Recipe: Tie Dye Birthday Cake!!

My Mikey turned 31 on Friday!!! What an old little Goober. Well..if you don't consider that he's only 5 months older than me. :)

We had a few of his friends over on Friday night and to celebrate I made him a funky little cake. Luckily he worked on Thursday night so I got everything ready then and surprised him with it Friday morning. He asked about what kind of cake it was and all I said was that it was a white cake. No lie there!! He didn't need to know that I had spend an hour hours slaving over a hot stove in order to get this done for him. OK, so it was like super easy and took me no time at all....but it looked like I did. I was so happy with how it turned out and decided I would share this recipe with all you lovelies out there today!!

I originally saw this idea on Facebook, but ended up youtubing a few different videos to make sure I did it right. I'm so excited with how it turned out. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

Tie Dye Birthday Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix

• 3 eggs

• 1/4 cup oil

• 1 cup water

• food coloring in assorted colors

• non-stick spray

Preheat oven to 350º and spray cake pans with non-stick spray. Prepare cake mix according to box directions. Separate equally into bowls for however many colors you want. 

Add desired amount of food coloring in order to achieve the color you would like. Pour each color into ziplock baggie and lock squeezing out any excess air.

Cut small hole in corner of baggie and start to drizzle one color at a time into cake pan. Layer colors on top of each other and repeat until all cake mix has been drizzled into pan. Give cake pans a few short drops onto counter or shake softly to get out all air bubbles

Bake according to package instructions or until toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle. Let cool. Frost with desired frosting and VOILA!! Enjoy!!

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop || Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday || Handmade Tuesday's || Two Cup Tuesday

Recipe: Meat Lover's Flatbread

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Mike and I found these awesome Naan flatbreads at our local grocery store. We usually use the ones you find by the pre-made pizza crusts but these were garlic flavored and looked sooo good so we couldn't pass them up.

We have been doing a ton of flatbreads lately. We've had a bunch of buffalo chicken ones and then a cheesesteak one and also a southwestern one with guac and corn and all that goodness. Our favorite pizza is meat lover's pizza so one night we decided to try out a meat lover's flatbread and it was absolutely amazing!! So...why not post it?!?!

Meat Lover's Flatbread

Ingredients:

Naan Flatbread

1/2 lb. hot italian sausage

pepperoni

3-5 ham slices or 1/2 ham steak

1/2 green pepper, sliced thin
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 jar pizza sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Put pizza stone in oven and preheat to 425º. Spread pizza sauce over Naan flatbread. Add desired meats. I used the ones above. Add green peppers and onions. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 15 minutes or until pizza is crispy. If you do not have a pizza stone, just preheat a cookie sheet for a few minutes and put flatbread on that.

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop || Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday || Handmade Tuesday's || Two Cup Tuesday

Recipe: Copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowl

Last week while Mike was away at a conference I started getting really jealous about him eating out all the time. If I had enough money and I thought I could restrain from always getting the most unhealthy thing on the menu, I would eat out for every meal. So...when Mike eats out and I don't I hate it!!

I sat around for a while debating making the 20 minutes into town just to pick up some sushi. Then debated heading the 25 minutes in the other direction to get Chipotle. But truthfully, I really didn't feel like making either drive. So I sat and wallowed in my despair until I had an idea! I'll make my own Chipotle bowl!! So I searched through Pinterest and within minutes I was ready. I had planned on making a taco salad for dinner so I had most of the ingredients anyway, but I did have to head 3 minutes to our local grocery store for the second time that day in order to get the rest.

And, I'm not joking when I say...it tasted sooo much like a Chipotle bowl. Needless to say, it fulfilled my craving. The recipe is actually a bunch of different recipes put together based on what you like from the Chipotle menu, but this is how I make mine.

