Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Oh yum, yum!! Tonight for dinner I pulled out the Crock Pot and tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest Honey Garlic Chicken. 

I'm always trying to find Asian inspired meals that I can make at home in lieu of ordering take-out. So far, I haven't found any that really WOW me. This one finally did just that. 

Normally I would change a recipe from bone-in chicken breasts to boneless but I chose not to make the change this time. I also didn't get skinless but did remove the skin during the shredding process and did not serve it. 

The other change I made was that I did omit the red pepper flakes. Although Matt does like spicy food, it seems that whenever I use red pepper flakes he doesn't like the spiciness. Also, Emily is not a spicy girl....that is when it comes to food. I also omitted the garnishes. I know presentation is important but not when your hungry and when no one really cares that much about how their plate looks.

Oh the flavors were yummy although I can see where the spiciness of the red pepper flakes would be a good compliment so you may want to try it that way. For us, this meal got a 4 thumbs up and is pretty effortless to make, that is a win - win in my book.

Try it and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

5 Star Cheeseburger Casserole

Wow! I can't believe I'm back on track and have cooked dinner 3 nights in a row. What is even a bigger shock is that the last three meals have all been successes. 

Tonight's dinner 5 Star Cheeseburger Casserole was located at the website Bakerette and the recipe can be found here.

As you know, I usually follow recipes as close to the original directions as possible making very few tweaks on the first try. I did make two alterations to this recipe. 

I've been trying to eliminate some gluten from our family's diet so when it comes to pasta I've been substituting with gluten free options. I had some left over Ronzoni spirals and Barilla penne (both gluten free) that I combined to make the 2 cups of required uncooked pasta. Couldn't tell the difference! 

The other alteration was in the tomatoes. I had planned and shopped for this meal last week and I did not want to waste or have to make a separate trip for fresh tomatoes, so I bought a can of 14.5 oz Del Monte petite diced tomatoes to replace the "required" Roma's. I did drain and rinse the tomatoes using the entire can in the recipe. 

This recipe was so easy and quick to make. The pasta cooked while I prepared the beef and was ready to be combined at just the right time. 

Now I have to tell you the ketchup, mustard and pickle really help to make this meal taste like a cheeseburger. It wasn't really saucy, which I liked, and you could taste the individual ingredients used. 

As I write this, Dave is still at work so he has not eaten this meal yet so I can't give you his reveiw. However, Emily said "it tastes like a cheeseburger" and gave it a thumbs up. Matt, well he still hates visible tomatoes, so once he picked them all out his served portion, he gobbled it up. He liked it but thinks I should leave the tomatoes out next time. Not going to happen! Matt can pick them out the next time it is made.

My opinion -  this was yummy and pretty healthy. I used a lean beef this time, maybe I'll try ground turkey breast the next time. 

The recipe does make a  13x9 casserole dish so I may half the recipe next time seeing we aren't that much of a leftover family.

Try it, tell me what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Chicken Ranch Burgers

Last night was burger night, chicken burger night, here at the Wessel home. The recipe I chose to try can be found here.

Sadly, it was rainy here so instead of grilling them I broiled them. 

I have to say these were very tasty. I chose to eat mine without a bun with a slather of ranch on top. The kids had theirs on hamburger rolls. Matt is more of a BBQ guy so I topped his with the same BBQ sauce used in making the burger base. Emily however LOVES ranch dressing so her burger was topped with ranch. Matthew said it was one of the best burgers he's every had. Emily didn't really give any kind of review. 

Dave ate about an hour after we did and he gave it a big thumbs up, which says a lot from a man who prefers beef. 

This is a recipe I will definitely try again but next time I will make sure they can be grilled.

Try the recipe and let me know your opinion.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Buffalo Chicken ....YUM!!!!

Last night's dinner was a total success even though I completely messed up the cooking portion. This is what happens when you think you know what to do and don't read the recipe directions entirely. This recipe can be found at the original site skinny taste. 

So how exactly did I "mess" this up? Well, I actually put the wing sauce in with the chicken as it cooked, not waiting to add it at the end once the chicken was shredded. Oops! Although the chicken was very tasty, the hot sauce flavor didn't really permeate the meat like I thought it would during the cooking process. So, I would recommend following the true directions in the recipe, which I will be doing the next time.

Another thing I changed was the cooking time. Instead of 4 hours on high in the crock pot, I did 6 hours on low. Oh and I completely omitted the last 30 minute cooking portion of the directions too (won't be doing that again). The time change was more out of convenience with our activity schedule and really didn't effect the meal's outcome in any way.

