Breast Cancer Awareness

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month I will be donating $3 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every $31 you spend with Thirty-One.  To participate in this wonderful cause please visit my website at www.mythirtyone.com/tiffanykstewart.  


Come on ladies, let's open those wallets and help support a worthy cause.  You never know when you or someone you love may need help!  Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks so much in advance!

Kung Pao Chicken

Wesley and I LOVE Chinese food, but believe me Chinese food is not something that you can eat on a diet.  I found a magazine called Clean Eating that I use regularly since we are trying to eat as "clean" as possible these days.  I found this recipe for Kung Pao Chicken in the magazine and "revamped" it in order to make it even more healthy.

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long-grain brown rice (I used organic Lundberg Brown Rice)
• 12oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4 inch dice
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 6-10 small red chilies, diced and seeded 
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 6 scallions, white and light green parts, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly diced
• 2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts
• Asian Gourmet Kung Pao Dipping & Grilling Sauce (you can make your own, but after searching for all the ingredients myself I soon realized it would be much cheaper and healthier to buy a packaged version at Earth Fare)

Instructions:

• Prepare rice according to package directions-Lundberg Rice will take you an hour to cook, so be sure to make this your first step.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine chicken and 1/2 cup Kung Pao sauce and marinate for at least 25 minutes in the refrigerator.
• When the rice is about 10 minutes from being done, heat peanut oil in a large wok or skillet on high (as you can see in the picture I do not have a wok, but I am begging Wes to get me one for Christmas).  Add chilies and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add chicken mixture, spreading chicken in a single layer in wok, and cook undisturbed for 1 minute.  Then stir chicken constantly until cooked fully.
• Add 1 cup of sauce and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

• Add bell pepper, scallions, peanuts, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until bell pepper begins to soften, about 1 minute.  

• Serve chicken mixture over rice.  Makes 4 servings.

The finished product...ENJOY!!!

Nutritional Information per serving (1 cup of chicken mixture & 3/4 cup rice):

     Calories:            300

     Fat:                        9

     Saturated Fat:        1.6

     Cholesterol:         32.5

     Sodium:           1191

     Carbs:                  28

     Sugars:                26.5

     Protein:               25

     Fiber:                    1 

My Newest Favorite Things...

I wanted to share with all of you three of my new favorite things...

I am a sucker for anything with Pumpkin Spice-smells, tastes, etc.  I eat a lot of almonds as snacks since they are high in protein and are so good for you.  So why not combine these two wonderful things-Pumpkin Spice and Almonds?

My husband found these at Target and after just a couple of hours I have decided they are one of the best things I have ever ate!!!  I LOVE them!  Check them out!  I'm actually thinking of going out and buying several containers of them since I know they are only around for a limited time.

My second and third favorite things are Chai Tea Latte and Hot Apple Cider.

I bought my husband a Keurig Coffee Maker a couple of weeks ago since he absolutely adores coffee.  Little did I know that I was going to fall in love with this machine almost as much as he has.  It is INCREDIBLE!  They have so many different coffees, teas, and drinks you can make with this handy, dandy machine.  I bought the Chai Tea Latte and Hot Apple Cider on Tuesday and decided that EVERYONE needs a Keurig machine!!!  I am now hooked on having a Hot Apple Cider every night before bed.

Candy Corn Wreath

I L-O-V-E Halloween!  I L-O-V-E crafts!  I L-O-V-E candy corn!

So what can I make that involves all three of my favorite things...a Candy Corn Wreath of course!

Here is a list of the items you need to create this beautiful Halloween wreath:

• Wreath (I got mine from Hobby Lobby for $4)
• Black Electrical Tape (2 rolls)
• Candy Corn (4 bags-I used Brach's b/c it looks the best)
• Halloween Ribbon (I made my own which you will see below)
• Hot Glue Gun (must be hot glue in order to stick properly and quickly without melting the candies)
• Krylon Preserve It!

As you can see from the picture, I tried to use Tacky Glue at first, but realized quickly that it was impossible to use.  It did not dry quickly enough and caused the candies to melt and loose their color, so again make sure you use a hot glue gun to adhere the candy corn. =)

Directions:

• First be sure to let your candy corn sit out on something of your choice for at least 3-7 days to let the candy get stale and lose its stickiness.  This will help the candy corn from melting if you are planning on placing the wreath outside.

• Take wreath and wrap it with the black electrical tape.  I used a grass wreath that I got from Hobby Lobby for $4, but you can use a Styrofoam wreath also.  (I'm all about saving money as much as possible, so find what's cheapest for you).  I also found the black electrical tape 2 for $1 at the Dollar Store.

Here is what the covered wreath should look like.

• Next, take the wreath and begin to hot glue the candy corn on.  I started in the center of the wreath and moved around the ring.  Alternate the directions of the candy corn on each row in order to create an interlocking pattern as seen here:

• Continue gluing candy corn onto the wreath until you cover any visible electrical tape.  This should take between 3-4 bags of candy corn.  I left the back side uncovered so that the wreath would lay flat on the door.  

• After finishing gluing all the candy corn to the wreath you will need to seal the candy.  You will need to use a sealant called Krylon Preserve It! (I found it at Micheal's).  You can choose to seal the candy before gluing or after finishing the wreath.  This sealant will gloss the candy and make it "undesirable" to pests and keep it from melting in the sun outside.

• If you are unable to find any Halloween ribbon to your liking consider creating your own.  I wanted a wide ribbon to hang my wreath from, but was unable to find any at either Hobby Lobby or Michael's.  I took a wide orange ribbon and a small Trick or Treat ribbon and simply hot glued the small ribbon to the middle of the wide orange ribbon.

• Loop the ribbon around the wreath and hang from a wreath hanger on any door of your liking and viola you have your very own Candy Corn Wreath!!! =)

My finished project =)

My front door right now...

BTW did mention that I LOVE Fall & Halloween?!?!

Food Recipe Blogging

I know I haven't been good about keeping this blog updated lately.  The main problem is that I have not had any projects that I have been working on.  Well, this week that has changed...

Everyone is always asking me "What have you been doing to loose 100lbs?"  Well, of course everyone that has read my blog knows that the weight loss is mostly due to Cornerstone Meal Replacement Protein Shakes.  But, I also have changed everything about how Wesley and I eat.  Lately, we have started trying to eat as much organic, non-dairy, gluten free foods.  Because of this I decided that I will start blogging special recipes that I make and create.

So with that in mind...keep an eye out for some of my yummy organic recipes!!!