Pan-Seared Tilapia with Tomatoes and Black Olives

We are all always looking for healthy and easy weeknight meals, right? 

This is one of my families favorites. Dinner in 15 minutes...cant beat that! And even Carson was asking for more. If you know Carson, he is my picky eater; chicken nuggets, hot dogs, turkey sandwiches and mac and cheese. So the fact that he was asking for 3rd's last night says a lot!!

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Tomatoes and Black Olives

Let me say there is no science to this recipe. No measurements. I just use however much I need to feed the amount of people in my family eating dinner that night. 

Ingredients:

• Tilapia Fillets
• Cherry Tomatoes (cut in halves or quarters, depending on the size)
• Black Olives, sliced
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Red Pepper Flakes, Parsley
• Parmesan Cheese

1. Mix Tomatoes, Olives, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Parsley & Red Pepper and cook in a non-stick pan or about 2 minutes until warm. Remove from pan and put aside.
2. Salt and Pepper Tilapia Fillets and add to non-stick pan. Cook about 4-5 min and then flip. Do not flip to soon; tilapia is delicate and will fall apart if not handled with care. 
3. Add tomato mixture to top and cook about 4 minutes. Until fish is 135 degrees and flakes easily.
4. Top with a small sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese

ENJOY!

I served it with grilled corn, eggplant and asparagus. To make all 3 I sprayed them with non-stick cooking oil and salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add corn to medium high heat on grill before veggies, as it takes a little longer to cook. Flip corn and veggies as needed.

My New Venture!

As most of you know, all my kids went to school this year, all day, every day, for the first time. We are in a new town, a new state, where I don't know many people yet. As so many moms do, I have been debating what to do with my life now that the kids are all in school. I have been mostly a stay at home mom for 11 years. Do I get a job? Volunteer all day? What do I do for me? How do I find the balance?

A lot of my friends chimed in with FANTASTIC ideas and I have been mulling them all over for the past couple of weeks. And then it hit me....

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about My Fitness Journey. I received a lot of GREAT feedback, BUT best of all, I had a number of people tell me that I inspired them. I was beyond humbled by that and have been following up with those friends. They mean the world to me, and if this is their time, I want them to succeed! That made my blood pump!! I was excited by the fact that I could help someone. So after much thought, I decided that is where I am being called. I am going to use that excitement for helping other moms and make that into my "career". 

I 100% believe that every mom can, and should, find a little time for themselves each day. Looking and feeling good about yourself makes you a better mom, wife, businesswoman, volunteer, whatever it is that you do. I try to make that time every day. I workout for at least 30 minutes, try to eat healthy, get showered and dressed and put on some make-up (even if it is just mascara and lip gloss). 


I have the SAME struggles as every mom; my kids fight, we are busy to the max, the laundry is overflowing, the house always needs cleaned....it never ends!! So I KNOW what you all are going through. I am in the trenches with you! 


There are some FANTASTIC things that I use everyday; that I TRULY believe in, which is why I want to share them with you.

1. Beachbody Workouts- I have done P90x, Insanity, P90x3, T25 and tried a couple others too, through online streaming. I have a good knowledge of the programs, what they offer, and what works for what you need in your life! The best part, most programs are only 25-30 minutes a day!! You CAN do that!!! I am going to be setting up challenge groups on Facebook to motivate you, keep you accountable and HELP you reach your fitness goals!! 

2. Shakeology - I use this EVERY day, as a meal replacement, usually the meal right after my workout. I am NOT a big supplement girl. I don't like putting a bunch of stuff in my body or taking pills. This shake has so many vitamin and nutrients in it, tastes DELICIOUS! It also keeps me feeling full and full of energy. It's amazing! 

Photo collage credit goes out to my pal Carrie!!

3. Younique 3D+ Mascara - Like I mentioned earlier, many of days, I only wear mascara and lipstick. This mascara looks STUNNING! It is easy to apply, not tested on animals, and all natural. It will make you look and feel SEXY! I promise! Doesn't matter how much baby spit-up is on your shirt, you will feel like you are ROCKING it! 

Check out the differnce in this picture! Younique also offers a full line of make-up and skincare. The company is growing by leaps and bounds too. I promise you won't be disappointed!

I have created a Facebook Page  (click to see it, like it, and share it!) called, "Your Body, Your Look, YOUR WAY." I want to share with you my tips, tricks, motivation, triumphs and fails! I encourage you to share with others too! I am SOOOO EXCITED to start this new venture in my life and can't wait to share it with all of YOU; MY FRIENDS! 

Contact me directly if you would like more information on any of the things I have shared with you. I am happy to share with you my knowledge and experience. I use these things EVERY DAY! 

