FREE eBook on Amazon.com: "52 Delicious and Healthy Superfood Breakfasts Under 300 Calories - Simple, Quick and No-Bake"!

Amazon is offering the "52 Delicious and Healthy Superfood Breakfasts Under 300 Calories - Simple, Quick and No-Bake!" e-book for Kindle for FREE!  I love the idea of starting out the day well, but often am short on ideas....I'm looking forward to some new fresh ideas in this ebook!  =)

• If you don’t have a Kindle, you can just download a free reading app from Amazon which will allow you to read this on your PC, iPad, iPhone, blackberry, android, Mac and more!
• Prices change often.....if it's still FREE the price will be listed as $0.00

(thanks Freebie Finding Mom!)

Jalapeno, Bacon, and Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe = Amazing!! {Trim Healthy Mama = S meal}

*Edit:  I forgot to include one of the best parts about this meal!  It was so cheap to make!  The entire meal (including the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes on the side), only cost $3.50 for both of us!!  Compare that to going out to eat at a restaurant.....it could easily cost over $20 + a tip!
What a delicious way to save money!  ;)  And it's perfect for Trim Healthy Mama -- a super yummy "S" meal! (I've lost 45 pounds so far on THM, mostly in about 6 months!)

My darling husband made us the. yummiest. dinner. last night!  I went to Zumba and Rite-Aid with my sister, so got home kind of late and I thought I'd just heat up some leftovers or something....but no way....my "live-in chef" had grander plans. ;)  He whipped up this stuffed chicken breast that was really creamy and flavorful.....it was so yummy, I couldn't believe the calories and carbs were so low!

We've been eating low-carb and low-fat -- focusing on lots of fresh fruits and veggies and lean meats.  So far it's been going really well, and we're feeling great!  We've found some yummy recipes, and come up with some healthier tweaks to the "regulars".  This recipe meets our nutrition requirements (low-fat, low-carb, high protein) and is EASY and delicious!!  It will definitely be on regular rotation!  =)

Jalapeno, Bacon, and Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken Breast (THM - S)
(Recipe makes 2 servings.  Takes about 15 minutes.)

2 chicken breasts*
2 slices bacon, cooked and diced**
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 jalapeno, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
3 Tbs. olive oil
Garlic powder (to taste)
Seasoning salt (to taste)
Onion powder (to taste)

1. Butterfly chicken breast and fill with bacon, cheese (saving a small amount to add to top of chicken when finished) and jalapeno.

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat, then add chicken. Season with garlic powder, seasoning salt, and onion powder. Flip half way through (about 5 minutes, depending on size of chicken breast). Cook until chicken is done and cheese is melty and amazing.  ;)

3. Add onions to skillet after flipping. Top chicken with remaining cheese and sauteed onions. Enjoy!


Notes:
* Our chicken breasts were about 6oz. each.  We could've shared, but it was so yummy and I missed a meal earlier due to a busy day.....so we didn't.  ;)  Next time we'll probably use a smaller breast.  The nutrition facts would obviously change if you used smaller pieces of chicky.
** If you can stand turkey bacon (we are not fans, lol), that would reduce calories and fat even more.


I've been using SparkPeople.com (a great free tool!) to track my fitness and what I eat.  I plugged the chicken recipe into "dinner" last night and here's the nutrition data per serving.....(columns are l-r: calories, carbs, fat, protein)

Just in case you can't see the picture:

• Calories = 346
• Carbs = 3
• Fat = 14 (use turkey bacon/low fat cheese for less)
• Protein = 49

If you try it, let us know how you like it!  It's really so easy (especially when your husband makes it)  ;), inexpensive, and easily customized with some variations......I'm thinking maybe spinach, bacon and mozzarella.......ham and cheddar.......lots of possibilities!  =)


Linking up:

$2/1 Coupon for Butterball Turkey + $5 in Coupons with a Rebate!

Just take a glance at this week's grocery ads and you know Thanksgiving's in the air!  Yummy sales and deals everywhere! 

If you're looking for a discount on Butterball turkeys, here are a couple deals!  You can get a $2 off 1 printable coupon here (found under 30189 zip code).

And, you can get (5) $1/1 Butterball product coupons when you buy any fresh or frozen Butterball turkey with this mail-in-rebate.


(thanks Melissa's Bargains!)

Friday Feature: Pinterest! The Virtual Corkboard Wonderland!

Welcome to the Friday Feature, where I highlight something that I'm really loving -- but first, let me introduce myself...........
"Hi, my name is Mara and I'm a Pinterest addict."  Seriously, they need a support group!  If you're part of this wonderland already, you know -- and if you don't know what I'm talking about, you must check it out!

It's a virtual corkboard - a place to "pin" all those great ideas, crafts, paint colors, recipes, funny things.....that you come across online.  It's like someone looked in my head and knew that I was wishing for a simple, beautiful, user-friendly place to keep track of all the fantastic things I see on blogs and other places!  (My method of copying a link into a draft in gmail wasn't exactly ideal!)

