High Five for Friday

Ever have the kind of week that just tries every last nerve you have? That's been my week. I definitely needed a reminder of some of the better stuff from this week! So I'm linking up Jennie to share some of it. 

1) Last Friday we had dinner with my friend Janis and her husband. Since her husband's retirement, he's become quite the cook! He made us a delicious lasagna with cheesy garlic bread and Olive Garden-esque salad. My contribution, as always, was dessert. I went with Pioneer Woman's mocha brownies. It was so good to see Janis & John and we had a great evening catching up. It was the perfect start to the weekend.

Brownies!

2) At some point over the weekend I broke out this new bubble toy. It puts little bubbles inside big bubbles. Such a fun toy!

What kid doesn't love bubbles? (If you have toy envy,
you can find them at Walmart or Target)

3) I knew it was going to be a trying week, so I started it off with some yummy Cinnamon scones to go with my Monday morning coffee (and Tuesday morning coffee...and Wednesday 3:00 snack). (Recipe HERE; I was out of honey so I subbed REAL maple syrup and it was delightful.)

4) Workbook time! Grant finished up two chapters in his workbook he's been working on and he was so proud of himself. He loves to learn :)

5) FOOD. 

I'm not really a spaghetti lover but this was good.
(recipe based on THIS one)

Yeah...pasta again.
(recipe HERE)

6) It felt wonderful outside last night and was perfect for a little post-dinner pre-bath baseball. Grant told me "I'm gonna whack the mess outta this ball!"

Happy Friday everyone!

Have a great weekend!

High Five for Friday

Hi there! Today I'm linking up Jennie to share some of my favorite stuff from the past week.

1) Last weekend I made and delivered this fun beach themed birthday cake!

It was my first attempt at making palm trees!

2) On Saturday we went to a birthday party for Grant's best friend. He was so excited that he couldn't get to sleep Friday night, woke up early Saturday morning, and asked every hour if it was time to go to the party. The party was at a place that teaches circus-type aerial tricks and the kids had fun swinging and playing around. It's always so fun to watch Grant play with his friends!

3) Sunday, we went to the park for a walk and some playtime.

4) And I made Grant this fun mask:

5) My co-worker and, as she calls herself, "work mom" is retiring this week. We had a little celebration for her yesterday and I made her this cake:

6) Have you ever heard of a hot brown sandwich? Maybe I watch too much food TV but I've been wanting to try one forever. Last night for dinner I gave it a shot and holy crap was it good! I used THIS simplified version from Kraft. But I found a baked potato version online somewhere as well and I think I'll be giving that a try soon!

I actually can't stand tomato so I made a couple without it for me
but Husband and Grant enjoyed the tomato ones :)

Happy Friday everyone!

Have a great weekend!

High Five for Friday

Well, hello! Today I'm linking up Jennie to share some of my favorite stuff from the past week.

1) A few weekends ago, we were out to eat with my in-laws and saw "tater tot fondue" on the menu as an appetizer. We all talked about it but none of us ordered it. But I thought it would be easy - and fun - to have with dinner one night. So that's what I did Friday night. We just had some BLTs with it. I put a plate of tater tots, a big bowl of homemade cheese sauce and a small dish of sour cream (just because) on the table and we all got a wooden skewer to eat with. Do you know how excited a 4 year old gets when you tell him he gets to eat dinner with a stick?? It definitely made for a fun Friday night dinner.

2) Saturday was rainy and dreary but I had to go run an early errand Saturday. Grant wanted to come so we stopped for a biscuit at McDonald's on our way. They have this neat interactive thing in the corner for the kids and Grant had a blast with it.

And since I knew Saturday was going to be yucky, I planned a fun t-shirt craft for Grant to do. Using THIS technique, I helped Grant make a t-shirt for his Aunt Shauna and then one for himself! He had so much fun and was very proud of his artwork when he was done. (If you try it, that link uses Sharpie fabric markers but the craft store I went to didn't have those so I used Tulip brand which I don't think were as bright.)

For Aunt Shauna (who should never be allowed within 10 feet
of a white tshirt, but it wouldn't have shown up well on another color)

And Grant's.

