Mediterranean Burgers {kandipie kitchen}

Grilling weather is here, y'all!

Fort Smith is experiencing those gorgeous, hot, drowsy summer days.. finally! All the rain has moved on, the Arkansas River is back in its banks, and the city pools are open! Helloooo summery summertime!

I love grilling. I love eating. I love a great burger! Who doesn't?! Today I'm going to share with you my spin on a Mediterranean burger. I love all things balsamic and feta, so these are easily some of my favorite burgers around.

You can always use ground turkey or chicken, but my husband has requested more beef in our lives, so these burgers are made with 93/7 ground beef. 

Measurements are kind of eyeballed, so use your taste preferences when adding ingredients.

2 pounds burger

1 egg white

1/2 cup ish crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup ish kalamata olives, minced

1/4 cup pepperoncini pepper juice

1/3 cup ish balsamic vinegar

crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix everything together, patty out, grill baby grill! I served mine on a bed of spinach and arugula with tomatoes, more kalamata olives and sliced pepperonicinis. I used parmesan risotto as a side, but I think home made potato chips or fries with a greek lemon dill dip would be fabulous!

Let me know how your burgers turn out! Tag me on social media with #kandipiekitchen! Also make sure you "like" my Facebook page, We Aren't Scared Of Sugar!

Verde Chicken & Cilantro Lime Quinoa {KandiPie Kitchen}

Hi there!

Today I am sharing a recipe that I use for my health coaching clients.. and myself! :) It is currently one of my favorite meals. I love everything salsa, cilantro, lime, hot sauce, and so this is perfect for me.

I serve this on top of a salad, because I love salad and because #povertymacros. Well, if I was still counting macros. haha.

The chicken is super easy: in a crockpot, add 4 chicken breasts and 1/2-3/4 jar "my brothers" salsa verde (you can use any brand but that's my favorite). Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours. When the chicken is cooked thoroughly, use a large fork (I use a wooden spoon/spork type thing) to shred the chicken inside the crockpot. Let it sit on warm/low for another 20-30 minutes to soak up all the salsa and juices left in the crockpot.

For the quinoa, I have already prepped a large container of quinoa for the week, so I just use 1/2c red quinoa, cooked according to the package instructions. It doesn't have to be red quinoa, either. Mix the 1/2c quinoa with 1-2tbsp plain greek yogurt (depending on how creamy you like your textures). Also mix in the juice from 1/2 a lime, and a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped.

You can mix the quinoa and chicken together and eat it as a "one bowl meal" or you can use them for burritos, salads, etc. So many possibilities! :)

Happy eating!

2014-2015 School Lunch Re-Cap (and other bits of life)

Well hello there!

It has been a million years (ok, just two).

I can not believe the last time I posted over here was in 2013. So, So sorry for that. Except I did kinda keep up a tiny bit over on the Facebook page.

So much happened, I don't even know where to begin. Maybe a bullet list will work best. :)

• We worked super hard renovating our historic home in our adorable but not entirely safe historic neighborhood
• We got right up to the buying point for the home and discovered that there was asbestos and lead paint on the outside of the home and in the structure (window frames, inside and out)
• We snatched up a realtor (who so happens to be my BFF #CALLCASSIE) and started seeing houses like, that day
• After a couple of weeks of searching frantically, we found a home we loved in a neighborhood we loved that is so, so safe and lovely
• WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!
• We skipped Thanksgiving with our families to move (2014)
• We are PROFESH at moving and were 100% unpacked in our new home by the end of the holiday weekend (like, 2 days and BOOM! we were home!)
• Best Christmas ever in our forever home
• Lots of entertaining in our new home, Vino Leagues, friends for dinner, more friends for dinner :)

Now it is SUMMER VACATION and I'm just sitting here on my couch, in my home, and I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful that this is ours. 

So with all the crazy moving and crazy life going on.. we didn't bento as much as usual. But we still DID bento.. next year there will be more of it. :)