Banana Split Trifles

The perfect summertime treat that can be portable in lovely individual servings!

I love desserts that can be portioned individually and I love them even more when they can be portable, like in this recipe for these delish trifles. They take a little bit of time to make, but they truly aren't too bad. The cake is made from a box mix and is light and fluffy. The pudding is homemade which was a first, if I'm remembering correctly, for me. It was super simple and quick. Then it's just a matter of building your trifles into mason jars and you've got a great dessert for a cookout in the summertime. The fresh fruit was simply perfect in this - absolutely reminiscent of a banana split sundae.

Mexi Ranch Chicken Salad

I love this salad with chicken, corn, beans, tomatoes, tortilla chips, and an awesome salsa ranch dressing on top!

I have been all about fitting salads into my meal plan lately. Maybe it's because of the warm weather or maybe it's because I just love love love salads! This one is slightly different than most of the recipes I've been serving up on Taco Tuesdays. It has red beans instead of black beans and there are tortillas chips for some added crunch. I also loved the mix of salsa and ranch dressing too. I'm not sure if that is how Southwest Ranch is made, but it definitely tastes a lot like it.

Menu Plan Monday - May 28, 2018

Happy last Monday of May?! What?! I'm going to be working on remaking some recipes that I need pictures for because I ended up with a computer that decided to crash during a Windows Update and I lost my pictures. I did recover some of them, but not all. So you'll be seeing some repeats. Summer break is also fully underway and I do hope that with the assistance of my very interested older kids, I will make the breakfasts that I set out to make each week. Because it's been the same ones on the menu for like 3 years LOL

Monday - Southern Fried Cabbage with Sausage and Easy & Awesome Creamy Corn Casserole
Tuesday - Super Sonic Burritos
Wednesday - Coffee Cake Donuts // Dill Pickle Soup
Thursday - Baked Bruschetta Chicken with broccoli and salad
Friday - Baked Buffalo Chicken Bites and cheesy bread
Saturday - Pizza Meatloaf, green beans, and roasted potatoes
Sunday - Maple Bars // Cherry Delight

What are you having for dinner this week?
Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

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Fantastical Friday: National Wine Day

Happy National Wine Day! Today I thought I would share a few of my favorite recipes that utilize wine. Only one of them is a drink recipe, but no worries, you can most definitely enjoy a glass of wine with these foods!

1. Double Layer Chocolate Cake with Red Wine Chocolate Buttercream - I adore the frosting on this cake so much!
2. Red Wine Bon Bons - chocolate, coffee, and wine, hello!!
3. German Beef Roulades - the wine is in the gravy and it's just magical.
4. Red Wine Pot Roast - I got to use my cast iron crock for this one and successfully cooked a pot roast in the oven.
5. Bowtie Chicken Alfredo - one of the few recipes with white wine on this list and what a difference it makes over using chicken broth.
6. Peach Blackberry Sangria - the other white wine recipe and the only drink recipe - I made mine into a spritzer.
7. Italian Pizza Burgers - I honestly didn't know that burgers were missing wine until I made this one.
8. Ree's Spaghetti - This is the fourth Pioneer Woman recipe on this list. I'm not at all surprised because I love Ree's recipes but I didn't realize so many of them contained wine. Maybe that's why I like them so much :)

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{Funfetti} Wild Things Cake

Let the wild rumpus start! This funfetti cake is so delicious - you'll eat it up and love it so!

What's great about having big families and enjoying baking is that sometimes you get tasked to make birthday cakes. My sister-in-law asked if I could make a Wild Things cake for her baby's first birthday and I, of course, jumped right on it. She did a lot of the decorations herself and did such an amazing job with his birthday. I was so happy to help out in any way. She showed me a picture of the cake she wanted and I did my best to replicate it. Fast forward and my little nephew is going to be TWO on Saturday. It's crazy!

The cake itself is a funfetti cake and then I used a classic buttercream and prepared fondant to create the monster look. Both her and I were super happy with how it turned out. It was adorable and tasty!

Berrylicious Smoothie Bowls

Start your day with this berrylicious recipe - loads of berries plus whatever toppings you want!

I've been wanting to jump on the smoothie bowl bandwagon for forever, but I'll be honest..I hate pulling out my blender so much. I don't have it out on the counter (although I would love to) and I also hate cleaning my blender. But I finally decided it was time to try one and it was super wonderful. Probably still not something I'll make all the time, but definitely a nice treat when you're craving berries in particular. I topped ours with blueberries, blackberries, banana, honey, coconut, almonds, and granola (cashew butter and cocoa nibs).

Jalapeno Popper Hot Dogs

Amp up ordinary hot dogs with jalapeno popper ingredients for a cheesy, spicy meal!

