Savvy with Abbie

Every once in awhile I make an "unhealthy" meal - this one was requested by Jace. All of us love macaroni and cheese, it's a family staple, right? Growing up, we ate a lot of it so I decided to make this homemade recipe but topped it with breadcrumbs (Kevin's idea). Kevin likes meat in all of his meals so he purchased a rotisserie chicken and decided to top the macaroni and cheese with chicken. He seemed to have enjoyed it. I'm fine with just regular mac and cheese so this worked great for me. I also used reduced fat cheese (trying to still find healthy alternatives when I can). I'll be honest, it took awhile to make, but it was worth it by far.  This Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese recipe is from Southern Living and we added a few twists - including breadcrumbs on top with a quick broil and finished it off with Rotisserie Chicken.  Ingredients: 4 cups water 2 cups milk 16oz uncooked elbow macaroni 16oz cheese of your choice (we did 6oz reduced fat sharp cheddar

Good morning and happy weekend! Even though I'm not currently working, I'm still excited for the weekend. Weekends were created to rest, relax, and breathe and that's exactly what I plan on doing this weekend (along with blogging, putting together a desk for Jace's room, and cleaning, it's all about balance, right?) What are your weekend plans? The past few nights for my "midnight snack" I have been making this 5-Ingredient Caramel Apple dessert. The original recipe was posted in the CleanFoodCrush Clean Eating Challenge Facebook Group . The best thing about this recipe is that it only uses 5 ingredients, the yogurt is plain so you can taste every other ingredient, and it's only about 180 calories for the entire bowl. Can't go wrong with that! And for some reason, this recipe reminds me of the marshmallow and fruit jell-o recipe I used to eat when I was little. I don't know why, maybe because that's the texture of it, but it tastes very sim

This is my first Marry Me Chicken blog recipe, and this one will be on repeat. Jace, Kevin and I not only ate our plates clean, but we have also ate leftovers of this. We all loved, loved, loved it! I have started purchasing Chicken Breast Filets from Albertsons and I love them so much more than regular chicken breasts. I think it's because they are thin so they cook faster and easier. This recipe was suggested by Kevin (we usually switch off coming up with recipe ideas) and I'm glad he suggested it. We all love chicken and pasta and this was the perfect protein-packed meal for us. Ingredients Macaroni shells, made according to package directions Chicken breast filets (4-5) 2 tbsp garlic powder (one tbsp for chicken, one for sauce) 2 tbsp onion powder (one tbsp for chicken, one for sauce) 1/4 cup pasta water 1 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup parmesan cheese (we did a 3 cheese blend) 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese 1 tbsp Italian seasoning Directions: Cut the chicken into thin slice filets. S

Our home likes and enjoys Sloppy Joe's. In fact, this is the 5th Sloppy Joe blog I have written: Easy and Delicious Sloppy Joe's Quick and Easy Sloppy Joe's Easy Sloppy Joe's with a Secret Ingredient Ground Turkey Sloppy Joe's A real quick update on my health before diving into the recipe - I'm officially at week 7 for my cough. I saw the doctor 13 days ago and then again 6 days ago. My antibiotics are out and I'm on the last few days of my cough medication/pills that I'm taking 3x per day. My cough seems to have been getting worse the past 3 days or so. I got blood word yesterday, the focus was thyroid and white blood cell count but when I was confirming with the lady who was drawing my blood, she said, "we are checking you for a lot of things" and took 4 vials of blood. I'm still waiting on those results. My energy is better, I have been doing errands and going out and staying active as much as I can. I haven't been napping or anythin

