Friday, October 31, 2014

Fantastical Friday: 111 Satisfying Savory Breakfast Recipes


I don't know if y'all have noticed the trend, but I have been taking recipes that I've posted during the week as inspiration for my roundup/collections. This week I posted Spinach, Ham, & Hashbrown Quiche and decided I needed to gather up some savory breakfast recipes! Thank you to the bloggers who contributed their recipes for this collection :)

111 Satisfying Savory Breakfast Recipes | When you don't want a sweet breakfast, it's 111 savory breakfast recipes to the rescue! #breakfast #recipe

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Spinach, Ham, & Hashbrown Quiche

Spinach, Ham, & Hashbrown Quiche | Enjoy a cup of coffee while this simple-to-make quiche bakes in the oven. #breakfast

I don't make quiches often enough which is really quite a bummer. I actually really love savory breakfast meals. But I don't often wake up at a decent enough time to spend 2 hours getting breakfast ready. Granted this recipe only takes about an hour to cook total, it feels like way longer. And I am by no means a morning person. A lot of times I prefer to make savory recipes like this when we have brinner. Although I always wish I actually made it for breakfast. Anyways...enough babble about how awful I am at making savory breakfast recipes early in the morning...

This quiche is a very simple one to make. Not a lot of hassle to it. Plus it has spinach in it! YUM! I could see some very fun variations to the base recipe in the future. I also may make it in my cast iron skillet at some point and modify the recipe to brown the crust over the stove and bake it the rest of the way...similar to this quiche.

Spinach, Ham, & Hashbrown Quiche | Enjoy a cup of coffee while this simple-to-make quiche bakes in the oven. #breakfast


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Chicken Parmesan Soup

Chicken Parmesan Soup | This delicious meal is ready in under 30 minutes! #recipe #soup

Over the years, I have really fallen in love with chicken parmesan. I used to not like it, but it really has grown on me (much like philly cheesesteak and jalapeno popper and buffalo chicken stuff) - thanks, hubby! Also due to Nick, we have soup night frequently when the weather is cool. I guess he has always loved soup and used to eat it every day when he was little, so we do a lot of soup. I like to vary it up, so the rest of us don't get sick of it.

This particular soup just won out on favorite soup for my 7 year old, Matthew. He has always loved Cheddar Broccoli Soup and no other soup came close to beating it, but this is the soup he now begs me to make again...because it is his absolute favorite. I can't say I blame him...it's ready in under 30 minutes and it's delicious!

Chicken Parmesan Soup | This delicious meal is ready in under 30 minutes! #recipe #soup


Monday, October 27, 2014

Menu Plan Monday


This week for some reason I didn't plan any chicken meals...which is just plain odd. I am also using an app to do my shopping this week...which is also odd. I am excited though to see how well it works for me. Since this week is Halloween, I'm making a few Halloween treats for the kids (see Extra)...I'm hoping that they will like them :)

{Monday}
Salisbury Steak Meatballs (side of salad)
Ground beef (2), Italian breadcrumbs, salted butter, onion (1), egg noodles, fresh parsley, mixed salad, baby bell peppers, salad toppers

{Tuesday}
Kielbasa, Pepper, Onion, & Potato Hash
Kielbasa, green bell pepper (1), onion (1), baking potatoes (3)

{Wednesday}
Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
Farfelle pasta, ribeye steak, red bell pepper (1), green bell pepper (1), onion (1), milk, shredded monterey jack cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese

{Thursday}
Kicked Up Sausage Alfredo
Smoked turkey dinner sausage, penne pasta, grape tomatoes, heavy cream, baby spinach, shredded Parmesan cheese

{Extra}
Monster Blood & Guts // Bloody Band-Aid Snacks // Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (2), raspberry jam // graham crackers, cream cheese // chopped walnuts, Ghirardelli double chocolate chips

Total Spent: $104.58

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Triple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies #SecretRecipeClub

http://secret-recipe-club.blogspot.com/

It's time again for my group, Group D, to share our reveal day posts for The Secret Recipe Club. It's my 3 year anniversary of being a part of the SRC and I've only missed one reveal day. I cannot believe it's been so long and have to link to my very first post with the club: Brisket & Veggies.

So what is The Secret Recipe Club? It's over 100 food bloggers who are split into four groups. Each group is assigned another fellow group member to secretly stalk their blog and choose a recipe (or two) to make, blog, and share on a designated Monday in the month. It's a really fun way to find new blogs and give a little blog love to someone once a month. I absolutely love being apart of it...and except for a few bumps in the road, SRC is a great community of food bloggers! I adore my fellow Group D members who love to haze and tease each other on how quickly they made their recipe and how much tastier it is than anyone else's :) They are a hoot!