Copycat Chipotle Bowl

Cilantro Lime Rice

• 1 package white or brown boil in a bag rice

• 1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

•1 tbsp. lime juice

• salt and pepper

Cook rice according to package. Add cilantro, lime, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Pico de gallo

• 6 vine ripe tomatoes

•1/2 red onion, chopped

• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• 2 jalapeños, chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

• salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well. Season to taste.

the rest

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken, diced

• 1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 green pepper, sliced

1/4 red onion, sliced
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can corn, drained

shredded cheese

sour cream

In small saute pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and peppers and onions. Saute until translucent. (like Chipotle's fajita) In large saute pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and chicken. Cook over medium high heat until cooked through. prepare with taco seasoning according to taco packet directions. If the chicken creates a lot of liquid, you might want to drain it before adding taco seasoning. 

To make the bowl: Layer rice, fajita, chicken, corn, black beans, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream. Enjoy!

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop || Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday || Handmade Tuesday's || Two Cup Tuesday

Recipe: {Skinnier} Quesadillas w/ ground turkey

Yup, you read that right. We used ground turkey. NO! Don't exit out! I promise you won't miss the ground beef. You truthfully can't even tell the different. I know, I know....I sound like eeeverybody else. But I'm serious. I wouldn't lie to you. I bet you can trick your men!!

I put this recipe into My Fitness Pal and it told me that each serving is 746 calories. And, I'd like to tell you that odds are you won't be able to eat a full one. Neither Mike nor I could finish ours. I ate half of mine and he could only finish 3/4 of his.

The best part about this recipe, besides the fact that it's a skinnier version, is that it's perfect for the week night. It takes no time at all and you can't go wrong with quesadillas. It's everyone's favorite.

{Skinnier} Quesadillas w/ ground turkey

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. 93% lean ground turkey

• 1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning

water (for seasoning)

• 1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced

• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1 cup (reduced fat) cheddar cheese, shredded

4 large flour tortillas

Brown ground turkey in a skillet and prepare with taco seasoning according to packet. While turkey is browning, chop up peppers, onions, and cilantro. After turkey is browned and prepared with the taco seasoning, lay out tortilla and fill with chopped ingredients and cheese. Place on griddle or panini press. Place 2nd tortilla on top and, if using griddle, place another skillet or heavy pan on top to press it down. When bottom tortilla is crispy, carefully flip and cook again, until bottom tortilla is crispy. Slice into quarters and enjoy!

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop || Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday || Handmade Tuesday's || Two Cup Tuesday

Recipe: The Perfect Turkey Burger

It took Mike and I a long time to try out turkey burgers. We actually started with a chicken burger and, I'll be honest, that was just plain nasty....so we were a little skeptical. But, thanks to Anne Burrell and a few other recipes, we were able to put together a concoction that turned out to be delicious!

The Perfect Turkey Burger 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey

• 1/4 large red onion

• 2 tbsp minced garlic

• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 2 slices pepper jack cheese
• salt and pepper

Saute onions and garlic. Mix all ingredients together and form patties. Grill until just before desired firmness. Add cheese and cook just long enough to melt. Garnish with whatever you like. We like red onion, lettuce, and some raspberry chipotle mayo (raspberry chipotle sauce mixed with mayo and a quick shot of sriracha.

Enjoy!!

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop || Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday || Handmade Tuesday's || Two Cup Tuesday

Recipe: Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

     While Mike was gone last week I decided to try out this recipe. He's not big on casseroles, and truthfully neither am I, but this one wasn't bad. If you're similar to us and would rather have something a little less one note, I still wouldn't shy away from this. Just make another side, probably something crunchy would be best. But this casserole was really good so you should definitely try it.

     And, it's a Skinny Mom recipe, so it's actually not bad for you. A cup of this without the topping is only 305 calories. The original recipe called for saltines as the topping but I used a little something different to add some more flavor. And let me tell you...it was divine!! It is super cheesy and creamy. I have to say I used the large shredded cheese, so that might have something to do with how cheesy it was, but it was really good!!

Skinny Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast, diced

• 14 oz. frozen broccoli

•10.75 oz. can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup

• 2 tbsp light mayo

• 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheese

• 1/2 cup crumbled White Cheddar Cheez-Its

• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350º and prepare a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and cook salt and peppered chicken over medium high heat until there is no pink in the center. In a large bowl mix soup, mayo, frozen broccoli, and shredded cheese. Add chicken to bowl and mix well. Pour mixture into baking dish and sprinkle with Cheez-Its. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!

What's your favorite skinny recipe?