Okay, maybe I didn't prepare the chicken properly but it was still very tasty. It did require more hot sauce when assembling the wraps though. Matt had his chicken on tortilla wraps with extra hot sauce. He has an iron stomach when it comes to spicy food, just like his Grandpa Joe.  I had mine in lettuce leaves adding carrot, celery, hot sauce and a little bit of lite blue cheese dressing. Dave had his like mine only on tortilla shells. Emily, well, she had an away volleyball game which got her home later in the evening so she opted for Greek yogurt instead. So, that would give this meal a 3 thumbs up, majority rules, so it is now added the family menu binder.

Definitely try this recipe, especially if you like/love Buffalo chicken and let me know what you think. Oh and please, follow the recipe directions. 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

No-Bake Tomato Skillet Lasagna

After over a month of on again off again cooking, tonight I started a week's worth of "homemade" dinners. 

This recipe is from Betty Crocker and can be obtained here. Although the recipe is very easy to make,  I did have trouble finding one of the main ingredients required.

The recipe calls for a pouch of Progresso Recipe Starters fire roasted tomato cooking sauce. Now, I know this product existed because I remember purchasing a can of it once before along with this can of their basil sauce. I went to my main food store and it wasn't there. Although they did have sauce pouches they didn't have the fire roasted tomato sauce so I knew the product line still existed but concluded they were no longer being packaged in can form. So, off I headed to two other stores with no luck. Finally, my fourth trip to another food store this morning resulted in sweet success. Oh, and I did buy two packages just in case. 

The other issue I had is not being able to find mafalda (mini lasagna) noodles so I don't think I would really call this recipe a skillet "lasagna". When it comes to pasta products, I've been trying to change over to gluten free items as they have become more available. Both Barilla and Ronzoni are producing gluten free "pasta" products and they are reasonable priced. For this meal, I used Ronzoni Gluten Free Rotini. 

The final result was a very easy and yummy meal. I didn't even have to ask if it was liked by the family because their plates told that story - they were completely empty!  I would consider that a 4 thumbs up for this meal.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

A Hearty Success!

I have to tell you it is so nice to have another new family approved recipe! 

Yesterday, I showed Matt the 3 new dinner recipes I had shopped for this week and told him he could select tonight's dinner. Matt chose Spicy Sausage Pasta which I found at the website Kevin and Amanda.

The recipe is so very easy to follow. I only made 3 changes. Instead of heavy cream, I used light cream in order to cut some of the calories. Also, I didn't add the scallions mainly because I forgot to buy them but it was probably for the best as Matt is not a big fan of onions and I already included the onion required in the recipe. Lastly, I chose to use gluten few penne pasta. Barilla now has a variety of gluten free pasta choices (penne, elbow, etc.) and I have to say it is one of the best tasting gluten free options I've sampled. 

The only thing I would do differently is cook the sausage (I used Hillshire's turkey kielbasa) a little longer to get a nice browning to it and a little more caramelizing of the onions. Other than that, it is a keeper!

Everyone here gave it a thumbs up! Try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Go to Meal

Late afternoon Monday was exceptionally rough for me.

I had been fighting a migraine the week before and the weekend brought another set of unknown aches. I thought for sure Monday would provide a bit of a reprieve and took it easy working out at the gym that morning. My day's schedule was light with just a hair appointment. Sounds like an overall good day but things were about to change!

Of course, about an hour before heading to school, another migraine started to take root. The bad part of this was that it wasn't a normal pick up day, Emily had a "make up" basketball game. UGH!!! 

I didn't want to pull Emily from the game so Matt and I sat in the hallway outside the gym while she played. Thankfully the muting of the sounds emanating from the gymnasium and the coolness of the hallway (I was sitting near the side entrance) helped to ease some of the tension. 

Heading home I wanted to take the quick way out for dinner and just pick something up but I knew I had a pound of ground beef that NEEDED to be used that day. Thankfully I already had a quick and easy recipe in mind to use. 

I found this recipe for Grands Unsloppy Joes at the Pillsbury website. I've tried several ways of serving sloppy Joe's - on rolls, in taco shells, etc. It seems that one person will like it one way and one another but never did we have a united "approval" of the sloppy Joe. So, this would be my latest attempt. It is so very easy. I used the reduced fat whole wheat Grand biscuit for the "pocket". You do need to roll each biscuit out to about 6 inches but that is the extent of the "work" of this recipe. The sloppy Joe mix was prepared as usual and then pocketed inside the biscuit with a little cheese then baked. I explained to the kids it is like a sloppy Joe empanada. 

