ham chowder

Mom's Ham Chowder

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup ham, diced
1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 qt half and half
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cups potatoes, cubed
small carrot, grated
3/4 cup flour
1 can creamed corn

Instructions

In a pot, boil vegetables until tender then drain. In a large pot melt butter, then add flour and stir together on low head to create a roux. Slowly add half and half while stirring making sure to smooth out all the clumps. Add in drained veggies, ham, and cream corn. Heat through and serve when soup reaches desired temperature.

creamy tortellini

Creamy Tortellini

Ingredients

2 jars marinara sauce
1-8 oz cream cheese, softened
1- 25 oz bag frozen tortellini
Pepperonis
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the marinara sauce and the cream cheese. Stir in the frozen tortellini. Pour tortellini mixture in a glass 9x13 pan. Top with pepperoni, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

slow cooker white chicken chili soup

Chicken Chili Soup

Ingredients

1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
24 oz chicken broth
1-15 oz can great Northern beans, drained
1-15 oz can black beans, drained
2-4 oz cans of green chilies
1-15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained (I used a pkg of Trader Joe's frozen grilled corn)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup half and half

Instructions

Head over to The Chunky Chef for the baking directions.

mister's birthday

This weekend we celebrated Mister's birthday. On Saturday we went to the Jazz game. We lost, but it was a really fun game to watch. Before the game with ate at Crown Burger. It's our Jazz game tradition. Did you know that you can park at Crown Burger for events? All you need to do is buy $18 worth of food and ask for a parking pass. We figure if we are going to pay for parking we might as well get delicious food out of it.  Sunday night we had Mister's siblings over for some dinner and ice cream cake.

Lately we have been so over winter in our house, and been going through a huge salad phase. Cobb salad is one of our favorites. This time we couldn't get to the grill because of all of the snow. We ended up using our George Foreman grill, and it worked out perfectly. This salad it plenty filling with the grilled chicken, hard boiled egg, and bacon. For those of you who hate de-shelling hard boiled eggs check out this post. 

Cobb Salad

Ingredients

Tomatoes, diced
Hard boiled egg, sliced
Grilled chicken, sliced
Croutons
Bacon, crumbled
Lettuce
Ranch dressing (or dressing of your choice)

Instructions

Placed desired amount of lettuce (I use Romaine) on plate. Top with remaining ingredients and drizzle with ranch dressing. You can also add bleu cheese (we just aren't fans at our house). Enjoy!

slow cooker loaded potato soup

Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup

Ingredients

5 lb russet potatoes (washed and diced - not peeled)
1 medium onion (diced)
10 cloves garlic (minced)
64 oz chicken stock or broth
16 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp salt
Garnishes: bacon, chives, cheddar cheese (optional)

Instructions

Head to Mama Loves Food for the cooking directions. This soup was very thick. I thinned it out using some milk and chicken broth until it was the desired thickness. Enjoy!

the secret to boiled eggs

It snowed more this weekend. We have mounds of snow in our front yard that are taller than four feet. It's insane. It doesn't help that we have a north-facing house, so the snow never melts. Elle loved coming out and helping Mister and me shovel the snow. I don't know for sure, but I feel like we got 6-8" of snow. It really was crazy! I am more than ready for winter to end. Spring could come today and I would cry tears of joy. Today's recipe isn't really a recipe, but it is the most successful way I have had with boiling eggs. I hate when it comes time to peel the shell off the egg, and by the time you are done your egg looks like it has been through the war. This method has proven to create easy to peel eggs time and time again.

Easy to Peel Boiled Eggs

Ingredients

Eggs
Water

Instructions

In a sauce pan, place the amount of eggs you would like boiled. Make sure there is enough room for the eggs to lay in a single layer. Cover the eggs with cold water. Place on a burner and turn it on. Once the eggs start boiling wait 1 minute then turn the burner off. Cover the pan with a lid, and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. After the ten minutes, drain the water out of the pan and immediately run cold water over the eggs. I just fill up the pan with cold water then drain again, and repeat a couple of times. Fill the pan with cold water one last time, but don't drain it out. Take each of the eggs and crack them (but don't peel), then place them back in the pan of cold water and let them sit for about 5 minutes. After they have been in the water for a bit you can go ahead and peel them. The shells should come right off!

pita pizzas

Elle loves pizza, or ask she would say, "za-pee." To be honest, Mister and I love za-pee also. These pita pizzas are the perfect solution for those nights that you don't want to make homemade pizza, or spend the money on ordering out. The nice thing about these pizzas is that everyone can make their pizza to their specifications. Mister always wants white sauce, and Elle wants red. I bounce back and forth on which sauce I want.

