Crockpot Mexican Lasagna

I always say these recipes are "delicious", "great", etc.

I'm going to change it up....

This one was mediocre.  There was nothing wrong with it, but there was nothing special either.  It was a very traditional combination of ingredients.  I've started to think that all store bot Mexican seasonings taste the same, so I made my own this time.  But that didn't really help either.  It was still pretty basic.

In good news, it made a lot of leftovers, again.  I think we're going to roll the leftovers up and have burritos tomorrow.

Crockpot Mexican Lasagna

No bake peanut butter cookies

The easiest, quickest cookies I've made in awhile.  Took about 5 minutes.  I quartered the recipe because it was just for the two of us and really we just wanted a little taste of dessert.  It made 4 cookies (and that was after a spoonful or two of "dough").  Chilled in the fridge was a great addition.  And of course, I added some chocolate chips too because really, why not?  I put them in at the same time I put in the oatmeal (I used instant, which was fine) and they partially melted.  Delicious!

No bake peanut butter cookies

2 cups sugar 
1/4 cup butter 
1/2 cup milk 
1 cup peanut butter 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
3 cups rolled oats (old fashioned) 

Combine all except oats and vanilla. Bring to a boil for a few minutes. Add oats and vanilla. Stir til combined and drop by spoon onto wax paper

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach

I returned to my pasta-loving roots tonight with this dish.  However, this is a relatively healthy take without heavy cream or a ton of cheese.  The butternut squash still gives it a creamy texture and I used whole wheat pasta.  I couldn't find spicy chicken sausage, so I used spicy pork sausage instead.  The sage taste didn't come out quite strong enough with the recommended amount so I put in a bit more.  All told, good dish.  Lots of leftovers.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Spicy Sausage and Baby Spinach

New way to cook brocoli

I add a veggie to whatever we are eating most nights...I seem to have a rotating schedule of what veggie it up next.  (Speaking of, I need some more vegetable choices to prolong the normal rotation).  Anyways, brocoli is a frequent flier.  Generally I steam it.  But, I came accross a easy suggestion to try broccoli in the oven and really liked it.  Good flavor, nice way to change it up.  I would suggest leaving the pieces on the medium side.  I tend to like the smallest pieces for steaming but they burned a little bit in the oven.

best broccoli...olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, 425 for about 20 minutes....then top with parmesan cheese and lemon juice

Chicken Cordon Bleu Rolls

This was a good, simple cordon bleu recipe.  I liked the crumbled corn flake topping -- the crunch was a nice addition.  I also made the cordon bleu sauce.  I didn't think it was all that necessary but decided to give it a try.  It was a bit thick so I cut it with fat free milk (that's what we add on hand).  We didn't use much but the sauce ended up being pretty good on the chicken.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll

Crockpot Pulled Pork

This dish is amazing for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I went to the butcher shop and ordered 4lb boneless pork shoulder.  Me.  Secondly, i took this huge slab of meat home and did something with it.  This was unheard of until a year ago.  I would have never even considered cooking something with that much meat in it.

Anyways, this was pretty easy as far as pork goes.  Season it and stick it in the crockpot for a bunch of hours.  The worst part was taking the layer of fat off at the end.  I cooked it on low for about 10 hours and it came out great.  Moist, tender, easy to pull apart.  I liked it with the vinegar topping and added a little BBQ sauce too.  Served it as a sandwich.

Reviews from the house were very positive.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

Apple pie oatmeal

Put my new crockpot to good use for breakfast yesterday morning.  I'm not a big oatmeal person but Oakley eats it a lot and I can handle it once in awhile ...especially with all these apples in it.  This recipe was easy.  I put it in right when we woke up, cooked on high for 2 hours and was ready just after that.  Added a little brown sugar.  The house smelled delicious while this was cooking too!

Apple Pie Oatmeal

White Chicken Chili

We're getting married next October and recently registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond for a handful of kitchen items.  I'm excited for all of them (new pots and pans, silverware, the works) but perhaps what I was most excited for was a crockpot.  I'm not really sure why.  We never used one much as I was growing up.  But as I've started cooking more I've come across so many great crockpot recipes I wanted to try.

An early Christmas present came in the mail yesterday....my mom did a little registry shopping and she picked right...a crockpot!

Today was the perfect day to try it out.  I was studying for finals all day and going to be around to monitor my first recipe. 

I started off with this white chicken chili.  Just as easy as a crockpot was supposed to be.  Tossed all the ingredients in.  8 hours later we had a great chili.  It was pretty easy as far as recipes go.  Maybe a little heavy on the taco seasoning.  I feel like it could have used some more original spices.  Something spicy too.  I put in two small jars of green chiles as the recipe suggested - but i'd add something more next time.

