Sunday, July 31, 2016

S'mores Cheeseball #SundaySupper

The perfect dessert cheeseball with all the best parts of a s'more, but less mess!
S'mores Cheeseball // The perfect dessert cheeseball with all the best parts of a s'more, but less mess! #smores #cheeseball #dessert #appetizer #SundaySupper

Today's Sunday Supper Movement event is KIDS FAVORITE RECIPES hosted by Ellen of Family Around the Table. So all of today's recipes are kid-friendly! I have a long list of recipes that I have yet to post and I found the one that I know my kids would say is their favorite and I'm sure that they would ask me to make it again. Like tomorrow!

When I told them I was making a s'mores cheeseball for July 4th (2015), my oldest two looked at me like I was nuts. Cheese with s'mores - yuck?! What is wrong with you, Mom!! I convinced them that it was cream cheese, so that it would be more like a dessert cheeseball, not like cheddar cheese with s'mores or anything. I picked up some cute little graham sticks for dipping because I figured they would be the easiest and most sturdy utensil to use on this cheeseball.

I'm so glad I got a few pictures of the cheeseball before setting it down in front of my kids. I left the room for a few minutes and came back to this below. Matt and Cami did some major damage on this thing. They ate about half of it by themselves and as you may have guessed - they LOVED it!

S'mores Cheeseball // The perfect dessert cheeseball with all the best parts of a s'more, but less mess! #smores #cheeseball #dessert #appetizer #SundaySupper

What I loved about this desserty appetizer is that it was incredibly simple to make and my kids didn't make a huge mess eating it like they do with regular s'mores. So it's a win-win all around!

Friday, July 29, 2016

Fantastical Friday - July 29, 2016


Hello, everyone! I haven't posted a Fantastical Friday since March - ouch. I do occasionally babble in recipe posts, but lately I haven't really had the time to schedule any. I'm struggling with my time management for sure. I am hoping that the older kids being back at school in a little under two weeks means that I can get back on a good schedule. We're actually going back to school shopping today.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

"Caprese" Chicken

The chicken is cooked to perfection in a cast iron skillet and then topped with basil, tomato, and a slice of yummy mozzarella!
Caprese Chicken // The chicken is cooked to perfection in a cast iron skillet and then topped with basil, tomato, and a slice of yummy mozzarella! #recipe #chicken #maindish

Disclaimer: This is not a true caprese recipe, this is just a tribute.

Please be sure to stop by Nikki's blog to get the marinade recipe. I could not make the marinade recipe because no one else likes balsamic vinegar in this house: UGH. Don't get me wrong...I don't have a picky family. BUT I am the least picky of them all. I eat a wide range and variety of foods. I just marinated my chicken in garlic, oil, salt and pepper and then continued on to fix the rest of the recipe all caprese-like. If you are like my family and don't enjoy balsamic vinegar, this is a pretty fantastic almost-caprese chicken recipe! :)

Caprese Chicken // The chicken is cooked to perfection in a cast iron skillet and then topped with basil, tomato, and a slice of yummy mozzarella! #recipe #chicken #maindish

I am pretty much obsessed with using my cast iron at this point and really love being able to place it in the oven to broil cheese to make it all brown and bubbly!


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Biscoff Mug Cake

A single serving of cookie butter cake ready in a pinch - dreams do come true!
Biscoff Mug Cake // A single serving of cookie butter cake ready in a pinch - dreams do come true! #recipe #mugcake #dessert #biscoff

I was prepared to share a different biscoff recipe but decided to hold off and make it one more time to tweak it a tad more. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share this little gem that I made to replace the other recipe. I hunted for the recipe that I had written down (I took a base mug cake recipe compared from a few different places and tweaked them to make this Biscoff version) and discovered that it was a post-it with no notes, just ingredients. So to be 100% sure that everything was good to go, I made it again. The first time, I swirled my Biscoff in. Today, I mixed it in with the wet ingredients. Both ways are fine. Both ways are tasty.

