Skinny Macaroni and Cheese Soup with Broccoli

Picture courtesy of skinnytaste.com

We have a pretty picky child right now so I've been searching for some more "kid friendly" meals.  I think I need to be the one determining if something is kid friendly or not cause if it doesn't involve chocolate, hot dogs, yogurt, broccoli, Triscuit crackers, and pizza, it is not my kid friendly.  Actually, today it might be these things.  Tomorrow just the sight of them could cause an absolutely ridiculous unnecessary meltdown.   Right now, Nolan doesn't understand reason and it is difficult when you can't really explain things to him and he can't completely say how he feels.  So right now we are just getting by with the things that he likes and in the meantime we are getting a lot of "no's" when presenting him with options of what to eat.  It is stressful.

Anywho, I saw this recipe and thought he might like it as he tends to like pasta type things.  But, of course this day it was the worst idea ever.  At least we could count on him eating the broccoli cause that is about all he tried of this.  Scott and I absolutely loved it.  I went back for another bowlful and finished off the leftovers the next day for lunch.  I will definitely be making this again cause it was really just that good.  And who knows, it could be Nolan's favorite dish in a month.
Click the picture for the recipe link and I hope you enjoy!

Click the picture for the recipe link and I hope you enjoy!

What We've Been Eating

I know, you have all been wondering this.  We are trying to go back to the healthier route of eating.  We kind of go back and forth with this a lot as you have seen.  We eat healthy and then feel deprived and then find things with 5 different cheeses and then eat those for two weeks straight.  It just happens.  So sometimes we have streaks and sometimes we have mixtures.  Here is an example of a mixture situation of three recipes that we have eaten in the past couple weeks.  All were very tasty.

The first one is Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken.  I served them on a small tortilla, put some cheese and sour cream on and I think they were only 200 calories or so each.  Nolan was a fan of this one. Recipe can be found here.

The next one we had was Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Mayonaisse.  I made the burgers early in the day so that they would have time to get frozen in the freezer by supper time.  Very yummy and not quite the consistency of what you would expect when biting in a burger, but very close.  Scott thought the chipotle mayo could have been hotter, but I'm a wuss so it tasted perfect to me.  Nolan enjoyed the broccoli and the bread as he wouldn't even take a bite of the burger.  He might have liked it, we will never know.  Recipe can be found here.

And finally, Mozzarella Chicken with Garlic Pasta and Italian Bread.  This one was on the heavier side, but still around 600-700 calories for the whole meal, so not too terrible.  The garlic pasta recipe was similar to Death by Garlic, so I just made that instead cause I know I love that. This one was a huge winner with Nolan.  He ate as much as I did.  Maybe more.  Recipe can be found here.

Tuna Casserole

There is seriously nothing more boring than reading a post about tuna casserole.  So to be quick- this casserole was the best tuna casserole I've ever had.  I think Nolan ate more than us too so I think he would give it two thumbs up.

Recipe can be found here.

And sorry no picture, even though I know a picture of tuna casserole will be the highlight of your day, I think you can picture it.

And yes, I am getting extremely lazy.

Baked Pesto Chicken

Here is another VERY simple recipe from Moms Who Think.  Couldn't have been easier.  We are always looking for ways to spice up a chicken breast, and this has now made our regular list.  All I had growing up was baked chicken, and Scott always grills the chicken, so I very much looked forward to some of the nice and juicy baked variety.  We paired it with Angel Hair Pasta like she suggested and Stove Top Chicken Stuffing cause I bought way too many at the store one day.  For the Angel Hair, I just used the leftover pesto that was in the jar, added some olive oil, salt, and Parmesan cheese and it tasted great.  Nolan absolutely loved the chicken too which made for a nice and easy meal for all of us.

Recipe can be found here.

Thanksgiving Fun

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  We sure did and had fun with family with good food and good conversation. 

This year I brought the mashed potatoes and the stuffing.  I went to my mom to get her recipe for her mashed potatoes because they are just awesome.  Lots of great flavor.  I didn't get a picture, but I'm sure you can all imagine what mashed potatoes look like... :)  The stuffing was your good ol' Stove Top.  Can't do much better than that.  And we just bought the packet gravy which we mixed in with some real gravy so it tasted great!

Here is the recipe:

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

 

10 large potatoes

1/2 c. - 3/4 c. milk

6 T. margarine or butter

Salt to taste

8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)

1 cup sour cream

Butter (approx 2 T.)

Paprika to taste

Pare potatoes. Heat 1 inch salted water to boiling. Add potatoes, cover and heat to boiling, reduce heat. Boil until tender 30-35 minutes; drain. Mash potatoes until no lumps remain.
Beat in milk in small amounts. Add margarine or butter, salt and beat vigorously until potatoes are light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, sour cream, and mix well.