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop || Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday || Handmade Tuesday's || Two Cup Tuesday

Recipe: Skinnier Stovetop Mac and Cheese

I think I mentioned Mike and I have been really trying to eat a little healthier. We both meal prep out lunches and I meal prep breakfast, too, but when it comes to dinner we try to eat something that we're not going to get to tired of. So, thanks to Skinnytaste and Skinny Mom, I've found a lot of recipes out there that let us stay healthy, but still indulge a little.

This was a recipe I found on Skinny Mom. I did change some things up just a little, but I was super suprised at how delicious this Stovetop Mac and Cheese came out. Truthfully, it's just as good as he Baked Mac and Cheese I typically make for holiday dinners.

The best part, it's only like 360 calories for a whole cup and a half of this stuff. I know that might sound like a lot, but it's also using reduced fat and reduced sodium products, so you're looking at lightening up in that department, too.

Skinnier Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

12 oz whole wheat pasta, uncooked

1.5 tbsp light butter

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced

2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1 cup skim milk

1 cup reduced fat, shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Melt butter in a large skillet. Whisk in flour. Add onion and cook until translucent, continuing to whisk. Whisk in chicken broth and milk. Raise temperature to medium high and continue to whisk. Bring sauce to a boil. Once sauce thickens (about 10-12 minutes) add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika and mix well. Remove from heat. Mix in cheese and continue to stir until cheese is melted. Add pasta and stir well. Enjoy!

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop || Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday

Recipe: Skinny Crockpot Pulled Pork

This is the recipe I was tell you about. It was really good and super easy, not to mention you use a crockpot so there is practically no effort. I did this, while running late mind you, the morning of and it took me maybe 5 minutes to get everything together. Then you set it and forget it and voila! Yumminess!!

And.....it's a skinny recipe!! So...who can beat that?

Skinny Crockpot Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs. pork lion roast with fat trimmed

2 medium onions sliced thin

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1 cup reduced sugar BBQ sauce

lettuce of your choice

for the rub:

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Add onion to crockpot and cover with chicken broth. Mix together rub ingredients and pat pork roast down with paper towels to make sure it is dry. Generously rub spice mixture all over pork roast. Place pork roast on top of onions, cover, and set crockpot to low for 8-10 hours.

Pull pork out of crockpot and shred. Separate onions from juices by straining contents of the crockpot into a bowl. Add onions back to the crockpot with the shredded pork. Add BBQ sauce to the crockpot and mix. If pork needs to be moistened, use reserved liquids to moisten before eating. I added about 1/4 of a cup if that.

Linking up: Tuesday's Recipe Swap || Delicious Dish Tuesday || Tuesday's Table || Turn it up Tuesday || Tutorial Tuesday || Let's Be Friends Blog Hop

Recipe: Homemade Granola Bars

This weekend Mike and I decided to try out making our own granola bars. We found a recipe that we thought was a skinny version, but it turns out each granola bar is about 280 calories. So...not so skinny. But, good none the less. And I ended up cutting half of the bars in half because they were quite large anyway. So now we're down to 140 calories each and very filling. Enjoy!

Homemade Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter

• 2/3 cup honey

• 2.5 cups old fashion oats

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 2 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/2 cup craisins

Preheat oven to 350º and line a 13x9 baking dish with aluminum foil. Spray with nonstick spray. Melt peanut butter and honey in saucepan over low heat until melted. In a large mixing bowl mix oats, flour, raisins, craisins, and cinnamon.  Pour in peanut butter mixture and applesauce. Mix together. Spread granola mix evenly into baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely and cut into individual bars.

* This made 7 large bars and 10 small sized bars.

Linking up for:

Tuesday's Recipe Swap | Delicious Dish Tuesday | Tuesday's Table | Turn it up Tuesday | Tutorial Tuesday

Recipe Repost: Tasty Halloween Treats!

Last year I posted about my Halloween treats that I made for my book club. The ladies loved them so I figured I would repost to give you guys some ideas in case you were having a Halloween party this year!! I mean...since it does fall on a Friday, why wouldn't you?!?!