It's an awesome place just to organize the things that float your boat, or browse others boards and find oodles of inspiration!  I've already come across so many things that I don't think I would've seen otherwise.  You can follow people with similar interests - either their whole collection if you like their overall style, or individual boards -- for example, when their "Living Room" board is full of pins exactly like what you imagine for your own, or when every recipe they post in "Yum yum" is making you drool on your keyboard.

You need an invitation to join, but it's free and fantastic!  Send me your email if you'd like an invite!  And if you leave your "username" I'd love to see your boards.  =)

You can pin whatever images you'd like, and create any boards that you want - whatever makes sense to you....here are some screenshots of my boards:


These are dreams for my laundry room once we get done with the "big" stuff (like siding, roofing, flooring...silly details like that) and can work on the "fun" stuff...

Whenever I come across recipes or decorations that I think would be perfect for our next soiree, this is where they go (sure, 'cause we're so fancy pants that we have soirees)  ;)

I want to create a playroom/art area for the kids in the basement.....and some of these funzies would be perfect for what I have in mind - and some are ideas that I never would've thought of!

Ahh, my "delish" board.....here's where I go to drool!  ;)   I love being able to tuck away tasty treats here, so when I need a yummy dish to pass, or an idea for an awesome chicken dish - tada!  No more...."there's a dessert I saw online that would be perfect for the party - which website did I see that on??"

I created a "to make" board where I keep all the fantastic projects that inspire me to be crafty - so when I get the creative bug (and 30 seconds of free time) I know where the great ideas will be!

Ohhh Pinterest, how I love thee!!

What do you think??  Are you already pinning?  Or are you inspired to go start your own pinboard?  Need an invite, let me know!  I'd love to see your collections!

Friday Feature: Kids Snack Ideas for Summer Break!

During Summer Break, if the kids aren't lamenting about being bored, they're saying "Can I have a snack? Can I have a snack? Can I have a snack?" {that's three of them asking right after one another, lol}

Here are a couple clever ideas for managing the snack monsters while they're home from school - either during Summer vacation, in the afternoons during the school year, or all the time if you're homeschooling!

I love Kristen Duke's idea of having the kids choose what to "buy" for their snacks - check out her blog for a great system to "Streamline Summer Snacking"! 
{Her photography is pretty awesome too!  And I cannot get enough of her Pink Lemonade birthday party!!}

Also, in her comments, I saw this suggestion from Lorie that I thought was a great alternative:

"Fun!! We used to do something similar. Actually the same, just without the fun money. After breakfast the kids would all back up their snacks for the day. They had to pick two healthy snacks (fruit/veggies), one regular snack (pretzels/crackers) and one treat (cookies, etc) and they could eat them whenever they wanted, but when they were gone they were gone. It helped them learn to ration! ;D"

So smart!!

How do you manage the 'snack attacks' at your house??  Do you have any great tips or tricks for keeping the snacking organized or keep it from getting out of control?

P.S. I'm so happy that I actually posted a "Friday Feature" on Friday!  haha!  =)

P.P.S. Make sure to see the BIG List of FREE and Cheap Summer Activities HERE!  Awesome resource for making memories, helping kids have a fun Summer and keeping the "I'm bored's" away.

What's for Dinner? Mini Corn Dog Muffins!

I discovered this delicious idea when I had some cornmeal I wanted to use up and went looking for recipes.  I've always had a hard time buying corn dogs at the store.  While I love them, the box always seemed so empty for what they charged (and they're not the healthiest choice)! 

I didn't really want to take on the sticks and batter and frying to make my own......but then, I came across this inspiration from Heavenly Homemakers to make them into muffins - yes!  So easy for the kids to eat......and so much cheaper and healthier since you can choose what goes into them. 

If you have a favorite cornbread recipe, feel free to use it - if not, I recommend this recipe for "World's Best Honey Cornbread" from Money Saving Mom - so yummy and super easy to make!  I changed it just a little by using half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour.  I think I might try it with less honey or sugar next time because they're plenty sweet, but they're delicious as they are too!

The kids helped me mix up the batter and cut the hot dogs.  We filled the muffin tins 1/2 to 2/3 full (should we call them "muffin silicones"?), then added the hot dogs. We tried some full size muffins with a piece of a hot dog (about a 1/3 - whatever fits in your pan), and also some mini muffins with slices of hot dogs mixed in.  I preferred the slices in whatever size we made since the "bread to dog ratio" was better.  =)

I used Angus hot dogs the first time we made them, and the second time I used Oscar Meyer turkey hot dogs - both were good!

 My husband (who's not a huge corndog fan.....crazy, but true) wanted to spice them up a little and added diced fresh jalapenos to some of the muffins.  We all liked them that way! 

{and yes, that is our 3 year old helping add jalapenos while my husband holds a knife nearby and I take pictures documenting the apparent lack of supervision......}

We baked them at 400 for about 12 minutes for the mini muffin size (15 for the regular?).  Grace and Emma were drooling over the freshly baked corn dog muffins - they could not wait to eat them!

They were a huge hit!  The whole family liked them and the kids have even asked for these for their "birthday treat" at school!




Linking up to:




{Recipe Roundtable}