Fiesta Ravioli Bake

Wow so long time no post. I've actually made a ton of different recipes and hopefully I'll get around to sharing all of them, but I just haven't had the time to actually post them yet. This is a super easy, last minute recipe that everyone will love, even Frank who usually hates ravioli really liked it and as long as you use a mild salsa and enchilada sauce it's not at all spicy so even the kids will love it. Hope you enjoy!

I know you love my half cheese picture:)

1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar of salsa I use Herdez, I tried La Victoria this last time it was no good
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 25 oz. pkg. of frozen beef raviolis
2 c. cheese

Cook Ravioli according to package. Combine everything else in a 9x13 dish. Add ravioli and cook at 350 for 20 minutes.

Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Tenders

Wow so I've been a real slacker with this blog lately. Between getting my house in order for the arrival of a new one, and just the lack of energy to care I haven't really posted much. I've made several good things, but by the time they're done I'm too lazy to take a picture, but this chicken was so good I had to post, that and it was my own creation and I'm pretty proud of it:) Seriously though, like I've mentioned before there aren't many meals I make more than once, but this one will definitely be made again and soon. Anyways hope you get the chance to give it a try!


2 chicken breasts cut into strips, or 6-7 chicken tenders
2 c. crushed pretzels
1/2 T. dried parsley
2/3 c. honey mustard dressing or dipping sauce


In a shallow dish combine pretzels and parsley. Pour your honey mustard into another shallow dish. Pat your chicken dry, and then dip in honey mustard and then coat with pretzel mixture
( I find it easiest to lay the chicken in pretzel mixture and with my hands sprinkle the pretzels on top, if that makes sense.) Place on baking sheet and cook at 400 for 12-20 minutes depending on the size of chicken pieces you use. If you make them too big the pretzels will start to burn so be careful, I was able to cut my chicken breasts into 3-4 pieces and cooked it for about 17-18 minutes. Serve with extra honey mustard to dip, yum!

If you want another recipe to use up your pretzels try this salad, it is probably one of my favorites!

Pineapple Watermelon Slushie

Ok so I originally got the idea for this slushie while browsing other blogs and saw one that used frozen watermelon and banana which I'm sure is delicious and I'll probably try soon, but I just happen to have an open can of pineapple that needed to be used and I had already cut up and froze the left over watermelon I had from a few days ago. To be honest I'm not a huge watermelon fan. I love watermelon flavored candy, but there's something about the watery texture that doesn't do much for me. Anyway for some reason since being pregnant I've enjoyed it a little more and Frank and Parker love it so I thought I'd buy one, and unfortunately it wasn't that great:( so I cut up the remaining half and stuck it in the freezer to try a watermelon slushie, and thank goodness I did because it was delicious!! Anyway if your looking for a cold sweet treat or need something to do with a leftover watermelon you definitely have to try this!


watermelon, cut into chunks and frozen
canned pineapple and juice

I don't really have measurements but for a single serving I put about a cup of frozen watermelon and just added pineapple and juice until I got the texture I wanted. I have some coconuts milk that I need to use up and definitely want to try adding a little because I think it would be delicious. I'm really excited to try some different fruits like banana..mmm

Pineapple Glazed Meatballs

This is a super easy throw together kind of meal. You can do it in a skillet of throw it in the crock pot for a couple hours, either way it's super easy and super tasty. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe found at Realmomkitchen.com

1 c. barbecue sauce
1 c. crushed pineapple
16 oz. frozen meatballs (or make your own)

Combine everything in a skillet and simmer for about 10 minutes or until warmed through or in the crock pot on low for 3-4 hours or high for 2-3. Serve over rice.

Grilled Pork Chops

Typically I don't really care for pork chops, but seeing as we have been given a ton of pork I guess I better find some recipes to use it up. The reason why I liked these pork chops is that they tasted like steak and all considering for a pork chops were really tender. If you don't have Montreal Steak seasoning you can use this one, although I highly suggest just buying it because it's great on hamburgers and steak, we buy it in the big Costco size containers which shows you how much we use it:) Anyway if your looking for a recipe for pork chops, or a cheap fix for steak this is your recipe!

Recipe found at Melskitchencafe.com

4 pork chop tenderloins- I used just regular bone-in pork chops just because that's what we had, but tenderloin would be much more tender, but either way is very good.
1/4 c. olive oil
2 1/2 T. soy sauce
1 t. Montreal Steak Seasoning

Combine everything in a ziploc bag and allow to marinade 6-8 hours up to over night. Grill until no longer pink but be careful as pork chops can dry out.