Pita Pizzas

Ingredients

Pita bread
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Toppings of your choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pitas on a baking sheet and create your desired pizzas. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese is melted. I like to broil ours for a few minutes after to brown the crust and cheese. Enjoy!

chicken bacon ranch pasta

I love Alfredo. I love chicken. I love bacon. I love ranch. When I came across this recipe on Damn Delicious I knew it was for me. It was so good. My husband loved it, and requested for it to be added to our regular meals. I used a different Alfredo sauce recipe than the website used simply because I didn't have heavy whipping cream on hand. You could probably use bottled Alfredo sauce instead if you were feeling lazy.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Ingredients

4 slices of bacon diced (I just used bacon bits)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix
8 ounces rotini
Mozzarella cheese
Alfredo sauce (I halfed this recipe)

Directions

Head over to Damn Delicious for the baking instructions. You can use their Alfredo recipe instead of the one I linked if you prefer. Enjoy!

cream cheese chicken roll-ups

These chicken roll-ups are the perfect dinner for a fall evening. They are warm, comforting, and delish. I can't wait to use our Thanksgiving leftovers to make these with turkey. This recipe is simple, and only has five ingredients. For my small family, I half the recipe, and heat up the extra soup with some milk to make a gravy to top the roll-ups with. If your family is too large for that you can always just get a gravy packet and mix it with some milk or water. This recipe is from Six Sisters' Stuff. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

Cream Cheese Chicken Roll-ups

Ingredients

4 chicken breast, cooked and cubed
2 packages of crescent rolls
1 - 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened (I use fat free)
1-2 Tbsp chopped onion
1 small can of cream of chicken soup

Instructions

Head over to Six Sisters' Stuff for baking directions. Enjoy!

taco pizza - copycat bajio mexican pizza

Life has been a little crazy lately. I haven't even had time for grocery shopping. Normally I use Walmart's grocery pickup. Let me tell you, that program is a lifesaver. I promise I am not affiliated with Walmart in any way. I just like to share with my friends things that make my life easier. 

Grocery pickup helps me meal plan and save money. It keeps me from wandering the aisles looking for new things to buy and try. It also helps my dinners go smoother because I know what I'm making each night. Also, the service is free. FREE! The cons, if you can even call them that, are that you have to order a day in advance if you want a specific time slot, and if they don't have something that you order they substitute it. When they substitute they find something equal or better than you ordered and you don't have to pay the difference. For example, one week I ordered a 20ish ounce bottle of Great Value brand ketchup. They didn't have any in stock, so instead I received a 40ish ounce bottle of Hienz ketchup at no additional cost to me. 

Before they load your car, they tell you any substitutions or omissions there are from your order. If you don't approve of they substitution they will take it back and refund you for the item you originally ordered. You also can select "no substitutions" when you order, and they will omit anything that isn't in stock.

The only problem I've ever had with this service is once I received some fairly under ripe tomatoes. I mentioned this in my review and the next day I received an email from Walmart apologizing and refunding me for the tomatoes. I'm telling you, grocery pickup is heaven sent.

Anyway... sorry for the detour.  We were low on groceries, and I needed to figure out something for dinner. Inspiration hit and I remembered a recipe I made a few months back from the website Barbara Bakes. I was delicious, and I had all the ingredients (minus some tomatoes for a topping). These taco pizzas are so good, and so filling. Elle even ate a slice! 

Taco Pizza

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

Taco seasoning

1 - 16 oz refried beans

Soft taco sized tortillas

Salsa

Shredded cheese

Green onions

Tomatoes

Jalepenos

Sour cream

Instructions

Head over to Barbara Bakes for cooking directions. Enjoy!

creamy penne

Today was Elle's 2 year checkup. When we got there Elle was thrilled that they had a tank full of "feesh" and a "show" playing for her to watch. When we arrived at the room for her checkup she immediately backtracked and refused to walk in on her own. The rest was meltdown city. Little did she know that the worst was saved for the end of her appointment. After she was pricked in her legs and she calmed down, we were on our way. She was very melancholy in the backseat until the song "Can't Stop the Feeling!" came on. She immediately asked me to ""nance" with her, so we jammed together on our way to the post office. I just love my little dancer. She's got quite the moves. If you're lucky I'll record it and share it with you some day.

We found a new show that Elle likes to watch on Netflix. Bless Curious George's Boofest for keeping her busy while I cooked dinner. Tonight's dinner was a simple pasta. We tried ground turkey in it, and it wasn't to shabby. This pasta recipe is my go-to when I don't want to think about meal planning. I always have the ingredients in the pantry, and if I don't have any meat I make it meatless. This meal can't fail you. Throw in some quick bread sticks and a salad, and you're good to go.

