Sorry I haven't had a post all week. We've been on vacation in Southern California all week. Disneyland was the first stop on our list of things to do. We had a great time and the weather was PERFECT. The remainder of the week has just consisted of lots of relaxing by the pool and walking around the beautiful shopping areas around here. I have to give a big thanks to my sister-in-law who has allowed us to "borrow" her beautiful home for the week. It's been great being able to save money by making our own meals. I'm NOT one who loves to eat out (especially fast food) so having access to a full kitchen has made me very happy. I'm also very happy because there is a Trader Joe's right down the street from her house. I've love this place and they never disappoint. We were able to pick up the basics to make healthy meals at home. Here is a sample of one of them. I picked up a bag of frozen turkey meatballs...


and a jar of the most amazing tomato basil marinara I've ever had...


and a bag of brown rice noodles. Mix them all together and add a side dish of broccoli florets...


and you get a fast, easy, and nutritious dinner in minutes. I also made some whole wheat garlic toast on the side but I didn't get a picture of that. I did however get a picture of what happens when you mix marinara sauce with a 3 year old. Just a warning, this picture is very frightening for someone who isn't use to 3 year old eating habits.


What you can't see is that I have the seat of this nice dining room chair covered with a towel, maybe I should have covered the back as well but she didn't get anything on it.

We have two days left of vacation and plan of doing lots of fun things every minute of the day! Hope everyone has a great week!

I was having another Mexican food craving and it just had to be satisfied. I was able to do just that with an exceptional recipe I found on a blog called Bun's in my Oven, slightly similar in name to my own blog. She just raved about this recipe and said that she makes it part of her dinner rotations quite often because it is one of her families favorites. I loved the idea of cream cheese mixed into the filling and was excited to try it out for myself. I adapted the recipe just a tad by adding black beans (my kids like them) and switching out the enchilada sauce for salsa. Oh, and I used plain Greek yogurt in the place of the sour cream. These did not disappoint me. I really, really liked them. I would say that I like them just as much as the Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas I have on my blog. I used a mix of both corn tortillas and whole wheat flour tortillas. Either one will work for this recipe so use what your family likes best. I hope you enjoy and have a great week.

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas
slightly adapted from buns in my oven

• 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup light sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 10 ounces enchilada sauce or 2 cups of salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (canned corn works just fine, but drain it first)
• 1 cup black beans, drained & rinsed
• 4 oz. diced green chiles
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 flour or corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray.
In the bowl of your mixer cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and 1/2 of the enchilada sauce or 1/2 cup of the salsa. Stir in 1/2 cup of each type of cheese.
In a second bowl toss together the chicken, corn, black beans, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, green chiles, and half of the scallions. Add the chicken mixture to the cheese mixture and combine well.
Spread about half of the remaining enchilada sauce or salsa in the bottom of the baking dish.
Spoon the filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla up, and place in the baking dish with the seam down. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce or salsa over the top of the filled tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions and serve.

I live in an area that gets pretty warm in the Spring & Summer. Well, the truth is it gets HOT!! So warm in fact that playing outside July, August, and September are pretty much off limits. This time of year I seem to crave either a big salad for dinner or a bowl of cereal and not much else. The past couple of days have been actually quite nice, a bit below the normal temperatures for this time of year. I decided it would be okay to fire up the oven to make this recipe that I found in Woman's Day magazine.

My husband loves his ham. Next to steak, it would be his meat of choice. This is a great way to use up leftover ham or even deli lunch meat ham from the grocery store. This is quick and easy to make. You just pair your ham with pizza dough for a savory supper that rolls right over its sandwich competition. You can either make your own pizza dough or buy the canned kind. I used my pizza dough recipe that you can find HERE. Add a salad or some fruit, we had watermelon, to round out this meal. I hope you enjoy and have a great weekend.

Ham & Swiss With A Twist

1 lb pizza dough (I used THIS recipe)
1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
1/2 lb thinly sliced ham
1/4 lb thinly sliced Swiss cheese
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced into rings

Heat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the pizza dough into a large circle and spread with the mustard. Cut the dough into 8 triangles. Divide the ham, cheese, and onions among the triangles. Starting at the wide end, roll the dough around the filling (some of the filling will stick out).


