Honey Garlic Bacon Wrapped Chicken

The school year is in full swing and with that, I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Most days turn into 12 hour days without even realizing it and I'm lucky if I remember my own name.

I have learned so much about myself in the last two months. I have learned that what I thought was good time management on my part needed a major overhaul and sometimes you just have to "deal". There have been a whirlwind of emotions the last two months from realizing "I am in charge of 27 young minds" to "Holy shit, what did I get myself into". In the end though, I know in my heart I am meant to be where I am and I am in charge of my own destiny. My children are wonderful and fill me with joy each day, even if they drive me up the walls more than a few times an hour. I love the look on their faces when the lightbulb goes on and they "get it". And most importantly I love the hugs and sticky hand holding my kids still love to give me, even if I cringe sometimes.

My evenings are easily spent sitting in from of my laptop grading or coming up with the next best thing for the following day. Rarely do I have time to myself to think up new recipes and I truly miss those times. I love following SouthernCastiron on Instagram and get so much inspiration from them. A recent post of theirs shared chicken in a mustard sauce and I was pumped. I am not much of a mustard and chicken person, but I am a cast iron girl and knew I could tweak the recipe to fit my house hold. Thus, Honey Garlic Bacon Wrapped Chicken was born.

This meal was prepped and cooked in LESS than 30 minutes (score!) so it's a definite winner and added to my list of things I could eat every day for a week. 

1 lb chicken breast cut into smaller pieces (think thick tenders)
Bacon
Salt and pepper
Sugar snap peas

Sauce:
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 honey
3 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Red pepper flakes (to taste)
Sriracha (optional)

Preheat oven to 400*
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Tightly wrap bacon around chicken and secure with toothpicks. In a cast iron over medium-high heat cook bacon and chicken until bacon is crispy on both sides (about 6 minutes per side). Once crisp to your liking, place entire cast iron into oven and bake for 20 minutes.

In the meantime prepare your sauce. Mix all ingredients into a small pot and bring to boil. Remove from heat.

After chicken has been cooked through, add snap peas directly into cast iron and drizzle with sauce. Stir to cover chicken and snap peas. Return to oven and cook additional 5 minutes or until snap peas are tender.

Serve immediately.

Be careful with your cast iron even after removing from oven for some time. It will hold its heat for longer than you'd think. Trust me and my burned fingers! This recipe is best cooked in a well-seasoned cast iron. The best way to season one is to use it often and for EVERYTHING! 

Of course I used all my favorite HEB Cocinaware cooking tools, my favorite Calphalon castiron, and the best seasonings, Bolner (AKA Fiesta everyone else).

Nutrition

I get asked questions daily about nutrition.

I will be upfront and honest, I am NOT a certified nutritionist. I do not have ANY degree in health sciences whatsoever. I simply know how to fuel my body for success.

For me, nutrition was a game killer. I could workout non-stop all day, every day, but not see a single end result of all my hard work. I would workout, come home, and stuff my face full of food I didn't give a single thought about. I was a binge drinker and was known for eating a whole bag of Hot Fries in one sitting (nothing to be proud of). All this added up to a lot of negativity about my health and fitness and kicked my anxiety into high gear.

I let my beautiful friend, and now coach, Jayma, talk me into Beachbody. I was convinced the only way I could be healthy was to eat chicken and broccoli all day. Like I said, I knew NOTHING about nutrition. I didn't understand portion control or how to use carbs and fats to my advantage.

Today, I eat nonstop still...but I am NOURISHING my body with all the yummy and healthy vitamins and nutrients it needs. I eat balanced meals and I don't gorge myself anymore or go back for 2nds...and 3rds...and if its pasta....4ths (no shame!).

My days consists of:
Shakeo with fruit for breakfast
Greek yogurt as a snack
Protein veggies and carbs for lunch
Another delicious protein snack
and protein, veggies, and carbs for dinner.

And OF COURSE, I still workout out for 30 minutes a day instead of HOURS at the gym. I love the life I live now and all I want to do is share that love with each and every one of you.

Beachbody Coach

So in my previous post, I mentioned I became a Beachbody Wellness Coach, but I wanted to go into a little more detail as to why I took the plunge.

