Easy roasted veggie pasta

This dish was one I made back in early Fall... but I make variations of this throughout the year, depending on what's in season and fresh at the grocery. The cherry or roma tomatoes, however, are a MUST at any time of year. I love the way a roasted cherry tomato just bursts as you take a bite of this yummy dish.

Simply wash and lay out your vegetables (I used foil to make cleanup a little easier but if you don't mind some extra cleaning, the little scrapings on the pan would be a delicious addition), drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper (and sometimes I give it a dash of blackening seasoning). Most veggies need about 20 minutes at 375 but keep an eye on them for the amount of crunch you prefer to maintain. For tomatoes, up until this year, I wasn't a big fan. I still half most of them but you could certainly roast them whole.



For the pasta, we always cook with the whole grain/higher protein versions. Cook the spaghetti (or any pasta you prefer) as usual. To give it a very light sauce, I used fat free half and half, a little EVOO, lemon juice and zest, and reduced fat parm. cheese.

On this occasion, I think I added a few crumbles of goat cheese that were left over in the fridge. Forgive my terrible photography skills with food... I'm working on it but our camera is pretty simplistic.



Tonight I'm just going to use garlic and tomatoes, and roast them in the oven with chicken breasts for some extra protein... then use these to top off the pasta.

Tell me what variations you've tried of a recipe like this one!

Chicken and Stuffing in the Crockpot: so easy and delicious!

I first picked this recipe up from a college roommate and talk about a quick, budget-friendly meal that is comforting to anyone. It's too easy to NOT try it... so enough talking. Get to cooking this!

Throw your uncooked chicken breasts into the bottom of a crockpot. Next, grab a can of fat free cream of mushroom soup:

Layer the Cream of Mushroom overtop the chicken:

Next: layer some swiss cheese slices right overtop to create a creamy layer of yumminess (not sure if that's even a word, but it is now!)

Now, open up a box of stuffing and pour the DRY contents on top. That's right... no work necessary... just dump it right in:


Read the back of the box and add the listed amount of butter, only do so in a few pats on top like this:

You can use smartbalance or whatever healthier brand you prefer here.

Now just walk away! After a few hours, give it a good stir and you'll see everything sort of meld together. The moisture in the crockpot will make the stuffing moist and it's really a one-pot meal in itself.

This is the perfect comfort meal after a long, cold winter day... enjoy with a big glass of milk and maybe even a crescent roll with jelly. No excuses about cooking here... ANYONE can make this!

Merry Christmas!

Tucker grew very impatient in the days before Christmas. Even though Mommy stuffed his stocking when he wasn't around, he could smell the treats in there. A few days before Christmas, I was at the grocery and Dustin called to say he heard a loud bang upstairs. When he got upstairs he found that Tucker had somehow knocked down the stocking. (Note: even standing on his back legs, he was a good foot and a half away from this stocking) We figure there was some jumping involved but, boy was he ticked when we told him he still had to wait a few more days!

Hope you and your families had a wonderful Christmas. I know we did!

P.S. I know I've been a little lazy about the blogging lately but I have several new recipes coming now that I've finally loaded a couple months worth of photos onto the computer.

I'm off to lay around with my favorite boys and enjoy every minute of vacation :)

My not-so-little-anymore brother

This weekend, my family and I celebrated my not-so-little brother's Senior Day for football. It may have been his last game on his home field (depending on playoffs, etc). How many 22-year-old, big, mean football players do you know that call their sisters to ask if they, in addition to their parents (which is all most of the seniors did), will walk across the football field with them as part of the Senior Day ceremony before kick-off?!?

He may be big and mean on the field but he has such a big heart of gold inside :) Here's a link to our family marching across the Thomas More football field before the game. I'm very proud of him!

http://tmcsports.org/fb/photos/11072009/content/IMG_0072_large.html

We had a great time... tons of friends and family came out to tailgate and support him on this big day. But I must admit, days like this make me feel so old. I feel like it was just a year ago that we were moving him in to his dorm. I'll never forget my Dad and I taking him to WalMart to get a laundry list of essentials and I just started crying as I was putting items on the conveyor belt at the checkout. I didn't want to leave my baby brother alone in another state ('cause Kentucky is so far and all haha) to fend for himself. Who would beat up the mean kids for him if I wasn't around. (This is hilarious if you've already looked at the picture and realize I think he can beat up whoever he wants... but he's got too big a heart haha)

Anyway, proud moment for a big sister but it just seems like life keeps moving faster and faster every year I get older. Note to self: deep breaths and smell roses?!?! something like that, anyway.

my new kitchen cart

Do you love?! I do! Back story: Since we've moved into this house, the giant wall of blank space in our kitchen has driven me nuts. Even visitors have suggested doing something with the space: some said we should add in more cabinets/countertop, others suggested a baker's rack, etc.

