Hailey's Helpful Hints

Crock-Pot Smart Wifi-Enabled WeMo 6-Quart Slow Cooker  I've said this before and I'll say it again -- I love the crock-pot. Wait. I should rephrase that. I love the idea of the crockpot. For some reason, I just don't use it like I should. And I know a lot of moms that feel the same. But I bet you have no clue that there is a crock-pot that can be told via smartphone what to do, when to do it. Imagine being in a meeting or in the school pick up line and getting dinner started. Pretty rad if you ask me. With the free WeMo App you can adjust cooking time, temperature, turn on, shift to warm or turn off. Now that's how dinner should be done. If you're needing some easy and effortless crock-pot meals, I love these 33 three ingredient slow cooker recipes from Totally The Bomb . With the Superbowl (GO SEAHAWKS!!!!) on Sunday, I think a must try is the Rootbeer Honey BBQ Wings . Yum! As she says, "the crock-pot is a magical box that you put raw food in and wonderful ...

  Two things I love: margaritas and the crock pot (or slow cooker). Oh wait - chicken too! This Make it Monday post combines all three of those to make Margarita Chicken. And guess what? Your kids can not only eat it, they will love it too! No worries - there is no tequila in the recipe. Thanks to Red Tricycle , I found this versatile, low fat chicken recipe from Crockpot Gourmet  that you can serve over brown rice, couscous, quinoa or over a bed of greens with veggies and a citrus vinaigrette. But let's talk crock pot though first. Four problems I see with the crock pot - 1) People don't use it enough. Hello....it's soooo easy. Throw in the ingredients (no thawing necessary), walk away and come back 4-8 hrs later to a homemade meal. Now why are you complaining about dinner again?!?!? 2) People think you have to be a "mom with kids" to use a crock pot. If you're single or a couple, just buy yourself a Food Saver and vacuum seal the lef...

  Wondering how to incorporate kale - the health world's favorite dark, leafy green of 2014 - into your diet beyond kale chips and green smoothies? Here is a twist on spaghetti that will pump some serious vitamins into an average everyday meal. ~Spaghetti with Kale Pesto~ Recipe from Dr. Oz's " The Good Life " magazine Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 8 oz. kale (Tuscan if available), stemmed, leaves torn (5 cups loosely packed leaves) 1 clove garlic 1 cup grated Parmesan 1/2 cups raw almonds 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes 6 Tbsp olive oil 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti Directions: > Add the kale, garlic, Parmesan, almonds, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until very finely chopped, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Slowly add the olive oil with the machine running. Pulse until the mixture is thoroughly combined and smooth. > Cook the pas...

If you're trying to "hide" good nutrients in your children's meals or aren't even what to think of this whole guinoa craze, this is a great place to start. While quinoa (pronounced 'KEEN-WAH) is usually considered to be a whole grain, it is actually a seed, but can be prepared like whole grains such as rice or barley. Many people prefer quinoa for these reasons; first, it takes less time to cook than other whole grains – just 10 to 15 minutes. Second, quinoa tastes great on its own , unlike other grains such as millet or teff. Add a bit of olive oil, sea salt and lemon juice and - yum! Finally, of all the whole grains, quinoa has the highest protein content, so it's perfect for vegetarians and vegans. Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids , making it a complete protein. Quinoa is a gluten-free and cholesterol-free whole grain and is almost always organic. Lots of 2012 buzz words packed into that paragraph eh? Gluten. Organic. Vegan. I can't kee...

Don't let "crispy" scare you off. This meal from Good Housekeeping magazine is the epitome of healthy in a hurry. Coating cutlets with mustard and crumbs ensures a satisfying crunch for oven-baked breasts and keeps it low fat. Top with arugula and you get bold flavor plus heart healthy antioxidants. ~Crispy Balsamic Chicken~ Total time: 30 min Yields: 4 main dish servings Ingredients: 1 lb. carrots, thinly sliced at an angle 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 c. panko (Japanese style bread crumbs) 1 1/4 lbs skinless, boneless thin sliced chicken breast cutlets 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1/2 c. plus 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar 5 oz. baby arugula 1/2 c. fresh basil leaves, torn salt & pepper Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 2) On jelly roll pan, toss carrots with oil and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Roast 8-10 minutes or until crisp tender. Transfer carrots to large bowl to cool. 3) While carrots cook, place panko on large plate. In medium bowl, toss chicken with mus...

