Apple Balsamic Pork Roast {freezer meal}

Today I wanted to share another WildTree freezer meal recipe that we made. This is probably one of the easiest dinners you could ever make because it consists of only 3 ingredients!

I will say that I am not really into pork. And I wasn't actually looking forward to this meal. I even made it first to "get it out of the way". But it was honestly my 2nd favorite of this group of 10 freezer meals that we made. (Behind the Ranch Chicken Chili-Yum!)

2½ lbs boneless pork shoulder roast (may use tenderloin)
1½ cups unsweetened apple sauce
2 tablespoons Wildtree Apple Balsamic Vinegar  

Mix all ingredients into freezer bag.
Remove air, seal & attach label.  Double bag and freeze.   

To prepare: Thaw in fridge.  Place contents of bag in crockpot. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

At end of slow cooking, slice pork roast or tenderloin & serve sauce from crockpot drizzled over top.  Serves 8.

Recommended side dish:  Serve with Wildtree Quick & Easy Beer Bread or Roasted potatoes (see additional recipes at back of recipes)  **I made the Quick and Easy Beer Bread and it was delicious!

I'll say it again. This was delicious! And it really was so easy! Plus, it's a fantastic freezer meal!

Cleaning House - My Chore Chart (And a GIVEAWAY)

Disclosure: The Purex brand provided me with a sample of Purex Crystals Aromatherapy in exchange for a product review, however, all opinions are my own.

I know I can't be the only one that at the end of the day, sometimes wonders "What did I do today?"

Most days consists of the same things as yesterday and the day before that- and sometimes my days run together. And when it comes to cleaning I'm sometimes asking myself when the last time the toilet got cleaned.

So last year I sat down and made a list of the things that needed to be done weekly, and what needed to be done daily, and what could be done monthly. I made myself a check list that looks like this:

                              
                               This is printable, so feel free to click on it to print your own!

I've slipped it into a page protector and check mark the days I'm going to do those chores.

I like the idea of having a couple of things to do each day instead of trying to get everything done in one days time. I typically  do my "chores" first thing in the morning before the kids are up or else they have to wait until naptime. Trying to sweep with Summer around is like brushing your teeth with an Oreo in your mouth- And some things are strategically placed. I clean out the fridge on Tuesdays because Wednesday is garbage day and I don't want anything gross hanging out in the garbage for too long.

On days where I wash bedding I get up and strip down all the beds first thing in the morning that way by nap time beds are put back together. (ideally)

Then I have daily chores. Several of these belong to Zachary and sometimes sweeping end up on this list, especially this time of year when the dog tracks in dirt like crazy. Then I'm sweeping twice per day. 

One thing I do several times per week is laundry. With 5 people in the house dirty laundry is something I never run out of. And you guys know I'm all about some good smelling clothes.  Lately, I've been using Purex Crystals Aromatherapy to help eliminate laundry odors.  Purex Crystals never disappoint me and always leave a fresh laundry scent.

Splitting everything up makes me feel like I'm doing something productive each day and keeping my house clean. At the end of the day I'm no longer asking myself what I did today but instead giving myself a little pat on the back for the house being clean.

Now for a little GIVEAWAY! I've got 3 coupons to giveaway for a free bottle of Purex Crystals Aromatherapy to try it out for yourself ---->

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ranch Chicken Chili (Crockpot Freezer Meal)

Several weeks ago I attended a freezer meal workshop that my good friend Kim was hosting. She is a rep for Wildtree and I was excited to try this out. I love a good freezer meal so when I found out I was going to get to hang out with my friends for an afternoon while we put together our meals, I was on board!

This picture of the Ranch Chicken Chili really doesn't do this meal justice. We made 10 meals and this is the one that I was the most looking forward to eating, and in no way did it disappoint! It was so delicious and I look forward to making it again soon.  A funny thing with this dinner: Summer loves to eat, that is no secret, but she would not stop eating this! After 4 decent size bowls and her asking for more I finally had to tell her that she had to take a break! She LOVED this!

Now you want to rush out and make your own, don't you? Well here is how!