I am always using my cutting board to chop up veggies and I love the idea of a cart (with wheels) that can be pulled out and used like an island with a butcher's block on top for chopping. And-- add wine racks underneath and, hello i'm in love :) I snagged this at Ikea and Dustin and I almost killed one another as we assembled it! You have no idea how bad our fingers were hurting after using a cheap little allen wrench to screw 2 dozen bolts into wood!

I think it was worth it! What do you think?

Chicken Piccata and (Dustin's giant serving of) Smashed Red Potatoes

I love, love, love all things piccata... and I've rubbed off on Dustin. Heck, we even had chicken piccata for the main course at our wedding reception :)

There was a time when my husband didn't know what capers were... but not anymore. He sees capers on the grocery list and I don't even have to write my "near the pickles" routine in parentheses next to the word "capers". No sir, he knows right where to find them. When I make chicken piccata, he always asks me to toss in extra capers. I do love that bite of saltiness that they bring to this dish.

The recipe I first used when making this (I don't use a recipe to make this anymore) was from Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-piccata-recipe/index.html

The only variance I usually make is that I de-glaze with white wine before adding in the capers, stock and lemon juice. Great recipe for a meal that's very bold in taste but very quick and easy to prepare.

As for the smashed potatoes: nothin fancy here. Just quartered and boiled red potatoes with a few cloves of garlic thrown in the water whole. (After later draining the potatoes, I do separate out the garlic cloves and mince them back in to the pot of potatoes ... I'm just not a fan of huge chunks of garlic) Then I let Dustin do the "smashing" (it's a manly kitchen duty haha), add in some reduced fat sour cream and freshly chopped chives and voila! I think my hubby would eat any thing paired with a heaping pile of potatoes. I love the way the pototoes soak up that lemon-y, briny caper-y (i'm making up words at this point) flavor from the sauce on the chicken too!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

My apologies for my lack of posting the last couple weeks... I've been battling one thing after another with antibiotics :/

It's that time of the year again-- we're spending our weekends rooting for our favorite football teams-- including my brother and the Thomas More Saints, Ohio State Buckeyes, Bengals... and of course, whoever is playing Michigan (or Florida for that matter). I don't know about you guys, but when we're watching football, we (unfortunately) snack. Dustin's favorite staple is this buffalo chicken dip.

First, I must give credit where credit's due. I first learned this recipe from a college roommate, Megan. She and I prepared this as part of a spread of food we put on for all our parents during the weekend we graduated from college. Ever since, this dip recipe has slowly become a staple for both our families and is continuing to grow in popularity with anyone who has a taste.

It combines the deliciousness of a hot wing with the fun of a dip and is SUPER easy to make. I have done it several ways-- in the crockpot, on the stove top, baked in the oven and all work just fine. I will say that the biggest pain with this dip is shredding the chicken-- but it's absolutely necessary to have the right texture. I used to always bake or boil the chicken, let it cool and shred it with 2 forks or my fingers. Not gonna lie though-- if you are feeling lazy you can totally use canned white mean chicken (I do make sure it's good quality like Tyson in the can, etc) or you could even buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery and come home and shred it as well.

Plan on combining about 1.5 lbs of chicken (one package of boneless, skinless breasts for example), 1 to 2 blocks of cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat and it still tastes great), 1 bottle of your favorite buffalo wing/hot wing sauce (We prefer Texas Pete), 1 16 oz. bag of shredded mild cheddar cheese, and about half a bottle (it's really up to your taste preferences) of your favorite blue cheese dressing. ( I realize some people hate blue cheese and you could certainly substitute a ranch.) The great thing about this recipe is you really can't screw it up and you can totally create it the way you like your hot wings. Some like to use an extra chunky blue cheese dressing while others prefer a milder flavor.

Usually, I first combine the cream cheese and wing sauce on the stove top until I get a creamy sauce (should be pretty orange-red at this point if you like things fairly spicy). I then add the shredded chicken and blue cheese (just keep tasting until you get the heat you want) and lastly add in the shredded cheese and allow it to melt as you stir things together. You can then throw in a crockpot to keep it warm or serve it up immediately with tortilla chips. Another great tip-- if you're cooking this for a big party with adults and children, I'd go a little milder and provide a bottle of hot sauce next to the dip for those who want to add more heat.


Below is my beautiful sister-in-law, Sarah, helping me whip up some buffalo chicken dip on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. The boys were hungry (and getting grumpier by the minute) but boy, did this dip cheer them up!