Crockpot Potato Soup

Crockpot Potato Soup

I've been meaning to post this forever, in fact since 2014! However I added the picture and then didn't have time to write the post and then babies and life and yada yada yada...

Chicken, Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Corn Taco

Hello healthy lunch!

I'm embarrassed it's been a whole year since I last posted!! I'm going to straight up blame it on the kids, that's why I had them in the first place isn't it? I needed someone to blame for my laziness, messy house, lateness, and all out craziness and my husband wasn't letting me blame him anymore...

BBQ Pulled Pork

Lip smackin' good y'all!

I don't know about you but I'm always looking for a good crockpot recipe. Honestly, sometimes I hardly have time to eat much less think about what to make for dinner. And in the summer when I'd rather be playing with my family outside, the last thing I really want to do is come inside to cook all night. I mean, I live in Wisconsin...I have to take advantage of summer when I can!!

Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo Pasta

Creamy. Delicious. Flavorful.

My friend Chelsea and I were having a girls night and we wanted to cook a fun dinner along with the fun butters we were making (she was making an apple bourbon butter and I made a pumpkin butter, both wonderful). Chelsea, an avid foodie and amazing cook herself, found this recipe and wanted to try it. So we went shopping together, bought all the ingredients, pulled out canning supplies out, and spent the whole afternoon/evening in the kitchen among good food and wine! Don't you just love nights like that?!

Homemade Spinach Gnocchi

The sad truth to this post is that I have no clue how to make gnocchi. This was just such a delicious dish that I HAD to show off. My brother made this yummy spinach gnocchi for us when my mom and sister came to visit. This is a spinach gnocchi with a shallot and tomato light cream sauce. DIVINE! I think the sauce was so tasty we literally took spoonfuls after all the gnocchi was gone. I'll try to wrangle up the recipe and post it on here sometime. If you are not a gnocchi fan, you need to make (or have someone make for you) homemade gnocchi, it really is delicious!! Thanks Biggies!

Roasted Veggie Wraps with Goat Cheese Spread



The players aka what's inside

 While it may still feel like winter here in Wisconsin, I know that swimsuit season is fast approaching. On April 1st I started a DietBet on DietBet.com. Basically every person that joins the DietBet game contributes $X and whoever loses 4% of their body weight in 4 weeks splits the pot. I'm about 60% of the way there and have about 10 days left. That said...I've been forced to eat healthy (and by forced I mean I'm too damn stubborn to lose even $1 in a bet)!

Stuffed Peppers

As 2013 hit, Kurt and I decided we really want to start taking better care of ourselves. As you can see from the blog, I'm a BIG fan of comfort food (like, big big BIG fan). Unfortunately for our waistline, comfort food is not very healthy and does not aid in staying in shape. I've made a big push lately to eat healthier foods and try to use fresh ingredients.

Amped Up Goat Cheese & Asparagus Pizza

My best friend Suki lives in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota. One glorious weekend I was able to get away, sans husband and child, and pay a visit to said BFF. It was glorious!! We went out to eat at nice restaurants, we slept in (me only until 8am of course), leisurely got ready, and even went dancing! Not to mention it was my bestie's 30th birthday!!!

Biggies' Penne a la Vodka

This pasta is freaking YUM! My lil brother Biggies introduced it to me and Kurt probably 4 years ago. At the time he was planning on becoming a chef so we'd invite him to dinner, buy the groceries he needed, and he'd make us a delicious meal (all while completely destroying my kitchen with dirty dishes!!)! Pretty good deal if you ask me. The first time my brother made this he just did the pasta itself and made an unbelievable pork tenderloin to go with it. Since Kurt and I live on a bit of a budget we usually add chicken to the dish instead. Now, as many times as I've tried to replicate my brother's dish, it just never tastes as good as his does. I can only chalk that up to the fact that he probably left an ingredient out so that I've got to keep inviting him over for dinner! 

