Recipe: chicken tortilla pie

You know how you have those recipes that you LOVE and cook time after time then forget about it and rediscover it and wonder why the heck you haven't been cooking it?!  I swear that happens to me all the time!  This is a recipe I cooked weekly when Josh and I first got married but I don't think I've cooked it the past couple of years.  It's a very easy and customizable dish and I'm so excited to share it with you all!

[what you need]

springform pan

tortillas

beans

rotisserie chicken

green onion

pico de gallo

diced green chilis

shredded cheese

chipotle tabasco 

This dish can really be cooked on any pan but I like using the springform pan because it can be a little messy to assemble and the edge catches all of the food.  To start, I do a few things to prep like shred chicken, rinse and drain beans, chop green onions, open the can of green chilis and spray my pan with avocado oil.  I also mix some of the chipotle tabasco in with the black beans.  This does make it spicy so if you are cooking for kids you can add it to the areas of the pie you would like and mark it with toothpicks.

Next, you will start to layer.  This is the order I do them in: tortilla, beans, chicken, green onions, pico, green chilis, cheese, repeat.  

While you are layering you need to be sure to get the food all the way to the edges or else each layer will sink in on the edges (as shown in photo above, bottom left) and the food will fall out as you build the layers up.  

In this particular dish I did three tortilla layers and on the third I only put beans, onions and cheese.  You can certainly do more layers.

I cooked it in a 350 degree over for about 20 minutes.  You want to make sure the center is hot before serving.  We eat this alone or with avocado slices and sometimes rice as a side.

I hope you find this recipe easy and tasty & as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Review: Nuby Snack Keeper

I am SO excited to say that I have joined the Nuby Parent Blogger team!  This basically means I will be trying out products, sharing my thoughts & posting reviews.  For my first review I'm going to be sharing the Nuby Snack Keeper.

[what it does]

The Snack Keeper is a container with a lid to hold snacks for your little ones.  Most toddlers don't have the control yet to hold an open container of snacks without spilling so this one has small openings on the top for tiny hands to be able to reach in, grab a snack, without spilling.  

[my thoughts]

The Snack Keeper is smaller in size than the other snack container that we own but it still holds plenty of snack.  I love that the lid on this one isn't a twist on, instead it stretches to fit around the container almost like tupperware.  The openings are the perfect flexibility for your little one to stick their hand in but it also holds in the snack very well!  As you can see my daughter would NOT let go of it while playing and sliding and none of her snack fell out!  The softness of the opening also makes it great for first timers with a snack container.  I felt the other snack container that we own was more stiff and it took my daughter several tries to get the snack out and the Nuby one seems to be easier on her hands.  This item is also super easy to clean which is always a huge factor in if I like a product or not.  I give this product five out of five stars because I honestly have nothing negative to say about it!

                                 

                                 

[more information on the Snack Keeper]

12 months +

soft lid is perfect for tiny hands

keeps snacks trapped inside

fewer spills, less waste, mess free snacking

BPA FREE

You can purchase this snack keeper at several retailers such as TJ Maxx, Ross and also here or here on Amazon.  You can follow Nuby USA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest.

Thank you so much for stopping by to hear my thoughts.  I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

[disclosure:  I received this product for a review but all opinions are my own]

playroom inspiration

For a while now we thought we were going to be moving to a different house & town soon but this past month we realized that plan just isn't going to work out for us right now.  I've been wanting to redo our playroom upstairs to make it more welcoming, functional and less of a chaotic mess but I was holding off since we were hoping to move.  Since that is not happening right now, I've completed step one of the process to redo the entire room.

Step 1?  Convince my husband to get rid of all the furniture currently taking over the playroom which consists of his college furniture and a few things we got when we lived in California years ago.  DONE!

before photo

We did have this little corner for Norah but it's just not enough especially since we spend hours each day in this space.

Norah's corner

My next step was to search Pinterest (duh!), create an inspiration board and I also jotted down a quick list of everything I wanted or think I want in the room.

inspiration board

Things I want in a playroom:

-storage, storage, storage
-reading space
-lounging/sleep space for guests
-magnet/felt board
-teepee for relaxing/reading/playing
-small table
-colorful

-music space
-encourage play and learning


With all of that said, I want to hear from YOU!  What do you love/hate about your play space for your kids OR if you are thinking of creating one what would you want in it?  I would love to hear your thoughts below.  Also, you can follow me on Instagram to keep up with the progress of the room!

dear norah,

I had a great day with you today!  We went to workout, played together, ate lunch together, you napped, I rested, we played outside together, we ate dinner together, you splish splashed in the bath and then we played a little bit more.  Then, I rocked you, sang songs to you and put you to bed.  

Bed time is the only time you let me hold you like a baby.  Tonight I held you extra tight thinking about how you will be eighteen months in a week and my heart sank yet was overcome with love and joy for you.  

I want to hold onto the little moments with everything I have.  Like when I rock you to sleep how you reach with the tips of your fingers to touch the tips of mine that are holding you up and you smile when you've done so.  How you immediately tuck your knees in as soon as I lay you down in your crib.  How you wake up instantly talking and smiling in the mornings.  I want to remember you in these moments, during this stage, at this age because I know and see how fast time is flying.

