Tasty Tuesday: One Pan Chicken Parm

Dishes.

Ahhh dreaded dishes. 

I LOVE cooking. I hate dishes.

There are certain recipes I try to avoid making just because I know the cleanup takes almost as long as it took to make the meal!

Therefore, I have tried to simplify some of my favorite recipes into making less of a mess.

I have made chicken Parmesan quite a few times. 

It has always been in the oven and taken way too long.

By the time it's ready I have eaten most of the snacks in the pantry and I'm not even that hungry anymore. 

I got to thinking the other day... "This can probably be made into a skillet only recipe. There's no need for the oven."

Ta-Da! It worked.

And it was great :)

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken tenders or 4 breasts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg scrambled
• 1 tbsp. heavy whipping cream ( regular milk works just fine too)
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• angel hair pasta on the side

Directions

1. Combine cream and egg in small bowl. In separate bowl combine bread crumbs, flour, garlic salt, and Parmesan cheese. Heat pan on medium heat with olive oil in the meantime
2. Dip chicken in egg mixture then immediately in dry flour mixture. Coat chicken. Once the oil is heated transfer chicken to the pan. (if you sprinkle a tiny bit of water in the pan and the oil pops, it's ready)
3. Continue with each piece of chicken
4. Cook chicken completely reducing heat if the outside begins to get too brown.
5. In the meantime cook your pasta so it's ready at the same time
6. Once chicken is fully cooked (use a fork to check the inside if necessary) reduce heat to low, add the can of diced tomatoes evenly throughout pan, and let simmer for a few minutes. 
7. Sprinkle the top with more Parmesan cheese and serve over pasta. I usually add some marinara and a little bit of the leftover whipping cream to the pasta. 

This goes great with some garlic bread and a Caesar salad and is 100% husband approved ;)

Happy eating friends!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

4

Fall Favorites: Playlist

I love Fall!

But, how is it possible that it's still super hot outside and the beautiful colors in the mountains are already close to gone?

Not Fair.

I've had to kind of make it feel like fall in other ways on my own since the weather isn't quite cooperating yet.

I'll be doing a few different "Fall Favorites" posts and this one is my playlist that Oaklyn and I have on repeat ;)

She prefers pretty and calm over loud and crazy, so here are some of our favorites.

 

Some are old, some are newer but they have all been Oaklyn approved ;)

I love that she's starting to recognize some of these songs!

If I turn on Stitches she looks at me with a huge smile and starts dancing.

It's the cutest and I love her SO much!

Have I mentioned lately that this age is my favorite age yet?

Because it really really is :)

 

What are your favorite songs lately?

I'd love to add on to the playlist Oaklyn and I listen to!

Comment below :)

 

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

 

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Welcome Fall! +3 free prints!

Happy Fall Friends!

I love love love this time of year!

Last week felt a whole lot more like fall than this week but there is still a chill in the air at night that I am loving!

Summer is always a blast, but by the time fall rolls around I get so excited!

The holiday season is coming, the leaves are changing, baking every day is fully acceptable, candles burning throughout the day is so cozy, and not to mention boots and sweaters!

Fall in Utah is SO awesome!

I love seeing the leaves change.

The Fall colors are already visible in the mountains and I'm just itching to get our family photos done!

Yay! Time to start thinking about Christmas card pictures!

All my Fall decor is hung and I just love how cozy it feels in our home.

I purchased a few new things this year cause guys, Target's dollar section is killin it!

But I also added a few cute fall prints!

What is your favorite part about Fall?

What are your favorite autumn traditions?

Do you have fall decor? I wanna see!!

Free prints

Here, Here, and Here!

Happy decorating!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

9

The Seventh Month

My baby is seven months old!

What? HOW did this happen?

I want to freeze time and keep her at this age for so much longer! 

I'm loving (almost) everything about this age.

My little girl has truly become my best friend. I can't handle how much I love her! 

I'm constantly in amazement at how beautiful, smart, funny, and amazing she is. 

She's the perfect little addition to our family and fills our lives with an incredible amount of joy. 

I just can't believe we're now in the "older infant" stages. That's how I like to think of it ha. 

Stay my baby forever Oaklyn Joy! 

She Loves to growl and scream on occasion and when we say no no, she gives the cheesiest grin. She knows she's funny.

Her favorite toy is trash. Ha. Really though. She has all these colorful toys but would so much rather play with a wrapper.

As long as she isn't hungry she'll play quietly in her crib after a nap until I hear her growling or practicing crawling. 

She could live off of puffs and my milk but she also enjoys sweet potato fries, select purees, toast, and gnawing on cucumbers. 

She LOVES having all eyes on her. All the time. 

She is incredibly smart and attentive and learns something new every day. 

She can put her self to sleep now. Thank goodness! And though she cries occasionally after I set her down its a million times shorter than it used to be.

