EMeals- skillet pork chops and asparagus with hollandaise sauce

Mmm Mmm Mmm. This was tasty! The pork chop were sautéed quickly on both sides and seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. Then I added Marsala cooking wine and simmered. So easy and so tasty.

The asparagus was steamed and topped with homemade hollandaise sauce. I could have done without the sauce. It didn't seem to add much flavor and I actually soaked up some of the meat juice with the asparagus and loved it even more.

Definitely a remake! Zach and I both love it!

Turkey avocado grilled cheese

This eMeals was kind I fun because I love grilled cheese so much. I LOVED this! My avocado was not ripe enough so I had a hard time mashing it up but it worked. Zach won't eat it of course so I made it for lunch and I will probably have it the next two days for lunch since I am working at night. I've also just started a 30 day cleanse so I have two shakes a day and one 600 calorie or less meal so these eMeals work perfectly for me.

Definitely making this one again!!

Lime fish tacos with pineapple-jalapeño sauté

We've been busy and just not able to have sit down meals since my last post. Zach would not even try this meal so I made it early and had it myself for an early dinner before work.

The tilapia is baked topped with an olive oil, lime juice, and cilantro mixture. The "taco" part of it is a romaine lettuce leaf and then it is topped with shredded cabbage. The pineapple- jalapeño sauté is a mixture of red pepper, pineapple, jalapeños and garlic sautéed in olive oil.

The fish taco was boring and lacking flavor. It didn't taste bad but I won't make it again. The pineapple- jalapeño sauté on the other hand was full of yummy flavors. The pineapple and red pepper exploded with their sweetness and then it was followed by the spiciness of the hot peppers. Maybe a little too hot for he average person but I love hot foods. I was surprised at how well I enjoyed this and I will make it again.

eMeals #5 - Salisbury steak and salad

So our friends Matt and Christi introduced us to this email subscription called eMeals. You sign up based on how many months you want to up to a year for only $60/year. I only signed up for three months because I didn't know if we would actually do it. You also choose the size of your family. I chose two because Brayden really just eats tidbits of what we are
eating. And then you choose the plan.. Low carb, low fat, clean eating, etc... I chose low carb, for no particular reason, I just wasn't sure which one to choose.

Tonight was the fifth meal we did. We're doing 4-5 meals a week out of the 7 they send you. I work two nights a week and there's usually a quick meal or a fend for yourself night, depending. The great thing besides the healthy meal options is that the previous PDFs that you've received are alway available for reference. AND you also get the shopping list which makes it really easy. Usually most of the ingredients are used for more than one meal, so there is less waste as well.

Tonight was Salisbury steak and a salad. I'm following the recipes straight up and the salad was romaine with onions and red pepper and Zach won't eat that so he had peas lol.

I thought it would be fun to post after each meal with a picture and a rating from both of us and Brayden.

Ratings:
Me- a little too salty, but I like the steak and mushrooms. Salads are always simple and yummy. I used creamy poppyseed dressing.
Zach- really flavorful. Likes the mushrooms better than the peas
Brayden- he ate some mushrooms and steak and even some red pepper from the salad. He loved the pepper!

Difficulty- really simple

Dreams do come true

It's been three weeks since we arrived in Connecticut. We are just now finding a place for everything. Not much thanks to the moving company who took two weeks to deliver all of our stuff. Ce la vie.

This weekend the Libra's are visiting for a day on their way through. Excited to spend a little time with them and happy that they will be nearby soon since they are relocating from Texas to Philly.

Looks like things are working out the way I've always wanted after all ;)

So long Iowa

Wow.. I'm really bad at writing in this blog. I think about it a lot but then I never get around to sitting down and writing. I'll tell you one thing.. We've had a crazy year. I'm so looking forward to a slightly less eventful 2013.

My dreams have finally come true! Zach accepted a new job (after what seemed like a grueling search) in Simsbury, Connecticut. This is 3-5 hours from his parents and mine respectively... Depending on how fast you drive and the traffic. This is.. Well it's hard for me to put into words the way it makes me feel. Excited, nervous, relieved, overwhelmed. And I've been so busy that I'm not even sure I've been able to feel those feelings. Has it really sunk in that I could jump in the car and see my parents in 4 hours? ...probably not.

After all the complaining I did and depressing thoughts I had about being stuck in Iowa so far away from everyone I cared about, I never thought that I would be sad to leave. I never really understood that we had actually created roots there. We were married when we lived there. We created our first home there, owned our first pets there. Our son was born in Des Moines. That will always be his birth place. That's so weird. Iowa? And it's so exciting to think about going back to visit in the future.

And now here we are in Connecticut. Closer to everyone we care the most about, but now also so far away from some that have grown to be so special in my heart. But I'm so happy. So happy that we don't have to jump on a plane to go home for Christmas.. And that my mom can jump in her car to come see us for a weekend because she won't get on a plane.


❤


June 1 2013-- Krista and Rashawn wedding (bridesmaid and ring bearer)
June 22 2013-- Kristen and Patrick wedding (bridesmaid)
August ?? 2013-- sunset beach