Making A Meal For Me! Southwestern Chicken Salad #InspireMyDinner

As a single mom, my boys aren’t always so thrilled with the what I want to make and seriously, I don’t always want to eat macaroni and cheese, hotdogs or chicken nuggets.

Scratch that, I rarely want to eat those.

For the longest time I just made things that were easy and something they wouldn’t complain about, but I’d try something every once in a while. Gee that was always fun. Buddy learned to not complain, but give me his feedback. Doodle, yea, he still gags at the table. Nice, right? I won’t take that personal or anything.

Lately I’ve been on a salad kick! I’ve been eating them about 3x a week and usually it’s prepackaged. Not a big deal, but I’m really wanting to cut out as much prepackaged food as possible. Trying to eat healthier and with fresher foods is a goal of mine this year!

We actually eat chicken quite a bit, but with these new flavored chickens, our/my dinners will be much easier to make. I can make something fun for myself or make a healthy meal for all of us!

I’ve also been loving Southwestern flavored food. We’ve been eating homemade salsa, nachos and now…I have a new Tyson Southwestern Chicken Salad! Nothing like healthy chicken recipes!

My mom was home the other day and I started cooking a single chicken breast since no one else was hungry. I opened the brand new bag of Tyson Southwest Pepper Trio Seasoned Chicken and could smell the seasoning! I knew I scored a goal before I even started cooking!

Once I had the chicken breast cooking, my mom literally came out of the laundry room saying how good the house smelled! I definitely agreed! While the chicken was browning, I got all of my other ingredients washed and ready to add.


Tonight, I’m making another chicken dinner, which I’ll be sharing on here a little later, hopefully tonight! When we were out to dinner last night, Fred was going to order a grilled bbq chicken with smokey apple gouda cheese with a whole wheat bun, avocado, tomato and romaine lettuc. I thought that would taste fantastic as a sandwich!

Once I get dinner done, I’ll share my newest meal with you too! Yay!

Be sure to check out my entire shopping and cooking experience on Google +! The product is available at Walmart in the frozen food section.

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Tyson Foods #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own!

Earth Day Unstitched Utilities Give Away

I’m so excited to be partnering with all of these bloggers for the Earth Day Giveaway!

Welcome to The Earth Day Giveaway Event hosted by Andersons Angels and Joy of Momma Joyner. This Event features a little bit of everything to help you celebrate Earth Day anytime! Each blog has gathered up a unique Earth Day Prize Package of $25 or more so be sure to visit each blog from the linky below and enter for your chance to win some really amazing prizes! This event will end on April 20th at 11:59pm EST.

What you’ll be winning from me is a pair of Unstitched Utilities Cosmo Low shoes! They’re eco and vegan friendly!

Be sure to hop along through each of the blogs to be entered to win their giveaways as well!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I was provided a pair of Unstitched Utilities for review. Andersons Angels, and The Earth Day bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that fail to fulfill their prizes

Unstitched Utilities Cosmo Low Earth Day Give Away

I seem to have quite the fetish for shoes. I didn’t realize I had it, but it’s becoming very clear to me that I do. Not only do I have a thing for shoes, I have a thing for this planet. I really do love it. It’s evidence of God’s handiwork. We were put here to take care of it!

Lately I’ve been thinking so much about how we’re living our lives. It’s not very eco-friendly, but it has gotten better over the years. I’ve been putting a lot of thought into the lack of healthy living I’ve been doing.

One thing I’ve found in my search is that by purchasing eco friendly products, we’re making a difference. That’s where Unstitched Utilities comes in! I stumbled upon them last month and aside from how cute their shoes are, what drew me in was that they’re eco friendly and and vegan friendly. That matters a ton, especially since my 2nd daughter is living a vegan lifestyle. I try to do what I can to respect that!

So, about these shoes, they’re made out of TYVEK® Material. When I saw them for the first time I thought they looked like they were made out of paper. It’s because they’re unpressed. They’re really crinkly looking. The Cosmo Low sneakers are very lightweight. I’m not one to wear shoes around the house, but truly, I couldn’t take them off. They were that comfortable!

I didn’t feel like I was clomping around in some heavy shoes. They fit extremely well and I really liked the elastic inside the shoe to keep it snug around your foot. They’re a really cute, vibrant color!

