Mini Ham & Veggie Egg Cups

I made these Mini Ham & Veggie Egg Cups this past Saturday for a brunch I was hostessing and they were a total hit! Clean, simple and totally delicious, I plan on making up a few batches and freezing them for an easy breakfast on school days - just heat and eat! I was able to find a package of ham already diced small in the deli section at the grocery store, so that eliminated a step right away. These cuties are also super versatile, so I'm able to switch up which meats and veggies I use depending on what we're in the mood for (or more likely what I have on hand). The perfect healthy breakfast or snack!

Mini Ham & Veggie Egg Cups

Ingredients:

• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup fresh broccoli, finely chopped
• ½ cup yellow bell pepper, finely chopped 
• 2/3 cup ham, chopped (about 2 ounces)
• ⅓ cup extra-sharp shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 large eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with clean cooking spray or a drizzle of oil (such as organic coconut oil spray or a teaspoon or two of organic coconut oil) and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, broccoli and yellow pepper, and saute 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add ham and saute 3 minutes. Remove from heat.


3. Combine cheese, chives, thyme, pepper and eggs in a bowl and stir gently with a whisk. Add ham mixture, stirring with whisk. 


4. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until set.

To freeze:

Make sure egg cups are completely cooled before storing. Wrap each egg cup individually in saran wrap and store in a ziplock bag until ready to use. 

To heat:

Remove desired number of cups and remove saran wrap. Wrap cups loosely in a paper towel and cook on 15 second spurts until heated through. Enjoy!

Love this recipe or want to see more like it? Let us know in the comments below!

Groundhog Day Fun plus *FREE* Printables!

Kenzie is staying the night with a friend tonight, so out of boredom I whipped up some super adorable printable coloring pages for Groundhog's Day. I thought it would be a cute way leading up to this sometimes forgotten holiday to chart your children's predictions (as well as this year's results) for Mr. Groundhog. Just a cute little activity for you and your littles to enjoy together and a sweet memento to add to the growing stash of your kids' artwork. ;)

Download and print the coloring pages below!








Did you and your kiddos enjoy this activity? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Menu Plan: Week of 01.18.15

This week is the start of a few schedule changes going on in our household. Kenzie is playing for her middle school basketball team, and after a grueling few weeks of 10 practice hours/week, it's game time! Side note: as I type "10 practice hours/week", it doesn't seem like much...then I add in the 7 hour school days and she would already be in overtime if this was a job. Throw homework and things like dinner and actually having time to shower, and my chickadee is doing some seriously hard work lately! I'm extremely proud of her for working so hard and of what a well adjusted and amazing young lady she is blossoming into.

That being said, I'm super psyched to see her on the court again! This is her first year playing for a school-based team - in the past she's been a part of the local city league, which starts in November and runs through February with a weekly practice OR game. But from here on out it's three days of practices and either home or away games on the other two days, five days a week.

To accommodate our new arrangements, I switched the days we do leftovers since Tuesday and Thursday are game days and we most likely won't be sitting down for dinner until much later in the evening. I'm hoping that will keep things much more simple in the coming weeks!

This week's recipes:
Chicken & Biscuit Casserole
Guiltless Chicken Nachos
Super Simple Skillet Lasagna
King Ranch Chicken

Don't forget to snag this week's blank printable menu template below!



Have you tried one of our recipes or LOVE our new menu series? I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments!

Clean & Healthy Chicken Tortilla Stew

Clean and healthy, this hearty stew recipe could fool even the harshest of health-food critics. and the best part is that you literally dump a few ingredients in the crockpot and walk away. Easy peasy and totally delish!

Clean & Healthy Chicken Tortilla Stew

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (12 oz-16 oz.) jar of your favorite clean/organic salsa 

1 (14 oz. ) can organic black beans, drained

1 pound frozen corn, thawed

1 pound frozen, mixed bell peppers 

3 organic, corn tortillas, ripped by hand

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. seasoning salt (I like Everyday Seasoning from Trader Joe's)

Sliced black olives and plain greek yogurt for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Place the chicken (either raw or still frozen) in the bottom of the crock pot. Pour seasonings and salsa over chicken. Add corn, bell peppers, and corn tortillas.
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
3. About 15 minutes before serving, add black beans and use a wooden spoon to break apart the chicken and mix everything up.
4. Serve garnished with some sliced, black olives and/or a dab of plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream - and your kiddos won't even notice! (wink wink)

Menu Plan: Week of 01.11.15

With a scheduled business meeting, a parent meeting for Kenzie's new basketball season, and also a new exercise routine on the schedule for this week, our evenings will be jam-packed nearly every night. To keep things simple, I reached into my recipe box for some tried and true, quick and easy meals. Enjoy!

