Right before Christmas, Cuatro and I flew up to Pittsburgh to spend the week with my sister, niece and brand spanking new nephew. I was there to help her entertain my niece, so she could nap... And to get some meals into her freezer... And just be there for moral support while her husband was busy working strange shifts at the hospital... And to help with the middle of … [Read more...]
Creamy Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Pasta Skillet Dinner
Holy flavor explosion. I made this two days in a row last week. Once for my husband and I (and the non-dairy allergic boy!)...and again for our neighbors because they had a recent surgery and needed a warm home cooked meal after a few days of hospital food! But I confess that the reason I made this for them is because I wanted to sneak a few bites, in the name of quality … [Read more...]
Skillet Nachos
Ok. More iphone picts. I apologize that they aren't as great as what we usually share. I have found my SD card and will get back to regular photos in Feb! Let's talk about these skillet nachos and why we love them. It's all in one pan. You know how I love One Dish meals. I devoted an entire cookbook to them. This is basically all the flavors of 7 Layer Dip...just … [Read more...]
Chocolate Lava Popcorn
This stuff will knock your socks off. We love making popcorn in the air popper. Just the other day, the kids figured out that they could put the popped popcorn back into popper and it will fly everywhere when they plug it back in! (Yes, I was watching...and was curious as to what they were up to and closely supervised the entire event. I had just popped some popcorn and … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Smoky Brisket & Cajun 15 Bean Soup
Oh my smoky good-gracious-ness. Please, take a spoon and reach through the screen for a bite. I picked up half a pound of brisket from a nearby BBQ joint and dropped into the slow cooker with a bag of beans and other pantry staples...and WOW-WY! This is a fantastic way to use up any leftover BBQ meat...or you could just order extra next time you go out! I love pairing … [Read more...]
Chicken and Potato “Stirfry” on the Grill
Had to sneak a grilling recipe in here! If you don't have a grilling basket, I highly recommend that you get one before grilling season 'officially' resumes in a month or two. I use my grilling basket mostly for grilling veggies, but I also use it for 'grill-fry' meals like this one! Can you really do an entire meal on the grill?! Why yes. Yes you can. This is the … [Read more...]
Fill Your Freezer With These 13 Freezer Friendly Meals
I am all for multitasking in the kitchen, which means being smart with both my time and ingredients. I often bake muffins or snacks for lunch boxes, while making a double batch of a chili, soup or casserole. The second batch ends up in the freezer to make on a future busy or stressful day! These days, I love being in the kitchen as the cold weather bears on and I find myself … [Read more...]
Sausage, Potato & Pepper Skillet Dinner
I am raising a bunch of meat and 'taters boys in this house....the proof being in the way that they polished off their sausage and potatoes. This is a meal that I turn to often...whether I make it in the skillet or a slow cooker version, we all love it! Couple notes and modifications for this recipe: Add a chopped onion. I usually do. Completely forgot to this time. … [Read more...]
Pork Chops, Red Potatoes & Apple Skillet Dinner
My boys love pork chops. I like pork chops with apple sauce. Because it just seems like the right thing to serve with pork chips. Well, here's a non-applesauce version of pork chops...using fresh apples instead. Because I'm a rebel like that. Seriously, this is some amazing food. Also, please pardon the iphone photos here. The baby ran off with my SD card for my camera … [Read more...]
Freezer Friendly Black Bean Tamale Pie
A Mexican New Year's food tradition is tamales. These are made of corn flour and are wrapped and steamed in a corn husk. They are very pretty and have a wide variety of flavors that can take you from breakfast to dinner. I enjoy tamales as long as someone else makes them. They take up a lot of space to store and cook, are challenging to reheat in large quantities, and … [Read more...]