3) Sunday, Grant and I ventured out to take his 4 1/2 year pictures. Sitting still for pictures these days (or sitting still for anything) is not his favorite but I did promise ice cream for good behavior. He was very patient for pictures (and I'm in love with how they turned out) and definitely enjoyed his ice cream! And I love our little ice cream dates :)

4) With St. Patty's on Tuesday, Grant helped me make some green marshmallows to share with his friends for snack time! These are always a hit with the kiddos at school.

5) One of my very favorite things is that some of Grant's teachers have my phone number and will randomly text me pictures of him. It really makes my day!

Happy Friday everyone!

Have a great weekend!

New Recipe: Chicken & Dumplings Casserole

I've declared it Comfort Food Week at my house! Fall is HERE and I love it. I've been wanting to cook and eat some good comfort food. I enjoyed summer cooking, enjoyed finding good things to eat that didn't make me want to anchor myself to the couch. But comfort food season is here and this week I'm going a little crazy.

I've got three new recipes to try on my menu this week (four if you count the no-bake dessert I'm taking to my mother-in-law's on Saturday)...I'm feeling a little ambitious! Monday night I tried this Chicken & Dumplings Casserole from The Country Cook. I've seen several variations of this casserole but this one in particular I noticed last week and it looked like a good weeknight meal. I'm a big fan of chicken & dumplings but have never made them from scratch myself (though I enjoy eating it when others take the time). This casserole was a good substitute. SO yummy! I'm excited that I decided to try it.  

This picture really doesn't do it justice at all.

Chicken & Dumplings Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 3 cups cooked chicken (shredded or cubed)
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup milk (2% or higher)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, melt your butter then add your chopped onion and celery. Cook until the veggies are soft (this took at least 10 minutes for me). You can season your veggies with salt & pepper if you like.
3. Pour the veggies and all that glorious butter into your casserole dish and spread it around so it covers the bottom. Layer your chicken on top of the veggie/butter mixture (season with salt & pepper if you so desire).
4. In a mixing bowl combine your self-rising flour and milk then pour it over the chicken layer. Do not stir!
5. In the same mixing bowl (you could use a new one but why?), mix your Cream of Chicken soup and chicken broth. At this point you can season this with salt & pepper too. Pour that mixture on top of everything in the casserole dish. Again - do not stir!
6. Pop your uncovered dish into the oven to bake for 40-45 minutes or until your casserole is set. (As Brandie - The Country Cook - notes, everyone's oven is different. This took about 45-50 minutes in my oven).
7. You could finish this with a sprinkle of parsley if you want to make it pretty. I was too hungry and too excited to eat this to remember parsley.

Recipe Source: The Country Cook (She has great step-by-step photos of this dish and some good suggestions along with a plug for the cookbook she got it from. Also, her site is loaded with great recipes.)

Notes/Suggestions:

• You can use a rotisserie chicken for the chicken in this dish, usually I would. But the store where I prefer to buy them was out so I bought a package of chicken breasts (I think there were 5 in there), boiled them in seasoned water, then trimmed & cubed them when they were cooled a little. Typically I'm not a fan of boiled chicken but it totally worked here. Next time, I'd maybe use Brandie's tip for shredding the chicken in my stand mixer.
• A stick of butter is a lot of butter to me. Usually I'd cut it down but I was worried it may affect the dumplings layer so I used the whole stick. This dish was super so I don't know that when I make it in the future if I'd mess with the butter. Plus, I love butter.
• See THIS POST about the lower sodium ingredients I use (says the girl who just admitted she loves butter). I did use the low-sodium chicken broth I have on hand but had to buy regular Cream of Chicken soup (the store was out of the healthy request stuff). It was delicious as is but I think next time I'll use the healthy request just to make myself feel a bit better about that stick of butter).
• I cooked & chopped my chicken the night before and also the celery & onions. Since this dish takes 40-45 minutes to bake, I wanted to be able to put it together as quick as possible. The early prep made it much more week-night friendly.
• Husband & I really enjoyed this dish (and it heated wonderfully the next day for my lunch!). Grant, not so much. But he's weird about casseroles. Husband isn't a fan of celery in things and I'm not a fan of onions but neither of us minded our less-than-favorite veggies in this dish. It had great flavor.