 

Place in greased casserole or 9 x 13 pan. Top with butter, and paprika. Refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Makes 10-12 servings.

 

I also wanted to do something a little special this year.  I was watching Giada's Thanksgiving episode where she made these Thanksgiving Chocolate Turkeys.  I knew that Nolan would be too little to make one, but I thought the older kids might have fun with them, so I brought the ingredients, and they seemed to enjoy it!  It was just another activity to keep the kids preoccupied.  I only put 4 candy corns in there cause the Oreo was about ready to split as it was.  I just made one for them and they copied my model.  I also didn't deal with melting the semi sweet chocolates to adhere the candy to one another, I just had them use the red frosting and it worked out well.

Recipe for the Chocolate Turkeys can be found here.

Four Cheese Baked Ziti Alfredo

I haven't had many new recipes lately because, gasp, we have been repeating some of our past favorites.  We always say we will have to do that one again, but I still keep finding new ones.  We were ready again for a fresh new batch of recipes and Scott came across a few from the website, Moms Who Think.  She has a great easy recipe guide that could have you set for 8 weeks.  Me, being the picky one went through and found the ones that I knew we would all like (meaning, the ones I would like :)).  The first one we decided to try was Four Cheese Baked Ziti Alfredo.  It was really really good.  SO much cheese.  Because the noodles were so big, you filled up fast and Nolan really enjoyed it as well.  We had leftovers a few days after so that made things easy.

Another point is that sometimes it is difficult to make a meal while also having to watch Nolan depending on its difficulty, and I have never felt so in control of making dinner.  While one thing was going, I was able to prep other things.  I never felt like I needed to rush like I do with other recipes or worry if I'm interrupted, something will get screwed up.  So, it is easy to make as well! 

Recipe can be found here at Moms Who Think.

Cheesy Potato Soup

With the weather getting colder, soup has sounded really good.  I found this recipe and it hit the spot.  It was so comforting and delicious.  The bacon crunch on top really made each bite.  It was a lot to prepare with the chopping and peeling, but we all loved it.  We even gave Nolan a little bowlful and he ate almost the whole thing! Perfect for a chilly day!

Recipe can be found here at Healthy Cooking Recipes 101.

Creamy Caprese Pasta

I asked Scott to help me out with some ideas for dinners and he went on Snapguide.com and found this recipe.  He says it is like Pinterest but better.  He has never been on Pinterest, so he doesn't know what he is talking about.  But, it does look like a pretty cool site, so I will at least check it out.  Anywho, it looked really good so we gave her a try.  Very glad we did!  It was so good.  All the cheeses are so creamy and I added a bit more sauce to the recipe since a lot of the comments people said it was a bit too dry.  Thankfully, I think I added enough so that it wasn't dry at all.  We typically do not like tomatoes, but we both tried them in here and they were really good!  Nolan, I'm pretty sure, ate more than Scott and I combined.  We just kept putting more and more out there for him and he was a human disposal of it.  We were laughing at how much of it he actually ate.  Winner for everyone and it was so very easy, I will definitely be making it again.

Recipe can be found here at How Sweet It Is.

Mini Spinach and Feta Frittatas

Remember those Egg Muffins I made a little while back?  Well, I was flipping through the People mags that my sisters and I share and found a recipe for Mini Spinach and Feta Frittatas.  They looked exactly what I had made but had some different ingredients, including feta cheese.  Which, I could eat by the box.  I would have to say that I preferred these a little bit more since there was cheese in them, but I honestly think the first Egg Muffins that I made are a close second since they still had a lot of flavor.  Now this recipe also had Tomato Basil Frittatas and since that sounded gross, I just doubled everything of the feta and spinach ones to make 12 of those.  I will include both recipes though if you want to try both of them.

Recipe:
Spinach and Feta Frittatas
6 tsp feta cheese
1/3 cup of shredded fresh spinach
3 tsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes >>>>> I just doubled this part to make 12 of these
-----------------------------------------
Tomato Basil Frittatas
12 basil leaves
1 1/2 large fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese

12 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat ove to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Divide feta cheese, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes equally among 6 tins.  Divide basil, fresh tomatoes and Parmesan cheese equally in the other 6 tins.  (Again, I only made the first type of frittata so I divided all 12 tins with those ingredients)

2. Pour the eggs equally among the tins.  Season each one with salt and pepper and mix well.

3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from tins.

Easy Terayaki Chicken

After I just put all the ingredients in the crock pot

 My sister Sarah passed on this recipe to me from one of her friends and by the look of how easy it was to make, I knew there was no reason not to try it.  It turned out great but I think I had it in there closer to the 8 hour mark and it was a bit overcooked, so if we make this again and it is cooked on low, I would try to hit before 7 hours when I take it out.  It was still delicious though!