I have had this recipe saved for entirely too long. Last year, I got a salsa kit for my Aerogarden. Unfortunately, my cherry tomatoes never sprouted (probably due to Mason taking them out and tossing them too many times), but my jalapenos flourished. I started two more plants from seeds, but they didn't grow as quickly - probably due to lack of light from my light being so far up because of the large plant. That one large jalapeno plant, however, produced enough jalapenos to feed a small army.

And oh my gosh! They were so spicy. We're pretty accustomed to spicy food in our house. I don't have as much of a tolerance as my husband, but I can still handle a little bit of heat. I don't know what it was about these jalapenos but man...they were spicier than some of the habaneros we buy at the store. Nick agreed. They were awesome in this recipe and were balanced out beautifully by the cream cheese without taking away all the heat. It's a fairly easy recipe and definitely a great way to amp up a regular ole hot dog.

Menu Plan Monday - May 21, 2018

Another week with old favorites because I am stepping out of my comfort zone and making tuna steak. I'm really nervous about it, so I need things I know the rest of the week! I am hoping it turns out well though. The recipe I chose is supposed to be great for beginners. I also cannot wait for the bundt cake on Sunday. We were supposed to have it for Easter but we didn't have Easter dinner this year.

Monday - Beefaroni with broccoli and garlic bread
Tuesday - Chili Lime Chicken Salad
Wednesday - Salted Caramel Muffins // Jalapeno Popper Beef Chili
Thursday - Herbed Tuna Steaks with green beans and potatoes
Friday - Italian Burgers with Roasted Tomato and Caramelized Onions and fries
Saturday - Caprese Chicken with side salad and asparagus
Sunday - Italian Baked Eggs // Carrot Bundt Cake

What are you having for dinner this week?
Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

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Summer Grilled Veggie Pasta Primavera

All the summer veggies grilled up in one perfect pasta dish!

Any sort of recipe with loads of veggies in it is sure to make my meal plan. I was initially intrigued by the grilled veggie part of the recipe because I recently acquired a cast iron grill pan. I decided to cut my zucchini in spears and grill it in the cast iron. Not only was I able to get these gorgeous grill marks on each piece and side, but the zucchini itself is absolutely addictive. I had a few extra zucchini that I grilled up and ate for a snack the next day. Just A+ in my opinion. You can grill and roast as many of the veggies as you'd like, but in the end, the simple flavors work so well together in this summer pasta dish!

Strawberry Almond Chicken Salad #FantasticalFoodFight

Welcome to another Food Fight! Fantastical Food Fight is a group of food bloggers who will get a theme or ingredient each month and make some sort of variation for it. It could be traditional or nontraditional and can be found in a cookbook, on a blog, or be a blogger's own creation! For more details, check out this page.

This month's Fantastical Food Fight theme is SALAD. I'm ridiculously excited about this month's theme. It was chosen due to May being National Salad Month (in the US) and what a more perfect time than when loads of fresh produce is in season! I decided to share this salad that is easy to throw together and has blueberries, strawberries, and mandarin oranges inside it.

The chicken can be seasoned how you wish and then it's a matter of throwing the ingredients together with poppy seed dressing and your meal is ready to go.

Sausage & Kale with Garlic Roasted Potatoes

This skillet meal is made better by the addition of roasted potatoes and loads of kale!

About two years ago, I reviewed the 101 One-Dish Dinners cookbook. Out of the recipes that I made from the cookbook, this skillet dish was outright the favorite recipe for everyone in my family. I made it multiple times in a short period of time after first making it and then it became a regular meal in the meal plan rotation. It's on a one skillet meal or a recipe that can be made in under 30 minutes, but it is close enough to both of those things to make me a happy camper.

The potatoes are roasted in the oven while the other ingredients are prepped in a skillet. Once the potatoes are done, they are added in and there's not much else to do. I love how much kale is in this recipe and I also really love the addition of beans to it.

Menu Plan Monday - May 14, 2018

Today is Nick's birthday and he chose steak (of course!) for his birthday dinner. It seems like we're going to have a week of great recipes ahead of us and I cannot wait to try the new ones, like the cauliflower pizza crust!

Monday - Steak with Herb Butter and Caramelized Onions, Asparagus, Side Salad
Tuesday - Taco Casserole
Wednesday - Cinnamon Roll Donuts // Leftover Soup (freezer)
Thursday -  Chrissy's Cobb Salad
Friday - Pizza with Cauliflower Crust // Air Fryer Hot Wings
Saturday - Tatortot Hotdish
Sunday - Cream Cheese Peach Danish // Copycat Twix Bars

What are you having for dinner this week?
Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

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Fantastical Friday: Top Ten Burger Recipes for National Hamburger Week

Did you know the second week of May is National Hamburger Week? I didn't either until recently. But that means that I must share some of my favorite burger recipes from my blog. It's great for the upcoming grilling season too, so even if you don't celebrate this week, there are tons of recipes to make during the summer!