Transfer the rolls to the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Serve warm!

*The rolls can be prepared and refrigerated (unbaked) for up to 1 day.

I wanted to wish my mother-in-law a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I found this cute idea from a girl named Laura I am friends with on Facebook. She decorates the most awesome cakes here locally for people. When I say she is AWESOME it is an understatement. Her creations are way cool. I wish I had half the talent that she does. Anyways, I copied her idea here and made this cute little cupcake holder from my kids to give to their grandma for her birthday. This is so simple to make. Everything came from Michael's except for the cupcake of course. Everything cost less than $10 all together so it is a great gift for someone who might be on a budget. I like that it is completely customizable. Select whatever candy or cupcake flavor your recipient would like most. In my case I used peanut M&M'S and made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting & of course sprinkles. Anyways, I just wanted to share. I hope you enjoy!

I've had this bunch of bananas sitting on my counter all week. They were so ripe and ready to bake with. I just didn't know what I wanted to make. I wasn't in the mood to make muffins because I already had a bunch in the freezer. I was thinking some kind of banana bread would be good so I went searching for a recipe. The problem with banana bread recipes is that most contain nuts. I can't stand nuts in my bread. I've never really enjoyed them that much, not even in ice cream or chocolate. I was flipping through my Pampered Chef cook book and came upon this recipe. It sounded like a nice Springtime bread and contained NO nuts. I was sold. It smelled soooo good while cooking I couldn't wait for a taste. I wasn't disappointed. This moist, fruit-filled breakfast/brunch bread tastes heavenly fresh from the oven, but it also could freeze beautifully to serve later on. The recipe called for all-purpose flour but I used my favorite whole wheat white flour and it worked beautifully. You could probably do half and half too if you wanted. Also, I found that the 1/3 cup of orange juice called for in the original wasn't enough, the batter was way stiff. I just added a little more juice tablespoon at a time, trying to to stir too much, till I felt it was right.


Banana-Orange Muffin Bread
Recipe Source Pampered Chef adapted slightly

2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat white flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp orange zest
1/3-1/2 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray bottom of loaf pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas; add eggs, butter, orange zest and  1/3 cup of the juice; mix well. If mixture seems too stiff add in more juice a couple of tablespoons at a time until desired consistency. Add banana mixture to dry ingredients; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

*For best results, cool the bread in the loaf pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then loosen the sides of bread from pan with knife and turn the loaf out onto the cooling rack.

*To freeze the baked loaf, wrap the cooled loaf in foil, and place in a plastic bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let stand at room temperature to thaw.

I found another use for my favorite food at the moment...EGG ROLL WRAPPERS. I am having so much fun using these things and I don't think it's going to end anytime soon.


These little Lasagna Purses are so cute. I love to make "cute food". It makes it more fun to eat. I also liked the idea of individual lasagnas. I'm thinking that this would be a great recipe that you could make extra of and freeze for a quick dinner when the time might arise. They would also be perfect for you or your child's lunch box.

These little lasagnas are very good. They have all the flavors of a traditional lasagna but the top gets crispy, which I really enjoyed. If you are the type of person that enjoys the crunchy topping on top of casseroles or mac & cheese than these are for you. I hope you enjoy and have a great week!


Lasagna Purses
Recipe Source Big Red Kitchen
 For the sauce:
3/4 pound Italian sausage out of the casings, cooked, crumbled, and drained. Add:
2 cups favorite marinara or pasta sauce, and simmer over low heat until needed.

For the Ricotta Filling
2 pounds ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 cups shredded Italian Blend cheese
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped


Mix all ingredients together and set aside until ready to use.

48 Egg Roll Wrappers
olive oil for brushing

Place one egg roll wrapper in each of the 24 greased, standard muffin tin wells. Press each down gently until it fills the bottom of each well, taking care not to rip the wrapper. Using half of the Ricotta Filling, fill each wrapper with a spoonful of cheese, about 1 tablespoon. Top each with a spoonful of sauce, then repeat the layers: wrapper, cheese, sauce. One at a time, fold the excess wrapper of each purse toward its center. Brush liberally with olive oil and bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove each purse from the pan carefully and place on a pretty platter. Let set about 5-10 minutes before serving, they are HOT. Also good at room temperature. These freeze well. Makes 24 Purses.

