Chicken Parm Baked Ziti

We are big pasta eaters here! Emma will eat anything if it's covered in sauce and cheese. So will Nathan, LOL. 

We only had the veggie pasta (tomato) on hand. You could definitely taste it but it was still delicious! Will definitely make this again. 

Chicken Parm Baked Ziti (adapted from this recipe)

What you need
:: 1lb/ pasta
:: 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped/shredded
:: Parm and mozz (2 cups total, however you prefer)
:: Sauce (1 jar or make your own)

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook pasta until al dente, or however you prefer. Drain. Add sauce and chicken. Mix well.

Pour half into greased "brownie pan" (9x13 casserole dish). Cover with half your cheese. Pour rest in and cover with the rest of the cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes until everything is melty and ooey gooey. Yum!

Chili Recipe

We love beans! Fa realz. Emma will eat any bean you put in front of her. Except baked beans. Hot, cold, spicy, straight out of the can, she'll eat them. That's my girl. 

I have been wanting chili for a long time and I figured what better day than today? I got in from my jog where I checked my phone-- 10 degrees. Yup, perfect day for chili. :) 

This should be called "kitchen sink chili" because I use any bean known to man. Besides black beans. (Emma had the rest of the can for her 2nd lunch, so . . .) 

What you need

:: Beans! Drained and rinsed. We used pinto, garbanza, dark red kidney, white kidney/cannellini, great northern. . . I forget the rest. Go to the store. Go to the bean isle. Buy all of them. 

:: 1 or 2 cans/corn, drained and rinsed

:: 1 lb meat (we used half turkey, half beef)

:: 1/2 onion

:: sauce 

:: Chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes

:: cheddar cheese

:: sour cream/greek yogurt 

That's it! 

Brown your meat. Throw the onion in at the last minute and cook until it is soft and smells good. 

Put into crockpot with all your beans and corn. Add sauce. Check consistency. Depending upon how you like your chili, add water. I only added a little bit because I like it super chunky. 

Add your spices. I would take it one tsp at a time. It's a personal decision. I just kept shaking the container and shaking it, LOL.

Cook on high for an hour, then set to low for up to 8 hours. 

Serve in bowls and garnish with cheddar cheese and a dollop of greek yogurt! Yum. 

Pumpkin Cake-Ies

I'm not one of those "basic" girls who is pumpkin obsessed or anything (I don't like PSL), but I do enjoy pumpkin flavored stuff during the fall/holidays. 

Pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie blizzards, pumpkin muffins. . . you get it. I wanted to introduce pumpkin to Emma in a somewhat healthy way. 

Enter Pumpkin "Cake-Ies".

Contrary to how they look, I can promise you they are delicious. Ahem. Note the one that Emma bit into. It was more like, "Here Emmie have some! CRAP! Mommie wants a picture for her blog give it back." Cue hysterics.

This cake-ie is adapted from this recipe-- we went without the frosting. The cake-ies are sweet enough, promise. I have a major sweet/sugar tooth and the frosting is just too much.

What you need: 
:: 4 cups flour
:: 2 tsp baking powder
:: 2 tsp baking soda
:: 1 tsp salt
:: cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice (I just shake the jar until it smells good, LOL)
:: 2 tsp vanilla
:: 1 can pumpkin
:: 2 eggs
:: greek yogurt, butter (totaling about two cups, halve it, whatever works)
:: 1/2 cup brown sugar
*You want the consistency to be a bit runnier than cookie dough, but definitely not as runny as cake mix

Preheat oven to 375.

Beat eggs and sugar. Add in the rest of the ingredients besides the flour. Mix well.

Add in flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each cup. Keep adding until it is desired consistency.

Spoon onto greased cookie sheet (or a silpat mat) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

White Trash

I know, right, another recipe. I have been doing a lot of baking. Tomorrow I will post about life, I promise. 

White Trash is one of those things that everyone does differently. I like it because you don't need a recipe! Just wing it! That's my favorite thing to say lately-- wing it. 

I got introduced to White Trash by my Aunt Mimi who I think puts powdered sugar on it (?) when it's done. I didn't do that because I was afraid of a mess. She doesn't do M&Ms, either. Just like the holiday bark, you can literally throw anything in there and it will be delicious.