I LOVE to INSPIRE those that I love and care about! I want you all to believe that you can reach your goals, and live a HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL LIFE!!!

Corn, Tomato & Bacon Salad

When late Summer comes around tomatoes and corn are at their peak and so fresh and delicious!! This stunning salad is fresh, crisp and full of flavor! Plus its super easy to make, do you can't go wrong. Make it up ahead of time or take to a BBQ and it will sure to be the talk of the party!

Corn, Tomato & Bacon Salad

2 large fresh heirloom tomatoes
1 ear of corn
4 slices of bacon
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
several torn basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Take the corn off the ear of corn and pan fry for about 3 minutes, or until it starts to brown just a smidge.

Slice tomatoes and arrange on a platter. Top with corn, bacon, onion and blue cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix vinegar and oil and sprinkle on top. Top with torn fresh basil leaves.

ENJOY!!!

Salmon and Spinach Pasta with Lemon Sauce

I had some leftover pasta from Sunday, so I searched through my fridge and pantry and came up with this dish. It turned out light and full of flavor. The problem is I don't have exact measurements for things; I just threw them in until it looked good; but i'll try to give you a general idea. I made this just for two since I didn't have enough noodles for everyone.

Ingredients:

Serves 2:

Salmon (2 4oz fillets)
Pasta
Spinach
roasted or fresh tomatoes
pine nuts
garlic
basil
olive oil
fresh lemons. lemon juice

• Season salmon with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and bake at 425 for about 10 min; until flakey and temp is 135. 
• If your pasta is not cooked, cook according to directions
• juice 2 lemons (for a dish that serves 2)
• Saute garlic in large sauté pan in about 1 T olive oil for 2 minutes.
• Add spinach, tomatoes, pine nuts, Chopped fresh basil or dried basil, pasta, juice of lemons and about 2T more olive oil and toss until spinach is slightly wilted.
• Remove from heat and top serve into dishes.
• Top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and then place your salmon on top.

ENJOY!

Organizing A Small Pantry

Warehouse Clubs are my friend; it takes a lot of food to keep 6 people happy and fed! But when you don't have a big pantry (or much extra storage space in general) it takes some organization to make it work. To make the most of my space, I used stackable baskets from Target (which I had made in Birmingham), as well as  an over the door pantry organizer from Amazon. 

I recommend as much as you can take out of boxes and bags, do it! Pour your flour, oats, sugar, etc. into containers. Take those little instant oatmeal packets from the box and put them in a bin. Open granola bar boxes and snacks and dump them into a "Snack Bin" for easy access for the kids (see the bottom bin).

To make the labels I bought the cardboard cutouts fromHobby Lobby and laminated them with individual sheets that I got from there too. I hole punched them and used some ribbon to

tie them onto the baskets. Simple and easy.

To label the flour and sugar containers I used rub on letters that I found at Hobby Lobby too.

This over the door pantry works really well BUT, I recommend using two to four
medium size rectangle command hooks placed UPSIDE DOWN to hold it in place
and keep it from swaying any when the door is opened and closed. 

Homemade Pasta Recipe...It's EASY...I promise!

Homemade pasta...sounds complicated and time consuming right? 

It's really not!!! So don't be intimidated because I promise you that once you taste the difference, the small amount of time and effort you out into making it will all be worth it!!

And its a GREAT way to bond as a family; to get the kids involved in cooking. They can easily help. I use the attachments for the Kitchen Aid Mixer. I recommend those for ease, but you can just as easily, roll your dough and cut it with a knife.

Melina rolling the dough
through the attachment.

Basic Egg Pasta Recipe

• 4 Large Eggs
• 3 T water 
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt

Put all ingredients into mixer and mix on a low speed with a flat mixer for about 1 minute.

Exchange flat mixer for dough hook and beat until a large ball of pasta forms. You may need to add more water to get it to the right consistency. You want the dough to form a ball, but not be sticky.

Let it rest for 20 minutes.

I recommend a drying rack. Makes it easy to hang the noodles.

Making the Pasta

After the dough rests divide it into 4 balls. Flatten each ball with your hands into an oval about 1/4in thick. Put it through the roller attachment; starting at 1. You will probably need to cut it in half after the first time through to keep the size managable. Keep putting it through until desired thickness. About 4-5 for thicker noodles and 7-8 for thin noodles. Set aside and roll out all 4 balls of dough. 

Then decide on how you want your noodles cut and add the right attachment. You put the dough through and out comes the noodles. Just be sure to catch them on the way out. The kids LOVE this part! 

You can do this by hand by rolling out your dough onto floured cutting board and then cutting with a butter knife.