In case you can't tell, Halloween is my favorite holiday!! I love to have get togethers around Halloween because it gives me an excuse to make some of this awesome stuff!!

Here is a list of my favorites from last year! Everything was super easy to make and if you click on the link it will take you right to the recipe!

Brain Dip

Pumpkin Puke

Hairy Spiders

Mummy Toes

Devil's Eyeballs

The Dragon's Lair

I hope you enjoy!! Be sure to post pics if you make any of these and tag me so I can see it!!

 [Instagram: @crooksy532] [Twitter: @leggs532] 

And although I won't be here to link up, if someone would like to add my post to these links that would be awesome!! Otherwise I'm there in spirit!

Recipe: It's Chili Weather!!

I love this time of year! By far my most favorite time of all. I'm sitting here watching the football game with the windows open as I type this and it's amazing. I know I've been super MIA lately and slacking. The hubsters and I have been super busy and truthfully, I can't even tell you what with. Just that I feel like I haven't had a chance to breathe in the last 2 weeks.

But, here I am! I'm making a post!! Yay!! I promise I'll try to be better, but I have said that probably a million times before and I can't be positive I won't get lost again. But...I'll try.

This is the perfect weather for soups. And...it's finally chili weather!! Mike makes THE best chili ever and it's super easy. Plus it always makes enough for leftovers and we usually buy a block of Velveeta and make some chili dip for the football game that weekend. Sooooo good. And, because I'm in love with this chili I figured I would post the recipe so you can enjoy it, too!!

Mike's Famous Chili

INGREDIENTS

1.5 lbs sausage

1.5 lbs ground beef

1 McCormick hot chili packet

1 small can Rotel

1 large can of tomato sauce

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 small can of diced tomatoes

2 small cans of kidney beans, drained

1 large onion, diced

1 large pepper, diced

1/2 cup sugar

salt and pepper to taste

chili powder to taste

hot sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a large soup pot, brown sausage and ground beef with the onions and peppers. Add rest of the ingredients and let simmer on low for at least an hour. Season to taste. Make some cornbread and throw some sour cream and shredded cheese on top. Maybe some extra onions, and BAM! You're done. Enjoy!!

Recipe: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Mike loves chicken Cordon Bleu. So, when I came across this recipe on SkinnyMom I knew I had to try it out. I've always tried to replicate his mom's chicken Cordon Bleu but hers is clearly always better. The recipe didn't look too hard and the ingredients are all pretty much things that you should have on hand anyway. I knew I had to have a couple sides to go with it though because it didn't seem like something I could have on its own. So we threw in some Rice-A-Roni and green beans and called it a night.

Mike didn't actually like it as much as I thought he would, surprise surprise, however it was good enough for him to get seconds, so that's a small win. I really think his problem was with the consistency because the breadcrumbs mixed with the sauce made parts of it seem a little mushy and he hates mushy.I personally thought it was pretty good and super easy for a weeknight meal. Perfect for a family with kids that are ready to eat, because it makes a ton.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded

about 10 slices of ham

about 10 slices of swiss

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

for the sauce:

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp flour

3 cups skim milk

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1½ Tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350º and coat 9x13 baking pan with non stick spray. Line bottom of dish with cooked and shredded chicken. Layer ham on top. Layer cheese on top of that.

Make sauce: melt butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour until smooth. Add milk and continue to whisk until it thickens. This will take about 10 minutes of continuous whisking. Add lemon juice, dijon, paprika, and pepper. Continue whisking while bringing sauce to low simmer until it reaches desired thickness. Pour mixture evenly onto casserole. (It might not need the whole thing.)

Top with breadcrumbs and lightly spray the top of the casserole with a little nonstick spray. Bake for about 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!!

Let me know what you think!

Recipe: Taco Salad

I've been slacking in the blogging department lately. My bad. But, I'm here today with my new food craving. Taco salads. Mike and I have tacos or burritos about once a week. Lately I have been craving some taco salads and thought of a cool way to do the actual tortilla bowl, so we went for it a few weeks ago. It was delicous!! And Mike was convinced he would never be full by it, and would have to have 2, but he was wrong!! They were so filling, and it's all great stuff to eat, so I figured I would post the recipe.

