15-Minute Garlic Butter Ramen

Amp up packs of ramen with this easy, quick garlic butter ramen recipe - served meatless or with your choice of meat and hard-boiled eggs!

My entire family is obsessed with anime and manga. We watch anything and everything - and read it too! We particularly love Naruto and ramen is featured a lot in the original series (I have yet to watch Shippuden). So this means we have been trying a ton of ramen recipes lately. I think this one is not only the tastiest, but it's the easiest and I think it is everyone's favorite. I absolutely love it because it's buttery and garlicky with fresh ginger and zucchini. That's just plain heavenly if you ask me. Plus it has basil too! I mean this recipe was made for me, I tell you what! The original recipe does not have any meat, but when I first made this (I've made it a few times now and it's already on the meal plan for November), I decided to saute up some pork cut into strips in a little skillet while making the ramen. Yes, I did end up with another dirty pan, but it didn't take any longer to make the recipe and it was such a wonderful addition to it. I know we will eat this recipe often :)

Sheet Pan Crispy Cheddar Pork Chops

One whole meal baked on one sheet pan - crispy cheesy pork with roasted baby red potatoes and brussels sprouts!

I have desperately trying to convince my family that brussels are actually delicious because I love them. So far, I think the only attempt that was mildly successful was when I made carbonara with shredded brussels. I will take them any way I can get them, but especially love roasted brussels sprouts, like in this sheet pan recipe! Not only do you get yummy brussels, but you get red potatoes and crispy cheddar pork chops too. So I mean, no complaints from me.

It's an easy recipe with a little bit of prep time, but I still ended up spending more time waiting for it to bake in the oven than preparing it or actively cooking anything. Again, no complains from me. I was happy to have a well-rounded, balanced meal (in my opinion, not a nutritionist or anything) that was simple to make and dirtied fewer dishes than it would have if I made this in a skillet.

Menu Plan Monday - October 29, 2018

I can't believe we're days away from November. I am scrambling to get my November meal plan together last minute (which is unlike me), but here we are! This is the meal plan for this week. I'm looking forward to Thursday in particular. I've been loving tomato, cucumber, and feta together lately. The kids wanted fried chicken with mac and cheese, so that's what we'll be enjoying this weekend :)

Monday - Ragu Stuffed Peppers [Food Network magazine]
Tuesday - Tex Mex Pork Chops
Wednesday - Coffee Cake Donuts // Cheeseburger Soup
Thursday - Greek Style Chicken Quinoa Bowls
Friday - Pumpkin Poppers // Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
Saturday - Baked Fried Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans
Sunday - Italian Baked Eggs // 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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Easy Homemade Pickled Jalapenos

If you ever find yourself in a pickle (of having too many jalapenos), these homemade jalapenos are as easy as can be and delicious too! Perfect for burgers, tacos, soup, and more!

I was incredibly excited to grow my own jalapenos once again last summer. I had an incident the first summer after we purchased our home, where a gang of chipmunks ate my jalapeno plant, peppers, leaves, and all. They left just the center stalk for me. Mind you, I also was growing habaneros right next to them to maximize spiciness. After the devastation of the chipmunks eating all my peppers and herbs, Nick gifted me an Aerogarden for our anniversary. I did a round of mixed Italian herbs first, then I purchased a salsa kit with two cherry tomato plants and two jalapeno plants. Unfortunately, my tomatoes were bad eggs and didn't grow at all. My jalapenos were bountiful. They were also literally the hottest jalapenos I have ever eaten. They WERE habanero level hot. And that isn't just me. Nick agreed that they were the spiciest jalapenos he had ever had too and he has such a high heat tolerance. This recipe for pickled jalapenos allowed me to use up all the jalapenos from my Aerogarden before they went bad!

Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken

This Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken reminds me of an old Olive Garden menu item but is quick and easy to make at home!

Many years ago, we tried a copycat Olive Garden recipe that this chicken recipe reminds me of. I think it's called Tuscan Garlic Chicken or Garlic Tuscan Chicken, but regardless, it is much more time-consuming to make than this recipe. So I was overjoyed to find it and that it is a pretty decent stand-in for that recipe. I honestly can say that I really wouldn't miss making the copycat again because this recipe tastes so much like it and is way easier. The sauce is doubled in the recipe below because I did serve mine over pasta and you definitely need double the sauce (which I did not do in the picture above).

Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup

This cheesy broccoli soup is made right in the crockpot and is unbelievably wonderful!

