Cooking with Essential Oils - Lemon broccoli pasta with chicken

Hey y'all!!

I am so excited to share this recipe with you today! I posted a peek of it a few weeks ago on my Instagram feed, but it took me this long to get a chance to sit down and type it all up.

We have had such a busy summer. The kids made a bucket list of some things they wanted to do during their break, and we almost have it all crossed off! Just a few park visits this week and we are done! Between that, swim lessons, birthday parties, homecomings, school for me, business, and just doing life, it has been a little crazy. But we love it! What exciting things have you accomplished this summer so far?

I made this pasta dish based off THIS recipe I found on Pinterest. It's pretty standard - pasta, broccoli, & chicken (I added the chicken to ours) - but you can customize it to your liking in so many ways. I decided to use my Lemon Essential Oil instead of fresh lemons. I regularly forget to buy lemons when I need to cook with them, or I use them up before our planned meal, so I wanted to try another alternative for those meals.

Annndddd....Since I just started doing the Whole30, I can't have pasta right now, so I thought I would share with y'all so you could tell me how good it is! Haha!!

So...I started off by cooking the pasta. (We chose penne) While the water was heating, I cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and got it cooking in a pan.
Once the water was boiling, I added the pasta to the pot, and got some butter melting to saute garlic and red pepper flakes.

 I added a 1-2 drops of lemon to each of my pans so that I had a good lemon flavor throughout. This can be adjusted to your liking!

A few minutes before the pasta was done, I added the broccoli to the pasta water and cooked until the pasta was ready. It all got drained and put back into the pot with some more lemon. then I added spinach and some chopped kale since I had some on hand.

Once everything was dished, I added some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. My husband and kids devoured this dish! They kept asking why I had never made it before. I had mine with a glass of La Croix & Ningxia. Everyone had seconds, and there was even some left over for lunch the next day, which, by the way, was even tastier! We will definitely be having this again. After the Whole30, of course! :D

Have you cooked with lemon essential oil before? You should definitely try this one and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:
* Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
* Pasta of your choice
* 2-3 fresh broccoli florets (removed from stems)
* 2 cups fresh spinach
* 1 1/2 cups fresh kale
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
* Young Living Lemon Essential Oil
* 4 Tablespoons butter
* 1 cup fresh Parmesan
* salt & pepper to taste
* Olive oil to garnish

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2tsp oil to pan & brown chicken. Add 1-2 drops lemon oil to chicken.
3. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. When 3 minutes remain, add broccoli to pot with pasta.
4. Drain pasta and broccoli, and return to pot. Stir in spinach and kale. Add 2-3 drops lemon oil to pot & stir to distribute.
5. Melt butter in saucepan. Once melted, add garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Turn off heat and add 1-2 drops lemon oil. Add mixture to pasta and stir.
6. Dish up! Stir in Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

Leave me a comment and let me know if you try it!! :D

♥
Keli

Jerk Pork - Taste of Jamaica -Dinner Travels

Hey hey!!

Man, this semester of school has really got me swamped! I have had at least three papers due every week for the last five weeks!! Can you believe that?!?!
But - there is a light at the end of the tunnel...today starts the last full week before finals! Woohoo!

If you are on my Facebook Page or Instagram, you have been able to see some peeks into our daily life. This week, we are travelling the globe right from home! I have different dinners planned each night that are from different parts of the world. Monday night, we had a little taste of Jamaica with some jerk pork. Monday's are soccer days, so I wanted to have something that was ready when the kids got home from school, so I prepared this in the crock pot.

Let me tell you a little money-saving secret of mine... I shop for spices in the International Foods aisle! The Badia brand of seasonings and spices is my go to. They come in large containers and are priced SO amazing. I picked up some of this jerk seasoning for around $2! You just can't beat that!

For the pork, I used a 3-4lb. pork loin (not a tenderloin), jerk seasoning, garlic, lime, & orange juice. I put the pork into my crockpot, and added about 1/2 cup orange juice, 4 cloves of crushed garlic, the juice from one lime, and 3 tablespoons of the jerk seasoning. That's it. Easy peasy. Covered and cooked on low for about 8 hours.

