Thursday, August 30, 2018

Chicken Schnitzel with Potato Crust

Traditional pork schnitzel made with chicken and a potato crust!

Chicken Schnitzel with Potato Crust #maindish #recipe #chicken #schnitzel

Oh yes, I have another schnitzel recipe to share. I think I have a few more to post after this one because we've had so many good recipes! This one was almost a fail. I have not quite figured out how to make notoriously stick-prone food in my stainless steel pans. I opt for my nonstick because it's just the safe way to go. I normally make my breadcrumb coated schnitzel in the stainless steel with no issues, but man alive, these potato-crusted chicken breasts wanted to stick so badly. Once I switched to my nonstick, all of the schnitzel turned out beautifully golden and crispy the way it should have in the beginning. It was definitely more of a labor of love than just doing bread crumbs, but totally worth it every once in a blue moon, for sure!

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

This meal is the perfect back-to-school recipe when you don't know if dinner is at 4:30 or 9 because of extracurricular activities!

One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta #recipe #pasta #bacon #beef #onepotrecipe #maindish

I'm back with yet another one pot meal. I loved when the blog world exploded with one pot recipes because, seriously, they are STAPLES during back-to-school and soccer season. There are so many meet-the-teacher meetings, open houses, grade level meetings, etc. along with soccer practices 3 to 4 times a week in the beginning of the school year. Dinners have got to be quick because who knows if we're eating right after school or right before bedtime, because we eat together as a family. Usually one of us parents take one of the kids to soccer and the other stays home to fix dinner. It's been working pretty well and I have to say, one pot meals are the way to go. This particular meal is a fantastic recipe that tastes like a bacon cheeseburger. And honestly, you can't beat pasta that tastes like a burger!

One Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta #recipe #pasta #bacon #beef #onepotrecipe #maindish

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Cheesy Egg Casserole

An easy breakfast casserole full of cheese with a hint of  Italian seasoning!

Cheesy Egg Casserole #breakfast #egg #casserole #recipe

When I was a child, I loved cottage cheese and ate it quite a bit. Then my stepdad said something about it being rotten milk and that pretty much ruined it for me. I cannot eat it on its own now. If you like cottage cheese, please don't let me ruin it for you. I'm fairly certain all cheese is made from an ingredient of when milk sours and cheese is DELISH! Anyways, I cannot eat cottage cheese on its own, but I still have no problem if it's in something. My favorite lasagna recipe uses cottage cheese instead of ricotta (which I have always disliked). I was happy to try this egg casserole because I knew it would be pretty fantastic - and it was! I need to share the recipe with my mom because I know she would love it and she's the only person I know in real life that loves cottage cheese.

Monday, August 27, 2018

Menu Plan Monday - August 27, 2018

Menu Plan Monday for Aug 27, 2018 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

I love that August was gone in the blink of an eye because that means PUMPKIN SEASON IS HERE. Yes, I am one of those people (if you're new around here). I realized that I don't have any pumpkin recipes to post this year, so I am making up for it by making all the pumpkin food and posting it next year :)

Monday - Cheesy Bruschetta Chicken
Tuesday - Breakfast Burritos
Wednesday - S'mores Baked Donuts // 30 Minute Cheesy Taco Soup
Thursday - Low Carb Cheeseburger Salad with Big Mac Dressing
Friday - Bacon, Pesto, and Chicken Pizza
Saturday - Pesto Grilled Cheese // Root Beer Pulled Pork
Sunday - Pumpkin Poppers // Maple Walnut Blondies

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

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Friday, August 24, 2018

Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake

When you want a cinnamon roll, but don't feel like rising and rolling and filling and rolling, this pound cake is going to be your best friend!

Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake #recipe #dessert #cake #cinnamon

This pound cake is really just a bundt cake and it's one of the moistest, most delicious cakes out there. It's the best part of cinnamon rolls mixed with the best parts of a bundt cake together.I have made it twice now and my only complaint is a personal error where I don't grease my bundt pan enough and it sticks. However, it doesn't need to be pretty though because the frosting hides the imperfections and the cake's flavor speaks for itself.

Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake #recipe #dessert #cake #cinnamon

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Pretzel Buns

These buns are perfect for hamburgers or dinner rolls - salty with a crunchy exterior!

Pretzel Buns #recipe #bread #pretzel #buns

Pretzel buns are one of the very best things to ever grace the bread world. I love to especially make pretzel bread bowls for soup and chili (I've linked it at the bottom of the post if your interested), so I knew I would love having a pretzel bun for a cheeseburger. I was not disappointed. I would love these as dinner rolls for chili too and cannot wait to make Guberburgers with this salty bun!

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry

Quick stir frys are the best kind of dinners to use up some fresh veggies!

Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry #recipe #maindish #chicken #honey #stirfry

I was so excited to try this stir fry because I am used to stir frys being broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers. I rarely see squash in them and that made me such a happy camper. I love squash. I will happily eat all the squash and all the recipes with squash. This recipe is especially wonderful because the honey garlic sauce is mouthwateringly good! It's the perfect balance of salty and sweet and savory to compliment the veggies and chicken. The best thing, of course, about stir frys is that they are quick. This one can be made in under 30 minutes!

Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry #recipe #maindish #chicken #honey #stirfry

Monday, August 20, 2018

Menu Plan Monday - August 20, 2018

Menu Plan Monday for Aug 20, 2018 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

This week in particular is like all my favorite foods in one. I am so so excited for all these foods. There is no link for Tuesday because we're kind of going to wing it. I hope you all have a week of great food ahead of you too!

Monday - Weeknight Spaghetti Bolognese
Tuesday - Chicken Fajita Bowls
Wednesday - Apple Pie Oatmeal // Unstuffed Banana Pepper Soup
Thursday - Thai Chicken Stir Fry
Friday - Grilled Butter Burgers
Saturday - Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes // Chicken a la King
Sunday - White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

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

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Thursday, August 16, 2018

Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken & Rice

A hearty and fantastic slow cooker recipe with a kick - perfect for "Taco Tuesday"

Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken & Rice #recipe #chicken #slowcooker #crockpot #rice #maindish

I adore chicken and rice crockpot meals. I feel like even with the little time the rice spends in the crockpot, it just soaks up all that slow cooked goodness that the crockpot makes. This particular recipe has Rotel to add some kick plus a chipotle pepper, which adds some nice smokiness with an added kick. I don't always make tacos for Taco Tuesday and I love to switch up proteins from week to week, so this one is part of our permanent meal rotation for sure!

Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken & Rice #recipe #chicken #slowcooker #crockpot #rice #maindish

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Eggs Benedict Fail #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 JULIA CHILD. Why is that? Because it's Julia Child's birthday today. I thought it would be super fun to open up the recipes quite a bit to celebrate this wonderful lady.

As you can tell by my title...my recipe was a fail. I had it in my mind that I was going to make Julia's hollandaise sauce. I have never had hollandaise and really wanted to make it. I recently made macarons and they were super nerve-wracking, so I thought hollandaise should be a cinch if I made macarons successfully. I was absolutely wrong. I messed up three times and then tried to make the hollandaise in a blender...and still messed it up. I wasted a dozen eggs and a whole pound of butter. My kitchen was so greasy. I also was so flustered that I left my poached eggs in longer than I was going to (4 1/2 minutes instead of 3 1/2 minutes), so they were overcooked.

All the egg whites...my third broken hollandaise...the egg/broken sauce graveyard.

Overcooked poached egg...booooooo!

