Crockpots are magic.

Alright I've clearly lost my mind. I don't care who knows it. Our crockpot has saved my life. I have night classes three nights week so I've been using our crockpot on those nights so I don't wind up eating junk. It's been great so far.



Last night I made salsa chicken using Biz's salsa. It was so easy.

1 1/2 jars of salsa
2 tbsp reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 of a large red onion (Sorry Biz!)
2 diced hot peppers
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp cumin

Add it all to the crockpot and pour salsa over the top of the chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours)



The salsa made this! It's got this incredible smoky flavor that coated the chicken. Every bite had flavor. Plus you've gotta love how salsa has barely any calories.



I served a cup of shredded chicken on a salad plate with a dollop of reduced fat sour cream, guacamole and 1/2 a diced tomato. So good! The chicken would make a great enchilada filling. Thanks so much for sending us salsa Biz it's seriously delicious. I am rationing out the last 2 jars.



MMM.



Another crockpot favorite? Crockpot italian pork.

Get a 1 lb pork loin
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
a dash of dried rosemary, black pepper, sea salt, red pepper flakes and dried basil. Stir.

On high for 4 hours or low for 8. It shreds really easily and tastes fantastic. Sometimes I throw it more seasonings depending on my mood.

In other news, I found my student teaching placement. I will be teaching 7th grade English. I'm really excited but nervous. And my knee is still killing me so more PT is necessary. I've been icing 3x a day for 15 minutes each time, stretching and resting but it's not healing fast enough. I'm so ready to do this again.



Minus the creepy face of course. I also rejoined Weight Watchers last night with a friend. I've maintained my weight since February (the last time I weighed in there) but I'm really hoping to lose some more. If you're interested in being accountability buddies just email me! I could use the motivation.

The question I have for you is... do you have any fabulous crockpot recipes? Please share!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday! My family is going on vacation so I wasn't able to see her today so we celebrated last night at The Melting Pot!



Before going out to dinner, we went to pick up our CSA box. Figs came in the box and I had no idea what to do with them.



I found a recipe online for proscuitto wrapped figs and went for it.



The figs were gorgeous inside. I loved the pink color.





I was excited to try this Laura Chenel Chevre. I've had it at restaurants before but always deemed it too expensive to enjoy at home. This time I got over it!



I stuffed the figs with the goat cheese.



Wrapped the figs with proscuitto and drizzled them with pumpkin-spiced honey. Yes, pumpkin spice + honey. So good! These figs were amazing. I will 100% make it again.



I also served some of Biz's baja fresh salsa with chips on the side. Biz was kind enough to send me some of her homemade salsa. She sent us 4 jars! We already went through a jar and loved it.



Seriously it tastes just like my favorite salsa from Baja Fresh only fresher and yummier. I'm going to try making shredded salsa chicken in the crockpot with one of the jars. Andy is excited! He's a salsa fiend. Thank you so much Biz!



After picking up the CSA, lunch and some errands we were ready for some fondue at Melting Pot.



I said hello to Daniel too! My sister Sarah babysat him so mom and dad could enjoy the evening with us.



The lighting isn't great so I apologize for the shoddy photography. We started with cheddar cheese fondue with bread, green apples and veggies for dipping.



Then we had salads and the meat course. The meat course consisted of steak, shrimp, chicken and raviolis. They also gave us mushrooms, broccoli and red potatoes.



And dipping sauces for the meat once it's cooked.



Obviously dessert with all of the dippers was the best. We got milk chocolate fondue. I loved it with the strawberries. YUM!

Mom loved The Melting Pot and is really looking forward to going again. Happy birthday Mom!

Chicken parmesan & vitabrownies

The other day, I saw Biz make some chicken parmesan which is one of my favorite ways to make chicken. Honestly, I don't love chicken so I'm always searching for new ways to jazz it up.



I had to buy myself a mallet for this! I pounded out the chicken but not quite thin enough. I breaded it in half panko/half italian seasoned bread crumbs. The panko is the best!



For easier eating, I sliced the breasts up and served with buffalo mozzarella and whole wheat spaghetti with a veggie marinara on top.



This was delicious! Andy and I only managed to eat one of the pieces of chicken so we had leftovers.



For veggies, we had romaine lettuce salads with parmesan, tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella. We obviously needed more veggies in the house. We had to stop our CSA delivery for 2 weeks since we'll be out of town on the pick up days.



I was sent these vita brownies a long time ago from the folks at Vitalicious for free so I could sample and review. I must have forgotten about them and was excited when I pulled them out of the fridge.



I topped the plain tart froyo with sliced bananas, chocolate chips and put the warmed vita brownie underneath. It was delicious. Andy and I both really liked the brownies. They were more cake-like than fudgy but still very good. I think I'd prefer them with ice cream or fro-yo than on their own.

I have a few more vitamuffins to try out so I'm looking forward to that!

Disneyland was a ton of fun, I took tons of pictures that I plan on sharing with you soon.

June Goals and Biz's 101 day Challenge!

Dude. I am so over being sick. SO OVER IT! Phlegm, cough, headache, congestion, body aches and whiny Amanda be gone! Now Andrew has it too. LOVELY!

I call Andy--Andrew from time to time.



Andy made us coffee this am and I was super grateful. I had to work a preschool graduation at the Spanish Immersion school today and I need coffee. My Spanish is awful by the way. Mara you should teach me!



I had some Kashi Go Lean Crunch (Honey & Flaxseed) with a raspberry Chobani, banana and some strawberries that were on their last legs. I love Kashi Go Lean but I swear I'm going to break a tooth on them one day.



I bought 2 flats of organic and local strawberries last week and feel too guilty throwing them out. Hopefully the few I have left will taste okay in a smoothie.

I am currently doing Biz's 101 Day Challenge! My goals are;

■ Run 75 miles in 101 days
■ Eat out less – down to a minimum of 1-2 times a week
■ Make desserts that are less than 300 calories
■ Strength train with workout videos 3 x a week using 8-10 lb dumbbells instead of the 5lbs I use now!

I gave myself a goal of 50 miles ran in May but only got to 42! I'm hoping to step it up. I signed up on DailyMile to track my mileage. Are any of you on there?



I cannot believe it's been a year since this!



With my friend Tiffany, she lives far away and I miss her lots!

I want to wear my wedding dress again...to marry the same guy of course!