Grandma Bailey's Zucchini Casserole

This comes from a new favorite blog of mine called cookingwithkrista.blogspot.com. She's got a lot of fun recipes and so far so good. I don't have a picture for this one as it wasn't the prettiest casserole and I didn't put cheese on mine and therefor looked very different from hers so I just didn't think it benefited to have a picture. Anyway don't let that deter you from trying this because it was really good. Parker gobbled his up, zucchini and all, and Frank even commented that it was good which doesn't happen too often. If you have picky eaters she recommended peeling the zucchini first, but I figured that probably took most of the healthiness out of it and for my family they're going to like or dislike it no matter what color it is, but it probably works better for older kids. Anyway with all that said if you have some extra zucchini this summer this is a great casserole to try as well as this chicken zucchini casserole.

1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
salt, pepper, and garlic to taste (you can tell this is a grandma's recipe as there's not a lot of measuring:)
2 zucchini, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped you can also use a can of tomatoes
16 oz sour cream or I used 2 cans cream of mushroom but a combination of both would probably be great
box of croutons (I used Marie Calendar's butter garlic)
cheddar cheese to top casserole

Cook ground beef and onion until no more pink. Drain grease. Add zucchini and tomatoes and bring to boil (because I used fresh tomatoes there wasn't much liquid to boil so I added just a tiny bit of water, not even a 1/4 c. you may want to cook longer if using canned tomatoes just cook out some of the liquid) Reduce heat and cover and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile spread croutons evenly in a greased 9x13 pan. After 10 minutes stir in sour cream or cream of mushroom and pour over croutons. Top with cheese and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

This makes a good size casserole and doesn't really taste as good the next day, so I suggest if you have a smaller family to either cut it in half or she said she even freezes the other half, just cover with plastic wrap and then tin foil.

Blueberry Struessel Muffins with Lemon Glaze

These are super yummy, and very little extra effort to turn into something more than just your regular muffin. I usually use frozen blueberries, but since you can find them at the store right now I used fresh and it made a huge difference, so yummy! Parker must have even enjoyed them because he took a bite out of half of them, little stink! I switched out some of the flour for whole wheat flour and did half brown and half regular sugar (long story of why, but I was trying to heatlhy them up a little and keep them still yummy:) Anyway either way you decide to make them, these are delicious!


1 3/4 cups fresh blueberries
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I did 1 c. white and 2 c. wheat)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
--chilled and cut in 1/2" cubes
2 large eggs -- beaten
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
---For The Glaze---
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rack in middle of oven. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in large mixing bowl. With pastry cutter or hands mix in butter until it resembles a course meal. Remove 1 c. for struessel topping. At this point I actually added my blueberries into the flour so the blueberries wouldn't dye the whole batter purple, if you don't care then just add the milk and eggs and stir in blueberries and zest. Do not over mix. If you make it like I did, I mixed the milk and eggs in another bowl then added it to the flour along with the zest, again don't over mix. The batter will be slightly lumpy but that's ok. Grease muffin tin and fill each one 2/3 of the way full. Take your reserved flour mixture and add 2 T. melted butter making struessel. Top each muffin with about a teaspoon full. Bake for 20 minutes. In the meantime combine powdered sugar and lemon juice to make glaze. When muffins are done allow to slightly cool and remove from pan and drizzle glaze over muffins.

Sun Dried Tomato and Bacon Chicken

Finally a new recipe worth posting! Actually I've made a few desserts that have turned out really good I just either forgot to take pictures or have been too lazy to post..sorry. Hopefully this will make up for it. This is a super easy and quick dish that's full of flavor so don't procrastinate like me and try it!

Recipe found at thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com

2 slices of bacon
4 chicken breast (I used 2 and cut them in half just to speed the cooking time)
1/4 c. sun-dried tomato vinaigrette dressing
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 T fresh basil, or 1 t. dried basil (just realized I totally forgot this)
2 T. parmesan cheese

If you can allow chicken to marinade in some of the vinaigrette dressing for 4-6 hours.

Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Add chicken to pan and brown on each side for about 2 minutes on medium heat. Pour dressing and basil over chicken and allow to cook until done, about 5- 8 minutes (try to keep lid on, it'll cook quicker and keep from spitting grease.) Remove chicken and keep warm. Add tomatoes to remaining dressing and cook until warmed and slightly cooked. Stir in bacon and serve over chicken. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Brooke's Bombshell Brownies

Apparently it's National Chocolate Day, at least that's what Kathy Lee and Hoda said. Don't ask me why I was watching them, but it just happen to be on and that's about all I heard. Anyway, I really was already planning on posting this recipe, but I just thought I could pretend like it was preplanned to post this brownie recipe. Anyway these brownies really are the bomb. I recently made these Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Frosting which were seriously divine, a little rich on the frosting, but yum, and since then have craved another brownie and these seriously hit the spot. Hopefully I'm not the only one with a hankering for brownies and you'll take the time to make these!

Recipe from allrecipe.com

1 cup butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly greased 9x13 pan. In a large bowl combine butter, sugar, and vanilla (I did it all by hand, but only because I'm too lazy to pull out my mixer.) Add in eggs one at a time thoroughly mixing in between each egg. In separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt. Add flour mixture in a little at a time until completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/03/red-velvet-brownies-with-white-chocolate-frosting/

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Chips

This is my newest dessert addiction, I love love love this! You can use whatever fruit combination you want, but I would suggest to keep it colorful. Anyway this is great for a fun get together, or just for you and your family:)


Fruit Salsa
2 apples, peeled and minced
8 oz. strawberries, minced
8 oz. raspberries, halved (don't be afraid to use frozen, it still taste great)
3 peaches, peeled and chopped
2 kiwis
2 T. sugar (You can also replace the sugars with agave nectar or honey for a healthier and less sweet salsa)
1 T. brown sugar
3 T. any flavor fruit preserve (I used raspberry)

Combine everything in a bowl and allow to refrigerate at least 15 minutes. This will make a medium size bowl, so if your doing it just for your family, I would cut it in half.


Cinnamon Sugar Chips

10 burrito size tortillas
1/4-1/2 c. melted butter
cinnamon and sugar- about 1 c. sugar to 1 t. cinnamon

Spread melted butter one side of tortilla and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. With a pizza cutter, cut tortilla into chip size triangles (I found the easiest way to do this is to cut it into 3 equal size strips and then cut into triangles.) Spread chips, butter side up, on a cookie sheet and cook at 350 for 8-10 minutes until crisp.

Patriotic Dipped Strawberries

Could these be any cuter? I found these at realmomkitchen.com and instantly knew I had to make them. They were so easy, and the best part is you don't have to heat your house up with an oven to make them. These are super fun as a gift or for a family get together. I already made one batch and I've got all the ingredients to make them again, hopefully you'll take the time to try them as well!

1 carton of strawberries
1/2 bag white chocolate chips or white dipping chocolate
blue sugar crystals

The easiest way to make this is to start by washing your strawberries and getting them completely dried. Then melt the white chocolate in small amounts (about 1/4 c. at a time) otherwise it starts to thicken up on you before your done. Dip strawberries in 2/3 of the way with white chocolate, then dip the bottom 1/3 in blue sugar. Place on parchment, silpat, or greased tin foil. Place and fridge for a few minutes, and enjoy!

Taco Salad Bowls

Take any deep dish pan such as a cake pan and fill it up with 1/4 in. water. Take a deep medium, oven safe bowl and cover it with tin foil and place in water. Spray with cooking spray. Then either run the tortilla under the faucet or dip in water, just enough to allow it to get wet and pliable, not saturated. Drape over bowl and kind of shape as needed. Cook at 450 for 4-5 minutes.

Orange Chicken

I almost hesitated to post this one because it uses another random ingredient, but I couldn't resist, it's way too good to not share! I was really impressed with how well this turned out. I just didn't expect it to be so good and it really wasn't as labor intensive as I had thought either. Anyway this was totally a five star meal to me and I will definitely make this one again.

