Tasty Tuesday: Freezer Cooking Update and a Recipe

Happy Tuesday ladies! I hope you are all having a great week. I know I'm late to the party, but I have to say that I LOVE freezer cooking! Meal planning in general is something that I've been working on and it is keeping me so much saner.  I used to love to just pick what we would be eating for dinner in the morning based on what I was in the mood for.  But between unpredictable nap schedules and sick and/or cranky babies, that was sometimes leaving us without a dinner!

Enter meal planning and now freezer cooking!  I don't know that I'm ready to convert to a once a month (or even once a week) cook, but I am totally on board with the idea.  Last week, a friend and I got together and made a quick freezer meal (it actually made two dinners of the same recipe) while our kids played.  It literally took 15 minutes.  I then popped it in the crockpot one day this weekend and we had an easy and mess free dinner (recipe below)!

Also, I typically cut recipes down as I've found that they make too much for us, but a couple of times in the last week, rather than doing that, I've just made the full recipe and split it into two pans.  Same amount of work, twice the dinners!  Like I said, I know so many others are already doing this, but I don't know why I was really hesitant before.

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
Recipe adapted and photo from Over the Big Moon
*Makes 2 meals that serve 4 easily with leftovers

6-8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 
4 Tbs Olive Oil
2+ Limes, juiced (I like a little more lime then the recipe calls for)
2 Cups Cilantro
1 large bag of Frozen Corn (or two smaller bags)
4 minced Garlic Cloves
1 finely Chopped Red Onion
2 cans of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp Cumin or Chipotle powder
Salt an Pepper to taste (I salted when I put it in the bag, and salted again in the crockpot after shredding)
Take ingredients and split everything into two containers.
Mix bag by shaking, seal, label and put in the freezer.

Cooking instructions: Cook in Crockpot on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts and shred (I used the kitchenaid). Return to crockpot and salt to taste. Heat for a few more minutes on warm.  Serve with hot tortillas and dress with sour cream, guacamole, and/or cheese.

Wednesday Whereabouts and a Recipe!

Here's just a little of what we've been up to lately:

Snuggling in bed...

Lots and lots of home decorating...

Making the move to the crib... finally!

Enjoying my new Kate Spade Bow Earrings!!!

Rocking puppies to sleep... heart. melts.

 
Oh and btw, this boy will be starting SCHOOL next week.  Yikes.  We had been planning on him starting in the fall, but a place opened up at a school that I love and he's going to start on Tuesday.  I've been running around like a crazy person getting forms from his doctor, getting him a little lunch box, procuring a nap mat, and having it all monogrammed of course!

Amidst all the craziness, I did manage to whip up a fun little Valentine's Day snack though.  Tomorrow we will be having some friends over for a playdate and I wanted something fun, festive, and most important - easy for us to snack on.  This sweet popcorn treat is a combo of several ideas I've seen floating around, but can most recently be credited to Amanda at Dixie Delights, who always has the best ideas.

This isn't truly cake  batter flavored, but I like the richer vanilla flavor that adding cake mix gives to treats like this and rice krispie treats.  Hope y'all enjoy it as much as we have!


Valentine's Day Candy Popcorn
*Makes 8 Servings

Ingredients
1 bag popped popcorn
About 6 ounces melted almond bark
2 Tablespoons yellow cake mix (I used betty crocker gluten free)
1 tablespoon vegetable (or canola) oil
Red food coloring
About 1/2 bag of Valentines M&M's


Directions 
Pour popcorn in a large bowl.  Melt almond bark and add just enough red food coloring to turn it pink.  Stir in the cake mix and about a tablespoon of oil to thin it a bit.  Pour over the popcorn and stir stir stir! I just took off my jewelry and used my hands.  Then pour in the m&ms and toss it together.  Pour out over wax paper to harden a bit and then store in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

 

When he tasted this, Phillip kept saying "wow, wow, wow Mommy!  This is a good dinner!" :)

Tasty Tuesday: Valentines' Day Treats

Today I wanted to share some really sweet Valentine's Day recipes I've found in hopes that y'all can help me narrow them down!! First up is a treat that would be for my husband. He is the ultimate baconholic and I love to incorporate bacon into gifts for him. For example, I get him a bar of this bacon chocolate every year for his stocking.  So imagine my delight when I saw this bacon bouquet on Our Best Bites!!

