6 Things I'm Loving Lately

Hello hello, friends!! What has everyone been up to? Life has been a little crazy on our end and I feel like I’m treading water to keep my head above. But it’s also been really good, and I feel like fall (or has the weather decided it’s already winter??) has been really refreshing for my heart and mind. I wanted to post something fun with a few of the things I’ve really been enjoying lately. I originally was going to share, but I just had to include all six!…So here you go!

1. This white chicken chili from Fit Foodie Finds. I have a really random, but prominent memory of eating white chicken chili with tortilla chips and cheese in a styrofoam bowl in the the hallway of a school during my brother’s basketball game. My family couldn’t afford to eat out, so my mom would prep food in a crockpot and bring all the necessary accompaniments so that we could eat dinner on game nights. She is such a rockstar.

My mom’s recipe is super delicious, but I came across this recipe on instagram and really wanted to try it out. It did NOT disappoint. It’s super hearty, filling, and delicious. Anyone else love hominy? Just me?

2. Candles on cold, dark mornings. Candles just make everything cozy, am I right?! Last year I had a candle that smelled so so good from Bath and Body Works. Unfortunately, they no longer make that scent and when I looked it up on Amazon, they were like $27…for a candle. So instead, I’ve been enjoying a woodwick candle (again, crackling candle=cozy).

3. My new rug. I’m horrible at making decisions, especially when money is involved. I had been eyeing this rug for several weeks/months and couldn’t decide if I should buy it or not. I saw an ad on facebook marketplace for THE perfect coffee table (it was a round marble top table with gold legs 😍) and it was on a similar looking rug, which confirmed that I needed this rug. I got the rug, but the table sold too quickly. For those interested, I got it from RugsUSA.

4. Cleaning my sink more regularly. Let’s be honest, cleaning my house isn’t my strength. Like at all. Both ImmaEatThat and The Real Life RD recommended this website. She had a clean your sink every night challenge, but that’s just not realistic for me. I’ve been using her sink scrub “recipe” a few nights a week and it makes me feel so clean and put together! Maybe one day I’ll be able to clean it every night, but that day is not today.

5. French toast with sourdough bread. I’ve lived the last 29 years thinking I didn’t like french toast. But the other day, I offered it as an option for breakfast to Isaac (to be polite, but secretly hoping he didn’t choose it) and that’s what he chose. I considered making something else for myself, but decided to try it. Oh. My. Goodness. I was so so wrong about french toast—it’s delicious. I just scramble an egg with milk and cinnamon and then dip the bread in it until it’s soaked all the way through and then cook it on a greased/buttered skillet. I then top it with peanut butter, banana, and syrup. Yum!!

6. Interior Design Masters on Netflix. I stumbled upon this show and absolutely LOVE it! It’s a competition with various individual and group challenges to design rooms, retreats, shops, etc in two days and each week, someone is kicked off the show. I love seeing the transformations, the interactions between the contestants, and the British accents.

I hope you find some inspiration in the things I’ve been enjoying lately. I’d love to hear from you—what are YOU enjoying??

Mediterranean Banza Bowl

Alright, you guys, you need to make this ASAP! And this is not a false alarm. This bowl is super delicious, full of fresh flavors and different textures. Make it and your tastebuds will thank me.

I am an ambassador with Banza (what does that even mean? I don’t really know…but I’ll take the fancy title) and they sent me a bag of their new chickpea “rice”. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little skeptical. Come on now, why we gotta be messing with rice? There’s absolutely nothing wrong about eating rice (because there’s no morality attached to food) and rice provides nutrition that other grains don’t. Variety is the spice of life and the thing that ensures we get all the nutrients we need.

Anyways, so I was little irritated that they were trying to replace rice. But THEN I tried it. And loved it. It definitely doesn’t replace rice, but it’s another delicious food to add to my life. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t eat many chickpeas/beans, so Banza products allow for me to have more food groups in my life more easily. So I would encourage eating rice AND this Banza rice, because both are delicious. I’d compare it to orzo pasta, and I’m a fan or orzo recipes.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make all the components one day and then keep them in your fridge for several days of lunches or dinners. Woohoo for easily assembled meals!!

I’m going to do some more recipe testing with the rice and I’m super pumped about it…okay, I need to tone it down a bit. But I really did enjoy it.

In other news, Isaac had the flu this past week, so we’ve quarantined him and I’ve been solo parenting. Phew it’s hard work! Single moms, you are super heroes…Thankfully after several days of doing it alone and hanging out by myself in the evenings, my in-laws came to watch Cam for a few hours so I could workout out 🙌🏻 and get some coffee and work on this post. It’s the little self-care actions in life that make all the difference. 😉I’d love to hear what you guys think of Banza’s new rice, this recipe, and what you’ve been up to lately!! Thankful for all of you and your support. 🤓

Author: Ashley Smith, RD

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Mediterranean Banza Bowl

Ingredients

Tomato Cucumber Salad

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/3-1/2 cup cucumber chopped
• 1/3 cup black olives, sliced
• 2 Tbsp red onions, diced
• 1/4 heaping tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 3/4 tsp dried dill
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3/4-1 Tbsp olive oil