Recipe found at favfamilyrecipes.com

Chicken:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 in cubes (I used 2 chicken breasts which was enough for 4 servings.
1 ½ c. flour
1 eggs (beaten)
¼ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
Oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce:
1 c. water
2 Tb. FRESH orange juice
¼ c. FRESH lemon juice
1/3 c. rice vinegar
2 ½ Tb. soy sauce
1 Tb. orange zest
1 c. packed brown sugar
½ t. ginger root, minced (I just used a little powder)
½ t. minced garlic
2 Tb. green onion, chopped
¼ t. red pepper flakes (this doesn't make it hot at all, so if you want more spice add more)
3 Tb. cornstarch
1/4 c. water

Add flour, salt, and pepper and place in shallow dish. In separate bowl add egg. Dip chicken into egg and then roll in flour, repeat until all chicken is coated. Deep fry chicken in fryer or I just used a deep skillet. Cook until no longer pink and golden brown. Remove and set aside. Meanwhile add water, vinegar, lemon juice, orange juice, and soy sauce to small saucepan. Heat through for a few minutes then add brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, green onion, and red pepper and cook until boiling. In a separate bowl mix water and cornstarch and slowly pour into orange sauce and cook until thickened. Serve sauce over chicken and ENJOY!

Oreo Pudding Cookies

All I can say is yum!! These were so good, and the best part is they've stayed good for several days now, and were actually even better the second day. It's probably a good thing I'm pregnant right now because I can't eat as many as I'd really like to, not because I'm health conscience but I just feel stuffed pretty much all the time. You would think that I would learn and not torture myself by making stuff like this, but I just couldn't resist. Anyways, don't procrastinate make these ASAP!

Recipe found at thegirlwhoateverything.blogspot.com

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used the new Cookies and Cream Hershey Drops)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Makes two dozen.

Texas BBQ Sloppy Joes

Ok so I've seen this recipe several times and never was compelled to try it, until now and I'm glad I did. Every once in awhile a sloppy joe just hits the spot and this was one of those times. This is a super easy, quick week night meal that we really enjoyed, even Parker which is always a bonus. Anyway hope you take the chance to make this..also soon to come are Oreo pudding cookies, so yummy!

Recipe found at Cassiecraves.blogspot.com

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 package frozen garlic Texas toast
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef and onion until no longer pink. Drain grease, and add tomatoes, bbq, ketchup, bbq sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover with lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile cook Texas toast as directed (you could very easily substitute regular french bread or even hoagie buns with butter and garlic salt.) Serve sloppy joe mix over Texas toast and sprinkle with cheese, and enjoy!

Rumbi Rice Bowls

These turned out so awesome! I've never used Yoshida's Sauce Marinade until now, but I'm pretty sure it's my new favorite product. I have to laugh because my friend literally just made a post on her blog about this stuff, seriously it's that good! You can use it as just a marinade, in your hamburgers, or just as a simple teriyaki chicken bowl. Anyway, if I haven't convinced you enough just to try this stuff, hopefully this recipe will push you over the edge to just go buy some. The other ingredient in this recipe that might not be something you have on hand is the chili garlic sauce, but I have no doubt you'll use it up just making this recipe over and over. It's also used in a lot of Asian dishes such as lettuce wraps. Seriously, considering how many vegetables are in this and the fact that my husband still said it was good, tells you how good this really was. Don't wait..just do it!

Recipe found at whatsonmymenu.blogspot.com and originally from favfamilyrecipes.com

1-2 T. vegetable oil
1 zucchini, cut into small chunks
4 carrots, peeled and grated, or cut into small pieces
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 1/2 c. chopped broccoli
2 c. grilled chicken, cut into bite size pieces (I just used precooked since it's not really grilling weather here)
3 c. cooked rice or Rumbi rice

Saute vegetables until crisp tender (or desired doneness.) I chose to add my chicken and sauce all into the pan and just serve over the rice, but your really suppose to let the sauce cool and just serve over top rice and veggies.

Spicy Hawaiian Teriyaki Sauce
3/4 c. Yoshida's marinade
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce (this can be found in the Asian section)
1 tsp. fresh ginger (I just sprinkled a little ground ginger)
pinch of salt
pinch of brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water

In a small saucepan add Yoshida's marinade through brown sugar and cook until boiling. Meanwhile, in a separate container mix cornstarch and water and slowly add to sauce stirring constantly. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about a minute or until slightly thickened. Allow to cool and serve over veggies and rice (or like me just make it one big stir with sauce, chicken, and veggies.)