Well everyone LOVED it and as a matter of fact Matt asked the next day at dinner time if we were having the Joe pockets again. Finally, we all approve on a sloppy Joe! Go ahead, give it a try and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

"Wow! This is Really Good?"

Such an unassuming little casserole when you look at this picture. However, this little casserole caused quite a stir at dinner last night. 

Originally I was planning it for tonight, Friday. Although a quick recipe, Emily was scheduled to have a baskeball game and by the time we would get home, I wasn't sure I wanted to put forth any effort on dinner. In the late morning, Emily called saying the game was cancelled and they were just going to do a practice. Practice goes from the end of school until 4:30 and we are usually home by 5 so, I changed gears and decided to give this little casserole a try. 

I found this recipe for Sloppy Joe Casserole via Pinterest at the website Cravings of a Lunatic. 

The original recipe calls for making it in a 9x13 baking dish. I know my family and that is just way too much for us 4 who are not big leftover eater. So, I went against my rule of always making a recipe exactly as is the first time and halved the recipe. Thankfully this adjustment did not lead to any quirkly measurements. Our casserole was made in an 8x8 baking dish.

I followed the recipe just as it was outlined and once assembled placed it in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. At the end of the alloted time, I checked and the top dough was not at all browning. So, I continued to bake it until it was which I believe ended up being a total of 25 minutes. Because the timing seemed so off, I did check the crescent roll wrapper just to see the normal baking time for the rolls. They are actually baked at 375 for 10 - 12 minutes. I tell you this so if you do make this casserole you will not be shocked if at the end of the alloted cooking time it is still not browned and you need to bake it longer. The next time I make this I am going to bake it at 375 for the 12 minutes watching to see if that temp works better.

The kids and I ate around 6. Matthew loved it an actually had a small second portion. Emily, well she is my against meat child so she said it was "okay". Dave came home around 8 and reheated a portion in the microwave. He is the one who said "Wow! This is really good!" When he is that pleased with a meal, you know that it is one that is going to be made again.

So go ahead and try it whether it be the full 9x13 or 8x8 portion and let me know what you think. I know we will be eating this again.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Yummy, Cheesy Lasagna Soup

Due to Emily's basketball practices and games, I haven't been that good about getting a full week's menu planned, shopped for and produced. So, I've resigned myself that until this basketball season is over I'm only committing to making one or two new recipes per week. 

This one I found at the website Our Table for Seven for Cheesy Lasagna Soup was a gem of a find. 

First, the ingredients are "normal" ingredients with the majority already being staples in most pantries. The only items I had to buy were the ground turkey and lasagna noodles. Secondly, this is such an easy recipe to make and doesn't take that long. I made it in two parts due to a basketball practice for Emily. Earlier in the afternoon, I prepared the soup base bringing it to a boil and then allowing it to simmer the recommended 15 minutes. When we got home from practice, I brought it back to a boil, adding the noodles and allowing it to cook until the noodles were softened. 

Finally, and most importantly the taste was amazing! The Parmesan cheese really thickened the broth so that you could actually eat it with a fork. Everyone gave it a big thumbs up and it is so tasty I would definitely make it as a meal for company. 

Two things I would change for the next time is to cut the Parmesan to 3/4 of a cup from one cup maybe even start with a half cup and determine if more is needed. Also, the mozzarella garnish although good was really not that necessary so I will eliminate it the next time.

This is definitely one you must try and please come back and tell me what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by! 

A Comfort Food Favorite

Tonight's dinner was a take on the classic comfort food favorite Chicken Pot Pie.

Because of the amount of "work" needed to make this meal, I chose to make it tonight seeing this is the only night Emily has no basketball practice.

I found this recipe for Cheddar Bay Biscuits Chicken Pot Pie through Pinterest at the website Seeded at the Table. 

There are several steps to this recipe as I stated previously. First, there is the prepping of the chicken. Earlier today I poached several chicken breasts in broth and then shredded it using my Kitchen Aid mixer. I chose to shred the chicken to make it more palatable for Emily who is a bit of a chicken "snob". When I brought the kids home from school, I started the remaining steps which included prepping the veggies and making the sauce. While that was cooking, I made the biscuits that would top the "filling" along with the garlic butter that was put on top of the biscuits for the browning process.