This week's recipes: 

Sunday: Homemade Taco Seasoning
Tuesday: Creamy Beef Stroganoff
Saturday: Oven Baked Turkey Sandwiches


Don't forget to print this week's blank menu template below!

Menu Plan: Week of 01.04.15

The stress of trying to decide what's for dinner is one nearly every mama can relate to. As I've gotten older, it's become very apparent to me that planning is the key to my success when it comes to cooking healthy and nutritious dinners for my family. When I don't take the time to sit down and menu plan, my week inevitably falls apart day by day, and we fall into the trap of planning to fail and end up with take out - not good. 

I've been menu planning for a long time now, but I thought it might be fun to share my love of weekly menus here with all you lovelies, as well! And while we're at it, why not make it cute and colorful?

We typically try to eat pretty clean, which will be a new twist for the blog as we just started this type of lifestyle within the last few months, but all of the food I make is kid-approved by my 12-year-old. Of course, she's not typically very picky. She doesn't like corn...but she loves brussel sprouts! (I love corn, so you will see it on my menus and in some of my dishes - she's pretty good about picking around it or I'll make her a different veggie - she could eat broccoli seven days a week and be happy!)

Every once in awhile I'll throw in a classic family favorite (i.e. probably not clean...or healthy) or an indulgent dessert, but other than that our menu will be strictly clean and healthy. It's all about balance.

Each week, I'll be posting a new menu, along with a fun and colorful printable for you as well! Stay tuned for recipes as the weeks go on, and if you need ideas in the mean time be sure to visit my Recipe Box!

Don't forget to check out this week's printable menu template below!

Wild Mushroom & Herb Chicken & Rice

With Christmas this past week and my entire family recovering from the flu, it's been pretty hectic around here the past few days, and I'd be lying if I told you I'd been to the grocery store any time within the past two weeks. We're down to pretty slim pickings around here, and I've been surviving off of PB & J sandwiches for the past few days as I get the house cleaned up from the holiday tornado that came through it, disinfecting, and getting all of our stuff put away.

With dinner looming over my head tonight and little desire to hit the grocery store,  I knew I didn't have many options and needed to throw something together with the very few ingredients on hand. I grabbed a box of Near East Wild Mushroom & Herb Rice Pilaf from the back of the pantry and some chicken and this recipe was born. It was quick, easy, and really hit the spot. What I love about this recipe is how versatile it is - I look forward to throwing in some fresh mushrooms, some peas, and other goodies in the future to change it up a bit.

Add a bit of oil to your skillet and get it nice and hot (I use about a TBSP. of either Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil). Dice up the chicken, and brown it up nice and good until cooked through. I like to season mine with pepper, Trader Joes' Everyday Seasoning (it's my favorite, I put it on EVERYTHING) and a bit of Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning Blend. Even though we're going to cook the chicken with the seasoning packet from the rice, I think seasoning the chicken itself gives it a nice depth of flavor you wouldn't get otherwise.

Now grab your second (and only other) ingredient (I love saying that - it's the simple things in life)

Toss in your water, seasoning packet, and rice...

Now bring that sucker up to a boil, stirring occasionally. 

This is my favorite part: pour yourself a nice glass of wine...

and turn the burner down to LOW, cover, and simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through. Meanwhile, have a seat and sip that lovely wine of yours - you deserve it.

Once all of the liquid is absorbed, fluff up your rice and chow down serve it up. 

See all that mushroomy, herby goodness? Mmmhmm. 

 

Wild Mushroom & Herb Chicken & Rice   

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 in. cubes
1 TBSP. Oil (Organic EVOO or Coconut is best)
1 box Near East brand Wild Mushroom & Herb Rice Pilaf
1 3/4 cups water
Seasonings to taste (for chicken)

Directions:

1) In a medium skillet, brown chicken and chosen seasonings until fully cooked through.
2) Add water, seasonings, and rice to the skillet
3) Bring contents to a boil. stirring occasionally.
4) Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer 18-20 minutes, until water is absorbed and rice is tender and fully cooked.
5) Fluff rice with fork before serving.