Happy Monday blogger friends! I'm going to post about something a little different today! A topic that is near and dear to my heart, MEAL PREP!

I love meal prepping! After moving to Omaha, and becoming more and more focused on health and wellness, I discovered the amazing benefit to meal prepping! The thing I love the most is how EASY it makes the rest of the week! Grab and go breakfasts, lunches and snacks that are healthy and guilt freeeeee! YASSS!

After the trauma of 2017, (getting in a car accident, losing my job/starting a new career, and entering into a new relationship) (Ok that last part wasn't traumatic 😏) I had lost ALL motivation to do any sort of meal prepping. I found myself eating like a 5th grader. A sandwich, fruit, chips, POP and a sweet. Or grabbing something easy, and FAST (fast food). Or eating leftovers from the night before. Now these things aren't bad every once in a while, but they just make for a boring, unhealthy and redundant lunch hour. I wanted to be excited about food again! I wanted to feel that sense of accomplishment after prepping a weeks worth of HEALTHY meals!

So I did.

Recently, I discovered the process of ordering groceries online. I have seen post after post from friends and family who have been doing this for a while and I just never took the plunge! Well in the spirit of all the changes I have been making, I decided to DO IT! And let me just tell you, it is LIFE CHANGING! I sat on my butt, meal prepped from Pinterest while simultaneously adding the items I needed to my online cart, chose a convenient time to pick them up and that was it! SO CONVENIENT! I went out to breakfast, did some laundry and cleaned out my refrigerator all before it was time to go get my groceries. (Like there were other people doing my shopping for me? WHAT!) Using the app, I checked in, pulled into one of the designated spots and BAM! There they were! Brought to me, and loaded into my car! WHAT?! REALLY?! Yes. It was like living in a dream. I will never buy my groceries the same way again! If you haven't done this yet, DO IT! I was hesitant at first, but boy am I a believer today!

This made meal prepping a cinch! I was so excited to get to it!

I started by making some Chocolate muffins for Reno. He likes his breakfast to be of the grab and go variety, and muffins are great for that! Baking up enough for him to have 3 a day, my apartment was smelling like Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

As the muffins were baking, I prepped MY breakfast. I absolutely LOVE overnight oats! Not only is it super easy to make but its healthy as well and the options are endless! I decided to do one I've never done before, Strawberry Coconut Overnight Oats with Flax Seeds (for and extra kick of health in the morning!) Its so simple! All I did was mix the oats, cashew milk and plain Greek yogurt together, added a pinch of flax seeds, a dash of vanilla extract and mixed it all up until blended well! I cut up 3 strawberries per serving(5 servings total), and topped them off with unsweetened coconut flakes! That's it! DONE! Popped them in the fridge to chill overnight and it was on to the next prep!

Lunch prepping is really important to me, I typically head to the gym over my lunch hour so when its time to eat I need something healthy, filling and worth the wait! This week I decided to do Bang Bang shrimp with zucchini noodles and couscous! Sounds delicious right? YUP! This recipe was also extremely easy to make! I got a veggie spiral-er (is that a word?) for Christmas a couple years ago, and I LOVE IT! I made my zoodles and heated them up in some olive oil until they were tender! YUM! After those were cooked up, I started on the shrimp and couscous (Boil water, put in couscous..). HOLY BUCKETS! The shrimp needed to be peeled and deveined.. WHAT! You're meaning to tell me that I have to pull them out of their shells AND pull out those gross little black 'veins' (you cant fool me, I know what that is!) UGH! I committed to this recipe, so for the next 15 minutes, I was elbows deep in shells and veins. YUCK! (I'm still having shrimp vein flashbacks..)

The good thing about shrimp is that it cooks up soooo fast! So while those were cooking up, I made the sauce! I mixed together Greek yogurt, hot sauce, sriracha, honey and lime juice! This made for a sweet yet spicy shrimp sauce! Once my shrimp were nice and pink, I tossed them in the sauce until they were nice and coated! Added them to the containers with the zoodles and cooked couscous, and WHAM! Lunch was served! So amazing!  I continue to amaze myself. I am like my own cheerleader, patting myself on the back for a job well done!

