Monday, February 29, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - February 29, 2016

 Menu Plan Monday on Sep 21, 2015 | My week of meals and grocery list! #menuplan #groceries

Hi all! Recovering from the flu over here! This is not as clean as my MPM usually is, but I'm in a rush today. Lots of places to go and still haven't made it there yet :P

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie #SundaySupper

This lovely pie is reminiscent of no-bake cheesecake and is too good for words!
Cherry Cream Cheese Pie | This lovely pie is reminiscent of no-bake cheesecake and is too good for words! #recipe #SundaySupper #cherry #pie #dessert

Today's Sunday Supper event is all about PIES!! Sweet or savory, we aren't discriminating on what we're sharing. Thank you to today's host: Erica from The Crumby Cupcake.

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie | This lovely pie is reminiscent of no-bake cheesecake and is too good for words! #recipe #SundaySupper #cherry #pie #dessert

Back in the day, I used to live for the no-bake cheesecake box mix. I had a mega sweet tooth when I was pregnant with my now-8 year old daughter, Cambria (don't mind me while I sob in the corner here - I've been saying that a lot lately. All my babies are getting so big). I would buy the no-bake cheesecake mix at least once a month and eat it by myself in two or three days. I really appreciate when I can find a good homemade recipe for box mix or something I would order at a restaurant. Copycat recipes are the best! Like the box mix, this recipe is no-bake. I like that it's called a cream cheese pie instead of a cheesecake. To me, it is a little more logical to call it a pie.

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie | This lovely pie is reminiscent of no-bake cheesecake and is too good for words! #recipe #SundaySupper #cherry #pie #dessert

I'll be honest here...I'm really picky with pie...mostly because I don't like pie crust. So it really helps that this is graham cracker crust. I think I would eat any pie if it had a graham cracker crust. Okay, that's a lie! I do prefer an actual pie crust for things like Cheeseburger Pie (and quiche). But for sweet pies, I don't want pie crust. I'm unbelievably happy with how this recipe turned out. It tastes identical to the one I used to purchase at the store. You can top it with lemon pie filling or blueberry pie filling too. It doesn't absolutely have to be cherry. Although you may not want to call it cherry cream cheese pie if you don't use cherries - haha!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Chicken Pot Pie Braid

Classic pot pie flavors in braid form - this easy recipe is great for the whole family!
Chicken Pot Pie Braid | Classic pot pie flavors in braid form - this easy recipe is great for the whole family! #recipe #chicken

Today is Mason's first birthday! My littlest is a year old now *sobs* *wails* *weeps* We are celebrating this weekend with family and I'm really excited for it. I really never imagined having a third child after Nick decided it was time to get out of the army, so it's just surreal that our THIRD child is going to be a year old already. If you follow me on instagram, I share pictures of his cuteness every once in a while. :) Anyways...on to today's recipe that happens to be something I've made a few times.

Chicken Pot Pie Braid | Classic pot pie flavors in braid form - this easy recipe is great for the whole family! #recipe #chicken

Unfortunately, I got poor pictures of it every single time I made it. I need to make it this summer when I have loads of natural light to take more beautiful pictures. I, for one, don't eat pot pie, BUT Nick and the kids love it. I figured this would be a good compromise because the part of the pie I don't like is the crust. This recipe has no pie crust, but all the deliciousness of the filling.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Philly Cheesesteak Burger with Roasted Garlic Aioli

Roasted garlic aioli adds another layer of deliciousness to this already amazing burger!
Philly Cheesesteak Burger | Roasted garlic aioli adds another layer of deliciousness to this already amazing burger! #burger #phillycheesesteak #maindish #aioli

I am no stranger to Philly cheesesteak recipes. I have even made a Philly cheesesteak burger before (this one has beer cheese sauce - yum!). I, however, could not pass up this recipe from Kita of Girl Carnivore simply because of the roasted garlic aioli. Roasted garlic is one of the best things ever ever. Plus I am the only one (except for sometimes Cami) who will eat different mayonnaise/aioli, so I get to be selfish and eat as much as I want of it! :)

Philly Cheesesteak Burger | Roasted garlic aioli adds another layer of deliciousness to this already amazing burger! #burger #phillycheesesteak #maindish #aioli

Most of the time, I prefer my burgers seasoned with just salt and pepper, but I do step outside my "comfort zone" to try a recipe as is. I really enjoyed the Montreal steak seasoning on this burger. It gave it a smokey flavor that I think it really needed to balance it out. Overall, this was a really great burger. It is a little bit of a labor of love, but I think totally worth it in the end. Especially if you love garlic and mayonnaise.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - February 22, 2016

 Menu Plan Monday on Feb 22, 2016 | My week of meals and grocery list! #menuplan #groceries

