Chipotle Chicken Stew

Today I am making a Chipotle Chicken Stew in the crock pot. I have had it once and it is soooo good. The ingredients are simple and flavors are rich.

Chipotle Chicken Stew

1-2 lbs. skinless chicken thighs

15 oz navy beans (or 1 can)

15 oz black beans (or 1 can)

1 can crushed or diced tomatoes, un-drained

1 ½  cups chicken broth/stock

½ cup orange juice

1 medium onion, diced

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced

1 t. salt

1 t. ground cumin

1 bay leaf

Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Combine chicken, beans, tomatoes with juice, broth, OJ, onion, chipotle pepper, salt, cumin, and bay leaf in crock pot.

Cover; cook on low 7 -8 hours or on high 3.5 – 4 hours. Remove bay leaf and chicken bones. Gently shred the chicken meat with 2 forks. Garnish with cilantro sprigs if desired.

Makes about 6 servings

We really like spicy here so I added 2 chipotle peppers instead of one but the rest I did exactly as the recipe called for. My house smells amazing! We can't wait for dinner.

I wish there was a way to give credit for this recipe but I got it from someone, who got it from someone, etc... So make it and enjoy! 

Here is a quick picture of it in the crock pot....I will take another one when we sit down to eat tonight.

Oh, and I think I might put a wedge of lime in it when I serve it. I think the lime juice will just bring out all the flavors.

Okay, here is the crock pot after I have shredded the chicken. Next up picture ready to eat!

Running Challenge...week 1

I have challenged myself to run at least 1 mile every day for a year. It is going well so far but it is hard. I pretty much had a year off of running. I did have a few spurts here and there where I would go out but overall it has been a year (I had my calf injury last Jan.). I'm finding that it is like starting all over. I'm finding I have calf and achilles tightness and have to walk during my run to stretch it back out. I very much don't want to overdo it and get injured.

I'm going to stick to 1 mile per day for the first 3 weeks just to give my body time to adjust to running again. Then I will start tacking on more miles.

 All that being said....just going out this week has reminded me why I love running, and I'm sad that I have missed an entire year. It is too cold out for me to be barefoot so I'm running in my Soft Star Runamocs, which, as far as shoes go are great! I have lots of toe room and great ground feel even with with the trail soles. I would love to try the dashes but they are not in the budget right now. I really can't wait for warmer weather so I can go barefoot. Barefoot is my one true running love.

The personal interactive feedback I get from the ground; temperature, texture, hardness, it is all like a feast for my feet! It definitely makes me Run Smiley and makes my soul happy! Oh, and don't even get me started on puddles.....splashing through them and the mud makes you feel like a kid again! The squish between your toes is a feeling like none other!

9 Years Ago Today....

Once upon a time a boy and a girl met in college. They had a pretty unconventional friendship to start.....yet the best of friends they became. They did everything together. They would stay up all night long fueled by bad coffee, and talking about life. One day they both realized it had changed and grown into much much more. In May of 2002 just after the semester of school had ended, the boy proposed to the girl. Both the boy and the girl had one semester left of school and they decided to set the wedding date for right after graduation. How the boy and girl ever managed to make it through their last semester while planning a wedding I will never know. Graduation came and went....two weeks later there dawned a cold January day. Mid day a beautiful light snow began to fall while all the friends and family of the boy and girl gathered to watch the boy and girl; who were best friends, get married. It was a perfect day. The guests were well fed and then given some bad music to listen and dance to. The boy and girl have since had two wonderful children to share their life with...a fun and happy home and more Love to share than they know what to do with have completed this family.

This girl has had the best 9 years ever because she has had the opportunity to share it with a perfect boy.

Busy Resolutioning and Reminiscing

Yeah, I'm pretty sure resolutioning is not a word but you get the point. I have been busy the past two days working on my resolutions/goals for the year. I have made a great shopping list and blank weekly menu plan.

  I have only filled in dinner for this week. I need to get on the rest of the meals.