Serving Size 347 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 554 Calories from fat 44

Total Fat 5.0g 8%

Saturated Fat 1.2g 6%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 40mg 13%

Sodium 556mg 23%

Dietary Fiber 4.7g 19%

Sugars 19.2g

Protein 23.1g

Vitamin A 152% • Vitamin C 49% Calcium 11% • Iron 30%

Nutrition Grade A-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Rosemary Ranch Chicken

I have to admit I was a little concerned about the ranch dressing in this, but it turned out so yummy! This is definitely a new favorite chicken recipe of mine and the best part is it's so easy. I love when the weather changes and we can barbecue, no clean up, and better yet my husband cooks it! Anyway here's the slightly altered recipe from Allrecipes.com.


1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (I used 1 t. dried rosemary)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon white sugar
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves cut into large chunks, or pounded out to 1/4 inch thickness

Combine first 9 ingredients and then add in chicken. Allow to marinade at least 6-8 hours. Grill 4-5 minutes on each side or until done.

Cinco de Mayo

Ok so to be honest I really don't know much about Cinco de Mayo, but it was a great excuse to get together with friends and family and have some yummy Mexican food, and to use this cute serving dish I got for my wedding that I've never been able to use until now. Anyway, to the important part..food! I made these yummy grilled chicken and chili-lime steak tacos, Mexican sour cream rice (fyi- I used about half the amount of sour cream), pineapple, and my favorite guacamole dip and to drink this super yummy limeade punch and for dessert Tres leche cake with strawberries. I got lots of compliments about the rice which I really liked, but I really loved the punch and was so sad when Frank spilled the last pitcher of it:( Everyone liked the cake as well, but I'm not sure if I'm completely sold, I think I will stick with my usual strawberry shortcake. Anyway this is kind of a lazy post where I'm just going to give you links to all of these yummy recipes, but trust me they were all really good, and all super easy which is always important!

Sweet Potato Foil Packet Taco

Ok so I've seen this recipe now several times and always had the same opinion..a little strange. Part of me thought it would be ok and the other part thought it was just a little too strange, but after seeing it pop up on several food blogs I thought it was worth trying, and I'm glad I did! The part I love the most about this recipe is that I felt like I was actually making a really healthy meal with sweet potato and spinach and even the taco meat with black beans..yum! Anyway with that said this is probably not for everyone, although Frank really like it which is saying a lot since it had so many vegetables:) and even Parker really liked it, but if your not a big sweet potato fan this is not for you because it's definitely a strong flavor in this meal. The other part I was worried about was the spinach which can sometimes be a little strong in some dishes, but I honestly didn't even notice it in there. Anyway on to the recipe, and I'm sorry because I totally forgot to take a picture but you can find it over at perrysplate.com.

3/4-1 lb ground beef
3-4 T. taco seasoning
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 can black beans, drained
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
4-5 t. butter
1 1/2 c. spinach
1 1/2 c. cheese
favorite taco toppings: salsa, sour cream, or guacamole
5-6 12-inch pieces of tin foil

Preheat oven to 425. Start by browning your hamburger and drain. Add taco seasonings, tomato sauce, and beans and set aside. Assemble your foil packets by adding a large cup of sweet potatoes, place a teaspoon of butter on top and sprinkle with a little salt. Then add a little spinach and about a 1/2 c. of your taco meat ( I made ours a little big and only made about 4, but they were 4 big servings which filled me more than I expected) top with some cheese. Fold the foil packets up by first pulling together the shortest sides and fold down, roll the two lengthwise sides in until sealed (just like making tin foil dinners or however it works for you just so it's completely sealed) Place on a rimmed cookie sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 6

Amount Per Serving

Calories 253Calories from Fat 140

Total Fat 32.6 50%

Saturated Fat 18g 90%

Cholesterol 130mg 43%

Sodium 1127mg 47%

Total Carbohydrates 108g 36%

Dietary Fiber 18g 72%

Sugars 16g

Protein 60.0g

Vitamin A 806% • Vitamin C 76% Calcium 56% • Iron 53%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

FYI- the butter and cheese is what makes this so high in saturated fat if your wanting to cut back.

Steak Dinner

Sorry I've been a little out of commission lately for several reasons, but mostly because I'm pregnant! I've been going through the usual not feeling good, nothing sounding good, and just flat out too tired to care. So needless to say I haven't been testing out many new recipes and mostly just sticking with the tried and true easy staple recipes. Anyway we had steak last night with a new marinade and a fun change on mashed potatoes with roasted asparagus and broccoli for the sides and it all turned out awesome and was super easy which is most important these days. I loved the marinade, Frank had me a little scared because he said it was burned, but it was really just the basil in the marinade that just darkened, but it was delicious so I hope you enjoy!


Best Steak Marinade
Allrecipes.com

1/3 c. soy
1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 lemon juice
1/4 c. worcestershire
1 1/2 T garlic powder (I used fresh minced)
3 T. basil
1 1/2 t. parsley
1 t. pepper
1/4 t hot pepper sauce ( I used just a little shy of this, but it wasn't spicy at all so don't shy away)
1 t. dried minced garlic (honestly I think this was just mistyped and was suppose to be onion, but I just didn't add it)

Combine all ingredients and add steak. Allow to marinade over night or at least 10 hours. Grill steak.

Restaurant Style Smashed Potatoes
thepioneerwoman.com

5 whole Large Red Potatoes
1 stick Butter, Softened And Cut Into Pieces ( I used about half this amount)
5 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 whole Green Onions, Sliced ( I didn't have any so I made it without these)
¾ cups Sour Cream
Salt To Taste (add Plenty!)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper To Taste
¾ cups French Fried Onions, More For Topping

Nuke or bake potatoes until you can easily poke a fork into it. I chose to nuke them and it turned out great. Add potatoes to a large bowl and mash with potato masher. Stir in remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

For a lower fat option try these Crash Hot Potatoes which also look super yummy! http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Chunky Monkey Banana Muffins

There's nothing worse than putting so much effort into making something only to have it totally flop in the end. Which is exactly how the last few batches of muffins I've made have turned out. Sometimes I like to blame the recipe, or the new weird muffin molds my mom gave me, but reality is I probably just goofed them. Anyway what I'm trying to get at is that after a long string of muffins not turning out, these ones finally did and were great!


1 cup White Sugar
2 whole Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
4 whole Bananas, Mashed
¾ cups Buttermilk
1 cup Margarine, Melted
3 cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
1 cup Coconut Sweetened, Shredded
1 cup Chocolate Chips

Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl sift the dry ingredients together then add to wet ingredients. Mix just until moist. Stir in coconut and chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Makes 24 muffins.

This recipe was found on the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen

Pioneer Woman Enchiladas

Happy Valentines! Or Single's Awareness Day depending on what side of the fence your on:) Once again I've got another delicious Pioneer Woman Recipe. I have to admit, if it was anyone else I probably would not have ever tried this recipe. First because I've never had a ground beef enchilada I liked, second is I usually always choose flour tortillas over corn, and third I don't love cooked olives. Have I scared you away from this recipe yet? I hope not because all those things a side, I loved these! Even my husband specifically told me he loved them which he doesn't say too often! I have to admit these take a little extra effort to put together, but still they're really not hard. Don't be intimated by the long list of ingredients and instructions I promise it's only a couple extra steps than your usual enchiladas. You gotta try these at least once!!!



FOR THE SAUCE:
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
1 can (28 Ounce) Enchilada Or Red Sauce
2 cups Chicken Broth
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro (I left this out, my husband hates cilantro and it's def. a required taste)

FOR THE MEAT:
1 pound Ground Beef
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies
½ teaspoons Season Salt

FOR THE TORTILLAS:
10 whole (to 14) Corn Tortillas
½ cups Canola Oil

TO ASSEMBLE:
3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
½ cups Chopped Black Olives
1 cup Chopped Green Onions (my husband didn't love the green onions, but I was on the fence. I think it would be fine without, but I didn't mind them in either so whatever sounds good to you:)
½ cups Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Step #1 – The Sauce
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

Step #2 – The Meat
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Step #3 – Tortillas
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Step #4 – Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas (the sauce is delicious so don't be afraid to smother them.) Top with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake enchiladas uncovered for 20 minutes.

Grilled or Broiled Chicken Salad

This is an old favorite of mine that I haven't made in a long long long time!!! My husband is not a fan of salads so I have never made it for us, hence there are no green salad recipes on my blog, until today!! This is a favorite of mine. We (my parents and I) use to make it all the time, so much so that I had the marinade memorized. There are so few ingredients in this and nothing out of the norm, but for some reason when they all come together..yum! Anyway I hope you enjoy!

