Recipe: Honey-Lime Pork Enchiladas

This is one of our favorite recipes as a family. In fact, I think Chad may have even declared after I made this for the first time, "OHMYGOSH-don't make any other meal other than this ever for the rest of my life." Yeah, they're THAT good. [Original recipe found here.]

Honey-Lime Pork Enchiladas:

Ingredients-

about a 2lb pork roast
assorted seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, onion, etc.)
1/4 c. water

Marinade:
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. lime juice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. chili powder (less if you like a little less kick)

20-22 flour tortillas
shredded cheese (anywhere from 2-4 cups)

Sauce:
2 c. mild green enchilada sauce
1 c. half and half (or HWC, I've used both)


1. Put pork roast in the crockpot with water and sprinkle with various seasonings. Let cook on low for  7-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours.
2. When the pork is done, shred it and put it in the marinade. You can leave it in there anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. It's all good either way.
3. Then preheat oven to 350, drizzle just a little sauce in the bottom of each pan, assemble enchiladas with about 1-2 Tbs. of meat and some cheese and then roll and tuck in pan. (This makes a lot of enchiladas, about 22, so you'll need a few pans. This is a great recipe to freeze too, just adjust your cooking time to be a little longer if you do.)
4. Cover enchiladas with sauce and then cheese and bake for 30-45 minutes. (Mine usually cook for about 38 to get them just a little bit brown and crispy on the edges.)
5. Then dish and eat! I usually serve this with Mexican rice and corn or beans. Yummmm!

Green Smoothies

I attended a class with my Aunt LeeAnn this past week on using essential oils and everything green smoothies and salads. They talked about the importance of getting enough vegetables in your diet on a daily basis and all of the many health benefits this provides. They talked about how to make a good, real, healthy salad and dressing you can make to go on top of it. They talked about how putting essential oils (only certain ones, not all are safe to ingest) in your smoothies will help flush out the toxins in your system and boost your immune system. It was very informative and helpful and coming off of a vacation, was the perfect thing I needed to kick my butt back into gear and get healthy and fit. I'll try and share a few of the things I learned, but today, it's all about a basic green smoothie.

The benefits of a green smoothie include:

-you'll eat veggies you normally wouldn't
-they're low in calories and high in nutrition
-it is pre-digested nutrition
-you'll have improved energy
-improved sleep
-and less of a desire for sweets

The recipe for a basic green smoothie:

-2 cups of water
-about 4 handfuls of greens (when you mix this with the water, you'll want about 4 cups of "green juice")
-a whole apple (cored and quartered)
-about 3 cups of fruit
-optional, chia seeds, protein powder, flaxseed, bee pollen, maca powder, sprouted flax, etc.
-optional, do terra essential oils such as Slim & Sassy, Wild Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon, etc.

Tips:

-mix between each addition to the blender.
-if you add essential oils, you CANNOT put it in anything that has plastic in it (you can't use a plastic straw either) The essential oils will melt through the plastic (which is great news for you, if you've got all that gunk in your body)! I got a 6-pack of quart mason jars and a set of lids and then I'm gonna order some metal straws from Amazon.
-if you have trouble finding time to make them in the morning, you can totally make one up the night before and just stick your lid and straw in the next morning and go.
-it's best to follow the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 list when deciding which fruits and veggies to buy organic. But always buy organic if you can, especially if you plan on eating the skin.
-if you buy fresh produce, chop it up and store it in freezer baggies. That way it won't go bad.
-For greens, you can really use anything...just not iceberg. Spinach, kale, mixed greens, mustard greens, swiss chard, etc. It's also great to use a variety of greens (and fruits) for a diverse flavor.
-For fruit...pineapple, berries, mangoes, oranges, lemon, pears, etc.

Let me know how yours turn out! I plan on making one for breakfast or lunch every day and am excited to see how it helps!

Alyssa

Independence Day

This year, like most years, we spent the Fourth of July hanging out with family. Last year, my Uncle Tony and Aunt Genia hosted everybody over at their place for a bbq/pool party. I got sick the night before though, and couldn't go. So Chad took Jonah and I stayed home on the couch. Blah.

This year, I was thankful that everybody was in good health and ready to swim and eat and have a good time! We borrowed a floaty vest from Jonah's best buddy Maverick so that we wouldn't have to worry about him in the pool as much. But I didn't know that we were going to be doing this this year when I scheduled my tattoo appointment to start on my arm piece. So, having a fresh-as-fresh-gets tattoo on my arm, I couldn't get in the pool or have it exposed to the sun. I brought a light sweater thing to throw on over my tank top for when I was in the sun and just stayed in the shade as much as possible.

Just the rough outline is done right now...

...I go back in two weeks to finish it up.

We weren't really sure how Jonah was going to do in the water since he hasn't been in a pool since last summer and he's much more...opinionated now about what he does/doesn't like. But he didn't do too bad! He liked it for the most part, except for when he got water anywhere near his face (including the time we dunked him to see how he'd do). :)

The water was a little chilly...

He went down the slide!

Swimming!

Jonah and his Daddy.

Learning to kick.

He liked swimming with all the different people who came...Uncle Kevin for a little bit, Uncle Tony, Pops, Uncle Dude, and Daddy. Most of the ladies (except Sheena) stayed out of the pool and just talked. We ate yummy grilled food, fresh fruit salad, and my homemade, super yummy salsa.

Swimming with Uncle Dude.

Hanging in the swim chair.

Jonah in the swim chair and Daddy being silly.

