Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

My kids went nuts over these chicken kebobs! They were so delicious! I doubled the original recipe to make enough for my family but it almost wasn't enough. My kids are pigs! This is definitely a fave!

Printable Recipe

Honey Lime Chicken Skewers
6 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
juice of 2 limes
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tsp siracha sauce
red pepper flakes, to taste
4 Tbsp cilantro
2 lbs chicken, cut into large chunks

Combine all ingredients for the sauce and pour over chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Thread chicken onto skewers. Grill 5-7 minutes on each side until cooked through.

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from Kitchen Meets Girl

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

Printable Recipe

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
3 boneless skinless chicken (about 2 lbs), cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 (14 oz) can light coconut milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
hot cooked rice

Place chicken in a medium bowl. Stir together curry, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, and basil to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion is clear. Add chicken and remaining 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 5-6 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

In a small bowl, combine coconut milk and cornstarch and whisk well to combine. Whisk into skillet. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir for another minute. Serve over rice.

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Chile Colorado Burritos

We love Mexican food in our house. I take any chance I can get to make Mexican food. These burritos were so easy! Just throw a few ingredients in the crock pot and let it cook all day. So yummy!

Printable Recipe

Chile Colorado Burritos
2 lbs beef, cut into 2 inch cubes (stew meat, roast, top sirloin)
2 (10 oz) cans red enchilada sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 can refried beans, heated (optional)
burrito size flour tortillas
shredded cheese

Combine beef, enchilada sauce, and beef bouillon cubes in a crock pot. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours until meat is tender and shreds easily. Season with salt to taste.

Using a slotted spoon to drain off the liquid, place 1/2 cup of meat on each tortilla. Top with beans and cheese. Roll into burritos. Pour remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over burritos. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil for 2-4 minutes or microwave until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serves 6-8

Recipe adapted from Food Pusher

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

This just might be my new favorite pork recipe. Not only was it super easy to make, but the pork was packed with flavor. It was especially delicious drizzled with the sweet balsamic glaze. You know it's a winner when the kids keep coming back for more! 

Printable Recipe

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin
2 lbs boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of fat
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup water

Glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp soy sauce

In a small bowl, mix together the sage, salt, pepper, and garlic. Rub the spices all over the roast. Place the pork in a slow cooker and pour the water over the roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Just before serving, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens. Remove pork from slow cooker, shred and place on a serving plate. Drizzle the glaze over the pork.

Serves 6-8

Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Road Trip Ideas for Kids

Going on a long road trip can be hard for anyone, especially a little kid. "Are we there yet?" "I'm bored" "He's looking at me!" are things that we hear frequently while traveling. It's hard to keep kids entertained for that long.

A few months ago went on vacation to Las Vegas. I found some ideas online for things for my kids to do while we were on the road. It really made the drive a lot more tolerable for the kids. In fact, I think they actually enjoyed it!

I found a lot of really cute ideas on The Dating Divas website. I printed the Road Trip Countdown and I used this printable to make different stops along the way to our destination. Each stop was about an hour and a half apart. At each stop I had a surprise for my kids.

For the first stop, I put together these folders for my kids. Inside I gave them a notebook, pen, and some activities to do while we were in the car. I also bought my kids new crayons and colored pencils.

Here are some ideas for the folders:
1. License plate game
2. Scavenger hunt
3. Spot the car 
4. Mad Libs for kids

5. Moms Minivan (more printable games)
6. Printable coloring pages of their favorite characters
7. New coloring books
8. Blank notebooks
9. Stickers
10. New crayons and/or colored pencils

For the next stop, I filled one of the bags with pretzels, portioned for each kid. It's amazing that something as simple as pretzels makes my kids so excited! I filled the other two bags with treats and snacks that they like. It was really pretty simple but they loved it!

My kids were so excited to see what their next surprise was! They were actually looking forward to the drive. It really helped break up the drive and it made it a lot easier. Instead of thinking about how long until the final destination, they were thinking about the next stop which was only an hour and a half away.

Here are some other road trip game ideas:

Alphabet game

I Spy

Would you rather? Here are some funny questions for kids

20 Questions

Road Trip Questionnaire