Cuban Chicken & Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

Quinoa and black beans topped with spicy, tangy chicken, mango, and fried chili bananas!

I cannot speak to the authenticity of this dish that is dubbed Cuban, but I can speak to how delicious it is. I know that not everyone thinks fruit goes with savory dishes, but I feel like those people haven't tried the right dish. I personally love fruit in savory dishes, but I have to admit that I wasn't sure about bananas in a savory dish because I don't really like bananas a ton. However, my skepticism was met with surprise and I enjoyed every component of this dish: the seasoning on the chicken, the quinoa and black beans, and the bananas and mango. It was amazing! I did make a slight adaptation with subbing lemon juice in for the orange juice because my oldest is allergic to oranges.

Menu Plan Monday - April 27, 2020

I put stuffed shells on my meal plan thinking that jumbo shells would be in stock, but unfortunately, they were not. I may switch it out for something later in the month and hope I can find it one week in the month. That is...when I finish the rest of my meal plan for the month. While the house has been pretty much completely unpacked and most of the way set up (still need to get a few things for organizing and storing), keeping on a schedule has been very difficult the past week. Hoping this week will be better!

Monday - Creamy Herb Cheese Pasta Bake
Tuesday - Smothered Baked Chicken Burritos
Wednesday - Beefy Tomato Soup
Thursday - Greek Chicken Gyros
Friday - Garlic Overload Burgers with Creamy Garlic Burger Sauce
Weekend - Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby Pancakes // Pesto Cream Cheese Stuffed Shells Bolognese // Butterfinger Butterscotch Cookies

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

Eggs Florentine Casserole

This egg casserole has loads of spinach plus sausage, red bell pepper, and cheese!

I adore breakfast casseroles. They are so convenient to feed a crowd - especially for any holiday. We didn't do Easter this year like normal with the Stay at Home order and all that. We don't really celebrate Easter, but we always do an Easter dinner with our family (who does celebrate Easter). I grew up celebrating it and loved when my grandma would make casseroles for breakfast. I guess that tradition just really stuck with me. On a normal year, I probably would have made this, but we have had a hit or miss with eggs in the grocery store.

This casserole is great because it has sausage in it - usually it's ham or bacon. Plus there's spinach and red bell in it. The original recipe also used mushrooms, but as per usual, I omitted them. The original recipe also had Swiss cheese, but we also don't eat that, so I typically switch it out for either mozzarella, gruyere, or gouda. Just depending on my mood.

Three Cheese Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Get ready for the best alfredo sauce of your life with three cheeses in this amazing pasta dish!

Our favorite alfredo sauce of all-time comes from The Recipe Critic, so I knew I would love this recipe as well from The Recipe Critic. I had to cross reference the alfredo sauces to see how close they were and the only addition here is mozzarella cheese. So they are nearly the same and they are close enough to both be winners. This definitely will be a go-to recipe for us because of the alfredo sauce (and the fact that I don't have to make lasagna roll ups to get it. Plus the broccoli comes with it, so I can serve this up in bowls and not plates. It's a winner winner all around, folks. You'll notice in the pictures that penne is used and shells are used. We made it a handful of times within a short period of time (very unlike us and that means we love love love it) and I have to say that I prefer shells over penne.

Creme Caramel Squares

Layers of graham crackers, cream cheese whip, vanilla pudding, butterscotch pudding, and Cool Whip make an incredible, fluffy, light dessert!

Well, hello! I'm a little behind today on posting. I meant to schedule more before we moved last weekend, but I didn't do that. We spent Thursday packing the Uhaul (just Nick and I), Friday we started offloading the UHaul at like 4:30 at the new house - closing for selling and buying took all day :/ Saturday we waited on the movers to get the really heavy stuff and finally finished that around 4. Then the rest of Saturday through Monday evening, we attempted to unpack all the boxes and organize and set up everything we could. We're pretty dang close to being done. I'm so in love with my new kitchen!

Anyways, that has nothing to do with the recipe and, I know, I know, bloggers just love to do that (and usually I don't), but anyways....