Really, what man wouldn't love this??

 I've also always wanted to attempt these conversation heart cookies:

So cute!  Just a little worried that the effect might be lost on a two year old who has never even seen a conversation heart!

Finally, we've started a bit of a tradition of fun holiday breakfasts around here, so I've been searching for the perfect Cupid meal!  I'm considering these red velvet pancakes, heart shaped cinnamon rolls and bacon,  or just using my pancake pen to make heart-shaped pancakes.  Thoughts??

What's on your menu for Valentine's Day?

Tasty Tuesday: Freezer Cooking and Blue Cheese Meatloaf

Do you ladies do much freezer cooking? I do a fair amount of cooking in bulk and freezing of things like muffins and cookie dough, but I had honestly never frozen a dinner. Isn't that crazy?? Since there are really only 2.5 of us eating dinner in our family, I am constantly cutting recipes in half and it struck me the other day: shouldn't I just make the whole thing and freeze half? I can't tell you how many nights I'm running around like a crazy person trying to get dinner together because I haven't planned well, it's been a crazy day, or the kids are in bad moods. When I read this post over at the blog Six Sister's Stuff, I was totally inspired that I should have a freezer cooking day once a month as well. I like some of the recipes that she suggests, but I think I may try to adapt some of our family favorites as well. Are there any prep-ahead or slow cooker meals that y'all love?

Today's recipe is for an amazingly delicious Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Meatloaf that I made last week for dinner.  I found the recipe, where else, but Pinterest (pinned from here).  My husband is sort of on the fence about blue cheese and my son is, of course, 2, so I was a bit skeptical that they would like it, but it was a hit!  You can make it as a large loaf, but I made ours in a muffin tin both so that they would cook faster and because I thought it was cuter.  I made a couple of minor changes to the original recipe.

Photo via What's Cookin, Chicago?

Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Meatloaf
Made 12 mini meatloaves, which would probably serve 3-4 adults

Ingredients

3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used homemade from gluten free bread)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (This was not called for in the original, but I like things extra cheesy)
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 pound 80/20 ground beef
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/2 cup caramelized onions
salt and pepper to taste

Ranch Dressing (my addition)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cup bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and crumbled blue cheese. Add ground beef, egg, onion, salt and pepper. Blend to incorporate all the ingredients evenly throughout.

Divide meat mixture evenly into the 12 muffin wells.  Make a small depression in the top of each loaf and squirt a bit of ranch dressing on top.  Bake meatloafs for about 20 minutes until cooked through and browned on top. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Tasty Tuesday: Baked Ziti

Last week I was really craving baked ziti and so did a last minute switcheroo in our meal plan. I found this recipe Simply Recipes and it was phenomenal and so easy! My favorite part was the sauce, which was just a doctored jarred marinara. It came out so good, though, I think I'll make it instead of my typical pasta sauce for spaghetti.

The recipe calls for either ground beef or Italian sausage. I used a spicy Italian turkey sausage and it was perfect. I think adding some spinach could be delicious, but I didn't have any on hand. It is a really an all around great meal for a cold night.

Confession... totally not my picture!!!

Baked Ziti

Ingredients
1 pound ziti (can sub penne) pasta
Olive oil
1 pound bulk Italian sausage or ground beef or pork
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary (or basil), minced
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large jar of marinara sauce (about 32 ounces) or make your own tomato sauce
1/2 pound of mozzarella cheese, grated
1 heaping cup of ricotta cheese
1 cup grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

Directions
1 Bring a large pot of water to a strong boil. Add about a tablespoon of salt for every 2 quarts of water. Add the pasta and boil, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente—edible but still a little firm. Drain the pasta through a colander. Toss with a little olive oil so the pasta does not stick together while you make the sauce.