Biscoff Mug Cake // A single serving of cookie butter cake ready in a pinch - dreams do come true! #recipe #mugcake #dessert #biscoff

I'm still fairly new to Biscoff and have really loved the few recipes I've made using it so far. I think cinnamon and white chocolate go together with Biscoff very well, so that's why they ended up in this little mug cake. :) You will definitely have to adjust the cooking time according to your microwave. 50 seconds is a great place to start until you are able to get a good reading on how long it will take in your own microwave. Mine is a 1000-watt microwave and I did mine 60 seconds and then 20. It probably would've been fine at 60 but I did the extra to be certain.


Monday, July 25, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - July 25, 2016

Menu Plan Monday for July 25, 2016 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

This week, I am doing a few meatless recipes because I can! Nick is currently in Georgia for training, so that means it is A-okay to have a meatless dinner :D I may get some sour cream/mayonnaise recipes on the menu soon too. Gotta get my fill while he's not here. What are y'all having for dinner this week - be sure to leave me a comment!

Monday - Stuffed Zucchini
Tuesday - [b] SRC Recipe [d] Beef Burrito Skillet
Wednesday - [*] No Churn Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream [d] Leftover soup
Thursday - [b] Ultimate Chocolate Chip Muffins [d] Hobo Dinner
Friday - Extra Cheese Pizza
Saturday - Soft & Chewy Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sunday - BBQ Pineapple Pulled Pork


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Sunday, July 24, 2016

Copycat Guberburgers #SundaySupper

 Move over, Jelly! Peanut butter has a new best friend and it's a burger!
Copycat Guberburgers //  Move over, Jelly! Peanut butter has a new best friend and it's a burger! #recipe #burger #peanutbutter #copycat

It's Sunday and that means it's Sunday Supper time! *crowd cheers* I love participating in the Sunday Supper Movement events so much. This week's event is HAMBURGERS AND HOT DOGS and is hosted by Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures.  Today, I chose to share an unique hamburger recipe for the event: the Guberburger.

The Guberburger originates from a restaurant in Missouri called the Wheel Inn Drive-in. This burger, that is topped with peanut butter, came on the scene in 1947. Unfortunately, the Wheel Inn closed back in 2013. Lucky for me, the recipe was posted in a Food Network Magzine. I thought to myself that it sounded so strange to put peanut butter on a burger, but in the description it said that the owner at the time said she always told the customers that if they didn't like the Guberburger, she would make them something else. She never once had to. So for me, I was deadset on making it. I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone and try new things even if they sound weird.

And let's be honest...peanut butter on a hamburger sounds weird. My husband looked at me in horror when he saw me scooping the peanut butter onto the burger. He did reluctantly decide to give it a try after I relayed the "never had to make a different burger" line to him about the restaurant.

Copycat Guberburgers //  Move over, Jelly! Peanut butter has a new best friend and it's a burger! #recipe #burger #peanutbutter #copycat

The verdict: WE ALL LOVED IT. I was skeptical of the mayo and peanut butter combo, but that's how the burger was originally made...honestly, all the burger parts paired with peanut butter made me skeptical. But the savory peanut butter was perfect on it. It went with everything! We've made this burger multiple times now and it's definitely a family favorite. I am so glad we decided to step outside of our comfort zone. :)


Thursday, July 21, 2016

Why I Love WaterWipes #WaterWipesTarget #ad #IC

This post was sponsored by WaterWipes as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.


I know I typically post about food, but I definitely want to use this platform to share great finds in both the food world and non-food world. I figure there are probably quite a few moms that read my blog. I'm certain there are a plethora of moms who have kids with sensitive skin like me! I posted recently about my children's sensitive skin here on the food blog. It has always been on the forefront of my mind to ensure that I'm using quality products without fragrances or dyes that might cause a rash. You can practically look at them wrong and they will have a rash!

