The Best Baked BBQ Hennessy Wings Recipe

This was a recipe that sounded awesome but I didn't have any Hennessy at home so I decided to switch it out for Bourbon instead.

Now I also decided to use a Chicken & Rib rub instead of the different spices because it was something I already had on hand and I am trying to use up more of those ingredients.

I love that these wings are baked and not fried but in all honesty there would be no way to tell with how incredible these turned out.

These had so much flavour and all three of us devoured them and I wished I had made more. 

This is a recipe I will definitely be making again!

You can find the recipe here: https://blackpeoplesrecipes.com/bbq-hennessy-wings/

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

 I was super excited to give this recipe a try as I love rice krispies and peanut butter is one of my very favorite things in the world!

I followed the recipe as directed and everything was super straightforward.

I liked adding in the m&m's into the rice krispies as it made them super colorful and fun to look at. I also liked the chocolate and peanut butter top.

Now the only thing I would have done differently is added more marshmallows as we found these crumbled and fell apart with every bite. They were good but didn't have that marshmallow texture that we love so much. I'm not sure why they fell apart so easily but we were disappointed.

I would try making it again with adding more marshmallows.

You can find the link here: https://www.thisisnotdietfood.com/peanut-butter-rice-krispie-treats/

Skillet Chicken Nachos

 I love trying new things in the skillet as it almost makes it seem more fun. That being said it is definitely something that is new to me and for certain things I am still trying to figure out all the ins and outs.

I love the idea of nachos in the skillet and being able to layer everything up but I do think this is something that I really need to figure out more.

I find that the chips and ingredients on the bottom get really cooked and that the stuff on top doesn't so I would love some input if anyone has any!

Anyhow, the nachos themselves were good when you got those perfect chips. There was more good ones that not but I still can't figure out how to cook the layers evenly. 

We used a pre-shredded chicken, beans, corn and onion as toppings and they were very tasty. The kids aren't huge fans of beans but I still like trying to put them on for that extra protein! 

You can find the recipe here: https://iambaker.net/chicken-nachos/

Teriyaki Grilled Shrimp and Pineapple Tacos with Candied Jalapeno and Bacon

 This was a recipe that looked so good to me but Mikaela will not each shrimp except for in sushi so I knew that I would have to wait for a night where it was just Bren and I. After trying this recipe I wish I had tried it sooner as it was amazing!

Now it does take awhile to make as there are many parts of it that come together to make such a masterpiece.

I started off by making the candied jalapenos. I only had about a pound of jalapenos so I did a third of the recipe. I was surprised at how good it made the jalapenos and I could now tolerate them! That being said I cut them with gloves on and my eyes did water. I had a really bad jalapeno experience years ago so it is very rare that I actually bring them into the house!

Next I marinated the shrimp in the homemade teriyaki sauce. These were so good and simple. I loved how much flavor they held! As the shrimp was marinating I began the salsa. I cut up everything and then once the pineapple went on the bbq we were good to go.

We cooked the pineapple on the bbq and then once that was done we moved onto the shrimp. 

I used a chipotle mayonnaise on the tacos and then we used a coleslaw mix and then topped with feta cheese! 

These are so delicious and well worth the effort! 

You can find the link here: https://www.closetcooking.com/teriyaki-grilled-shrimp-and-pineapple_25/ 

Chicken Ranch Macaroni and Cheese

 There are some days where I feel like I am the only person in the house who craves comfort food and that for me is Mac and Cheese. There are those times where I just want a basic mac and cheese but of course I need to try new things so this recipe looked amazing as it has so many of my favorite things!

I really liked mixing the chicken with the ranch dressing ahead of time so that each piece of chicken had ranch flavoring to it and you could really taste it. I also love cooking bacon in the stove as it cooks so much better and in the long run really saves time when you are getting other things done at the same time. 

I did use a 1% milk instead of whole milk as that was what I had on hand so I'm sure it wasn't as creamy as it could have been but it was still really good.

This is a recipe I would make again as I loved the combination of flavors!

You can find the link here: https://iamhomesteader.com/chicken-ranch-macaroni-and-cheese/

Egg Roll Bowl

 Egg Rolls are something that I think my son for sure could live on. This was a recipe that looked awesome so I knew I had to give it a try.

The good think is that this recipe is very straightforward and ingredients that are easy to find or that you already have on hand.

