tell ya, I struggled today.  I don't know if it was because I had just worked my legs super hard or what, but 2.15 miles felt like what I can only imagine 5 feels like!  I know with pretty much anything you do in life there are days where you struggle more than others. The most important  thing is to NEVER give up! I wanted to stop and walk so many times today, but just wouldn't let myself. Because, I knew I could get through it and it would only make me stronger. 

My favorite leg machine!

Blessings, Allie

Playin' it by ear -

Today was a delicious day in the kitchen.  I ventured off of my menu a little bit due to time constraints and lack of one ingredient.  What we ended up with was a completely custom and very tasty meal.  I call it Seasoned Cubed Potatoes & Garlic Italian Chicken.

Seasoned Cubed Potatoes Ingredients:

• 6 medium Yukon potatoes
• 1/2 stick melted unsalted butter
• I didn't measure it out, but about 2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning (just make sure each cubed potato has a good amount on it)
• I also didn't measure the Garlic Powder, but again, make sure each piece has some. Prob. about 1 Tablespoon or so. (sorry, when I season - I season to taste and just don't measure)
• salt & pepper to taste
• Parmesan Cheese

There are 8 potatoes shown, but I only used 6.  You can modify to fit your family.

Directions: Preheat oven to 425

1. Scrub and quarter potatoes
2. Add to 8x11 glass casserole dish
3. Pour in melted butter - stir
4. Add Italian seasoning, Garlic powder, salt/pepper - stir well
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are mostly done
6. Add Parmesan cheese to potatoes and bake another 5 to 10 minutes (just until cheese is lightly browned) - be careful not to burn

Drizzling the butter - oh yeah!

Ingredients for Garlic Italian Chicken:


• 3 regular size Chicken Breast
• 3-4 cloves minced Fresh Garlic
• EVOO
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning - again, I didn't measure - just make sure each piece has seasoning
• Salt/ Pepper

Directions:

1. Slice Chicken into strips
2. Heat skillet over Med. heat
3. Add Garlic and sautee'
4. Add Chicken to skillet
5. Mix in Italian Seasoning and Salt/Pepper
6. Cook Chicken completely, until no longer pink inside

Chicken and minced garlic ready for the skillet

Lunch is served!!! Y'all gotta try this - it's a keeper!

Beans Beans are good for your heart...

In the Gym -

Today workout was good!  It began with abs for 25ish minutes.  I did planks, the usual ab machines, and I also tried something new. The ab stability ball!  I could tell after very little time on this ball that it works! I'll definitely be using it again asap!  After abs I moved on to cardio.  Cardio today was 5 hard minutes on the 'mill.  Again, I know 5 minutes isn't a long time, but keep in mind that it is a good idea to change up your workouts - keeps the muscles on their toes.  I covered .75 miles in 5 minutes. Running that fast on the 'mill is still new to me but it definitely gets my heart rate up and my arms pumping!!!  When cardio was complete it was time to work my arms.  Total time on arms was about 25 minutes.  When I was done - my water bottle had become increasingly heavier then it was before I began =) My arms were worn out - but it felt great. 

In the Kitchen -

Black Bean and Brown Rice Burritos

Ingredients:

Shredded cheese, minced garlic, and chopped onion

• 1 teaspoon EVOO - extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1.5 cups brown rice, cook ahead of time
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Mexican style corn
• about 2 cups shredded cheese
• a spoonful of sour cream per burrito
• salsa (if you would like)
• flour tortillas
• a few splashes of chicken broth (to moisten the mixture)

ingredients - all except the Evoo and chicken broth

prepared brown rice

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until onion is tender. Add rice, beans and corn. Cook, stirring 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is thoroughly heated. Add a few splashes of chicken broth if mixture seems dry.  It definitely needed some when I prepared this dish.  The original recipe didn't call for it - I just felt it needed it.  
2. Remove from the heat.  Spoon 1/2 cup of the rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top each with 2 Tbsp. cheese, and sour cream.  Roll the tortilla up and top with 1 Tbsp. salsa.

Enjoy =) It's delicious!!!

fantastic and healthy burrito!

Emma's plate =)

Blessings,

Allie

All New - What's Cookin'

Be on the look out for my all new "What's Cookin" button.  It will list out the recipes that I will prepare that week. If one of the recipes listed makes your mouth water just thinking about it - check back later in the week for the recipe!!!

