This Unfamiliar Road

What I'm loving today!

New Microwave. Our old one had been on the fritz and when the repairs cost more than a new one, we decided it was time. We went with stainless steel and I just love it!


Sister Love. There are a few moments a day when these two get along and show love. Mickey Mouse doesn't hurt the situation.


New Blog. One of my buddies is starting out on her blogging journey. I love her post "Why Diets Don't Work"- This woman speaks the truth y'all!


Broccoli Recipe. I found a new recipe for broccoli and YUM! It's perfectly roasted in the oven with the most important ingredients-garlic and cheese!




PSA. Get your lady bits checked out everyone! I know we're getting a little personal here, but preventative care is so important. Schedule those check-ups y'all!!


Happy Friday!

I just love a good chicken pot pie, but making the crust can be very time consuming! This recipe via Six Sisters uses canned biscuits for a quick and tasty pie crust!


What You'll Need

-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 onion, chopped fine
-½ cup of chopped carrots*
-½ cup of chopped broccoli*
-½ cup of chopped cauliflower*
-Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
-½ cup of all-purpose flour
-1½ cups milk
-2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
-1 regular size can of cream of chicken soup
-½ teaspoon dried thyme
-2 cups (about 1 pound) of cooked, shredded chicken
-¾ cup frozen peas, thawed
-1 refrigerated package of Pilsbury Grands Biscuits (8 biscuits)
               -You can also buy 2 cans to cover the pie, then cook the leftovers for breakfast the next day!

*To reduce time chopping veggies, you can use frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Just consider a little extra time to saute from frozen!

What You'll Do

1)  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2) In a large pan heat your oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, saute the onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and peas until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer cooked vegetables to a bowl with the chicken; set aside.

3) Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the same pot. When melted, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Whisk** in the milk, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and thyme. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and let it simmer for 1 minute to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.

4) Turn off the heat and transfer the vegetables and chicken to the pot, stirring until the filling is well-combined. If the filling is too thick, stir in some extra chicken broth milk.

5) Pour the filling into a 13x9-inch baking dish and bake for 18 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven (keeping the oven on and door closed) and top the filling with 8 biscuits (yes, raw biscuits). Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

**Don't use a wire whisk on your nonstick pans! You can use a saute spoon for this step







Let me know how yours turns out. Enjoy!

I am so excited to share one of my favorite new recipes! It's quick, easy, cheap, and fresh....MY kind of recipe!

What You'll Need:

-1 box (13.25 oz) whole wheat linguine
-1 onion, thinly sliced
-4-6 cloves garlic, minced
-2 Cups fresh chopped tomatoes (or 1 pint grape tomatoes)
-handful of basil, chopped
-handful of parsley, chopped
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-pinch red pepper flakes
-5 Cups water
-Parmesan cheese to top


What You'll Do:

1) Combine all ingredients (except parm cheese) in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to submerge pasta as it softens.

2) Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and stir CONTINUOUSLY for ~8 minutes until sauce has thickened and pasta is cooked.

3) Top with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.


Notes:

-Tongs work great for the continuous stirring (and it's a great arm workout, too!).

-Although the ingredients sound light, the starch from the pasta makes this dish hearty with a pretty thick sauce. I usually let is sit for ~2 minutes on low/no heat to thicken.

-I haven't become brave enough to start adding other things, but I bet shrimp or andouille sausage would be really good if you need a meat :)

Original Recipe

The best part? Only one pot to clean! Enjoy :)

Things I'm loving this week!

ONE. Family Visitors.
My Aunt is coming to town today and I'm super excited to spend a few days with her! It's been way too long since our last visit.
{I've been working on her Guest Basket too!}

TWO. The Great Closet Switch.
I couldn't wait to switch out Peyton's clothes to her summer wardrobe, so I took the plunge this week! I think these warmer temps are here to stay, but I put aside a few sweaters just in case ;)
My fave:

Via Gymboree

THREE. Maternity Wear.
Speaking of wardrobe changes, I have been perusing for some maternity wear for this summer. P was born at the beginning of June, so I only needed a few summer items. This time, I will be pregnant all summer long...and I'm seeing lots of maxi dresses & skirts in my future!


FOUR. Garage Sales.
I love garage sales and I'm not afraid to admit it. I love participating so I can get a little cash for things taking up space in my home. And I love buying from them...because people own too much stuff! And they sell barely used items for CHEAP. I'm at a point in my life that I'm not going to buy super expensive things just to have kiddos ruin them :)


FIVE. Homemade Taco Seasoning.
I have been making my own taco seasoning for a while now, and I love it! I made a fresh batch tonight and it's super easy-with no 'extra' preservatives. Here is the recipe I use!


Have a wonderful weekend, friends! I'm excited to be off work

Link Up

Around the holidays, you ate so many treats & sweets you swore you would never eat another cookie ever again. But now it's the middle of January, and you're just craving a little something.
Wait...is that just me?