Instead of buying cabbage and carrots I used a coleslaw mix to save time and I used a small package. I unfortunately skipped the bean sprouts as the store didn't have any. Other than that I used the ingredients that were called for.

This recipe was really good and it is something that I would definitely make again and would be great to prep ahead of time for lunches.

I topped mine with sweet chili sauce and it was so good!

You can find the recipe here: https://www.kleinworthco.com/egg-roll-bowl/ 

CHICKEN QUESADILLA

 I love ranch and bacon together so this was a quesadilla that I knew that I had to try. Mexican is one of those foods that we generally have once a week and sometimes it will just be plain tacos and other times we try and fancy it up and put more effort into it. 

Quesadilla's are also one of Brendan's favorite foods to make on his own and generally he just makes cheese ones but if I have other things in the fridge he will through that in too.

For these I used a pre-shredded chicken to save myself some extra time as I can't seem to find enough time lately to do anything. 

I used a pre-shredded Mexican cheese mix as well as I couldn't find the queso cheese on it's own. This can be made with any type of cheese that you have on hand if needed!

I loved how quick this recipe was to put together and the kids loved it!

Looking forward to making it again!

You can find the link here: https://www.smalltownwoman.com/chicken-bacon-ranch-quesadilla/

Peanut Chicken Zucchini Noodles

This was a recipe I had wanted to try for a long time as a lot of people have switched to a vegetable noodle instead of using pasta. This recipe has peanut in the name so I knew I had to give it a try.

I bought the zucchini already spiralized to save myself some time and I also used bagged coleslaw instead of getting cabbage and carrots. This worked well for me and saved me some prep time.

I also used shredded chicken that I had in the fridge as it sis also a great time saver.

The sauce was awesome and I loved the combination of all of the different ingredients. 

This was a great healthy meal and I will be making it again! 

You can find the recipe here: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/peanut-chicken-zucchini-noodles/

BACON WRAPPED HOT DOGS WITH QUESO

 This was a recipe I was eager to try but due to awful weather we weren't prepared to stand in the rain in to BBQ so we cooked everything inside instead.

So I baked the bacon in the oven and cooked the hotdogs in the pot and then put it all together. For the queso I used an epicure queso mix that I had and it was really good. 

I liked these hot dogs as they were a great combination of flavours although I know they would have been even better on the BBQ! 

Looking forward to trying these again in better weather! 

You can find the link here: https://www.lemonsforlulu.com/bacon-wrapped-hot-dogs-with-queso/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug

APPLEBEE’S ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE

 This was a recipe that had been on the menu for awhile but never seemed to get made between the kids schedule and my work schedule. I finally had time to make it and was so happy that I did!

Now I did make some quick alterations due to time but I don't really think that it cost much in terms of flavor. Instead of frying the chicken myself I bought chicken fingers and baked those up. I also used a coleslaw mix for the cabbages and carrots instead of buying the separate ingredients. Huge time saver and much more affordable!

The dressing was absolutely amazing and I would make it to go on all my salads! It was so good and both of the kids loved it as well! 

I definitely would make this again and highly recommend it!

You can find the link here: https://lilluna.com/copycat-applebees-oriental-salad-4/

Oven Baked Chicken Taquitos

 This is another recipe that I have decided to try for the kids lunches.

This recipe is super easy to make and has the bare minimum of ingredients so it's quick and wonderful in that account but I think it needs a little bit more personally. I think next time I would fry up some onion and maybe some bell peppers to go in as well as the kids found them a little bit dry without the salsa and sour cream as that is hard for them to eat at school. 

What I loved is how easy it is to make and that it doesn't take too much time.

I would definitely make this again with the couple of changes. 

You can find it here: https://nerdymamma.com/easy-oven-baked-taquitos/?utm_content=buffer733c4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

 We don't have an Arby's locally and I remember eating it a long time ago but I really don't know if my kids have ever tried it so I decided to try making the roast beef sandwiches at home. Roast beef isn't something we typically have but I thought I might as well give it a shot!

The meat was super easy to cook up and I made sure that the buns I bought matched!

The cheese sauce to me felt a little salty and definitely didn't look as good as what hers did and I don't know if it's because the only cheese I had was old so I used that instead of a mild cheese. That may account for the difference and more salty taste. That being said I loved how easy it was to make the cheese sauce so this is something that I would definitely try again but using a mild cheese to see if that accounts for the saltiness.

I loved how fast these sandwiches were to make and for us it was something different. 

