Chicken Cacciatore

This has become one of my favorite quick dinners. It's so yummy and impressive looking but it really doesn't take much time or effort.

Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Chicken Breast-diced
2-3 carrots diced
2-3 red bell peppers- sliced or diced
2 cloves garlic
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2-3 tablespoons capers (optional)

1. In a skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken and add into the skillet. Cook the chicken until all sides are cooked well, and someone brown (about 5-7 minutes).
2. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add a little more olive oil to the pan and add the carrots, peppers and garlic. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Add in artichoke hearts and sauté for another minute. 
3. To the vegetables, add the white wine and chicken broth, allow to boil until it has reduced by half. Add in the capers and chicken with all the juices on the plate and allow to heat the chicken back up.
4. Serve over pasta and Enjoy!

Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Steak Fingers and Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and veggie
Tuesday: Beef Fajitas, Bell Peppers, Tortilla's and Beans
Wednesday: Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Thursday: Out!
Friday: Chicken Cacciatore
Saturday: Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes
Sunday: Easter!

Meal Plan Monday on Tuesday :)

Hi Everyone!

Man was it a busy weekend! We had birthday parties and a family reunion and lots of family in town. It was very very busy, very tiring and very fun! Yesterday, Aston and I woke up with a cold! I guess we had too much fun.

So here is what we are having for dinner this week:

Monday: Corned Beef and Cabbage, Potato Wedges and Coleslaw
Tuesday: Teriyaki Chicken Bowls
Wednesday: Ground Beef Taco's
Thursday: Out
Friday: Craft Night
Saturday: Chicken Piccata
Sunday: ?

A New Headboard!

We are FINALLY starting to really decorate our bedroom. It's the room that keeps getting pushed aside as other projects come up. We've been purchasing things here and there for it but it never quite felt put together. If you follow me on instagram, you might have seen my new headboard.

Now our rooms is a bit small. It is slightly bigger than the other, other bedrooms but it works for us. I tell you this because I've been wanting a headboard really badly but they are expensive whether you make them or buy them and they add about 3 inches to the length of your bed (a problem in our little room). So I started to look around at Vinyl Decal Headboards. I wish there was more of a selections BUT I love the one we purchased. We purchased it through Amazon from a company called Trading Phrases.

It was fairly easy to put up. It definitely took two people and it wasn't a fast installation but it went on very nicely.

 I love how it just helped the room look more finished!

 Aston thought it was pretty cool too. The pillows we purchased at Home Goods. I love that store!

 Hopefully I'll be sharing more of our room in the near future.

Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Baked Chicken, Cranberry Sauce and veggies
Tuesday: Out
Wednesday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Corn
Thursday: Sweet and Sour Pork Sliders
Friday: Ground Beef Tacos
Saturday: Out

Insta-Friday Spring Edition

Well, I'm back to it after missing last week. I'm participating in Insta-Friday.

Two weekends ago, we Springified the house! With Easter so early this year, we just felt like we needed to get on it. I made this Glittery Spring Bunting! I love how springy it is!

I also found this cute raw wood box at Target in the dollar section. I added some fake grass and my Alabaster Eggs from William Sonoma. I love them!

 I was really nice last week and weekend and I got to work outside in the beautiful weather!

 I made this blackberry cobbler the other night. It was very yummy!

 We are finally getting around to decorating our bedroom and I am LOVING it so far! This is our new headboard!

 Aston is enjoying it too :)

 On one of our walks this past week, we came across this beautiful flower. Isn't it so Springy!

 Aston was helping me edit my blog this week with his dog. Isn't he sweet :)

I hope you had a great week and have a great weekend! 

The Place we Call Home

About 3 years ago now, we made one of the hardest decisions we had to make in our marriage. It was something we did not want to do but after much prayer and discussion, we made the decision to move in with my mom. Little did we know, it would become one of the biggest blessings of our life currently.

A year before, I had quit my job to go back to school to get my teaching credential, I was almost finished and the job market didn't look good. Maxwell was looking for a new job and had been for a while and nothing was working out. We were living off our savings to keep things together.

My mom has a nice 4 bedroom house that I grew up in that she was in all by herself. She had talked about getting a roommate since she had the room but she was nervous about it since she would be sharing the space with someone she might not know. At that time, she offered that we could move in with her.  While I was very reluctant, we accepted, saying it was just for a short time, maybe a year until we could get some things figured out.