*Note- to cut in half, it is easier to turn the purse over and using a sharp knife saw through from the bottom to the top.

1 cup water (very warm about 104 F.)
2 pkgs active dry yeast or 4 1/2 tsp
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
6 cups flour

Mix first two ingredients and set aside. In another bowl, mix sugar, butter, and salt. To this add boiling water. Mix and let cool. Once cool, mix with yeast mixture and then add the eggs to all the liquid. Now add flour. Mix to cover all flour. Put in refrigerator covered with foil, for 5 hours or overnight. Take out 1/2 dough and roll into circle, no more than 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 12 triangles. Roll each triangle into a crescent shape beginning with wide end. Tuck small end under roll and place on greased baking sheet. Let rise until double in size, covered with towel. Bake at 400 F for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 24 rolls.

*You could evenly cut this recipe in half in you don't want quite so many roll. They do freeze very well though if you want to make extra and store some for later use.

I am on a Mexican food kick lately. I don't know why but it always sounds so good for dinner. This recipe utilizes my favorite Egg Roll Wraps again. These things are so much fun to use.


Years and years ago I found a recipe in Taste of Home magazine that took your basic manicotti and gave it a Mexican twist. I saved it forever thinking that it would be fun to make but never got around to it. I finally dusted it off yesterday deciding to give it a try but changing a few of the ingredients to make it my own. I was very pleased with the results. As we were eating dinner my 3 year old daughter looked at me and said, "Mommy (chew, chew, chew)...this is really good". That made me feel good, especially coming from a 3 year old. They are healthy too as long as you use lighter ingredients and go light on the cheese. I am getting to the point were I no longer use sour cream anymore. I prefer the texture, taste, and nutrition of Greek yogurt instead. This would also make a great meal if you needed to take dinner to someone, they would be very pleased. I hope you enjoy!
Mexican Chicken Manicotti


1 1lb package of Egg Roll Wraps or manicotti shells
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese (divided)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 small onion, diced and divided
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies, divided
1 small can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
2/3 cup milk

If using manicotti shells, cook according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl combine the chicken, 1 1/2 cups jack cheese, cheddar cheese, yogurt, black beans, half of the onion, and 1/2 of chilies.

In another bowl, combine soup, salsa, milk, and remaining chilies and onion.

Spread 1 cup of the soup mixture into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Lay egg roll wrapper on work surface. Place a heaping scoop of chicken mixture onto the center of egg roll. Fold corners in as you roll up to enclose the filling. Alternately, if using manicotti shells, stuff  each with chicken mixture. Arrange over sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining jack cheese and bake 10 minutes longer.

Put down the phone, do not order pizza from a pizza joint! When you can make pizza this good at home why waste your money. This is so easy too. I almost had my 4 year old do it for me. Believe me she would have and would have done a great job. She is the expert at rolling play dough. Oh, did I mention it is HEALTHY! I found this recipe on one of my all time favorite magazines.

I thought it would be fun to do posts about my top 5 favorites in different categories. I've chosen SNACKS for my first post on this subject. I'm not really a big snacker at the moment. I say that because I have been in the past but right now it seems like my 3 meals a day are working pretty good for me. I do however enjoy a nightly treat of some kind. Not a single night ever passes without me snacking on something while watching my favorite reality shows (Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, The Apprentice). This list is what I am usually enjoying on any given night. Here we go:

Trader Joe's version of Pirate's Booty. I am so in love with this stuff. Once you place your hand in the bag it will be hard to remove it. It's totally addicting. If you like popcorn, you're going to love these White Cheddar Corn Puffs. The best way to describe them is like popcorn without the kernel. They just kind of disintegrate when you pop them into your mouth. They are also a pretty healthy snack that you won't feel bad about your kids eating. Just remember my warning about the addiction.


I am a huge fan of Pepperidge Farm GOLDFISH. I think it is one of the best parts about having small children because you have an excuse to always have them with you (they are for the kids, right?) I like most of the flavors but this new flavor, VANILLA CUPCAKE, is so much fun. They taste like a vanilla cupcake and have cute little sprinkles baked right in. Once again, a great snack that you don't have to feel bad about.