5 T. lemon juice, you can sub any citrus juice but lemon is my favorite
3 T. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced (just use the preminced)
1/8 t. pepper
1 t. basil
2 chicken breasts
1 red onion, sliced into rings
1 lb. mixed greens

Combine first 5 ingredients and set aside. Tenderize chicken with a mallet (I stick it in a ziploc bag and use the flat side to pound the chicken) Add chicken to marinade and marinade at least 30 minutes if not longer. Grill of broil chicken with red onions on top for 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and let set for a few minutes. Thinly slice and serve over mixed greens with ranch dressing.

Pineapple Cheesecake Bars

I found this recipe from thesisterscafe. I loved this dessert, because it seemed so light especially for a cheesecake. It wasn't overwhelmingly sweet and the addition of almond extract made it have a great unique flavor. I typically don't love almond extract but in this it added a delicious flavor. Anyway I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Hopefully your coconut browns up better than mine did, I couldn't figure out why my oven seemed to be taking so long to cook things lately until it dawned on me that I moved the rack down to make the baked beans and never put it back, whoops!

Crust:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature

In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar and butter. Mix until crumbs. Press into large cookie sheet (12x17x1) and poke holes in the crust with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. While the crust is baking, prepare the coconut topping and cream cheese filling.

Coconut Topping:

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

3 cups sweetened coconut, grated

In a small bowl, mix together melted butter and coconut. Set aside.

Cream Cheese Filling:

16 ounces cream cheese

2 eggs

4 Tablespoons sugar

4 Tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple

Combine cream cheese, eggs, sugar, milk, almond extract and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add crushed pineapple and mix. Pour cream cheese filling over baked crust. Sprinkle coconut topping over cream cheese filling. Bake at 350 degrees 18-20 minutes or until coconut has browned and middle is set. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Meatball Sub Sandiwch

This is a another super quick and easy meal. You can choose to use frozen meatballs or your own. Meatballs really are easy to make, but if you don't love handling raw meat or just taking the extra step go ahead and use your favorite frozen meatballs. Enjoy!


1 lb ground beef
1 egg
salt and pepper
garlic powder
very full 1/2 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs ( if you don't have these just use regular or make your own breadcrumbs and add a little Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic salt, parmesan cheese, or any other seasoning you want)
jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
Mozarella cheese
hoagie buns

In a medium bowl lightly beat your egg , then add your seasonings and bread crumbs. Crumble your ground beef over mixture and mix it all in. With a large cookie scoop, scoop out balls of meat mixture and then slightly mold to form a ball. At this point you can either bake your meatballs or cook on the stove top. I choose to bake them at 400 for about 12 minutes. I find it much easier and I don't have to sit and baby sit them on the stove. Put meatballs in a medium size skillet and pour spaghetti sauce over and heat until simmering. While meatballs are heating through get out the hoagie buns. A trick I use is to cut some of the middle of the bottom bun making a well to stick your meatballs. Butter your buns (lol) and toast in a toaster oven or your hot oven. Fill your well with meatballs and top with mozarella..and yummm!!!

makes about 6 sandwiches if serving little kids just cut the meatballs in half:)

Easy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

Wow I'm on a roll posting 2 recipes in a row. Yes, I've still been cooking, just nothing really worth posting. This recipe is kind of a stand by, use whatever I got kind of recipe. You can change it for whatever you have, peas instead of broccoli, add bacon, leave out the chicken soup and keep it healthy, whatever you like! Also just as an FYI I've told you before I only use chicken bouillon, but I took a picture of the specific kind I use. I find it at Walmart in the Mexican food section. I think it has the best flavor and it's also the cheapest. You can also use the chicken bouillon granules which are also good, but personally I don't love the chicken broth you buy in a can it just kind of lacks flavor to me and is really expensive and most recipes don't use a full can so your left with a half a can that usually ends up in the trash. Anyway that's just my opinion but use what works for you.



10-15 oz. dry pasta, any kind works
2 T. olive oil-just eye it
2 T. butter-again just eye it you can't ruin this
couple shakes red pepper flakes (this won't make it spicy, Parker ate it and was just fine)
2-3 t. minced garlic (I use preminced from the produce section)
Sea Salt or Kosher salt to your tasting ( I avoided buying this for a long time and subbed it for table salt, but I finally gave in and it was totally worth it, you don't have to use as much and table salt seems to cook out and you can't taste it)
2 c. chopped broccoli
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2-2 c. chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

Cook pasta as directed. Meanwhile in a large skillet add your olive oil, butter, garlic, and red pepper. Heat until fragrant, stirring just so it doesn't burn, this only takes a minute or so. Add broccoli and sprinkle with salt. Cook until broccoli is soft, you may have to add 1/4 c. water just to get it soft enough. At this point if you were keeping it healthy you would just add the pasta, but if your not afraid of a little cream of chicken soup, and I am not, add in your soup and chicken broth and stir until completely mixed in. Add in your chicken and heat until simmering, then stir in pasta and enjoy!!!

