Q-Pon Cooking: September 2015: Sweet Corn -- Chicken Taco Soup

To wrap up September's Q-Pon Cooking with the popular and delicious THRIVE Sweet Corn, I made some Chicken Taco Soup!  Fall is really starting to be in the air around here and the leaves are turning the beautiful reds, oranges, and browns.  So why not make some soup!?!  I actually developed this recipe on my own, based on a crock pot recipe I used to always make.  The problem with that crock pot recipe is that it used almost all canned ingredients, and my husband always told me that it was too salty.  So after he ate this one and I asked him his opinion, he said it was a lot less salty than usual!  I told him it was because I used all my THRIVE ingredients and made up the recipe myself :)!  I was kind of excited about that!  Truth is, THRIVE has helped me become more adventurous in the kitchen, and I love it!

So here's my chicken taco soup (which I threw in the crock pot at about noon, and it was ready at 1!)  The beauty of this is that you don't even have to use the crock pot!  I simply did, because both kids were down for a nap, so that meant I could get everything in the crock pot and heating and didn't have to worry about it when the kids were both awake!  But it can easily be thrown into a saucepan on the stove and brought to a boil, then reduced to simmer for 20 minutes and it'd be done!

CHICKEN TACO SOUP
1/2 cup THRIVE Instant Pinto Beans
1/4 cup THRIVE Sliced Onion
3/4 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn
1/2 cup THRIVE Instant Black Beans
2 tablespoons THRIVE Green Chilis
3/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
3 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Boullion
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 10-ounce can Rotel
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
5 cups water

Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low 4 to 5 hours.  Serve with your favorite toppings and tortilla chips! 

*Alternately, you can add all ingredients to a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.

This was awesome, and I will make it again!  It can even be a jar meal!

There are only a couple days left to get the THRIVE Sweet Corn at Q-Pon price!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you're interested in learning more!!

Happy THRIVEing!

Q-Pon Cooking: July 2015: Sausage Crumbles -- Pizza Pasta

It's nearly the end of July, which means time is running out to snag the great deal on THRIVE Sausage!  It's the Q-Pon item for just a few more days, so let me know if you want to get some before the opportunity passes you by!

THRIVE Sausage Crumbles is easily one of my favorite THRIVE Life products!  I have used it in so many recipes.  Here is a small sampling of those recipes:

Mountain Man Mix
Italian Bowtie Pasta (which can also be a jar meal!)
Sausage and Pepper Brunch Pizza
Sasuage Zuppa Toscana (which can also be a jar meal!)

Truth is, before I was introduced to THRIVE Sausage Crumbles, I maybe bought sausage 2 or 3 times a year.  Now that they are a part of my home store -- and so easy to use! -- I use sausage so much more!  It's awesome.

So here is one more recipe for you to try out with the awesome THRIVE Sausage Crumbles!  And remember, if you want to grab some at this great price, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or you can order through my website at www.thriveingnilla.thrivelife.com/thriveingnilla.

PIZZA PASTA
1 cup THRIVE Sausage Crumbles (I cut this back to about 3/4 cup for my family's meat preferences)
1/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Onion
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 cup THRIVE Tomato Sauce (also on special this month!)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 cups rotini pasta (or pasta of your choice)
1/2 cup THRIVE Mozzarella Cheese (also on special this month!)
1/4 cup THRIVE Parmesan Cheese
Sliced Pepperoni
2 cups water

Add all ingredients except peperoni and both cheeses to a saucepan and add 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil.  Boil about 15 minutes or until pasta is done.  While there is still thick juicy sauce, add the pepperoni on top and then sprinkle the cheeses on top.  Broil 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is melted.  (You can choose to re-hydrate the cheeses first and they will melt better).

This can also be prepared as a jar meal!  I will be doing it one of these days to hopefully use at a future jar meal event!

I didn't invent this recipe, but got it from a consultant who shared it in a facebook group.  I think it's quite tasty!  And totally kid-pleasing!  We rounded our meal out with grapes and salad ;).

Happy THRIVEing!