2 Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a large sauté pan on medium-high to heat. When the oil is hot, add the bulk sausage or ground meat. Do not crowd the pan (work in batches if needed). Break up any large chunks of sausage as it cooks. Brown well. Don't stir that often or it will be more difficult for the meat to brown. If you are using ground beef or pork instead of sausage, add a little salt.

3 When the meat is mostly browned, add the onions and stir well to combine. Sauté everything until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary or basil, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Cook 1 minute, then add the tomato sauce and stir well. Bring to a simmer.

4 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole pan, then dot the surface with half the ricotta cheese. Ladle in some sauce with the pasta, mix it well and add the pasta into the casserole.

5 Pour the rest of the sauce over the pasta, dot the remaining ricotta cheese over the pasta, and sprinkle on top both the mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven until the top is nicely browned, about 20 minutes.

Yield: Serves at least 8

Tasty Tuesday: Cinnamon Roll Cake Gluten Free

My little baby girl is sick today, y'all, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet... just like me ;)

{image via cookin' up north}

This is the recipe for the delicious cinnamon roll cake I made for breakfast on Christmas morning.  I adapted it to be gluten free of course and made a couple of other small tweaks, but the amazing original recipe is from here.


Cake recipes like this are really ideal for converting to gluten free.  I love regular cinnamon rolls, but yeast doughs just don't get the proper rise without gluten.  This cake also has the distinct advantage of being ready from start to finish in about an hour!


I recently had a reader email me asking for some tips about feeding her toddler who is about to start a gluten free diet.  I am, of course, going to email her personally, but her questions made me wonder if I should do a little series with tips on feeding kids with gluten and other food intolerances.  Let me know if you have any interest or any specific questions!

Here's my version!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Cake
*One cake easily fed our very hungry group of 7 with a piece left over

Ingredients
Cake:
3 cups all purpose gluten free flour (if you don't have an AP flour you like, I recommend trying Better Batter.  Otherwise, substitute 2 cups brown rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca starch)
1 tsp xantham gum (omit if using an AP that already has it, such as Better Batter)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted

Topping:
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour (more of your AP or you could also just use brown rice flour)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Icing:
2 c. powdered sugar
1 8 oz package of cream cheese (heated in the microwave for about 20 seconds to melt slightly)
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt

Directions 

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Beat the melted cream cheese, powdered sugar together in a bowl.  In a small ramekin, combine the milk, vanilla and salt.  Mix until salt is dissolved.  Add the milk mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined.  Spread over cake out of the oven.  You should have some extra, which I like to offer on the side for those who like even more decadence!  This is awesome enjoyed warm out of the oven but pretty delicious room temp too.

Linking up to Savvy Southern Style

Tasty Tuesday: Happy New Year!

Happy New Year y'all!I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve. I spent mine doing exactly what I wanted: chilling on the couch with my sweetie. I made a fun cheese plate and some champagne jello shots and we watched an old movie. It was perfect. We toasted, kissed at midnight and we were in bed by one!

I'm not really big on New Year's Resolutions, but I have been trying out a new system for establishing habits and I hope it continues to be successful this year.  I am full of hope and optimism about 2013 for our family.  It's a far cry from how I felt last New Year but I really am happy and I can't wait to see what the year brings.

For those of you hoping to start the year cooking more or eating healthy, here is a delicious recipe I made up for gluten free banana avocado muffins.  They are very moist and rich, but full of healthy things like banana (obviously), avocado, flax, and pecans.  Phillip and I are eating a couple of them for breakfast every day right now. 