Well, my motivation was two fold: I wanted to satisfy that sweet tooth and I needed another excuse to use my new mixer!
So I will share this recipe for the BEST chocolate chip cookies (and the ingredient that keeps them so moist!)


What You'll Need 
{6 dozen}

4 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 Cups butter, softened
1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup white sugar
2 packages (3.4oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 Cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 Cups chopped walnuts (optional)

 
 What You'll Do

1) Preheat oven to 350F.

2) Sift together flour and baking soda; set aside.

3) In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar & white sugar. Beat in instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in eggs and vanilla.

4) Blend in flour mixture, then stir in chocolate chips (and nuts).

5) Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 9-12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.



**Tips:
~Start timer at 9 minutes and check cookies every 30 seconds. My perfect cookie was 10 minutes exactly. As soon as edges are brown, take them out!
~When you first remove from oven, they will look puffy and not quite done. Give them a minute and they will flatten as they cool. Then transfer to cooling rack.
~Chill dough between batches.
~Cool cookie sheet between batches by running under cool water.


The most important tip: Have an adorable taste-tester available!


Enjoy! (And you should probably share with some friends since this recipe makes 6 dozen)

Original recipe found here

As the weather begins to cool, I find myself searching for my favorite fall & winter recipes. I've compiled them all here to make it easier!


Snacks & Meals

Pumpkin Seeds
Yumbo Gumbo
Chicken & Dumplings
Low Calorie Potato Soup

Desserts

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies...and Cupcakes
Easy Apple Crisp

Last fall, I experimented with the recipe for Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies. They turned out quite delicious, but had more of a cake/muffin texture rather than a cookie texture. I was inspired... :)

Thus, The 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cupcakes were born!


What You'll Need
1 (15 oz.) can of pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 box spice cake mix
frosting of choice (I used cream cheese frosting)



What You'll Do:

1. Mix the pumpkin and cake mix together. You will have to use a little elbow grease, too!
2. Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan and fill with the mixture. I like a jumbo cupcake, so I fill about 3/4 full.

3. Bake  at 350 for 25 minutes.


For a muffin, you are all done!

For a cupcake, add icing :)

Enjoy!

I would love for you to share any recipes with simple ingredients!

It's finally fall, and you know what that means! Cool weather, pumpkin flavored everything...and soup!

I am a lover of a good, hearty soup. Unfortunately, the soups I love most are cream-based which equals high fat & high calories. So you can imagine how excited I was to stumble across this recipe!

 
What You'll Need:

-2 russet potatoes, washed and dried
-1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed cut into florets*
-1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth
-1 1/2 cups 1% reduced-fat milk
-salt and freshly cracked black pepper
-1/2 cup light sour cream
-10 tbsp reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
-6 tbsp chopped chives, divided
-3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled* (you can use turkey bacon if you prefer)

*To simplify, I used a bag of frozen cauliflower & bacon bits! 

What You'll Do:

1) Pierce potatoes with a fork; microwave on high for 5 minutes then turn over and microwave another 3 - 5 minutes, until tender. Let cool, then peel potatoes.

2) Meanwhile, steam cauliflower with water in a large covered pot until tender. Drain and return to pot

3) On medium heat, add chicken broth, milk, potatoes and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth**

4) Add sour cream, half the chives, salt and pepper and cook on low another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally
5) Remove from heat. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 tbsp cheese, remaining chives, and bacon

**I don't own an immersion blender, so I put my mixture in the real blender. You could probably also use a hand mixer!

We hosted a cookout for Independence Day, and I needed a quick and easy dessert! I also wanted something festive since I knew we would be missing the fireworks due to the rain.

I decided on a Fruit Pizza, and it was one of the easiest and tastiest desserts ever! Rather than making my own crust, I used premade sugar cookie dough so it all came together in minutes. That's my kind of dessert.


What You'll Need:
-1 roll sugar cookie dough
-1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
-1/2 C white sugar
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-assorted fruit

What You'll Do:

1) Press sugar cookie roll onto pizza pan (or desired dish) to create a crust. Bake according to directions on package, until crust is lightly browned.

2) In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread on cooled crust.

3) Arrange desired fruit on top and chill before serving.

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes

  
What other fruit toppings would you suggest?

 

These sandwiches are perfect for a summer picnic!
 
I made them for Peyton's birthday party and they were a HUGE hit! 



What You'll Need
-1 lb deli ham, thinly sliced 
-1/2 lb baby swiss cheese
-24 count dinner rolls
-1/2 cup butter
-2 tbsp mustard
-1 tbsp worcestershire
-1 tbsp poppy seeds
-1/3 cup brown sugar

What You'll Do

1. Assemble sandwiches with rolls, ham & cheese. Place in a 9x13 pan (squeeze them in).

2. In a medium saucepan, bring to a soft boil: butter, mustard, Worcestershire, poppy seeds & brown sugar (over medium heat).

3. Pour sauce over top of sandwiches.

4. Bake at 350F for approx 20 minutes.

 


Enjoy!

{And be sure to let me know what you think}