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup frozen corn
15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
15 oz can white beans, drained & rinsed
10 oz can “Rotel” diced tomatoes with green chilies, not drained
8 oz package cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 package Wildtree Creamy Ranch Dressing & Dip Mix
½ tablespoon Wildtree Spicy Carne Asada Seasoning
2 teaspoons Wildtree Vegetable Bouillon Soup Base (provided at workshop)
1 cup water

At cooking time: ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

Mix all ingredients into freezer bag.
Remove air, seal & attach label.  Double bag and freeze.

To prepare: Thaw in fridge.  Place contents of bag in crockpot.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  At end of 6 hours, use fork to pull apart chicken breast or thighs into a “shredded” consistency.   Top with ¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional).  Serves 5.

You guys, no joke that this Ranch Chicken Chili is amazing. I hope you'll give it a try- check out my friend's Wildtree site!

*I am in no way associated with Wildtree, just sharing a dinner that I enjoyed and wanted to pass on*

What I learned from running 13.1 miles

Last Spring when I decided that I was going to do a half marathon I had a plan. I planned to run several days a week, I planned to do HIIT workouts a couple days a week and have a nice day of rest each week. I had told my parents that I was going to do it and my mom was so proud of me. The morning she went into her surgery she was bragging to my aunts that her daughter was going to do a half marathon!

 

And then my mom died and I actually spent most of my Summer sitting on the couch rather than training. I didn't eat the greatest. I did very few HIIT workouts and I ran about 2-3 times per month. Since doing Bloomsday in May (which is 7.46 miles) my furthest run was 2.7 miles.

 

I went from having a goal of doing it in 2 hours, to having a goal of crossing the finish line before they closed the course! I even thought about not doing it at all. I kept thinking about how many people would finish in front of me, about the people that would do better.

 

                   

 

But then something changed inside of me. I reminded myself why I wanted to do this: Because it scared me and I wanted the challenge. I reminded myself about how proud my mom was that I was doing this. About how she would have been waiting for me at the finish line to cheer me on. I reminded myself that it doesn't matter if I am the last person to cross the finish line but that I finish. That I take on this challenge and see it to the end. That I am my biggest competition.

 

The first few miles were actually okay. I did have a couple of "what was I thinking?" moments along the way and I walked more than I planned. But I ran, I jogged, I walked my way through 13.1 miles.

As I was somewhere between the 11-12 mile mark I was hurting. I was walking so slow that I think I saw a turtle pass me. I couldn't wait to get to the finish line and see my husband, who had already finished. I couldn't wait to get water and eat something {anything}. I couldn't wait to sit down. And I couldn't help but think, "I'll never do this again". 

But somehow I mustered up the courage to start running again, which was actually easier than the terribly slow walking I was doing previously. I ran that last 1.1 mile to get across that finish line, to get my medal, see my husband and drink a glass of water!

We sat down in the grass to talk about our accomplishment and I snapped a quick picture of us with our medals. Feeling so proud. I'm so glad I did it. And while I didn't let myself think about it for 48 hours, I'm looking forward to next year!

Tutu and Fairy Wings review and GIVEAWAY!

My kids love to play pretend. They have a kitchen set and a BBQ, a playhouse, and Summer has several little princess outfits. Not to mention their endless imaginations! These kids come up with any and everything out there. Sometimes I hear them say things and I wonder, "How in the world did they put that together?"

So when I was approached about doing a review and giveaway with Just Pretend Kids for kids pretend play wear, I couldn't refuse. I saw all the cute princess outfits, the headbands, the tutus, the fairy wings :::swoon:::

As you can clearly see, Summer was enjoying it. I picked the Pansy Tutu and wings and I was not disappointed! She looks so sweet!

So much excitement! She was in awe and kept wanting to go look at herself in the mirror. And she kept saying "pretty".

Here are 3 long-term benefits of pretend play (from Just Pretend Kids):

It encourages creativity and cognitive flexibility - When playing make-believe, kids come up with different ideas, stories and symbols. According to Psychology Today, this encourages creativity and enhances cognitive flexibility later on.

It develops self-regulation skills – Children use toys, such as dress-up costumes, that allow them to make up possible scenarios with their friends. These make-believe games help children develop self-regulation skills like reduced aggression, delay of gratification and empathy because they are challenged to play different roles.