Gluten Free Banana Avocado Muffins
Makes 36 mini muffins


Ingredients

• 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I use Better Batter, but any blend with xantham gum will do.  If you don't have a blend, I recommend 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, and 1/4 cup potato starch, plus 1/2 teaspoon of xantham gum)
• 1 cup flax seed meal
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 ripe avocado, mashed
• 2/3 cup honey
• 3 tbl cooking oil (any but olive!)
• 1 tbl vanilla
• 1 egg

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease two mini muffin pans
• Whisk flour, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat mashed bananas, avocado, hoeny, oil, vanilla, and egg until combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three additions, mixing until combined.
• Stir in nuts
• Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 to 3/4 full and bake about 15-17 minutes until top springs back when lightly touched.



Tasty Tuesday: Baked Chicken Taquitos

Happy Tuesday everyone! One week until Christmas and I think I'm finally finished with all of my shopping. My original goal was to be done the first week in December. So, yeah, that happened...

The recipe I'm going to share with y'all today is so simple and yet so delicious.  I serve it at least twice a month and you can really change it up with what you have on hand.  I first saw the idea for baked chicken taquitos on Our Best Bites.  Their version, creamy chicken taquitos, is phenomenal.  I've since seen a few other versions, and I mine is a mash-up of all of them.  I think the most important elements they all seem to have in common.  First, they should be made with corn tortillas.  I know there are die hard I hate corn tortilla people our there, but there are just some recipes that flour tortillas won't do for.  Corn tortillas can get much crispier, which you obviously want here.  Another important step involves spritzing the top of the rolled taquitos with a bit of cooking spray before putting them into the oven.  I also like to follow that with a light sprinkling of kosher salt.

These can of course be made with beef or beans or anything else you have on hand, but I'm lazy and like to shred a rotisserie chicken.  If you want to use chicken breasts, cook about a one pound package.

Baked Chicken Taquitos
*Makes 12 taquitos - I'd say enough for three people, but you could stretch it to four with enough side dishes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken (I like to use a rotisserie chicken and save the leftovers for another dinner!)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup yogurt, sour cream, or softened cream cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 12 corn tortillas
• cooking spray
• additional kosher salt for sprinkling

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Combine shredded chicken, spices, cheese and yogurt (or sour cream or cream cheese) in a bowl and stir to combine.
• Dampen two paper towels and place 2 or 3 tortillas at a time between the paper towels.  Microwave for about 20-30 seconds to soften the tortillas (this will keep them from cracking when you roll the taquitos!).
• Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling onto a tortilla and roll up tightly.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet, seam-side down. Repeat heating and filling all tortillas.
• Spray tops of the taquitos with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt (you could add a bit of chili powder too for a kick!).
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp.

Here's everything you need!

Oh wait... except for these things too ;)

About this much filling...

Roll 'em up, 'spray em, sprinkle some salt and into the oven they go!

I like to serve them with guacamole and salsa to count as our veggies for the meal :)  Hope y'all enjoy them as much as we do!

Introducing... Tasty Tuesday

I've decided to organize things a bit more here on the blog, just so I can keep my thoughts together and let y'all know what's coming when. So without further ado:

Motherhood Mondays:  war stories, tips, and everything that has to do with the best job in the whole world.

 

Tasty Tuesdays: recipes of course!

 

Wednesday Whereabouts: what we've been up to lately.

 

Thursday Thoughts: just that... random thoughts and sometimes thankfullness.

 

Fashion Friday: fashion for me and the littles - sometimes things we wore and sometimes things we just plain old want!

 

 

Today's recipe is a delicious corn chowder I adapted from Cook's Country Magazine.  If you've never read Cook's Country or its sister publication Cooks Illustrated, you are really missing out.  I've honestly never had a misfire recipe from either one.  Sometimes though, I think they make the recipes a bit more complicated than necessary and frankly these days I need to get dinner on the table in a flash!  So, here's my version of their delicious corn chowder switched up a bit for my hectic schedule and currently dairy free diet.  We enjoyed this last night and it was delicious!  I served pumpkin cornbread and green beans on the side (I know, I know... so much corn).  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Corn Bacon Chowder

Adapted from Cook's Country

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 2 15 oz cans whole kernel corn
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 lb red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• salt and pepper

Directions

• Puree canned corn and 2 cups broth in blender.
• Cook bacon in  dutch oven over medium heat until crisp.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Cook onion, thawed frozen corn, 1/2 teaspoon slat, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in bacon fat until vegetables are softened and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add potatoes, corn puree, and remaining broth to the dutch oven and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.  Discard cobs and stir in almond milk and reserved bacon.  Season with salt and pepper.
   