The last thing I prepped was my healthy snack! This was the easiest of them all! I have these great little containers (from the container store, the most amazing place on earth!.. besides Target 😏) that fit my snack so perfectly! About 1/3 cup of grapes, 1 halo and a string cheese. Just over 100 calories, this snack is easy to prep and even easier to eat! LOVE IT!

I love love love meal prepping! I was able to meal prep 5 days of breakfasts x 2, 5 days of lunches and 5 days of snacks in under 2 hours! When I ate my prepped meals today, IT FELT AMAZING! I feel like I have my life together when I successfully prepare meals, and STICK to eating them!

Here is to finally committing 100% to the New Year New Me resolution! I have been doing pretty darn good with most of it, but not all of it. TODAY IS THE DAY MY FRIENDS!

Let me give you my 2 second review on the recipes I chose, BOMMMMMMBBBBBB. The lunch was so amazing, I had to refrain myself from licking my container while at my desk. It was THAT good!

Now, go and get your meal prep on!

P.S Meal prepping is exhausting, just ask sleepy Boone!

ITS TUESDAY!

I hope you are all having a FANtastic week so far! Here in Nebraska it is COLD and a BLIZZARD. Like really. Is it time for weekends by the pool yet? I am hoping that my readers are enjoying my posts! If you make it through this next one, leave me a comment and let me know which one has been your favorite so far! Do you like the IP posts? Vegetarian? Or do you like when they are short? Long? LET ME KNOW! I welcome your feedback and am looking forward to reading what your thoughts are! 😉

Todays post is another rendition of 'What else can Bailey make in the Instant Pot?!' (spoiler alert: the options are endless, so buckle up folks!)

I absolutely LOVE Chicken Marsala! Who doesn't? I have made it on the stove top and in the crock pot too many times to count, but last night, I used the Instant Pot and OHHHH BOYYYY was it a game changer! I feel like I am in this new relationship (with the pot) and we are in this honeymoon phase where everything is perfect. I would characterize the relationship with my IP as being, sunshine and rainbows (its THAT good). And because I cant go more than 24 hours without spending some time with my new love, I whipped up a killer dinner last night and you guys HAVE GOT to try this!

The recipe is as listed below, with my edits! 😉

Pressure Cooker Chicken Marsala -

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 2 chicken breasts, because there is 2 of us...)

S&P to taste (among other spices)

2 cloves minced garlic 

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup Marsala cooking wine (I used regular Marsala wine, because the grocery store sucks)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup cornstarch (I used flower because my mom said I could 😉)

Fresh parsley (optional) (we went without)

Cooked egg noodles (we used rice, because we have to change everything about all recipes)

So now that we have our ingredients in order, lets get pott-ing! Insta-ing!? Hmm, maybe I just created an online phenomenon! Probs not, so lets move on.

Ok, so this recipe is BOMB. It is so easy to do! I filled my pot with some olive oil (the recipe said to spray your chicken with cooking spray, um WHAT? So I did NOT do that because WHAT?). Once the shock of the first instruction wore off (WHAT), I turned it to the sear function, let the oil get hot and I dropped in the chicken breasts (S&P'd) to brown on both sides. This only took about 3 minutes per side which was amazing! While my chicken was searing, I chopped up some goodies (the mushrooms and garlic) so that they were ready to go! Once the chicken was browned to my likening, I added the chopped mushrooms, garlic, Marsala wine, more S&P and some garlic salt! Once that was all in and looking scrumptious, I closed the lid and set it to manual high pressure for 7 minutes. SEVEN MINUTES. Whoa, this thing is nuts.

While my chicken was cooking I got to work on the rice. That took me 30 seconds, so I did some push-ups while I waited.

Just kidding, I cant do a push-up, so I sat on the couch for the longest 7 minutes of my life! DING DING! The dinner bell was ringing! I let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes before releasing the rest. Once I cracked that lid open, I knew we had done good! The smell alone was enough for me to know this was going to be amazing! The picture above does not do it justice you guys. That sauce was bubbling, the chicken was perfect and the steam was ALL OVER my camera lens!

 

I pulled the chicken out, set them on a plate and finished up by returning the IP to sear, bringing the contents to a boil and adding the flour and chicken broth (which I mixed to avoid clump-age). I stirred it for about 3 minutes until thick, returned the chicken to the sauce and let it simmer for a minute. But that was it. I couldn't wait any longer, it was time for dinner! YOU GUYS.

