Recipes Worth Sharing

I tried out some new recipes last week that I wanted to share on the blog.

I promise this is not becoming a food blog, it's just something I love doing and when I find something good, I want to share it!

I usually just pick one or two new recipes a week to try - but this week I had pinned several things and I guess they all just looked really good! :)

 

1 - Lemon Basil Chicken Pasta

This is a dish that I've been making for a while, but I had to include. We make it about twice a month and it is something that Chase LOVES. It is very "lemony" - I actually cut back on the lemon juice by about half in this recipe and it is still great.

2 - Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas

A really good and different option for a meatless meal.

3 - Lasagna Soup

This is beyond delicious. It's probably one of my newest favorite recipes.

Make it! You won't be sorry!

4 - Honey Mustard Chicken Wraps using Knock-off Chik-Fil-A nuggets and sauce

These were pretty good, but messy to fry/make. I did not enjoy cleaning my stove top enough to make these again anytime soon. Just keeping it real. The dressing was good though, and I'm all about homemade salad dressings.

 

5 - Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup

I added corn. This is officially my favorite tortilla soup, and I've tried several!

6 - Spinach Lasagna Rollups

A nice meatless dish, not my favorite thing I've ever made - but it was quick and easy.

7. Crock Pot Chicken Gyros (scroll down to the 4th recipe)

This had a really good flavor.

I used greek yogurt instead of plain yogurt.

These would be great for lunch too.

 

Yum, now I'm hungry again...

 

Classic Christmas Sugar Cookies

Chase and I made our annual batch of sugar cookies and I wanted to post the recipe for those who might be interested in having it.

This is my mother-in-law Mindy's recipe, and the ones that Wes grew up enjoying as a kid. They are not soft cookies, but crunchy and sprinkle-y and sooooo good dipped in milk. :) If you are looking for a healthy cookie - you should stop reading now and go find something on Cooking Light.

These are worth every second spent on them, and every sprinkle found in the floor!!

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups sugar

1 cup lard (yep, I said lard)

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

2-3 egg whites, beaten

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

5 cups sifted flour

 

Directions:

Cream lard and sugar. Add baking soda to the buttermilk (stir) and add to the mixture. Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Add flour and other dry ingredients and mix until combined. Chill dough for at least an hour. (Sometimes I make the dough the day before I plan to roll/decorate/bake).

 

When ready to bake, roll out a portion of the dough at a time on a lightly floured surface and roll to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters and brush with beaten egg whites. Sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles of your choice. Bake at 425 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cool on a wire rack.



 It helps to have a cute little helper who loves nothing more than to play with sprinkles!

 

Merry Christmas!

 

P.S. Santa LOVES this recipe!

He never leaves any behind. :)

Splash Parks and Banana Boats

I'd say a good day includes two things: fun friends and yummy food.

 

This day did just that!

We met some sweet friends of ours at a local splash park last week. We played on the playground and even took a fun stroll through the woods!

That night at home we made banana boats in the fire pit. They were delish, and hey - they were healthy since they included fruit. Right?

Get the recipe here.

Strawberry Shortcake

No, this isn't becoming a food blog, but I made this beauty a few weeks ago after another trip to the strawberry patch and it changed my life. It's a Pioneer Woman recipe - don't be shocked.

 I know it's shocking that I would make something of hers.
I originally titled this post "Darn you Ree!" because Wes and I ate a lot of this cake and we know what's in it - specifically the icing. :)

picking our berries

oh heavens.

Get the recipe HERE!

Strawberry Time!

Chase and his pals headed to Spencer Farm last week to do some strawberry picking. Last year when we picked strawberries it was soon after I had Christian, so I had some bittersweet feelings being back there. It ended up being SO nice. We had such great weather, went early, and got some great berries. I made a delicious and crazy easy strawberry pie that afternoon. I bought a store-bought crust so it was literally sugar, cornstarch and the berries into the shell to bake.

We are planning to go back because I want to make THIS!

How's that for "farm to table?" :)

Meeting Ree

Ahh, cross one off the bucket list.

I met The Pioneer Woman.

I stood in line in the hot sun for 2 hours before going inside the local Kroger store. Wes was out of town last week so I had Chase in tow. He hung out in the stroller with LOTS of snacks and things to keep him busy. The iTouch and fun new apps with Diego and Green Eggs and Ham were our friends! He was a TROOPER in every sense of the word...and we even skipped a nap for Ree. :)  I had several people compliment Chase on his good behavior and I was such a proud Momma.

 Chatting about her life-changing pizza dough and how tall Mr. Chase is!

Meeting her was super fun. I had her sign both my cookbooks, the old one and my newly purchased one (which is awesome by the way!) Chase told her he liked to help me make pizza, which was super cute.
 It was a very long afternoon but worth it for the memories with Chase.

While I was there, I was also able to meet another friend that I met online, Shey. Shey and I first met online in a support group. Shey lost her first daugher Whitney in 2010. She also designed Christian's birth announcements for me. We've shared a lot over the past year and she has helped me so much in my journey. Meeting her little girl Gia and seeing Shey in person was wonderful. As we hugged goodbye we shared how easy it would be for us to "go there" with our emotions, knowing what both of us have gone through - so we kept it light! Shey, I'm hoping we can hang out again soon, this time somewhere else besides the International foods aisle! :)

My Cooking Buddy

A recent conversation at our house while Chase was watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates:

Me: "Chase, would you like to watch your show or help me cook dinner?"

Chase: "Help you! And...can you turn that off?" (his show)

I nearly dropped the dish I was holding.

Oddly enough, this was not a one time thing, and I am SO happy that he likes to help out in the kitchen. In the past week alone he has helped me make cookies for book club, a veggie calzone, brownies, homemade pizza and pancakes (served separately!), and a Chinese Chicken salad. I must say, the boy can cook! He pulls his little chair over and we talk and learn about counting, measuring and how all most of the things we made were healthy. It cracks me up to hear him say things like ginger and cilantro!

I'm linking to the recipes on some of these things. I am LOVING Pinterest for my weekly menu planning!
He loved unwrapping the little Hershey hugs for these cookies for book club. Fine motor skills at their finest!

Helping with the Calzone. He likes cheese, can you tell?

Pounding out the pizza dough. Homemade from the Pioneer Woman, of course. And so easy. We made one batch and used 1/2 for the pizza and the other 1/2 for the calzone. It freezes well too!

Whisking the dressing for our Chinese Chicken Salad.

Have you pinned any good recipes lately?