Pita Pockets: A Healthy Dinner For a Busy Schedule

Between football, my job, Hunt's school schedule, doctors appointments, and errands to run... things easily get pretty busy around here.

I like to spend time in the kitchen.

I always have.

But there are days that just feel longer than others and i wish something would just magically appear on our plates.

For those days, pita pockets are that magic something.

There's a million different variations of this meal.

You can switch up the meat, the sauces, and the veggies and still like what's going in your mouth... and your stomach.

I really like doing lemon chicken and then topping the whole thing with Greek dressing but that wasn't in our fridge so this time I'm sharing the simplest way to do this.

Ingredients:

• Cooked and chopped chicken in whatever seasoning/dressing you fancy
• Any chopped veggies you please (also cheese! cheddar is good but we had provolone on hand)
• Pita Pockets (White or wheat. Both are good, my grocery store was out of wheat this time around so white was my pick)
• Dressing to top it with

(Sorry, but I don't know how to do measurements for this one... just make how much your family will eat!)

Directions:

1. Cook your Chicken in whatever dressing you want. I chose Italian because it was in our fridge and tangy sounded good.

2) Chop all the veggies you desire

3) Serve buffet style and let everyone decide what to put in their pita! We topped ours with a good amount of ranch and had pickles and rice as our sides... oh pregnancy cravings.

That's it!

This is also perfect for lunch the next day!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

Broccoli Chicken Casserole With Quinoa Recipe

Another casserole recipe! :) This one has evolved over the years for me. I've gotten creative and changed some ingredients gradually, so it's very versatile! 

Feel free to make it as creamy or healthy as you want! 

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1-1/2 cups cooked chicken

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk 

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup French Fried onions (optional)

1 red or green bell pepper, cubed

3 cups steamed broccoli (or you can mix it up like I did and add cauliflower and carrots too)

Directions:

Boil quinoa according to package instructions. Set aside. Steam veggies until fork tender. 

In a separate bowl, mix together soup, cheese, sour cream, milk, chicken. Then add the vegetables. Pour into 8x8 dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. 

Bake uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes or until bubbly. 

Top with French fried onions (if chosen) Continue baking for 5-10 minutes or until onions are golden brown. 

All ingredients can be substituted for lower fat/condensed alternatives (i.e. fat free milk, plain low fat yogurt, etc.) 

Serve over quinoa. (Makes about 3-4 servings)

Stay Classy,

The Perfect Fruit Smoothie Recipe

When I lived with one of my sisters years ago, we had these ALL the time! They're so yummy AND healthy! Perfect combo. And it's only a few ingredients! Score! 

Ingredients:

Any kind of apple or grape juice (The brand Langers has an Apple Peach Mango juice that is THE BOMB)

Frozen fruit (the big Fiesta Blend bag of strawberries, mangos, pineapple, and papaya from Costco).

1 6oz. container of non-fat peach yogurt

1 frozen banana

Directions:

Take frozen banana, break in half, and place in blender. 

Add about 1-2 cups frozen fruit and the ENTIRE container of yogurt. 

Pour juice until blender looks at about half full (Because I pack in a lot of fruit I always go a little over half way so it's not too thick). 

Pulse blender a few times and then blend. Serve in a pretty glass and straw because it's fun. (Serves 2)

Note: Obviously you can choose any flavor of yogurt, juice, and frozen fruit. Totally up to you. Make it your own perfect fruit smoothie! This just happens to be my favorite mixture. 

Stay Classy,