I will definitely try these again to see if I can get it right! 

You can find the recipe here: https://www.girlgonegourmet.com/hot-roast-beef-sandwiches-with-cheddar-cheese-sauce/

Mini Taco Hand Pies

This is one of the recipes that I am trying out for school lunches. It is such a struggle to get the kids to eat lunch so I am trying to go outside of the typical "sandwiches" and try new things.

So the first thing to know is that this is a time consuming recipe with having to make each of the pies and stuff them. Give yourself ample time to get these made. 

Now I made the recipe as directed but I did use a taco seasoning that I had on hand instead of all the different spices. I still found that they were full of flavour and really good.

I think next time I would add a little bit more cheese onto them as I found they were a little dry with the pastry and just needed a little bit more of something when they were on their own. When mixed with salsa and sour cream they were great. 

Super easy recipe but time consuming! 

You can find the recipe here: https://www.lemonsforlulu.com/mini-taco-hand-pies/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug

Sunday Night Adventures

I love when I have the chance to cook a nice Sunday dinner but as I have said multiple times before that when you work shift work it's not easy. We now get our schedules two weeks in advance which is great but when I am planning meals once a month I never know what I am going to get. There's something nice about having leftovers to last during the week as well and I am finding that I am putting everything into "to go" containers right away which is making the leftovers easier to take with you although I do find that it fills up the fridge faster and I have a fridge that is terrible for space. 

For this Sunday I decided to go with Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Asparagus and Easy Oven Roasted Broccoli Recipe. I also had some potatoes on hand that were in one of the packages from the store so I knew that would fit in perfect.

The chicken recipe looked fantastic as who doesn't want prosciutto and asparagus in one dish?? The recipe was so easy to follow and I bought a basil pesto pasta sauce to mix in with the cream and it was so good! I think next time I would add even more prosciutto as it just turned out so good. I roasted the asparagus before hand as I don't have a proper steamer and they turned out really good.

The broccoli was super easy to follow again and tasted so good. I have no idea why I don't have it more often as it was so tasty when roasted up and so healthy! Now I did use frozen broccoli like she suggested and never thawed it and it was so good! I was absolutely shocked at how well it turned out and will definitely be using ehr method again! 

This was an awesome meal but unfortunately there were no leftovers as someone stole the last piece of chicken!! That way I really knew how good it was! 

You can find the recipes here: 

Chicken: https://thefoodcharlatan.com/prosciutto-wrapped-chicken-and-asparagus/

Broccoli: https://thefoodcharlatan.com/oven-roasted-broccoli/

Bacon and Goat Cheese Aioli Burger with Crispy Onions

 This is one of the recipes that intrigued me and then blew my mind. 

You need to seriously try this recipe as it was so freaking good and both of my kids loved it! All of the toppings together were just incredible and it is definitely something I could get use to having on a regular basis.

Now I did cheat and not make my own crispy onions due to a lack of time and I know it would have been even better with it but I am still happy with the way they turned out.

The lemon aioli was a great change and it tasted so good on the burger!! I could make it again for sure and use it on a shrimp sandwich.

You can find the recipe here: https://thefoodcharlatan.com/bacon-and-goat-cheese-aioli-burger-with-crispy-onions/

CARAMELIZED ONION AND BACON PASTA BAKE

 This is another awesome pasta recipe and I definitely have lucked out lately with the pasta recipes that I have been trying. 

This one is a little bit more time consuming due to having to caramelize the onions but still really worth the time. So I recommend planning ahead a little bit as you need to make sure you have the time! 

The sauce is a little bit different with a mayonnaise base but it was so creamy and delicious and I could have eaten the whole pot.

The bacon and caramelized onions together is so comforting and once baked it takes everything to an even higher level of awesome! 

This is another recipe that I would definitely have again! 

You can find the recipe here: https://www.foxvalleyfoodie.com/cheesy-caramelized-onion-and-bacon-pasta-bake/

Tropical Pineapple Scones

 I absolutely love scones! I love how easy they are to make and the combination of flavors that you can find that seem to turn into a masterpiece.

This recipe really intrigued me with the pineapple and coconut as I love coconut so much and the recipe kinda reminded me of a Pina Colada!

I followed the instructions as directed except that I didn't use a cutter and instead shaped the dough into a circle and then cut them into triangles. This was me being a little lazy and not wanting to search for the cutters.

I topped the dough with milk and then the almonds. I did also add the icing on top and they were so good and soft!