Speaking of silly...

Uncle Dude and his cousin, Blair.

Uncle Dude and his nephew and cousin.

Jonah swam/slid/played so much that he took a nap about halfway through and then woke up and swam and played some more. He would love it if we had a playground and pool like they do in our yard! :)

Blair swimming with her Momma.

Blair swimming with her Momma more.

Jumping in!!

Cute little Miss Blair.

Trying not to smile...

Eating a popsicle after swimming, yum!

Thankfully they're hosting another pool party for their daughter's (my cousin, Hannah's) birthday at the end of July, so I'll get to swim then...and Jonah will get to practice swimming some more!

We went home that afternoon around 3/4 and pretty much just vegged for the rest of the day. Chad got pretty burnt and he had hiked the incline that morning, so he was feeling really sore. I kind of wanted to go see the fireworks at Memorial Park, but they didn't start until dark (which is 8:30 here) and there was no way Jonah was staying up that late. Maybe next year...

Digging in the yard...in shoes and a diaper.

Happy Fourth-from Jonah and Maddie!

Happy Independence Day everyone! I hope you all had a fun day celebrating our freedom with your family and/or friends!!

No-Bake Energy Bites

I've been in a very snacky mood lately, and this is the latest of the delicious snacks that I've attempted from Pinterest. (Yes, it contains chia seeds, another current obsession of mine.)

See, told you I'm obsessed with chia.

Ingredients lined up looking pretty.

No Bake Energy Bites:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp. chia seeds 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

You literally just mix everything together and then let it chill in the fridge for half an hour. Then roll the dough into small balls (about 1") and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. (Trust me, they won't last that long. :)

I did not have coconut flakes, so I added, rice krispies. It added a really good crunch to these. You could add any number of things to this, as long as you make it balanced. I also ended up adding dried cranberries (which made them taste like a peanut butter jelly sandwich in the end-YUM!) and used half chocolate chips and half white chocolate chips, instead of all chocolate chips. They turned out SOOO good.

Here's a list of the original poster's substitution ideas in case you are out of any of the ingredients listed above:

Ali’s Tip:
Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients! Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter. And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed. I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together.
Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:

• chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
• dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
• chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds
• other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, M&Ms, etc.)
• other grains (different kinds of oatmeal, rice cereal, etc.)

Update: Many of you have asked about substitutions for other ingredients. The joy of these bites being “no bakes” is that this recipe is super flexible. If you end up needing to omit one of the dry ingredients (such as coconut or flax), just add in some extra of whatever other dry ingredient is remaining (for example, the oats). If you feel like your energy bites are too dry, add in extra honey or peanut butter. It’s also not required that you refrigerate these, but I find it helps them stick together much better. And for some reason, I love things like this a little bit chilled. Enjoy!!

Check out the original recipe here. I'm really glad I made these, I think they'll be a snack staple in our house for a while.

Quick and Easy Overnight Oats

I got a bug up my butt a few days ago to start incorporating chia seeds and flax seeds into my diet, so I hit up Pinterest for some yummy recipes. I made this recipe last night and ate it this morning. It was so delicious!!

Here's the lowdown:

1 banana, peeled and smashed
1/3 cup of oats
1 cup of almond milk
1 Tbs of chia seeds (I bought mine at Costco)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
sweetener of your choice (I used maybe 1 Tbs of sugar, I'd probably use a little less this time)

I combined all of these things in a big bowl, and then let it sit overnight. I served it up cold the next morning with some blueberries and sliced bananas on top. You can serve it up warm or cold, and top with really anything you'd like...any sort of berries, brown sugar, a little bit of whipped cream, whatever! Check out the original recipes for more ideas on how to serve it. And enjoy!

Successful Pins

There are SO many pins on Pinterest and it's hard to tell which recipes are going to turn out good, with DIY cleaning products are actually going to work, and which crafts are going to look good when you're finished with them. So I thought I'd share a few of the pins that I've tried that have actually been successful! :)

If you're interested in following me on Pinterest, my profile is here.

If you need an invite, let me know!

These breakfast sandwiches were amazing. I had to adjust my cooking times for the eggs and bacon because of the altitude, but I loved the ease in which I could whip up a yummy, high protein breakfast for the week. No splattery, bacon mess and few dishes...my kind of recipe. :) (Here's the original website if you don't have a Pinterest account.)

This is my "top-secret", uber-delicious salsa recipe. It's seriously delicious and easy. Maybe try a Serrano pepper instead of a jalapeno for more spice?? (Here's the link if you don't have Pinterest.)

I made this for my Momma and best friend for Christmas this last year. It's somewhat time-consuming, but a great way to take time every day to write down a memory or something you're thankful for...and it looks so cute when it's all done. :) (Here's the link for non-Pinteresters.)

I made this floor cleaner and it works really well on my hardwood (and even linoleum) floors. Now if only my mop worked as well as the floor cleaner...(And for non-Pinterest people...here.)

This worked great for cleaning my washing machine. I am a sucker for almost anything vinegar. (Non-Pinterest people, go here.)

I did this in my son's room. It didn't work out nearly as well as hers did, but it does look pretty dang cute. (Go here. You know why.)

I made this for Jonah when he was younger, and it provided many hours of entertainment. It was super easy to make. I only used things I had on-hand (with the help of a friend who lent me some extra fabric. :) (Here if you don't have, you know...)


So there you go! A few of my favorite (successful) pins. Do you have any that you want to share with me??

Love,
Alyssa