Chicken Tortilla Soup

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 

 

Five minutes before jumping in the shower it's time to create dinner in the crockpot! !
With limited time during the week to cook relying on the crockpot to do the cooking. As well as showing others you can be busy and still create a healthy meal for the family.   Making the most of the 21 day fix!!!

 

 

Ingredients
6 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth [or chicken broth!]
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes...
¼-1/2 cup tomatillo salsa
3 TBSP tomato paste
2 TBSP olive oil
3 cups black beans [cooked or canned]
1-2 cups pinto beans [cooked or canned]
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 small corn tortillas, torn into small pieces
2 small onions [approx 1 cups]
2 jalapenos
1 large bell pepper
juice of ½ a fresh lime
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
salt, to taste [amount added will vary on sodium content of broth + tomatoes/beans]
shredded mexican cheese blend
crunchy tortilla chips

...plus add your favorites from the list below:
tons-o-toppings:
greek yogurt
tortilla strips
chopped red onion
chopped green onion
sliced jalapenos
sliced avocado
Directions:
For a brothier soup, keep a bit of extra vegetable or chicken broth on hand to add towards the end. I like my soup hearty and skipped the "soupy" soup this time around!
Instructions
1.Essentially you're going to toss everything in and walk away,
2.Turn your slow cooker to high and add broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomatillo salsa, beans and chicken breasts, whole.
3.Next dice your bell pepper, jalapeno, and onion and tear your corn tortilla into small pieces before tossing them into the pot as well. The corn tortillas help the soup to thicken a bit and also act as noodles!
4.Add your seasonings,olive oil, and lime juice + cover.
5.Within a few hours the chicken breasts should be juicy and perfectly cooked, if you happen to be around, feel free to scoop them out with tongs or a fork, place them on a cutting board, and chop each breast into six large pieces. Now it'll shred oh-so-easily! Use two forks to create pulled/shredded chicken and add it back to your slow cooker. If you aren't home yet you can complete this step once you return. No worries!
6.The soup will simmer away on high for four-six hours [total time] and make your kitchen smell absolutely amazing

 

Family and living life to the fullest
Sums up what we're all about
A little tipsy from time to time

Finding balance during a time of the year life is full...
Looking for the small things daily to stop and be thankful for
Happiness starts from within
And doing things unconventional
Life is short to just survive
So many opportunities and goals to go after
As a busy mom yes you can have the best of both worlds.
But before you tackle any goal set out to be your own best version.
I enjoy helping other woman to work towards their own personal best

Follow me or connect- https://www.facebook.com/rachel.Fledderman

 

XOXO

Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Crumble

Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Crumble

 

Fall is here!!  As a busy mom of three trying to create a healthy lifestyle of clean eating along with having little one's the need of wanting to bake this time of the year is just part of fall and watching all the leave change colors.  I will say this is SIMPLE and can be prepared in 10 minutes (including cutting the apples) and ready to slow cook. 

 

 

For the apples:

1/2 cup coconut sugar

7 large apples, peeled and cut into chunks

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

For the topping:

2/3 cup oats

1/3 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3-4 tablespoons  coconut oil (softened)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

   *Caramel to drizzle over the plate

   *Great served warmed or chilled 

 

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, apples, salt, and cinnamon. Spread onto bottom of slow cooker.
2. Mix your crumble topping ingredients until it comes together. Sprinkle it over top of the apples. Cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours.

If you're following the 21 day fix meal plan this will work for it as well.

 

21 day fix extreme beef stew

21 day fix extreme beef stew

Well let’s just say my day did not go as planned….I ended up getting suck in someone else’s driveway with a crying baby that needed fed and had to call for help.  AKA thank goodness someone could come and rescue me and 3 kid’s middle of the day.  I might have had a small melt down tomorrow is April 1^st go away snow!!  However I decided to pull myself together and make the best of this crazy amount of snow that came down today and turn what did not go right into something better.  A NEW RECIPE!!  I’m currently doing Insanity Max 30 however the talk about this 21 day fix extreme meal had my interest so TODAY was the day!!  Family approved!! 

Ingredients-
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs raw lean beef stew meat, boneless, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup low sodium organic beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions-

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium high heat.