These were great and it makes me want more!

You can find the link here: https://xoxobella.com/tropical-pineapple-scones/

ROASTED VEGGIE TACO RECIPE

 In the spirit of Taco Tuesday which has evolved to Mexican Tuesday's at our place I saw this recipe that I really wanted to try. Recently we went out for tacos and I had a cauliflower taco which was absolutely phenomenal so I wanted to give this one a try.

I used acorn squash, zucchini and red pepper roasted in addition to the chickpeas. These tasted great roasted and I think next time I would add in some cremini mushrooms but I have to hide them as the kids don't like them. 

On top of the tacos I used feta cheese and I used a pre-made balsamic vinegar reduction which I already had.

These tacos were so amazing and I loved taking them for leftovers!

This is a recipe that I would definitely make again!   

You can find the recipe here: https://www.lemonsforlulu.com/roasted-veggie-taco-recipe/

Cheeseburger Sliders

 This was a recipe that got made in two parts because I was working at dinner time and I needed something quick and easy for Mik to put together. 

I cooked the beef ahead of time and I also made the burger sauce ahead of time as well. I used a seasoning from Epicure for the burger sauce that we love so I didn't use the one for this recipe.

Mik assembled everything together and she said she loved how easy it was to follow and how she could understand everything perfectly. That to me is so perfect and I loved that everything was explained so well.

The kids both loved the recipe and unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of them before they were gone so I have used the author's picture from her blog. 

I will definitely be making these again as they are an excellent food for the kids lunches!

You can find the recipe here: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/cheeseburger-sliders/

Spring Ham and Asparagus Lemon Cream Pasta

 This recipe was so delicious and I was so excited that there was enough leftovers for me to enjoy it again! This is one that I would definitely make again as Bren missed it the first time. This recipe doesn't take long to make but by the taste you would think it took so much longer!

Everything is so straightforward in the recipe and it the roux is easy to follow and worked great. I must admit that I did skip the peas for personal preference but it was so tasty that I think you could have added a few more asparagus in there instead! 

This is one I highly recommend and will definitely have again!!

You can find the recipe here: https://ohsweetbasil.com/spring-ham-and-asparagus-lemon-cream-pasta-recipe/

*The Easiest Salted Caramel Brownies

 

SWEET AND SPICY CHICKEN

I love Chinese Food so much yet we rarely ever order it due to the price and part of is also that the closest chinese food restaurant is about 15 mins away which doesn't make it too convenient. Also they are always quite busy which means wanting it at the last minute doesn't work.

So I do try and make at least one dish a month as I love the leftovers for work. That being said I am also trying to cut down some of the oil so if I have a choice to bake over fry then I will do it.

This recipe first appealed to me as it sounded awesome and it could be done in less than 30 minutes which is a huge plus for me!! Love anything quick!

This recipe is awesome as it's all done in one dish which made everything even better and there was really minimal oil when cooking the chicken covered in cornstarch which made me happy.

Now unfortunately we had a bit of an ingredient omission as Mik couldn't find the red pepper flakes and we didn't have hot sauce so it ended up being a sweet chicken and not spicy but still so worth it! Of course the next time I went to look in my spices I found the red pepper flakes.

I will make this again and next time use the red pepper flakes! But it was still absolutely a winner!

You can find the recipe here: https://30minutesmeals.com/sweet-spicy-chicken/

Sunday Night Comfort Food

 Lately it seems like we are running in every direction and with my crazy work schedule we definitely don't get to sit down and have a nice full dinner. They are on the menu every single Sunday but we don't always get to them.

This week I decided to go back to basics with Brown Sugar Meatloaf, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere, and and Easy Stovetop Green Bean Casserole. Total comfort food!

The Meatloaf was super easy to make and I really liked the brown sugar and barbeque sauce on the bottom. That being said I really think I need a larger pan for my meatloaf as they keep coming up to the edge and then spilling a little into the oven. The meatloaf does take a large time to cook so just remember to start that quite a bit ahead of when you actually want to eat.

The mashed potatoes were awesome but I definitely needed more onions. As I was cooking I realized that I didn't have enough which was a little frustrating but I had no desire to leave the house and get more. I generally calculate the number of onions before my shop but this time I added wrong. The potatoes were still really good but would have been even better if I had the right amount of onions.

The green bean casserole is a total classic and I loved being able to make it on the stove top. The recipe was super easy to follow and tasted great!! 