If you are looking for an energy-packed, no-bake protein bite, this is for you! The recipe is from CleanFoodCrush . Like I've mentioned before, I tend to snack all day (the joys of working from home) and most of the time, I overeat or I eat food that I shouldn't be eating. These protein bites keep me on track with my health and also provide me with the protein I need so I can be fuller longer. They are great after a workout, during the afternoon, or even a late morning snack. Reach for this whenever you need a pick-me-up throughout your day. I tend to eat 1-2 per day because they are so filling.  I purchased the freeze dried raspberries on Amazon just for this recipe and I have noticed Jace will sneak them and eat them plain:) I also love the mini chocolate chips on top of yogurt or even by themselves so there are several uses for these ingredients as well.   Ingredients: 3/4 cup cashew butter 1 cup rolled oats 1/3 cup honey 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Although I'm officially on my 7th week of being sick (antibiotics have not helped me really. I have a little more energy but apparently with pneumonia, it can literally take 3-6 months to start feeling normal again.) I am out of work and so I have been cooking dinner every night for the family. We all enjoyed this one - Air Fried Turkey Meatballs. This recipe was pulled from HERE . She made kabobs with hers and we made spaghetti and meatballs with ours.  I was looking for a healthier meal since we stopped using EveryPlate (I have more time to cook without working) so using ground turkey in place of ground beef was a healthier option. They are super easy to make and adding them to the Air Fryer gives them that extra crunch. We use our Air Fryer ALL the time. I typically make meatballs on the stove but I would highly consider using the Air Fryer if you want a crispy outside and a perfectly cooked inside. You don't have to make these with spaghetti, you can eat them by themselves,

I have been on my computer working on the SEO Hubspot Certification this morning and I'm really enjoying it.  Jace came in this morning and said, "Are you working?" and I said, "I'm just doing a few things" and he said, "I don't want you to work today" so once I'm done with this blog I'm going to hang out with him.  He starts school back up in three days which is so hard for me to believe. Also, the fact that he's going into 8th grade (and still wants to spend time with his mama) completely blows my mind.  Last night I made this Chicken Parm recipe from Clean Food Crush. Although it took awhile to make (it's not the easiest...or the cleanest), everyone wiped their plates clean! Chicken Parm has always been a family favorite (except Jace prefers to add Alfredo sauce to anything over spaghetti sauce). There were a lot of steps to this one but it was well worth it. I love switching out non-healthy ingredients for healthier ones wh

I am so glad it's the weekend, aren't you? Although we are mainly taking it easy, we watched some of the Olympic breakdancing this morning which was really fascinating, Jace and I discussed what he wanted for his birthday and Christmas (I know, it's only August) and now I'm currently working on getting my SEO Certificate through Hubspot Academy.  Tomorrow the Colts and Broncos play in pre-season so I'm looking forward to that and then I will be focusing on getting my Google Ads Certificate and also the Facebook Blueprint Certification. While I'm out of work (and still sick) I may as well be doing something productive and very useful for my future.  Last night for dinner, I made this Chicken Pesto Pasta for Jace and I. This is another one from Alese . Very healthy, light, and delicious. I wasn't too sure how I would like this pasta since I don't use pesto often. I was surprised at how much I ate (and how much more I wanted). I try and use healthy ingredie

What a week! Yesterday I went to the doctor who told me that he is sure I have pneumonia, he gave me four medications and luckily the chest X-rays came back normal. This morning I went and picked Jace up from his Nana who had him for two weeks. Jace cried and cried and cried, he had so much fun in Arizona and misses his Nana so so much already.  I have thousands of emails to catch up on but decided instead to write a blog because I have another delicious recipe to share. A few nights ago I made these Baked Chicken Tacos from Alese  (who makes amazing recipes by the way) and these were super easy to make. I have never baked tacos using an upside down muffin tin, but what a perfect way to make them! I love mini tacos because they are filling, but easy to eat, and not too messy. Baked tacos were perfect for these - it was like a chicken caesar salad in a taco - a very unique twist. Technically you can make any type of taco you want, even the original (ground beef, ground turkey), but I wa

The very first food blog post I ever wrote was an Easy Potato Soup in the Crockpot  and, as of today, with 256,602 views, it's hard hard to beat with another potato soup recipe but LET ME TELL YOU. This one I made a few nights ago, and yes, it's summer, and in the triple digits (to be fair, it was on a day that it did rain a little bit), but it was soooo FLAVORFUL.  Like if Guy Fieri could try this recipe, I know he would have so many descriptive words:) This recipe was pulled from Momy Cooks and it was for a Cozy Potato Kielbasa Soup recipe. This was more than just a comfort food. I was SHOCKED with how flavorful this was. The celery seed was actually the perfect addition and that stood out the most to me. I love using Turkey Kielbasa as a healthier option and I typically use a broth that is low or reduced sodium. You can make this soup on a rainy, winter day, or like I did, in the summer with the A/C on inside the house. It looks like a lot of work but this one was SO worth