YAY for hitting goals!!!

Saturday's workout -

Saturday morning I got to the gym at 8am.  Set the 'mill for 26 minutes and took off.  I felt really good and ended up running a little bit into the cool down again.  I ran 2.75 miles. I was happy with that, but when I finished I felt like I could have done better and gone farther.  So, I was talking to Daniel and was trying to figure out how to push myself a little harder and get to the 3 mile mark.  He suggested that on my next run that I just go for it. 

Today's workout -

That is exactly what I did today.  I ran 3.05 miles in 30 minutes!!!!! Yay! It felt great to finally see 3 miles come and go on the 'mill!!! I'll probably run that a few more times then try to increase my distance again.  I'm they type of person who loves to push myself and prove that I can do what I set my mind too!

Golf and NEW Shoes =)

Today has been a fantastic day! Daniel, my husband, and I had a 7:45 tee time.  I had never stepped foot on a golf course in my life.  I was pretty nervous and had no idea what to expect.  I'd been to the driving range a few times, but that was the extent of my golfing experience.  Much to my surprise and delight, I actually hit the ball off the tee. Ha!  After hole one, I shed my jacket and got serious.  I was ecstatic when at hole 6 I actually made PAR - par 3 at that!!! Whoo-hoo!!! I was jumping up and down saying " I made it- I made it."  I putted the ball when it was a few feet off the green! I really didn't think it was going to go in, but I was so happy when it did!  The rest of the 18 holes were fun and we broke some rules =) No major ones, but we did drop a few balls and "forgot" to count all our strokes.  Overall, my 1st golfing experience was great.  I plan to go again soon!  

my hottie!!!

being silly after I made PAR!!!

We did it! Finished all 18 =)

Today was also an exciting day for my feet!!! I got new running shoes! Emily and I headed to Fleet Feet and found some really cool shoes.  I love it there because they watch you run on a treadmill and evaluate your stride to see exactly what type of shoe you need.   The shoe I ended up with is the Brooks Defyance 4.  I can't wait until tomorrow to try them out! 

My new AWESOME Brooks running shoes!!!

Wonderful Wednesday!

In the kitchen -                     

Waffle Wednesday!!!         

Emma, my oldest, decided a while ago that she wanted to cook waffles and eggs a few Wednesday mornings here and there. Well, she decided last night that today would be another Waffle Wednesday.  She set her alarm for 7:30 and went to bed anxiously awaiting breakfast time.  7:30 came and she bounded down the stairs ready to make everyone a delicious breakfast.  First, she gathered all the ingredients for the waffles and laid everything out for the eggs.  I started the coffee and we began to cook.  She is 8 yrs. old and very willing to help out in the kitchen, so I let her do most everything.  She measured out the dry and wet ingredients and whisk it all together.

making sure the water was measured out exactly right

measuring out the oil

Then it was time to cook the waffles.  She did a great job filling the waffle iron.  It was so cute watching her every few seconds check to see if the "waffles are ready" indicator light was on.

So happy to call her my daughter!

Next, it was the boys turn to prep and cook the eggs.  Brock, my 3 yr. old, also loves to help in the kitchen. So, we allowed him to crack the eggs!

gotta love Emma's expression here - I'm not sure she fully trust in his egg cracking abilities!

Yes, those big hunks of goodness are hunks of Velveeta cheese!!! Oh yeah, it makes it awesome!!!

So, that's that! Waffle Wednesday was a huge success.  I just love any opportunity to get my kids cooking in the kitchen! 

Waffle Wednesday success! It was delicious!

Today's workout -

Today was GORGEOUS outside.  Emily and I decided early this morning to skip the gym. Her feet and ankles were sore and I am still a little under the weather.  I just couldn't stay inside with the weather so nice, so Daniel and I took the kids on a walk in our neighborhood.  We walked a brisk 3.09 miles or 5000 steps!!! It felt great to be outdoors with the gorgeous sunshine and nice breeze.  When we got home, Emma and I stretched and then I sent the kids to the backyard to play.  I decided to do some planks!!! Total time was 5 minutes - they wear me out quick! I'm glad to be feeling a little better overall today and hope to be back in the gym tomorrow!