This dessert is really easy to make. It's very delicious and I think it's a great summer dessert, but it totally would work year round. The cream cheese mixture is kinda like a no-bake cheesecake but fluffier. I love butterscotch pudding a whole whole lot and ugh. Y'all just gotta try this!

Menu Plan Monday - April 20, 2020

Alright, crazy stuff, but...we're in our new house now! Ahhh! I had to schedule this before we moved because we aren't supposed to have internet until later today (first opening our internet provider had), but we are in our new house. It's crazy because we never thought we would move and then life changed and we needed more space and Nick needed a dedicated spot to work from home (which he did prior to the pandemic). We also should be hearing if the big kids are going back to school next week. I personally think they will just cancel for the rest of the year like so many other schools, but we'll see.

Monday - Broccoli Chicken Casserole
Tuesday - Easy Taco Salad
Wednesday - One Pot White Chicken Lasagna Soup
Thursday - Tuscan Grilled Steak
Friday - Easy Cheesy Sausage & Pesto Ring
Weekend - PB&J Muffins // Broccoli Stuffed Chicken // German Chocolate Cookies

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

Dutch Baby Pancakes

A traditional puffed pancake breakfast that is light and fluffy with bits of crisp crust too!

I have been wanting to make a dutch pancake for so long. I thought they looked so unique and my curiosity was peaked. We were not able to keep berries long enough to use them in this recipe, but it was wonderful with powdered sugar and syrup. I definitely want to make some again soon and do berries on top. My only complaint is that I literally want to eat the whole thing! I'm not 100% sure if I have the right recipe because this is from the Cravings cookbook - unfortunately I packed mine up and so I won't be able to get to it until later this week. Then I'll see if the person who reposted Chrissy's recipe did it with no modifications. :)

Cheeseburger and Fries Sheet Pan Crunchwraps

What's better than Taco Tuesday crunchwraps? Burgers and fries with a delicious cheese sauce in a crunchwrap!

We make crunchwraps all the time. At least every other month, which is a lot for us. Other favorite recipes may get made a few times a year. We tried breakfast crunchwraps (will be linked at the very bottom of the post) and then I found this recipe for a cheeseburger crunchwrap...with FRIES IN IT. It's genius. It was UK recipe, so I did have to modify measurements and ingredients a smidge. But I think it turned out really well and I definitely would love to make it again.

Crispy Chicken Florentine Melt

Crispy breaded chicken topped with melted mozzarella, tomatoes, and spinach.

Honestly, I cannot get enough of foods with grape tomatoes and when you throw spinach into the mix, it's going to be a favorite. This recipe is also a Ree Drummond recipe, so I can bank on it being a favorite. So that's two things going in that I knew would be working in my favor. What's even more fabulous about this recipe is that the chicken is breaded and nice and crispy. Then topped with melty mozzarella. I mean it really cannot get better than that. In the original recipe, the chicken was served with buttered English muffins. I love English muffins but thought it was a little strange with dinner. But it really sealed the deal. It's a keeper all around!

Menu Plan Monday - April 13, 2020

It's moving week! We're going to attempt to stay pretty normal for the most part because we are moving a whopping 2 miles away from our current home. We plan to have our older kids (13 and 12) unpack the kitchen first while we're kind of back and forth with boxes and furniture. It'll be really nice too that I don't have to worry about restocking the pantry or spices or fridge - it's just transporting our current food to the new house. Just like if it were coming from the grocery store to the house.

Monday - One Pot 30-Minute Cheeseburger Pasta
Tuesday - Crockpot Fiesta Ranch Cream Cheese Chicken
Wednesday - Asian-Style Sloppy Joes
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Marco's Pizza
Weekend - Buffalo Cheeseburger Tatertot Casserole // Butterfinger Butterscotch Cookies

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

Cake Mix Coffee Cake

This moist yellow cake with a cinnamon brown sugar crumble swirl and topping is the perfect breakfast!