The leftovers this week are so good!!!

You can find the recipes here:

Meatloaf: https://cookiesandcups.com/brown-sugar-meatloaf/

Mashed Potatoes: https://www.lemonsforlulu.com/cheesy-mashed-potatoes-with-gruyere-and-caramelized-onions/

Green Beans: https://dinnerthendessert.com/stovetop-green-bean-casserole/

SMOKED GOUDA MAC AND CHEESE

 I absolutely love Mac & Cheese and am always up for trying new versions for something new. We love Gouda so this was one that I was excited to try.

It is super easy to make and directions were simple to follow.

Now the one thing I will warn you about is that it is super rich. I found it really delicious but I couldn't eat as much as I could with other mac & cheese. It is great for a special treat as I don't think this is one I could eat all the time!

You can fins the recipe here: https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-gouda-mac-and-cheese/?fbclid=IwAR3RDE7NRSy7XVXjkF8NErWkOf-bt6sn4HggjcF3Hdmi2A4m4hhsiN2aiUs#wprm-recipe-container-11716

Fluffernutter Cookies

 This was a recipe that intrigued me from the moment I saw it but I must be honest that I have never had a Flutternutter Cookie before. I haven't ever seen them in Canada but I know next time I go down to the States that I will definitely have to find a bakery and give them a try. 

The recipe was easy to follow and everything went in as directed. I was so excited as I was making them as I could tell they were going to be awesome.

Now I used my cookie scoop to put them onto my pans but I'm not sure which size I have. I then flattened them and began to put marshmallow on them. As I began I felt like I was struggling to get all of the dough around the marshmallow so for the second and third pan I used less marshmallow. In retrospect this was a mistake and I should have used the same amount as the first pan as the second and third pan definitely did not look as good as the first one and were lacking marshmallow. I will definitely add more marshmallow next time!

These were so good and I was so happy to try something new and look forward to having them again! 

You can find the link here: https://cookiesandcups.com/fluffernutter-cookies/

RANCH BURGERS

 I seem to try and have burgers almost every other weekend depending upon my work schedule and when I have Bren. I guess I still seem to think that this is one of his favorite meals but I also love trying new burger combos and seeing how it all turns out.

I like Ranch so I was excited to give these ones a try. The patties are super easy to make and I liked the cheese inside of the burgers. I cooked them in a pan but I think next time I would try the oven route as I found that the cheese crisped up quite fast. For some reason we really haven't been using the BBQ very much lately. 

We ended up using our own Epicure Burger Sauce instead of the one that was recommended as we love it so much! 

These are really good though and I would definitely make them again!

You can find the link here: https://lilluna.com/ranch-burger-recipe/

30 Minute Ginger Beef

 Generally I am not someone who repeats a lot of recipes as I always want to try something new but this is a recipe that I could easily make over and over again. This was so amazing and easy to make. Both kids absolutely loved it and there were no leftovers. 

Now we did have a small issue and that was the fact that we recently adopted two cats from Afghanistan so we have been adjusting to life with them and making sure nothing is left out but as I said we are learning. So we ended up losing one piece of meat to the cats as they broke into the package and stole a piece of beef so we never got as much as we should have. 

After making this recipe I also ordered a pot for deep frying and a container to keep the oil in so I don't destroy my good pot anymore than I have. 

I followed the recipe as directed and it was so easy to follow and didn't take me long at all which I loved. I made rice with it but I think next time I will also throw some cooked broccoli as well as it will good so good with the beef. 

I can't say enough about how easy and delicious this recipe is!!

You can find the recipe here: https://www.lordbyronskitchen.com/30-minute-ginger-beef/

Chocolate Cake Mix Waffles

 There are certain weekends when it is just Mik and I where we just want breakfast for dinner and both of us love chocolate so this was an easy pick. 

These waffles are super easy to make and don't take much time at all. I love that we can go back and try all different cake mixes for all new experiences which is something we will definitely be doing. 

I didn't make the chocolate whip cream this time but next time I definitely will as I didn't have whip cream. 

You can find the link here: https://www.cookiedoughandovenmitt.com/chocolate-cake-mix-waffles-recipe/

Blueberry Crumble Bars

 We had some blueberries out of the freezer and I needed to use up the rest so I found this recipe and it looked really good so I decided to give it a try!