About thirty minutes before we were ready to eat, I made some brown rice. I didn't add anything to this since I know I would be putting the meat on top.

This is where things get crazy...I originally planned on making a mango salsa to go with this since I saw it in this post. However, there are no mangoes in sight at my local grocery store, and my family doesn't love them enough for me to want to hunt some down. Also,the avocados were looking really sad the day I shopped. I originally thought I would just skip the fresh salsa part, and maybe have a salad or something. While I was finishing up the rice, I remembered that we had one lonely corn on the cob leftover from grilling over the weekend. I also had some red bell peppers on hand for Tuesday night's dinner! I threw some canola oil in a pan and got it hot. Then, I cut the corn off the cob right into the pan and added half of my red pepper, sprinkled on some salt & pepper, added some cilantro, and squeezed one more lime into the pan.

Let me just tell you...this meal was DELICIOUS!!!
It  is going down in my permanent files, and will be made again soon! The entire family loved it!

Here is the full recipe! Let me know if you try it!

Pork

* 3-4 lb. pork loin
* 3 Tablespoons jerk seasoning
* 4 cloves crushed garlic
* 1/2 cup orange juice
* juice of one lime

Cooked Brown Rice

Corn Salsa 

* One ear of corn, scraped from cob (frozen could work, also!)
* 1/2 red bell pepper
* Salt & pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
* juice of one lime

Directions

* Place pork in slow cooker. Add crushed garlic, jerk seasoning, orange juice, and lime juice. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. Shred in pot.
* About 30 minutes before serving time, cook rice.
* About 10 minutes before serving time, heat pan with 1 Tablespoon oil. Add corn and bell peppers. Season with sale and pepper. Cook until tender-crisp. Add juice from lime and cilantro.
* To serve: add rice to center of plate, top with pork and salsa.
* ENJOY!

Menu PLan Monday - New adventures

Good morning!! Happy Monday!

Last week was so busy! I had a bunch of random things happening, and totally forgot to post my meal plan on Monday, and never got a chance to the rest of the week.
We enjoyed lots of outside time in the warm sunshine and had some ducks come right up and visit us at the park! My favorite part of Spring is seeing all the new colors in the garden! Do you have a favorite?

This little guy was so excited to have ducks come right up and say hello!

Bring be ALL the beautiful flowers!!
 

I have a couple big changes coming up in the next few months. I'm sharing one today because A) It's super exciting, and B) it's happening this week!!
I will be getting my call to place my order and officially become a fashion consultant with LuLaRoe!! If you haven't heard of LuLaRoe yet, I am so sad for you! They carry the most amazingly soft leggings, and many styles of tops, dresses, and skirts for every size! The prints are beautiful. You may have seen some of my photos over on my Facebook page of me wearing some of my LuLaRoe pieces. I highly recommend you check it out! And, if you're feeling lucky, I have a giveaway going on right now for $10 off and free shipping! All you have to do is join the group and tell me what style you would love to see (or try!) in my shop! So easy!!
These are (almost) all of my leggings!

And one of my favorite pieces, the Amelia dress. It has pockets! And it goes great with my little Amelia :)

 If you would like to join the group, you can follow this link: LuLaRoe Keli Jennings


Let's get to the menu this week...

Warmer weather is coming, so our meals are getting lighter and easier...

Penne pasta with Italian sausage(ground)
Salad

Tacos
Guacamole
Chips & Salsa

Pork Chops, Roasted red potatoes, Green beans
Salad

Chicken Parm Casserole
Side spaghetti
Salad

Pizza
(mozzarella, pepperoni)

Hamburgers
Fries
Baked beans

Fuji Apple Chicken Salad (Panera Bread Copycat)


Breakfasts:
Waffles
Oatmeal
Eggs with toast
Biscuits & gravy (Saturday)

Lunches:
Tuna
Chicken Salad
leftovers
PB&J
Mac & Cheese
Ham & Cheese

Snacks:
Smoothies
Cheese & Crackers
Yogurt w/ fruit
Chips & Salsa
Apples w/ Peanut butter
Carrots w/ hummus

I hope you all have an amazing week!!
You can find most of my recipes on Pinterest
For daily life, follow me on Instagram
Don't forget to share your menu on Facebook!