Creamy Penne

Ingredients

1 jar marinara sauce
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1 pkg penne (or any type of noodle)
1 lb ground beef (optional)
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Italian Seasoning

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the noodles according to their package's directions. After draining the noodles, pour them into a 9x13 pan. Pour both sauces on top and stir together. Sprinkle desired amount of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. I always add a bit of Italian seasoning on top for a bit of flavor. Throw in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes - until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.

baked chicken flautas

Feeding a toddler is hard. Let me rephrase that, feeding a toddler actual food is hard. Elle loves cookies, doughnuts, ice cream, crackers, and apple sauce (sometimes). Getting her to eat the dinner placed in front of her is a marathon. I was thrilled when I tried this recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff and she SCARFED it. She.asked.for.more (#miracle). These flautas are delicioso. The combination of spicy, creamy, and sweet is enough to die for. Enough chit-chat, here's the goods.

Baked Chicken Flautas

Ingredients

4 cups cooked & shredded chicken

1 cup salsa verde

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 (14 oz) can black beans, rised and drained

1 (15 oz) can corn, drained (I used Trader Joe's frozen grilled corn and it was the best!)

1 1/2 cups cheese, divided (we used cheddar)

12-14 tortilla shells (soft taco size)

Directions

Head to Six Sisters' Stuff for the baking instructions. Enjoy!

easy homemade pizza crust: papa murphy's copy cat pizza crust

We love having homemade pizza at our house. It's cheap and delicious. The hard part about making pizza is finding the right crust. After many attempts at different recipes, I finally found the perfect crust. Leave it to Six Sisters' Stuff to have the best recipe of all time. It's easy to make, has simple ingredients, and doesn't take a long time to raise. From starting the crust to taking the pizza out of the oven, it takes me about an hour. That's pretty darn good! We have all sorts of pizza concoctions in this household, but our favorite is alfredo with chicken, bacon, onion, and tomato. It is quite delightful. This recipe make 3 medium pizzas. That is a lot for my little family, so I half the recipe and make one medium size pizza and one small pizza or cheese bread.

Papa Murphy's Copy Cat Pizza Crust

Ingredients

8 cups flour

6 Tbsp sugar

6 3/4 tsp fast rising yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups very warm water

6 Tbsp oil

Directions

Head to Six Sisters' Stuff for the baking instructions. Enjoy!

italian lasagna with an american twist

Friends! I have the best lasagna recipe for you!  I have gotten so many compliments from this simple dish. I love this dinner idea because it can be a pantry staple, and you don't have to go buy a ton of ingredients to make it.  Here's the recipe:

Americanized Italian Lasagna

2 bottles of marinara sauce
5 T butter
1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cups milk
dash of salt
oven ready lasagna noodles
mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

White Sauce Directions

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add in the flour and stir to combined with the butter. Slowly add in the milk. Salt to taste. Continuously whisk to keep the white sauce from burning. Once it starts to boil, turn it down to a simmer and stir for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Assembly Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put a thin layer of marinara sauce at the bottom of a 9x13 glass pan. Lay a layer of lasagna noodles on top. Keep the noodles all going the same way. I like to use the oven ready noodles so I don't have to boil them, but any type of lasagna noodles will work. Break or cut noodles to fit in the pan.

Spread another layer of marinara sauce on top of the noodles. Then, drizzle a layer of white sauce on top of the marinara sauce. Sprinkle some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top of that, then prepare for your next layer.

Lay your noodles facing the other way, then continue with your sauce layering (marinara, white, mozzarella, Parmesan-- keep alternating directions with lasagna noodles).

Once you run out of space, or sauce make sure that your final layer is the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes or so until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Serve with a fresh green salad and bread sticks. Enjoy!

savory chicken pot pie

Fall is here! I absolutely love autumn. I crave the changing leaves, perfect weather, and layers of clothing. Fall is also great for delicious comfort food. Today I am sharing one of our family favorites.

This recipe is super delicious. It is the most requested by my husband. It's a great one for fall/winter. You can easily substitute the ingredients for your Thanksgiving leftovers, and have a great, new tasting meal while emptying the contents of your fridge.

                            

Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:

1 1/4 cups cold butter
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
6-7 tbsp water

Combine, mix, and roll out crust. Lay and press gently 2/3 of the rolled crust on the bottom and sides of a 9x13 glass pan. Save the rest for the top crust.

Filling:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup onion
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
10-16 oz frozen veggies (I like to use the bag that has peas, corn, cubed carrots, and green beans)
4-6 chicken breasts (cubed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and saute onions in a large frying pan. Shake milk and flour together in a container, then add to  butter and onions. Slowly add in chicken broth to avoid lumps. Add salt, pepper, veggies, and chicken. Bring to a boil then pour filling onto the prepared crust. Lay the top crust onto the filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden.