Chicken Pineapple Curry

Ingredients

• 2 – 15 oz. cans light coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp red curry paste
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 15 oz. can pineapple chunks, well drained
• 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 2 chicken breasts, diced
• Cilantro and green onion, optional garnish
• 1 1/2 cup brown, white or basmati rice

Directions

• Cook the rice, as directed.
• In a large saucepan or skillet, whisk the coconut milk, curry paste, curry powder, ginger, garlic powder. 
• Stir in the pineapple, bell pepper slices and pieces of chicken. Let cook for about 15 minutes, allowing the chicken to cook through and the flavors to mingle.
• Serve Chicken Pineapple Curry over rice with cilantro and green onion garnish.

Read More

Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs*, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix, or more, to taste
• 8 ounces rotini
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×9 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess fat; reserving 1 tablespoon in the skillet. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
3. In a gallon size Ziploc bag, add chicken, 1 tablespoon olive oil and Ranch Seasoning, shaking to coat thoroughly. Add chicken to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side; set aside.
4. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
5. Add pasta to the prepared baking dish and layer with chicken and alfredo sauce; sprinkle with cheeses and bacon. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
6. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Read More

Brown Sugar Italian Pork Chops

It's been awhile since I added some more recipes. I've made these recently and they were a hit, so I will try to add more of my newest favorites!

I made this recipe for four people:

4 boneless pork chops

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 (0.7-oz) package Italian dressing mix

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.


Combine the brown sugar and Italian dressing mix. Coat both sides of the pork chops with the brown sugar mixture. Place in prepared pan. Top pork chops with any remaining brown sugar mixture.


Bake 25-30 mins. Turn broiler on HIGH. Broil pork chops until brown sugar caramelizes, about 1 to 2 minutes. Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn!

Read More

Tatum Jane: 4 Months

My sweet baby girl is four months old! She is so much fun and sure makes us laugh! She makes the funniest facial expressions and has the best belly laugh. 

Her new favorite thing to do is hold her feet, and pretty much always put them in her mouth. She loves to hold hands and when she is trying to fall asleep she loves having her arms tickled (just like her daddy). 

Since moving to Florida, we've gone to the beach so much. Luckily, Tatum loves it! She loves laying on her belly with her hands in the sand and she throws a fit when we take her out of the ocean!

Since we are so lucky to be surrounded by so much family, Tatum has lots of second cousins to play with and they all love keeping her busy! She loves other kids and watches them very intently. 

Her favorite toys are the ones that crackle or jingle and she loves when we sing to her! Basically she likes weird noises ;). She talks and chatters all the time herself and we love her little voice so much! She still loves talking to my mom on the phone and will stop crying/fussing as soon as she hears her voice.

She's started wearing some 6 month clothes because she's tall, and she's getting so well at sitting up, especially in her walker. She's always had very strong legs and loves to be standing whenever she can. Every month that goes by she grows bigger and learns so much. I am so blessed to have been given her and to be her mama! 

Read More

A Cross Country Move

Sometimes I forget I'm more than just a mom because I must admit it's my favorite title (although wife could be a close tie!). So much has happened lately that I can't remember what I've written about and what I haven't. Plus, any time I sit down to write, Tatum wants to play or eat or something else that completely occupies my time and I don/t mind it a bit. So here we are, almost 3 weeks since we've made our journey across the country and I'm just now getting around to writing and catching up with Tatum's 3 month post. Such a slacker. So bear with me if you've already heard about some of these events...

After California, we finished up life as we know it. My last day of work at Get Away Today was May 20th and we won Best of State for the 5th year in a row so we went and celebrated at the Salt Palace on May 17. After that, I basically stayed home organizing and packing before the moving company picked up all our stuff, and caught up with as many friends as I could.

After a few months of debate, a friend talked me into becoming an independent Senegence distributor! I specialize in Lipsense while I'm testing other products, but I can get my hands on anything that anyone would like! :) Lipsense is amazing and definitely a product I'm passionate about. Obviously, or I wouldn't be doing this hahaha. For anyone that doesn't know what it is, Lipsense is a waterproof, smudge-proof, kiss-proof, vegan, GMO free, wax free, gluten free, lead free, cruelty (not tested on animals) free. You choose a color (or multiple to layer), put 3 coats on, top it with gloss and you have long-lasting color. Not only does it exfoliate and moisturize your lips, but you can kiss your babies and husbands without getting the color all over them, your teeth, etc. If anyone is interested in more information, I have a facebook group called Fabulous Lips by Jess that you're welcome to join!

Brian and I got a bunch of hikes in and Sabra and I got lots of mommy-daughter shopping dates in before we headed! I think that's what I'm going to miss the most! Besides occasional Fizz trips and a frosted sugar cookie. But I'm gaining Panera Bread, Publix buffalo chicken subs, Glory Days at home, and Tropical Smoothie so I'm more than alright with this move.

We started our long journey the Tuesday after Memorial Day so we could avoid as much traffic as possible. Our goal was to spend about 12 hours a day actually driving (knowing we would be stopping a ton for Tatum). She was actually a total champ for the most part and we almost made our goals each night. We estimated it would take us about 4 days realistically to make it, but I made goals based on 3 days to try and make it as far as we could and we wound up making it in those 3 days.

Our first day/s goal was Lincoln, Nebraska. We made it just outside the city, about an hour and a half away. Our second day's goal was Nashville, Tennessee and we made it! We found a cute little hotel on Expedia and stayed on the east side of the city. In the morning we slept in a bit, got some breakfast, then drove through the city and explored some. We saw Vanderbilt University and stopped to walk around the Parthenon which is a full-size replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. That day we drove the longest of the days and arrived at our destination a little after midnight. 

The days were long but it was cool to see the sights. We drove through Cheyenne, WY; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO;  Atlanta, GA; and right past Gainesville, FL where Brian will hopefully be doing his MBA program in the next year or so. We're staying with my aunt and uncle who have put us up in the whole upstairs of their home while we find an apartment of our own! It has been so incredibly wonderful for them to offer it to us and it's been so nice having basically our own apartment. 

Since we've been here, our days have been spent apartment hunting, job interviewing for Brian, and going to the beach around spending time with family. When Brian and I prayed about what we should do, we felt strongly that we should move here before the program started and it's already been a huge blessing. A week after we arrived, my grandma was having some difficulties and has since spent some time in the hospital. This is not her first stay in the hospital this year so it has been a huge blessing that we are so close and able to see her so much. I am so blessed she got to meet Tatum and is getting to spend so much time with her! We even stayed with her a few nights to help her when she started a new medication and it reminded me so much of when I lived here with her 3 years ago. 

I'm excited to see where this new adventure takes us and all the exciting new experiences we will have! Here are some photos of life before leaving Utah and our adventures along the way.

Read More