Taco Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 pkg. low sodium taco seasoning

3-4 burrito sized flour tortillas

shredded cheese

salsa

lettuce

onions

corn

tomatoes

sour cream

and any other toppings of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375º and spray two cereal bowls with nonstick spray. Brown ground beef and season according to package directions. Set aside. Chop up toppings and other ingredients.

Gently push tortillas down into the cereal bowls. You may have to fold some edges to make them fit. If you have a slightly bigger bowl that will work just as well. Place in oven for about 10 minutes or until the edges seem to be crispy. Take tortillas out of the bowl and place bottoms up on rack until bottom gets crispy.

Take bowls out and fill with ingredients. 

Enjoy!!

Recipe: Easy as 'Ish Baked Ziti

So this is the easiest baked ziti ever and it's really delicious. Why I haven't posted it before is beyond me, but it's Tuesday so.....here goes!!

Sorry I forgot to take the picture before, so this is the frozen one. haha.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box ziti pasta, cooked according to box

1 lb. ground beef, browned

1 jar pasta sauce

1 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese

1 package italian blend shredded cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided

reserve 1/2 cup pasta water

Preheat oven to 350º. Cook pasta according to box and brown ground beef. Don't forget to reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Save some of the shredded cheese for on top. Spoon into large casserole dish. Top with remaining parmesan and shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Take off foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until heated through.

Enjoy!

My favorite thing about this is I split into 2 different casserole dishes and freeze one for another meal!! Plus, the whole thing is too much for just the two of us anyway and that means one less night I have to cook!!

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Tostadas

I have had this recipe for a while and keep forgetting to post it. At least I think so...I've looked back and can't find it so, if it's a repeat.....get over it.

These were so good. They were kinda annoying on the grill but I think we might have it perfected by now. If it doesn't work out for you, you can always do it in the oven, or on a pizza stone, or....any other way you can think of.

Grilled Chicken Tostadas

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. chicken breast, grilled, cubed

chicken taco seasoning

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

1-2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

cilantro

tortillas

Toppings:

salsa

sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Cook chicken with taco seasoning. Preheat grill or oven. Spray the bottom of each tortilla and place on sprayed cookie sheet. Option 1: Mix all ingredients except toppings together in a bowl and pile on tortillas. Option 2: Layer all ingredients except toppings onto tortillas. Top with cheese. Pull tortillas off cookie sheet and directly onto grill. Close top and let cook through. When tortilla is crunchy, pull off grill, top with toppings, and enjoy!!

Recipe: Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

OK, so I have been meaning to write this recipe for-ev-er and I have just been a huge slacker. Can you tell?!?! Sorry, summer school and home and actually getting motivated to do things around my house have been taking over.

- Example: as I write this, I just opened up a new tab to check out Craigslist and got caught up for about 30 minutes. Can you say ADHD???-  
* Update: I started writing this about 2 weeks ago intending to post it the next day....I told myself I would add the picture in the morning....it's now two weeks later...yeah. The struggle is real, folks...

Anywhoooooo....I made this for Book Club this month and it was a hit. I was a little nervous because I didn't really follow a recipe, I just kinda threw in all the crap I thought would taste good. And...it worked!!

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

INGREDIENTS:
for the salsa:

1 lb. strawberries
2 golden delicious apples, skin off
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blackberries
1 tbsp. Sweet'n Low
*All of these measurements can be adjusted to fit your liking.

for the chips:
5-6 medium sized tortillas
cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS:
for the salsa:
 Cut up strawberries and apples into bite sized pieces. Add blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Sprinkle on Sweet'n Low. Let sit for at least an hour. 

for the chips:
Preheat oven to 325º. Cut each tortilla into eighths. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray cooking spray over the "chips". Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on each "chip". Bake for about 15 minutes or until brown and crisp. You need to make sure they are hard. Otherwise they don't break like a chip.

Enjoy!!

Recipe: Kickin' Grilled Shrimp

I posted this recipe on Fittin' It In last week, but truth is I'm kinda done with that blog. haha. Maybe this summer when I get back in the gym. Anywhooooo, just thought you guys would enjoy it, so I thought I would post it on here, too!!