If you need more menu ideas, I'm linking  up with I'm an Organizing Junkie

See you soon!

XOXO

Menu Plan Monday - March 21

Good morning! Happy Spring!
I don't believe it's actually Spring yet. I know yesterday was 'officially' the first day, but we got snow flurries. Not cool.
It's Spring Break here for the kiddos. We'll be out of town a couple days this week, so my menu is going to look a little different. I won't be listing out each day. It's also Easter this weekend! We will be home by then, and having dinner with some good friends.
So here we go...

Our dinners will include:
Breakfast - waffles or pancakes, eggs, toast
Greek Chicken Pita Pockets  (21 Day Fix recipe!)
Pizza
Easter dinner - Ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, and I will be making Homemade Creamed Corn It was a big hit at Thanksgiving, so I was asked to make it again! :)

We'll also be eating some fast food on the road, and something delicious at my in-law's :D

If you head over to Menu Plan Monday that I link up with, you will find full menu ideas that others have submitted!

You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what fun places we might stop at on our journey :)
I also have most of my recipes saved on Pinterest

With all the craziness that will be happening today with packing and writing a paper and finishing up another assignment, this guy will be with me all day!!

See you soon!

Menu Plan Monday - March 14 - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Good morning! Happy Monday!

I have a few fun things this week!
If you remember, my birthday was earlier this month. My best friend celebrated her birthday over the weekend. She surprise me with a birthday date for us! We went to a tea house called Tea by Two. We got to dress up and have high tea. It was so much fun. We got to try so many delicious teas. I even found a new favorite. It is peaches with roses and sunflowers! We also enjoyed a bunch of delicious treats, including lobster bisque. I can not wait to do this again.

Our first round of tea (we had 3!) and our lobster bisque

Apricot and white chocolate scone

After we were asked to leave for being there so long, (the next reservation showed up! :D) we decided to take a look in the flower shop next door. They had this huge little fairy village display. It was so cute! I may have to make something like this for Amelia one day. But not today. Today was all about Hollie and I. We both ended up getting a Shamrock plant. But look how cute it was!

This week is Spring Break week for me for school. That means a few things for you:
1- I may actually get a chance to post the organization weeks I am missing! I have been doing them and photographing them, but I just haven't had a chance to post them. I have the draft for our master bedroom all written up, but I got unexpectedly buy last week. So...this week for sure!
2- St. Patrick's day is this week!! Don't forget to wear your green! I am thinking about putting together a special post just for Thursday. so you may get a LOT from me this week!!

Last week, I decided I really need to get back to my full meal planning. I got into bad rut of just eating when I was starving and grabbing the most convenient thing. I know that if I have specific things written down to eat for snack and lunch, etc. then I will eat those things. I just grabbed a quick photo, so excuse the bad lighting, but here is my full plan for the week. I know some of it might be hard to read, so feel free to ask if you have any questions.
My dinners are listed below with the links :)

And onto the dinner menu...
I have a bunch of 21 Day Fix approved meals this week!

Leftovers
We have a LOT this week

Taco Skillet

Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet
 (I wasn't paying close enough attention when I planned two skillet nights in a row!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
Wear your green!!
Irish bangers, Cabbage, roasted red potatoes

Pull apart monkey bread pizza

Pasta with alfredo, salad, bread

Chicken Parmesan
green beans


* I will be posting some of my snacks and recipes over on my Facebook page!
* Most of the recipes I use can be found on Pinterest
* I like to share different things on Instagram

What fun things are you doing this week??

For more menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday!


See you soon!!

Menu Plan Monday - Happy Leap Day!