A Man Pleasing Meal

I keep seeing this one recipe floating around Pinterest titled "Man Pleasing Chicken." I have a recipe to share with y'all and it isn't THAT recipe, but it certainly is man pleasing. When I saw this recipe a while back on Confections of a Foodie Bride, I knew instantly I had to make it.  It combines so many of the things my husband loves - brisket, barbecue sauce, and brie!  Whatsmore, it's one of those recipes that really sounds impressive, but itsn't all that complicated to put together. 

The only changes I made to the recipe were to add some apple cider vinegar to the barbecue sauce because I thought it needed a bit more tang and I used corn tortillas.

Brisket & Brie Quesadillas with Mango Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

• Brisket
• 3 lb brisket
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz Dublin Dr. Pepper (made with real sugar)
• Mango Barbecue Sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 3/4 – 1 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp Creole (spicy brown) mustard
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup mango chutney (1/4 cup homemade or purchased)
• Quesadillas
• 8 corn tortillas
• 8 oz brie, thinly sliced
• 1 cup monterrey jack, shredded
• olive oil or cooking spray, to brush tortillas
• cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. To make the brisket: Rub the meat with salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic.
2. Place brisket in the crockpot and pour the Dr. Pepper over the top.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Remove from the crockpot and let rest for 15 minutes.
5. Slice against the grain (1/8-1/4 inch thick).
6. To make the barbecue sauce: Heat olive oil in a 2-qt sauce pan.
7. Saute onions for 5 minutes.
8. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
9. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Transfer to a blender or food processor and run until smooth.
11. To assemble the quesadillas: Heat a griddle or large pan over medium-high.
12. Lay out the tortillas. Divide the meat, brie, and monterrey jack between the tortillas, placing the meat and cheese on half of the tortilla.
13. Top with a spoonful or two of barbecue sauce and fold the other half over.  (I didn't fold the tortillas, but instead topped one tortilla with meat, cheese, and sauce layered and then put another tortilla on top.) 
14. Place on the heated grill (brushing the tortilla with oil or cooking spray will prevent sticking).
15. Cook until the bottom is crisp and flip over.
16. Remove from heat and cut into 2-3 wedges. Serve with extra barbecue sauce.

Yields: 8 servings

 

 

 

Update and a Recipe

Well, there's nothing like parenthood to humble you just a bit.  I read a pretty hilarious quote the other day, and it really resonated with me: "My child is standing in the way of me being the parent I always dreamed I would be."

I love my son to death, but he challenges me in ways I never knew I could or would be challenged.  Let's be honest, I was probably a bit naive, but I just assumed that if I did all the "right" things, then he would basically turn out a certain way.  I'm certainly not downplaying my importance, or the important role of parents in general, but I think maybe parents (read ME) would be a lot less stressed if they accepted that there are so many things you can't control.

For example, I was always told that if I ate a varied diet while pregnant and breasted that my son would have a natural taste for lots of varied foods, including vegetables, which I love!  Sounds great right?  I was also led to believe that if I made my son healthy baby food, held back grains, did baby led weaning, etc. that he would naturally learn to explore and love a variety of foods.  But, Phillip had his own special plan. 

Needless to say, my tough love two days just did not work.  He basically didn't eat at all.  And it made us both incredibly stressed.  One thing I have learned about parenting (at least when it comes to me as that parent!), is that if something doesn't feel natural to me, it can be the best idea in the world, but it just won't work.

So, at least for now, until he's capable of a bit more reasoning, I'm going back to my old methods of feeding him.  I homemake 90% of what he eats and try to make the healthiest options I can out of what he will eat, throwing in some rejected and new foods a few times a week.

