Pesto bruschetta chicken casserole

After a super long weekend I am finally back! We went to our favorite annual bike rally this weekend and to say my 25 year old body doesn't keep up with my 20 year old body is a complete understatement! So far this week hasn't been very eventful, mainly just trying to get my house back in order after the trip tornado came through the house. Am I the only one who's house gets completely turned upside down before a trip and you come back to a complete disaster zone? Nevertheless last week I decided to try a recipe that I saw on A Modern Mrs



Image via A Modern Mrs.
I really meant to take a photo of my own but it completely slipped my brain.

If there was an award for pickiest eater alive Kyle would probably win it. I can't cook anything to make this man happy unless it's plain speghetti or chicken...lots of chicken! The other day when I came across this recipe I decided he could either eat it with a smile or it would be one more failing attempt to appease him but trying couldn't hurt. When I went to serve it to him I only scooped a little bit so he could test the waters first. I had no idea that the second serving he would get covered his entire plate. insert major victory dance! This bruschetta pesto chicken casserole was mouth watering! Though the hubs did pick out all of the tomatoes I personally thought the tomatoes were delicious, this is coming from a non tomato lover. The only thing I changed about the original recipe was I added in 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion.

Ingredients:
1 pint Grape Tomatoes, quartered
1 Garlic Clove, minced
2 tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts {about two pounds}, cubed
1/2 cup Basil Pesto
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Butter, melted
2 cups Seasoned Panko Crumbs

How to:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, and vinegar. Marinate in the fridge until ready to use.
In a medium bowl, toss the pesto and chicken together. Place in a single layer in a 13x9 baking dish.
Scoop the tomato mixture on top, disregarding any excess balsamic vinegar leftover.
Sprinkle the cheese on top.
Mix the melted butter and panko crumbs together and sprinkle on top of the cheese.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is done. If you notice the crumbs are browning too much, cover your dish with a foil tent.

Side note: I really want to learn a basil pesto recipe so I can put my fresh basil to good use. But not knowing exactly how this meal would turn out I took a bit of a short cut and went with store bought.

If you try it let me know how yours turned out!
xoxo Haley

Makeup haul

Last week I was on Pinterest a bunch of makeup dupes. I will confess I'm a total M.A.C. whore and would own all of their products if I could actually afford it. Let's be real, I'm a stay at home wife who rather spend the money on pretty things for my home! So when I came across the attic of different dupes from Sephora to M.A.C and everything between and they mainly led me to E.L.F cosmetics I thought I'd get on the site and see what all they have to offer. I've used a total of ONE brush from E.L.F that I got from Target previously and I really liked it but I wanted to see what they had on the website.


I got oodles of great deals! I got all of this for only $30!! I can't wait to use my new goodies and write a review on them! So what did I get for my $30?

Baked bronzer in Maui
Baked blush in pinktastic
Baked highlighter in blush gems
Baked eyeshadow pallet in California
Makeup lock and seal
Lip exfoliator
Matte lip color in nearly nude
Mineral eye brightener in buff
84006 Contour brush
84011 blush brush
84004 fan brush
84021 mascara and shadow shield
High definition powder in sheer
32 piece eyeshadow pallet in natural

The day I made the purchase they had a deal spend $25 and get a baked set for only $3 (normally $25) you best believe I rounded up $25 worth of makeup pretty quick! It came with all of the baked items listed above along with 3 brushes. I am one happy camper!


xoxo Haley

A clean shave

Last week my mom started telling me about how she's been using coconut oil in replacement for her Clinique facial moisturizer. The idea of it being used as a moisturizer didn't come as such a shock due to hearing about it previously. However my mom has extremely oily skin so hearing that she had joined the bandwagon of people who swear by coconut oil was quite the shock. The other day her and I went to get pedi's together and I was even more so shocked at how clear and smooth her skin looked! Her pores were so much smaller and the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth were so much tighter and hardly noticeable. Not that her wrinkles were even that noticeable in the first place, she's aged very well! Seeing the results my brain started ticking. What else could coconut oil be good for? I've seen it used for hair a multitude of times through Pinterest and Facebook statuses by friends. I'd seen it used as moisturizer as well but what about for shaving?










On a whim I decided to give it a go. I cannot brag enough about how amazingly soft and moisturized my legs are! I have extremely sensitive skin when it comes to shaving my legs. Normally I can't put lotion on right after I shave because it irritates them. Shaving with coconut oil I didn't have to worry about it because the oil did the moisturizing for me!

I just used an all natural pure coconut oil. My oil was actually solid so I just took a tablespoon and put it in a plastic bowl then sat it on the shower ledge away from the water. I went ahead and washed my face and spent some time under the water to make sure my pores were good and opened up. Normally if my shave day fell on a hair wash day I would just wash my hair then shave however today I skipped the hair wash so I just spent a little more time under the hot water. I then just took a big pinch of the oil (which is now softer due to the shower steam) and rubbed it all over my legs and continued with the normal shaving process. I made sure to keep my blade cleaned out because I didn't want the oil to build up. You know the results are good when the hubs comments on my legs :)

Hmm...what to use coconut oil for next...