It helps them learn important social skills –Imaginative play puts children in hypothetical situations. Even though these situations are fictional (for example, a princess stuck in a castle tower because there’s a fire-breathing dragon below), imagining different scenarios and dealing with friends in these scenarios can help them learn important social skills like communication and problem solving.

Not only can you find adorable princess outfits and dress up wear, but they have a ton of amazing Halloween costumes. You can get an Ice Queen, Mermaids, Witches, Vampires, the possibilities are endless!

I am so happy to be able to do a giveaway for a Tutu and a set of Fairy wings to one of my readers.
And you can also use code "Blog10" to receive 20% off of your order! What a steal!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Love Dare Day 7

 

Love believes the best

Relationships are not perfect. Mine included. I think that it is so easy to focus on the negative. To look at the things that our spouse is not doing, rather than the things they are. I can tell you of time after time that I was quickly annoyed when I thought something should be done, or wasn't getting done. I'm not exactly the most patient.

Your relationships with yourself, your spouse, and with God are something that you should be working on daily. Not something that you have checked off the list because they are completed. Their is always work to be done.

We all have issues, baggage, flaws. But only you get to choose whether you are spending your time in the Depreciation Room, wearing yourself down with the negative. Or if you are going to spend your time in the Appreciation Room, with love building you up.

 

Take today's dare and be honest with yourself and your spouse.

Choose to live in the Appreciation Room.  

Home made Chili

Happy Friday, my friends! Zach is home because of a teacher curriculum day, Tyler has Preschool in a couple of hours and we have another busy weekend ahead ending with Travis and I doing our first Half Marathon on Sunday! I am really looking forward to it and I'm hoping Travis doesn't have to drag me across the finish line! So keep your fingers crossed for me please!

But in the mean time, the weather is cooling quickly in our area and I've been looking for an amazing Chili recipe that would blow me away for a long time and I think I have finally found one! This chili is most delicious!

This one I found over at The Pioneer Woman and you just can't go wrong with this recipe.

• 2 pounds hamburger
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 can 14 oz tomato sauce
• 1 can (10 Ounce) diced tomatoes with chiles (Ro-tel)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 Tablespoon gound umin
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1 can (14-ounce) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14-ounce) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup warm water
• grated cheddar cheese

1. Brown hamburger, then add garlic.
2. Add tomato sauce, Rotel, salt, oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Add drained and rinsed beans. Stir to combine, then cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.
4. Mix corn meal with water, then add to the chili. Stir to combine and simmer for a final 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
5. Serve with Fritos, shredded cheddar cheese and red onion

It has the right amount of meat, beans and flavor and was super delicious and I loved it so much that I made it for Tyler and Summer's birthday party to put on top of hot dogs to have amazing chili dogs! And it was amazing! I also had bowls and fritos just in case you didn't want to make a chili dog!

So who is ready for Fall? How is the weather in your area?

DIY: Twine covered wine bottles

Happy Monday everyone! What a great weekend we just had! Our family celebrated Tyler's 4th birthday and Summer's 2nd birthday in a combined farm themed birthday party and it was a lot of fun. Great company, great food and the kids got lots of great gifts! We have coloring books coming out our ears, which is awesome because Tyler and Summer LOVE to color!

Today I am sharing this fun project that I found on Pinterest- Twine covered wine bottles. I really needed something to spruce up that area above the cupboards that for someone like me, who is terrible at decorating, is a dreaded area! I spotted some covered wine bottles and thought it would be perfect.

I started with drinking some wine. Not all at once, but you could do that too if you wanted!
I've never been much of a wine drinker. Actually, I've hated the taste until one time Travis brought a bottle home that he thought sounded good, I tried it and it was delicious!

Also, you need some twine and a glue gun. Once I started at the top and the other two I started at the bottom and it didn't really matter which end I started with, they both turned out.

So put a little glue on and put the tip of the twine on, holding it there for a moment and then wrap the twine around the bottle.

Just keep going around the bottle, adding a little glue every other line or so. You can add glue every line if that is what you want to do!

Just keep going until you have your entire bottle wrapped in twine!

I did 3 bottles and I am really happy with how they turned out. But I think they need a couple little flowers or something, right?

What do you think?

Love DIY projects? Check out a few more HERE!