Spicy Pork Tenderloin with Summer Peach Salsa

Y'all. It's August 7. Which means in exactly one week I'm back to work. Summer time with the little has been a blast. Her little personality is just hilarious. She is currently obsessed with:

 -Standing. Like whoa.
-The red bars at Little Gym. Don't you DARE try and suggest any other activity.
-Poking the dog in the eye.
-Eating. All. The. Things.
-Her daddy :) She gets so excited when she hears the gate open in the evening.
-Scooting. She crawled for approximately five hot minutes and then switched to scooting on her bum. It's my fave.
-Barking. Usually when she sees the dog; sometimes when she sees something she likes. Whatev.

Anyway, with all the summer fun, we've really been trying to soak up all the delicious fruits and veggies that come with summertime as well. C loves zucchini, so I will definitely plant a zucchini plant next spring to keep up with her demands. She's really loved watermelon and peaches as well. We had some peaches on their last day, so I whipped up a "cheater's" peach salsa to serve with this yummy pork tenderloin. Hubby approved, so here's the recipe!

Spicy Pork Tenderloin with Summer Peach Salsa 

Ingredients:
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn chile powder
1 tspn cumin
¼ tspn salt
1/4 cup peaches, skins removed and diced
½ cup pico de gallo (store bought or homemade!)
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
Lime, halved
1 tbsp honey
½ tspn sriracha

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with foil, and set baking rack on top of baking sheet. While oven warms, mix peaches with pico de gallo so the flavors can combine. In a small bowl, combine spices. Rub over the entire pork tenderloin. Set meat on the rack, and bake for 40-45 minutes (New pork guidelines allow pork to cook to 145°, if you prefer it cooked well, cook it until the internal temp reads is 160° with a meat thermometer). While pork roasts, mix together 1/2 lime juice, honey, and sriracha. Brush over pork during last ten minutes of roasting.

We served this alongside a brown rice/black bean mix that I jazzed up with HEB's "That Green Sauce" (I would take a bath in that stuff it is SO good!).

21 Day Fix Dinner: Buffalo Style Turkey Burger Wraps

A few things strike me as unbelievable this morning....

1. Summer break is nearly over :( I've really enjoyed my time with my little this summer. She's at SUCH a fun age.

2. We're in new house!! The transitition period between selling our previous home and closing on our new home was a bit rough for the whole fam (I think the dog took it the hardest, lol!), so it's nice to settle in.

3. I'm on day 3 (aka THE LAST DAY!) of my first round of 3 Day Refresh! I've really not hated ("loved" felt a tad too strong, haha!) this cleanse. It's SO different from any others I've done. And y'all, we eat pretty well most of the time. As a rule, I try to make as much of what we eat as I can and avoid overly processed alternatives when possible. But in the summer time....hot dogs just smell too good on the grill. And a cold beer on a patio? Umm I'll have another. So this has been a good mid-summer reset for me. Despite lbs not really being a focus for me, the scale is showing three lbs less today than it did on Monday. Ain't nobody gonna be made at that!

4. I've never blogged my fave recipe! I've shared this with a few of my clean eating challenges, and even posted it on the Fit Foodie Fam facebook page, but never here! So here you go!

Buffalo Style Turkey Burger Wraps

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

½  zucchini shredded (use your cheese grater)

1/2 cup shredded carrots (chop a little to make pieces smaller)

½ cup green onions, sliced

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp EVOO or coconut oil

½ cup Frank’s Red Hot or Frank’s Buffalo sauce

Lettuce (for “buns”)

Carrot sticks

Celery stalks

Preparation: 

In a large bowl, combine turkey and next four ingredients till mixed (careful not to over mix, or you’ll end up with tough burgers!). Form into four patties. Heat oil over medium heat in nonstick skillet. Cook burgers for 4-6 minutes per side, until cooked through (inside no longer pink and/or reached internal temp of 165 degrees). Pour sauce into pan, and flip burgers to coat. Turn temp to low and let sauce “cook” into burgers for 2 minutes.

Serve wrapped in a lettuce leaf with carrots and celery.

**If you NEED/absolutelycan’tlivewithout ranch or blue cheese with wings, limit yourself to 1-2 tspns with your burger and only use the brand with the least number of ingredients you can find. 21 Day Fixers--try a dollop of greek yogurt to satisfy the need for something cool and creamy with the firey buffalo sauce!

Healthier Shrimp and Grits

I'm from the south. Born and raised in Texas. That means a few things are absolute truths:

1. When I say, "Would you like a Coke?", I prob mean Dr. Pepper :)
2. "Y'all" is a contraction I teach in my Language Arts class.
3. Football is a religion. When we planned our wedding, stern instructions were given that it was not to take place during football season (the husband neglected to give the same directions for babies though....lol!)
4. Our regional cuisine isn't always the most figure friendly (but I triple dog dare you to find one that is tastier!)