This month I was assigned to Sue's blog, Couscous & Consciousness. Sue blogs from New Zealand and is a busy yoga teacher whom is conscientious of eating ethically (but is not necessarily strictly vegetarian). I narrowed down my picks very quickly on Sue's blog...two recipes spoke to me and I had a huge problem picking between the two. One was Italian Sausage with Gnocchi & Red Peppers because I'm on a huge Italian sausage kick right now. YUM. However, I had already planned out my dinners for the month, forgetting to leave an empty space for a possible SRC recipe.

Clearly from my post title, I went with my other pick: Triple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies. These brownies are fudgy and contain a nice helping of chocolate. I was incredibly impressed with how good they were because they didn't "look" like the normal chocolate-y brownies. If you look at Sue's pictures...her's look more like a traditional brownie does...and I was sure I had messed something up. But I hadn't - and that was a relief because they not only sound good - they ARE GOOD!


Triple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies | Fudgy chocolatey delicious brownies with raspberries - such a decadent dessert! #recipe #SecretRecipeClub

Triple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies | Fudgy chocolatey delicious brownies with raspberries - such a decadent dessert! #recipe #SecretRecipeClub


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Philly Cheeseburger Gnocchi Bake

Philly Cheeseburger Gnocchi Bake | A fantastic hearty gnocchi-filled Philly cheesesteak meal cooked in a cast iron skillet to perfection #recipe #castiron

It is no surprise that I am digging this gnocchi bake. It's got all the elements of a great meal: PHILLY CHEESESTEAK. I mean, 3 1/2 years ago if you told me Philly cheesesteak anything was for a meal, I would probably have fake gagged and made a distasteful face to go along with it. I made my own Phillies during one of Nick's deployments because it's one of his favorite foods and that was it. I suddenly found myself liking Philly cheesesteak anything. I've been all sorts of cheesesteak goodies and I know Nick absolutely loves that I am just as obsessed with cheesesteaks now :)

I am also completely obsessed with my cast iron skillet! Nick and I just celebrated 10 years of being together and he got me another cast iron skillet from the Lodge Cast Iron Factory. I hope we can get into a house soon, so I can use them! :) So basically this recipe is just everything that is right in the world and super delicious!

Philly Cheeseburger Gnocchi Bake | A fantastic hearty gnocchi-filled Philly cheesesteak meal cooked in a cast iron skillet to perfection #recipe #castiron


Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Cinnamon Churro Muddy Buddies

Cinnamon Churro Muddy Buddies | A sweet cinnamon-y treat you won't be able to keep your hands off of! #recipe

Cinnamon Churro Muddy Buddies | A sweet cinnamon-y treat you won't be able to keep your hands off of! #recipe

Muddy Buddies or Puppy Chow - what do you call it? I typically call it puppy chow, but I like to keep the name that the original poster used. Plus I guess not everyone knows that the alternate name is puppy chow and they are like "WHY ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR KIDS DOG FOOD???". I promise this is NOT dog food - it's far from it! This recipe of muddy buddies reminded me a ton of the Cinnamon Roll Chex Mix I posted last December - just in muddy buddy form. They are a little messier, but still addictive as all get out! :)

Monday, October 20, 2014

Menu Plan Monday


A little later in the day, but still Monday - here is what we're eating this week, my grocery list, and what I ended up spending on these items!

{Monday}
The Best Chicken & Dumplings
Chicken breasts, cake flour, chicken bouillion, milk (had heavy cream, carrots, onion, and celery on hand)

{Tuesday}
Triple Meat Pizza Casserole
Canadian bacon, pepperoni, Italian sausage, 24 oz. marinara, rotini pasta, 2 cups mozzarella

{Wednesday}
Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Chicken
Chicken breasts, broccoli, 4 cups cheddar cheese (had half and half on hand)

{Thursday}
Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches
dinner rolls, roast beef, provolone, sharp white cheddar, cheese sauce

{Extra}
Bacon, Egg, & Chicken Sandwiches // Red Velvet Brownie Cookies
English muffins, bacon, chicken tenderloins, medium cheddar (had American cheese on hand) // butter (had chocolate chips on hand)


Total Spent: $96.86 [without tax]


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Friday, October 17, 2014

Fantastical Friday: Life Lately

I'm kind of unprepared for today. I wanted to share a roundup of crockpot dessert recipes, but forgot to ask around to see who had some good ones to share. I didn't want to do a pregnancy update because I just did one last week and not much has changed...21 weeks today. Woo! So I decided to share a few pictures and babble a bit.