In two days, my Mason baby will be a year old and I am in shock. I'm in denial. My sweet little is going to be a rotten little toddler. :( I decided to do a Mason jar-shaped cake for his smash cake and just some cupcakes for others to snack on. I'm hoping that he'll actually eat the cake. We've been working on getting him aclimated to real food, but he is taking his time with it and hasn't yet mastered it completely. So this weekend will be nice and busy - birthday party for Mason with the family and then birthday party for Cambria with her friends on Sunday. Lots of cake for me this week LOL

Monday
Bacon Cheeseburger Gnocchi Skillet
ground beef, onion, bacon, heavy cream (1/2C), gnocchi, green onion, sharp cheddar cheese (1 1/2C), roma tomato (2)

Waffles & Eggs with Creamy Sage Sauce #SecretRecipeClub

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

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal day for my group, Group D! What is Secret Recipe Club? It's a bunch of food bloggers separated into four groups that post once a month on a designated Monday. Each month, we are paired with another foodie from our group secretly (hence the name). We then pick a recipe (or two or more) from that blog and make it. On our reveal day, we reveal whose blog we had and what recipe(s) we chose all at the same time. It's like a Secret Santa every month, but with food and blogs! It's a great deal of fun :)

Today, I am sharing a recipe from one of my "newer" members, Wendy. Wendy and her husband, Frank, are retired cops that moved from the big city to a farm with 12 acres of land. They raise lots of animals and participate in their local Community Sponsored Agriculture program. Wendy is a great storyteller and posts a variety of topics on her blog, not exclusive to some wonderful recipes. I love reading her posts and love having her in Group D! You can find out more about her and her family: here.

I had several recipes pinned from her blog within a matter of minutes, like this Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup, Pumpkin Praline Pancakes because pumpkin, this Milky Way Bundt Cake that looks crazy good, if I could find good rhubarb this Rhubarb Berry Coffee Cake would have been my SRC pick, and Ham Vegetable Barley Soup since I've never had barley before. I was proud of myself for finding more meal recipes rather than dessert ones and will definitely be making each and every one of these recipes from Wendy's blog at some point.

Waffles & Eggs with Creamy Sage Sauce | A play on classic eggs benedict with waffles, a fried egg, and incredible creamy sage sauce #breakfast #recipe #SecretRecipeClub

In the end, I couldn't stop thinking about Wendy's Waffles Benedict with Creamy Sage Sauce. I have never poached eggs and I rarely eat eggs with runny yolks unless I'm really craving them, so I modified the recipe and made a fried egg. I recently cleaned out my spices and tossed those that were past their "best by" date - p.s. it's a good idea to look at your dates on your spices because they lose their oomph after a while. I ended up not having ground mustard OR rubbed sage in my pantry. Thankfully, I had a pack of fresh poultry herbs that contained sage that was still in decent shape. I was going to put 1/4 a teaspoon of ground mustard with a teaspoon or so of honey in place of the honey mustard in the original recipe. I still used honey, but also did a squirt of just plain yellow mustard. My last modification was to use some ham steak that I had in my fridge instead of deli sliced ham. :)

Waffles & Eggs with Creamy Sage Sauce | A play on classic eggs benedict with waffles, a fried egg, and incredible creamy sage sauce #breakfast #recipe #SecretRecipeClub

All-in-all, this recipe turned out SO WELL! The waffles were amazing - cheese, ham, and sage in them...YES!!! I also could not get enough of that creamy sage sauce. It was hard for me to not grab the ladle and sip the sauce right out of it. I had a little leftover and I think I may fry up an egg and toast a piece of bread and serve the sauce over the top of it. My mom used to make creamed eggs and the creamy sage sauce really reminded me of that. Thank you, Wendy, for sharing such an incredible recipe!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Chicken Enchilada Salad

 No need to eat a boring old salad - this salad has seasoned chicken, corn, black beans, and more!
Chicken Enchilada Salad |  No need to eat a boring old salad - this salad has seasoned chicken, corn, black beans, and more! #recipe #salad #chicken

Because I'm trying to be more mindful and have some self-control, I have begun to eat salads for lunch once again. I used to get little prepacked salads when I was pregnant with Mason and doing my in-class observations. My two favorite are the Caesar salad and the Southwest Chicken salad. The Southwest Chicken comes with seasoned chicken, roasted corn, tortillas strips, Mexican style cheese, and Southwest ranch dressing.

When I stumbled upon this recipe, I knew it would be perfect for dinner and I knew that I was going to love it. I, as always, was right. This salad has many of the same elements as the prepackaged one - seasoned chicken, corn (although I didn't roast mine), Mexican style cheese, tortilla strips, and Southwest ranch dressing. It also has black beans, cucumber, tomato, and green onions which really take it to a whole other level and help make it a more filling meal.