Moving to Houston after spending 3 years in Michigan meant that we were returned to the land of sweet tea and Tex-Mex. We weren't as familiar with cajun cuisine, but it sure didn't take long for us to warm up to it....or to notice that jeans weren't buttoning as easily as they once had.

I included this meal as a part of a clean eating challenge I hosted this week, and it received RAVE reviews; so I'm glad to share it with y'all. The pic isn't the best, so my apologies for that one...I didn't really intend to post this recipe, but peer pressure is fierce!!

If you're bummed you missed my clean eating challenge this month, you still have a chance to join in on my upcoming 21 Day Fix challenge--we will combine three fiercely important components to achieving long lasting results...
     *FITNESS (thirty minute workouts done in the comfort of my living room? Yes, please!)
     *NUTRITION (a clearly outlined nutritional plan that focuses on portion control, rather than calorie counting and incorporates Shakeology once a day as a dense--and delicious--nutrition boost!)
     *SUPPORT (a super positive, super pumped-up accountability group where we will share meal plans, recipe ideas, and keep each other focused and motivated)

If you want to join our challenge, comment below and I'll send you the details!!

Red Pepper Shrimp (aka lighter Shrimp 'N Grits!)
Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients:

For the grits:

1/2 cup quick-cooking grits

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

¼ cup  + 2 tbsp (for serving) shredded cheddar cheese

For the shrimp:

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

12 oz peeled & deveined shrimp

1 tbsp  EVOO or Coconut oil

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

Pinch of cayenne

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp salt

2 medium scallions, diced finely

Preparation:

1.       Prepare grits: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil on high heat. Stir in grits and return to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in garlic powder, Worcestershire, cayenne, salt, and cheese; cover and set aside.

2.       Meanwhile, prepare red pepper shrimp: Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add oil to pan to heat, then add peppers and lightly coat pepper with cooking spray. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until pepper begins to lightly brown on edges. Set aside on a plate.

3.       In a medium bowl, combine shrimp with remaining ingredients, except scallions and cheese, and stir until well coated. Add mixture to skillet in a single layer and cook on medium-high, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir and cook for 2 more minutes, until shrimp is opaque in center. Remove from heat and stir in red pepper and scallions.

4.       To serve, divide grits among 4 dinner plates and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Spoon equal amounts of shrimp mixture over top.

Patriotic Cheesecake Bites

So hard to believe that we're inching up on the 4th of July already!! I've had such a blast keeping up with Little C this summer. She's such a fun kiddo--her new favorite activities:

-Scooting. I blame this on us always saying "Scooter" (it's our dog's name). She can scoot across the living room in 2 seconds flat. Crawling is for suckers, clearly.

-Barking. Her puppy brother is a little protective (to put it kindly...), so he barks. A lot. She's taken a similar approach in her communication style.

-Kissing. This one melts my heart. She just comes right at you with a big ol slobbery open mouth kiss. It's to die for :)

Today we tested out a Little Gym in the neighborhood...and she did all three of these things on repeat with a big cheesy smile on her fave. Love. This. Girl :)

Anywho...back to the recipe!! I was dreaming up (ok...searching on Pinterest) and stumbled across something that looked a lot like what I came up with. I was just disappointed at the amount of sugar that was getting added to the cream cheese, so I brainstormed some alternatives. Not only are these little guys adorable and SO perfect for a 4th of July BBQ, they are also fairly bikini-friendly!

Patriotic Cheesecake Bites

Ingredients:
12 strawberries
24 blueberries
1 pkg neufchatel  (or reduced fat cream cheese), room temperature
1 8oz container vanilla greek yogurt
1 tspn vanilla extract
12 toothpicks

Preparation:

Whisk together the cream cheese, greek yogurt, and vanilla. Place in a large storage bag and refrigerate for at least an hour. Slice the stems and the tips of the strawberries, so you have two flat surface. Setting the strawberry on the smaller end (so where the tip was), hull out some of the center to make room for the "cheesecake" filling. Snip a corner of the storage baggie, and pipe the filling into the center of the strawberry. Push a toothpick through the center, and stick two blueberries on the end.

So easy. So delish. So stinking cute. :)

Sensory Play: Cloud Dough!

David used to jokingly call me "Summer Wife" once school let out. Summer Wife cooked more interesting dinners, was game for Tuesday happy hours, and sometimes even made breakfast for the hubs before work. She also kept a pretty clean home, too :)

So I guess with the addition of little C in our lives, I've been upgraded to "Summer Mama." It's been fun getting into a routine with her at home this summer. Given how upside down so many things in our lives are at the moment (...being in between homes tops the list!), I've been amazed how quickly we've settled into a groove. Today I opted to shake up our "middle of the day" play time with a little sensory activity for our girl...Cloud Dough!