I love to shop for baby products at Target and find that there are some hidden gems here and there throughout the baby aisles. I found WaterWipes on the top shelf of the wipe aisle and decided to give them a try. I was over-the-moon excited to try these out on Mason (my youngest who is almost 17 months old). He is a little alligator to change nowadays (you can hold an ankle and he'll start spinning!), so it's an added plus that these are safer and more gentle on his skin than the other brands of wipes out there because diaper changes don't always go smoothly for us.


WaterWipes are baby wipes designed to ease a mother's mind. They have only two ingredients: water and grapefruit seed extract. That's it! No harsh chemicals. No fragrances. No dyes. Just water and grapefruit seed extract.

I have been using them on Mason's sensitive bum for the last week and they have been wonderful. They effectively clean him and are still gentle on his skin. I'm not going to lie. My family uses baby wipes for everything. I keep some in my car for cleaning up spills or if someone has gotten sticky somehow. I think I have a set of wipes in each big area of the house because they are amazing. Even in the gap between having Cami, who is now 8, and Mason, we still had baby wipes on hand at all times. It's awesome to know that these wipes are going to be gentle for all of us and chemical-free as well.

My diaper changing essentials - the puppet book is definitely a must with my wiggly alligator toddler!

Influence Central is graciously hosting a giveaway for readers to have a chance to win one of five $100 Target giftcards! Check out all the details and enter below!

I-C will randomly select winners from all program entries and will facilitate fulfillment of the winning prizes (5 winners).
WaterWipes Target Giveaway


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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Weeknight Garlic Chipotle Burgers

 These are no ordinary burgers - they pack a punch of garlicky, chipotle flavor!
Weeknight Garlic Chipotle Burgers //  These are no ordinary burgers - they pack a punch of garlicky, chipotle flavor! #recipe #burgers #chipotle #beef

This gorgeous burger...*sigh* I can't even with these pictures. They make me wish that here at 10:30am that I had it right in front of me to devour. I can't remember now if it was my first experience with chipotle mayonnaise or not, but I am in love with it and it was so good on this burger. I branched out from my stickler way of liking only salt and pepper on my burgers. It was a good branch out. The red onion also complimented the chipotle perfectly.

The original recipe had different seasoning that I could not find. You kind of have to go with the flow and see what you can find at your local store. It was also to make 3 burgers - doubles. I have not really had much luck with making double cheeseburgers, so I went the single route.

Weeknight Garlic Chipotle Burgers //  These are no ordinary burgers - they pack a punch of garlicky, chipotle flavor! #recipe #burgers #chipotle #beef


Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

Calling all my Popeyes - this chicken parm is amped up with a healthy serving of spinach tucked inside.
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Parmesan // Calling all my Popeyes - this chicken parm is amped up with a healthy serving of spinach tucked inside #recipe #chicken #maindish

I know I don't normally post recipes this late in the day, but I have been so distracted today (and over the past week or so). Today, my momma had surgery on her knee - a total knee replacement. It was much overdue and I'm sure she'll be feeling loads better when it heals completely. I had a total blonde moment and showed up at the wrong hospital today, so that was interesting to say the least. I ended up remembering that she switched doctors and was being seen at a different hospital and the kids and I went to the correct one to see her. She was a bit tired, but seemed quite optimistic and the surgery had gone well (her surgeon said).

I probably would have had this post scheduled prior to today's events had it not been for Pokemon Go. My husband and I grew up obsessed with Pokemon - we both still play on different systems from time to time. Our oldest kids are also obsessed and have played the original games on the Gameboy, collect the cards, and have watched most all of the seasons of the tv show. So needless to say, we are all out as a family trying to catch them all. Our most awesome catch to date is Charizard and we are Team Mystic. The kids enjoy being able to get Pokestops and catch Pokemon on my phone while I drive. If you're playing, leave me a comment about your team and favorite catches so far!! :)