Chicken with Bruschetta Veggies

The weather is warm and farmer's markets are open, so take advantage of seasonal produce with this lovely recipe!

This post is going up a little later than normal due to my current task of trying to retrieve as many files and restore them as I can off of my desktop computer, including all of my recipe pictures for the stuff to come. I may be fervently in my kitchen trying to remake some foods due to some of the pictures being permanently gone. YAY! So I have been concentrating as much as possible on recovering files instead of blogging like I should be doing.

Today's recipe is a great chicken recipe topped with all sorts of veggies with a kick of balsamic vinegar to top it off. I am so happy it's warmed up in Tennessee and look forward to all of the fresh produce the season has to bring.

Rhubarb Pudding Cake with Streusel

Sweet and tart with delicious layers of pudding, rhubarb, and crumble.

My sister-in-law, Chantal, requested that I make this Rhabarber Pudding Kuchen mit Streusel (Rhubarb Pudding Cake with Streusel) when she came in for a visit in April. I was totally onboard after having made a few rhubarb treats in March. I had vanilla sugar and she brought some custard mix and it was on like Donkey Kong. I had to take some creative liberties with the recipe to figure it out because the original recipe was in German but didn't have as many details as I had hoped for. I originally let the cake cool at room temperature and then removed the springform ring. But that turned out a little messy. I then put it in the fridge with the ring back on it and it worked way better. So I highly suggest keeping it in the springform pan until completely cooled.

The crumble crust was fantastic. The rhubarb was sweet and tart. The pudding was excellent too. It was the most wonderful combination of layers for a cake.

Tex Mex Cobb Salad

Take your Cobb salad to the next level with cubes of pepper jack cheese, black beans, corn, and a bbq ranch dressing!

Cobb salads are probably my second favorite kind of salad behind Caesar salad. I love having bacon and hard-boiled eggs as a source of protein. I also loved that this salad went the Tex Mex route and there was pepper jack cheese and corn chips. The BBQ ranch dressing also surprised me quite a bit. All-in-all, this was a well-rounded salad and it's perfect for Taco Tuesdays!

Menu Plan Monday - May 7, 2018

After scheduling recipe posts for the next few months, I decided it was time for another throwback month - where we eat recipes that I have made before. There are some new ones, but a majority are old favorites. On Sunday, we will be celebrating my husband's birthday. I'm killing two birds with one stone here and will be trying out a recipe that my sister-in-law wants for her wedding in October along with a birthday cake I know Nick will love.

Monday - Philly Cheesesteak Omelets
Tuesday - Chili Lime Chicken with Flavorful Spanish Rice and corn
Wednesday - Oreo Muffins // Unstuffed Banana Pepper Soup
Thursday - Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Basil Stuffed Chicken with roasted mixed veggies
Friday - 2 AM Breakfast Burgers and chips
Saturday - Chicken Bacon Alfredo Roll-ups with broccoli and salad
Sunday - Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins // Strawberries & Cream Layered Poke Cake

What are you having for dinner this week?
Feel free to leave a link to the recipe in the comments!

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Pesto Zucchini Boats

This simple stuffed zucchini recipe is the perfect meal in the summertime!

I love stuffed zucchini (and peppers) and wish I could have the more often. BUT every time I put it on the menu because our store has had zucchini, it ends up being gone and I have to quickly find an alternative. It really bums me out. Zucchini is my favorite vegetable and I would eat it literally all year round. It's just so fantastic. The original recipe did not contain any meat, but I have a bunch of complainers in the house if a meal doesn't have meat. So I opted to add sausage because I felt it would pair with pesto better than another meat.

Double Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are such a treat with DOUBLE the blueberries and a yummy sugar topping!

I feel like the only time I eat blueberries is if I make muffins or pancakes, even though I love them. I  adore these blueberry muffins because there is double the amount of blueberries and a delicious sugary topping. If you are in the mood for a delicious breakfast, I highly suggest making these muffins!

Spaghetti with Kale and Sausage

Six ingredients for this yummy dish that takes less than 30 minutes to make!

Ah, spaghetti, my old friend. I was, of course, looking forward to making this recipe because not only does it contain spaghetti, but also kale. I could eat kale with my spaghetti every day. I was intrigued how the six ingredients would work together and was pleasantly surprised with how yummy the dish was despite the simplicity of the ingredients.