Grilled Chicken Tacos

Okay so today I decided to do another one of my Pinterest recipes :) 

While choosing which one to cook I had such an amazing time with  my cutie pie :) 

I can't believe how much he has been growing time is flying by!! 

He's definitely mommy's little helper :) 

Since I was looking to do something quick and yummy before Maxie's sleepy time. So I decided to do my own little version of the grilled fish taco recipe I pinned. 

Ingredients 

- 1 mango - peeled and cubed

- 1 avocado - peeled and cubed

- 1/4 of a big white onion finely chopped 

- Juice of 1 lime

- 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

- salt and pepper to your taste 

- coconut oil

- 2 chicken breast filet

- 2 cups of shredded red cabbage 

- 8-10 corn tortillas

Instructions 

- In a medium bowl mix mango, avocado, onion, cilantro, like, salt and pepper to your taste. 

- Rub chicken breast with season salt, oregano, and coconut oil to taste. 

- Heat stovetop grill pan until warm use one tsp of coconut oil and grill chicken until golden on both sides. Once cooled, cube the chicken. 

They turned out delicious!!!!

Cannot wait to make these again!! 

Mmm...Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

I have been able to complete so many accomplishments that seemed mere dreams and thoughts for quite some time.

We were able to get our own place (woot woot)!! It's great being able to have our own space, and most importantly, now spend the much needed quality time with my family. With that being said, I love having everyone over for dinner. Its a great time to catch up and also a good practice to polish my skills and keep adding to my book of recipes :)

This time I made Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers.  They turned out so so so good! I just have to share the recipe! The best part....so easy to make!!

Ingredients

• 4 bell peppers tops cut off, wash out seeds - your choice of type of bell pepper. I like to do them all different colors :)
• 1 Cup of cooked Quinoa - I used the Roland Roasted Garlic Quinoa
• I have inserted the link to Walmart, but you can definitely just go to your local store
• If you decide to use the same quinoa that I used, one package will be sufficient, follow instructions on packaging. 
• 1 cup corn kernels - canned works also
• 1/2 cup canned black beans
• 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• In a large bowl mix all ingredients: quinoa, corn kernels, black beans, cheeses, and cilantro. Don't forget salt and pepper to your taste :). 
• With a table spoon, fill in each bell pepper, place in a baking dish with open side facing up. 
• Cook until peppers are tender about 30 minutes- they should not get wrinkly or mush over. 

I served with a simple salad - romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberry / walnut dressing.

let me know what you think!!

Selling on eBay!

It has been a love/hate relationship trying to sort through the articles that Maxie has grown out of...

I decided to try the eBay way of life :P I have made the big jump and I am testing this whole selling situation. So far, I have got to admit that it has been a very positive experience! I am happy to say that it feels great being able to sell Maxie's old things, and know that someone else is valuing them almost as much as I am. Something about knowing that now another person will enjoy them almost as much as we did!

It all started with this message...

Since then,  I am proud to say that it's definitely been great to have a bit of money on the side also!

I rarely log on my computer, but listing from my iPad or iPhone is just as easy! My favorite is the iPad...

It lines everything up step by step! 

1. Type in the name of the item you want to sell - if someone has listed a similar item, you can click on the title and then eBay will automatically choose the item category for you!
1. If you decided that the item is a bit more original -  you can always look through what I like to refer to as the "bread crumb" options of categories.
2. Next, you have a variety of options to fill out such as:
1. Item specs - new, used, new without box, with box, etc. 
2. Item description
3. Item pictures
4. Item price
5. Shipping options - flat rate, calculated, or even free shipping
6. PayPal account info - I use PayPal to receive payments. I have been a fan of them since being a long time buyer of eBay :)...you could say there may be a slight addiction...haha
7. Buyer Requirements - You can also place different requirements buyers must meet in order to purchase your items. 
3. Next, you will be given the option to add "enhancers" to your listing and then LIST YOUR ITEM!!! WHOOO HOOOO
4. This then becomes my favorite part....
   
           
   It is so much fun starting to get the notifications of HEY YOUR ITEM IS SELLING! YOUR ITEM HAS A VIEW! YOUR ITEM HAS A BID! YOUR ITEM HAS BEEN PURCHASED...YOUR ITEM HAS BEEN PAID!!
5. Shipping - you can actually print the shipping label right from your home!I also received this next cool message after my items started selling..

I was not aware that the post office would actually ship boxes to you!! This by far was probably the moment when I realized that...hey maybe I can do this as a side hobby...hmmmmm . Now shipping label was printed, cute little item was boxed and ready to go...I even went as far as adding a note of happiness to the awesome person to purchase the item. Now I had 3 options...

1. Drop off the package at my local post office
2. Call the post office to schedule a pick-up
3. Or take it to work - my work does offer to ship packages of employees..so of course I took advantage!

This has been quite the short journey so far! I am excited to keep sharing my items, meeting new people all over the world, and making some extra money to keep spoiling my cutie pie!!!

yay! 

First Birthday Party Idea

When it came to Maxie's first birthday I found ENDLESS ideas...I decided to give myself a budget and kept on top of mind that I wanted babies at my party to not eat so much junk food....mistake #1....I think there is something about birthday parities, where parent already prepare to say "it's okay they can have chips and pizza for today". Wish I would have known that...as beautiful as all my fruit decor was...it was the LAST thing gone...I think if any, my advice to take away from this...really gage your audience...

I took a few pictures from a video I was taking...some of the photos turned out a bit blurry but still have the potential to show the work! 

This photo was taken from the entrance. Right above I had a happy birthday banner and the balloons where hanging from the entrance...HUGE success! All children LOVED the idea of running through them. They were high enough to where the small children couldn't pull them. But low enough where the bigger children could play and understand not to pull them. It was definitely a cute cheaper idea! 