None of this really has anything to do with the recipe, but I felt kind of talky today! This recipe is slightly different than its original form because we are not fond of ricotta cheese and I did not mix eggs into the stuffing. Regardless, I felt that my adjustments still did the recipe justice and it was a fabulous meal. I love baking chicken in the oven - it always turns out so juicy and tender.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Parmesan // Calling all my Popeyes - this chicken parm is amped up with a healthy serving of spinach tucked inside #recipe #chicken #maindish

Monday, July 18, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - July 18, 2016

Menu Plan Monday for July 18, 2016 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

During typical weeks, I try to vary the foods we have and keep carb-heavy meals to one or two nights a week...somehow, I flubbed up and we are having pasta four times this week. -_- I honestly can't say I'm upset because I love pasta, but that is totally the problem. I have NO self control when it comes to portion sizes and pasta. Here's to hoping that I exercise some self control this week! haha What are y'all having to eat this week?! Let me know in the comments below!

Monday - One Pot Ham and Pasta Skillet
Tuesday - [b] Oatmeal Cookie Dough Breakfast Bake [d] Southwest Chicken Alfredo
Wednesday - Beefy Tomato Soup
Thursday - [b] Individual Cheese Danish [d] Jalapeno and Cheese Grilled Chicken
Friday - Big Evil Cheeseburgers
Saturday - Root Beer Float Brownies
Sunday - [b] English Muffin Bread [d] Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta

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Thursday, July 14, 2016

Summertime Fun: DIY Yard Yahtzee #FreetoBe #ad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FreeToBe #CollectiveBias 

DIY Yard Yahtzee // Get the whole family outside with this classic board game made to play outside #gamenight #FreetoBe #ad #diy #yahtzee

Hello, Fantastical Readers! I have a fun tutorial coming up in this post that I have been eagerly awaiting to post and I hope you stick around to check it out.

If you follow me on social media, you may notice that my whole family suffers from sensitive skin (we all have varying degrees of severity of eczema) and seasonal allergies. Matthew and I are getting immunotherapy to help with our environmental allergies because we definitely suffer the most out of everyone. Both of us are allergic to everything they test you for in the skin prick test...yes, everything. Even though we get allergy shots, I take every measure possible to minimize flare ups and that includes washing all of our laundry with all® free clear products.


Over the many years as a mom and wife, I have found that all® free clear liquid detergent is the only detergent that my family can use that doesn't affect our sensitive skin and still cleans our clothes. Matthew's pediatric dermatologist recommended it to us when he was about 10 months old. It's actually the #1 detergent recommended by dermatologists, allergists, and pediatricians for sensitive skin - and I completely understand why. It's free of dyes, perfumes, and irritating residues. Plus it takes care of 99% of allergens like dust mite matter, cat and dog dander, ragweed, tree, and grass pollen. Ragweed in particular has been rough lately here in East Tennessee. It has also been awarded the Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association.


I buy the all® free clear liquid detergent (plus the all® free clear fabric softener and all® free clear dryer sheets because soft and static-free clothes are just as important as clean ones!) at my local Kroger. It is ultra convenient for me since I am there every week to grocery shop. If you shop at Kroger, you can find them on the laundry products aisle which is aisle for my store.

If you're a US Reader, you know that summer is well under way and if you're a parent, you may be looking for some fun activities to do with your family outside to escape the very dreaded "I'm bored" rut. My oldest two, Matthew (9) and Cambria (8), are definitely over summer break already and I hear "I'm bored" many many times a day. They are less likely to cry boredom if they are outside, but still it does happen sometimes. Why am I mentioning all® free clear liquid detergent?? Because it goes hand-in-hand with our outdoors experience and makes me feel at ease with having my kids outside playing in the grass, climbing trees, etc. They are definitely free to be kids with the help of tough-stain-fighting, whiten-whites, and brighten-colors all® free clear liquid detergent!