I used my blended on the base ingredients and followed everything as directed. These looked so good and I was excited by the base/top layer that I made. Now I think I went a little wrong when putting it into the pan as I really don't think that I used enough on the bottom layer and next time I think I would use a little over half of the dry mixture on the bottom as I found them top heavy and a little difficult to hold.

The blueberry mixture as I was making it was nothing really like I thought it was going to be but once everything was heated up it made perfect sense and turned out sooooo good!! These were awesome and so good!

Just remember to put the leftovers in the fridge to keep as opposed to other bars as they do contain fruit!

These are a greta summer treat and I highly recommend giving them a try!

You can find the recipe here: https://cookiesandcups.com/blueberry-crumble-bars/

Root Beer Sloppy Joes

 I hadn't made Sloppy Joes in quite some time so I was ready for a relatively easy meal. Now this one does require some extra time to make the barbeque sauce but it is so worth it! This was such a great meal that I am sure we will be having again. 

The root beer BBQ sauce is amazing and worth the extra time that it takes to make these! I used up the extra sauce with several other things as it is so good!

After cooking the ground beef and veggies it doesn't take too long once you add the other ingredients to start thickening up and you can pick the texture that you prefer for your sloppy joes.

These are really good and I look forward to having them again!! 

You can find the link here: https://dinnerthendessert.com/root-beer-sloppy-joes/

Homemade Lasagna

 As mentioned before my kids are not huge on pasta at home so I was really wanting to make Lasagna as something different. I was excited to give it a go as I hadn't made lasagna in so long. 

This looked like a really easy to follow recipe so I knew that although it was going to take me awhile to assemble it would come together well.

I really like the idea of using two meats as it makes it taste better and gives it a bit more of something that you never knew you needed. The meat sauce is easy to make but the only thing that I couldn't find were the San Marzano Tomatoes. I'm going to have to keep my eye out for them as they do not carry them in my local grocery store.

The ricotta mixture came together super easy and everything smelled great. 

I really liked the idea of using cheese slices as it makes sure that every bite has the same amount of cheese and cooks more evenly. 

Now my lasagna did reach the top of the pan so be careful with that! 

The lasagna was good and I stuck the leftovers in the freezer for the times that I need a quick meal for work or when I am working at night and the kids need leftovers!

You can find the recipe here: https://tidymom.net/best-homemade-lasagna/

Ribs and Mac & Cheese

This meal was supposed to happen one certain night but then because I ended up having to work that night it got moved and instead of a huge dinner we ended up having the ribs with some mac & cheese. It ended up being a really good dinner and the barbeque sauce for the ribs was incredible!

The ribs we chose to make were Bourbon Barbeque and they were seriously so amazing!! I could have these all the time and I will definitely be making the BBQ sauce again for different foods as it was so good! I did end up cooking the Ribs in the oven and they were so easy to follow along with and for me to keep an eye on them. I can't say enough about these!

The mac & cheese was something that I had decided on at the last minute and I needed a stove top recipe that didn't have "velveeta". So I had to search through a bunch of recipes to find one that had the ingredients that I had on hand. This recipe was truly perfect and it went to well with the ribs. I think I would actually top the macaroni with the BBQ sauce next time for just something even more. 

Both of these recipes were awesome and I was so glad on how it all turned out! You can find the recipes here:

Ribs: https://www.rockrecipes.com/bourbon-barbecue-ribs/

Mac & Cheese: https://amandacooksandstyles.com/simple-mac-and-cheese/

The Best Lemon Blueberry Bread

 Since the blueberry muffins were such a hit I decided to make lemon blueberry bread!

This loaf was really good and Bren couldn't stop eating it!

I did everything as directed but I think if I made it again I would definitely double the amount of blueberries in it as I found it really didn't have enough for me. I did use frozen blueberries and I loved the trick of mixing them with cornstarch ahead of time and that is definitely something I would do again.

The glaze on top was a great addition but this bread is so awesome that it could be eaten without the glaze as well although I do recommend it!

Super easy to make and full of flavor!!

You can find the recipe here: https://www.thekitchenmagpie.com/the-best-lemon-blueberry-bread/

Easy Beef Burrito Skillet

 I almost always do some sort of Mexican dish on Tuesday's as who wants to limit it to just Tacos!?

So I have to say Bren wasn't too happy that we weren't having tacos but when he saw the ground beef go in and then he watched me add beans he was really wondering what I was doing to his food! 