Oh funny story. When my aunts were planning our baby shower, one of them asked me if there was anything in particular I wanted to have there. Looking back I think she was referring to games, specific people, a theme, and all I said was White Trash. Ha. Such a pregnant thing to say. But Aunt Mimi had bowls at White Trash at every table! And you can bet when I went around and visited everyone that my hands were digging in those bowls.

What you need: 
:: 1 lb almond bark
:: plain cereal (I used wheat chex here but literally anything works)
:: pretzels
:: bag of M&Ms (We used peanut, for fall you could probably use candy corn)
:: Holiday sprinkles, optional but so cute
:: nuts, optional (We skipped because we had peanut M&Ms)

Melt almond bark according to package instructions.

In a (very) large bowl, pour dry ingredients (except sprinkles). Just wing it (Ha!), but I'd say 2 cups each of pretzels and cereal. Sorry, I never measure. Who has time for that anyway?

Pour melted bark in and stir well. I used a wooden spoon. If it looks too soupy, add some pretzels or cereal.

Once mixed, dump onto wax paper and lay flat to dry. Top with sprinkles.

Let sit for an hour or so, break up and store in an airtight container.

Sugar Cookie Cut Outs

On Saturday Ems & I set out to bake Christmas cookies. I actually mean Ems stuck her hand in the flour container and I almost cried when she dropped a jar of sugar sprinkles on the floor, but hey-- we're making memories. 

Also, loving that she is wearing Halloween bows. :-) Just have to note that she has now learned to brush back her hair from her eyes and it's the cutest thing ever. She does it all the time so I constantly have to have her hair up or in multiple clips. 

My father in law was asking if we will get her hair cut and NO WE WILL NOT. Actually my cousin does hair and she said she would never "put a scissor to that hair". 

..Back to cookie baking:

Cookies never, ever keep their shape! Please share a recipe if you are convinced your cookies actually stay in Christmas tree shape. My husband ate a cookie today and said it looked like boobs! He's awful. 

I did make the cookies myself but got store brand icing. I'm all for honesty here. I'll share the cookie recipe below.

My two favorites! I decorated most of them with Emma hanging on my legs and the last ten or so (see below) I did during nap time. 

I told my husband he can eat all the ugly cookies he wants-- the pretty ones have to stay out as long as possible. :-) He then asked which ones were the pretty ones. Ayyy yi yi. 

Grandma G's Sugar Cookie Cut Outs 

What you need:

:: 1 cup butter

:: 1 1/2 cup sugar

:: 2 eggs

:: 1 tsp vanilla 

:: 4 cups flour
:: 1 tsp baking soda
:: 2 tablespoons milk

Legit, all she wrote was "Bake at 350 for 8 mins". Don't ask me what order to combine everything. :)

Cookie Press Butter Cookies

We sometimes call these BUTTer cookies. :) The recipe I've always used calls for a pound of butter. ONE. Pound. Good lord. 

What you need: 

1 pound (4 sticks) butter

1 1/4 cup sugar 

1 egg

4 cups flour

1 tsp vanilla

food coloring (if you want) 

Cream together butter, sugar, and egg. 

Add flour & vanilla. Mix well. Add food coloring if you want. 

Put into cookie press. Bake on greased cookie sheet (I used the Silpat and love it!) for 12-15 minutes at 350. 

Don't forget the egg. Ahem. I think that's why they are so flat. Oh well, they still taste fabulous. So if you're not egg people, feel free to remove it.

As if this cookie baking experience needed any more "issues", I discovered (upon putting the butter and sugar in the bowl) that our mixer stopped working! Ahhh so I whipped this baby up by hand.

And kitchenaid will be hearing from me. :-)

Chicken Spinach Tomato Pasta Bake

This was so yummy! Once again I have no pictures (sorry), but take my word for it-- delish!

I started following this recipe, but I changed up the sauce because I wanted to make it a bit healthier. Click here to see the recipe and the beautiful photos.

Emma & Nathan gobbled this stuff right up. Not to mention I had my fair share of it.