Q-Pon Cooking: July 2015: Sausage Crumbles: Stove-Top "Baked" Ziti

July is halfway over, and I've been lax in posting my THRIVEing cooking experiences!  Trust me, I haven't been lax in having them, though!  Life with a 2-month old and a new baby is just a whirlwind and finding the time to sit down and post all of these culinary treats is not as easy as I would hope.  And on those rare days when I could have the chance since I (by some miracle) got both kids down to nap at the same time, I pretty much choose to nap as well -- because we're still in the mostly-sleepless night phase!  My little guy still likes eating on a 2-hour schedule these days. 

But that's enough about me!  Let's talk about some THRIVE!  It's still July, which means you can still snag some Sausage Crumbles at a great price!  Since I have posted before about why I love the THRIVE Sausage Crumbles, I won't reinvent the wheel...  But if you click on that link, you can read all about the many reasons they are among my favorite THRIVE Life products -- and why I keep them on hand in my home store ALL THE TIME now.  (And that's saying something for someone who maybe bought sausage 4 times a year in the past...).

And I'll just add this recipe I recently cooked up, using the THRIVE Sausage Crumbles to make a great one-pot meal even simpler!  You can find the original recipe here.

STOVE-TOP "BAKED" ZITI
1 cup THRIVE Sausage Crumbles
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
12 ounces rotini pasta
3 cups water
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese*
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese*

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet.  Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Add tomatoes, THRIVE Sausage Crumbles, red pepper flakes, pasta and water.  Stir.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13 to 16 minutes. 

Remove from heat.  Stir in Parmesan and heavy cream.  Top with mozzarella and cover until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

How easy is that!?!  There's a reason I love these Sausage Crumbles.  And I know you will too!  So get some.  Now!  Just contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to get the Q-Pon price if you aren't a Q-Club member.  Or add it to your Q for July if you are a Q-Club member! 

Happy THRIVEing!

Jar Meal: Vegetarian Taco Soup

This past Tuesday was our Cinco de Mayo Jar Meal Event!  It was another get-together full of fun and good food!  So I figured I'd share the recipe for the Vegetarian Taco Soup!  We found the original recipe here, for anyone interested.  I have to say I'm grateful for the THRIVE Life Consultant community!  All the consultants help each other and are so willing to share recipes and ideas.  It's a wonderful group of which to be a part :)!  I tweaked it a little bit because we did the vegetarian option and used the THRIVE Taco TVP, which is already seasoned with taco seasoning.  But you can also use THRIVE Ground Beef in this recipe as well.

VEGETARIAN TACO SOUP

1 cup THRIVE Instant Black Beans

¾ cup THRIVE Sweet Corn

1/3 cup THRIVE Green Chilies

½  cup THRIVE TomatoPowder

3/4 cup THRIVE Taco TVP

1/3 cup THRIVE Chopped Onions

1/8 cup Taco Seasoning

1 ½ teaspoons Ranch Dressing Mix

Soup Preparation:

Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a soup pot.  Pour in contents of jar and stir; reduce heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.  Optional:  Serve with your favorite taco toppings.

This recipe is incredibly flavorful!  We had lots of compliments from event attendees who tasted the samples -- and then made themselves jars to take home!  It is just a nice, quick-fix meal for those super-busy days!  

Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website:  www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla if you want to get the ingredients to be able to make these at home!  And if you want Ground Beef in yours, now is a great time to get it at a great price, since the THRIVE Ground Beef is this month's Q-Pon item!  For the month of May, you can get a #10 Can of Ground Beef for $43.79!  You can check it out and the other May specials here!

Happy THRIVEing!

Jar Meal: Chicken Tortilla Soup

We have another fun jar meal party coming up on May 5th -- Cinco de Mayo!  And to celebrate, we are making Mexican-inspired soups -- in a jar!

But naturally, I wanted to test out this recipe and see how it looks in the jar and how it tastes in a bowl :)!

So tonight, my family enjoyed Chicken Tortilla Soup!  And all I did when it came time to prep dinner was bring 8 cups of water to a boil, dump in the jar of ingredients and simmer 15 to 20 minutes!  And I definitely love the ease and speed of that!

Pictured is the prepared jar with most of the THRIVE ingredient cans!  I actually didn't have any THRIVE Green Chilies on hand, but my friend Rebekah did, so she dropped some by for me.  But I didn't have the can for the picture ;).  So there's most of the cans at any rate ;).