As for cakes I decided to do cupcakes. It was also anther big hit! I had the bigger cake part for Maxie to play with and everyone else has cupcakes. This helped me in saving utensils and tons of room!! 

This way I was also able to have a variety! 

Next I have all my fruit sculptures. They are simple enough for the most part. 

Fruit kabob.

Fruit punch. Or as we Venezuelans say...tizana. 

Fruit salad. 

Banana tree! 

I also had tequeños (similar to cheese sticks..but oh so much better) I ordered from tequño factory. These where a huge hit of all..was the first thing gone. 

Also had mi I sandwiches. The last thing gone where the fruits...again lesson learned I think next time I won't have as many. I should also add this was done at the club house of my home community where lots of kids where able to go enjoy the swimming pool. 

I provided mini water bottles I purchased from Costco. 

Enjoy!! Once I find the better pictures I will post :) 

Green Smoothie

I've been on and off juicing for quite some time  but I have to admit every time that I juice I LOVE it!!!

It feels great in all aspects! On average, I leave my home around 8am. When I have my free smoothie, I can easily go all the way to 12 or so to have lunch without feeling famished. :) 

Another great thing about the awesome green smoothie, it helps tremendously with my digestion. I have a horrible digestive system. Once I have my green smoothie daily, I am a happy camper :D I was able to get my mom and boyfriend on the juicing bandwagon...and even Maxie (my baby boy) loves them!!! 

When I decided that juicing was something I wanted to be a bit more serious about, I purchased the Nutri-bullet!! 

I love this system! If you are on a budget and cannot afford or simply do not have the room for a fancy, huge, juicing machine...this is it! It works wonders! Not just for juicing but on so many levels!! 

I received the Baby Bullet as a baby shower present...which I also adored (I will have to post about it later on) but with the Nutri-Bullet I quickly replaced it...

I am going to share by far my favorite recipe of my version of the green smoothie!!! 

You will use the following ingredients: 

-2 big Kale leaves(depending on the leaf itself usually I will only use the leaf it's optional to leave the stem.)

-1banana (it really depends on your taste the farmer the skin, the sweeter the fruit)

-half a grew apple

-half an avocado (if decent size...if its relatively small, I recommend the whole avocado)

-5 blueberries 

-2 Oz of wheat grass

-add water to your liking, usually I do 1/2 the cup I use to blend.

Being that there is that there are so many ingredients you may find that you only want to use the big cup. Once you make it the first time, it really depends on your likening what you want to add, remove, or change measurement. 

 This is about the consistency of the smoothie when I'm finished with it! I also like to add a couple of ice cubes. I prefer the smoothie chilled. 

I saw a huge change in energy, digestion, and even loosing some lbs...my next goal is to move to full time juicing even for a week!!! 

Enjoy!!! 

Bridemaids

I am lucky to have the opportunity to be a bridesmaid to an amazing person!! Her name is Ale. Ale and Connor (spouse to be) are such a great couple and just overall amazing friends. 

This whole journey has been crazy..although I can't share as much as I'd love to... Maxie pretty much takes up all my time. 

The few times we have had the opportunity to get together had been amazing! 

Beautiful Ale and I :) 

The bridemaids \m/ 

Jojo, Kari, and I <3 

Amazing weekend!

What a great weekend! So many good things have happened :) patience and dedication is definitely paying off. Even when I least see it...we finally were able to try out our new addition to the family....

Mazda CX-5

Such an amazing car!!! It's definitely an upgrade from my 2 door eclipse! Although I loved my little batmobile....

We have our family over visiting. Learning from my incredibly wonderful aunt. Even with all of our fights...this whole week , really, has made me realize a great deal...no matter what has happened in the past I can see so much clearer why things happened the way they did..why the people in my life are still there. Through our ups and downs my aunt and I remain so close, I am lucky to have such a wonderful mother and role model to learn from and ask for guidance. 

Just when I think I have gone down a rough patch with Maxie, she is there to clarify all my worries and help us move o.  :) I am going to miss these four ladies web they leave back to Montana..wish they were here longer. Maxie has also learned a great deal. 

1.  That he has cute little cousins he can play and do so much with! 

2. His limit of "over stimulation" with crowds!! (This one...not so fun...)

We had an amazing time at the pool as a family! Maxie used a cute little floatie (that I most definitely need to buy!!!) 

We had an incredible time in Park City!!! First year attending the Kimball Art Festival...made me wish I had tons more money to purchase such great work! Such beautiful jewelry and canvases...it was hard to not be blown away... 

And today we sealed and said goodbye to the weekend with an incredible BBQ and bingo night...I gotta admit my cutie pie (Ricky) makes an AMAZING shrimp cocktail!! Omg and frijoles mmmmmm. Most definitely he made me love Mexican foods even more!! I have to keep getting used to spicy...specially when his favorite is chile habanero...I'm in trouble haha. 

Eventually all pieces fall into place. We are all one of a kind..and just when we think someone else may have it made or has a bit better than you...you realize that everything happens for a reason...this weekend gave me the strength to move a bit closer to accept me for who I am...an obsessive compulsive person when it comes to Maxie, organization, money (bills), my family, and my body. I cannot be super woman...I can only take things one step at a time. When I am complaining about being a bit over weight or Maxie not doing something as I wish...there is someone that may be struggling in more ways that are more life threatening...and I can be doing something to try and help.

I am blessed to be in the place that I am...a wonderful boyfriend, a healthy big baby boy, a beautiful home, a kickass new vehicle, irreplaceable family, and dream job with great people I could never replace...everything else comes second...

Soon to have our own place. Will help my family as much as I can...but now time to focus one MY little family...

JMR...Jenifer Maximiliano Ricky...always and forever!!