Grandpa D's Beef Enchiladas

About 4 years ago Kurt and I were visiting his Grandma and Grandpa in Illinois and staying over for dinner. Kurt's grandpa is one amazing cook and he made us these beef enchiladas. I don't think it took Kurt more than a few days to request them in the rotation. Luckily I got the recipe from Grandpa before we left that weekend. Sadly Kurt's grandpa passed last year but we will always have the fond memories of him and his amazing meals!!

Chicken Pot Pie

Now that it's going to be amazing weather, I've finally decided to jump back on the blog bandwagon and I'm going to start with a favorite winter comfort food, Chicken Pot Pie! Now, my mama always made the absolute best chicken pot pie when I was growing up. When I went to college she gave me her recipe and I always tried to replicate it and it was always delicious but never quite "mama's chicken pot pie." I think it has to do with her special ingredient...she always said it was love but I'm guessing she put a little something else in it and just never told me what it was ;)! 

Tater Tot Casserole

First, it is really hard to take a good picture of this casserole...of most casseroles actually! Second, this is one of those comfort food dishes that sticks to your ribs and fills you up. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry too! Tater Tot Casserole is just one of those yummy meals that I make when the weather starts to get cold and when I know I will want leftovers for awhile. Kurt loves this meal too and he is always satisfied when I make it. I should add that this is not a healthy dinner but it is quick, easy, and totally YUM!

Tater Tot Casserole

Source: Jenny, a Friend

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen tater tots

1 lb. ground beef

16 oz. reduced fat sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Add ins (I use 1 can of corn and 2 small cans of mushrooms)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour bag of tater tots on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. 

2. Brown the ground beef. While beef is browning, mix the sour cream, chicken soup, any add-ins, and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese in a large bowl. When beef is cooked add it to the mixture and mix well.

3. Pour beef mixture over tater tots and spread out evenly. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheddar on top.

4. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and cheese is melted.

Teryaki Chicken All Grown Up

Sorry the picture sucks, I was so hungry and it smelled so good I couldn't wait!!

If you have looked back on some of my early posts you may have seen my Teriyaki Chicken Nuggets recipe. I was feeling exceptionally lazy last Sunday night but still wanted to make a nice dinner for my hardworking husband. I knew that my Teriyaki Chicken Nuggets are one of his favorite meals and I rarely make them because I hate how my house smells after frying up chicken not to mention the work it takes to cut up and bread all the nuggets. I decided that I could probably use the same sauce recipe and instead of cutting up the chicken into little nuggets I could just pound them out thinner and use the whole chicken breast!


My idea worked like a charm (obviously ;) and the chicken was delicious! This method was so simple and so tasty that I will definitely have to work this into the rotation more often. I would suggest cooking the chicken just a little short of done because you will stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes. I always serve this dish with white rice and spoon some extra sauce over the rice because it is sooooo tasty!! I hope you can give this recipe a whirl and if you do, let me know what you think!


Teriyaki Chicken All Grown Up
Souce: Me and My Mama


Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp. Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1-2 eggs beaten
oil for frying
Glaze (I personally double this recipe as I like a lot of extra sauce for dipping):
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. honey
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce or teriyaki marinade
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger (fresh is best but powder is good too)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix soy sauce, teriyaki marinade or sauce, ginger, honey, and garlic in a pan and heat on medium heat.
2. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Slice chicken breast in half horizontally or pound out your chicken breast to desired thickness (mine were about 1/4-1/2 inch).
3. Mix flour, salt, pepper and Lawrys in one bowl. In another bowl beat 1 egg. Dip each chicken breast in egg then in flour mixture then place on a plate.
4. When oil is hot add all chicken breast, or as many as can fit, into the frying pan. Fry on both sides just short of doneness. Immediately transfer to teriyaki mixture and make sure both sides are coated in the teriyaki sauce.
5. Place chicken on a wire rack on a baking sheet and put in oven for 10 minutes, basting chicken with teriyaki mixture halfway through.
6. Serve with white rice and a vegetable. I use the extra sauce to dip my chicken in as well!!