This recipe actually originated with Skinnytaste.com so you may have seen this on my Pinterest board for Skinny Meals. I have been eyeing it up for a while now and finally convinced Mike to buy some shrimp. He's not a huge seafood eater so I hardly ever get to have fish or shrimp and I was stoked when he said ok.

As usual, I changed the recipe around just a little to fit our palate, but this is soooo delicious you have to try it!!

Kickin' Grilled Shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbps. light mayo

2 tbsp. sweet Thai chili sauce

2 tbsp green onion, chopped fine

sriracha to taste

1 lb. large raw shrimp, deveined and shelled

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your grill. Combine mayo, chili sauce, sriracha, and green onions. We did these on skewers, so if you're using wooden skewers soak in some water. You won't have to do this if you have metal ones. Lightly oil your grill and add shrimp. brush on some of the mayo mixture. Cook about 6 minutes or until light pink. Turn to other side and repeat. Pull shrimp off the grill and brush on more mixture. Serve and enjoy!!!

Recipe: BBQ Chicken Pizza

OMG, so this was soooooo good. Mike and I make BBQ chicken pizza a lot but this time I wanted to spice it up. I even had someone ask me if I had leftovers from Ledo's for lunch. Booyah!! One for me!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

INGREDIENTS:

1 can refrigerated pizza crust

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, grilled and diced

1/2 green pepper, sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 tbsp green onions, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, diced

2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425º. Prebake the crust for about 8 minutes or so, depending on how crispy you like your pizza. Top crust with BBQ sauce and then sprinkle on chicken. (We grilled our chicken with a little BBQ sauce, too) Cover with colby jack cheese. Top with red onion and green peppers. Reserve a few to sprinkle on at the end. Top with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle green onions, tomatoes, and reserved peppers and onions. Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is golden and crispy. Before cutting, sprinkle on the cilantro. Then, ENJOY!!!

P.S. The cilantro really adds another awesome depth of flavor.

Taste of Tuesday - Crockpot Ham Potato Soup

Don't forget about the giveaway going on right now!! $60 to Victoria's Secret for some sexaayyy!!

OK, so first off, this was originally created by Paula Deen. So...I'm just saying you should try it for that reason only. lol. But, as usual, I changed it around a little to make it fit us.

Crockpot Potato Soup with Ham

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (30 oz) frozen hash browns, cubed not shredded

3-4 cups ham, cubed

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup diced onion

8oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese (you can use regular, of course)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

green onion for garnish

pepper to taste

additional herbs as you like

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all ingredients except for cream cheese and shredded cheese in crockpot. Put on medium or high for about 4 hours.

Add cream cheese and shredded cheese. Cook an additional 30 minutes.

Done. BOOM!

Taste of Tuesday Wednesday Fall Fancy!

There's something about stuffing and apples that just reminds me of fall. So, I figured this would be good to link up with The Fall Fancy Follower Fest and Taste of Tuesday this week (even though I'm a day late)!!

I have to tell you I can't take credit for this. Mike actually surprised me with this meal last week. He was super excited about it and wouldn't tell me what he was doing.

Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but Mike is actually an awesome cook. He really does most of the cooking lately. With my work schedule it's just easier for him to start on dinner while I'm driving home so we can get finished and cleaned up and then relax together.

On this night I was super thankful for him cooking such a nice meal. This year is really taxing. There really isn't a day that I feel like goes smoothly. We've had so many changes in our school with administration and then our Assistant Principal had some health problems and has been in the hospital for 2 weeks. Unfortunately he won't be returning this year so we are also getting a new interim Assistant Principal. Not like all of this really affects my particular day but it's just exhausting. Plus we have a really tough schedule this year and I feel like the students are as well behaved as last year.

Anywhooooo...enough of my complaining. Here's the recipe.

Pork Chops with Stuffing and Apples

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. Stove Top Stuffing

1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling

1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork chops

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375º. Prepare stuffing as directed. Spray 13x9 in baking dish with cooking spray. Spread pie filling onto bottom of dish. Place pork chops on top of apples and then top with stuffing. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and then uncover. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

EAT IT!!

Yum, so good!! Let me know if you try this. I actually liked the leftovers better this time!!