Just a close-up of the jar.  Very pretty, don't you think!?!  So here are the ingredients in the order I placed them in the jar:

1 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
2/3 cup THRIVE Green Chilies
1/2 cup THRIVE Chopped Onions
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 cup THRIVE Tomato Powder
2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn

To prepare, add contents of jar to 8 cups boiling water.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.  Top with your favorite toppings:  tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, green onions, salsa, etc...  *If you prefer a higher fat content in your soup, you may consider adding a tablespoon of olive oil to the water when bringing it to a boil.

And when you're ready to eat, it tastes delicious and looks like this!

This was as definite win in our household!  I'll be making it -- in a jar for easy meals on busy days! -- again and again!  If you'd like to have one (or more) of this jar meal on hand, join us at my house on May 5th anytime from 7 to 9 p.m.  Just drop on in!  Plus you can sample all these delicious recipes -- and more -- while mingling and visiting with others!  It's sure to be a great time!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com for more information and location!

Or you can order the ingredients and make your own jars at home!  Just visit my website: www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla or contact me to place your order!  Remember, the BIG DEAL Sale is still going on through Monday, so now's a great time to get great prices on these ingredients!

Happy THRIVEing!

Lots of THRIVE!

The other day I used a lot of THRIVE to make dinner and dessert!  It was a lot of fun trying new things :).

Pictured above was dinner, drink, and dessert from that day -- and, being that I don't get super motivated these days until after 2 p.m., that's when I started working on all of this!  Definitely couldn't have done that much without my THRIVE!

First up:  drinks!  The truth is, we are mainly water drinkers in my household.  But every once in a while, a yummy fruity drink sounds really appealing.  So I can understand why experts recommend having some juice mixes as part of your home store.  I have used this THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix for a variety of juices as well as putting it into my smoothies.  I needed the juice for the dessert I'd decided to make, so I went ahead and made up a full batch and enjoyed some of the juice with dinner :).  Simply follow the guidelines on the #10 can (2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach to 1 cup water) and oila!   You have a simple, but yummy juice.  It's a real treat for my toddler when she can have juice with dinner.  And she gulps it down fast.

What I love?  IT HAS NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS!  That's such a win, when so many powdered drinks are full of artificial colors!

Next up:  dinner!  It was one of those "what am I going to make for dinner?" days...  I mean, I had my menu list all planned out -- like I do most pay periods.  But I flat out forgot to pull meat out to thaw.  And this is one of the reasons I love my THRIVE meats.  They are ready to use, even at the last minute.  So I found a recipe on the THRIVE Life website for Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.  You can follow that link and get the original recipe.  You can even make this as a jar meal.  Here's how I did it (with what I had on hand):

CHICKEN BROCCOLI ALFREDO
1 heaping cup shell macaroni
1/2 cup THRIVE Bechamel Sauce
2 tablespoons THRIVE Sour Cream Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Chopped Onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning*
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chef's Choice Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices
1 cup THRIVE Broccoli
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese*

Place all ingredients except Parmesan Cheese in a saucepan with 4 1/2 cups water.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done, stirring occasionally.  Stir in Parmesan Cheese until melted and incorporated.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So the things I loved about this dish: 
1.  It was all in one pot.
2.  It was easy to throw together.
3.  I didn't have to worry about thawing meat, etc.

But I have to be honest...  I personally didn't especially like this meal.  I think it was the Italian Seasoning.  Granted, I don't have THRIVE Italian Seasoning, so maybe that makes a difference.  But I just didn't enjoy that flavor.  My toddler really didn't like it.  My husband, however, said he didn't think it was bad.  So I guess it's all in personal preference.  But I have to share my true feelings, and those are that I don't plan to make this again.

For some reason, anytime I make pasta, I feel like I need bread to go with it.  Clearly, I did not start my meal-making in time to do a yeast bread.  And even throwing together scratch biscuits seemed like a lot of effort (lazy, huh?).  But then it occurred to me I could do the next best thing!  Sort of scratch biscuits!  I grabbed my Honey Whole Wheat Mix and decided to try making biscuits with it!  A quick glance at the ingredients told me it already had shortening in the mix, along with flour and salt...  Basically I just had to add a leavening agent.  And that was simple enough with baking powder!  So here's my recipe:

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT DROP BICUITS
2 cups THRIVE Honey Whole Wheat Dough Mix
3 teaspoons baking powder*
1 1/4 cups milk*

Place the dough mix into a medium bowl and add baking powder.  Stir well to combine.  Add milk and mix.  Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for 9 minutes.  (I got 9 biscuits.)