Yes, it tastes as good as it looks. Emily believe it or not gave it a thumbs up - I think the biscuits won her over. Matt liked it but wasn't thrilled with all the veggies - carrots, peas, corn and the ever awful potato. He picked out his favorites - peas and corn. I was able to keep it in the oven on a "warming" setting so that Dave was able to eat when he came home. He gave it a thumbs up.

There is a slight downside to this recipe for our family.

This is the portion all four of us ate for dinner. Being a non-leftover eating family, this poses a bit of a problem. Next time, I will definitely half the recipe. Oh, and don't be concerned I didn't throw the leftovers away, I will try and get one more meal out of it. 

Seeing I've made new recipes the last two nights, I'm going to give the family a break tomorrow night and make some pita pizzas but I'll be back using the Crock Pot Friday night. 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Cookies and Cashew Chicken

Today was my day to get back into cooking mode when it comes to our evening meal. 

Well, I was so inspired by the thought of cooking the meal I decided to make today also a "homemade, from scratch cookie baking day". I admit that I usually use cookie mixes just to make things go a little faster. 

Okay another confession, I've had the ingredients for these Pumpkin Scotchies cookies on had for several weeks but just haven't been inspired to bake. Today's cold, flurry flying morning put me in such a mood. I found the recipe for these cookies off Pinterest from the website The Girl Who Ate Everything. They are very yummy and perfect for this time of year. Love the combination of pumpkin and butterscotch!! 

Of course, I made these while the kids were at school and sampled a few (just 2) to make sure they were edible. When I went to pick up Matt who waits with me at the school for Emily's hour and a half of basketball practice, I surprised him with two of the cookies, which he gave a big thumbs up!!! Emily tried one when she came home...also a thumbs up!! Dave has yet to try them but if he approves there is a batch waiting to accompany him to work tomorrow. This recipe made a lot of cookies....too many for us to eat. 

All this cookie excitement did not distract me from my mission to make dinner. I decide to make the Crock Pot Cashew Chicken recipe I found also through Pinterest at the website  Daydream Kitchen. 

The cooking time is for 3 hours on low so I assembled the ingredients and turned on the Crock Pot just before heading to the kid's school. I heated some rice to serve the cashew chicken atop. So, the rating are thumbs up from me and believe it or not my "chicken snob" Emily. Matt was a so so mainly because he didn't like the cashews. Fortunately, my Crock Pot has a warmer setting so I was able to feed Dave this same meal just a little while ago when he came home from work. He gave it his approval so it looks like we have another recipe to add to the family binder. 

As always, thanks for stopping by! 

Dinner's on the Table

My meal planning/cooking "schedule" has been so off lately.

I only got Emily's soccer schedule somewhat under control where I could plan meals, when it ended and a week later basketball season started. With a short practice time (3:15 - 4:30), I find myself staying at the school with Matt every weeknight with the exception of Wednesday. Thankfully Matt and I do use that time to get his homework completed. However, if I don't have my act together prior to school pick up and practice dinner becomes a rushed mess!

In the midst of all this craziness, I did make a few meals that turned out somewhat successful and have been added to our family menu planner. 

The most recently successful meal was Baked "Fried" Chicken. I found this recipe at the website bakerette. The meal was very easy to make the longest part being the soaking of the chicken in the buttermilk, which was only for 30 minutes. I used Smart Balance butter to make it a little more "healthy". It truly did have that "fried" chicken flavor. Emily is my chicken "snob" so if she likes it I know that it is good. Well, she liked it. Matt was the only one that wasn't all that thrilled with the meal but it is worth another attempt to see if I can get him to give it a thumbs up. What was also nice about this meal is that it was easily reheated for when Dave came home a little later that evening and it didn't dry out. 

One of the pluses to this Pesto Chicken Alfredo casserole is that it makes two portions one of which can be frozen. I found this recipe at the website Amanda the Virtuous Wife. We did eat the one portion which was fantastic. Out of that portion, we still had enough leftovers for another meal. This meal tastes good enough even to serve to company. We have yet to eat the frozen portion, so I cannot advise whether or not it truly does freeze well. Everyone gave this meal a thumbs up with the only ingredients being left on their plates the diced tomatoes and spinach - I try to get those veggies in there but they always push them aside. 

This is another freezer-friendly pasta casserole I made. I found it at the website Money Saving Mom. It was very easy to make. Instead of ground beef, I did opt for using sweet Italian sausage which in my opinion gave it a kick of flavor.  In the future, I would half this recipe for our family as the 9x13 casserole portion fed us for one night, two of us for leftovers and we still had more left. Being not a big "leftover" eating family the better option for us would be to do a half recipe. 