In that year, a lot changed! I did not find a teaching job, so I was subbing, Maxwell didn't find a new job and the economy was continuing to decline! We had a long conversation with my mom about staying in her home for a while longer AND if she would be fine with us starting our family while we lived with her. She graciously said yes and we continued to take over her home. Now, my mom was loving having people around and we were learning to enjoy the blessing God had given us.

After, two miscarriages and finally a healthy pregnancy, I decided that I just couldn't go back to work and wanted to stay home with our new bundle of joy. This hadn't been the plan originally but my heart changed a lot in that year. So, thanks to a lot of little stay at home jobs and my mom's lovely invitation for us to say with her, I get to be a stay at home/work from home mom! We would not have this opportunity if we were to stay in California and we are so completely blessed!

Over the last almost 3 years, we have slowly taken over more and more of her house :) We are starting to really make this home, as we don't see us leaving any time soon. And I'm having so much fun decorating and making this a place for us to raise our family for now.

Influence Network

Today, I'm doing something a little bit different and am linking up with The Influence Network. I joined The Influence Network back in January after I took a class on Pinterest and growing your blog. It was a great class taught by Kate from The Small Things Blog and I loved it! So far I haven't gotten to "play" much yet but am so far loving being involved with a group of Christian woman who share about there life in this crazy blogging way :)

We are sharing a favorite photo of ourself, 3 things about me and one thing I've learned from the Influence Network.

I chose this picture from Halloween 2012 because it just shows how we all feel about our wonderful life together. I love these two boys more than words could express!

Excuse the green baby... Aston was Hulk for Halloween last year :)

So 3 things about me!

1. I am first and foremost a wife and mommy to these wonderful men in my life! I married my wonderful husband in January 2009 and our adventure has never stopped! We welcomed this sweet little boy into our lives on September 17, 2011 and we love how he has changed our lives! God has blessed me immensely! Seriously the best job in the whole world!

2. I am a sugar addict! Dessert? I always say yes! I love anything sweet, especially cotton candy and marshmallows! It's a good thing I don't keep them around too often!

3. We share a house with my wonderful mom and I am very thankful she has allowed us to invade and take over her home :) (blog post about this tomorrow)

One thing I've learned from the Influence Network:

Okay, something I've learned recently is the importance of being okay with where God has me and not comparing myself to others. I've looked through forums about how others have struggled with wanting to grow there blogs faster and obsessing about how to be more successful. I was in the same place when the new year began and God has really shown me, with the help of reading through the forums, that He has me and my little blog where He wants me.

Thank you for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you! And can't wait to make new friends through this link-up!

Beef Fried Rice

This is one of our favorite go to, we have leftover meat in the fridge recipes. It is super easy, super fast and super yummy! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Beef Fried Rice

3 eggs scrambled
2 cloves of garlic
1 or 1 1/2 teaspoons saracha
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
about 2-3 cups of cooked white rice (it came be leftover rice)
about 1 cup diced beef or chicken (any leftover meat could work)
2 carrots, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. In a small bowl, scramble eggs with garlic saracha and 1 teaspoon of soy sauce. 
2. Pour sesame oil into a wok or non-stick pan. Preheat over medium heat. Add egg mixture and stir to scramble. When the eggs are finished, remove from pan and set aside.
3. Then pour in 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Then add carrots and meat. Stir-fry these for about 1-2 minutes until carrots start to cook and meat is warm through. 
4. Then add peas and cooked rice into the pan. Sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Cook and stir for about 4-6 minutes or until everything is heated through. Add cooked egg mixture, mix the eggs into the rest of the fried rice. Cook for about 1 minute, then remove from heat.
5. Enjoy!

Meal Plan Monday

Sorry this is a bit late today, we have been a bit tired around here and we chose to have a playdate this morning! So here is a somewhat plan of what we are doing for dinner. This week is shopping week, so we are down to the bare bone of our pantry until Thursday :)

Monday: Steak and Hasselback Potatoes, veggie
Tuesday: Barts, baked beans and salad
Wednesday: Chicken Enchilada Casserole (recipe coming soon)
Thursday: Out
Friday: Hamburger Soup (Recipe coming this week)
Saturday: Mexican Stuffed Peppers