Enjoy!

High Five for Friday

Today I'm linking up with Lauren and Jennie to share some of my favorite stuff from the past week. This week seems very food-oriented!

1) On Friday our big boss had a pizza lunch for us just to say thanks for what we do. We don't do things like that often and it was nice to sit with everyone at lunch for a bit and just talk. I'd been itching to bake something new, so I made these chocolate peanut butter cake bars for our dessert:

2) Saturday morning I really branched out and tried grits for the first time! I've been living in the south for 13 years now and have adamantly refused to try them every chance I get because they just looked gross. But I recently found this recipe for Cheddar Garlic Grits with Fried Eggs and the picture made my mouth water. I had all the stuff, so I made it Saturday morning. I have been turned. The garlic was a bit heavy for a morning meal but I'd definitely make this again sometime.

3) Grant and I went for a walk together Saturday afternoon! Usually for walks he's in the stroller (which I do know he's too big for) or he'll ride his bike. But this time we walked together - 2.25 miles! - and it was so much fun! He kept calling it our adventure :)

4) Sunday night we busted out this ice cream machine that Grant got for his birthday that basically makes blizzards for you. It was a lot of fun! And, I have to say, I was impressed with how easy it was to put together, easy it was to use, and very low-mess on the clean up. 

Grant mixed Cap'n Crunch into his...which wasn't great. I went
with peanut butter cups...which was great.

5) Fall mornings. I love Fall!

6) I actually planned out our dinners for the week (and have stuck to it!) and to break up our weekly routine, we had a picnic dinner in the park Wednesday evening. Grant hinted over the weekend about a picnic and he really loves them - and being outside in general. With the days getting shorter I thought we'd need to do it sooner rather than later. We invited my in-laws to join us and we ate giant sandwiches, chips, pasta salad, and brownies for dessert. Followed up with some playground time! It was a great evening!

So  happy :)

7) One more about food! Last night I decided to try this recipe for Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli. I almost didn't make it because I was in a rush to get dinner on the table. I'm so glad I didn't skip it! It was SO easy to get ready, cooked fast, and was - hands down - the best broccoli I've ever eaten in my life!

Happy Friday!

Have a great weekend!

New Recipe: PW's Tortellini Primavera

I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman's site last week and it immediately went on my menu for the week. Then I ran out of steam toward the end of the week...so I made it this week. I thought the combination of pasta and fresh veggies would be a tasty spring meal and it was! Even Grant ate it.

Tortellini Primavera

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 whole medium onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 whole carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 cup cauliflower, broken or cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 8 whole basil leaves, chopped
• 3/4 cup cooked ham, diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• Extra Parmesan & basil for serving
• 1 pound cheese (or spinach) tortellini

Directions:

1. Cook tortellini a couple of minutes less than package directions call for. Drain and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and stir to cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the carrots and cauliflower, stir, cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the wine and broth, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the liquid reduced some.
5. Add in cream and Parmesan cheese, stir. 
6. When mixture is hot, add the peas, ham, salt, and pepper. Allow them to heat up in the sauce. When the sauce is hot, stir in the cooked tortellini.
7. Taste test your seasonings and add more if necessary. Serve with extra Parmesan and basil, if desired.

Recipe Source: The very awesome Pioneer Woman

Notes/Suggestions:

• The above recipe is PW's original recipe. I didn't use wine or basil. We don't keep wine of any sort around this house so I substituted more chicken broth in place of the wine. I thought it tasted fantastic. And I just don't like basil but if you do, I bet its very tasty on this dish. But if you're like me and you don't like it, your dinner will not be ruined by the absence of basil.
• I highly recommend checking out the recipe on PW's site. Not only are there, as usual, step-by-step pictures but also a list of things she recommends as add-ins for this dish. I added 3-4 ounces of cream cheese since she suggested it (which I added at the same time as the cream and Parmesan). It was great!
• Next time I'll thaw my peas. I was leery of the peas anyway because...well, they're peas. However, this pea hater ate every pea on her plate because they were so yummy in this dish...just a bit too crunchy. Your cauliflower & carrots may be crunchy too but I'm good with that.
• Ham! Oh how I love ham. I used pre-diced ham since this was going to be a weeknight meal and I wanted to cut down on prep. I chose the smaller diced pieces but they ended up sort of disappearing into the dish. Next time, I'd go with larger pieces or just buy ham steaks and chop them myself.