Chicken Enchilada Salad |  No need to eat a boring old salad - this salad has seasoned chicken, corn, black beans, and more! #recipe #salad #chicken


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Loaded Chicken & Bacon Tatortot Casserole

 This Minnesotan dish gets a twist that makes it taste like a loaded baked potato!
Loaded Chicken & Bacon Tatortot Casserole |  This Minnesotan dish gets a twist that makes it taste like a loaded baked potato! #recipe #bacon #chicken #hotdish

Tatortot hotdish is something I grew up having often. It still to this day is one of my favorite comfort foods. I have tried a few variations to my mom's traditional: tatortots, ground beef, cream of chicken, green beans. I have loved each version. I had yet to make a chicken variation and thought it was a little overdue. I believe I made this back when Mason was still a newborn (almost a year ago *sniffle*) because it's an easy dish to prepare and doesn't make much of a mess. Plus it's a hearty dish that sticks to your ribs.

My kids love when I make tatortot hotdish and were excited to see bacon and cheese in it. I didn't top ours with sour cream and green onions - mostly because I was lazy that night and our produce section was bare when I went to the store, but I think they would be a great addition. This casserole tastes like a loaded baked potato and it's AWESOME!
Loaded Chicken & Bacon Tatortot Casserole |  This Minnesotan dish gets a twist that makes it taste like a loaded baked potato! #recipe #bacon #chicken #hotdish


Monday, February 15, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - February 15, 2016

 Menu Plan Monday on Feb 15, 2016 | My week of meals and grocery list! #menuplan #groceries

I survived Cami's birthday week/weekend shenanigans. *Phew* I get a little bit of a break before starting back with Mason's birthday next week. This week Nick is going to be on a business trip to Florida, so we are having a meatless Monday. I'm pretty excited about it and I won't be telling the kids there is no meat, so they won't "complain" either. I'm really looking forward to Friday's copycat recipe for Garbage Plate! YUM!

Monday
Vegetable Bolognese // Rosemary Bread
cauliflower, carrots, crimini mushrooms, onion, walnuts (1C), 28 oz. crushed tomatoes (2), sundried tomatoes*, nutritional yeast?, thin pasta,  // fresh rosemary, salted butter (2T)

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Kicked Up Sausage Alfredo

This alfredo dish is kicked up a notch with browned turkey sausage, spinach, and roasted tomatoes!
Kicked Up Sausage Alfredo | This alfredo dish is kicked up a notch with browned turkey sausage, spinach, and roasted tomatoes! #recipe #alfredo #maindish #pasta

Yet again, let me speak on things I didn't like previously to my marriage....alfredo fits into that category. Of course, I had only ever eaten premade, store-bought alfredo sauce prior to making it myself for Nick. After my first homemade alfredo, I was hooked. I also was never big on kielbasa until I got married. But that was my mom-in-law's doing...not Nick's :)

This recipe is one I've made countless times now because it's easy and so so full of flavor. This is also the recipe that really put the nail in the coffin for Nick stomaching tomatoes. I think that's about the only thing that I've been able to get him to like that he didn't before our marriage. Mayonnaise probably isn't going to happen.

Kicked Up Sausage Alfredo | This alfredo dish is kicked up a notch with browned turkey sausage, spinach, and roasted tomatoes! #recipe #alfredo #maindish #pasta

I roasted my grape tomatoes instead of just tossing them into the skillet to partially cook. It really makes all the difference. It altogether is just a wonderful recipe. I get my kielbasa a little more on the crispy brown side because I love having that crunch and smoky flavor to go along with the bursts of juicy tomato and yummy spinach in there. The savory creamy alfredo works to bring all those flavors together. It's a GREAT recipe!


Tuesday, February 09, 2016

S'mores Waffles

 Six ingredients are all you need for this sinfully sweet morning treat!
S'mores Waffles |  Six ingredients are all you need for this sinfully sweet morning treat! #breakfast #recipe #smores #chocolate #waffles

As promised in my Cookies & Cream Waffles post in December...here are my s'mores waffles!! Unfortunately, I have had the worst time trying to find mallow bits lately - you know the little marshmallows you find in hot cocoa mix?! I'm used to seeing them in the coffee aisle with the hot cocoa, but as of late, I CANNOT find them. They aren't with hot cocoa OR the marshmallows. :/ I need to make a trip out to Target to see if they have them.

