Monday, November 30, 2020

Menu Plan Monday - November 30, 2020

Menu Plan Monday for Nov 30, 2020 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

Good Monday morning, everyone! We're still trying to eat our Thanksgiving leftovers, so tonight's dinner is going to use a bit of those up. We made a little bit too much food because we're so used to big family Thanksgivings. This month is going to be a lot of old recipes but there are definitely some new ones in there. I'm also trying really hard to focus on making my breakfast and dessert recipes each week. I've been majorly slacking!

 Monday - Creamed Turkey
Tuesday - Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Wednesday - Egg Drop Soup
Thursday - Beef Lo Mein
Friday - Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Weekend - Double Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins // Baked Bruschetta Chicken // Gingerbread Magic Cake

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

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Steak with Roasted Potato Salad

Perfectly seared steak with a lovely roasted potato salad with some light fixings.

I love how I sat down to type up this recipe and couldn't figure out what was going on. The original recipe serves up the roasted potatoes on top of the salad and you make a roasted garlic buttermilk dressing to go on top. Then the steak goes on top of all of that. However, no one will eat that style of dressing and so we ended up just serving the things separately. It still was a great recipe and I was able to top my salad with my favorite vinaigrette - I will admit that I didn't want dressing on my potatoes or steak.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Buffalo Chicken Burrito Bowls

This rice bowl has tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, plus buffalo chicken to boot! So many great ingredients for an easy dinner!

I hope everyone had a lovely, safe Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to this next month of blogging that leads to the final Countdown deal I do each year. If you're a fellow blogger looking for the Countdown info, I'm actually not going to host this year. I'm just going to do the round ups but please feel free to leave your round ups linked in my comments of those posts!

Today's recipe is one of the recipes I've had for years and years and didn't make it. I feel like I do this a lot and then kick myself when I finally make it because it's a new favorite and I could have been enjoying it all along. We have been loving avocado and queso fresco lately, so it was nice to see those in a recipe and this is definitely something we will make and enjoy for years to come!

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Creamy Spinach & Red Pepper Chicken

A creamy, rich  sauce with spinach, red pepper, and tomato stuffed in chicken breast topped with more sauce, tomatoes, and basil.

I love roasted red pepper recipes and jump at saving all the ones I find. This one is from Ree Drummond which means I knew I would enjoy it and the family would too. It reminds me a lot of Tuscan Garlic Chicken because of the sauce and spinach and bell pepper. I love the touch of tomatoes and basil too. A great recipe that really doesn't take too long to make. I think it's actually quicker and less hassle than Tuscan Garlic Chicken. I served mine up with loads of veggies and it was a good ole time.

Monday, November 23, 2020

Menu Plan Monday - November 23, 2020

Menu Plan Monday for Nov 23, 2020 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

It's already time for Thanksgiving, which is just wild! Why does 2020 seem to be both the longest year in history and then also the months are gone in a blink and here we are about to be in December. We're doing a lowkey Thanksgiving this year - surprisingly we are more excited about our Thanksgiving evening tradition when we tray it up and marathon a movie series. I think we're doing Underworld this year. We have an epic charcuterie tray planned with fruit and chocolate and cheese and pretzel chips and leftover turkey and ham.

Monday - Roasted Veggie & Sausage Pasta
Tuesday - Fajita Stuffed Chicken with Jalapeno Queso Sauce
Wednesday - x
Thursday - Cranberry BBQ Crockpot Meatballs // Loaded Scalloped Potatoes // Pecan Pie Blondies // Bacon-Wrapped Turkey
Friday - x
Weekend - Chocolate Waffles with Raspberry Sauce // PJ Smothered Chicken // Pecan Pie Cheesecake Fudge

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

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes have never been better with this slow cooked version with lots of cheese and bacon!

I have found more and more that I am beginning to be okay with Velveeta cheese as long as it's not pure Velveeta. In this recipe, it goes in with garlic and beef and bacon into a slow cooker. I admit I still usually add a couple dabs of hot sauce to cut through that artificial flavor a bit. I loved sloppy joes as a child, so I really appreciate this recipe because it's a sloppy joe, but it tastes like a bacon cheeseburger. It's like an adult sloppy joe if that was a thing!? :)

Friday, November 20, 2020

Easy Pork Ramen

Elevate that package of ramen with pork tenderloin, greens, ginger, and garlic!

I love this recipe because it's not necessarily a quick ramen upgrade. It's just a little bit extra effort to upgrade ramen with loads of extra flavor - no need to have that little seasoning packet! You can use preseasoned pork tenderloins or just marinate your pork yourself. Either way works. Basically this is still a pretty easy, not complicated recipe, but there are more elements to it than just dumping noodles and packet into boiling water.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Southwest Chopped Chicken Salad

Salads are some of my favorite dinners - especially when they have all the things like chicken, tomato, beans, corn, avocado, and more!

This salad is nothing extremely unique or something that will blow anyone's mind, but it is a fantastic, quick dinner and I really enjoyed it. The original recipe came with a salad dressing, however, I'm about the only person who eats dressing in the house and depending on how busy the day is that I'm making the recipe, I'll skip making the dressing and grab the premade kind. Still...a great recipe for dinner. Lots of fixings and you can add a little extra flavor if you get tortilla chips with kick of lime :)

Monday, November 16, 2020

Menu Plan Monday - November 16, 2020

Menu Plan Monday for Nov 16, 2020 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan

I've been attempting to keep the meal plan as simple as I can lately. I am digging up some pretty old recipes from the archives (Weds and Thurs) and still trying to get with the picture and make my ONE breakfast recipe and ONE dessert recipe. We'll see how that goes :)
 

 Monday - 20-Minute Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta
Tuesday -  Tacos
Wednesday - Crockpot Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Wild Rice Soup
Thursday - Good & Garlicky Sweet & Sour Pork
Friday - Extra Cheese Pizza // Popcorn Chicken
Weekend - Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins // Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf // Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Cookies

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

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

What better way to enjoy your vegetables than roasted and served with a cheese sauce?


