Recipe Time!!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We went down to Corpus and had a blast! We are so blessed with such amazing family and friends!

Here is the recipe I made for dinner the night before we left. I love this and so do the boys!

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta

1 lb short pasta

6 strips bacon, diced (I put mine in the freezer for about 20 minutes to make dicing easier.)

1 tbl butter

3 boneless,skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 tbl flour

1 packet ranch dressing mix

2 cups milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more depending on how cheesy you like things)

salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package. Return to pot after draining and keep warm.

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towel. Reserve one tbl of bacon drippings. 

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add butter to bacon grease. Then add chicken. Cook until no longer pink and slightly browned.

Sprinkle flour and ranch dressing over chicken, stirring to evenly coat. Stir in milk and continue stirring until slightly thickened.

Pour chicken mixture into pot of noodles. Stir in cheeseand bacon. Stir and cook until cheese is melted.

I served this with sauteed veggies and it was great! You could add cajun seasoning to kick up the flavor, but since my 18 month old was eating this as well, we kept it mild and just added Tony's seasoning to our servings.

Happy Eating, Y'all!

Almost Lasagna Casserole - Yum!

So, I found this recipe via Pinterest and it came from allrecipes.com. Huge hit in our house!

Almost Lasagna Casserole

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked according to package
2 eggs
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (not pictured)
2 zuchinni, grated
2 carrotts, grated
onion to cook with meat
salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat with onions and salt and pepper to taste. Drain fat.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, eggs and 1/2 cup of parmesan.

In a large bowl, combine grated carrotts and zuchinni, spaghetti sauce, ground meat, cooked macaroni, and ricotta cheese mixture. Mix well.

Spread mixture in a 9 x 13 lightly greased baking dish. Top with mozzarella.

Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted.

I served with steamed veggies and a fresh salad.



Happy Eating, Y'all!

Update... Then a Recipe!

I know I haven't posted in a while. We've been busy getting ready to head out of town for Thanksgiving and doing things around the house. I haven't made any spectacular meals since we've been running around like crazy. The next few days will consist of tacos and something quick with chicken!

We've been working on trying to get Marc to eat with a fork. He's almost there. Food ends up more on his tray than in his mouth but he's trying so hard. He finally learned to clap. And now, he claps and gets excited for everything! He's almost 18 months old and is such an incredible little boy. We laugh and laugh with him all the time!

This past weekend we participated in a walk raise funds and find a cure for Nephrotic Syndrome. My husband's cousin's daughter is 6 and sufferes from this disease, also known as Minimal Change Disease. Team Allie raised over $5000 and we were so lucky to be able to participate in such a great cause.

We leave Wednesday for Corpus to spend Thanksgiving with our families. We'll be there until Sunday. I am so ready to be surrounded by our family and friends!! Will post pictures when we get back! Here are a few pictures from what we've been up to lately.

A rough week...

Its been a rough week in our house - and its only Tuesday. My husband has been working extremely long days and it will continue all week. Like 16 hour days. My poor honey. I had a total pinterest recipe FAIL last night. Its not even worth sharing. All I'm gonna say is that I'm leaving the baked potato soup making to Chili's. So, tonight I really needed to redeem myself. My husband went in at 4:00 am and got home at 7:00 pm. I'm missing our family and that makes the days hard. It will be another 2 weeks or so until I see my parents. I'm so glad my sister in law and nieces are coming this weekend. I definitely need some family love! Anywho, luckily Marc loved dinner! So, here's my recipe.

Beef Kabobs with Roasted Cauliflower

Beef Kabobs
2 tbl beef bouillon granules (I used 1 cube and disolved it in 2 cups of boiling water and saved the rest)
2 red bell peppers, large chopped
1 green bell pepper, large chopped
1 large onion, large chopped
2 zuchinni, sliced (not pictured - I had to run to the store for this later)
2 tbl water
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder (give or take depending on how much heat you want)
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 lbs beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
10 - 15 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour
vegetable oil

Roasted Cauliflower
1 bunch cauliflower florets
4 tsp grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp garlic power
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
vegetable oil



Kabobs:
 Disolve bouillon in water (or use 2 tbl of beef broth). Stir in garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper. Toss the meat in the marinade, cover and marinate in the fridge at least 2 hours.

Chop veggies. I of course do this early in the day to spread out my work load.

Skewer beef cubes and veggies. I used 3 pieces of meat per skewer and 2 pieces of each veggie. 

For the actual cooking part, you can use an outdoor grill, an indoor grill or grill pan or a cast iron skillet. I used the cast iron skillet. I covered the bottom of the skillet with oil and preheated it over medium heat. I cooked anywhere from 3 to 5 skewers at a time. Cook for about 5 - 7 minutes each side. Once the skewers were all done, I put them in the oven to keep warm at about 250*.

Roasted Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 425*

In a bowl, combine cauliflower, cheese, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss to mix. Drizzle with oil and toss again. Transfer to a nonstick sheet or dish.

Bake 15 to 17 minutes, tossing once, or until lightly browned and crisp tender. 

I served the kabobs and cauliflower alongside garlic butter rice. (I just used the packet). This was a hit with the hubby!

Happy Eating, Y'all!

3 Pepper Drumsticks with yummy sides!

Another chicken recipe!! Marc and I love sauteed veggies. We love veggies of any kind, really. But mostly sauteed fresh or frozen. I'm not a big fan of canned veggies. Most of my recipes are easily adapted to can if that's what you and your family prefer.

3 Pepper Drumsticks with sauteed veggies and roasted potatoes:
8 drumsticks
2 tbl red chili flakes (I crush mine in a mocajete)
2 tbl black pepper
2 tbl paprika
salt
vegetable oil

For sauteed veggies (not pictured):
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 zuchinni, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
vegetable oil

Roasted potatoes (not pictured):
6 gold potatoes
vegetable oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Grind red pepper flakes in mocajete (or you can use red pepper powder). Combine paprika and pepper and mix to combine.

Coat chicken in vegetable oil, salt and pepper mix. Bake at 450* for 25 - 30 minutes.

On a cookie sheet, spread out chopped potatoes. Coat in vegetable oil and season with garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Toss and spread back out. Bake along side chicken.

Chop all veggies (as usual - I do it ahead of time).

Cook in saute pan with enough vegetable oil to evenly coat the pan until desired tenderness. I usually cook them about 15 minutes to get them tender crisp.

I hope y'all enjoy this simple meal. The chicken was moist and had just the right amount of kick.

Happy eating, Y'all!!