If you haven't made hollandaise, you take egg yolks and add butter to them (with lemon juice and cayenne) and it's this really rich wonderful sauce. But the method is very tricky. Most that I have seen, you do it over a double boiler. Because if it gets too hot, you'll cook your egg yolks and have scrambled eggs. If you don't whisk enough or add too much butter, you'll have a separated mixture, which is referred to as "the sauce breaking". This was my issue. The first time I was super close. I whisked my little heart out and counted 15 seconds on the heat and 15 off the heat. The second time, I thought maybe while adding my hot butter, I was supposed to take it off the heat completely (WRONG). The third time, I forgot my second pat of cold butter before adding the hot butter. It was honestly the most frustrating thing I've ever done in my life. I don't like not being good at something, so this was infuriating. I will attempt it again because I'm determined to nail it. I think instead of doing it directly in the saucepan (or the blender which didn't work because I don't have the right blender for it), I will attempt it over a double boiler.

I'm sorry, Julia! I may attempt your recipe once again...one day, but I am definitely going to have to recover from the fiasco first.

You may be wondering...Sarah, why didn't you just make another Julia recipe? Well, my overly confident self didn't plan ahead and waited until the weekend before to make my recipe expecting success :P That's what I get haha. I cannot wait to see what everyone else made to honor Julia Child today. And Happy Birthday, Julia!

Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.



The winner of the KEBABS Food Fight is Michaela from An Affair from the Heart and her Chicken Fajita Kabobs. I'm always looking for new Taco Tuesday grub and I love the selection of veggies she picked :)

 
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Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Easy M&M Cookie Bars

These bars are the perfect treat for any time of year, but especially back to school!

Easy M&M Cookie Bars #recipe #dessert #bars #cookies #chocolate

Back to school time just makes me think of M&M cookies and I don't know why. That I can recall, we didn't have M&M cookies for after school snacks or anything. But I'm not going to question it. I love making sweet treats for my kids for after school snacks on occasion. I made these last year and they loved them! It's such a great recipe - not too much skill needed to make it :)

Monday, August 13, 2018

Menu Plan Monday - August 13, 2018

Menu Plan Monday for Aug 13, 2018 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

Another week is here and it is also the first full week of school for my big kids. I expect soccer will be starting soon, so September's meals are going to be quicker during the weekdays for sure. Trying out some new quick recipes this week. AND doing a little belated Harry Potter's birthday celebration with some butterbeer cupcakes!

Monday - One Pot Pesto Chicken Alfredo Zoodles
Tuesday - 20 Minute Taco Salad
Wednesday - Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins // Cheddar Broccoli Soup with Chicken
Thursday - Hawaiian Steak Kabobs
Friday - Jalapeno Popper Pizza
Saturday - Swedish Coffee Cake // Mississippi Pot Roast
Sunday - Butterbeer Cupcakes

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

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Friday, August 10, 2018

Homesick Texan Pot Roast

The perfect smoky pot roast that is served up with a horseradish jalapeno sauce that is to die for!

Homesick Texan Pot Roast #recipe #maindish #potroast #brisket #beef

This recipe was supposed to be Homesick Texan Brisket because if my brother-in-law has conveyed anything about Texans...it's that they love their brisket. However, brisket is an expensive cut of meat, so I opted for the cheaper chuck roast. Sorry, not sorry, Texans. This is still a pretty great recipe and if you have a brisket to make, definitely use this recipe for it! I really love that there is molasses in this because it adds such a nice smoky richness to the meat. It also has a jalapeno horseradish sauce which was the most surprising part of the recipe to me. It's not pictured, but it was absolutely wonderful and I wish I always had some on hand. In fact, I'm not sure why I don't always have some on hand. I need to make some asap!

Wednesday, August 08, 2018

Slow Cooker Apple Cake

This wonderful fall dessert is made in the slow cooker and takes little effort to throw together!