Happy Leap Day!
Are you doing anything special to celebrate? I think I will be using my extra day to have extra coffee, do extra laundry, and catch up on extra school work! :D I hope your plans are better than mine! Haha.
I am also using this day to be extra happy that I have one more day to stay the age I am now. (Which I'm not telling, by the way!) If it weren't Leap Day today, it would be my birthday! :D I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow...
Speaking of my birthday...it's in March. (Obviously) The month of St. Patrick's Day, and all things green and Irish! A little fun fact about me - my heritage is Irish! How perfect that I was born in this month. This year, I am really trying to embrace my heritage. I decided that instead of making an Irish meal just on St. Patrick's Day, I will make them throughout the month. I recently shared on Instagram and Facebook that I got this cookbook in the mail last week, just in time! It has been sitting on my Amazon wish list for a year now! I was super excited to finally get it. And looking through the recipes made me even more excited. I will be trying one (supper) recipe out each week, on Thursdays. I am also planning on making the baked goods and breakfast meals throughout the month. I can't wait!

We had a crazy dinner week last week, so you may see some repeats from last week that we didn't get to.  Thankfully all the ingredients are frozen! :)

Today is leftover day!
We have some Chili mac & cheese, salad, pizza, and maybe some other things

Chicken burrito bowls 

Ingredients: Chicken, onion, rice, chicken broth, cheese, black beans, rotel

Pork Chops, green beans, roasted potatoes

Irish Onion Soup with Cheese Toasties

Ingredients: Sweet Onions, garlic, white wine, beef stock, thyme, bread, smoked cheddar

Pizza

Ingredients: Pizza dough, pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, bell peppers

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients: Chicken, pie crust, mixed veggies, cream of chicken, milk, mozzarella

Spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, salad

Ingredients: Spaghetti, sauce, bread, salad ingredients

There you have it, the first week of March, already!!

You can find daily updates and randomness here:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest

For more menu ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday!
See you soon!
xo

Menu Plan Monday - Comfort Food

Hi again!
   Aside from the kids being out of school today for parent/teacher conferences, it looks like this week might be getting back to 'normal'. We were able to open the windows over the weekend and get all the stuffiness out. I have been diffusing R.C. and Thieves like crazy, so we are all feeling much better than last week! I am so looking forward to more windows open weather!
Here's a little about one of my BFFs this week:

    This week's menu has a lot of comfort food in it. I don't know if it was the weather or the sickness that was affecting my planning, but either way, we have lots of yummy food planned!

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients: Chicken, mixed veggies, cream of chicken, milk, mozzarella, pie crusts

Tortilla Soup (I have used this recipe a few times, and it is always delicious. I recently had tortilla soup with rice in it and I love it, so I might add some to this one!)

Ingredients: Chicken, chicken stock, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, avocado, limes

Shepherd's Pie - This was a request from one of the boys this week! ;)

Ingredients: Ground beef, onion, carrots, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, potatoes, stock,
parmesan cheese

Pork Chops, Yellow Rice, Green beans

Ingredients: pork chops ( I get a big pack of thick cut boneless) Yellow rice, Green beans

Pizza

Ingredients: Pizza Dough (I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe) Pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni

 

One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese

Ingredients: Ground beef, elbow noodles, kidney beans, white kidney beans, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, garlic, onion, cheddar

* My husband is not a huge fan of beans, so I only used the red kidney beans

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole.
I am making this 'accidental' recipe again from a few weeks ago. I will be photographing as I go this time, so I should have a full recipe post soon!! :D

Ingredients: Chicken, Wild Rice, carrots, celery, onion, chicken broth, cream of chicken

There is a LOT of chicken stock in this week's recipes! I kinda felt like I was hoarding all the stock when I went shopping yesterday!

Now I want to know what you are eating this week?!
Feel free to stop by and let me know! :)
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Instagram
Pinterest

If you would like more information about Thieves oil or any others, you can visit Young Living's Website (My member # is 2322868)

And...for more recipes, head over to Menu Plan Monday!!

See you soon! :D