Tzatziki Sauce

• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• pinch pepper
• 1 Tbsp FINELY diced cucumber
• 1/4 tsp dried dill

Chicken Souvlaki

• 1.5 lb chicken, diced into 1” cubes
• 3 tsp minced garlic (5 cloves)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Juice from one lemon

• Feta 
• Hummus
• Banza rice

Instructions

1. Combine all of the chicken souvlaki ingredients in a bowl or Ziploc bag and marinade for 30 minutes or up to one day.
2. Cook Banza rice according to package.
3. Combine all of the tomato cucumber salad ingredients and allow flavors to combine while preparing the rest of the dish.
4. Combine all of the ingredients for the tzatziki sauce and add more lemon juice, dill, salt, or garlic according to preference.
5. Turn the oven to broil and place chicken in a dish with sides (lots of juices!). Broil on high for 6-8 minutes (checking halfway through) or until chicken is cooked through.
6. Build bowl by placing rice on bottom, adding chicken, tomato cucumber salad, tzatziki, feta, and hummus.
7. Enjoy!!

Chicken souvlaki recipe comes from GimmeSomeOven and is one of my favorite recipes

We bought a house!! + easy dinners lately

Phew!! Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately! We have been saving up to a buy a house for the past few years and with our apartment lease ending at the end of October, we decided it was the perfect time to buy a house. Let me tell you, looking at homes is a blast, the process of buying a home is not. Talk about stressful!! And redoing a home...even less fun and more stressful. BUT, we own a home!! And when we are done with it, it will be a great place for us. I plan on doing several before and after posts for those of you who are interested.

This is it!! It needs some landscaping, but I think it has GREAT potential.

We bought a 1950s home that is 3 bed, 1 bath and in a pretty central location (I'm so excited about living 5-10 minutes from the majority of our friends, church, and delicious restaurants). With it being over 60 years old, it's got some quirky characteristics. Some of those characteristics give it charm and others give it "character" 😂. We are currently in the process of redoing the hardwood floors, painting all of the trim and walls, and knocking out the wall between the kitchen and dining room. Eventually we will have a completely redone kitchen (homegirl needs adequate storage and countertop space!!!). Unfortunately, when we move in, we won't have a working kitchen because the kitchen cabinets won't be ready in time. Yes, it's frustrating, and I don't like the idea of moving into a half-ready house, but it is what it is, so we're going to make the most out of it. 

In the meantime, we are getting as much done as possible before we move in. We've had pretty busy weekends with various family functions and weddings, so we've been forced to mainly work in the evenings after work. As a result, dinners have had to be easy. It's been a bit of a stretch, but it's good to get out of our food ruts and to try new things. So here are a few of the dinners we've had recently with varying degrees of prep time and difficulty. Thank goodness for tupperware, a microwave, and paper plates/plastic silverware!!

Deli bakery bread, avocados, and rotisserie chickens have been my best friend lately. You'll see variations of these ingredients throughout. The above meal was an Italian salad kit (that was SUPER delish!) that had greens, sundried tomatoes, parmesan, black pepper and a dressing. Topped it with rotisserie chicken and served it with a whole grain loaf topped with avocado.

Taco soup I made earlier that day topped with cheese and avocado and served with blue corn chips. I know this is weird, but I was craving taco soup mainly for the yellow hominy, and I didn't even end up finding any for this 😩 😂

Mac and cheese from Aldi (LOVE that place!) served with rotisserie chicken and veggies I roasted earlier.

A new Papa Murphy's pizza that was having a deal for $9. I wouldn't get it again...it wasn't all that filling and it just wasn't that tasty. Served with a homemade version of the Italian salad kit from the first picture.

Spring roll bowl: farro, cabbage, red bell pepper, carrots, mango, avocado, rotisserie chicken, shrimp, cilantro, green onion and a Thai peanut sauce. Suuuper fresh. Mmmmm.

This meal was not a win. These chicken sausages were on sale at Sprouts, but the casing got tough in the microwave. I served it with steamable vegetables that were HORRIBLE. No wonder people think vegetables are gross. Thankfully that everything seed topped bread was great. I definitely got seconds of it and we used it for multiple meals.

Farro and a pork and green bean stirfry that I made earlier in the day. Meh, it was okay. I don't plan on making it again anytime soon.

Cauliflower Italian nachos and the everything seed bread with more avocado. I happen to love roasted cauliflower and saw cauliflower nachos and thought it would be right down my alley. I think it would have been even more delicious with a meltier cheese and feta, but I used what we had. I really enjoyed it but will definitely need to make them more substantial in the future. 

Pumpkin chili 😍 with cheese, avocado, plain Greek yogurt, a squeeze of mustard, and fritos. Fall, frito chili pie, and me were all MFEO. This chili had red bell pepper, mushrooms, onion beef, tomatoes, canned pumpkin and a bunch of spices that included cocoa powder and cinnamon. It's SO fall and super yummy. 

So there you have it! I hope this gives you some inspiration for easy meals that can be made, transported, and reheated with minimal prep. When we're living in our new house without a stove, I'm gonna have to get super creative, so I'll be sharing what I come up with during that time. 

Hope you're enjoying this fall season!!