DIY Yard Yahtzee // Get the whole family outside with this classic board game made to play outside #gamenight #FreetoBe #ad #diy #yahtzee

And in the spirit of getting the whole family outdoors, let's get on down to business to create a fun outdoor activity for everyone to enjoy! Below I give you step-by-step instructions on how to make DIY Yard Yahtzee! My older two kids have gotten pretty obsessed with board games lately and Yahtzee is one of their favorites. They are both math whizzes, so they enjoy the number and score-keeping bit of Yahtzee, as well as, just trying to get an actual Yahtzee. They were over-the-moon thrilled and excited that I was making an outdoor version for them.

In this project, there is a lot of room for customization. You can do bigger or smaller dice. You can paint them a base color or stain the wood (just remember to allow time to dry!). You can do different colors or one color for the dots on the dice. Your dice bucket can be metal, plastic, or wicker.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Copycat Starbucks Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino

This copycat is dead on and just as lovely as the real deal. You can't go wrong with strawberries and cream!
Copycat Starbucks Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino // This copycat is dead on and just as lovely as the real deal. You can't go wrong with strawberries and cream! #Starbucks #copycat #frappuccino #recipe #beverage

Y'all know I am no stranger to copycat recipes. I am obsessed with them. I love finding recipes for my favorites and I love to come up with recipes for my favorites. This go-around I happened to find a recipe for my old favorite at Starbucks: Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino! I had my first Starbucks drink in Fort Gordon, Georgia when Nick was stationed there for AIT. The on-base hospital had a Starbucks in the lobby and every time Matthew (my oldest) had a doctor's appointment, I would get this drink with a chocolate chunk cookie. So it's definitely a nostalgic drink.

I have previously tried a different recipe for it, but it was nothing like the real thing and quite undrinkable, if you ask me. So I waited patiently until another recipe fell into my lap and this one is definitely a keeper. It tastes just like the real thing. It is wonderfully easy to make too. Honestly, the "hardest" part is hulling the strawberries and even that isn't too bad. This recipe does make one drink, so if you don't want to share, be sure to double, triple, quadruple, or more the recipe :)

Copycat Starbucks Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino // This copycat is dead on and just as lovely as the real deal. You can't go wrong with strawberries and cream! #Starbucks #copycat #frappuccino #recipe #beverage


Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Pasta Sauce

Oven baked peppers with Italian sausage, brown rice, and pasta sauce - it's a stress-free recipe that tastes great!
Italian Sausage Stuffed Peppers with Pasta Sauce // Oven baked peppers with Italian sausage, brown rice, and pasta sauce - it's a stress-free recipe that tastes great! #recipe #sausage #maindish

Stuffed peppers are a huge hit in our household. My two big kids love them and I can't tell you how happy it makes me when they ask what's for dinner and I say stuffed peppers - I don't hear moaning and groaning. I get a resounding "YES!!!!!" The big kids also love Italian sausage, so I knew they would love these. What caught my eye was that Renee (her blog is linked beneath the recipe) used Classico pasta sauce in the recipe. I was a long time fan of Prego, but converted to Classico and I use their pasta sauce all the time. The brand has pizza sauce, but I use their pasta sauce as pizza sauce because it's that good. I knew it would be amazing in this recipe too.

What also makes this recipe stand apart from every other stuffed pepper recipe I've made is that the mixture inside the pepper is cooked after putting it into the pepper. You don't cook the meat before filling the pepper. It cooks INSIDE the pepper. It's awesome! It makes for a low hassle recipe and that's always a win, in my opinion.


Monday, July 11, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - July 11, 2016

Menu Plan Monday for July 11, 2016 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

I am determined to make my breakfast recipes this week. DETERMINED. You may notice that I literally recycle the same 7 or 8 breakfast recipe plans each month because I never end up making them. Mornings are not my thing and if I do make a breakfast recipe, it's in the late afternoon or after dinner, so it's ready for the next morning...but now I'm over cooking when dinner rolls around. I decided to do a lot of old favorites this week too (Tues/Thurs/Friday/Sat). What are y'all having to eat this week? Let me know in the comments!