The final recipe I want to share is slow cooker Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (no picture taken) which I found at the website Uncommon Designs. We had company over for dinner one Saturday and I served these sandwiches. I myself am not a big BBQ fan but my husband is so I gave it a try. They were very yummy. I served it with coleslaw and potato salad. Definitely a good option for a football party. 

Well, there you have it the few recipes I've made lately. I'm hoping to get my "meal planning/cooking" act together and use the crock pot a little more now that basketball season has started. 

As always, thank you for stopping by!

Dinner Revisited

Sadly, I must confess that since school started my meal planning has fallen by the wayside. 

Several things have attributed to this lack of meal organization. First and foremost is the amount of catching up I'm doing on bulletin board projects. I came to the realization this summer that school break and these style of projects do not play well together. When the kids went back to school, I had 5 bulletin boards needing to be done. To date, I've completed 2 and a half. One board at my kid's school is dependent on another being completed so elements can be transferred. All in all I've made good progress but I am still in working mode. 

The other factor to this "meal" disorganization, is that our daughter, Emily, decided to join the school soccer team. We are so very pleased that she is part of an organized sports team and being it is the school team makes its a little less hectic. However, 2 and sometimes 4 out of the 5 school nights she has practice or games that end around 5:30 or 6 pm. I haven't quite mastered the task of picking up one child at 3, coming home doing homework with him, then returning to get Emily at 5:30 (or later that is if it isn't a game we attend), assisting her (if needed) through homework all the while getting dinner on the table. I'm getting better at this planning process but I'm not nearly as organized as I usually am. 

Anyway, I do have two recipes to share that we've tried since the start of school. See I do get a few meals planned in here and there. 

This first recipe is Greek Marinated Chicken that I got through Pinterest from the website Budget Bytes. I used only chicken thighs and it did cook for a little longer than required due to a late arrival of my husband from work and the distraction of homework. Still it was very yummy. Dave & I really enjoyed it, the kids were so so but I plan to try it again and cook it for the allotted time. 

The other dish I made was a hit for everyone, even Emily who is not always a "fan" of Mexican cuisine approved of it. The Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole I found at the website Sweet Treats and More (also, via Pinterest) was absolutely wonderful and so very easy to make. 

Matt LOVED it and LOVED it even more when he put Red's Hot Sauce on it....he puts that stuff on everything. This is a meal we will definitely make again. Emily ate everything on her plate and quickly, usually if she's not a "fan" it takes her a long time to eat her meal. 

Please try out these recipes and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Two More Hits

We have just about completed our weekly dinner menu that I posted on July 5th. Two more to go and we will put together the next week's worth of recipes - maybe.  

Currently, we are experiencing a little trouble with our refrigerator and may have to shut it down for 24 hours of defrosting. Of course, we found this little malfunction the morning after I purchased all the items needed for this past week's meals. So, we have been making sure it is keeping the food cold, using up the product we bought, all the while secretly hoping the problem would pass. It appears it has not so we need to eat what is in the fridge/freezer as not to waste too much for when we shut it down. Its times like this, I wish we had a back up fridge or freezer in the garage or basement. Oh well....back to the food!

Thursday night we had Lean Turkey and Spinach Lasagna which I got from the Skinny Mom website. The only adjustment I did make was to the Italian Seasoning, I used 1 1/2 tablespoons instead of 3. It was very easy to make and tasted absolutely delicious especially for being a healthy version of lasagna. Everyone gave this a thumbs up so that makes 4 and a new addition to our family menu binder. 

Now, I'm always curious if "maybe I just think it tastes good?" My husband, Dave, is not one to hold back saying if he doesn't like something and same with the kids but I am always curious if it is truly as good as I think. So, when I told a friend what I was making for dinner that night and texted her later about how good I thought it tasted and she said she'd have to try it, I offered and took her a piece to try and give me her "rating". (I could do this "sharing" because my family of four only ate 4 pieces from the 12 that were cut. So, I shared one and froze the rest.) Well, her review is ......drum roll, please...... a thumbs up!  

Last night's meal was Creamy Chicken Enchiladas which I got from Better Homes & Gardens. Now, this recipe called for 8 oz. of shredded chicken and recently my friend, Jen, advised me of a "trick" she found on Pinterest for shredding chicken. If you have a Kitchen Aid mixer and add the chicken to the mixer bowl using the paddle blade it will shred your chicken. Well, I tested it and it is true and works so incredibly.  

