Crockpot Asian Chicken

I love my crockpot!  I have never loved my crockpot as much as I do at this very moment - three kids under the age of four and a husband who has been working crazy overtime hours every single night!  I swear if I didn't have a crockpot, dinner would not be happening!

We eat a ton of Mexican or Italian inspired dishes...But we like Asian food too - especially stir fry!  A few weeks ago, I set out to make a really easy, very few ingredients, Asian Inspired crockpot meal!

Your Shopping List for the Crockpot Asian Chicken:

• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1 bottle of your favorite Asian inspired sauce, about 14oz - I used a Sesame Garlic Sauce
• 1 can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 cups frozen shelled Edamame 
• toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
• rice for serving (optional)

Now Let's Make the Crockpot Asian Chicken:

1. Pour half of the Sesame Garlic Sauce into the bottom of your slow cooker
2. Add the chicken breasts on top of sauce in an even layer
3. Drain pineapple, reserving the juice
4. Add pineapple plus 1/2 cup of the reserved pineapple juice on top of chicken
5. Add Edamame
6. Add remaining Sesame Garlic Sauce
7. Cook on low for 5-6 hours*
8. One hour before serving, shred your chicken in the crockpot.  Cover and allow to cook for an additional hour
9. Serve over rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds - I used a mix of brown, red, and white rice
   

*A Note About Slow Cookers:

We have a new crockpot.  It cooks things at a hotter temperature and much faster than my older slow cooker.  You may need to adjust this time according to your own slow cooker

My Current Crockpot:

My "wishlist" Slow Cooker:

Mommy Monday on a Tuesday: Paisley Jean is 5 Months Old

So we got super busy yesterday, and I had no time to post my Mommy Monday!

But yesterday - May 11th - my sweet Paisley Jean turned five months old...and I cannot even believe it!  She only has one more month to go before we celebrate her first half birthday!

At Five Months Old, Paisley Can:

*sit up for a few seconds on her own

*puts all her weight on her legs and stands up straight with someone holding her hands

*sleeps through the night

*sleeps in her own crib!!!

*recognizes faces

*smiles, "talks", and "sings" 

*lays on her tummy and attempts to crawl by inching herself forward

Paisley Loves:

*bathtime - at this point she tries to drink the water

*her sisters

*Minnie and Mickey Mouse 

*Sophie the Giraffe

*her light up fish tank in the crib

*snuggling on Mommy

Paisley Hates:

*getting out of the bathtub - still!  Girlfriend could stay in the bath all day long!

*not much else - she is truly a happy baby!  She really only cries when she is tired or hungry.  

I am so blessed to call Paisley my daughter!  She has brought so much joy into our family!  I just love watching Lacie and Blakely talk to her and give her millions of hugs and kisses! John and I are also loving this third round of baby raising because, in all honesty, it gets easier with each baby!  You know what to do, and you can just relax and enjoy this fleeting baby stage!  

If my blog has been lacking lately - it's because I am spending every free second doing this^^^

Paisley loves to snuggle (especially right after her early morning feeding)!  I know it's only a matter of time before she is crawling and walking and too busy discovering things to spend hours sleeping on Mommy...so I will take all of these sleepy cuddles right now!  

Friday Favorites

Happy Happy Friday!  This week was a busy one for our Family!  Lacie had a preschool Meet and Greet yesterday (I will have to blog about my feelings on that at a later time) and John has been working a crazy amount of overtime.  It's his busy season at work, and I am counting down the days until summer when we can get back to a normal, family schedule!

This weekend is also Mother's Day!  Every year we celebrate by inviting both of our families over for a Mother's Day brunch.  John is insisting that I don't cook anything and we just get bagels...I may or may not listen!  If I was going to make something my favorite would be...

1. My Christmas Morning Belgian Waffles
We eat these every year on Christmas Morning, and they are my favorite breakfast food!  I love a simple Belgian Waffle with lots of fun toppings - fresh fruit, whipped cream, powdered sugar, butter, mini chocolate chips, etc.  Now these are not just for Christmas!  If you are making a special breakfast for your Mama this weekend, I think Belgian Waffles are perfect!

