Copycat Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli Soup

This has to be my favorite soup at Olive Garden, hands down. As an avid Pinterest user, I saw this on Pinterest as a crockpot soup and knew it was going in the rotation. I was able to put everything in the crockpot before I left for work and by the time we got home, I just threw the (store bought) breadsticks in the oven and 15 minutes later we were eating a healthy and DELICIOUS meal! If you like soup and crockpot cooking, MAKE THIS!

Apple Crisp

Sorry that it's not a great picture, we dug in before I could snap a good shot!

There are SO many things that I love about fall. The leaves turn beautiful colors, it's jeans and t-shirt weather, my birthday is in the fall, and APPLES GALORE!! As much as I love apples, I've never made an apple crisp before. I was having my brothers over for a casual dinner and wanted a yummy dessert to leave them with. As you know, I'm all for simple so I thought I'd try an apple crisp for the first time.

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! 

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

If you haven't been hiding under a rock you've heard of Pinterest, aka heroin for adult women! This recipe has circulated Pinterest once or twice and every time I see it come through I'd think, that looks SO good! Finally I had a night where I knew I wanted a pasta dish (wait, isn't that every night?!) however I didn't feel like the same old thing and that is when I remembered this gem. I had all the ingredients, as you probably do too, and whipped it up with the help of my sous chef, Riglee. 

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 ;)! 

Christmas 2011 Feast

As some of you may know, Kurt and I stay at our house on Christmas. Our parents did such a great job making Christmas so special for us as kids, we want Riglee (and any future children) to have that same Christmas morning excitement! So we literally hunker down, lock the doors, stay in our jammies, and eat all day long. Like last year, we had a feast of appetizers on Christmas day. We pretty much leave the food out all day and just eat as we please. Here is a taste of our day:

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.

Easiest Pumpkin Muffins Ever. Period!

(So I totally ate all these muffins before I got a picture so next time I make them I'll update the post...sorry!)


 Interested in making something so simple it only has 2 ingredients? No? Well how about if I told you it's also unbelievably delicious? Yes! Can I have an AMEN?!

If you haven't heard the word on the street yet, it's all about these pumpkin muffins. You can find them on many food bloggers sites and for good reason. All you need is a box of cake mix and a can of pumpkin. Yes, I know, we are past the traditional "pumpkin season" since Thanksgiving is over. Well too darn bad because these puppies are a must-make! They are moist and dense and just plain old delicious. A hot tip from one of my co-workers said that if you have applesauce you can also add a heaping tablespoon of it to the mix for an added softness. I'm sure I say this a lot but trust me, these you just gotta try!!

Easiest Pumpkin Muffins Ever
Source: Food Blogs, Friends, Family

Ingredients:
1 box cake mix (yellow, spice cake, chocolate cake, white cake)
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin

Directions:
1. Mix box of cake mix (I used spice cake) with the can of pumpkin. Optional - add heaping tablespoon of applesauce.
2. Scoop with an ice cream scoop (if you have one) into muffin tin. This made 12 muffins for me.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the tops have started to brown.
4. Serve! I've been told that cream cheese frosting on these muffins is sinful or you can dust them with powdered sugar...or just eat them plain!!

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!!