Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenders

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenders | 4 ingredients - that's all you need for this awesomesauce recipe!

I've really only ever had sage in Crispy Golden Pork, so it's not something I really recall the taste off the top of my head. So I didn't really realize how great this recipe would be even though it's incredibly simple. It really blew me away. The sage is one of my new favorite herbs for sure! :)


Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Are You Kidding Me? Cake: Blueberry Edition

Are You Kidding Me? Cake: Blueberry Edition | Three ingredients and you get this incredible fluffy delicious cake #dessert

I pinned this cake recipe a looooong time ago - really it's more of a base recipe. You take any cake mix, any pie filling, and 3 eggs - and you're good to go! I chose to do (if I remember correctly) French vanilla and blueberry pie filling. As you can see below - this is an incredibly fluffy cake! Look at how gorgeous that is! It was also incredibly good. Yum yum yum! I can't wait to try other variations of it.

Are You Kidding Me? Cake: Blueberry Edition | Three ingredients and you get this incredible fluffy delicious cake #dessert


Monday, July 28, 2014

Menu Plan Monday


I'm starting a new little format here - not font/style wise, but rather now I'm only doing Monday through Thursday cooking at my in law's. My mom-in-law works her longest days those days and I figured it'd be nice for her not to have to come home and cook for all of us.

{Monday}
Asian Turkey Meatballs over Thai Peanut Sauce
ground turkey (2), lime (1), soy sauce, broccoli crown (1), carrots, red bell pepper (1), snap peas, ramen noodles (2)

{Tuesday}
Taco Bell Chicken Quesadillas
jalapeno (1), paprika, flour tortillas, chicken (1), cheddar cheese (1 cup), monterey jack (1 cup)

{Wednesday}
Chili Cheese Tatortot Casserole
tatortots, ground beef (1 1/2), onion (1), tomato sauce (8 oz), cheddar cheese (2 cups), green onions

{Thursday}
Cheesy Tuna Shell Casserole
tuna (2), cream of celery soup (2), medium shell pasta, cheddar cheese (1 cup), frozen peas

{Extras}
Soft Oatmeal Molasses Cookies // Homemade Fried Mozzarella Sticks
butter (2 sticks), molasses, raisins // Italian panko, cheese sticks

Total Spent: TBA

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Secret Recipe Club: Chicken Caesar Grilled Flatbread Pizza

http://secretrecipeclub.com/

It's Secret Recipe Club time again! For any avid food bloggers who may be interested, Secret Recipe Club is a group of food bloggers who are assigned another member's blog each month secretly and pick something to cook/bake and then blog on the designated reveal day. It's so much fun to see what recipes the other members pick off of your own blog.

Originally I had decided not to participate this month because of the move in the smack dab middle of the month, but then I decided to go ahead and do it since I do the assignments and I could know ahead of time who I would get. Let me just say how excited I am that I changed my mind!! When I do up the assignments for SRC, I use a randomizer, so I have no clue who I'm going to get either until I copy/paste into my spreadsheet. There is still a little excitement in there :)

This month I happened to have apparently found my new food soulmate: Lynsey of Lynsey Lou's. I love that she talks about winning her husband over with her food and how passionate she is about cooking. It's exactly how I am. The kitchen is a happy place in my house!

My secret board on Pinterest was immediately filled up with recipes from Lynsey's blog, like Fleur de sel Caramels, Chicken & Basil Stuffed Twiced Baked Potatoes, Browned Butter Salted Caramel Cookie Bars, Browned Butter Banana Muffins with Struesel Topping, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Dip, Quinoa Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing, and Bacon Pecan Brittle. That's not even all the recipes I pulled up - that's just the ones I think y'all should really hear about! I tried to have Nick choose what recipe because I had too many and I couldn't choose, but he didn't go with one of the ones I really wanted to make, so I chose: Chicken Caesar Grilled Flatbread Pizza. Kind of like when you flip a coin for a decision and find yourself wishing for one of the outcomes more than the other.
Chicken Caesar Grilled Flatbread Pizza | A clever twist on a classic Caesar salad that is absolutely perfect for lunch! #recipe

This chicken caesar flatbread pizza is the best! It was such a nice thing to vary up my normal caesar salad lunch with some flatbread. I added tomatoes to the mix because that's what I add to my own salads for lunch. It's just everything I really wanted!!

Chicken Caesar Grilled Flatbread Pizza | A clever twist on a classic Caesar salad that is absolutely perfect for lunch! #recipe

Friday, July 25, 2014

Fantastical Friday: Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery


I'm very excited this week to be sharing over 60 copycat recipes! I love copycats (and you'll see a lot of links to things on my blog below) and am so happy that so many bloggers had a ton of copycat recipes to share with me too :)

This round up is to die for!! Over 60 Copycat Recipes that you can make right at home! #recipe #copycat

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats | Serve up a twist on Taco Tuesday with these delicious stuffed zucchinis! #recipe

Oh, once again, the horrible New York lighting struck again. We had a couple of really mopey cloudy months to start summer and I did not feel like digging out all my fancy light box stuff and what not. So excuse the pictures that don't quite capture the true color and deliciousness that is this recipe.