Finished product!

Easy Teriyaki Chicken
skinless chicken breasts
20 oz can of pineapple chunks
1 bottle of bbq sauce

directions: 
1.  Place uncooked chicken in slow cooker. 
2.  Pour bbq sauce and pineapple chunks on top.  -THATS IT!  :)
3.  Cover.  Cook on LOW 6-8 hrs or HIGH for 4-6 hrs.

Smothered Burritos

Scott's before he put his jalapenos on them

And mine. :)

When I was younger, Taco John's was one of my favorite fast food places to eat.  Who am I kidding, it still is.  One of the things besides soft shell tacos, no lettuce, extra cheese that I would get would be the smothered bean burrito.  An enormous burrito slathered in sauce, cheese, sour cream, olives.  Like, the most amazing thing you have seen in your life.  And I ate every bit of it every single time.   It was too good not to.  They no longer have these which makes life a bit sadder.

They popped in my head recently and after I mourned their extinction again, I thought, maybe I can find a recipe.  And I certainly did.  This recipe calls for tomato soup in the sauce which Scott was a little wary about, but made me think, you know what?  That is sorta is what Taco John's tasted like so I knew we would at least be close.

This burrito couldn't have been closer to TJ's.  These did have meat in them cause Scott did not want just a bean burrito, but otherwise it was just about spot on and really satisfied my hankering for them.  Scott made these but I think they were pretty simple to make and don't take too much longer than what a taco might take to make.  If you are in the mood for just a pile of goodness, please eat these.  And you can top them with whatever tickles your fancy. You will not be disappointed.  I promise.

I was also glad we got to use tomato soup for another reason, but that reason will be revealed later!

Suspenseful, I know.

Recipe can be found here at Sing for your Supper.

Spaghetti Nests

I believe the same episode of Giada at Home with the taquitos had these totally awesome Spaghetti Nests.  The moment I saw the picture of them, I knew we had to make them.  1- cause they are totally kid friendly and I wanted to see what Nolan would think of them; 2- I just wanted to see if I could do it and 3- it entails chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese.

It took a little while to get all the necessary parts together to make these as I couldn't find 4 1/2 diameter spring form pans at Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, or Walmart.  I know,  I REALLY expanded my search on that one.  So, I do what I always do and I found some on Amazon.  You need a set of 4 for these and that is exactly what they come in.  I got them way too quickly even before some things we had ordered online before them, so that was exciting.  We shop for almost everything online (besides groceries) cause stores are annoying when you can't find what you need, so just go to where you can without leaving your house!

So, I got my little pans and made these babies.  Very simple to make and they were really yummy too!  I just bought fresh mozzarella and kind of rolled them into balls for the eggs.  I think you can buy actual little mozzarella balls, but I was unable to find those.  Everyone gets their own individual one and it is definitely enough food especially if you pair it with a couple pieces of Italian bread. Nolan is becoming pickier and pickier by the day and just wanted to "sort" his noodles into piles instead of eat them.  He would live on bread alone, so we stuffed some of the noodles and spinach in pieces of bread and it got him to eat some of it.  He might appreciate them better when he is a little older and can understand their hilariousness.  I ate the fourth one for lunch the next day without any marinara and it was still really good!  I highly recommend these!

Recipe can be found here at Food Network.

Turkey and Spinach Taquitos

Here is a recipe that just looked too plain good not to try.  This is one of Giada's recipes that she made where she uses Mascarpone cheese.  I have been looking for a good recipe that has this cheese as I have always wanted to try it and this was the perfect one to start with. 

These taquitos were so delicious and even just as good at being leftovers.  It took a little bit of nudging for Nolan to take a bite, but once he did, he looked at me, smiled, and clapped his hands!  It was the best feeling ever.  He continued to do that after the next couple of bites, it was so precious.  I will definitely be making these again as they were just sooo awesome. 

Recipe can be found at Food Network.

The Best Turkey Chili

Scott found this Turkey Chili recipe and decided he wanted to make it for the first Husker game.  It was really good!  We haven't had much turkey chili in our lives, so I would have to agree that it was the Best Turkey Chili we have had.  Lots of healthy ingredients and perfect for a game day.  AND I got to use my cast iron dutch oven again so it was another plus! Looking forward to making it again when the weather is a bit cooler!

Recipe can be found here at All Recipes.