This meal is so easy to make and I loved that it was all in one dish! Everything went together super well but I realized that I had definitely not caught my tortilla strips small enough at first as I was struggling to mix it in but then I cut them smaller and everything mixed easier. Bren was still watching what I was doing with a bit of a shocked face as I cut up the tortillas.

This was a great meal and tasted super good! We put sour cream on top and I was really happy with how it turned out!

You can find the recipe here: https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/easy-beef-burrito-skillet/

Baked Three Cheese Manicotti

 I really love pasta but for some reason the kids are never wanting us to order it in and it is something they will never request so I am trying to get it made a lot less than I would like. So when I do seem to make pasta it generally seems to be a fancier one that takes awhile to make.

Now The first thing with this recipe is that we don't have the specific tomatoes in Canada so I ended up using one can of diced tomatoes and one can of crushed. In hindsight I wish I would have used some with a bit more seasoning.

I made the filling as directed but I had to use cannelloni shells instead of Manicotti as we didn't have any at our store. These shells are smaller so it took me a bit longer to get everything filled. I covered with cheese and I loved how cheesy everything was and it is definitely rich.    

This was a good meal and I loved eating the leftovers!

You can find the recipe here: https://foodfolksandfun.net/baked-cheese-manicotti/

Sunday dinner with French Onion Pot Roast, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Pretzel Bread

 I love the Sunday's when I am home to cook and ready to make something good and different than what we normally have! 

To a certain extent I am still trying to find the perfect pot roast to get the kids excited and I keep trying. The problem is that for the most part I am the only one who seems to eat leftovers so there is a bit of a struggle to get everything finished. 

I had been craving French Onion Soup for a bit so I decided to try it with a pot roast instead for something completely different. I cooked everything in the slow cooker on low so it was cooking all day and nicely smelling up the house! The roast had lots of flavor and I loved the baguettes with the gruyere cheese! So good!!

These potatoes were absolutely awesome and cheesy!!! I hadn't had scalloped potatoes in so many years so these were a blast from the past. This recipe is definitely not for anyone on a diet and they are worth every single bite! I followed the recipe as directed and it was just so good. Of course it was a little time consuming with peeling all of the potatoes but I had Mik do it so it was worth it! 

Then we had the bread machine going to make a pretzel dough. This was the first time I have made something like this and it will not be the last. This bread was so awesome and I really loved how it turned out. Braiding it was so much fun and I was so happy to see how good it looked. 

You can find the recipes here: 

French Onion Pot Roast: https://dinnerthendessert.com/french-onion-pot-roast/

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes: https://thefoodcharlatan.com/cheesy-scalloped-potatoes-recipe/

Pretzel Bread: https://likeabubblingbrook.com/pretzel-bread-recipe-easy-bread-machine-dough/

Starbucks Blueberry Muffin

 Bren loves lemons and can eat them like there is no tomorrow. I needed lemon for a recipe and for some reason the only way I could get lemons was in a bag so I knew I needed to make lemon things. This recipe looked great and I had been meaning to make muffins for awhile. 

These were super easy to make and I followed the directions as layed out. The only confusing part was that the recipe called for 1 cup of sugar but never said where to actually add it in so I put it with the flour ingredients. I think if I make them again I would also add lemon zest into the batter as I found the muffins themselves needing more flavour.

That being said Bren ate 10 of the 12 muffins and I was shocked at how fast he ate them all. Mik was mad that she never got to try them so I know I will have to make more soon.

You can find the recipe here: https://copykat.com/starbucks-blueberry-muffin/?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug

Mushroom Burger with Provolone, Caramelized Onions and Aioli and Cheesy Loaded Tater Tots

 I think most of the burgers I have made lately seem to have caramelized onions on them which isn't planned. This one was one that I was kind of trying to sneak in because it had caramelized onions on them which neither kid is apparently a fan of. So I decided to mix up the side dish on this meal with the loaded tater tots and they were so amazing!!

I did use store bought burger patties as I find on days where I have to work it's just so much easier and quicker for me to have them on hand and not worry about if I have ground beef. The other thing where I cheated was using an Epicure garlic aioli instead of making it from scratch. I seriously love the epicure one and it doesn't take much time at all.

I also decided to cook the onions and mushrooms together instead of in two separate pans to save dishes. Plus I only have one really good non-stick pan right now so I'm kind of limited with some meals. I also once again used my cast iron pan to cook the burgers in instead of the barbeque. The weather lately is super rainy and I have yet to do a spring clean on the barbeque. 