I haven't made coffee cake in a while but I really love it. What's not to love about cake for breakfast?! This coffee cake utilizes cake mix and it makes the most moist coffee cake I've ever had. I loved the walnuts and the crumble swirl is fantastic coupled with it actually being a crumble topping too. Honestly, I really like that this isn't a little 9x9 pan...it's a 9x13 and that means there is plenty of coffee cake. Some for breakfast, some for snack, some for second breakfast :)

Homemade French Onion Dip

If you have sour cream and some basic spice staples, you can make this dip without making a trip to the store!

One day, I was craving chips and dip. I think the only kind of dip I eat is French onion dip and I didn't want to go out to the store to get just one thing that wasn't really a necessity. I looked up a recipe and was pleased to discover I had everything I needed to make it already: sour cream and some seasonings that are staples in my pantry. It tastes as good if not better than any other French onion dip I've purchased at the store and I'm definitely keeping this recipe in my back pocket for whenever I have a craving!

Crispy Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Lemon Pasta

This easy lemon pasta dish is topped with crispy parmesan coated chicken!

I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe because it reminds me a ton of the first recipes I tried that was a savory lemon recipe, Lemon Fettuccine. But with garlic. My crispy chicken got a little crispy (sometimes that happens when I get distracted in the kitchen - especially with multiple things going on). We paired ours with asparagus because 1) we love it and 2) it's in season so it's cheaper and 3) it  goes really well with a lemon dish. I used the zest of the lemon I needed for this recipe for the asparagus.

Menu Plan Monday - April 6, 2020

Hello, hello. Hope all is well with you and your loved ones. I don't remember if I've said before, but basically life is about the same for us because Nick already worked from home and I am doing college online. The biggest difference is that our two oldest kids are home from school - at the least until the end of the month. I'm not sure if they'll go back this year or not. I decided to have a few meatless-ish options this week so that if I cannot find enough chicken, I have a plan in place for it!

Monday - Spinach Artichoke Pasta
Tuesday - Beef, Bean, & Cheese Burritos
Wednesday - Jalapeno Popper Soup
Thursday - Korean Beef Bowls with Veggies
Friday - Extra Cheese Pizza with Lemon Pepper Wings
Weekend - Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins // Creamy Chicken Lasagna // Chocolate Crunch Cookies

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

Steak 'n Shake Garlic Double Steakburgers

Garlic it up with these copycat double burgers that you can make at home!

I must admit that I have only had Steak 'n Shake a couple of times. I had never really heard anything good about them. I did try a local one, but then stopped because apparently they had served undercooked chicken tenders and then refused to refund the meal. I rather like making copycat recipes at home. They tend to be way better than what comes at the fast food place and so here I am making a copycat of something I have not tried at the restaurant. And you don't have to ask me twice about making a recipe that has garlic in the title! We were in love with these burgers - so garlicky!

One Pan Creamy Lemon Pasta with Chicken and Asparagus

The perfect springtime pasta dish made in one pan under 30 minutes.

I love lemon in savory dishes and now that spring has sprung, I want some lemon savory dishes! This recipe utilizes asparagus too, which is in season and usually a bit cheaper during this time of year. This recipe is a one pan recipe that can be ready in under 30 minutes and it's a fairly easy one to make. Nick actually made this last year when Cami had her weekly choir practice after school across town and I took her out there and then went to the library to study while she practiced. It was fantastic and we made it again just a few short months after. It's definitely going to be a regular recipe.

Carrot Coconut Bread

When carrot cake and coconut cake have a baby and it's smothered in cream cheese frosting!

It's always been hard for me to pick my favorite cake flavor. I like so many cakes. I really only dislike two kinds of cake: lemon and red velvet. Carrot cake is one of my all-time favorites. I finally am going to have the carrot cake cheesecake I've almost picked for my birthday cake for years this upcoming September. What I really appreciate about this bread recipe is that it's like carrot cake and coconut cake had a baby and it's delicious and wonderful. The cream cheese frosting is amazing, as all cream cheese frosting is. It's a nice deviation from typical banana bread (which is also great, but sometimes variety is nice!).