Best Baked Beans Ever

So this is another Pioneer Woman recipe. I don't know what took me so long to discover her website, probably because the first time I looked at it it seemed like more of a gourmet cooking blog which is so not my style so I never looked again.. until recently! I would see it all the time on other people's blogs and read a few of her posts, which are really fun to read she's an amazing writer, until finally I decided to look through her recipes again and thank goodness I did. She has some of the best recipes, and this is one of them! Also FYI I tried those individual scalloped potatoes again but in a 9x13 casserole dish and bacon instead of ham and YUMMM! If you like potato skins or anything like that you'll love them, seriously don't wait they are delicious!! Anyways back to the baked beans..these take some time to cook, but they throw together pretty easily. I'm getting ready for barbecue weather..I know we've got awhile, but I'm dreaming of warm weather and vacations:) Anyway I cut the recipe in half which was more than enough for us for dinner and lunch the next day. Enjoy!




8 slices thick bacon, halved

1 medium onion, cut into small dice

1/2 medium green pepper, cut into small dice

3 large cans (28 ounces each) pork and beans

3/4 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup distilled or cider vinegar

2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon

Preheat oven to 325 and lower rack to the lower middle. In a large skillet fry up bacon just long enough to render up the grease, do not brown at all your pretty much heating it just long enough for it to start getting the grease off. Remove bacon and saute your onion and green pepper in bacon grease until tender. Add beans and remaining ingredients and heat until simmering. Pour into greased 9x13 pan and place bacon on top. Place in oven uncovered for about 2 hours until all the juices are soaked up (yes I realize this is a long time and may not be something everyone is willing to try, but like I said maybe for a barbecue where you only have to bring one thing:)

Hot and Sweet Drumsticks...and so much more!!

I loved this recipe! At first I thought it was going to be really similar to the Russian Chicken I make, but it was even better. I'm not the most creative person. Only a few years ago I could honestly say I didn't have a creative bone in me, but after years of attempting many different projects I have gotten a little more creative. When it comes to cooking it's kind of the same story. I've tried so many different recipes over the past 6 years I've gotten better about substituting, changing, or combining recipes to fit my family's taste buds. Ok..so to make a long story short even though I loved this recipe, I started thinking of all the different ways I could use this sauce, but the one that stands out the most is stir fry. I think this would be amazing as a stir fry. Red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, sugar snap peas..mmm, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Anyway, either way you decide to do it, the only suggestion I give is be careful to not over cook the chicken (although if you were to use this as a stir fry I would just cut the chicken into bite size pieces and cook it in a skillet pouring the sauce over after at the end) The original recipe was for drumsticks with the skin still on, but I'm just not a fan so I used chicken breasts which don't take as long to cook and was a little dry. Anyway this is super easy and quick recipe and you should have most of the ingredients on hand so don't wait to make this one!! Don't shy away because of the use of hot in the title because it totally isn't, I may have cut back on the hot sauce just a little and it wasn't hot at all.


1 cup Apricot Preserves
½ cups Ketchup
¼ cups Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
2 teaspoons Hot Pepper Sauce
3 pounds Drumsticks (about 12)

In a small sauce pan heat the first 4 ingredients until the preserves are completely melted stirring to combine. Now this is the only part I would change, the recipe said to cook uncovered, but I think since I used only 2 chicken breasts, cut in half, it would have been better if I had covered it. If cooking the full 3 lbs cook in a 9x13 pan, if you cut the recipe in half like me use an 8x8 pan and cook at 350 for 25-30 minutes otherwise cook closer to 45 minutes.

This recipe came from the Tasty Kitchen over at the Pioneerwoman's blog. If you ever get the chance the Pioneer Woman and the Tasty Kitchen have some seriously good recipes!

UPDATE: ok so I tried this again, and again used chicken breast and decided that it get's way tough..so I'm going to assume that drumsticks really are the way to go..but I'm still going to try it as a stir fry.. I'll let you know how it turns out.