Love these perfectly portioned individual lasagnas from Skinnytaste.com. A low fat way to eat Italian and a great way to get your kids to eat spinach too. Look for the wheat lasagna noodles at your grocery store. Makes for an even healthier option. If you're crunched for time, make them the night before and plop in the oven when you get home. ~Spinach Lasagna Rolls~ Courtesy of Gina's Skinny Recipes Ingredients: 9 lasagna noodles, cooked 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 egg salt and fresh pepper 32 oz tomato sauce 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 350°. 2) Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. 3) Spoon about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish. 4) Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out cooked lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. 5) Ta...

Forget the drive-thru and those full fat burgers. This hearty, meatless meal with a Tex-Mex twist is high in fiber, packed with protein and low in fat. Eat alone or place on top of a whole wheat bun and some avocado. Delish. And ready in less than 25 minutes. Yep, you better "Pin" this. Recipe calls for jalapenos but in fear of it being too spicy for the kids, I didn't add them. Surprisingly it still had tons of flavor. You can even swap out the corn meal with rolled oats. ~Black Bean Patties with Salsa~ Courtesy of Better Homes & Garden Yields: 8 patties Start to finish: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups prepared salsa 1 jalapeno pepper (optional) 2 - 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 - 8 ounce corn muffin mix (or rolled oats) 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder 2 t ablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup low fat sour cream 1/2 teaspoon chili powder Directions: 1) In colander, drain 1/2 cup of the salsa. 2) Seed and finely chop half of the jalapeno; thinly slice remain...

For a foolproof 20 minute supper with less than 7 ingredients, toss packaged cheese tortellini with roast chicken, herbs, brocolli and/or cauliflower and dried tomato pesto. Top with Parmesan cheese. If your kiddos won't touch anything with veggies mixed in, this recipe is equally as good if you steam the brocolli/cauliflower as a side. Easy-peasy. ~Chicken Tortellini Toss~ Serves: 4 Start to finish: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 - 9 oz. pkgs. refrigerated cheese tortellini 4 cups broccoli and/or cauliflower florets 1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs 1/2 of a 10-ounce jar dried tomato pesto (1/2 cup) 1 9-oz. pkg. frozen roasted or grilled chicken breast strips, thawed Shaved Parmesan (optional) Directions: On the stovetop, cook tortellini according to package directions. Add the broccoli the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain and return to pot. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato pesto, and chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until heated through. Garnish with Parme...

This is a crowd pleaser any time of the year but I thought since it was red and festive, it would be the perfect time to share - especially since this week is so hectic that you need an easy meal to slap down on the table. CRANBERRY CHICKEN Ingredients: 4-6 boneless chicken breasts 8 oz. Catalina Dressing (I use Kraft's Fat Free Catalina) 1 package of Lipton's Dry Onion Soup Mix 1 - 1 lb. can of Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dressing, soup mix and cranberry sauce in a bowl. Trim chicken of any fat and place in a 13x9 inch baking dish. Top the chicken with cranberry mixture. Bake in oven for 45-60 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. My family loves this meal served over rice with a side of broccoli. This meal tastes great as left-overs and freezes well.

Putting food on the table is part of my "motherly" duty. Do I love spending time in the kitchen? Not necessarily. Am I a good cook? My husband would say yes so that's all that matters. There's absolutely nothing elaborate about the meals I put on the table. In all honesty, my husband would eat chicken and vegetables every night of the week and be completely satisfied. So long as it errors on the "healthy" side and we're all sitting at the table together, he's content. This has definitely hindered any motivation to branch out and try new meals. I probably have about 10-15 meals we love and I just rotate between those. Boring huh? I've tried the whole concept of trying a new recipe/week. Flipping through cookbook after cookbook to find a meal that all three of us would actually eat was draining. Plus it doesn't seem worth it to me to spend a lot of money on 20 different ingredients and new spices for one meal I'm not sure we are going to e...