2. New Outdoor Toys

We were super desperate for some new toys for the girls to play with outside!  They are definitely getting to that age where they always want to go to the park - but that isn't always realistic especially with a brand new baby!  So I felt that it was important to get a couple of good toys for the backyard, including a sandbox.  Lacie and Blakely have never played in a sandbox because I am a huge freak about germs and public sandboxes are, for lack of a better description, giant litterboxes for wild animals.  So I always say "NO" to the sandbox at the park!  Now we have one! And these two could spend all day playing in it!  When we move I will probably invest in a bigger swing set and sandbox! 

We got this sandbox (it obviously had to have a cover):

We got this playhouse:

And we got a bigger slide like this one:

3. Sister Love
I've shared it before, but I am so happy that my three girls have each other.  I think that the bond between siblings, especially sisters, is really really special.  Some days are far from perfect.  My older two love each other more than ever, but as they get older they also fight more than ever.  And some days I am ready to pull out my hair.  But other days are perfect, and we had one of those days this past week.  A day where they loved and kissed and hugged all morning long.  And my Mama heart could have exploded with happiness!

4. Barney Butter

Our entire household chose to go peanut free after Lacie was diagnosed with a peanut allergy in 2012.  We felt it would be the best and the safest option for our family.  We immediately began to find alternatives to peanut butter, and my very favorite is Barney Butter.  This is an almond butter, made in California, in a completely Peanut Free Facility!  It's also significantly healthier than peanut butter!!!  Our local BJs recently stopped carrying it, and so I went to the Barney Butter website to order some and was surprised that they had so many flavors to pick from (our store only had the smooth)!  I emailed the company and got the sweetest response from the CEO who mailed me samples of all the flavors!  I can't wait to try them all, but so far I am loving the crunchy variety! 

5. Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf

Ohhh this is my favorite perfume, and when the weather gets warm I always crave the scent.  I have been so so good about not wearing any perfume.  Between using Essential Oils and having babies, my use of perfume has dwindled to next to nothing.  And then I ordered my face cream from Nordstrom...and they sent me a sample of Flowerbomb along with the cream!  It was like they knew I was missing it!  I've been wearing this since John and I started dating...almost 9 years ago!  So the smell immediately brings back a flood of dating and engagement memories for me!  Our Anniversary is in a week #justsaying

As always, you can have fun sharing your Friday Favorites and linking up with:
Momfessionals 
and
A Little Bit of Everything

and

#hiloskyeveryday2015 Weeks 16, 17, and 18

Day 106 - this is Paisley's "tomorrow is Friday" face! 

Day 107 - clearly a favorite! 

Day 108 - Sweet Sisters

Day 109 - Pushing their baby sister in the stroller! 

Day 110 - Time for a well check-up at the doctor!  This was before shots...

Day 111 - Mommy's special helper at the food store always gets a lollipop!

Day 112 - Have you ever seen anything this cute?!  On her way to dance class! 

Day 113 - how lucky am I to be married to this handsome man?!?

Day 114 - a teething baby marks the return of Sophie! 

Day 115 - heart melted <3 

Day 116 - too cool!

Day 117 - BB's turn to help at the food store! 

Day 118 - Baby you can ride my car!!!

Day 119 - let's talk about those cheeks!!!

Day 120 - a sweet moment between the middle and the little! 

Day 121 - slide time!

Day 122 - Sesame Place is open for the season!

Day 123 - Lacie helping out with Paisley's teething needs! 

Day 124 - we finally bought a sandbox and they love it!  For those who don't know me that well, I'm a huge germ freak and my girls have never ever been allowed to play in a public sandbox - so this was a first! 

Day 125 - This is what tends to happen after naps! 

Day 126 - I can't think of any better way to start the morning! 

Friday Favorites

Happy Happy Happy Friday and Happy May 1st!  I love the month of May - so many fun things to look forward to like our wedding anniversary and Mother's Day!  Not to mention Memorial Day - the official start of summer!

This!  Every year this picture makes me laugh!  Like it literally never gets old!

Here's What I'm loving this week:

1. New Workout Sneakers

In case you missed it, John and I decided it was time once and for all to get into shape!  We have a lot of things motivating us: summer, keeping up with our kids, a family vacation to Disney!  I recently became a beachbody coach and have been working out with programs like 21 Day Fix and T25 right in my own living room!  We treated ourselves to new sneakers that will be worn in the house!  We both picked out a pair of Nike Free Training sneakers, and I am in love!!!  John got black and I got PINK (obviously)!!!

