Thursday, February 19, 2015

Chicken Salsa Bake

This dish is so easy the kids could even make it themselves, other than the fact that it involves a knife, raw chicken, and an oven. Every ingredient I use for this recipe is usually on hand at all times, so this can become an easy go-to meal. 

Ingredients:
3 whole chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp crack pepper
1 1/2c salsa
3c spring mix leaves

Butterfly your chicken, which will leave you with 6 pieces {they should fit snugly in a 9x11 pan}. First, I like to season the chicken with the olive oil, garlic salt and pepper. I keep it simple since we'll be adding additional ingredients into the pan. 
Foil your pan, then place the chicken {as shown above}. Top it with the salsa, saving some salsa juice on the side. Add spring mix. Then use the salsa juice to drizzle over top. This helps keep them from drying up. 
Bake uncovered at 375, for 30-35 minutes. Finished product should look something like this.
Plate the chicken, topping it with some of the excess ingredients in the pan. Add some brown rice, and green beans to complete a nice hearty meal. Boom! {I like to season my green beans with a little sesame oil and sesame seeds. So good.} 

Bon apetite! 


Monday, February 16, 2015

Lovers Weekend

After this eventful weekend I quickly remembered why I began blogging {two year anniversary in April} ... but then that realization also reminded me that I've slacked tremendously in these last 6 months. I would post, but not a lot of context. As if my photos did justice to any of our adventures. Granted there isn't a photo/post/entry that could ever do justice to the experience, but they were just photo memories. I wasn't making time to sit down and put these photos into words. THIS trip however, I must. There are very few trips we take that spoil us rotten, and this was one of them. Often times my husband gets to attend events, which allows him to travel the US, or even jet set to Europe. But he's gone solo on most of them. This time he was chosen to accompany some others on a long weekend stay in Naples, FL, and being that it was a couples getaway, I was lucky enough to tag along! Hehe. Thanks to mom and dad, the kiddos had a comfy place to reside for the weekend and we were able to enjoy this amazing Valentine weekend together.

Upon arriving to the hotel we were greeted with some bubbles, which is most certainly the way I would expect to be greeted on a lovers weekend getaway, right? ;) Lovely. Then we headed up to the room - so chic - dropped off the bags and headed back down to the lobby. No unpacking, we were starving. Food first, my friends. No hangry moments accepted on this trip! 
We met some friends down in one of the restaurants to get the evening started, and oh boy... I was in heaven. Sushi! Between that and pasta, it's a toss up to which has my heart most. Immediately, I knew this was going to be a good night.
It was, until I indulged more than I could handle and went off to bed in a food coma. True story. But the morning was greeted with room service, a nice cup of jo with this view, and a massage awaiting us in just a few hours.... you could say I was feeling less miserable. 
Although it was a relaxing weekend, we made time to squeeze in the gym. I know that sounds crazy to some people, but when something's important to you it doesn't take a back seat. With that over and done with, I went ahead and jumped into my robe ready for this massage! And yes, I took a frightful selfie, but mainly because I was sharing my Shakeology the spa cafe hooked up for me! {{angels singing}} 
This right here became my safe haven for the weekend. The "relaxation room". 
Next on the list... lunch. Like I said, food... always. With the desire to soak in all the beachy-ness we could, we tried this seaside place off the dock of the hotel. But with the weather being mid 60s with strong ocean winds, the idea was more ideal than realistic!
Inevitably, a very nice waiter ended up offering me a towel to put over my shoulders. I was visibly that cold. 
{below: turkey burger topped with brie and apple butter}
Considering I was still thawing out from lunch, I bought this cute jersey-style shirt and tried taking a selfie to share, but it actually just looks like an everyday shirt so it was a fail ... but what was NOT a fail, was Chris doing some kind of booty poppin' in the background? Ha! Not sure what he was doing, and still don't know to this day. But it was a good laugh for the moment. 
This entry should have been titled "Food Weekend" considering the overload of these delicious luxuries. Since it'd been awhile from some of my more detailed blog posts, I forgot how uncomfortably annoying it is to whip out the phone during every meal, along with the looks people give you when you have them pause before touching one single thing.... yea. 

So this was my afternoon munch. Arugula, candied pecans, dried apricots, tomatoes, and red wine vinaigrette. A pretty rainbow of yumminess.  
One thing I enjoy on a weekend getaway, is being able to dress up and wear heels! Chasing two kids around usually requires bare feet or tennis shoes... so this is always a fun change up. 
Friday's dinner was set in the lobby of the hotel. Couches, comfy chairs, and tapas... couldn't have been more perfect. 
{below: sweet potato spread; adult fries; pumpkin carrot cake} <- yes you heard that right.
And then it was Lover's Day! <3 <3 <3 although the men had an early tee time, the women were set up with spa appointments. Chris even arranged room service for when I woke up, accompanied by a sweet card! :) 
Spent the morning relaxed, with no rush to get out of bed. Headed on down to the gym around 9am, and then sat in the relaxation room until it was time for my appointment. Talk about a zenful kind of morning! ..... wooo-saaaa.  
And then... you guessed it... lunch time! This amazing ceasar was to die for. Soooo good. I'm salivating just looking at this photo.
With the weather picking up a bit, we decided to head back up to the spa rooftop and enjoy some sunshine. Although it was a bit chilly for full on sunbathing, I was against bad tan lines {golfers tan? no thank you}, so I changed into my bathing suit bottoms. Half was good.   
Since it was a lovers weekend, I couldn't forget about my two little lovers at home. We FaceTimed each day, and I even sported the necklace my sweet girl made for me. She had one, and I had one. I told her I would wear it ALL day, and I did. Even with my evening outfit. ;) It matched my pants, so it totally worked out. Haha.
Well we are coming to a close, and what better way to end this food weekend post, than with this beauty. Yes, we started the weekend with sushi and ended it that way, too. ;)
We ended up with a full table {4 couples} and lots and lots of laughs. Couldn't have ended the night any better. We are so thankful for opportunities like these, and for the people who consider us to be a part of them. THANK YOU. We are so, so grateful.