I could eat fruit for every meal. I have a hard time in the winter because my choices are limited to apples and bananas. I like apples and bananas but they can get boring. These Mrs. Mays Freeze Dried Fruit Chips taste wonderful, just  like a fresh apple, pear, and strawberry. It's amazing. They are healthy too. If you look at the ingredients you will see just the fruit, nothing else added. I like that they are so portable. They come in their own little single serving bag that you can throw in the car for hungry kids. You could also mix them with yogurt or top your cereal with them.


I have always been a big fan of pretzels. I love to snack on them at night. At the moment, these Rold Gold Honey Wheat Pretzels Sticks are my favorite. They are nice and thick with just the right amount of sweet and salty. I like to dip them in yogurt and then take a bite.


I couldn't write this post without including some kind of frozen treat. I love ice cream, frozen yogurt, ice cream sandwiches, you name it in the frozen food isle and I like it. I came upon this Dreyer's Key Lime Pie frozen yogurt the other day and couldn't resist. This stuff did not disappoint. The key lime yogurt had nice chunks of graham cracker crust swirled around. It is so refreshing and delicious. Once again another bonus is that it healthy so go ahead and indulge.

That is my list for the top 5 snack I enjoy! Have a happy Friday and a super happy weekend.

Cinco De Mayo is once again upon us. This gives me an excuse to make Mexican type dishes this week. I've mentioned before how I love Mexican food but only if cooked at home where I can have control over the ingredients, mainly the cheese. I have a weird aversion to globs of cheese and will gag at the very sight. I do love the spices that go into Mexican cooking. My favorite is cumin. Recipes that call for cumin will always be on my must try list. It just gives food a nice smokey flavor. I recently bought a huge bag of the stuff from My Spice Sage to insure that I don't run out anytime soon. This Green Chile Chicken uses lots of cumin so it is one of my favorite slow cooker meals. Another reason I like it is because it produces extra cooked chicken that I can bag up and freeze for leftovers. With my small family I am able to feed all of us and still have 3 bags of chicken for leftover meals. One chicken can go along way. Another plus is the fact that is cooks in the slow cooker all day so it makes dinner time really easy. I am able to take the chicken out, shred it, and pull all the fix ins out of the fridge for a quick and easy dinner. I hope you enjoy! Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Green Chile Chicken (Slow Cooker)

1 whole chicken
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 (4) oz can diced green chile's
3/4 cup chicken broth

Wash chicken and remove skin and insides, pat dry with paper towel.

Rub outside of chicken with spices. Add garlic, onions, chile's, and broth to slow cooker. Place chicken on top. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred meat with two forks.


Serve on tacos, burritos, quesadillas, taco salads, or any other way you wish.

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend. They always go by too fast for me. I think that the weekend should be changed to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This would make for a more relaxed society. I can't believe it is May already. This year has flown by way too fast for me.

Once again I have a Monday COOKIE recipe for you. I've mentioned before how I think Monday's should be all about making cookies because they will bring something pleasant to the day. These cookies are reminiscent of the much beloved Nutter Butter's. I don't buy Nutter Butter's very often (at all) but I do really like them. I can remember my Sunday school teacher bringing them to us at church to keep up alert and happy, not an easy task I'm sure. The taste of these cookies come pretty close in my opinion. They are soft and chewy with a luscious peanut butter filling.You definitely have to be a fan of peanut butter to enjoy these because they are full of peanut goodness. Enjoy your COOKIE MONDAY everyone!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
recipe source Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Cookies3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats

Filling
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half


Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg and vanilla.  Beat to incorporate.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.  Finally, add the oats and beat briefly to distribute evenly.

Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and puffed, and the edges are set. Be careful not to over bake. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer then to the wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat to bake all dough.



To make the filling: Combine the butter, peanut butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium speed until smooth.  Add the heavy cream and beat until fluffy.  Match the cookies in pairs by size.  Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe a small amount onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair.  Sandwich the cookies together, and press the filling to the edges.  

Makes about 18 sandwich cookies