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{Turkey Day: On the Side}



Sooooooo, can someone explain how the heck Thanksgiving is next week? Like a week from tomorrow... How? The?? Heck??? In my house Thanksgiving, Zoe's bday, Christmas is all a blur!!!! So not ready for the blur, especially since this baby cooking in my belly will also be a part of that blur. So I am trying my best to slow down and enjoy every part of this holiday season with just one babe (and the other hopefully in my belly!).

We'll be hosting again this year and looking forward to family time and lots of GRUB!

I've started sorting my serving dishes and praying we get our dining room done in time. And since I am always on the hunt on how to spice up the sides I thought I would share some I have my eye on trying on here!

Carb

Veggie

Breads

Desert

Oh and you can't forget the cocktails!

To Drink

Sparkling Cranberry Sangria

Now go on, get that planning going.

xo

Natalie

{Dishes: Comforting Chickpea & Chicken Stew}



I won't say much about the election, other than bleh. And this week has totally been bleh.

But when life gets tricky and our hearts are heavy, I cook. Something that fills up the emptiness that a hard time brings.

So I sent the hubby off to the market for some pantry staples (that we were out of), specifically cannelloni beans. I was ready to whip up our favorite white bean & spinach soup but when I pulled a few cans of organic chickpeas that he grabbed I was stumped. Hummus I know. Chickpea curry I definitely know. But soup and chickpeas were just not sounding comforting. But sending my sick (heart broken) hubby or going out myself was not happening.

So I took to my favorite flavors and my boyfriend the crockpot and got what I am calling, the cure of the post election blues.





Ingredients

2 lbs Boneless Chicken Breast

2-15 ounce cans chick peas, with water

2 tbsp olive oil,

1 cup water

5 cups of low sodium chicken stock (I used homemade from my freezer)

1 medium onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped

2 cups of crushed organic tomatoes

3 carrot, diced (I used a bunch of baby carrots because we keep them stocked for Zoe!)

1 tsp dried onion powder

2 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups liquid from boiled chickpeas, or water

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp black pepper

Toppings

freshly grated parmesan cheese

brown rice (I love to keep the Frozen Trader Joes brown rice stocked, ready in 3 minutes and a perfect side)

fresh spinach

sriracha

Recipe

Place all ingredients in the crock pot (leave chicken breasts whole)

Cook on low for 6 hours.

Remove chicken breasts, with two forks shred chicken and put aside.

Blend about two cups of chickpeas.

I used my immersion blender until I got the thickness I wanted but you can place 2 cups of the chickpeas into the blender, blend well and return to crockpot.

Return shredded chicken to crockpot and let cook on low for 30 minutes before serving.

Top with spinach, brown rice and lots of parmesan cheese.

I am actually making another double batch tonight to have in the fridge all weekend and freeze half. This is definitely one to add to your crock pot rotation list and can easily be made vegetarian without losing the comforting filling flavor. Let me know what your favorite recipe is with chickpeas!

xo

Natalie

{What's for Dinner Mama}


Happy Tuesday (that feels like Monday) + first day of November my loves!

I was chatting with a mama friend and going over the direction I want to take CBM, mainly it being a balanced resource of all things I love in my life and most importantly posting consistently.... Oh so hard when life gets in the way! And I will admit recipe testing, creating pretty and delicious, semi-healthy, and sometimes completely indulgent meals, for my family and friends is an absolute favorite.

But I've also spoken a lot about balance lately. The truth is that the days that I rock it as a mama, are the days that I sometimes neglect the house, and the days I rock it as a "house wife" I suck at being a mama (read wayyyy too much screen time) etc etc. And with baby number 2 on it's way, this mama on modified bed-rest and a to-do list that gets longer and longer, I've realized I need all the help I can get.

Even just pulling out my trusty slow cooker/crock pot once a week makes me feel like a complete ROCKSTAR. So, first up is a list of easy peasy, delicious slow cooker meals that I have been rotating and loving. Because there is NOTHING like knowing dinner is taken care of as you are walking into the house after a crazy day knowing that dinner is pretty much set.



Freshie pants eating the frozen corn!!! ^^^







1. Single Hand Grab & Go 2. Cook & Carry (I've had this one for 6 years!) 3. WiFi Enabled (I want this one!)

Perfect dinners:

Balsamic Glazed Roast Beef (absolutely amazing. I serve with the Trader Joes frozen brown rice)

Chicken Tikka Masala (a family favorite!!)

Looking for a healthier option (that everyone will like)? Try these:

Game Day Apps

Buffalo Wings (a reader swears by these!)

Desert

We are off to toddler yoga and to run a couple errands and since I made my fav soup in the crock pot last night I don't have to worry about dinner, other than maybe some bread for grilled cheeses... mmmm oh yeah and maybe a salad.

Caring is sharing so make sure and share your favorites in the comments below!

xo

Natalie

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