2. Sophie the Giraffe

Paisley is officially teething.  Her teeth aren't in yet but I can see them under the gum!  Parents who have been through this know that they will do just about anything to make their child more comfortable.  So back when Lacie was teething, I ran out to the store and bought this giraffe called Sophie that other parents rave about.  She is as beloved in our house as any other baby toy!  Sophie the Giraffe is essentially a $25 dog toy that they market to desperate parents of teething babies...but she works!

3. Lacie's Dance Recital Pictures
I have definitely posted about it before, but in September we enrolled Lacie in dance!  Words cannot describe how sweet she looks every Wednesday when she heads out to dance class in her tutu!  Lacie lives for dance class days!  I think at the sweet age of 3 we already know what she will be doing from now until she graduates from high school.  Of course John and I will sign her up for other sports and stuff, but I can already tell that dance is going to be her LOVE!  A few weeks ago she got pictures taken in her costume!  I'm in love!

4. Sesame Place

Today, Sesame Place opens for the season.  If you want to know where to find me this summer, I will be at the Street!  We are fortunate to live really close to this theme park based on the Sesame Place characters!  My girls love spending the day here!  I love that is something easy to do for the day and it makes them good and tired for bed!  

5. Summer Inspired Recipes
I am getting so excited thinking about creating new, summer inspired recipes for the blog!  A lot of fruit flavors and a lot of coconut!  My all-time favorite:

Lime in the Coconut Cookies

Today I am linking up with:

Momfessionals

and A Little Bit of Everything

What's Up Wednesday

Today I am linking up with Mix and Match Family to bring you a What's Up Wednesday!

1. What We're Eating This Week:

John is working a ton of overtime, so I am focusing on super easy meals!  Tonight we are making my Crockpot Pulled Pork Tacos!  

2. What I'm Reminiscing About:

School!  Yesterday I took Lacie and Blakely to check out a school - the same preschool that I went to ways back in 1989 - 1990!  The fact that Lacie will go to preschool in September is crazy!  We're thinking of sending Blakely too!

It was really windy when we left the house - so this was the best I got! 

3. What I'm Loving:

Lacie's Dance Recital Pictures!  I mean it doesn't really get any cuter! 

4. What We've Been Up To:

We've been doing a ton of Family Walks and spending time outside after a very long winter indoors! 

5. What I'm Dreading:

Just this morning, I was telling John how both Blakely and Paisley have a doctor's appointment next month.  Blakely for her 30 month well visit and Paisley for a round of shots.  I am dreading, absolutely dreading, the fact that both girls will need shots!  

6. What I'm Working On:

A few weeks ago I shared that we booked our first family vacation to Disney World!  In 19 days, I get to book all of our Dining Reservations!!!  So I am currently working on where we want to eat on which days!  The Hiloskys Love to Eat!

7. What I'm Excited About:

Summer Summer Summertime!!!!

8. What I'm Watching/Reading:

I am currently reading nothing - but getting back into reading for fun is a huge goal of mine this summer!  When you have a brand new baby, it's hard to find time to do any reading because if you do have free time you tend to spend it sleeping!  I am currently watching The Real Housewives of New York - thank goodness Bethany is Back!   

9. What I'm Listening To:

Currently I am listening to the sweet sounds that Paisley makes when she sleeps in the swing!  She was already up (at 4:30am) for her early morning feeding.  Now she is back to sleep in her swing (which is right behind my desk).  I'm also listening to Blakely on the monitor.  She's talking to Lacie (who is still sleeping) and trying to get her up! 

10. What I'm Wearing:

Pajamas!  But in general I am wearing a lot of workout clothes these days so that I can fit in exercise whenever I get the chance!

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend:

Going to Sesame Place!  It opens on Friday for Season Pass Members and then on Saturday for the general public!  This will be the third summer that we have passes, and my girls just love love love going there.  I'm sure we will go at least once if not twice this weekend! 

12. What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

Oh May is such a good month!  I am looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day and our 6 Year Anniversary!  I am also looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend!  

13. What Else Is New:

Paisley Jean is officially sleeping through the night in her own crib!!!!  She's still waking up super early but I will take that over waking in the middle of the night!  She was probably the most challenging to get in her crib out of all my babies so this was a big accomplishment!

14. What I'm Giving/Receiving for Mother's Day:
Of course I can't share what I'm giving for Mother's Day but I am receiving a necklace with all three girls names on it!  I am so so so excited for this piece of jewelry!