Holy hell this is good. I could not get enough! Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am basically Julia Childe, and those are just the facts.

I had dinner prepped, cooked, eaten and cleaned up all before 6:30! That is unheard of! 2 thumbs up, 5 stars and 100% on rotten tomatoes. You guys need to go out, get an instant pot and make this RIGHT NOW! You will not be disappointed!

Also, just a quick question unrelated to food. How does my cat become a model because COME ON!

Until next time! 

 

 

 

Happy Thursday Blogger Friends!

I have taken a small hiatus from blogging (it has been one heck of a January), but I am BACK and ready to share my latest recipe with y'all. So giddy on up! (How do we feel about the accent? Not my style?) Oh well, HERE WE GO!

Baked Potato Soup. Who doesn't love a good BPS? I have made many variations and have loved it more and more each time! I have made it on the stovetop, in the crockpot, with broccoli, and last night, I made 10 - Minute Baked Potato Soup in the INSTANT POT! WHOA! How does that even work? Potato's cant be cooked under pressure? This sounds like madness.. 

(Narrator) And madness it was.

The recipe is as follows (with my edits of course) :

Baked Potato Soup

5 lb bag of potatoes (I used about 8 Russet Potatoes)

1 large shallot minced (or 3 tbsp. minced onion)(I used onion and threw in some garlic too)

5-6 cups chicken broth/stock (I used stock, less calories)

4 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup softened cream cheese

1/3 cup sour cream (I used plain Greek yogurt)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used Colby Jack because its WAY better)

Dash of S&P and any additional spices desired 

1-2 cups milk (depending on how thin you want your soup) (I added ZERO CUPS.. Stay tuned)

Bacon crumbles (optional)

Green onion (optional)

This seemed easy enough.. (it was not)

I started by searing up the garlic and onion in a little EVOO. It doesn't call for this, but it makes the flavor SO MUCH BETTER. I love this setting on my IP! It eliminates the need to transfer your seared items and locks the flavor in! After searing for about 3 minutes, I added the diced up potatoes and filled the pot with chicken stock until the liquid just covered them.

Popped the lid (and sealed it of course), set it on SOUP for 10 minutes and let it do its THANG. I was so excited to use the soup function. It is really no different from the others I have used, but it is my goal for 2018 to use all 10 settings on my IP ULTRA! Challenge accepted!

It was so simple, I had no clean up and nothing else to prepare so I sat down to relax.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. This thing really lets you know when its done! I let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes before releasing the rest. While the steam was whistling I could start to smell the yummy soup that was waiting for us inside. I opened the lid and it looked great! The potatoes were so tender that they mashed up with no effort. Reno stepped in to help and added the butter, cream cheese, sour cream, Colby jack cheese and spices of our liking to the pot and mixed it up until smooth. That is where our problems began.

The potatoes DISINTEGRATED! POOF GONE! We went from thinking we were going to have a thick hearty soup, to stirring up hot POTATO WATER. YUCK.

I was PISSED! What the heck am I supposed to do with HOT POTATO WATER. NOT what I was expecting AT ALL. Good thing I am a quick problem solver, I immediately popped some more potatoes in the microwave while Reno added a flour/water mixture to the completed 'soup'. We had just made enough potato water to feed a small country, so there was no way we were going down without a fight.

The flour was starting to thicken the soup up, its a miracle how that works! And ding ding ding, the potatoes were ready! Reno cut the potatoes into chunks as I watched with my fingers crossed hoping these additions would make the soup edible. After about 10 minutes we had our verdict.

IT WORKED! THANK GOODNESS!

Our Potato water was beginning to look more like soup by the second! I got all the toppings out and we were ready to rock and roll! Reno and I like to top our soups (and really all our meals) in very different ways! I like mine classic, with Greek yogurt (sour cream), bacon crumbles and a little more cheese (because why not!) while Reno likes his DRENCHED in SRIRACHA!

We finally sat down to eat, and boy was it worth the wait! This soup is creamy, flavorful and delicious! The only downside to a soup like this is the amount of servings it yields! I used less of everything and we still got enough to portion out for the next 100 days. If excess soup is my only complaint, I would say that this recipe is pretty darn good overall! I will definitely add more potatoes next time.. I'm always learning.