In any case, I love the crockpot.  Can't wait to try something else soon!

White Chicken Chili

Hamburger Stroganoff

This was one of my absolute favorite dishes as a kid.  We got to pick what we wanted my mom to make for dinner on our birthdays and I'm pretty sure I always picked this (or tacos).  Delicious, simple, good comfort food.  Pair it with a vegetable and you can't go wrong.

Here's the recipe I follow:


1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. dairy sour cream
2 c. hot cooked noodles
8 oz. mushroom pieces (optional - but highly recommended)

In large skillet, brown ground beef. Drain off most of fat.
Stir in onions and butter and continue browning until
onion is tender. Stir in flour, garlic salt, pepper, and
mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Stir in soup. Simmer uncovered 10
minutes. Stir in sour cream. Heat through. Serve over
noodles. Serves 6.

Sweet and Spicy Salmon Kabobs

It's been a busy past week with school, clinical and work.  Unfortunately in my exhaustion, I reverted back to my single days of simple pasta for dinner a couple (2? 3?) nights in a row. (It's easy, quick, and I <3 carbs!)  Poor Oakley finally said, "It was a good run, but I think we need to lay off the carbs."  Fine, sigh.....

I had some time this afternoon and finally tried to get back to cooking some new and delicious (and maybe even healthier) things.  I think this was a pretty good start!

Now, it says kabobs.  Unfortunately, we had no kabob sticks....and neither did the grocery store.  (I live  in NYC...how does the grocery store not carry kabob sticks!)  Anyways, I just put in in the broiler on foil covered pan and then served it over rice.  It worked fine.  The taste is a little different, definitely spicy and sweet.  But we liked it.  And it was healthy!

I didn't love the texture of  the cherry tomatoes after 6 minutes in the broiler.  Kinda soft and squishy.  I might substitue those for something else next time.

Sweet and Spicy Salmon Kabobs

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

These muffins were billed by the original blogger as "93 calorie, no flour breakfast".  Now, I'm not sure if they are 93 calories or not....but they are good and seem relatively healthy.   I did use real sugar though because I hate the fake stuff.  Simple to make...most of the ingredients are commonly found things probably already in your kitchen.

She recommended using real slow cooking oats, but I didn't have those on hand and didn't feel like buying them.  So I used the regular 'ol Quaker Oats.  Seems good to me.  Everything else I did as the recipe said.  Baked for about 20 minutes and came out perfectly.  Would be good with blueberries too!

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Brussel Sprout Mac and Cheese

I believe I've already talked about my love of brussel sprouts.  Not sure if I've mentioned my love of mac and cheese.  The short version....grew up on the stuff, can't get enough.  It's still my comfort food of choice (specifically the Velveeta kind....with hot dogs in it on a particularly rough day).  However, this is a more "adult" version.  And perhaps a bit healthier too.

The ingredients go surprisingly well together.   It does take a little while to make, though it's not complicated by any means.  Added some extra bread crumbs, the crispiness was perfect.  And lots of leftovers as well!

Brussel Sprout Mac and Cheese

Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a few of my favorite things......
Seriously.  How can you go wrong with this recipe?

I read in the comments of the original post that the peanut butter was overwhelming the oatmeal flavor. Not that I don't like peanut butter, cause believe me, it might be the best thing ever.  I just wanted the oatmeal to come through too.  So, I decided to leave out the peanut butter chips.  I added a little extra oatmeal and white chocolate chips.  Turned out great!

I'm taking the rest to work tomorrow so I don't eat them all!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies

Cheesy Stuffed Meatloaf

This is the first recipe I've changed a decent amount from the original recipe.  I added onions, worchestire sauce and only had dijon mustard to use instead of yellow mustard.  I didn't use as much mustard as the original recipe called for not knowing how the dijon would work out.  I loved the cheese and scallion center (even though my loaf didn't stay together as much as I would have hoped.)  I used 2 lbs of ground beef as the recipe called for and this made a lot of food.  We have a lot of leftovers...we'll see how it reheats!

Cheesy Stuffed Meatloaf

Spicy Romano Chicken Pasta with Artichoke Hearts and Sundried Tomatoes

This was a great recipe.  Different from the kind of pastas I would usually make, thanks to the cayenne pepper kick.  I didn't even measure the cayenne pepper but used quite a bit and we loved it.  I made it with chicken, but I think it would be really good with sausage too.  Sure, I felt a little guilty about the heavy cream based sauce -- but oh well, occasionally, it's a great dish.

Spicy Romano Chicken Pasta

Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Onion

Brussel sprouts are my new favorite food....really.  I don't know why I didn't know about them earlier.  They got such a bad rap for years, but I love them.  I was introduced to them at a friend's house for dinner.  Cut them in half, shake them up in a gallon size plastic bag with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so.  They are crispy, good flavor.  And so easy!