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

You can add less milk if you want to make "cut out" biscuits.  But I like the drop biscuits, because they are fast.

And finally...  What I did for dessert ;).  Which was just a random idea I had, so I ran with it.  And it's also a pretty decent snack for a toddler!  I'm calling them Strawberry Peach Jiggly Squares :).

STRAWBERRY-PEACH JIGGLY SQUARES
4 cups THRIVE Simply Peach, prepared (this is 4 cups water plus 8 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix)
4 packets unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup coarsely chopped THRIVE Strawberry Slices

Bring 3 cups of prepared juice to a boil.  Place one cup of prepared juice in a large bowl.  Sprinkle all 4 packets of gelatin over juice. Allow to sit for a minute.  Pour hot juice into the bowl and stir until all gelatin is dissolved.  Stir in THRIVE Strawberry Slices.  Pour into a 9x13 pan (I usually spray with cooking spray for even easier release later!).  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into squares.

Again, one thing I really love about this is that there are no artificial colors!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not great at staying away from all the artificial colors.  And who doesn't love Jell-o Jigglers?  But if I can come up with something just as fun and kid-friendly without the fake stuff?  I'm totally in!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun experimenting and playing around and trying new things.  And I just really love how THRIVE Life has often come to the rescue on those days when I am not as prepared as I could be to make dinner ;)!

Happy THRIVEing!  And, as always, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com with any questions or to place an order to help your meal-times not be a conundrum when you forget to thaw the meat ;)!!!

Cooking with the Q-Pon (March 2015): Chicken Divan

This dish is one of my family's go-to favorites!  And I'm loving how much easier it has gotten with THRIVE Life!

This was my first time using THRIVE Broccoli, and let me say:  I am in love!!  I can see many uses for this fabulous and time-saving ingredient!  I love broccoli in a lot of my meals, so I am excited!  I especially love that these are all washed and chopped -- and just the florets!  I have never enjoyed the thick stems of broccoli, and I would always buy the florets only from the frozen section.  Well, now I don't have to!  I have my THRIVE Broccoli!

And, as a side note, I am still loving the THRIVE Sour Cream Powder!  As usual, it hadn't even occurred to me to buy fresh sour cream for this recipe.  I don't know why, but I always forget it calls for sour cream until I start making it!  But now I no longer have to care that I forgot to buy it on grocery shopping day!  Because I always have it in my home store thanks to THRIVE Life!  And I think that is beyond awesome.

So here goes the recipe -- as I made it (the original recipe calls for the sauce to be doubled with a can of cream of chicken in addition to the can of cream of mushroom...  That was too much for us, so we always cut the sauce recipe in half as follows):

CHICKEN DIVAN
3 cups white rice, cooked*
1 1/2 cups THRIVE Broccoli
1 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese*
Sauce:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup THRIVE Sour Cream Powder (+ 2 tablespoons water)
1/2 teaspoon curry (you can adjust this to your taste -- we like the curry flavor)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, rehydrate the chicken and broccoli with water (5 to 10 minutes).  Drain excess water, if necessary.  In a large bowl, make the THRIVE Sour Cream by rehydrating with water.  Add other sauce ingredients and mix until well blended.

Spread the cooked rice in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.  Spread the chicken and broccoli mixture over the rice.  Spread the sauce mixture over the broccoli and chicken.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly on the side and cheese is all melted.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

Even the leftovers are amazing with this dish!

The broccoli is the Q-Pon item this month, so if you'd love to get some at this great discounted price, add it to your Q if you're a Q Club member.  If not, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll get it ordered for you!

Meals in a Jar Open House Sneak Peek!

Some of you are aware that my friend and I will be holding a Meals in a Jar Open House at the end of the month!  There are going to be some fabulous "jar meals" there, and you won't want to miss out on the opportunity to see what THRIVE Life can do to simplify your life on the crazy busy days!  We will be vacuum sealing these jars, making them shelf-stable for 5 years!  That's just awesome!