I just finished my sixty hour in-class observation time and have been furiously writing 4 papers this week. I still need to finish my last one. But I'm procrastinating. I probably would have been done, but I decided to work on my laptop and then I got distracted by fixing it. I think I finally have all the mess of problems wrong with it fixed and it's running faster and better now, so that's good.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder

Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder | The perfect soup for a cool fall night in Crocktober! #soup #crockpot #recipe

I guess it's a good thing that I've been posting crockpot recipes lately. I wasn't even aware there was such a thing as "Crocktober" but I like it! Crockpots are awesome and I fully stand behind supporting them 100%. I don't know what I do without mine and I really would love to get a few more - especially for holidays and entertaining guests.

This recipe is just a simple chowder and it is quick to put together and like most crockpot recipes, you just cover it and let it cook all day - that's the best part, right?! This soup is hearty and has lots of flavor. It's like a cross between corn chowder and potato soup. Yum!

Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder | The perfect soup for a cool fall night in Crocktober! #soup #crockpot #recipe


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Snacktime Made Easy with Jif To-Go Dippers #MC #Sponsored

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence-Central for Jif To Go Dippers. I received a sample to facilitate my review and a thank you item for participating.

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A few weeks ago, I shared my first post about Jif To-Go Dippers. These snack treats were very new to me and I was very excited to have the opportunity to try them out. As I had said in my post, life is very busy. Extremely busy. These little pretzel-peanut butter treats are just perfect for an on-the-go snack. My kids actually grabbed them straight out of the pantry to pack for an afternoon school snack. A lot of times little to-go snacks are difficult for them to open, but they have no issue getting the Jif To-Go Dippers open and devouring. I unfortunately have no pictures of them eating them because they've eaten them all. But they are begging me to get some more next time I go to the grocery store [this weekend]. The Jif To-Go Dippers are available in grocery stores across the nation!

Jif To-Go Dippers are a portable (hence the “to-go”) snack that contains a little dipping cup with either peanut butter or peanut butter chocolate that seals and a sealed container of pretzel thins that you can dip into the dipping peanut butter goodness. Matthew, my 7 year old, prefers the chocolate silk peanut butter dip – he has never been a big peanut butter fan, so it makes sense. Cami, my 6 year old, loves the peanut butter and the chocolate silk peanut butter dips. She’ll eat them both and has a really hard time picking between the two. I personally love the peanut butter dip. The pretzel thins are the perfect size, shape, and thickness to withstand dipping and the perfect amount of saltiness. So all-in-all the dippers really have it all. They are portable, easy to open, easy to eat, and delicious!

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About to leave for my dr appt, but first...a snack!! #getgoing

Above you'll see that I was on my way out the door to a doctor's appointment and decided that I needed a snack first. What was the easiest for me when I needed to #GetGoing - Jif To-Go Dippers, of course! :)

For more information (including nutrition facts), please stop by the Jif website and visit the To-Go Dippers page. You can also find Jif on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Have you tried Jif To-Go Dippers yet? What did you think of them? What is your favorite flavor?

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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Rocky Road Crockpot Cake

Rocky Road Crockpot Cake | Ooey gooey pudding cake with marshmallows, pecans, and lots and lots of chocolate #dessert #recipe

I love that the crockpot is not only for main dishes, side dishes, soups, and chilis, but also DESSERT! I've made a very delicious cake in the crockpot before, but it does not compare to this AMAZING dessert right here.

When I was little, rocky road was my favorite kind of ice cream. My family also frequented tv dinners for meals and I always wanted the one with the little brownie in it. Because it wasn't a brownie like I was used to having - it was like pudding and it was the bomb. This cake combined both of those childhood favorites together and it was probably the best dessert I've ever had in my life.

Rocky Road Crockpot Cake | Ooey gooey pudding cake with marshmallows, pecans, and lots and lots of chocolate #dessert #recipe


Thursday, October 09, 2014

Crockpot Chicken & Potatoes

Crockpot Chicken & Potatoes | Break out that crockpot for this delicious and inexpensive meal! #crockpot #recipe

Crockpots are the best. And let's just say that here when we move into a house and work on unpacking things...my crockpot will be one of the first things I unpack, so that I can stick dinner in there and work on unpacking and making ourselves feel at home in the meantime!

This recipe has very simple ingredients and comes out tasting super super yummy. It's really inexpensive, too, and that is always a plus!

