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February 3, 2015

Get You Well Quick Soup {Recipe Files}

Being sick sucks. Yup, I said it. Feeling poopy, tired, and in a drug induced haze is no fun at all. For whatever reason, my body usually goes from 100% to 85% which usually means working while sick or a sick day if it's really bad. I'm trying to get better at noticing when I'm teetering below 100%, so I can stock my body up with natural boosters and vitamins to combat whatever my body is fighting.

Garlic is one of nature's best products [in my opinion] and one that helps boost your immune system when you're feeling a lil bit down. Whenever Le Husband or I feel under the weather we reach for our garlic recipes to give our bodies a boost. If we catch it early enough, usually two days of garlic HEAVY meals, we can knock out whatever we are fighting and won't need to take medicine or a day off of work. Score, right? Our "go to garlic" recipes are usually spaghetti sauce, garlic & mushrooms, garlic green beans and sometimes just garlic on top of bread if we need extra carbs.

A few months ago, Le Husband created this healthy and easy Garlic Chicken Soup and it has become a staple the past few weeks. Soup is one of my favorite things to eat when I'm feeling yucky, but I am not a fan of the unnecessary noodle/rice carbs you get in cans. This recipe can be as paleo/primal friendly as you wish or you can add zoodles/noodles if you choose. I'm listing the ingredients I used in my most recent soup, but the beauty of this recipe is the fact it's EASILY adapted to whatever ingredients you have in your home or whatever you are craving to get better.

PSA: IF YOU DON'T LIKE GARLIC THIS IS NOT THE RECIPE FOR YOU! You could make the soup without the garlic, but the whole point is the garlic to boost your immune system. Get on the garlic train and get better, faster.

Quick Garlic 'Get You Better' Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
5-8 garlic cloves chopped, plus 1 T of minced garlic
[yes, this is a lot of garlic, but that's the point of the soup]
4 oz precooked chicken
Chicken broth
Veggies: I used mushrooms, onions and peppers
Salt & Pepper
Herbs: I used Sage


Step 1: Briefly saute the garlic and onions, probably two to three minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn as it retains an acid taste when it's over cooked.

Step 3: Add the rest of your fixin's to the pot. If I'm feeling particularly under the weather, I tend to make the soup more of a broth plus some veggies, just to get some nutrients in my body. When I want soup, I'll add chicken, peppers, mushrooms, carrots and whatever else I have in the fridge.

Step 3: Once your ingredients are cooked to your liking [ I prefer mine still on the crunchy side, Le Husband likes his cooked through] add enough stock to make a soup. I've made  huge batches and used a whole carton, or just used two cups for a single meal. Again, this is all about preferences and how you enjoy your soup.

Step 4: Let the soup simmer for five to ten minutes, again depending on the consistency you want your veggies, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5 [Optional]: I like to add fresh herbs the last few minutes, but you don't have to add anything else if that's not to your taste. I just find it adds that extra layer of flavor.

Step 6: Serve and enjoy.

As I've mentioned before, this recipe can be doctored any which way. Just keep the garlic and chicken broth, okay? Let me know what y'all think if you make it!

Linking up *here*, *here*, *here* and *here*.

February 2, 2015

89 and Looking FINE!

Morning, ladies. I hope y'all are doing well. While I may be tired this weekend was 100% worth it, so I'll just suck it up and get some extra sleep tonight. If you remember my post on Thursday, I mentioned my family was driving down to Tennessee to surprise my 89 year old grandfather for his birthday on Sunday.

We took off right after work and missed most of the bad traffic, minus one small patch, and managed to make it to Tennessee around midnight Thursday evening. My grandfather, T-Bone, knew my parents were coming down but the three sissys were a surprise for him Friday morning. Seeing his smile was pretty freaking sweet and we enjoyed a fabulous weekend celebrating a truly wonderful man.

This weekend I…

 … drove in the car for eight hours Thursday evening.

 … enjoyed a McFlurry for the first time in forever.

 … passed out Thursday night.

 … ate a delicious homemade breakfast Friday morning.

 … accompanied T-Bone to his ROMEO [retired old men eating out] lunch.

 … took over the Applebees bar area.

 … stuffed myself silly on their new fun apps.

 … missed seeing Miss Nikki. We will get our blate one day, lady!

 … played puzzles.

 … went shopping for fun birthday gifts and decor.

 … learned the correct way to prep ribs with a dry rub. #stripthemembranes


 … helped party prep for Saturday.

 … ate a delicious dinner at Carrabas, while enjoying yummy sangria.

 … sang 'Happy Birthday' and celebrated our dear T-Bone.

 … finished our puzzle, woohoo!

… went on a 2.5 mile run with my mama!

 … went out to breakfast at our favorite diner.

 … spent the morning laughing, cheersing and singing with my family. #birthdaypancake

… helped with some yard work. #weusedachainsaw #andanax #andstilllookedcute







… got ready on the fly so as not to give the surprise away.

… managed to get T-Bone over to the party house without him having any idea we were throwing him a party. #surprisesuccess.

 … helped with pre-party prep and party documentation. T-Bone is a pilot, hence the theme :)!





 … spent Saturday afternoon meeting and chatting with T-Bone's friends. It was a incredible afternoon of fun, food, drinks and reminiscing.










 … ate myself silly on the ribs and cake.


 … took crazy pictures, trying to become a better photographer.







 … managed to get a great family photo after an epic fail earlier in the day.

 … helped clean up and enjoyed a few more after party drinks.

 … went home, played more puzzles and packed our bags.

 … woke up early Sunday morning to head home and beat the snow and get home for the Super Bowl.

 … watched the Super Bowl at home in the quiet to decompress after a fun filled weekend.

How was your weekend? Did you like the game? Didi you like the commercials?

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Before I leave today, I have to wish my Daddy a happy, happy birthday. Even though this weekend was all about T-Bone, yesterday was my Daddy's bday and I want to give him a lil shout out today. I love you, Daddy. Thanks for being so amazing!!!