One of the meals attendees can make is my Italian Bowtie Pasta! It includes the following THRIVE Life ingredients:

THRIVE Sausage Crumbles
THRIVE Vegetarian Chicken Bouillon
THRIVE Chopped Onions
THRIVE Tomato Powder
THRIVE Rainbow Farfalle Pasta

A few other dried herbs finish off the delicious meal in a jar (oregano, thyme, and basil), and oila!  You'll have a quick and easy go-to meal that is way healthier than going through a drive-thru -- and cheaper too!  This particular meal is $9 a jar, and will make 8 1-cup servings -- which comes to only $1.13 per serving!

So if you're interested in trying out this meal in a jar -- or one of the others we'll have available for you to make, stop by the Sunn Fjord Condominiums Clubhouse on March 31st between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and make one to take home! 

Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you need directions or more information!

Arroz Con Pollo Con THRIVE (Panamanian Chicken and Rice)

Well, I've been experimenting again...  And tonight I tried Arroz con Pollo (Panamanian Chicken and Rice) using a ton of THRIVE Life ingredients!

I grew up on this dish.  It has a little special place in my heart.  And it occurred to me I could make it with my THRIVE!  And save myself lots of time by so doing.  Tonight, I had this dish simmering after 20 minutes (including my toddler's "help").  No joke.  When I make it the traditional way -- without THRIVE -- I'm in the kitchen anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour.

Here's how THRIVE Life saved me that much time:

1.  I didn't use raw chicken.  This means I didn't have to clean the chicken or disinfect the counters when I was done.  My THRIVE Chopped Chicken was ready for me to use, already cooked!
2.  I didn't have to wash or chop my vegetables.  This included celery, onion, cilantro, and bell pepper.  Saved me 5 to 10 minutes right there!
3.  I was able to skip the browning chicken step -- as well as the shredding chicken step.  This is another 5 to 10 minutes, typically.
4.  Though this didn't technically save me time in the kitchen (since I could be out of the kitchen while it was happening), it did save on how long it took to get dinner to the table:  I didn't have to boil and cook the chicken.

In fact, this was ready in about 55 minutes (but only 20 of that was hands-on -- the rest was just letting the rice cook).  When I make this dish for dinner without THRIVE, I plan for starting dinner 2 hours before I want to eat it.  And even then, sometimes it takes longer.

So here's the recipe how I made it.

ARROZ CON POLLO/PANAMANIAN CHICKEN AND RICE
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons THRIVE Chopped Onions (freeze dried)
1/3 cup THRIVE Celery
1/3 cup THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers
1 tablespoon THRIVE Cilantro
4 tablespoons THRIVE Tomato Powder
1 teaspoon salt*
6 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Chicken
1/2 teaspoon oregano*
1 1/2 cups white rice*
1/3 cup THRIVE Green Peas
1/3 cup THRIVE Carrot Dices (optional)
1/2 cup sliced green olives (optional)

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add minced garlic and give a quick stir.  Toss in THRIVE Chopped Onions, THRIVE Celery, THRIVE Mixed Bell Peppers and THRIVE Cilantro.  Give everything a little stir, then add 2 1/2 cups water.  Stir in THRIVE Tomato Powder and salt.  Add additional 4 cups of water, THRIVE Chopped Chicken, white rice, THRIVE Green Peas, and THRIVE Carrot Dices.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook until water is absorbed and rice is done.  Stir in green olives, if desired.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So I'll be the first to admit this isn't exactly like the original traditional takes-a-long-time recipe.  But it's close, and it saves me so much time!  I'm excited to have found a way to make one of my favorite dishes more quickly and easily!  It means I can put it on our dinner menu more frequently :).

A couple notes:  you could add more chicken if you wanted.  We just cut back on our meat consumption a lot, so that was plenty for us.  If you do increase the chicken, you may want to increase the water a little bit too.  And, as it is often difficult to "make up" a recipe (at least for me...), I learned that I needed to increase the water (I wrote the recipe the way it needs to be, not the way I made it.  I had 1 less cup of water in mine and not all the rice got all the way cooked).  And I forgot to include my THRIVE Cilantro in the picture.  Grrr...  Oh well ;).  It's in the recipe, so that's what really counts!