Crockpot Chicken & Potatoes | Break out that crockpot for this delicious and inexpensive meal! #crockpot #recipe


Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Nutty Cheesy Salad

Nutty Cheesy Salad | A fabulous light dinner with lots of veggies and grilled chicken and NUTS! #salad #recipe

Prior to this lovely surprise pregnancy, I was on a salad binge. I ate salads for lunch every single day. I could not get enough veggies and yumminess. Then...SURPRISE. I got pregnant. Most of the time, I ate chicken on my salads at lunchtime...then I suddenly hated chicken. It always tasted like it was 3 days old (like leftovers) and microwaved...no matter how it's cooked. This quite literally drove me insane. Thankfully, second trimester is being kind to me and I can eat chicken again. AND COMMENCE SALAD EATING! I never stopped eating a crapton of veggies. This pregnancy has been very kind with cravings - veggies and fruit, please!

We had this salad prior to pregnancy for dinner one night and it was super super good. I typically will eat almonds and/or sunflower seeds on my salad. In fact, most of my salads are very similar to this...except that we used a ton of nuts to make it extra nutty. And it was fabulous!

Nutty Cheesy Salad | A fabulous light dinner with lots of veggies and grilled chicken and NUTS! #salad #recipe


Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Pretzel Crust

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Pretzel Crust | No sacrificing anything with these bars. They are salty & sweet & chewy & crunchy! #dessert #recipe

I have been hugely slacking here on the blog...it's a shame really. I have over 80 drafts just sitting waiting to be scheduled. Pretty much all of them have pictures and the recipe ready-to-go. It's just me sitting down and making a printable version (copy/pasting), labeling them, and adding a nifty description to the pictures. And then, of course, talking a bit. I have tons to say about life and the recipes, just not enough time to sit and type it all up!

So...I'll kind of touch base here a little...

We are house-hunting...amid my in-class observations and doctor's appointments.

It's quite the life...we're on the go...go go go!

And man-oh-man do I wish I had some of these bars in my life right now. They are salty and sweet, crunchy and chewy. They are kind of a little difficult to make, in that, the pretzel crust wants to just slide all around, but they turn out just fine even if they aren't absolutely perfect - and that's what matters, right?!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Pretzel Crust | No sacrificing anything with these bars. They are salty & sweet & chewy & crunchy! #dessert #recipe


Monday, October 06, 2014

Menu Plan Monday


Yum yum yum. It's bound to be one delicious week. I'm really excited about all the dinners. Especially Quinoa Chicken Parm tonight :)

{Monday}
Quinoa Chicken Parmesan
quinoa, chicken breasts, shredded mozzarella, shredded Parmesan, marinara, basil, angel hair, broccoli

{Tuesday}
Taco Casserole
refried beans*, ground beef, shredded cheddar, tortilla chips*, lettuce, tomato

{Wednesday}
Soothing Chicken & Rice Soup
1 onion, celery, carrots*, chicken breasts, rice, parsley

{Thursday}
Hawaiian Pizza
bread flour, pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, Canadian bacon, pineapple chunks, bacon bits

{Extra}
Bacon Jalapeno Popper Quiche // English Muffin Bread // Chocolate Chip Reese's Pieces Cookies
pie crust, cream cheese, 3 jalapenos, bacon bits, whipping cream, half and half, shredded cheddar cheese // *everything on hand* // mini chocolate chips, Reese's pieces

Total Spent: $128.82
I've decided to share just what the cost was for what was on the list above :) It's kind of a pain to include all my hungry purchases in there and then subtract, etc. So this is what was the price of all the stuff + milk, a dozen eggs, and my two creamers - those were all on my grocery list. Everything else I got (like pumpkin spice cake donuts - yum!) were extra.

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Friday, October 03, 2014

Fantastical Friday: Gender Reveal!

We went simple and opted for cupcakes with a color (blue or pink) frosting :) Early in the afternoon on Wednesday, I posted this picture on my Instagram...


Ohhhh mysterious! :)

And here is our end result!

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Chicken with Bacony Brussels Sprouts

Chicken with Bacony Brussels Sprouts | Fantastical Sharing of Recipes #recipe #bacon

Today is the BIG DAY. Maybe. Possibly. Today, we go in for my midpregnancy ultrasound. Meaning we may or may not get to find out what the baby's gender is. My son was very cooperative at the ultrasound when I was pregnant with him, but my daughter was not - and we didn't find out until 37w 4d with her that she was a girl. So we're hoping this baby cooperates like its brother. I'm hoping for a boy, as is Matthew. But I guess we'll see :)

In the meantime, this recipe will keep the suspense at bay, right?! It's a very simple, but delicious recipe. The chicken is seasoned and grilled - so it's nice and juicy and you can pick what you want to do with it, really. I did garlic and onion powders in addition to salt and pepper. I think they'd be fantastic with lemon pepper and pair perfectly with the best part of the meal - the bacony brussels! I'm still trying to get my family to really take a liking to brussels. I've still only had them a handful of times, but I love them. And bacon really helps sway people to like things :)