Hot Hammie Sammies

Now, what would you expect a pasta lover to eat on National Pasta Day (which was yesterday, 10/17, by the way)?!! Probably not Hot Hammie Sammies huh? I have failed as a blogger and on National Pasta Day I failed to find a recipe to make in time. It's been hectic in our household lately and I just haven't had the time I want and need to read my food blogs and scour for new recipes to try. So I used what we had on hand and made this hot little number.

Hot Hammie Sammies are pretty freaking awesome sandwiches! They are quick, easy, delicious, and can be made ahead of time and popped in the oven when you are ready to eat. The sauce is buttery and mustardy (is that even a word?) and the bun is sweet and it really is a perfect combination. Normally I make these on little hawaiian rolls and they are great as an appetizer or to eat a couple (or 3 or 4) for a main dinner sandwich. Last night I didn't have those sweet hawaiian rolls so I just made them on kaiser rolls. And, to make sure I had something pasta related, I made a boxed pasta salad to go along with it. I never said I cook fancy food, just easy and delcious meals! ;)

Next time you have a party or need an easy dinner, try these out and let me know what you thought!

Hot Hammie Sammies

Source: Tee, a friend

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1 stick of butter

1.5 tbsps of yellow mustard

1 tbsp of minced onion

1/2 tsp of Worchestershire sauce

Poppy seeds

Sammies:

1 1b. ham

1 lb. swiss cheese (or about that much)

Buns or rolls (hawaiian rolls if you can find them or any small to medium sized roll that is sweeater)

Aluminum foil

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a small bowl. Once melted, add mustard, onion and Worchestershire.

2. Slice rolls in half. Spread some sauce on each side of the bun (I used a spoon and spread it around). Sprinkle poppy seeds on one or both sides of bun to your liking. 

3. Layer cheese and ham on bottom bun and replace the top bun.

4. Wrap each sammie in foil and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm!

**You can also leave them wrapped in the foil and they will stay warm for quite some time. Or you can wrap them up and put them in the freezer instead of baking them. They last about a month in the freezer before they get hit with freezer burn. When you want to bake them I just take them out of the freezer and bake them 12-15 minutes.

Noodles & Company Macaroni & Cheese (Copycat Recipe)

If you have ever been to Noodles & Company and had their Macaroni & Cheese, then you know that this stuff is like crack-cocaine for the mac & cheese lover! When you get this at Noodles & Co. it comes in a bowl that has the cheese sauce ladeled into the bottom, then they place the noodles on top and finally sprinkle some shredded cheese over everything. When you get it you immediately mix it up so that the shredded cheese can melt and bind it all together. Finally you dig in and get a big forkful of noodles, pull it up to your mouth and watch as the cheese just strings away from the dish. That first bite is like ooey gooey goodness as it all melts in your mouth!! I seriously think that sometimes I see rainbows when I'm eating this!! **salivating**

I have tried many many times to just replicate this dish without ever using a recipe and had failed every time. Yesterday Kurt was out of town and I had a serious craving for this mac & cheese. Finally I did what every good researcher does, I Googled this dish! Duh, this should have been something I did ages ago! I found the same copycat recipe on many websites so decided that it was probably good enough to try. I was pleasantly surprised when I made it, the cheese sauce was gooey and cheesy, the noodles cooked al-dente, and the cheese on top added a little extra flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed mixing this up and watching it turn into the most yummy macaroni and cheese ever!! Oh, and did I mention that it is super easy to make?! This has now turned into my go-to recipe for macaroni & cheese.

I should note that the cheese sauce is really thick, a lot thicker than Noodles & Co.'s sauce. I cut this recipe in half when I made it (still plenty for 2 people) and I made a roux with only 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour and it was still really thick. Next time I might try just heating the half and half then adding the cheese.