Chicken Veggie Salad with Avocado Herb Dressing

Here is a really delicious meal that Scott actually ended up making since I was out seeing a couple friends and was gonna get home too late to make it myself.  He made the avocado dressing, but it didn't really taste that great so we ate it without it and it was still really good.  The dish has so much flavor, I'm not sure why you need to add a dressing on top of it.  It was a very involved meal he said so I'm not sure if this one will be made that often, but it was definitely a winner for us!  It was kind of nice not having to make the dinner too! :)

Sorry the picture was taken at such a weird angle.

The recipe can be found here at Multiply Delicious.

Paleo Burritos

Got another fun dish for you to try.  This one is Paleo Burritos.  The reason it is a bit different is because you have to make the coconut flour tortillas yourself, which was not an easy situation.  I had to make a few before one was even recognizable as a food product, but I got some that worked good enough.  Don't know if I care enough to try to make these again, but they were quite yummy.  Kind of had to have an open faced burrito situation since the tortilla would have fallen apart if I would have tried to wrap it.  No cheese on these burritos which was a little different, but still delicious nonetheless!  Scott added some jalapenos to his as you can see.  A good, healthy option to one of our favorite Mexican dishes!

Recipe for the burrito and the coconut flour tortillas can be found here at International Consumption.

Chicken Veggie Meatballs with Pesto Zucchini Noodles

Here is another fun Paleo dish that was eh ok.  We absolutely loved the zucchini noodles with the pesto, but there was something a bit off with the meatballs.  Scott stated, "These aren't meatballs."  I couldn't really argue with him.  There was just something really grainy about them.  Nolan only ate tiny bits of them.  We had a ton leftover the next day and so I thought I would try one for lunch.  I put one in my mouth and I spit it out in the trash it was that unsettling.  So, I would definitely make the noodles again, but I think we will pass on the meatballs.

Recipe can be found here at Multiply Delicious.

Cold Sesame Noodles

I do realize this isn't Paleo, but my sister was raving about these noodles that were brought to her after she had her twins and wanted to share them with us.  Well, I can see why she raved so much.  They are so delicious!  It was kind of a weird thing to have noodles like this cold, but they are so good!  I did end up adding some broccoli to this after the picture was taken, but I bet there are so many things you could add on top.  The directions say to add chicken, but I didn't feel like dealing with it.  They really taste like restaurant style noodles.  Scott had some a couple days later that he brought to work and thought they were delicious.  Nolan wanted nothing to do with them due to the size of noodle they were and that they are hard to pick up by hand.  He is a picky one.  They make so much you can have leftovers for days!

Cold Sesame Noodles
Adapted from The Kosher Palette
1 lb. spaghetti-type noodles (I find thin linguini works best)
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup soy sauce (I sometimes add an extra 1/4 cup; totally depends on your taste/soy sauce brand)
1/3 cup sugar
3-5 scallions, chopped
Sesame seeds, to taste (I use about 1/4 cup)
I also added some already cooked chicken cubes
________________
Boil water. Add pasta, stirring every so often so it doesn’t get clumpy. (Appetizing!) While pasta is cooking, shake up/thoroughly mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. Chop scallions.
When pasta is done, drain, and rinse. Toss together with the sauce, scallions, and sesame seeds until well-blended. Let sit in fridge for a few hours until cool. Enjoy!

Sundried Tomato Pesto Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Rounds

Quite the title of the recipe for this dish.  We got another one here for you folks and this one is a doozy.   This is another Paleo dish that was very very yummy and you can't really go wrong with something wrapped in bacon.  The only problem we had with it was that the oil got all over the place in the oven and smoke was everywhere.  But, the food was not harmed in the process.  We loved it and Nolan loved it!

Recipe can be found here at Multiply Delicious.

Paleo Spaghetti

The next dish I made last week was this Paleo Spaghetti.  Another thing that would be difficult for me to not have 100% of the time is pasta.  Let me tell you, these zucchini noodles make you forget you ever liked pasta.  They are so tender and have a very close texture to pasta with a tiny bit of crunch.  I noticed that that the pieces without any zucchini skin were almost identical to it.  I also got to try my hand at making julienne cuts which were a bit tedious, but sorta fun at the same time.  The turkey and sweet basil sauce on top really made the dish.  I actually do not like spaghetti.  At all.  It is something I think we have made once or twice since we have been married per Scott's request.  I ate every single bite of this.  Nolan had a difficult time with the zucchini noodles, but he went at the turkey chunks and sauce like his face and arms were a sauce canvas.  He had so much fun with it and loved every bite.  Scott has not been home for dinner for the past couple of weeks so he only got the leftovers the next day, but I think he approved.  She does have a recipe on here for a specific sauce to put on top, but I just picked up Classico Sweet Basil sauce.  Made it that much easier.  Not 100% Paleo, but close enough and didn't require us to buy a million ingredients.

Recipe can be found here at Multiply Delicious.  Are we sensing a theme with this website?