Burnin' Up

 I wish that I could say I was burning up looking at this gorgeous sunset...but no.  I'm just burning up, with a fever!  Instead, I am burning up looking at this:

 

Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen.  My medicine of all medicines is Panera Bread's chicken noodle soup.  Not Campbell's or Progressive....delicious, fresh, hot, Panera chicken noodle  soup.  

So, on Friday I came down with a bug...and being a kindergarten teacher you are definitely bound to catch something throughout the year.  Well, the bug caught me and kept me down all weekend long.  When I got home from work on Friday my PJ's were my best friend and I stayed in them until Sunday morning!  

(True confession!  No shower, no changing, nada!...sorry)

I attempted to get up on Saturday to go look at bridesmaid dresses with a girlfriend and fellow bridesmaids, but I still had a fever, my head felt like it would fall right off every time I lifted it off the pillow, and I was completely out of it. My mother-in-law checked in on my Saturday and refilled my stock of Chicken Noodle Soup.  Sunday morning I was feeling a little bit better, but still had a fever.  Really?!?  I had to suck it up and help a friend out at the Bridal Bazaar and my hot shower definitely was what my body needed.  My flu has now turned into a cold, I have gone through a box of tissues in two days, and my throat is as dry as the Sahara Desert whenever I try to cough.  I attempted work today, but by the end of the day I was more miserable than when I got to work.  So...a sub was called, plans were typed, classroom was prepped, and m

 my PJ's are saying "hey buddy" again.

Well, enough of this sad, depressing, sickness talk and onto a great recipe to try out!

Last week I got the most wonderful surprise in the mail.  A free subscription to Real Simple magazine from my mom.  I am madly in love with this magazine! (Confession #2: I really need to get over my obsessions, "best friends", etc.  I think that I have a problem with all of my addictions!)  They had some great, simple, healthy recipes including one that used the slow cooker, so I just had to try it out.

 I tried out their Chicken Adobo with Bok Choy.  When Daniel heard about the Bok Choy his face looked a but like this...

 It was SO simple and took me less than 15 minutes to prepare in the morning before work.  In the bottom in onions, garlic, spices, apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce.  You place your chicken thighs on top of everything, sprinkle with a little bit of paprika, cover and cook for 6-8 hours. 

 I love walking into a house when the Crock Pot has been going all day.  Especially Thursday when I have work and then school until 7pm.  It is such a relief to know that dinner is all ready to go when I walk in the door...well almost.

I combined it with my favorite brown rice from Trader Joe's.  You cut a slit in the bag and microwave it for three minutes.  It turns out better that if I tried it on the stove.  So simple and adds to my theme of simplicity!
Right before you are ready to eat you add the bok choy on top of the chicken and mixture and let it wilt 5-10 minutes.  We ate ours over the brown rice with brussel sprouts on the side (well, my plate included them...Daniel still won't give them a try).

Delicious, SIMPLE....you must try it soon!

ROTW All Balled Up

So I have a new gadget that I got from my amazing husband from Christmas and I think that we are on the brink of marriage.  It blows my good processor out of the water and has fully replaced its place in my heart.  My food processor broke when I dropped the lid back in October and I'm pretty sure that I cried.  Daniel compared and saw that the Ninja worked just as well.  Since using it I have so many reasons why I love it.

1) There are three different size containers.
2) Each container comes with a fitting lid so that it can easily be stored in the fridge.
3) The blades drop right into the containers, so there is no hole like in the food processors.  When I am done, I just take the blade out and can either pour or store!
4) There is no mess because the blades drop right in and come right out.
5) It works on everything! 

I have used it for my chicken tortilla soup, homemade tahini, hummus, banana freeze, smoothies, and my lovely new Recipe of the Week:

Chocolate Coconut Dough Ball

I wish that I could claim this as my own creation, but I found it at Edible Perspective.  I gave it a try yesterday morning for a potluck with my bootcamp ladies at Fit2Wed.  I was a little hesitant because it looked too easy and I had never worked with dates before. 

12 dates

1 c. ground almonds

1-2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 T. coconut oil

I first put the almond into the Ninja and ground until there was just little pieces left.  Then, I measured out a cup and set it aside.  Next, I pitted the dates and processed them in the Ninja.

Then, I added the almonds, cocoa powder, and coconut oil to the processed dates. 

The dough sticks together easily so you can easily mold balls out of the mixture.  Roll 12 balls, refrigerate, and enjoy!

They tasted delicious!  Each ingredient brings about a great flavor, and the cocoa can really be tasted so it's not like you're just eating dates.  The almonds provide a nice crunch, and they kind of remind me of a Larabar.  I am LOVING these and am so glad to find another "sweet" without the added sugar. 

I just had to show proof that these make me go crazy...I'm posting a very unpleasant picture but I was SO ready to eat them all up!

A Time to...

Us LaFuze's have been discussing a lot about the "season" of our lives right now.  Part of this is due to my new bible study that I am loving and the other is just because we haven't really sat back and thought about where our life is taking us.  It seems like everyone we know is moving this year :( or has major life moments coming.  However, we are simply...just simple.  Life is going though the usual routines: work, school, eat, sleep, work-out, etc.  Leave it to my husband to remind me that this is our time to dance!  Why?  Because we are fully satisfied with life!

Here is a peek at what I am doing in this season of my life:

Cook!

I LOVE ice cream and frozen yogurt is my ultimate addiction!  However, my waistline does not love this habit of mine so I am now in love with Banana Freeze.  This is SO easy, and I use my Ninja (my latest obsession) which makes it go by super fast.  All you need is:
1-2 frozen bananas (broken up into chunks)
2 T. almond milk (or milk of choice)

That's it!  You can experiment.  I have added cinnamon and vanilla before, and this time I used a little bit of almond butter.
 

Place all of your ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.  When I would make this in my food processor it would take 3-5 minutes, and I would have to scrape the sides a couple of times.  With my Ninja it is done in 30 seconds.

Scoop into your bowl and enjoy!  The texture is close to frozen yogurt, and you would never believe that it is just bananas. It is such a healthy option for dessert.

Eat!
 

Oh yes...that it is Babycakes cupcake!  Last night we treated ourselves to dinner downtown and finished the night with cupcakes.  It was amazing and just what the doctor ordered.  But then again...anything is amazing with this guy!  I love Babycakes because of the cute outside patio area and the fun music at night.

Say Cheese!

Be Silly!

Strike a Pose!

Love!

Get Crafty!

I found this amazing website that compiles the cutest crafts and home projects from all other blogs.  U Create is my new favorite website and it is hard to pull myself away from it.  If only I had more time.  Colleen and I made these necklaces and they are so easy and cute.  I love to wear my creations proudly!

Now, there is always a time for....
Shopping
Working
Studying
Reading
Cleaning
Working Out
Running Errands......but I won't bore you with all of those nuances.