Add beef, cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until beef is brown.
Add onion and bell peppers; cook stirring frequently for 4 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.  Add garlic, cook stirring frequently for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium - low, cook, covered for 40 minutes. Add squash, cook stirring for 8 to 12 minutes occasionally or until the sauce thickens and beef is fork tender.
Remove the bay leaf, top with parsley and serve.

The week before baby number three

The week before baby number three

It’s hard to believe this time came!!  Moms you can relate to that feeling of being pregnant and time does not move….until you’re in a hospital bed ready to hold your baby within moments.  This time in a mom’s life reminds me a lot of your wedding day, all the preparation, planning, unknown, re planning, things forgotten, and before you know it, it’s a memory.  

 

Being a mom by far is my favorite hat I wear, I enjoy having lots of balls in the air and truly never a dull moment however when your life is always in go mode sometimes it’s a good thing to sit and reflect.

 

 The entire third pregnancy overall went very smoothly I tend to have very little complications, enjoy the overall process of being pregnant and make the best of it.

Last Monday started out very normal like any other I work for our traditional business three days a week half days.  However I got to the office last Monday and felt this sense of paper work taking over the desk and not seeing an end.  I really did not feel good at all and looking back I think I mentally started to plan ahead of getting stuff done in the manner of having the baby early.  Thank goodness for my mom I called her and asked if the kids could come down for the second part of the day and was truly able to feel that part of my life would be just find if this bundle of joy came early.  It was a long Monday but well worth the sense of knowing things would be ok if left untouched for the next week and half.  Tuesday came around and this day as my son Clint calls it “stay home day” was just that, we spent the entire day at the house and that nesting mode continued and the entire house was cleaned, laundry caught up, and loss ends tied up. 

Tuesday night around 11:00pm came and this momma to be knew that she would not be making it till next Friday’s scheduled C-section.  I have a high sense of pain tolerance and tend to not let much show in how I’m feeling, not sure that’s a good thing at a time like this.  However Tuesday night very little sleep took place and for sure a call to our baby dr. office was going to happen in the am.  My husband got up for work that Wednesday morning and like most mornings for the past month I would tell him I just don’t feel good, I can’t wait to not be pregnant anymore, and when will you be done today?

After a quick Facebook message my mom came right away and said she would take the kids for the rest of the day.  I headed to my baby dr. for a visit at 11:00am and my pain was still there, both of the kids had been C-sections so I’ve never experienced labor however I knew what I was feeling was not going away and I was not leaving the hospital without a baby or the pain changing.  Once checked my cervix was not showing any sign of changing however a trip over to be hooked up to monitors on the maternity floor was underway.  Mind you yes for most things in life I’m a big planner but with all of these steps over the past 72 hours to be prepared for an early delivery I never packed a hospital bag….after being hooked up for 2 hours it was clear the contractions were 4 minutes apart and February 11^th 2015 would be the day we would meet baby number 3!!  Oh snap my husband I better find out his location and will he be able to make it here within the hour.

 

With my husband working in the oil and gas industry each day is an adventure, never a schedule, and location could be anywhere.  The good news he made it in time!!  I love having a C-section and for sure my body responds very well to a fast healing.  Those moments of lying there knowing your baby will be born any minute goes back to being dressed ready to walk down the aisle to marry your husband.  It’s like time stands still and all your fears, planning, and world stop in that moment.  That first cry from your little one is a moment every mom remembers as your first memory of your baby.

 

Here is a twist in the story of life!!  For the past 9 months baby number 3 was it!! We planned for a tubal to take place at the same time as the C-section up until that moment that was still the plan, however a few events that week caused me to change my mind and with confidence of not wanting to be done and still having the option to have more was very natural to change.  Yes   there could be more Fledderman’s down the road.  

 

 

 

After a wonderful stay at the hospital with excellent care from the nurses and staff for three days this momma was ready to go home.  Shower in your own home= priceless!!  The thought of sleeping in my own bed=priceless!!  Seeing Clint and Josie meet baby Henry for the first time=priceless!!

Being a mom by far is one of the most challenging jobs out there but at the same time I could not imagine life without the title of mom.

 

As this capture of life as a mom of three just gets underway I look forward to all the adventures, challenges ahead, fun times, and memories made.

Time to go and create those captures as a mom of three now!!