One of my favorite whites for a Summer day that
will go great with a nice olive oil sauce.

Cooking the Pasta

Here is the GREAT part... fresh pasta cooks only for about 3 minutes; even less if you made angel hair! 

Add your favorite sauce or ingredients and a great bottle on wine and ENJOY a meal that will be so delicious and fresh!

Cut tomatoes in half. Sprinkle with salt,
pepper and drizzle with olive oil and
roast for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

The dish above that I made yesterday was made with roasted cherry tomatoes, grilled zucchini, roasted garlic, basil and pearl mozzarella balls in a olive oil and butter sauce. Simple, Fresh, Delicious!

Back to School Organization

With school in session and so many papers coming in and out we have to have a way to stay organized. I put together this wall as our command area, so everything has a place and kids can be responsible for their own stuff.

Backpacks

I used extra large command hooks for the backpacks. Are they the most stylish...no, but they hold up well and are movable if need be. And there are no holes in the wall! The stickers above the backpacks are dry erase wall stickers that I got off of Amazon. I thought they would be fun to write cute messages or reminders, such as PE today, on them. 

Folder and Agenda Organizer

I bought this wall organizer off of Amazon. Its hard to find one with four slots, but this one is perfect! The school gives every child an agenda book which must be brought home nightly, and signed for the younger ones. and of course, we have homework and folders. So everyone can unpack themselves and I can go through their stuff and put back in the cubby what goes back to school. In the morning they know to take everything that's in their cubby and put it in their backpack. 

Calendar

The kids like to know whats going on, so I put our family calendar in that spot as well. Its color coded so they know who has activities each day. I of course still use my trusty COZI app for my main calendar. I know I have raved about that app on here before; of your in need of a calendar for your device check it out. 

Bulletin Board

I have the Bulletin board there for school newsletters, birthday invites, etc. Those things that need easy access.

Pictures

My sister-in-law got me those two frames. They make it easy to display the kids artwork. And of course, they love having it up! It can hold up to 100 papers, so you can just keep adding work to them. 

That's our little corner of school organization this year. Cheers to an organized and  FUN school year everyone!

First Day of School

Here we go again...another year, another state, another new school....

Logan (5th grade), Melina (3rd grade), Meeka (1st grade) and Carson (Kindergaten)

The kids were nervous and excited to start. Its always hard to start a new school. And this school is a little different in the way is laid out; it doesn't have any inside walls. But after meet the teacher day last Friday, they couldn't wait to start!

Carson at his desk on the first day of K

This mama on the other hand had a hard time this year. I sent my baby off to Kindergarten. And YES, I knew the day was coming, but it wasn't going to be this year. I wasn't prepared for it to be this year. But here in Florida I had to send him, so ready or not here we go...yes, there were some tears. In fact I was shaking so bad after dropping everyone off the first day that I had to sit in my car for a few minutes before I could drive home.

Everyone came home all smiles and excited for Day 2, so that makes my heart happy!

And its PRETTY COOL that they get to be together in the SAME SCHOOL for 1 year. The first and only year this will ever happen!!

I have a ton of things to get caught up on, errands to run, cleaning and yard work, but later this week, I plan on sitting down and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Week of Fun (before school started!)

Its been a busy summer with the move and all, and the kids were excited, yet nervous, about starting another new school. So we had some FUN the week before the school!

Busch Gardens

We got season passes, so we went to check it out for the first time.  I have to say, it was so nice to be able to go and not worry about "fitting it all in." We went with a relaxed attitude and just saw and did what we wanted. We came home later in the afternoon to have a relaxing evening at home; with the thought process that we can just go back in a couple of weeks. 

Logan and Michael on Falcons Fury

Up they go...before going down, down down....

The cool thing about Busch Gardens is that its not just rides.

This is the biggest tortoise I have ever seen.

Carson getting ready or his first roller coaster ride

Ready or not here we GO! 

He loved it! 

Beach Day

We decided to get some exercise and fun all at once. We packed a towel and a football and rode our bikes over to the beach. It's a 2 mile ride, so easy for everyone. After the beach we rode another 3/4 mile down the street to Candy Kitchen for some ice cream before heading home. We had a minor setback about a mile from home; Meeka's bike got a flat tire. The others rode home and Meeka and I had to walk our bikes the rest of the way. Thats reminds me...gotta get that tire fixed! 

I have to say it still amazes me that we can do this on a regular basis!

Checking out all the old fashion candy goods!

Soda Cap Wall

Candy bar wrapper wall

Old fashion toys...such a neat little shop!