About 5 years ago when I graduated high school I was EXTREMELY THIN! I honestly don't think I will ever get back to that point and I am more than ok with that. I wasn't eating well enough or much at all and I was a total mess. I suffered from depression, was a binge drinker, and was a loser, I have no shame in admitting those things. I began college thinking I would "enjoy myself"....If I had known "enjoying myself" would cause me to gain an excruciating 30 lbs I would have never done it. The pounds just kept stacking on. There was nothing I could do to stop it and I thought I would be that girl people would run into and not recognize. Even my ex-boyfriend at the time, now fiance (LOL), told me I needed to do something with myself. So what did I decide to do? Starve myself. Go vegetarian. Workout like a lunatic.

And did those things work? Yeah, they did for a short time. But it still didn't change the fact that I was extremely unhealthy and depressed about my body image. And you know what happened? I gained all the weight back in the worst way. I worked at a few different restaurants constantly eating bad food trying to suppress my feelings and it killed me every single day. For some reason my weight kept yo-yo-ing and I could never keep it off or stop gaining ridiculous amounts randomly.

When I came into some money I decided I would try personal training. Obviously, what I was doing wasn't working and maybe I needed the extra push from someone telling me not to quit. I loved it and I loved my coach, but I still could not stop myself from binging. I was very strong and started powerlifting so that saved me in a sense because all those carbs were put to good use, but I still wasn't satisfied and it was EXPENSIVE! I was essentially making a car payment every month, not seeing the results I desperately needed to and drove a shit car in the process. Like I said, my priorities were a MESS and so was I.

This year I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Anxiety was something I struggled with since I was 13 and with all my weight nonsense it skyrocketed and became out of control. I was having daily panic attacks and medicated myself with food. The only thing that never let me down. Even though I was still "thin" to some, I felt like trash because I ate like trash. I began taking medication to help control my anxiety and it was like a lightbulb went off!

One of my best friends, who has an extremely similar backstory like mine, had started Beachbody and was noticing these crazy results that LASTED! I was instantly hooked but couldn't get passed the price tag. After a lot of self-motivation, I decided I was worth it and so was my body. I went in head first and bought the challenge pack along with shakeology and I will never look back. In my first week, I lost 8 lbs from simply EATING RIGHT AND WORKING OUT 30 MINUTES A DAY! IN MY OWN LIVING ROOM, SCORE! 
Obviously, to keep myself accountable and help change lives the way Beachbody changed mine I became a Beachbody coach and it was the best decision I made. My anxiety is in check, my weight has dropped, I've lost inches, and I'm genuinely HAPPY!

I would love to give you the same opportunity I was given.
Contact me at:
Corinarod11@gmail.com
Teambeachbody.com/corinarodriguez

GIVE ME 21 DAYS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Beachbody

So I took the plunge and finally decided to become a member of Beachbody.

Let me tell you, I was VERY reluctant at first because I had this crazy idea all I would be able to eat was chicken and broccoli. Gross. After a little research and some coaxing by my beautiful coach, Jayma, I dove right in and I never want to look back. And the best part? My fiance is also doing the program with me!

I have some GREAT recipes to share with yall this week and honest to God, they are DELICIOUS!

The first recipe I want to share is this delicious Chicken Taco Bowl.

1lb chicken (boiled)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can petite diced tomatoes
Taco seasoning
Garlic powder (to taste)
Chili Powder (to taste)
1 Green bell pepper
1/2 white onion (or 1 small onion)
Colby Jack (optional)




I boiled my chicken so it would be easy to shred and then I simply covered it in taco seasoning to taste and some of the tomato juice from my can of tomatoes. SO EASY.
Next, I sauteed my veggies all together to get their juices flowing and adding a little chili powder and garlic powder for an extra oomph!
Rinse your corn and black beans AND BOOM YOU ARE DONE!
I used my Beachbody containers to measure everything out and mixed it up in a bowl and that was dinner. DELICIOUS AND CHEAP!

Measuring: 1 red, 1 green, 2 yellow, 1 blue!

If you know me, you know I love anything with rice. Let me tell you something, this meal HIT THE SPOT! So spicy, and so good, and the best part? IT'S SO STINKIN' HEALTHY YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT! This meal was so easy that I had it ready in less than 10 minutes, that's crazy talk in my house.