And, we're back to baking together :)  This is a recipe from the kid's cooking site "Weelicious."  I have her cookbook and have had success with many of her recipes.  This is just one example of the types of recipes that I convert to gluten free and make for Phillip for breakfast.

  Oatmeal On the Go Bars
From Weelicious with a few changes!

Ingredients

• 2 cups old fashioned oats (Bob's Redmill Gluten Free Oats)
• 1 cup gluten free flour (I use Better Batter, which is a rice, potato, tapioca blend with the xantham gum mixed in - highly recommend!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup milk (any kind of milk — rice, almond, soy, cow’s — will work)
• 3 tablespoons agave
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, blueberries, and/or cherries)
• 1/2 cup nuts (walnuts, sunflower seeds, and/or pepitas)
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. Mix the milk, applesauce, egg, agave, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stir to combine and then stir in the dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate chips.
5. Pour the oatmeal mixture into a buttered or greased 7 x 11 inch baking dish.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until thickened and golden.
7. Cool, cut into squares and serve.

*Allow to cool, cut into squares and place in a ziploc bag to freeze up to 4 months. When ready, allow to defrost in fridge for 24-48 hours.

*Refrigerating the bars will make them last up to 5 days.

What I'm Making... For Breakfast!

I like to start the Peanut off each day with a hot breakfast.  I'm not a huge breakfast person and I guess he takes after me, but I have a few delicious breakfast tricks up my sleeve to entice him to eat a little something!  One of his absolute favorite
breakfasts is pancakes.  It may sound like a lot of work for a weekday morning, but the great thing about pancakes is that I can make a batch and he'll eat a couple and then I'll freeze the rest.  Then on another morning I can pop a couple in the microwave for about 30 seconds and they are hot and ready to go!  I do the same thing with muffins too.


I usually keep it simple with plain pancakes topped with butter, but today I made a fun variation:  Nutella Swirl Pancakes!

Nutella Swirl Pancakes
*Makes 10 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bisquick (I use the gluten free version of course!)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• nutella
• butter

Directions:  Mix the bisquick, milk, egg, oil, and vanilla in a bowl until just blended.  Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat.  For this next step you can use a few different techniques.  One is to use a pastry bag.  Another is to use a ziplock bag and cut off a corner.  The last one is to simply plop on the nutella with a spoon!  I usually do the ziplock bag.  Melt a tablespoon of butter in the skillet and drop batter in to the pan using about 1/4 cup for each pancake.  If you have the nutella in a pastry bag or ziplock, simply pipe thin vertical lines down each pancake.  Then use a tooth pick to swirl the nutella in a marbled pattern.  If you prefer the spoon method your nutella will just be dropped on and will be more concentrated in clumps.  Cook pancakes until sides are dry and then flip.  Cook until golden and devour!! 

What I'm Making... For Lunch Everyday!

I eat the same thing for lunch pretty much every single day.  The recipe changes slightly here and there based on what I have on hand, but its basically a greek salad.  It's hardly even a recipe really, but I thought I'd share because I used to have such a hard time coming up with something yummy, healthy, and easy to throw together for lunch everyday. 


So each week I buy a cucumber, a bell pepper, hearts of romaine (or other greens if I'm in the mood), grape or cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and a pack of chicken breasts.  Sometimes if I have any on hand, I'll use some pepperoncini or garbanzo beans as well.  I cook all of the chicken breasts after marinating them in italian dressing overnight.  It is so wonderful to have this chicken in the fridge ready to throw on the salad at lunch time or to give Peanut for a quick snack.  I also wash and chop all of the veggies so they are ready to go.  Then at lunch time I combine everything and dress with one tablespoon of Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing mixed with a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar.  I LOVE a lot of dressing on my salad so this is a good way to get that without a lot of extra calories!

What do y'all eat for lunch during the week??

What I'm Making... for the Fourth of July

Happy weekend y'all!  I'm so happy to be enjoying my last low key weekend before the Bar Exam, which is less than a month away.  We are going to to two gatherings for the Fourth, one Sunday and one Monday, so I've decided to make a dessert that will be easy to bring to both.  Many of you know that I'm obsessed with everything that Our Best Bites makes, but these little cuties were just too much to resist!