The grocery store list is set up like the store (our store is set up crazy so we hit up dairy first and produce last). I have items I know we buy every week already on the list and lots of empty space for anything that comes up from the menu. I will be getting a years worth of grocery lists printed out tomorrow. I plan on binding them and putting a magnet on the back so I can keep it on the fridge.

I also made it out for my first run yesterday. I need to head out for today's run in a minute.

It seems most people who keep up with their blogs also do a recap for the year. My year was hard. I started it out tearing my calf muscle, then I found out I was pregnant on Valentines day, then I spent LOTS of time working on the planning committee for the Bridge to Bridge 5K/10K race that is held on Mother's Day weekend. The race went off and was a smashing success. A week later we had a private ultra sound to find out the gender of the baby. We had a stubborn one that would not give us a glimpse of the goods. A week later we found out we lost the baby. I delivered a beautiful baby boy that we named Luke. After that it was all I could do to keep my head above water. I threw myself into gardening and decorating projects. I also threw a fun birthday party for both of my boys. Making the cake and cake balls (red velvet) was a fun challenge.

Next I repainted the dining room and sewed myself some new curtains and painted the table.

 Then I put up some bulletin boards to display the boys' artwork.

 I sewed a Happy Birthday Sign to use for all our birthdays.

I made a huge list of things to do for the boys to keep them busy for the summer.

 I decided to make my house a bit more "green" by getting rid of paper products. I sewed rag bags and rags for our house and then loved the idea so much that I made one for 2 of my cousins and my mom.

I got my hands and feet dirty in the garden making a bunch of new flower beds.

 This is Luke's rose bush. It is surrounded by rocks that they boys painted.

 The rocks that the boys and I painted.

 I got my necklace with Luke's ashes in it.

G and I went on our first real vacation since our honeymoon....we made good use of the beach by remembering Luke.

 The boys played with bubbles....LOTS

We shampooed the carpets in the house, and as you can tell....they really needed it.

I had to sew a vest for a costume for Hugh. School wanted them to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up.....if you can't tell, Hugh wants to be a paleontologist.

Then it was almost Halloween and we decided to decorate the house with bats. I cut 100 bats out of paper and Hugh helped decorate.

Then I sewed the boys' Halloween costumes.

Then I painted the extra bedroom (one wall got chalkboard paint) and made curtains for that room.

I hit up goodwill and bought some ugly picture frames and spray painted them black to make a nice wall mural in our room.

Then it was time for Christmas and Christmas gifts to be made....
Here are some aprons I sewed for a friend and her two girls.

I took pictures of the boys and had some fun with the chalkboard painted wall.

I painted some awesome treasure chests for the boys for Christmas. I filled them with rocks that I had spray painted gold.

I accomplished lots of things and created lots of things but I still have a hole in my heart that can't be filled. I will always miss Luke.

On a side note....I know some of the pictures are turned, I'm still trying to fix that.

Lots of Food Pictures!

I have kept up posting my food pictures on facebook but I have slacked here, and I have some awesome ones since we have switched to paleo. I think I will post a few pictures here and there to catch up on that!

To start with I will put up my favorite meals thus far.

This first one is an herb rubbed pork tenderloin with roasted green bean, asparagus, and a blueberry/onion glaze. It was amazing!

This one is curried shrimp and spinach over fish cakes. I have been making a point to eat foods and spices that I had previously never tried. Curry is one of those things, I had never tried it and now I love it!

This next one just happened to be a last minute throw together meal and I loved it! We cook up a big batch of chicken and pork on the grill each weekend so that we will have something quick to grab out of the fridge. Also, G takes them for work for lunch. Anyway, I grabbed a chicken breast, a pork chop, some shrimp and I cut them up, tossed them in a skillet with butter and spices...tossed in peas and tomatoes at the end and we had an awesome 10 minute meal!

