Gettin fancy with it!

So this past weekend was one for the books! Why's that you ask? Well, I made my first big girl move and purchased my own vehicle!!! Okay okaaaay, I got a really banging insurance check from my previous totaled vehicle, so that allowed me to buy a new car. But nonetheless, I am acquiring credit (the Dave Ramsey way ;)) and am stuck with a five year car payment. I would definitely call adulting on that one!

The weekend was spent in car dealerships, a lot! Although I was at home, I didn't get the full home type feel. A majority of the time was spent being stressed over the car buying process and taking it out on my mother (I didn't mean to, I promise!!). When things worked out on Sunday, and I had my new precious baby with me, I was ecstatic, but knew I still had to drive back to Austin to make it to work the next morning.

Ronda the Renegade!

One thing I always love when going home is dinner. Growing up, I remember all the fun times happening in the kitchen. Putting on music, helping my mom cook, cleaning with my sisters; fellowship, and family time revolved around it. Lately I've been craving that feeling again, and because I went home to buy a car, we didn't have that time, so I decided to bring it home to Austin!

On Monday night I decided to treat my closest bunch with a homemade meal, and wine. Why? Because it's what I do! It's the biggest form of flattery in my opinion. It was a way of me saying "thanks for getting all of my stressed out texts/snaps and handling it with grace" and "uhhhh I just bought a car. Let's both celebrate and cry over a five year payment...okay? Okay!"

In my latest pinteresting adventures, I found a delicious Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles recipe and decided that would be the meal! A fun, quick, and healthy meal, that give a spark of classy cause after all, I am cooking with wine :)

So per usual, I am a great recipe follower and alter-er, NOT a recipe creator!



Here are the ingredients I used. I did leave out a couple spices from the original recipe:

My attempt at being crafty with the ingredients. I failed, miserably.

1 lb of deveined shrimp
4 peeled zucchinis (I used a julene slicer, but a regular peeler works just as well)
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1/4c parsley minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 C lemon juice fresh
olive oil
1/2 C wine
salt + pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Coat a medium sauce pan with olive oil on medium-high heat (I always aim for about 4-6 on my stove dial). Add garlic, crushed red pepper, salt/pepper and shrimp. Heat until fully cooked. About 5 or so minutes. Once cooked, set aside strained shrimp, leaving any juices in the pan, then add in lemon juice, wine, and zucchini noodles. Cook all the way through until the zucchini is tender (or to your preference). Add in the shrimp, and heat through.

Viola!! That's it! Garnish your dish with the minced parsley, and add any salt/pepper to taste as needed. Other than that, your meal is ready to be shared amongst friends!

Don't worry, between 4 girls this was finished in an hour 

**Side notes: I went to HEB and asked the wine taster what a good white wine would be to cook with and he said anything dry. He recommended a dry chardonnay that they were tasting that day, and it did wonders to the dish!

Shake it Up!

So I have this issue, it's called "I take way to much time to make breakfast." Seriously, it should be a condition. The problem is I love breakfast so much! It really is the beez-kneez to my day. Should I skip my usual eggs, sausage, sweet potato mixture, I wouldn't be a happy camper. However not every morning goes how I want. Having to be at work by 8am means a gourmet breakfast won't be served everyday. Buuutttt, I found out what is: a gourmet shake!

Below is my trusty breakfast/protein shake recipe:

16oz water
3 scoops Arbonne Chocolate Protein
1 scoop Arbonne Daily Fiber
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 C gluten free oats
1 TBSP PB Fit

Blend all together in your blender of choice. (I use a Ninja..it helps to really break down the oats)

Alright, so breakdown time:

I like to use water instead of almond milk because it keeps the sugar to a minimum seeings as I'm already adding in a banana. I freeze the bananas to a) last longer, and b) they make a great substitute for ice! My gluten free oats give me the carbs I need to start the day, and the protein powder and PB Fit provide my proteins for the morning as well.

Some of y'all may be looking at the fiber like huuuuh? Do I HAVE to include that? We all probably know the effects of one too many Fiber One bars in the morning (No, DAD! They're NOT granola bars for the thousandth time....) Yeah, we've all been there. When I started my Arbonne business, I began regimenting my fiber intake. One reason why I loved getting the 30 Days to Healthy Living was because it included the Daily Fiber, and I knew for a fact that was something I was super neglecting in my diet. Check out what the Mayo Clinic says about benefits to fiber intake:

1. Normalizes bowel movements (or what I like to abbrev as BM's)
2. Helps to maintain bowel health
3. Helps to lower cholesterol levels
4. Helps to control blood sugar levels
5. Aids in achieving healthy weight

So get it in, peeps! A great rule of thumb, recommended by the Institute of Medicine; women under fifty years of age should get about 25 grams per day.

So there it is! Start your morning off delicious, healthy, and quick!

Dinner Night: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Here it is: my first food post. Don't worry, this isn't really nerve wrecking at all.

One of my favorite things to do is look up different recipes on Pinterest, and alter them just a tad. It makes me feel more like a chef than a copy-cat. I did just that for tonight's dinner! I found this recipe on Half Baked Harvest. The stuffed sweet potatoes she made were chipotle flavored, but since I didn't have those on hand, I used sweet red peppers instead.  Here y'all go!

STUFFED SWEET POTATOES:

3 medium sweet potatoes

2 medium chicken breasts 

2 c spinach

3 roasted red peppers (from jar)- chopped

1 tsp oregano

1 clove garlic- minced

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 squeeze lemon

1 tsp cumin 

salt and pepper to taste

mozzarella cheese *optional* 

FOR THE SWEET POTATOES: 

Start out by preheating the oven to 350. 

Wash sweet potatoes and poke holes with a fork to ventilate while heating. 

Once washed, place sweet potatoes in the oven for about 50-60 minutes. 

FOR THE CHICKEN: 

Cut chicken breast in half length wise. 

Season with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper. 

Add oregano and cumin to season *optional*

Bake for 25 minutes 

--you can do this while the sweet potatoes are baking!--

In a medium bowl: 

add chopped peppers, oregano, garlic, lemon, cumin, and salt and pepper. Mix together and place to the side. 

When the chicken is done, in a medium size pan, add chicken and red pepper mix. Let cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add in spinach. 

Cook until spinach has wilted. 

Once the sweet potatoes are done, (soft enough to stick a fork through) cut in half, and scoop out the center. Just enough so the sweet potatoes can still stand alone. 

Add chicken filling to sweet potatoes (top with cheese if you choose) and throw back into the oven for about 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted, or food is warmed! 

Wanna adapt it to cook for just two?! Here's a fun tip: use only one sweet potato and save the chicken mix for lunches throughout the week. You can make a mashed sweet potato with the scraped out inside as well :)