I've never made a PW recipe that I didn't like or that turned out bad. Check out her stuff, she's awesome! 

ENJOY!

New Recipe: Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

This recipe is one I've had my sights on for a while but I was slightly intimidated by it. Now that I've made it, I'm not sure why because it was pretty easy...and REALLY good! I found this recipe for Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin on Pinterest. There seem to be a gazillion verstion of this but that link is for the one I used specifically.

Crockpot Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Meat:

• 2 lbs pork tenderloin
• 1 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 clove garlic; crushed
• 1/2 water

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Mix together the seasonings: sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub the mixture over tenderloin(s). Pour 1/2 cup water in crockpot and put tenderloin(s) in crockpot.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. An hour before the meat is finished, mix together the ingredients for the glaze in a small sauce pan: brown sugar, cornstarch, balsamic vinegar, water, and soy sauce.
4. Heat over medium heat and stir until mixture thickens (she says about 4 minutes). Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. For a more caramelized crust: remove from crockpot and place on aluminum lined baking pan, glaze, and set under broiler for 1-2 minutes until bubbly and caramelized. Repeat 2-3 more times until desired crust is achieved.
5. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Recipe Source: Laura's Sweet Spot

Notes/Suggestions:

• I made this exactly as the recipe said but my pork tenderloins (it was a package of two) were about 2.5 lbs. It still turned out great.
• I glazed mine in the crockpot and caramelized it under the broiler. I was really afraid to burn it so I didn't leave it in there as long as I should have. Next time - I will be making this again - I'll be a little braver with the broiler.
• The glaze is awesome! Not too sweet. Husband wanted to stick a fork in each end of one of the tenderloins and just gnaw the outside off like corn on the cob.
• Reheated pretty well for lunch the next day :)
• Kid tested, kid approved!

ENJOY!

New Recipe: Bacon Cheese Burger Casserole

I actually tried this recipe a while back but am only now getting around to posting about it. I had been combing through my old issues of Kraft Food & Family and stumbled across this recipe for Bacon Cheese Burger Casserole. It's a bit outside the box for me as far as casseroles. Almost all the casseroles I make have chicken in them. I just don't cook with beef with that much. I guess that's what made me want to try this. Well, that and I live with two burger lovers who I thought might enjoy something like this (and they did).

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
• 4 cups (1/2 of a 32 oz. pkg) frozen tater tots

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Brown the meat with onions in a skillet and drain. Stir in ketchup and mustard; spoon into 9-inch square casserole dish (that you've sprayed with cooking spray).
3. Top with cheese, bacon, and tater tots.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until casserole is heated through and the tater tots are golden brown.

Recipe Source: Kraft Recipes

Notes/Suggestions:

• I'm not a fan of chunky onions in my food so when I can help it - such as in this recipe - I use onion powder.
• Shocker: I used more than one cup of cheese. I also used a few extra slices of bacon. Sue me.
• I was initially put off by mixing the ketchup & mustard into the meat. I have no idea why since that's pretty normal on a burger but it weirded me out. But you know what? It was good. And not an overwhelming ketchup/mustard flavor either.
• The recipe says to use frozen tater tots and that worked out fine. I didn't come across any uncooked potatoes (a turn-off for sure) but in the future I think I'll thaw them. I like my tater tots crispy and I would have overcooked the casserole to get them up to my crispy standards.
• Dishes like this make me think "What do we have with it?!" because I don't feel like its enough all by itself. So I served it with salad but some veggies would be good too.
• Easy weeknight or any night meal. It could even be made the night before so you can just pop it in the oven when you get home. Good stuff.

Enjoy!