Noodles & Company Macaroni & Cheese (Copycat)

Source: Yahoo Answers

Ingredients:

1 lb. elbow noodles

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour
3 cups half & half
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
3 cups Monterey Jack or Colby Jack Cheese (I used Monterey Jack)
Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, making a roux. Gradually whisk in half & half until thickened. Stir in salt (and pepper if you like).
3. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until cheese melts.
4. Ladel cheese into bottom of bowl. Spoon noodles on top. Sprinkle with fancy shredded cheese (monterey jack or mild cheddar is best).

Chicken Bundles

As you may know, I am part of a chat board for moms of July babies. These moms are just wonderful for so many reasons! We all share stories of our little ones, ask and answer questions about mommyhood, talk about the challenges we are facing in life....and share yummy recipes! This is one of those delicious recipes that had been shared. I saw the recipe pop up for the first time from one of the ladies as it is a staple in her house. After the recipe first posted, I'd see a new rave review pop up every day about this little bundle of yumminess! I have to admit, they do not disappoint. These chicken bundles are very easy to make and oh-so-tasty! If I make them again like this I will probably add mushrooms as well since we love mushrooms in this household. The other reason I like these bundles is because you can use any type of filling: pizza, mexican, italian, vegetarian...the list goes on and on really. Oh, definitely husband approved!

Chicken Bundles

Source: Cooking Up A Storme

Ingredients:

1 sm pkg (about 1-1.5 lbs) chicken breasts, browned and chopped

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1 stick of butter
1 small jar of pimientos (I used green olives and chopped them up)
1/4 - 1/2 cup diced green onions
1 tsp minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls (8 count)
2 Tbsp melted butter
Italian bread crumbs


Directions:
1. Soften cream cheese and butter and mix together in large mixing bowl.
2. Add pimientos, green onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well.Add chicken and combine all ingredients.
3. Use 2 crescent roll triangles and seal perforations to make a rectangle. I usually try to make it as close to square shaped as possible.
4. Spoon chicken mixture into center (approx 1/4 cup). Pull corners together and seal. Place on a cookie sheet seam side down.
5. Brush bundles with melted butter and dust with bread crumbs.
6. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes

If you make these I'd love to hear what you think! Did you do anything different?

Chicken Primavera with Pasta

So I have seen a bunch of commercials lately about this Philadelphia Cooking Creme and they have piqued my interest. I was searching Kraftfoods.com and saw that they had a bunch of recipes using this creme. As we all know, the easier and faster a meal is to make, the more I like it. This is one of those meals!! This dish has 4 ingredients and comes together so fast! The only issue I had with it is that the sauce is really thick. Next time I make it I will either add some of the starchy cooking water from the pasta or some chicken stock to the sauce to thin it out a little bit. Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is Kurt approved. He did have a suggestion of using angel hair pasta and adding shrimp too, both of which I think would be muy delicioso!

Chicken Primavera with Pasta
Source: Kraftfoods.com

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bitesize pieces
2 cups frozen stir-fry vegetables (I used broccoli, carrots, red peppers, & water chestnuts)
1 tub (10oz) Philadelphia Italian Cheese & Herb cooking creme (I used regular cooking creme)
2 cups hot cooked fettuccini (I used linguine and probably more than 2 cups)

Directions:
1. Cook and stir chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 min. or until done. Add vegetables, cook 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
2. Add cooking creme (and chicken stock or starchy pasta water). Cook and stir 3 min.
3. Stir in pasta until completely coated. Serve and enjoy!

Penne Pasta Bake

My sister-in-law, Sara, lived with me and Kurt while she was pregnant (we were pregnant actually) and in between apartments. One of the perks of having Sara live with us was that she is a clean freak. She is not only good at cleaning but she loves to do it! It actually worked out well because she likes to clean and I like to cook, so I'd make dinner and she'd clean it up. Sara was never very good at cooking, and by that I mean she was not good at all (sorry Sara, you know I still love you!). Well, Sara is now living on her own and has a beautiful 9 (almost 10) month old daughter so she is sort of forced to cook for herself if she wants a good meal. I am happy to say that Sara has been trying all sorts of new dishes...and they are actually turning out and tasting delicious!! I couldn't be more proud that she has put herself out there and taught herself how to cook!