And yes, I may have already found the next pair I’ll purchase on my own (shush up, no comments)! I think the Fast Lane design in LIMESTONE/CREAMSICLE are what I’ll get! Cute, right?!

I also love the Next Day Low in the camo for my oldest son! He would seriously go nuts over them. I was also telling Fred that now, since he’s going to be an elder at church he needs a couple of good pairs of shoes. The Rafter Lows would look so great with him dressed up for church!


Here’s a bit about how Unstitched Utilities describes their shoes:
“Fashioned from repurposed and recyclable materials, which are environmentally and vegan friendly, this line of sustainable forward-thinking shoes provide the consumer with a hip and trendy alternative to the usual standbys.”

I couldn’t agree more! They’re very trendy and extremely comfortable!
Now…woo hoo…you have the opportunity to win a pair of Cosmo Low shoes!
Go to my Earth Day Giveaway page to win them!

Carmex Hand Lotion For Those Dry Days Give Away

Last week the boys and I headed to MN for spring break. While we were there, the dry air seriously affected my hands. When we headed there, I took both of my new Carmex lotions with me: Carmex Healing Cream and Hydrating Lotion.

The Carmex Healing Cream became my go-to while I was out there, using it several times a day. My hands were seriously dying from the dry weather.

I haven’t needed to use the Healing Cream nearly as much since we got home the other day. I think that’s where the Hydrating Lotion came in handy. It’s great for every day use to keep your hands hydrated.

I think if my hands start getting too dry again, like they did last week, I’m going to have to get some gloves to sleep in over night. Slather the lotion on and wake up with soft hands. How much do I love that? =)

When I was praying with Doodle last night, I was rubbing his back and my hand was catching on his shirt. I hate when my hands feel that way! As soon as we got done with our cuddle time, I grabbed my Healing Cream so I could touch things again!

Now you have the chance to win both of these lotions!

*I received this Carmex and an awesome Carmex zip up hoodie for review.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wordless Wednesday: Roller Skating

Sorry I’ve been missing Wordless Wednesday. Work is so busy Monday and Tuesday it leaves very little time for any blogging.

A couple of weeks ago, Fred and I took all of our kids roller skating and to laser tag. We had a really fun night and it’s so nice our kids get along! I mean, we’ve only gotten together with them a few times and we only hang out for a few hours at a time, but hey, I’ll take the good when we can get it. =)

And besides, who doesn’t love roller skating holding their boyfriend’s hand. Yea, I just went there!

lol Yea, that’s how Doodle’s night started. “Timber” But it didn’t deter him!

Doodle finding his skating legs (in blue) and M.N. in the white t-shirt remembering how to skate after a couple of years of not skating.

I loved that M.N. and Doodle were willing to try out racing for their age groups even though there were still working on their skills! I was so proud of them!

Yea, he didn’t make it more than 1/4 of the way around before he toppled over, but he got back in there the next time and made it half way around! You go fella!

Not to be outdone, Fred got in on the 18+ group. He made it around the entire rink! And yes, he went out the second time as well. lol Me, no way, no how! He’s actually a really good skater! He did a grand job of impressing me!

Now, Buddy on the other hand went around the rink ONCE! In the 3 hours we were there before they played ONE laser tag game, he went around one time! I mean, it was his choice because I was constantly asking him to go out, but he didn’t want to and not once did he complain that he had to stand around the entire time waiting for us. He’s a stinker for not skating, but I’m thankful he was gracious about the night.

But, the only time he went out was when Fred went with him! I really love this picture. I have one where Fred is only skating with Buddy as well, but I liked that M.N. joined them.

We had some dinner while we were there. And then the kids went to laser tag. Buddy took a bunch of pictures while we were sitting there. Why? I have no clue.

You can see Doodle trying to catch up with me in the background. This was the only photo Buddy could get of me because he kept taking it after I passed him. It’s evidence that I skated, too. And, I’m happy to say, I’m the only one who made it without falling the entire night. lol I have to brag because I probably won’t be able to ever again. =)

Be sure to check out Full Time Mama and her WW post. I’m guessing there will be less words than this one.