What you need:
1 box of your favorite pasta (I always use the whole box, I'm not leaving 2 oz of pasta in a box), we use farfalle
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
bag/spinach
garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup milk
2 cups mozz, shredded
salt & pepper, to taste
2 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped (I sautéed them in a pan with some olive oil and garlic until they were fully cooked)


:: Cook pasta. Drain & set aside.
:: Saute onion & garlic in a pan with some olive oil until softened and you can smell it.
:: Add in greek yogurt and mix well. Reduce heat to low.
:: Stir in milk and half of the mozz. Stir well! Add in spices-- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes if you want.
:: In a HUGE bowl (seriously), add sauce mixture to spinach, tomatoes, and chicken. Mix. You may have to use tongs, I did. :-)
:: Pour into a greased 8x10 baking dish. Top with remaining mozz and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Yum! So good, I promise! xO

Toddler Muffins

I have no idea why I call these "toddler" muffins, because anyone of any age can eat these! They are so yummy and super clean/healthy. I brought them on our trip to Indiana and had at least 4 mini muffins a day!

Sadly, I don't have one picture but I promise they are tasty and you can really add/subtract things you like/don't like. Super simple.

This recipe isn't from anywhere, again I kind of winged it and they tasted good.

What you need:
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
bananas, mashed
3/4 cup greek yogurt
1 egg
craisins, raisins, apple, pumpkin, shredded carrots, oats*

*Literally throw in anything you want! I wouldn't take out the banana because it's replacing oil. I used dried cranberries and oats. SO good!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add greek yogurt, banana, and egg and mix thoroughly.

Lastly, add your "mix ins". Spoon into greased muffin tins or muffin liners and bake for 12-15  minutes.

Enjoy!

Healthy Squash Burritos

I know, I know. They sound a bit too healthy, but I promise they are good! With the holidays approaching, it's important to get at least one healthy and veggie-filled meal in a day, am I right?

Enter this recipe! Sadly I did not take one lousy photo, but we'll be having it again and I'll update this post.

It's based very similarly off this recipe, check it out.

See? Not so bad. The pictures look yummy. My husband won't touch veggies with a 39.5 foot pole, and he ate one of these to appease me.

I don't really follow recipes, so I'm trying to wing this.

What you need:
4 tortillas
can/black beans, drained and rinsed
1 spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded up in a bowl.
1/2 cup (or more, I used more because again my husband isn't into veggies) brown rice
small onion, chopped
some garlic
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 red/yellow/green pepper (I did one of each), chopped
spices-- cumin, salt/pepper, red pepper flakes
Any toppings you like (we used greek yogurt, lettuce, and salsa)

Cook brown rice. In a medium skillet, sauté onion and garlic. Add in seasonings. (Again, sorry, just wing it!).

Add peppers, rice, and black beans. Let it all hang out for a bit.

Add spaghetti squash and cheese and stir until melted.

Microwave tortillas for 20 seconds, and spread squash mixture on. Top and enjoy!

Bark "Recipe"

Over Halloween I got this idea to make bark. I love white "chocolate" and candy corn, so I figured why not throw them together?

It was amazing.

Before I was pregnant I never ate chocolate..then I got pregnant and could tolerate it. Now it kind of grosses me out, but I eat it in small amounts. 

Anyway, it's very simple and a recipe is not even necessary. 

Just melt your chocolate (baking chocolate works best)-- white, milk, whatever. Put 3/4 of it on a jelly roll pan with some wax/parchment paper, and smooth it off. Throw your toppings on (I used candy corn M&Ms, candy corn, Oreos, pretzels that I chopped up, and Halloween sprinkles) and drizzle the remaining chocolate on. 

I threw mine in the freezer for 15 minutes or so, broke it up, and it was good to go! 

This morning, me and my girl made it with a Thanksgiving theme. I did 2 batches-- 1 lb of white and 1 lb of milk. I tried to find some darker and fall-ish colors so I got Reese's trees, pretzels, and Reese's pieces. It turned out beautifully! It would also have been nice to find some Thanksgiving sprinkles, but I couldn't justify the $4 container of sprinkles.

I forgot to take a picture and it's all packaged up for our neighbors..whoops. 

So easy. Definitely try it!