Weekly Meal Plan & Collective Coffee Co.

Hello! After about a week straight of rainy days in South Carolina, the sun is finally shinning! I’m super excited!! Today, I’d like to share with you our weekly meal plan and a restaurant review of a newer coffee/food spot.

So, what’s on tap for this weeks eats? I food shop on Fridays, so that's where my weekly plan starts:

• Friday: Burritos for him, taco salad for her with asparagus guacamole
• Saturday: Out
• Sunday: Turkey stir fry

   

• Monday: Breakfast for dinner (omelets)
• Tuesday: Maria’s pasta bake

• Wednesday: Burgers (beef for him, veggie for her), broccoli & fruit
• Thursday: Vegetable soup with grilled cheese

What’s on your plan?

On Sunday morning, Josh, Kaylin & I had the opportunity to try out a newer restaurant in Mount Pleasant, Collective Coffee Co.

Collective Coffee is just beautiful inside:

 

Beyond beautiful, the restaurant offers delicious pour over coffees, fresh squeezed juices, and tasty dishes:

According to the owners, everything at The Collective is made to order, using organic components when possible, and most menu items are homemade.  You can check out the full menu here. Josh started with the fresh squeezed orange juice:

I stole a sip. It was so yummy. I also let Kaylin have her first sip of juice, she liked it a lot (I don’t let Kaylin have juice because most are packed with sugar and artificial flavors/colors):

 

I, of course, tried out their coffee. Bold and so yum. I also was a big fan of their mugs:

 

When I saw the menu, I knew I had to try the parfait! It was made with vanilla bean yogurt, granola, fruit & honey:

It was amazing and so filling. Josh had the chorizo wrap which contained egg, black beans, queso fresco, pickled jalapenos, avocado, and cilantro. On the side were bagel chips:

 

   Gah! Everything was amazing! If you live here, or are in the area, please give collective coffee a go!

Giveaway coming up later this week!!

*disclaimer: we were allowed to try the restaurant for free, but all opinions are our own!!

Strawberry Picking & Asparagus Guacamole

Yayyy for the weekend! What have you been up to? On Friday, after a nice workout and food shopping, Kaylin and I met Christina at Boone Hall Plantation to go strawberry picking.

It was super windy and the fields were extra muddy from the rain, but we got a delicious bundle of berries:

 

 

Yum!

Friday night, we enjoyed a delicious dinner in. A Mexican feast including my burrito filler & homemade guacamole. This guacamole was different because it was a combination of asparagus:

and avocado. I found the recipe in my Self Magazine. The recipe is posted here (I eliminated the tomatoes because Josh isn’t a tomato fan). The outcome is SO yummy. You can’t even taste the asparagus.

Saturday morning, I took Body Step, did a few things around the house, and got a pedicure. Post half marathon, my feet were a disaster and in need of some love. Josh and I also spent lots of quality time with Kaylin and we went to dinner with his parents.

Sunday, we’re trying out a new-to-us restaurant/coffee spot and may be going shopping for new clothes for Kaylin & Josh. I may squeeze a run in (if this crazy weather cooperates). What are you up to??

Burrito Filler/Taco Salad Topper

Happy (almost) Cinco de Mayo! Do you celebrate? I’m all about anything that involves tortilla chips, so I definitely plan to do a little celebrating. In preparation for the big day, I made a filler that can be placed in a burrito or on top of a taco salad. This is easy peasy, and you can adjust the ingredient list based on your taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 3-4 tablespoons diced green chiles (canned)
• Olive oil (~2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 lb ground beef (or turkey)
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 cup corn (frozen, defrosted)
• 1/2 cup canned kidney beans (drained/rinsed)
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup cooked brown rice

Directions:

Add olive oil, garlic, and green chiles to either a pot or large skillet. Cook for ~ 5 minutes on medium-low. Increase heat to medium high, add beef, cumin, and chili powder. Cook meat through. Add corn, kidney beans, tomato sauce, and rice and cook until heated through.

What are you up to this weekend? I’m hoping to go strawberry picking, go to Body Step, spend lots of time with Josh & Kay, eat tortilla chips, and go for a few walks:

 

New Favorite Recipes & Happenings

AHHH! Sorry for being so MIA. Last week was hectic. It was spring break week here, so I was subbing for a lot of instructors that were out of town, Josh was on travel, and Kay was sick (despite her tubes she has another double ear infection :(). But, I’m back! So other than the above, a quick run down of last week:

I did a 12 mile long run with Kaylin. I was only planning on doing part of it with her, but she fell asleep mid run and ended up making it through the whole thing! I am planning on doing another race soon, more to come:

I found an awesome product at Harris Teeters that I can’t get enough of:

 

One of the gyms I teach at got a new stage. I taught on it for the first time on Sunday. I’m happy to report that I didn’t fall off:

 

I’m learning choreography like crazy because we have our Body Step & Pump launches this weekends. I’m so glad we launched Attack early, I couldn’t imagine learning another program right now.

I’ve made two new recipes this week. Stephanie’s Cheesy Spinach n’ Chobani Enchilada Bake. Pre-bake:

 

Post:

 

It looks TOTALLY indulgent, but with low fat cottage cheese and 0% Chobani, its actually pretty light! Give it a go!!

Next up, Maria’s Easy Marinara:

  I think I could eat the whole pot with a spoon and nothing else! So tasty. I used some of the sauce to top a pasta, vegetable & chicken mixture:

   

I froze the rest. AWESOME recipe Maria!!