The very first recipe I posted on my blog was Cheddar Broccoli Soup. It has been one of my family's favorite soups for the past 8 years and we make it often. I do get a little nervous because it is made with a Ragu Double Cheese Sauce and I'm always afraid that one day, I will go to the store and it will be no longer available. I have tried a few different types of broccoli cheese soup here and there - thankfully, the Ragu is still at the store. This soup recipe comes from Ree Drummond and I should've known that PDub would have the perfect broccoli cheese soup recipe for me to keep handy, just in case. It does use Velveeta - which I have to be honest, is not my favorite - so I do like to add a little hot sauce to kind of cut into that artificial flavor. I am fairly certain I learned that trick from Ree also. I love that this is made in the crockpot too - just one more awesome bit to the recipe.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

These big, delicious chocolate chip muffins are just like the kind you get at the bakery!

My mom made muffins all the time when I was a kid. I have always been quite partial to blueberry muffins but I also really loved the chocolate chip muffins from the pouch mix. I have been chasing down trying to find a homemade version. The pouch mix only makes 6 muffins and they go much too quickly. This recipe is not identical but it has been the closest yet to my nostalgic childhood muffins. These are big hearty muffins and I love that the mini chocolate chips distribute chocolatey goodness across more surface area than the big chocolate chips. Or at least that's the way I see it haha :)

Menu Plan Monday - October 22, 2018

Ah, we have finally arrived to our last week of soccer for the season and I'm kind of bummed while still pretty ecstatic to have the weekdays and Saturdays back. It's been a lot of nights of trading off who takes a kid to practice and who stays at home to cook and if we're eating at 4 or 9.

Monday - Copycat Chicken Bryan
Tuesday - Pizza Party
Wednesday - Blueberry Pancake Muffins // Italian Chicken Soup
Thursday - Cheeseburger Salad with Animal Sauce Dressing
Friday - Sourdough Banana Nut Bread // Extra Cheese Pizza with wings
Saturday - Slow Cooker Meatloaf [Food Network magazine]
Sunday - Miss Stephanie's Biscuits and Gravy [Food Network magazine] // Piggy Brittle [Food Network magazine]

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

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Breakfast Scramble

This meatless scramble has so many fresh ingredients in it - it's the perfect morning food!

This recipe had me at scramble...because I LOVE scrambles. I've been eating lots of them lately, especially tossing leftovers into scrambles. It's either that or omelets and, to be honest, I'm still not the most proficient in making omelets. This scramble is meatless and has kale, peppers, and green onions. Plus FRESH HERBS. I have so much basil from my Aerogarden that I just relish in any opportunity to use it. I hope to make this scramble often and I would definitely love to try some crumbled feta next time!

Slow Cooker Chicken Spinach Pasta #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 PASTA. October is National Pasta Month (American) and it could have not come at a better time. Nick recently went of his keto diet and is counting macros which means he is eating carbs. Which also means, I basically want to eat pasta every single day LOL. If you knew me in real life, you would know I am a pastaholic. Pasta is life (where pesto is my life blood). I'm ridiculously excited to see what my blogging pals have in store for today's Food Fight.

I decided to share this slow cooker chicken pasta recipe for today's Food Fight because it is now one of my new favorite chicken pasta dish. I love that it's slow cooked and you only have to prep the pasta before eating. I am not 100% sure, but I believe this was my first encounter with Creamy Italian dressing. It's now a must-have, stocked dressing in my fridge (along with French, Caesar, Poppyseed, and some kind of apple or onion vinaigrette). I would love to try this with fresh spinach - I'm sure it could be added in right before it's time to eat, so that it just wilts. Also confession time: I don't care for sundried tomatoes. I think they are much too sweet and potent. So I took grape tomatoes and roasted them. If you are good at laying down aluminum foil, you technically won't dirty a baking sheet to roast the tomatoes. And you can do it while you make the pasta.

Overall, this dish is just so wonderful. You can absolutely use any pasta you want, but I'm partial to spaghetti!

Bacon Brown Sugar Pork Loin

The perfect Sunday dinner pork loin made with bacon, brown sugar, and whole grain mustard!

When I found this recipe, I didn't even think twice about putting it on my meal plan - bacon-wrapped pork loin! I looked at the ingredients list and was a little taken aback with chutney. I had heard of it, but couldn't really recall what exactly it was. If you are also living under a culinary-noob rock, chutney is an Indian condiment made from fruit and veggies with vinegar and spices. Major Grey's is a specific kind made with mangoes and red peppers. I think the chutney and whole grain mustard (first time trying that too) really classed this dish up. The smoky paprika and spicy cayenne worked so well with everything too.