Last Saturday, Sara invited Riglee and I over to play with her daughter and made us this dish for dinner. She got this recipe from her mom who just sort of threw it together one night. Well, it turned out delicious...and easy...and there are leftovers! It was hot, cheesy, comforting, and oh-so-yummy!!

Penne Pasta Bake

Source: Sara

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground beef

1 lb of mini penne noodles
1 24 oz jar of Newmans own Sockarooni pasta sauce
1 24 oz jar of Prego traditional sauce
1 bag of mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Boil noodles and brown ground beef.
2. Pour both into a big bowl and add both jars of pasta sauce. Stir.
3. Pour half of the pasta mixture into a dish and sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese and some parmesan on top.
4. Pour in the remaining pasta mixture and sprinkle the rest the mozzarella on the pasta and top with parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
 
~~~~ I would add some italian spices or some crushed red pepper flake to kick it up a notch.

Champagne Chicken

Since becoming a mom I have not had much time to go out and par-tay with my friends. I have actually become very good at drinking at home (usually by myself but that is a whole other story). I love to have a couple glasses of wine while catching up on my DVR'd shows or watching a movie. I made this dish after Christmas as we had half a bottle of champagne leftover (yes, I was the one who drank the other half by myself). I hated wasting all that delicious bubbly and found this recipe on Food.com and I am really glad I tried it. The sauce was a little thin so next time I will add some cornstarch to thicken it. I also think it could have used some veggies in it, mushrooms, onions and peas would be delicious with the sauce. Again, it passed the husband test (which is the true test in my household) so it's definitely worth trying!!

Champagne Chicken

Source: Food.com

Ingredients

8 (8oz) pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (I had 1.2lbs of chicken breasts)

1 package sliced mushrooms

Frozen peas (maybe 1 cup)

1 onion, chopped

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper (I just used regular pepper)

1/4 cup butter

2 tsp olive oil 

1 1/2 cups champagne

1 cup whipping cream (I used half and half)

1 tsp ground rosemary

Cornstarch

1 tsp chopped parsely (I omitted b/c I didn't have it)

Directions
1. Flatten chicken and dust with flour, salt, and pepper (I just sliced the breasts in half horizonatally). In a very large skillet melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat.

2. Add the chicken, mushrooms and onions and saute 5 minutes, turn chicken over and add the champagne and cook for another 12-15 minutes.

3. Add the peas, cream, rosemary, and cornstarch and cook until thickened. Serve over noodles or rice.

Sausage, Mushroom & Pasta Skillet

I actually made this yummy dish tonight and liked it so much I had to blog about it right away! This recipe was really supposed to be Sausage with Peppers and Pasta however the hubs doesn't like cooked peppers so I had to make some subsitutions. I took out the peppers and added onion and mushrooms and added some extra italian seasoning and red pepper flake for a kick. Honestly, this dish was so easy to whip up and was very flavorful! It was a nice change of pace from the basic spaghetti with meat sauce (althought I love that dish too!). As always, I don't really measure but I used the recipe as a measurement guideline.

Sausage, Mushroom & Pasta Skillet

Adapted from Kraftfoods.com

3 cups rigatoni pasta, uncooked

1 lb. Italian sausage links

1 onion, chopped

Packaged sliced mushrooms

1 can (14.5 oz) Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 sm. can tomato

Italian seasoning

Crushed red pepper flake

1 each green, red, and yellow pepper (optional)

Parmesean cheese

1. Cook pasta as directed on package, just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, remove sausage from casings and cook in a large skillet on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add onions and mushrooms (and peppers) and cook until soft. Add italian seasonings and crushed red pepper flake. Add can of diced tomatoes, can of tomato sauce, and about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Cook about 3 minutes or until heated through.

3. Add pasta to sausage mixture and mix well. Let pasta cook about 5 more minutes to absorb the sauce. Serve and top with parmesan cheese.