S'mores Waffles |  Six ingredients are all you need for this sinfully sweet morning treat! #breakfast #recipe #smores #chocolate #waffles

So please imagine that these gorgeous, cake-y waffles have little mallow bits on them! Just like the Cookies & Cream version - these are made with cake mix and are, therefore, very dessert-like. It's perfect every once in a while - I don't recommend them on a regular basis. The s'mores frosting is also really hard to find nowadays, but it's a Betty Crocker one and if you can't find it, chocolate frosting with graham cracker crumbles will work just fine!

S'mores Waffles |  Six ingredients are all you need for this sinfully sweet morning treat! #breakfast #recipe #smores #chocolate #waffles


Monday, February 08, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - February 8, 2016

 Menu Plan Monday on Feb 8, 2016 | My week of meals and grocery list! #menuplan #groceries

This week, my middle baby turns 8 years old. As per our usual tradition, the birthday kiddo gets to pick out dinner and what they want for a cake on their birthday. Cami chose jalapeno popper grilled cheese and funfetti poke cake. I am going to make cupcakes for the weekend when we celebrate her birthday with family - and I am going to make the ones she almost picked for her actual birthday. :)


Monday
20-Minute Tuscan Chicken with Penne Pasta
baby spinach leaves, diced tomatoes (2), chicken breasts, half and half?, penne pasta, roma tomato (2), Parmesan?, fresh basil

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

S'mores Dip

Whether you dip graham crackers or fresh fruit in it, this S'mores Dip is outta this world!!
S'mores Dip | Whether you dip graham crackers or fresh fruit in it, this dip is outta this world!! #appetizer #dip #recipe #smores #chocolate

Sometimes when it's time to do a write up for a blog post, my mind immediately goes to Golden Girls. Picture it...Knoxville...2014. For all those fans out there, you know I'm talking Sophia right now. I definitely channel my inner Sophia when I go to start a post. So picture it...Knoxville...2014, it was New Year's Eve and I was getting ready to make a bunch of different foods for us to enjoy...I decided it was best to try and make some of the dips in my mini crockpots, so I didn't have to dirty a lot of dishes, and so they were portable and could be plugged back in to heat up, if need be.

This dip is meant for graham crackers or honey Teddy Grahams because obviously that completes the missing part of the "s'mores", but we also had fresh fruit and couldn't help ourselves. It is an excellent fruit dip!

Tuesday, February 02, 2016

Cappuccino Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Decadent dark chocolate coffee cupcakes topped with lighter than air chocolate and cappuccino frostings for the fancy pals in your life!
Cappuccino Dark Chocolate Cupcakes | Decadent dark chocolate coffee cupcakes topped with lighter than air chocolate and cappuccino frostings for the fancy pals in your life! #cupcakes #chocolate #dessert

My mom-in-law, Francie, is one of my favorite people and I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is strong, selfless, and such a strong positive force to everyone around her. Her birthday on December 30th, so we try to go out of our way to really celebrate her birthday because it can be overlooked with it being so close to Christmas and New Year. I find that I really enjoy trying to find a recipe that she'll love. She loves German chocolate cake and red velvet cake - I've made those in past years. For 2014, I wanted to do a coffee chocolate cake. I found a few recipes that I modified to fit what I wanted to do for her and came up with this recipe!


I got pretty ambitious with her cupcakes and wanted to make them really fancy because her nickname is "Fancy Francie", so she got these cursive "F"s on her cupcakes along with gold sugar sprinkles and pearls. Because Fancy Francie is a classy lady!! :) The cupcakes were fluffy, moist, and rich. The dark chocolate flavor really came through and it was just everything. Everything! Add the airy, light frostings in both chocolate and cappuccino flavors - oh yes! They pair with the dark chocolate cupcakes wonderfully. I had to stop myself from eating the frosting by the spoonful because it was so so good.

Cappuccino Dark Chocolate Cupcakes | Decadent dark chocolate coffee cupcakes topped with lighter than air chocolate and cappuccino frostings for the fancy pals in your life! #cupcakes #chocolate #dessert

I think that my mom-in-law really loved her cupcakes and everyone else was really impressed with how they turned out, as was I.


Monday, February 01, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - February 1, 2016

 Menu Plan Monday on Feb 1, 2016 | My week of meals and grocery list! #menuplan #groceries

It's February and so begins a super busy month with a TON of birthdays. I'm trying to prep for Cami's birthday party with friends and then the other with family, plus a mini celebration with just us on her actual birthday. Then there's Mason's FIRST birthday on the 24th (I can't believe he's already going to be a year old!!) and that will probably just be one collective little birthday party on the weekend after his birthday. I'm hoping his little stinker butt will be eating table food by then. Last week, he finally began eating his little puffs. He's taking his time and being stubborn with textures :P This week is kind of my week to indulge on everything I have been craving lately. So here it is...this week's menu!