However, since I have discovered my newfound love of brussel sprouts I've looked for other ways to cook them.  This is one of the best I've tried.  Brussel sprouts and bacon go very well together.  Yes, bacon goes well with almost everything....but still, just saying, it goes very well with brussel sprouts.

This is a good recipe to fancy them up a little.

Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Onion

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Although it probably wasn't cold enough outside for this soup I did it anyways.  And I'm very glad I did.....

Delicious, flavorful...good fall/winter soup.  I used 4 chicken breasts and this made a TON of soup.  We'll have leftovers for a week.  I was reading the original blog I got this from later and the author recommended making it with pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.  I'm sure either is great, but I do agree with her that would be easier.  I added sour cream and cheese to the top (and I would have added avocado if I'd had any).

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Nutter Butter Balls

This was a really easy, good recipe   Took just a few minutes, sat in the fridge for a bit and came out great.  Would be good for a holiday party and I like that you can decide how big you want to make them.  (bite size anyone?)

I didn't know what one package of nutter butters meant since they come in so many sizes.  I used about 12 nutter butter cookies for 5-6oz of cream cheese. I also used dark chocolate for the coating.

Nutter Butter Balls

Taco Pasta Bake

Alright, let me preface this by saying this is not the healthiest thing I've ever made.  However, it was simple and good.  I tried to make it a little healthier with low fat cream cheese, whole wheat pasta and low sodium taco seasoning.  Even with that I think I probably went over my allotted calories.  Oh well :)

One tip...make sure you coat all the pasta in the meat sauce.  I missed a few zitis and they were a little crispy.  Still good though.

Taco Pasta Bake

Apple Prosciutto Pizza

This was a great, different pizza.  Easy to make, we had it as a fun Friday night dinner.  The sage gives it a great flavor.  I used about 6 oz of goat cheese, which was plenty.  I think anymore and the goat cheese flavor would have been too overwhelming.  I used 2 large green apples and a store bought Boboli pizza crust. Definitely recommend.

Apple Prosciutto Pizza

Pumpkin Risotto

One of the best things I've made so far.  As I've said before...I love pumpkin, and fall is the perfect time for it.  However, the flavor was great.  Noticeable but not too strong.  I put in a little extra parmesan and some pecans on top for a little crunch.  Absolutely wonderful.  Highly recommend.

I made this as a main dish with some roasted brussel sprouts on the side (one of my favorite vegetable dishes, LOVE these).  It was relatively light but enough food for me.

Pumpkin Risotto

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

I was looking for some comfort food after a long week.

I found it right here.  These were easy and delicious.  A great combination of ingredients.  I followed the recipe exactly and loved it.  Would be great for a big group too.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Bite Size Apple Pies

One of my biggest problems in cooking dessert is that I'm often only cooking for Oakley and I.  Sure, I could bring treats to work, or to friends.  Often this stuff doesn't transport very well.  And more often I have plans to bring it to work but we eat too much of it before that happens.  And God knows I don't need all this dessert.

So, along came this recipe for bite sized apple pies.  I halved the recipe and came out with 7 (should have been 8 but one suffered an untimely death on the kitchen floor prior to making it into the oven) cute apple pies.

Bite Size Apple Pies

These were really easy to make.  Like the original blogger I didn't know whether to leave the peel on or take it off so I did some of each.  I think I preferred the ones that were peeled, though both were great.  I used a pre made refrigerated crust since it's what I could find at my grocery store.  Next time I would let it bake a little longer since the apples weren't quite as soft as I would like.

We had three leftover that I put in tupperware overnight.  Popped them in the microwave and they weren't too bad as leftovers either.

A little vanilla ice cream makes this a great dessert!

Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach

Alright, I admit.  I got lazy.  I forgot Ricotta cheese and didn't want to go back out.  So I decided to try the recipe without it.  It was okay, but it definitely needs Ricotta.   Oh well.

Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach

Still good.  Kinda fun and different.  Will definitely try it again, the right way this time.

Twice baked potatoes

I LOVE twice baked potatoes.  Seriously, twice baked potatoes are amazing.  As a kid we used to have them on holidays sometimes.  They do take a little while to make but are definitely worth it.

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy I've had some time on my hands recently, and thankfully my apartment still has power, so I could try out this new recipe I found.

Twice baked potatoes

This particular recipe came from Weight Watchers and is a healthier than others.  So even my guilt was (mostly) gone!  Love!

Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

One of my favorite recipes I've made in recent months.  The perfect combination of flavors, with a little spiciness.  It's filling and relatively healthy!

Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

There's a few moving pieces in this dish but definitely worth it in the end. I used 3 adobo peppers and a combination of mozzarella and cheddar.  Omitted cilantro since I didn't have any on hand.  Loved!

Butternut Squash Soup with Pumpkin Butter

Fall is definitely in the air (and Hurricane Sandy....).  It's the perfect time for a delicious warm soup.  This one was a hit.

Butternut Squash Soup with Pumpkin Butter

I made it a little bit on the thick side and included a generous helping of pumpkin butter I had made from scratch.  I'd never made pumpkin butter before so I decided to start with a nice easy simple recipe. This is the one I found and decided to use -- simple, easy, good.

Pumpkin butter

I didn't get as much butternut squash out of it as I should have.  Really only 2-3 servings of soup.  I think it could have used some more time in the oven to soften more and then be more usable.  Plus, I used only about 1 cup of chicken stock.  I used skim milk, and though I'm sure half and half would have been more delicious I decided to try to keep it a little healthier.  

Good recipe, will make more next time.  It'd be a great meal to have on hand for a lazy sunday or late weeknight!

Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese

I found this recipe and was a little unsure.  Stuffed chicken can be so hard to cook...but these ingredients seemed delicious (I love pesto!) so I decided to give it a try.

Baked Chicken stuffed with pesto and cheese

These came out great.  I didn't have any almond flour so i left that out.  I was able to pound the chicken out relatively thin and it took about 35 minutes to cook in my oven.  Oakley loved them.  Very simple, we'll definitely be making it again!

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

These were delicious!  I didn't have all the ingredients on hand so I left out the peppers and the cilantro.  However, they still had great flavor and it was relatively easy to make.  Lots of leftovers too!  I will make these all the time!

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wrap reciepe

Sauteed Kale

Looking for ways to cook new vegetables I stumbled across this recipe.

Sauteed Kale

I liked it. Personally I would probably use a little less red wine vinegar next time, since it was a strong taste.  But overall I think it's a great way to change up the vegetable side dishes.

Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

We're big breakfast people.  But, weekdays I get up too early, and I love my sleep.  So cereal is the weekday go-to.

However, at least once a weekend, when we're in town, we'll do a nice breakfast.  Pancakes, french toast, breakfast burritos....they're all delicious.

Here's our newest try:
Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes

I liked these because they were a bit healthier than some of our normal options.  I used vanilla protein powder and instant oatmeal.  Both worked fine.  I left out the Stevia - the protein powder was already sweet enough for us.  Plus, I knew we would be adding syrup.

Our review:
I liked the taste.  But they didn't cook like I would have liked.  I knew they would end up thin but they also didn't seem to cook enough.  The egg is really the only ingredient to cook and that didn't lead to a fully cooked pancake.  Still good, just not great.

Frozen banana bites

Frozen Banana Bites
Love these!  I'm a sucker for anything with peanut butter and chocolate!

Super easy and delicious...
I made them without the coconut (basically because I didn't have any) and we loved them.  Used 3 bananas and had a bunch to keep in the freezer for the week.  We'd eat one (or two, or three....) for dessert.  They kept great.

A cooking note I've recently learned - when melting chocolate do not get any water in the bowl - it makes the chocolate clumpy, gross, mess.  Completely dry spoon every time you stir the chocolate.
An article I found helpful: melting chocolate

Sweet Potato Burger with garlic cream and avocado

In the last year or so I've tried to become a better cook.  Growing up I never did much work in the kitchen and my dinners for one generally consisted of pasta or something "easy".  I never had cooked much meat and was basically afraid of anything except for the very occasional chicken breast.

When I met my now-fiance Oakley I tried to fake the ability to cook for awhile.  He quickly realized it was all a scam, and now loves the story about how I was burning pans for the first few years of our relationship.

A year or so ago I found Pinterest and besides using it for wedding planning, I've found it an amazing source for recipes.  I've tried a bit of everything in the last year, and realized that I'm actually an okay cook.  I can follow a recipe pretty well and am starting to gain some confidence to even try a few things on my own.

I remarked to Oakley that since I'd made so many things I found on Pinterest I wanted to be able to chronicle what I made and what we thought of it.  And so began this blog.....

A long Saturday of studying led us to big plans for a relaxing evening in, complete with a delicious dinner.  Scouring my Pinterest page for what to make I landed on this:

Sweet potato burger with garlic cream and avocado.

I'd made burgers similar to this in the past - it's a relatively easy, meat-free, dinner.  The longest part of this was roasting the garlic.  But it's easy, and had I read it first and prepared a bit I could have just put it in earlier while I was finishing up other stuff.

Our review:
Good taste.  Perhaps add a bit extra bread crumbs.  Personally, I wish I could get them a little bit crispier....but I would make them again and that's what I would aim for next time.