Last item! I received my new Ellie outfit, a very cute sports bra and pair of fitted pants.   Ellie recently had a delay in delivery of their March line (which is still available on the website). They sent their customers a note that included the following explanation:

“As a new company, we have had some obstacles, namely in production. The March pieces were delivered at the beginning of this month but were not up to our standards of quality. We sent them back in exchange for brand new, improved pieces that will all be sent out next week.”

I can only imagine the challenges that are encountered when you start a new business. I really respect the fact that Ellie takes pride in their clothes and sent back the initial items. Hope you consider giving Ellie a try (disclaimer: I received my outfit for free)!!  I will be testing out my new gear when I teach Attack today.

Crock Pot Baked Beans & Taco Chicken

I really enjoy doing at home Mexican. You can have all the flavor, without all the grease. We were having a few friends over on Saturday night, so I decided to put together a little fiesta.

I made pulled taco chicken in the crock pot (recipe below):

 

I served the chicken with tortillas and all the toppings, including bell peppers, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, corn:

Salsa, tomatoes, jalapenos (love the bottles and bottle cleaner in the background ;)):

 

Chobani Greek yogurt and avocados:

 

I also made a batch of vegetarian crock pot “refried” pinto beans (recipe below):

and desserts:

 

My friends brought over a big, delicious salad and chips with salsa and guacamole. MMmmm

Crock Pot Pulled Taco Chicken: 

 

I started with this recipe, and made lots of adjustments. This makes a lot of chicken, enough to feed 8:

Ingredients:

• 2 limes
• 4 teaspoons chili powder
• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 16 oz container of taco sauce

Directions:

Place chicken in the bottom of a large crock pot. Squeeze limes over chicken and then sprinkle chili powder on top. Cook on low for 4-6 hours (my chicken was PERFECT at 4 hours).

Drain crock pot, shred chicken and return to crock pot. Mix in taco sauce and cook on low for another 1/2 hour.

Crock Pot Vegetarian Baked Beans:

Refried beans may not look pretty, but they’re so yummy.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups dried pinto beans (cleaned/rinsed and gone through)
• 9 cups water and 4 vegetarian bouillon cubes (alternatively, you could use 5 cups water and 4 cups vegetable broth)
• 1 sweet onion (cleaned and cut in half)
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

Add all ingredients to crock pot. Cook on high for 8 hours. Remove onion. Drain beans (RESERVE liquid). Use an immersion blender (or other mashing device) to mash beans ( you can either completely mash them or leave them somewhat lumpy as I did. Add reserved liquid to achieve desired consistency.

I think everyone had a blast. The ladies attempted to take a couple pictures after dinner (even Kay!):

 

 So much fun!

Tell me about your weekend. 

Also, with Google reader going away (tear), don’t forget to follow me on Bloglovin:

Burrito in a Bowl

Some nights require a quick and yummy meal. Here is one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• cooked rice, black beans, corn, peas, avocado, tortilla chips, cheese, Greek yogurt, anything else you want to add!

Directions:

Heat a skillet or pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and onion and cook until onion is fragrant. Add turkey and spices and cook through. Turn heat to low, add tomato sauce and let simmer ~ 5 minutes.

    

To make bowl, assemble taco meat and desired add-ins. I used rice, black beans, corn, peas, and added avocado and tortilla chips prior to serving. These RW Garcia chips are my new favorite:

Such an easy and delicious dinner!

How is your week going? Mine has been pretty good. Works been busy and my quads are feeling much, much better. I know its only Wednesday…but I’m already looking forward to the weekend ;)

4 Year Giveaway & Chicken Fajita Tostadas

How was your weekend? I hope it was a fantastic one! Ours was excellent, filled with good food, family time & exercise! We also got our taxes done.

Its secret recipe club time again. As a part of the club, each month you’re assigned another Secret Recipe Club blogger to make a recipe from. If you want to join, click here to sign up.

This month, I was assigned the blog Cooking Mimi. Mimi is a Southern cook and has tons of fun recipes. She has a deep love for Mexican food (me too!), so I had to try one of her Mexican recipes. I choose her Chicken Fajita Tostadas and made a few changes.  Here is a general step-by-step of what I did:

I took organic chicken thighs (on mega sale) and rubbed them with the fajita rub/marinade. I let them sit in the fridge for about an hour and a half. I baked the chicken up on a cookie sheet topped with non-stick aluminum foil at 400 degrees F until cooked through. I let the chicken cool/sit for about 10 minutes and then sliced it into bite sized pieces:

I then setup two separate skillets. In one, I heated up refried black beans mixed with leftover brown rice:

In the other, I heated up corn and peas (Josh isn’t an onions & peppers fan). Next, I added the chicken.

I placed tortillas under the broiler to crisp up (keep an eye on them so they don’t burn). I removed the tortillas and topped them with refried beans, corn, peas, chicken & rice. Josh ate his with cheese and jalapenos:

 

I ate mine as more of a salad with spinach, tomato, and avocado (its all hidden under there ).

Kay Helped with all the cooking:

So today, I have been blogging for four years! This seems truly crazy to me! I have really enjoyed blogging and all of the amazing people I have met through this space. To celebrate, I want to giveaway a little baking package! The package will include a baked good (made by me- winners choice), a bag of baking chunks (my favorite) and a couple other surprise items! You do not need to have a blog to enter! Simply leave a comment on this post by Sunday, March 11 at Noon telling me where you are from! For an additional entry, post a link to this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or Facebook and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did so!