Johns Pass

We decided to check out Johns Pass one day. Such a neat little area with shops restaurants, water sports and attractions. We had lunch on the water. Visited the alligator attraction, went to an arcade and had some ice cream! Yum and Fun!

 All but Carson (he was having nothing to do with holding an alligator) holding French Fry; 

a 4 year old alligator.

Going in for the kiss!

 

Meeka loved the tortoise!

What summer without more ice cream?

Lunch on the water; watching the boats and sea life

Water Sports Day

The day before school started we had a water sports day. We rented jet skis and went out on the Gulf. It was a beautiful calm morning and we got to get up close with the Dolphins. It was amazing! We ate lunch on the water and then picked up some kayaks and took them to our regular spot on the beach and everyone took turns taking rides out on the kayaks. It was also a great day for shells and sea life. 

Ready to head out

Taking a quick dip

Dolphins!! 

My camera was in a baggie and I couldn't see what I was shooting, so its not the best picture, but it was an incredible thing to see them so close in the wild.

Check out this cool mollusk! 

The shell was Perfect!

Kayaking

I took Meeka and Carson out for a long ride. One lay on the front, the other on the back.

They had it made; napping, while I paddled.

And now....off to school!

Fresh Fish with Corn and Tomato Salsa

The kids have been fishing with the neighborhood boys and they caught some Sheepshead the other day (well, one of the other boys technically caught it). He filleted  it and gave it to us to have for dinner. It was a nice mild fish with a great full body texture. You could substitute Tilapia or any mild fish. I just pan fried it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. You could use butter too. Cook about 4 minutes and turn over and cook another 4-5 minutes or until it easily flakes. Make sure you don't lift up or turn delicate fish over to soon or they will break apart. Just let it cook 4-5 minutes and it will flip just fine. I served it with this corn and tomato salsa and some couscous. 

Corn & Tomato Salsa

1 ear corn 

20-25 mixed color cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup basil, shredded

1 T red wine vinegar

2 T olive oil

juice of 1/2 a lime

salt & pepper

• Cut the corn off the cob and pan fry in a skillet for about 8-10 minutes. Until it starts to darken up. Let cool for an hour.
• Cut the tomatoes into halves or fourths depending on the size
• Mix the corn, tomatoes and basil together with the vinegar, olive oil & lime juice, as well as salt and pepper to taste. 
• Refrigerate for at least an hour.

ENJOY!

My fitness journey

Fitness and working out has been a part of my life for a very long time. My goals have changed, and my time and ways of fitting it in have changed, as life has changed. I have had 4 babies and that has changed my body dramatically too, but I wouldn't change it for the world! They are a HUGE reason WHY I want to continue to be healthy. I want to be able to have the energy to keep up with them. To ride bikes, run and jump on the trampoline with them; to play sports outside and go on adventures! I want to be their example. Strong, healthy and fit can be fun!

This Spring I was thinking about what I can do that would be new. I like to mix it up. I have done p90x, Insanity and p90x3. Plus some other workout videos. I fall back into running as a default, which I really enjoy, but I need strength and agility too. I don't have time for a gym membership anymore, or even an hour a day sometimes. So when a friend of mine said she was doing T25, I decided to give that a try. My results are right here....for you all to see (stretch marks and all!). When you stick with it, it works. And in all honesty who doesn't have 25-30 minutes a day to better themselves? Make it a priority.




After moving, and all the stress that comes along with that; then having company and going on vacation, I am back at it. I am currently trying a t25 and p90x3 hybrid. The Florida heat is a killer (our workout area is in the garage now that our house size is cut in half), but man do I feel like a Rock Star whenI finish! Look at that sweat! Phew!




I have also learned it great to mix it up. Living in Florida there are so many options for activities. Anywhere you are has options though; hiking, biking, swimming, skiing...there is something for everyone in every area, every climate.

The kids and I have gone on some bike rides...YES, Ice cream may have been involved in the middle of the trip (not everything has to be healthy)!!  I went on a leisurely 8 mile trek last Sunday up the coast. Melina and I are planning on going Kayaking and I want to try Paddle-boarding...the options are endless! 

Find a friend, a group, or even an online community. Be Inspired! 
Just keep moving! 

And if I can help, let me know, because I can always use new inspiration!

We LOVE the beach!

We have always LOVED the beach. And now we live less than a mile, as a crow flies, and less than 2 by car to the Gulf. We can just go over for an hour or two. And the Gulf is perfect; it's warm, clear and calm! I have come to terms that my car, washer and dryer, shoes, phone and house will be permanently sandy...and I'm OK with that! Beach pictures just make me happy! So here are some random shots from the last month taken at our favorite little place on Indian Shores.