1 link Hillshire farm smoked turkey sausage
1 box Uncle Ben's boil in bag brown rice
1 green bell pepper
1/2 white onion (or 1 small onion)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
Colby jack cheese (optional)
Cayenne pepper
Hot sauce



Cook your sausage to your liking and place in a separate container. In the same pan, (for those extra yummy flavors) saute all your veggies until onions are tender and translucent with a little cayenne pepper for an extra kick. In a separate pot, cook the rice according to packaging and you are done!

I used my containers to measure out all my portions and added some extra hot sauce for flavor!

Measuring: 1 red, 1 green, 2 yellow, 1 blue


BTW Y'ALL! MY MEALS MAKE LEFTOVERS FOR MEAL PREP! MY MEASURES AT THE END OF EACH RECIPE ARE FOR 1 SERVING ONLY!!

Catching up and some great news!

Well, y'all, I'm back!!

I've officially reached the end of my undergraduate career and I will FINALLY graduate next Saturday. It is crazy how fast this semester and entire last year has flown by. My kinder babies gave me the best gifts and most of all they gave me the best experiences. Let's just say there was a lot of ugly crying on my last day and I will miss those little faces more than you could ever imagine.

Some other great news I've been dying to share is that I was offered a position teaching 2nd grade in the highest paying district in my area and I HAPPILY ACCEPTED! The doors to my future room and career are wide open and I'm literally running through them.  I am also engaged! LIKE WOW! What a crazy April it was for me. With finished school, accepting a job, and then getting engaged ALL IN ONE WEEK, I can hands down say nothing in life could take me down right now.

How do I do it?

I want to take some time to talk about how I coupon, save money, use rebates, and of course why I started doing all of these things. 

About two years ago, Weston and I were living in our first apartment and it was the first time we were "on our own" without our parents. We both had good jobs, bills were always paid, and we never ran into money issues or having to "budget". Because we didn't need to worry about money I never took a second glance at how much I was actually spending a month on groceries and other necessities we were constantly buying like toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning supplies. My first step to "saving money" was starting to buy certain items in bulk. Now, a little backstory....I grew up in a family that bought EVERYTHING in bulk from Sam's Club. Groceries, paper products, cleaning supplies, even clothes (don't knock it till you try it! Sam's has great sales on basics like shirts and shorts). Back to two years ago, we headed to Sam's and signed up for a membership. It was a little off-putting that we had to pay $45 before we even starting shopping but I blew it off because I just KNEW it would pay for itself in savings. Long story short, it did.
I started by comparing prices at HEB (My #1 grocery store) to Sam's. I did this down to the $/oz , $/roll , $/lb. Yes, yes, I know....that's a little much BUT I wanted to make sure I was actually getting the best possible deal! When it came down to it, Sam's blew HEB out of the water on certain items.

When I go to Sam's I always buy

• Idahoan Instant Potatoes (this is a life saver after a long day)
• Minute Rice 
• Chicken Breast - These are honestly SO big I have to half them into 2 fillets, then food save them in packs of 3 smaller fillets. They are also better cuts than HEBs frozen chicken breast with less "weird" fascia pieces
• Ground Beef - $5/1lb or $10-$12/4lbs? You do the math
• Toilet Paper - I buy the Member's Mark brand, Sam's house brand. 45 rolls for $17.86 (.40/roll) compared to HEBs 30 rolls for $14.27 (.48/roll). I know this seems petty but trust me....the pennies add up. Also, this price is even WITH a coupon and it's still cheaper to buy at Sam's.
• Paper Towels - I buy the POM brand, it comes in a HUGE box containing 30 rolls at $26.52 (.88/roll) compared to HEB 12 rolls at $15.47 ($1.29/roll). Sure you could buy the SUPER cheap brand but you're sacrificing quality and you'll be using double...there's really not much of a savings left. 

Another way I constantly save money when I do shop at HEB is COUPONS! Duh! 

My Sunday afternoon ritual is to sit at the kitchen table and go through the Weekly Ad online and choose my dinners from what's available. If hot dogs and shredded cheese are on sale, we're eating hotdogs! If pasta or pasta sauce is on sale, we're eating pasta! You get the idea. This is a great way to cut overspending because you have something to work off of. This doesn't mean I only buy things on sale because that's not realistic, but it helps my bottom line a ton. I also registered to use HEB Digital Coupons which are different than the yellow printed coupons you can find around the store. These are similar to a loyalty card and are taken directly at the register whenever you input your number on the screen. It's hassle free because you can do this online or on the app and they stay on there until they expire or you use them. HEB even tracks how much you have saved total on digital coupons every time, pretty neat! I also use paper coupons when I see them around the store or I print them directly from HEB.com since they are automatically linked to Coupons.com. I don't use these as often however because they are usually for name brand items and I prefer HEB brand.....which is still cheaper even if I use coupons on name brand items. 