Menu Plan Monday - October 15, 2018

We have another super awesome week of food ahead of us. I don't know what I'm most excited for because some of these are old favorites and some are new recipes. And now...I'm hungry :)

Monday - Mediterranean Meatball Gyro Sandwiches
Tuesday - Ree's Burrito Bowls
Wednesday - Cinnamon Roll Donuts // Easy Zuppa Toscana Soup
Thursday - Pork Tenderloin with Shredded Brussels [Food Network magazine]
Friday - Bacon Cheeseburgers with Spicy Mayo [Food Network magazine]
Saturday - Philly Cheesesteak Omelets
Sunday - Breakfast Crunchwraps // Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pudding 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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Bacon Beer Cheese Soup with Chicken

This rich beer soup has so much cheese - plus bacon and chicken for heartiness!

I have no idea what happened, but I now love beer cheese soup. I still don't like and won't drink a beer, even the wheat ones that are fine, in my opinion. But I love beer cheese soup. There is just something about a beer that adds such perfect flavor to the soup, a richness and tang. Typically, these soups only have bacon, but this one has chicken plus croutons and chives. It is such a well-rounded, hearty soup. It's perfect for this time of year!

Carne Asada Melts

Grilled cheese has never been better loaded with carne asada, tomatoes, and avocado!

I have made these melts a couple times. I have prepared them with marinaded carne asada beef and pre-prepared carne asada beef. I tend to prefer marinating it on my own but either way, it turns out fantastically. It just depends on how much time you have for prep. You can go spicy with the cheesy or more mild. Again, it's just up to you. But this is one fabulous grilled cheese that you don't want to miss out on! And I'm saying grilled cheese instead of melts because I mean, they are basically one in the same :)

Menu Plan Monday - October 8, 2018

We're having a few new recipes this week, but still mostly old favorites :) I ended up switching Wednesday's dinner because we have family in town because my sister-in-law got married over the weekend and one of my other sister-in-law's requested Dill Pickle Soup for soup night!

Monday - Loaded Blackened Chicken
Tuesday - Nachos Bell Grande
Wednesday - S'mores Baked Donuts // Dill Pickle Soup
Thursday - Rosemary Steaks with Cheesy Eggs [Food Network magazine]
Friday - Carrot Coconut Bread // Cheeseburger Pizza
Saturday - Mississippi Pot Roast
Sunday - Italian Baked Eggs // 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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German Pea Soup with Egg Dumplings

This wonderful soup is classic in so many ways but has the addition of egg dumplings to really set it apart.

I've never been a big fan of dumplings, but I like to try new things and since we've been trying a lot of German food lately, I thought this soup would be the perfect recipe to try. The egg dumplings made me a little nervous, but they ended up being relatively easy to make and they tasted a lot like gnocchi. In fact, I think the consistency is almost dead on for gnocchi and I really enjoyed that a lot. I also used a ham hock for the very first time, which was really interesting to say the least. I wanted to stay as close to the original recipe as possible when I first made it and I didn't change anything the second time I made it. This soup reminds me a lot of beef stew but also vegetable soup. It's like the two had a baby together and this was result. So definitely give it a try! I haven't yet asked my sister-in-law (who is German) if this is an authentic recipe that is eaten in Germany, but I thought I'd share the name of the soup in German for fun: Erbsensuppe mit Eierschwämmchen.

Slow Cooked Chicken Fajita Chili

Chicken fajitas turned into a slow-cooked chili to warm you up on chilly days!

I adore when I can throw meals into the crockpot and I find that I really enjoy pretty much every single chicken crockpot meal I have made. We don't eat a lot of chili and when we do, I only have a couple chili recipes that I turn to. Most all of them are beef chili, so it's really nice to have a chicken recipes for chili. And I love that this recipe is reminiscent of fajitas with that lovely fajita seasoning in it!

Menu Plan Monday - October 1, 2018

Hello, October! We've decided upon lots of old favorites in October because it's going to be such a crazy busy month. This weekend is sure to be fun and also hectic as my sister-in-law is getting married :) We're excited to welcome yet another person *officially* into the family. And I'm basically going to get to soak up all the time I can with my nephews and nieces while everyone is in town!

Monday - Spaghetti
Tuesday - Taco Bell Chicken Quesadillas
Wednesday - Snickerdoodle Crumble Donuts // Italian Wedding Soup
Thursday - Grilled Cobb Salad
Friday - Pumpkin Poppers // Crockpot Chili Dogs
Saturday - No plans - WEDDING DAY!
Sunday - Easy Cinnamon Twists

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

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