I really like the picture below....it mostly captures how scrumptious this recipe looks. It's all cheesy and gooey and YUM! I love zucchini and thank goodness I'm in the South now where produce is decent for most of the year. Even in the summer in NY, zucchini is hard to come by. I think I had planned this particular recipe for a few weeks before I finally got zucchini at the store to make it.

Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats | Serve up a twist on Taco Tuesday with these delicious stuffed zucchinis! #recipe

What I really enjoy about this recipe is that you use ground turkey in place of ground beef. It's a great recipe and not too outrageously fattening - so you don't have to feel guilty about going back for more :)


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Copycat Popeye's Spicy Chicken

Copycat Popeye's Spicy Chicken | It's super easy to make your own Popeye's at home - crispy and spicy perfection!

I love copycat recipes. It's a problem. To date, I have 67 copycat recipes posted on the blog (see them HERE). Now that I'm back home in Tennessee in an actual city, it's not really any issue of getting crappy fast food/restaurant food...crappy Taco Bell? Well, there's about a million of them in the area, so you know which one you go to and which one you don't. Up in New York where we lived, you don't get that kind of luxury. So I resorted to finding out how to make my favorite restaurant recipes at home when I was getting a craving.

Even still, there are a lot of times I think that my homemade copycat recipe tastes better than the restaurant version. In most cases, if I eat fast food, it makes my stomach hurt - probably all the grease. And you know...not knowing exactly went into that food. Gross! I used to love KFC and I've eaten Popeye's a few times...but I'm not big on the texture of the chicken. It just doesn't taste completely right.

Copycat Popeye's Spicy Chicken | It's super easy to make your own Popeye's at home - crispy and spicy perfection!

This Popeye's copycat recipe is the bomb!!! I was amazed at how close it tasted to the real thing. Popeye's definitely has its own style of breading - it's crunchy and so delicious. I was happy that this recipe reflected that. And it's spicy! YUM!

Monday, July 21, 2014

Pizza Dip

Pizza Dip | Cheesy pizza goodness in dip form - perfect for when you're hosting company! #recipe

I almost tried this appetizer out for New Year's Eve, but decided not to when Nick came home early from deployment. He would never touch this appetizer in a million years. So I made it when we had friends over since it's my favorite thing to do to make a cheesy food that we can all dig into. I think that when I did it, we used tortilla chips, but I think something more substantial like slices of French bread would be much better.


Friday, July 18, 2014

Fantastical Friday: Beware! Brownies & Bars Ahead!


I'm trying to plan ahead here and do another round up while I settle into my in law's house. This one is something I'm very excited about. Can I please just have one of each of these amazing looking bars and brownies?? I'd gladly eat them all. Yes, I'd gladly eat 50+ bars/brownies. Who wouldn't?

A shout-out to all the awesome bloggers who made this round up possible! Y'all are the bee's knees :)

It's all about those delicious dessert squares - check out these 50+ Scrumptious Bars & Brownies Recipes!

To get to the recipe listed below - click the picture or title! Be sure to leave the bloggers a little love for their delicious treats :) To find more Fantastical bars & brownies, go HERE.



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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake | A perfect addition to any Sunday morning brunch with family and friends #recipe

There's nothing better than sitting down with family on a Sunday morning with coffee and a slice of delicious coffee cake and gabbing away. To me, coffee cake is a Sunday morning food. It doesn't seem right to eat it any other time. It also doesn't seem right to eat it by yourself. It's definitely a food to share with family, friends, and lots and lots of laughs.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake | A perfect addition to any Sunday morning brunch with family and friends #recipe

This coffee cake is just perfection. It's light and fluffy with a smooth cream cheese filling. The lemon is not overwhelming - it's such a delicate flavor. The lemon almond topping? That's just "icing on the cake" - so to speak :)


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Chubby Hubby Potatoes

Chubby Hubby Potatoes | Potatoes. Check. Onion. Check. Bacon. CHECK! These potatoes are delicious!

Fun story, since my husband is really into lower carb meals and eating lots of fruits and veggies and meat, I changed the way that I plan our weekly menu. I typically try to do one day with pasta and then Fridays we have either pizza or burgers, but other than that...we try to stay away from carb-heavy foods. Potatoes are something I rarely buy anymore, even though they used to be a staple in the house. Italian Pineapple Chicken side? Fried potatoes. Meatloaf side? Mashed potatoes. Burgers side? Fries.

I actually had potatoes in my cabinet so long that they rotted out and leaked some kind of weird liquid. So...we don't have them a lot. But don't get me wrong...I LOVE potatoes. I will eat the crap out of some fried up potatoes. Especially with onion and bacon. Everyone devoured these chubby hubby potatoes. I think it just makes it so much better when you rarely have potatoes and then you get them. We had them with our favorite meatloaf (the one linked up there) and had two other veggie sides: broccoli and green beans to balance it out.