When I started researching recipes online, many involved flour vegetable oil...totally a fine combo. But I'm constantly looking for ways to get rid of pantry items I have an accidental excess of (y'all know mom brain + grocery shopping + a good sale = way too much stuff). Then I stumbled across this post and realized I could throw together some "cloud dough" for C that would take care of the abundance of rice and oatmeal cereal she isn't too interested in eating lately (my girl LOVES waffles these days!!). I changed the proportions a bit to get a consistency I was happy with...and it was perfect :) Like the prettiest, softest sand you remember from vacay :)

Here's what you need:
1 cup rice cereal
1 cup oatmeal cereal
1/2 cup melted coconut oil.



Mix all the ingredients together till you get a soft, pillowy sand consistency. I used double sided tape to secure a garbage bag to the floor to make clean up a tad easier....homegirl still tried to pull it up. We added some rings, cups, and spatulas to the fun and had a great little afternoon!! When she decided we were finished, I just dipped her in the tub for a fast rinse off...and she smelled like a little coconut all afternoon :)

P.S. She only tried to eat it once!!

Care-package Love...Homemade Cranberry Coconut Granola

My littlest sister is doing AMAZING things this summer. While most college students use summer as a time to take meaningless three-hour classes and lounge by the pool (*sheepishly raising hand...*), this fab gal is participating in Kaleo 2014--a nine week long discipleship opportunity that combines biblical study, leadership development, and gives her the skills to launch a ministry on her own campus. In her words--"we're learning how to study the Bible, share our faith, and witness God work in my life and others! Figuring out what making disciples looks like and how you would go about doing it. Basically the best summer of my life." All while holding down a full time, 40 hour a week job. She's basically my hero :) I'm so thankful that little C has so many strong, wonderful, talented aunts to look up to!

 While sister is I'm sure enjoying living in Panama City, FL for the summer, I thought a little care package would help her and her roomies feel a little bit closer to home. Her are my go to items to include in her package:

*Strawberry Liquorice from Trader Joe's (did y'all see my FB post about this last week?? So. Good.)
*Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels--her and her roomie will LOVE these!
*Nail Polish (something fun and girly for summer!)
*An assortment of random items from the dollar section at Target, hahahaha!

and the pièce de résistance...

*A bag of homemade Cranberry Coconut Granola! (recipe below...)

Homemade Cranberry Coconut Granola
(adapted slightly from Southern at Heart)

Ingredients:

5 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sliced almonds

½ cup raw honey

½ cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup water

2 tspn cinnamon

1 tspn vanilla extract

1 tspn sea salt

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

½ cup raisins

½ cup dried cranberries

1 cup shredded coconut

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and line two baking sheets with foil (makes clean up a breeze!). In a large bowl, combine oats, pecans, and almonds. In a separate small bowl, whisk honey and next six ingredients together.  Stir mixture into oats and nuts till completely combined. Spread mixture evenly on the two baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir mixture on pan and return to oven for an additional 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 300 degrees, and return trays to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown in color (I pull the trays out in the middle of this baking time also and stir). Remove trays from oven, and sprinkle raisins, dried cranberries, and coconut over golden oat mixture. Stir to combine, and allow to cool before storing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three weeks.

Spinach and Turkey Meatballs aka...

While little napped, I decided to throw together a new batch of meatballs for her with a bit of a twist. I have been really terrible at the "homemade" food thing as we've moved into a temporary housing situation while we wait to close on a home. A smaller freezer + boxes everywhere + school year wrapping up didn't exactly make for a solid "Mom of the Year" application.

Now that we've settled into a bit of a summer time routine, I figured it was time to cook for my girl again :) I just kind of winged this recipe while she napped. The final product was actually super tasty....just a little green :)

A little "name the meatball" challenge on Instagram came up with:
*Green Boogers
*Green Monster Meatballs and...
*Hulk's Balls

 Call 'em what you like, little girl GOBBLED these up! She tossed back 4...when most days she only had 2.5 of the other recipe. I'll mark this one as a win in the mom column!

Kid tested, mama approved :)

Spinach and Turkey Meatballs 

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and pureed (optional to puree--my kiddo doesn't do well with stringy cooked spinach yet!)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup baby oatmeal cereal (breadcrumbs would be a fine sub; we aren't eating cereal as often, so I wanted to use up what I had left)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl (mixture will be quite sticky). Form into balls and place on a greased, foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes, or until cooked through.

To freeze: Cool completely. Place in ziploc bag and freeze until desired use. I don't recommend keeping baby food for more than three months in the freezer!