busy bee

Now that I've been back to work for a week, I have finally realized how much I like to be busy. Yes, I do love sitting at home and I do love being alone at times, but having a (pretty much) filled up schedule helps me tackle the not-so-fun things I need to get done (like cleaning the house). I think I've done pretty well adjusting to my new schedule as a working mom - Seth is having some trouble with the adjustment (he had to get up earlier to take Avery to gramma's house every morning), but he's working on it. 

One thing that I'm sure has been helping me out so much is having my lunches and smoothies for the entire week made! This was probably one of the best ideas I've ever had, and I don't know why I didn't do it before (maybe because I didn't have a baby?).

Yesterday was an interesting day. I babysat Grace, one of our BFF couples' kids, at my mom's house while the boys were at the Tigers' game. It wasn't so bad. We only had 1 fit thrown and 1 extremely-nasty-not-from-this-planet super poop (I was laughing so hard at the nastiness that came out of Gracie, that I stopped breathing - it was intense). So, all in all, a good day. After dinner, I did my weekly grocery shopping, then headed home and whipped up this savory-sweet recipe for lunch during this week at work:

Apple Cranberry Quinoa Salad (adapted from a recipe at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice)

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped*

1 cup quinoa, uncooked

2 green apples, diced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup feta, crumbled (leave out for a vegan option)

6 green onions, chopped

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tbs lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook quinoa according to directions and set aside to cool.

2. Add 1/2 cup of the walnuts, olive oil, and 2 tbs of the lemon juice to a food processor or high power blender and process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. To a large bowl, add quinoa, apples, cranberries, green onions, feta, and the rest of the onions and toss with the remaining 1 tbs lemon juice. Add the walnut dressing and toss again, making sure to evenly coat all ingredients. 

*the actual recipe calls for the walnuts to be toasted prior to processing. I said F that because I'm lazy, but do what you want.

"We should totally just STAB Caesar!"

Sometimes food makes me think about Mean Girls, which means its probably time for me to watch it for the 9,456,567th time. So before I have my "hump day treat," I'll fill you in on what I just whipped up for dinner.

Now that we are back on track with our meal planning, I've been trying out a few new recipes...while still keeping them easy peasy in case I need to stop to grab a crying baby or retrieve a paci that never seems to stay in Avery's mouth (no matter how much she wants it there). 

Today's dinner was both easy and delicious. Seth loved it (he tried to put mustard on it before trying it, but I stopped that nonsense before it happened...he loved it without the mustard). 

Easy Chicken Caesar Sandwiches 

3 chicken breasts

1 cup Caesar dressing (I just used Kroger brand)

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce

Hamburger buns

1. Boil the chicken breasts in a pot of water. They will float to the top when done - who knew?! I didn't! This is an amazing thing to me!

2. When chicken is cooked, remove from water (discard water) and shred chicken. Put chicken back in pot after shredding. 

3. While on low heat, add pepper, parsley, dressing, and cheese. Cook on low until cheese is melted and chicken is warmed.

4. Slap some on a bun with some lettuce and eat it!

Easy, yummy...we will definitely be making these again!