Lastly, I have FINALLY started using Ibotta! I don't know why I had never heard of these before but I'm so glad I started using it. Ibotta is basically a rebate app that gives you money for buying certain items. This week they had rebates for ANY brand milk, cheese, eggs, juice, sodas, pasta, and pasta sauce. All of these things were also ON SALE at HEB so I DOUBLED my savings once the rebates were verified. Awesome! So far this week I saved $6 at the store, plus and extra $3 using rebates. 

I have a referral code you can use for an extra FREE $5 when you sign up using it and verify your first rebate. Verifying is as easy as scanning the barcode using their app and taking a picture of your receipt for proof. It's FREE MONEY Y'ALL!

Referral Code:

fxvtdul

I also use a coupon tracker I downloaded through MS Excel that tracks how much my retail costs are, my discounts, coupons, rebates, and my ultimate savings total. It's a fun tool that serves as a nice reminder!

This is my 2016 tracker so it's still empty because I've only gone shopping once.

Now, why did I start couponing in the first place? When we bought our home I was field-basing, which is similar to student teaching. I would be in the classroom all day (taking two whole days away from working) and I also had to take a night class (I work nights so now I'm out 3 days of the week). I also reserve Sunday's for time to spend with Weston, our families, and to catch up on school work, house work, and running errands. That left me with a whopping 3 days I could work a week. Add into that lessson planning, homework, and everything else....it just wasn't possible for me to work nights any longer and the daytime shifts at my work were already taken up by other servers. So I started subbing on those 3 days and still bartending on Saturdays...but it still wasn't paying much. I found myself in a pickle, I had all these bills to pay but no way of being able to work more to pay them. Weston and I came to a personal agreement and now I pay our bills, groceries, and take care of housework which is a reasonable amount. I figured more serious couponing would be more beneficial than only buying things in bulk and I was hooked. Weston ALWAYS makes fun of me in the stores because I am that girl with the coupons.

In the end, couponing has seriously changed so much for me this last year. It's nice to not worry about money and I'm so blessed that I set my mind to something and it paid off, literally. If you ever think couponing could be for you, do it. It's always worth it.

Happy couponing!

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

Here in South Texas it's officially cold front season and the tempuratures can easily go from 85* on Christmas Day to 48* the next morning. My house is sitting at a pretty frigid 67* right now with no heater or AC going so I can finally lay on the couch with a blanket and not sweat it off a few minutes later like usual. So, with this cold weather I felt like eating something to warm my body up and that wouldn't take very long to make that way I could spend extra time cuddling my babies on the couch. Thus, this recipe came about. It's cheesy (Weston's favorite), has broccoli (my favorite), and of course the chicken adds a healthy amount of protein to really fill you up. I served it over rice because one of my FAVORITE homecooked meals is my mom's cheesy broccoli rice and I thought this would fill the void I've been having since Thanksgiving.

This recipe took less than 5 minutes to put together and only 5 hours in the crockpot or you could prepare it in the morning and set your timer that way your crockpot would just keep it warm till dinner time. Luckily I'm on winter break and have all day to do things around the house otherwise I would be going with the morning method.

Ingredients:

• 10.5 oz Cream of Chicken (Condensed)
• 10.5 oz Cheddar Soup (Condensed)
• 14 oz Chicken Broth
• 1.5 cups Shredded Cheddar
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• Frozen/Fresh Broccoli (I added how much I want, you can too, there's no right or wrong!)
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Coarse Black Pepper
• 2-3 Chicken Breasts 

Throw the cream of chicken, cheddar soup, chicken broth and spices into the crock pot and stir until smooth(ish). Add your chicken breasts and set the temp to low for 4-6 hours or high for 3 hours. About an hour before finished or serving shred the chicken and add your sour cream, shredded cheddar, and broccoli. Allow everything to melt and for the broccoli to cook through, you can stir occasionally.

Serve over rice and you're good to go!

Hope y'all enjoy this super quick and easy recipe. Weston loved it and I loved how easy it was to make so it will be a staple from now on.