She can stick her own paci in her mouth when she wants it and it just makes her look like such a big girl. 

She always taps her left foot. We call it her little nemo fin ;)

Her favorite stores to be in are target and costco. Or my favorite stores? She just seems do good in those two stores! 

She loves to be wrapped on mama and that's usually the only way our active girl will for sure snuggle, but lately she's just been quite a bit more snuggly in general and I LOVE IT! My heart bursts every time she rests that sweet little head of hers on my chest. 

She loves, loves, Loves Going for walks. She's so calm and just stares at everything around her. It's almost like hunter and I are on a date ;)

Back to hating having her hair washed. But loves splashing in the bath. 

She Loves to grab daddy's ears ferociously ha! It's so strange. 

She really loves when we sing to her or make animal noises. 

No teeth yet but still gnawing on everything like a wild beast. 

She's Trying so hard to crawl but can't quite figure it out. She usually ends up frustrated and just rolls to wherever she wants to go. 

She sat in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time and in a cart at the store! So much easier than hauling around the car seat! 

She takes two pretty good naps a day and gets so happy when she wakes  up!
She's sitting like a champ but LOVES standing even more.
She's wearing size three diapers and is all over the place with clothes. She's able to fit in some of her 0-3 clothes still but hardly can squeeze into some 9 month pants. Different brands = different sizes.

She absolutely hates when the sun is in her eyes. Who doesn't? 

Her hair is half way down her back when it's wet. It really is insane how much hair she has.

She's just really so perfect and adorable. 

I love her more than any words can say.
I'm so beyond happy that she chose me to be her mama :)
I thank Heavenly Father a thousand times a day for her.

Oaklyn Joy, you're the best choice we've ever made (other than getting married of course) 

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

0

GIVEAWAY! #forthejoyofbows

If you follow me on Instagram you are guaratneed to see TONS of pictures of my sweet Oaklyn with her fountain pony tail and always a bow to match her outfit.

I don't ever let Oaklyn leave the house without wearing a bow.
It's just too fun having a girl and getting to play real life dress up every day with your own personal doll.

More than half of Oaklyn's adorable hair bows are from an Etsy shop called My HeartFelt Bows.

Every bow is perfectly hand crafted by Michelle.

She does numerous craft fairs in Arizona and custom orders online.

Her beautiful little girl was the reason she started her shop.

She, just as most moms of little girls, loved putting bows on her daughter but hated how expensive it got really quickly for bows she didn't even really love.

She makes these bows super affordable, and of course, super adorable :)

"My sweet daughter was born in January of 2013, her name is Chloe, or as my 3 year old son calls her "Chlo Chlo". Being our first girl, I was so excited for all things pink, fluffy, and bows! Loads and loads of bows! After the first few months, I realized I had a hard time finding classic but trendy bows to put on her sweet little head... and I figured I was crafty enough to make some for her! She was dolled up daily in her new mom-crafted bows, and people everywhere wanted to know where they could find these bows. Soon enough, I bit the bullet and decided I would start up this shop so your little darlings can be dolled up daily as well. I make every item in this shop by hand and I absolutely love doing it! I hope you love what you find here at My HeartFelt bows, and continue coming back! 

xoxo,

HeartFelt"

I'm so excited to announce (like so excited I actually had a hard time sleeping last night) that Michelle and I have teamed up to host my first giveaway for all my Instagram/Blog followers that have helped For the Joy of Life go from being my hobby to a business!
It's just a way for me to say thanks and give back ;)

Simply head on over to my Instagram page to enter.

You'll need to be following me and Michelle's shop on Instagram and tag as many friends as you want!

Simple as that! :)

The winner will receive my two favorite bows from the shop sent straight to their door.
(pictured in giveaway image)

Don't miss out on this awesome giveaway!
And, even if you don't win, head on over to Michelle's shop and check out her awesome collection of bows.
You won't regret it ;)
More giveaways to come! Yay!

All my love,
Aleigh Joy

0

Chalk The Block

This is the first year we decided to check out the Chalk the Block event at the Riverwoods shops in Provo and I'm SO glad we did!

So fun!

I love the Riverwoods.

It's a beautiful outdoor shopping center near the entrance of the canyon.

There's great shopping, great restaurants, and always so many fun events!

Chalk the block is where artists get a parking space and draw whatever they want in it!

I couldn't believe how much talent there was!

We came when they weren't quite finished and some hadn't even started but it was still so amazing to see all the great artwork.

Some of my favorites were the ones dedicated to those serving in the armed forces, a memory of a child that passed too soon, and all of the portraits of faces.

SO much detail!

As if the artwork wasn't enough entertainment all the shops were running great sales, BYU vocal point came (SO fun!), and there were lots of vendors!

We will definitely be going next year as well!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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