Monday, July 14, 2014

Chocolate Fudge Reese's Cake Bars

Chocolate Fudge Reese's Cake Bars | Chocolate and peanut butter together again in these decadent cake bars

So it's Monday, but obviously there is no Menu Plan Monday post...why? Because I'm in the middle of moving. Goodbye forever, New York! Hello again, Tennessee. Very happy to be returning back home to the south and leaving the military life behind. We're really excited to see our families...pretty much every day...not two times a year, if we're lucky. I hope to be back to MPMs by the end of the month. :)

Chocolate Fudge Reese's Cake Bars | Chocolate and peanut butter together again in these decadent cake bars

I love chocolate and peanut butter together. I also believe that Reese's Pieces are supreme. Mini are even better. And don't get me started on this chocolate fudge cake...best.box.mix.EVER! It's my go-to chocolate cake box mix.

These cake bars are moist and oh so chocolately. The mini Reese's Pieces compliment the cake part perfectly and they are definitely something you want to be careful around. You may just eat a whole pan in one sitting!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Fantastical Friday: All About the Pizza


I decided to do a huge recipe round up and asked some blogging pals for their favorite pizza recipes. You'll find traditional pizza, fruit pizza, pizza crust, pizza sauce, and other pizza-flavored treats in the round up. In fact, you'll find 85 pizza recipes! Thank you to all the bloggers who contributed towards this lovely round up - and be sure to stop by next Friday for another delicious recipe round up :)

85 of the Best Pizza Recipes Ever! www.fantasticalsharing.com #pizza #recipes

To get the recipe - click the picture or title below - be sure to share/pin/comment and leave these talented bloggers a little love. To check out all my Fantastical pizza posts, go HERE.

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Reese's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Reese's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars | Addictive cookie bars with lots of Reeses in them!

I am so excited to share this recipe finally...I made it months ago. As always, it takes me forever to resize, add text, upload, and type up everything. And then now I'm only posting two recipes a week, if I get them done in time.

I'm already wishing I had another batch of these sitting around. Similar to the M&M Oatmeal Bars I've made, these things are addictive. I ate almost an entire batch of the M&M sort...and I ate too many of these for my own good too. I'm really not sure what it is...maybe the oatmeal? It just makes them so delicious and so much better than regular ole cookie bars. You guys have to try them!


Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

Jalapeno Popper Pizza | This yummilicious pizza features spicy ranch cream cheese and bacon!!

Dear cheese and duplex with no natural light,

C'mon y'all!! I'm trying to get a really good picture of this incredible pizza.
It's creamy and spicy and bacony and all things that good pizza should be.
But noooo...you gotta be all dark and orangey and make my picture look overexposed and weird.

*sigh*
Love,
Sarah

But for real, this pizza is good! I've tried a few jalapeno popper pizzas and they are all different and delicious in their own ways!


Friday, July 04, 2014

Fantastical Friday #eclifeplanner14


Happy Independence Day! Hope you all have nice weather where y'all are at and get to have lots of food and fun :)

Today, I thought I would share some happy mail that got here on Monday: my new Erin Condren life planner!!

*Disclosure: I was not compensated or coerced in any way to make this post about this amazing product. I purchased the product and am sharing my honest opinion and thoughts about it because I love it so much.

I was introduced to Erin Condren in late 2013 and decided to splurge and get one of the planners. I used a pal's referral code when I signed up, so not only did I get $10 off for signing up, she did too! Erin Condren not only has planners, but calendars, notepads, clipboards, invitations, etc. too. They are all super colorful and super gorgeous. You can tell all of the items are very well made.

I wasn't supposed to get my planner until mid-July (right around moving time, so I expected to have to wait for it to go through the forwarding process and reach me around late July)...so I was super excited when it shipped last week and then got here on Monday!

Happy mail day!!
Fantastical Friday: Sharing my new #ErinCondren life planner #eclifeplanner14

Wednesday, July 02, 2014

One Pot Pork Chops & Gravy

One Pot Pork Chops & Gravy | No need to dirty a million dishes, this savory meal is made in just one!

One pot meals are just the bee's knees!
That's still cool to say, right? It's making a comeback, yes?

I have posted One Pot Spaghetti [very popular post according to you readers!] and One Pot Cheeseburger Casserole already. They were both delicious and I love the fact that they are one pot dishes. There can never be enough recipes that only dirty ONE pot. I mean that is just perfection for someone who hates doing dishes like me!

One Pot Pork Chops & Gravy | No need to dirty a million dishes, this savory meal is made in just one!

I'm typically not a huge gravy fan. I will really only eat my grandma's chipped beef gravy...but this gravy is so good! And the green beans are also completely perfect with it. Tammy (the blogger who I got this recipe from) also had mushrooms in the dish, but we left that out, as none of us will really eat mushrooms.


Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn

Reese's Peanut Butter Popcorn | A rich, decadent popcorn treat with honey and Reese's!

We've been testing out some new popcorn recipes for our occasional Friday night movie nights. We sometimes forget or do other things [like play Spongebob Uno]. I often will just put salt and cinnamon on our air-popped popcorn. Sometimes I do butter, but I am lazy and we don't have a microwave, so I skip that step a lot.

Reese's Peanut Butter Popcorn | A rich, decadent popcorn treat with honey and Reese's!

This popcorn is amazing, but it is also super rich, so don't eat too much of it ;)