I'm really happy to share this recipe finally, although I have to say, I wish the pictures were better. It's hard to get pictures of anything that's got a cheese sauce and make it look halfway appetizing. However, don't let the pictures deter you, this au gratin is slamming! I personally love brussels, so I'm not sure someone who wouldn't like brussels would agree. However, if you want to try something new, I highly recommend this. I served this up at Thanksgiving last year and I wish I made it more often because it's so easy to make and...again....it's slamming!

Friday, November 13, 2020

School Pizza Copycat

If you've ever had and loved this thicker crust (amazing) school pizza as a kid, you need this recipe!

School pizza is very polarizing in that I know some people despise and some people love it.  I will say this...I like the school pizza I had when I was in elementary school. Once I moved to Tennessee and attended middle school and high school, the pizza was not the same. Matt and Cami were not excited about this pizza because they only know Tennessee school pizza and it is not like this one. But they ate it and then told me how they would absolutely eat school pizza if it was like this AND how jealous they were that I got this at school.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

There's no reason for boring, plain mashed potatoes - brown that butter, add a kick of horseradish!

I am always looking for new ways for making old classics and I tend to make them at holidays - which is really risky, but mostly works out for me. Last Thanksgiving, I wanted to try these potatoes because browned butter sounded like the way to go. I don't think I've eaten anything with browned butter that I didn't like immediately and wholeheartedly. I love that these mashed potatoes are made with red potatoes - and that the skins are left on (my preferred way to make and eat mashed potatoes). The browned butter added such depth to the flavor, but I have to be honest and say that the horseradish was the winner winner here. It added the perfect kick of tartness to the potatoes.

Monday, November 09, 2020

Menu Plan Monday - November 9, 2020

Menu Plan Monday for Nov 9, 2020 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan


I've been absolutely terrible lately with making my one breakfast recipe and one dessert recipe for the week. I'm hoping to get back on track and do them. The last few weekends have been super busy, so I think it's a matter of getting back on a schedule. There are tons of favorites this week and plenty of hopeful new recipes to try.

Monday - Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
Tuesday -  Southwest Chicken & Rice
Wednesday -  Easy Zuppa Toscana Soup
Thursday - Greek Style Grilled Chicken Salad
Friday -  Copycat McDonald's Burgers
Weekend -  Pumpkin Oreo Donuts // Crockpot Chicken & Potatoes // Gingerbread Magic Cake Bars

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

Sunday, November 08, 2020

Jalapeno Popper Macaroni & Cheese

Add some spice to the holiday feast with this over-the-top incredible macaroni and cheese or add chicken for a full meal!

I had kept putting off making this recipe and I cannot really tell you why because my family loves anything jalapeno popper. I have made this for dinner and I have made this for a holiday side. When I make it for dinner, I like to add chicken to it (usually seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic) to make it extra hardy. This is just a seriously wonderful recipe with the perfect amount of heat and a nice crunch from the topping. No one will want any other macaroni and cheese ever again. This one is perfect.

Friday, November 06, 2020

Ultimate Reese's Brownies

These brownies are the ultimate treat for pb lovers with pb chips, pb cups, and Reese's Pieces!

I love brownies, but I will admit that I love a box brownie mix. Homemade brownies have been good, but nothing could beat a box mix...until these guys! OMG. They taste like box mix on steroids - love love the Reese's cups and Reese's Pieces and I really love any recipe that has peanut butter chips.

Wednesday, November 04, 2020

Copycat White Castle Sliders

Harold & Kumar were onto something with the White Castle Sliders, but instead of the journey they took, you can just make them at home!

I have posted a copycat recipe of this particular food before, however, the recipe/method were completely different. This one is based more on how White Castle actually makes their sliders. I have never been to White Castle. The South has Krystals which I've heard isn't as good, but works. I personally don't like Krystals at all. My husband, Nick, on the other hand, loves both of them a lot. I made this recipe for him. I used Andrew Rea's recipe from his show Binging with Babish - if you haven't heard of him, I highly recommend. He is absolutely fabulous. I really enjoyed this recipe, so maybe I'd be a White Castle fan - who knows!? :)

Monday, November 02, 2020

Menu Plan Monday - November 2, 2020

Menu Plan Monday for Nov 2, 2020 // What I'm making this week #menuplanmonday #mealplan


We're gearing up for a busy new time in life. Since I finished grad school, I am now on the hunt for a job to start my career. I have my very first interview today and I'm really excited about it. For sure a little nervous, but excited. This week is a lot of quick, easy recipes. I feel like I'm going to need it :) I may need to slow down blogging a teensy bit, so I may go back to 2 recipes a week (instead of 3), along with my Menu Plan Monday.

Monday - Loaded Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole
Tuesday - Mom's Tacos
Wednesday - Slow Cooker Chicken & Gnocchi Soup
Thursday - Spicy Pork Brussels Bowls
Friday - 8 Layer Dip Pizza
Weekend -  Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins // Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf // Rosemary Cauliflower Mash // Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

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

Sunday, November 01, 2020

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

This hasselback style chicken is stuffed with cheese, jalapenos, and bacon and is complete perfection!


Back when my husband and I were first married, we ate jalapeno poppers on Friday nights often. For whatever reason, I cannot find the cheddar cheese kind anymore and it drives me banana sandwich because they are the best kind. So I have tons of recipes on the blog that involve jalapenos and cheese. I love that there is no butterflying or trying to pound the chicken out thin and rolling it up. Hasselback is the way to go.