And, the last picture I have for the day (this one was taken on one of the new plates I got for Christmas! 5 full settings of fiesta ware). This is what we had last night for dinner. I cut up some chicken breasts into nuggets. I dipped them in egg and then coarsely ground almonds mixed with my own taco seasonings, then fried them in bacon drippings. I served the chicken nuggets with roasted greenbeans, asparagus, carrots, and mushrooms and we dipped them in salsa!

New Year...New Goals

I have been slacking on the running front and I have been missing it quite a bit. I have been having scheduling issues with the kids that have kept me from it. Some of the issue is me. I can get up at 5 am and go while the boys and G sleep but I really like to sleep too. I tried taking Owen with me in the jogging stroller after I dropped Hugh off at school but he hates being strapped down and made for a terrible companion on the runs....he would cry the entire time. I looked into getting a gym membership but we just don't have the extra money for that expense. That brings me back to 5 am. I just have to suck it up and do it.

I have a friend that is doing a challenge for 2012, run one mile every single day of the year. I like a good challenge and it is not that unobtainable of one. That puts me at 7 miles a week. I think the first few weeks will be the hardest and after that I can throw extra miles on every few days.

G is currently getting ready for a half marathon in May. While I did not sign up for it with him I am intending to train with him. I want to be able to comfortably run that distance by then.

So, my goal running goals are:

1. Run at least one mile every single day in 2012.
2. Train for a half marathon with G.
3. Weather permitting I will do it all barefoot!

As far as everything else in my life. I want to keep up the paleo/primal/grain-free eating. I have indulged myself in items with grains in them this holiday season and I have not only put on a couple of pounds but I feel bad. I get a head ache and a stomach ache and digestive issues from it. I bought myself a good paleo cook book for Christmas. I do better at making great meals for my family when I have a great meal plan done for each week.

So, my eating goals are:

1. Meal plan each week.
2. Keep it paleo...I feel better when I do.

Blogging goals.

1. I want to put out a couple of posts each week. The entire reason I started blogging was to have a snapshot of my life for my children to look back on to see what I was like, what our family was like, what they were like. I also really enjoy documenting my life....it makes me feel like there is some reason for it. So, for them and for me, I need to put more out there.

Life is getting better...lots of changes

I am still working through the loss of our sweet baby Luke. My due date is coming up fast (October 31st) and I'm pretty sure that will be a hard day. On my way through that monster called grief I have made some changes in my life and my families lives.

I am still barefoot running, although not as much as I would like. Getting over that calf strain was harder than I thought...I suspect that it was a tear and not a strain. Anyway, now that Hugh is back in school for the year I have been able to take Owen out in the stroller for some runs. I need to build my distance back up. G. is thinking about going for a half marathon in the spring and I'm hoping to join him.

I poured my heart and soul into yard work and gardening this summer. Just taking a shovel and digging helped to give me time to think and an outlet for all the emotions. I created HUGE new flowerbeds in the back yard. I hope to put a patio in the middle next summer. I also added a big bed in the front yard and re-dug all the beds up close to the front and side of the house.

Greg and I were able to take a small vacation up to Michigan for a long weekend. That was very much needed to reconnect.

Now for the biggest change....we have gone primal/paleo/sugar free. I am loving it and G. is still struggling with the loss of sweets. It has been just over 3 weeks and we have each lost just about 10 lbs. I want to switch the boys to this as well as I believe they will thrive. That just may take a little time. Owen may have to switch out of necessity...the doc wants him worked up for celiac...I just have not made the appointment yet.

The basics of the plan....meat, veggies, fats, and some fruits and nuts. Some dairy but it is on its way out as well. We eat nothing that is processed, and no grains of any type. In the three weeks that we have been doing this I feel soooo much better. I decided to have some beans last night with dinner and I will never do that again. My stomach is ANGRY at me and I woke up really sick...I felt like I had been poisoned.

I guess that is about as much of an update as I can do for now. I still have a book giveaway to do so I will get that up in a couple of days.