I love you more than you will ever know my sweet girl!

-Mommy

co-hosting: It's The Little Things - Thankfulness

I am so excited today to be co-hosting "It's The Little Things" with Jess from Sadie Sky!  Ever since I joined Instagram I've been following her adorable boutique & reading her blog and I've really loved linking up with her on there for "It's The Little Things".  It's a great reminder for me as a Mom to think about the "little things" that bring me joy and make my heart happy because in all the craziness of motherhood it's so easy to forget or overlook these little yet very important moments.

...

As I sit here about to begin my post I'm thinking how unsure I am that this goes along with the link up because in the end it's not such a "little thing" but I'm just going to go along with it & y'all get my drift!  ;)  There's a little thing that is a part of my life on a day to day basis that I often don't pay attention to or even think about but am beyond thankful for and that is the health of my daughter.  I was reminded of this on the last day of February which ended with a trip to the emergency room.

Earlier in the day Norah was running in my parents living room, fell and hit her head.  It didn't break the skin but she cried pretty hard and then went on and started playing again.  She had a pretty good bump show up on her head but was fine the rest of the day.  That night we put her to sleep at 7:30 pm.  Two hours later she woke up crying and we thought we heard her vomit so we both went straight upstairs to her room.  We didn't find anything so I just held her and rocked her.  She continued to gag and did it several more times but never vomited.  I immediately flashed back to her hitting her head and remembered hearing that delayed vomiting after a concussion is a very bad sign.  Before panicking I decided to call our after hours nurse (thank goodness for them!) and explained what happened and what was happening right then.  After evaluating the situation the nurse decided he wanted us to take her in because of the nauseous symptoms and her clinginess, since she didn't want to be laid back down.  So off to the ER we went!  On the way there I had thoughts like should we really be going?  Are they going to think we are crazy for bringing her in?  But I cut my crazy mom brain thoughts off quickly by telling myself I'd rather be safe than sorry! 

Once we arrived we were immediately taken back to a room, waited, saw the nurse, the doctor made the decision to do a CT Scan, we went back with Norah, got prepped and laid her down to be scanned.  Just seeing her, my sweet baby, lay under that big machine was so scary and I wanted to immediately burst into tears but my very next thoughts were of other babies and children.  The pictures I see all over social media, toddlers in hospital beds, infants in incubators, sick children fighting for their lives.  Here we were just getting a scan and I was finding it in my heart to be thankful.  Thankful that we were just getting a test run.  Thankful that I had God to lean my worries on.  Eventually, thankful for negative results and most importantly, thankful to be able to take my baby girl back home with us.

Before I wrote this all out it seemed like such a little thing but now I'm seeing it's not so little... but maybe sometimes the little things and moments we have are our biggest things of all and we just don't know it.

...

Have you had any little yet big moments recently?  I'd love for you to link up with us below!

An InLinkz Link-up

mar 1, 2015 | review + giveaway: Freshly Picked

I recently teamed up with Freshly Picked to do a review and a giveaway on a pair of their moccasins.  I remember discovering Freshly Picked on Instagram before having Norah and shortly after seeing them on Shark Tank..  (I love that show by the way!) it's been pretty exciting to watch their business grow as much as it has!  Also, I have to mention how awesome their random airport giveaways are!  The owner, Susan will take a photo of herself in whichever airport she is in at the time  and post it on Instagram and whichever follower finds her first gets the free pair of moccasins.  Fun right?!  I absolutely adore businesses that give back and they truly do in such a fun way!  Now onto the review! 

The only pair of moccasins we own were a gift given to us when Norah was just months old so I do have something I'm comparing to.

My first thoughts right out of the package: 

"this packaging is ADORABLE!"

"oh my gosh these are SO cute" 

"and SOOO soft" 

"the color is amazing" 

"gosh these are soft" 

"I want a pair for myself!".. no, seriously!

These moccasins are incredibly soft and I love knowing that they will be so comfortable for Norah, without a doubt!  The pair we have are the Heirloom in cream and gold which in my opinion will go with everything.  After opening the package, I immediately understood why the price tag is higher than most moccasins on the market.  The quality is top notch and you can tell just by holding them in your hand.  I'm not saying that other moccasins on the market aren't good but I do believe in this case "you get what you pay for".  Compared to our pair of moccasins we already owned I can say that the structure and material on these from Freshly Picked are of way higher quality!

As an infant we didn't put Norah in shoes very often but I think moccasins in general are perfect for chubby baby feet.  Our next baby will for sure own a pair of Freshly Picked moccasins! (hint: to any family reading this! ;))  These come packaged in a drawstring bag which makes them feel so much more special and would make the most adorable gift!  Because they are light, breathable and you don't have to wear socks with them I feel like they are going to be perfect for the hot Texas weather that is soon to come.

Unfortunately, it has been rainy and yucky all week so Norah has only been able to try them out inside but I will add an update here as soon as we get to truly test out the durability.  I can say though that I have several friends that own a pair and they have said nothing but good things about theirs. 

I could keep going on and on about these moccasins as I'm sure you can tell!  I'll stop here though and tell you I'm SO excited to be giving away a pair on my Instagram account so head over to find out exactly how to enter!  Thanks for reading and I hope you have a blessed week ahead of you.