{image via Our Best Bites}

I'm going to put my own little spin on them of course, by making the blueberry and cherry and then making buttermilk pies as well.  And I'll be making all of the components as opposed to using refrigerated pie crust, canned filling, etc.  But, if you need a last minute dessert idea, I think they will turn out adorable and delicious either way!

Then, I'll also be making an appetizer that is so easy it barely needs a recipe.  This easy peasy corn dip is so delicious and seriously addictive. 


Spicy Creamy Corn Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz container of sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cans mexican corn
• 4 scallions
• 1 can diced green chiles
• 1 and 1/4 cups shredded mexican style mixed or cheddar cheese
• 3 jalapenos

Directions:  Roughly chop scallions.  Seed and dice the 3 jalapenos.  Then combine and mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to allow flavors to combine (this last step isn't absolutely necessary but I prefer to).  Serve with tortilla chips... I like the little scoops ones!


I hope y'all all have a wonderful holiday weekend and I'd love to hear what recipes you made.

What I'm Making... for a comfort food Friday dinner

So I've decided to start a new series of posts called "What I'm Making..."  Basically, I'm just going to share some of my favorite recipes for different occasions.  Pretty obvious, right?  Some of them will be LBK originals and others will just be great recipes I want to share with you.  Today's recipe is for a super easy peasy but delicious comfort food dinner.  When I cook, I don't necessarily need it to be "healthy," but somehow I feel that if I'm cooking its more nutritious and wholesome so I can feel good about feeding it to my boys.  I hope y'all enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Skillet Chicken "Pot Pie"
Serves 4

Pie Filling:

• 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken (I use thighs because that's what we prefer, but breasts are fine too - or if you are feeling super lazy, just pull apart a rotisserie chicken)
• salt, lemon pepper to season
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 shallots minced (but you can use any onions you have on hand)
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (or in my case left over flat champagne, ha!)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon herbs de provence (if you don't have that use thyme)
• 2 cups frozen pea, carrot, corn medley

Biscuit Crust: 

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Begin by making the biscuits.  Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together.  Stir in the cheddar cheese.  Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured area and form a ball.  Knead the dough briefly until smooth.  Then, cut biscuits (I use the top of a glass) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake about 15 minutes.

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and lemon pepper.  Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Brown chicken lightly on both sides and transfer to a plate.  Add the remaining butter to the skillet and heat on medium until melted.  Add shallots and salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch with the wine.  When the onions are ready, stir the liquid mixture in with the onions for about 1 minute.    Slowly whisk in the broth, cream, and thyme, and bring to a simmer.  Place the chicken back into the pan, cover, and cook over medium low about 10 minutes.

Transfer fully cooked chicken to a plate.  Stir veggie mixture into the sauce and simmer about 2 minutes.  Once chicken is cool, shred it into bite-sized pieces and return it to the skillet.  Season filling with salt and pepper to taste.  Either place biscuits on top of the filling and serve from the skillet, or put individual servings into ramekins and top with a biscuit.  Enjoy!
 

Super Bowl Shmooper Bowl...

Okay, let's face it.  I couldn't care less about the Super Bowl.  I am, however, excited about hanging out with friends, watching the funny commercials, and eating tons of yummy food!

I just found out that my go-to party recipe, buffalo chicken wing dip (hubbs favorite), is being made by someone else.  So, I've been browsing some of my favorite food sites for some other ideas.  Here are a few I'm considering:

Caramelized Onion Dip by Ina Garten - I wrote about this delicious dip here.

Or, delicious Hot Corn Dip from Our Best Bites.  This hot bowl of cheesy deliciousness has corn, bell peppers, cheese and more... what's not to like?

Finally, there's Jalapeno Popper dip, also from Our Best Bites.  It's basically a jalapeno popper in dip form... genius!

Any thoughts?  What recipes are y'all making?