Monday - 20 Minute Tuscan Chicken with Penne Pasta
Tuesday - [b] Middle of the Cinnamon Roll Muffins [d] Nachos Bell Grande
Wednesday - Ham and White Cheddar Beer Cheese Soup
Thursday - Kicked Up Sausage Alfredo
Friday - [b] Fave Chocolate Donuts [d] Sally's Hawaiian Pizza
Saturday - Peach Dumplings
Sunday - [b] Reese's Peanut Butter Pancakes [d] Southern Slow Steaks


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Wednesday, July 06, 2016

Weeknight Chicken Penne Alfredo

This pasta dish is fast and easy to make with a fantastic homemade alfredo, veggies, and chicken!
Weeknight Chicken Penne Alfredo // This pasta dish is fast and easy to make with a fantastic homemade alfredo, veggies, and chicken! #pasta #maindish #under30minutes #recipe #chicken

While this is not a one pot meal, it's easily fixed in under 30 minutes and is so yummy! I hate to describe something as flavorful because I think we can agree that everything is full of flavor - it may not be a good flavor, but I digress. It is rich, creamy, and the veggies are perfection in this dish. It got huge thumbs up from the entire family and will definitely be made over and over again. You can also make this in a skinny version, if desired, with low fat cream cheese and 2% or skim milk. We did not opt to make it that way, but it is absolutely an option!


Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Sour Patch Kid Cake

This cake is sweet and sour and perfect for any Sour Patch Kid fan!
Sour Patch Kid Cake // This cake is sweet and sour and perfect for any Sour Patch Kid fan! #recipe #dessert #lemon #SourPatchKids #cake

When I saw this cake on The Spiffy Cookie, a blog I've followed for forever, I knew immediately it would be my husband's birthday cake. Erin posted it about two months after his birthday, so I waited 10 months to make it and it was absolutely worth the wait! Nick was so excited about this cake and it turned out lovely.  Erin did hers with a surprise inside cake recipe from a cookbook (if you stop by her post linked down below, she has a link to the cookbook), so it was a taller cake. The next time I make this one, I will probably make two boxes of the amped up cake mix and double the frosting, so that the cake stands taller like Erin's did.

Sour Patch Kid Cake // This cake is sweet and sour and perfect for any Sour Patch Kid fan! #recipe #dessert #lemon #SourPatchKids #cake

But even without it being taller, it was a moist, lemony cake with some seriously amazing lemon cream cheese frosting that complimented the Sour Patch Kids sourness perfectly. Plus it was so colorful. Everyone loved it - including the birthday boy - back when he turned...28 in 2015. LOL. I'm so behind on sharing all the recipes I've made. Awful, I know. I also really loved this cake which has started me down the road of hoarding lemon sweets recipes. Before this cake, I really preferred lemons in savory dishes.

Sour Patch Kid Cake // This cake is sweet and sour and perfect for any Sour Patch Kid fan! #recipe #dessert #lemon #SourPatchKids #cake

Monday, July 04, 2016

Menu Plan Monday - July 4, 2016

Menu Plan Monday for July 4, 2016 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

Our July 4th festivities are done, so I figured I would pop on here really quickly and share what food we are having this week. I've been craving collard greens like no other (so strange for a girl raised in Minnesota - but omg I love them!), so we are having some Popeye's copycat spicy chicken on our Throwback Thursday dinner night. I changed up the format just a little. I don't know if it'll be easier to read or not, but it may be! :)

Monday // Family Cookout
Tuesday // [b] Biscoff Muffins [d] Grilled Taco Chicken
Wednesday // Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Soup
Thursday // [b] Snickerdoodle Donuts [d] Copycat Popeye's Spicy Chicken w/ Kickin' Collard Greens
Friday // Barnyard Burgers
Saturday // [b] Banana Streusel Muffins [*] Peanut Butter Sweetie Pie
Sunday // Slow Cooker Bolognese


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