New Recipe: Monterey Chicken Pasta Bake

I have been a new recipe fool lately. I was going to say "new recipe whore", but my mother-in-law reads this so I'm thinking I shouldn't use the word "whore" in posts my mother-in-law reads. So I'm going with new recipe fool. Anyway, I was going to through some past issues of Kraft Food & Family one weekend and came across several yummy recipes to try. I've been very lazy about cooking lately and I think it's mostly because I'm bored with all my usual dinner suspects.

Enter Monterey Chicken Pasta Bake. It's sort of like macaroni & cheese on steroids. Not the kind of steroids that spark a federal investigation and get you suspended from baseball games. Good steroids. The kind of steroids that your macaroni & cheese would take to make you love it more. So...it's really good.

Monterey Chicken Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rigatoni pasta, uncooked
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 pkg. (7 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta as directed on package (omitting salt).
3. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Blend in flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Gradually stir in broth; cook 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup shredded cheese; cook and stir 1 minute or until melted.
4. Drain pasta. Add to ingredients in skillet along with the chicken and bacon; mix well. Transfer to a 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining shredded cheese. Cover.
5. Bake 40 minute, uncovering and topping with Parmesan for the last 10 minutes. Top with tomatoes and cilantro.

Recipe Source: Kraft Foods Recipes

Notes/Suggestions:

• If you've ever read one of my new recipe posts, this will come as no surprise but...I added twice the amount of cheese called for in the above original recipe. And it was fantastic.
• I also used 9 instead of of 6 pieces of bacon. I like to live dangerously. The use of extra bacon was very much Husband-approved.
• I think cilantro is yucky so I omitted that and just sprinkled some dry parsley on top for pretty.
• This is a bit of a time consuming dish, or at least it was for me. And I even cut corners by using rotisserie chicken and onion powder in place of chopped onions. It's not a really quick weeknight meal but I'm definitely keeping it in my recipe arsenal.

Enjoy!

Conversations With My Toddler: Dinner Time

Dinner time at our house is usually one of two things: frustrating or enjoyable. Sometimes it's nice and we all eat and talk and listen to Grant tell us what he did at school that. Sometimes, its less than nice because Grant eats at the table with us now (instead of a high chair) and is learning to eat without a bib. He gets distracted and food ends up anywhere except where it should be. It's not always funny.

Last night was funny. I made BLT's and some potatoes. Grant isn't a big sandwich fan in the traditional sense. He likes to pull them apart and eat them little by little. We always try to tell him "eat it like a sandwich" but he rarely does. Grant's was done first to cool down enough so he was already stationed at the table chowing down when Husband sat down.

Grant *to Husband*: "You need to let it cool down. It's too hot. Let it cool down."

Husband *waiting patiently for 30 seconds*: "Now?"

Grant: "No."

So Husband waits another minute or so and then picks up his BLT.

Grant *picking apart his BLT and then points at Husband*: "Hey. Hey. Eat it like a sammich."

This kid cracks me up!

High Five for Friday

Today I'm linking up with Lauren to share some of my favorite things from the past week.

1) On Saturday, I took Grant for a yummy snow cone (one of his favorite treats) just because. It was a gorgeous but hot day so the giant snow cone (that he generously shared with me) tasted great.

2) On Sunday, since I had all the stuff at my house I decided to surprise my co-workers with some cookies and employed Grant's help. He had so much fun being as involved in the kitchen as he could be and I had fun helping and watching him learn.

3) I try to plan my meals weekly when I can or am ambitious enough to map out my week that way. I was able to do that this week and planned some great meals! One of my favorites was grilled chicken (using this recipe) with sauteed zucchini and rice with homemade sauce like they serve at the japanese steak house places.

(Having left overs for lunch was a huge plus as well)

 4) I got to make cupcakes for my friend, Elizabeth, to take on her birthday beach weekend. I hope they help make her birthday a little more special. Happy Birthday Friend!!

5) That very same friend surprised me with a new cake carrier! I forgot to tell her, but I actually broke my cake carrier this week (one of the plastic hinges snapped) so how great of a surprise was that! Now I need someone to have a party or a picnic and invite me so I have an excuse to find a fabulous new cake recipe and use my super cute carrier.

How cute is that!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!