Slow Cooker Apple Cake #dessert #crockpot #slowcooker #cake #autumn #fallrecipes #apples

Slow cooker desserts are among my favorite thing because you can set them and forget them and you have a delicious dessert ready after dinner. This particular recipe for apple cake is perfect for late summer into fall. It's pretty much a dump cake because you just put all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook it. There is not beating of ingredients and a crazy amount of preparation. It is simply tossing the apples with cinnamon and sugar, topping with cake mix, topping with melted butter, and cooking. This is a great dessert to make with children or for a potluck. You can even add some caramel sauce when you serve it up for a little caramel apple goodness!

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

Easy Pesto Pizza

This pesto pizza has only a handful of toppings, but don't underestimate the tastiness!

Easy Pesto Pizza #recipe #pizza #pesto #basil #tomato #meatless

I don't usually purchase store bought pizza crust. I much prefer to make a batch of my favorite pizza dough and freeze half. Then it's just a matter of thawing the crust during the day in preparation for dinner. I love this easy pesto pizza because it truly is easy. And there's pesto. And then more basil. This speaks to me on so many levels. The original recipe calls for topping the pizza with just mozzarella and then baking, then adding the remaining toppings after baking. I prefer the toppings get melted into the cheese, so I baked it all :)

Easy Pesto Pizza #recipe #pizza #pesto #basil #tomato #meatless

Monday, August 06, 2018

Menu Plan Monday - August 6, 2018

Menu Plan Monday for Aug 6, 2018 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

I am so excited about tonight's dinner honestly. I don't get enough brussels ever. They are so good! Tuesday is going to be an old favorite. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are all new recipes and we are really looking forward to all of those too. Then Saturday, I'm attempting to make a recipe that I cannot get a good picture of for the life of me! It's one of our favorites and we don't mind having it, but I desperately want to get a good picture of it so I can post it :)

Monday - Sausage, Brussels Sprouts, and Parmesan Pasta
Tuesday - Chili Lime Chicken Salad
Wednesday - Blueberry Cheesecake Oatmeal // Crockpot Caramelized Pork Ramen Noodle Soup
Thursday - Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Salad Wrap
Friday - Taco Burgers
Saturday - Bacon Cinnamon Rolls // Cheese and Proscuitto Stuffed Chicken
Sunday - Poo Emoji Brownies

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

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Thursday, August 02, 2018

Käsekuchen

This German cheesecake is definitely a dessert you want to try - it's way different than American cheesecake!

Käsekuchen #recipe #German #Germancuisine #Germanfood #dessert #cheesecake #cake

I have been trying more and more German cuisine thanks to my German sister-in-law. She asked if I would make käsekuchen (aka cheesecake!) and I was all for it. German cheesecake uses quark which is, from my understanding, somewhere between cottage cheese and cream cheese. I attempted to make her grandmother's recipe but the American substitutes for quark can be finicky. I tried Greek yogurt but it ended up very gritty and it was discouraging. The next time I made it, I tried a new recipe and it suggested ricotta if you couldn't find quark. I was very skeptical but decided to try it and get Chantal's opinion. She said that it was very close to what it should be and that was that. Ricotta is the right substitution for quark and it makes for a delicious German cheesecake.

Käsekuchen #recipe #German #Germancuisine #Germanfood #dessert #cheesecake #cake
Käsekuchen #recipe #German #Germancuisine #Germanfood #dessert #cheesecake #cake

Wednesday, August 01, 2018

A&W Chili Dogs Copycat

Grab a root beer and enjoy this classic chili dog copycat from A&W restaurants!

A&W Chili Dogs Copycat #recipe #copycat #hotdogs #chilidogs #maindish

I am no stranger to A&W restaurants but I have never had one of their chili dogs. So I'm not sure exactly how this chili dog copycat compares to the real thing and I'm not entirely opposed to traveling to our nearest one in Sevierville to test out the real thing. I can say, without question, that this is a fabulous chili dog recipe and I really enjoyed the very classic flavors to the chili. Per the recipe, this is a Coney Island style chili.

A&W Chili Dogs Copycat #recipe #copycat #hotdogs #chilidogs #maindish