My chicken after it was poached in the mixing bowl and the paddle blade attached.

My now shredded chicken ready to be used. 

This recipe was pretty easy even though it included poaching & shredding chicken, steaming spinach, making a cream sauce and assembling the enchiladas.  Let me just say this, if the "work" of this recipe discourages you to try it, you will miss out on the BEST tasting enchiladas. No one talked at the dinner table....they just ate, that is the sign of a 4 thumbs up dinner. 

What was nice is the recipe makes 6 enchiladas. Each of us had one and Dave ate another half of one. This meant not too many leftovers which is always a plus for me when making a recipe. 

If you try either of these recipes, I'd love to hear what you think of them.

Enjoy!

A Hit and a Miss

We are continuing with our weekly menu here at the Wessel household.

Yesterday, I made Lemon Chicken Thighs with Olives. What I loved about this recipe was that it was a crock pot meal but sadly the kids were not big fans. Emily did not like the lemon flavor, she is also not too fond of chicken. Matt on the other hand liked the chicken but being a lover or olives, which I thought would sell him on this meal, did not like the lemon flavor that permeated the olives. Dave and I agreed that it tasted good but it was not a meal that "wowed" us. 

Now tonight, we had a winner for dinner - Baked Tacos. It was so easy to make and the results were yummy. Because we are a family of just 4, I decided to halve the recipe so we wouldn't end up wasting food. This meal also worked well because Dave was able to eat during his quick stop home after work before heading out to play a softball game. This is one recipe that will definitely make it into the family menu binder. 

Hope these receipes are giving you some good ideas or just inspiring you to get back into the kitchen. 

Tomorrow afternoon, I'm planning on making with th kid's help the dessert bars we've chosen to make for the week. 

Weekly Menu Meal - Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Originally this meal was suppose to be made for Friday night's dinner but we were invited to celebrate a friend's son's birthday, so it got preempted to last night, Saturday. 

This recipe for Sour Cream Noodle Bake comes from the "Pioneer Woman" Ree Drummond. This was so very easy to make and very yummy. My husband said the flavors reminded him of a Hamburger Helper meal but with fresh, unpackaged or processed ingredients. I will definitely make this again. It got a 4 thumbs up rating from our family. Enjoy!!!

Picante Roast & Rice

This is another new meal we tried over the last few weeks. Its one for the crock pot which is such a life saver on those baseball nights.

The roast recipe, 3 Envelope Picante Roast, I found on the website Deep South Dish via Pinterest. Everyone really loved it and it was yummy as leftovers too!! I paired it up with "Chipotle" Cilantro Lime Rice found at the Skinnytaste website also found via Pinterest. This rice was so yummy!!! The two paired together were the perfect combination. Both of these recipes have been added to our family recipe binder. Pinterest definitely has been a great source for recipes and has seriously replaced my "need" for buying cookbooks. 

Pastalicious!!!!

This is one of the best pasta recipes we've eaten - Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta  

I found this recipe via Pinterest at the blog Chaos in the Kitchen. My family absolutely loved it. It is a little high in calories and fat but as a once and a while meal it is definitely worth an extra workout. The recipe serves four and let me tell you that disappointed my family. They were looking to have a second helping. This definitely got a thumbs up from everyone and it has been already requested to be made again. This is one I definitely recommend you try. It is pastalicious!!!

Tuesday's Meal - Spinach and Artichoke Baked Pasta

Yay!! Another successful meal acquired via Pinterest. 

This pasta was very easy to make and the only substitution I had to make was the pasta. I was unable to find orecchiette so I used pipette. 

Of course, I chose to use actual onion instead of onion powder and my little "onion detective" Matt was able to find every onion in his plate of pasta. Next time, I'll use the onion powder. 

This recipe makes a full 13 x 9 casserole dish of pasta so we will be using this as a leftover meal later this week.  

Family rating - 4 thumbs up.  Looks like another addition to the family meal recipe binder. 

Monday's Meal - A Miss

Tonight's dinner was 30 Minute Lemon Brown Sugar Chicken.

It is a good dish but the lemon flavor is very strong even with the brown sugar added. Dave and I were pleased by the taste but the acidity of the lemon was too much for the kids. They prefer that this not be made one of our family meals, which is fine.  If only two people like it a recipe, it isn't worth making again. 

If you do like the taste of lemon, you can find the recipe here.