I really loved the idea of the two pieces of cheese bringing and melting everything together as then everything stayed on the burger so much better! I will definitely be doing this again!

We don't seem to have tater tots much but after having them this way I am sure we will doing them way more often! Now I did bake the tater tots over frying them to save myself time and also to be a lit bit healthier. I followed the directions to cook them and then took them out and loaded them with cheese, bacon bits and green onions. Now I cooked everything on the same pan as mine had raised edges to save myself dishes and time. It worked out fine for me and they were so delicious!

I highly recommend both of these recipes:

Mushroom Burger: https://www.gogogogourmet.com/mushroom-burger-with-provolone-caramelized-onions-and-aioli/

Cheesy Loaded Tater Tots: https://www.savoryexperiments.com/cheesy-bacon-tots/

French Onion Soup and Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese

 First off I must admit that this is a crazy combination and I was looking for an easy sandwich that had some protein since there was nothing in the soup. 

I haven't had French Onion soup in so long so I was really excited to be making it again. I had no idea how the kids were going to like it but I was excited and even bought the bowls as I had no idea where mine were. 

I followed the recipe as directed and cut sooo many onions although the good thing was that I didn't shed one tear! Although Mik did and she wasn't even cutting them! I followed the directions and added all three of the alcohols and it was such a great smell! My house smelled so good with the soup simmering for so long.

Now the grilled cheese sandwiches were good but I definitely used the wring kind of pepperoni. I used deli pepperoni and really should have used pizza pepperoni. I found the taste was much blander than I was expecting and that is on me. The sandwiches were easy to make and I liked the idea of using a melted garlic butter as it made sure that there was butter all over the sandwich which was super tasty.

You can find the recipes here:

French Onion Soup: https://www.bitememore.com/easy-recipes/easy-french-onion-soup-recipe?mc_cid=1b5cf612c6&mc_eid=59e5cea5e3

Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese: https://lilluna.com/pepperoni-pizza-grilled-cheese/

Taco Bell Quesarito (Copycat)

 Taco Bell is not somewhere we go and there isn't one in my city and to be honest I am not even sure where the closest one is. That being said I also don't know if the Canadian menu is the same as the American one but with the copycat recipes we have been trying lately I really need to find out. 

I am loving these recipes by Dinner, then Dessert and I keep coming back to the copycat recipes. Now this one may take a little bit longer if you are makign some of the ingredients from scratch but this recipe is definitely worth having! The only thing we found is that they ended up so big that we ate them with a knife and fork!

These are so amazing and cheesy and just plain delicious! If I have time I could eat these all the time and have fun with them with adding a couple of new ingredients.

I followed the instructions as directed and we ended up making our own homemade queso from an Epicure package. We ended up using a chipotle mayonnaise instead of the sauce due to what we had on hand. 

These were so good and I can't wait to have them again!

You can find the recipe here: https://dinnerthendessert.com/taco-bell-quesarito-copycat/

Snickers Brownie Trifle

 This was made for dessert one night as we all decided to try something different as we don't usually make trifles. 

We were all super excited as it was a recipe that we all liked and it sounded really good.

For the brownies I used Betty Crocker to save some time but I used two packages as the one I had wasn't made for a 9x13 pan. 

For the nougat layer I could only find one jar of marshmallow fluff which was 8oz so I didn't have enough but winged it anyhow. I had everything else so I wasn't too worried about it. 

When everything was cooled and ready to go I assembled it all together and it looked great. The one thing that all of us found was that it was almost too sweet. We could only eat a little bit at a time as the sweetness level was through the roof. 

I don't know if I would make this again as it was just too much for the three of us and we could barely eat any before we were sugared out.

You can find the recipe here: https://www.chef-in-training.com/snickers-brownie-trifle/

Comfort Night - BBQ Cheddar Meatloaf and Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

 There are some nights when you honestly want to just curl up and feel comforted and to me this is one of those meals that can get you there. 

Bren has always really enjoyed meatloaf so I keep trying different ones to change things up. That being said he does really enjoy the ones with cheese in them so I thought this would be a good one to try. I followed the recipe as directed except that I didn't have any parsley. The only thing I would have done different is to use a different pan as the one I used wasn't my biggest loaf pan.

These mashed potatoes were awesome and I loved how little energy it took to make them. The hardest part was peeling the potatoes but I loved how everything just got thrown into the pot. Now I did do things a little different as two of us were reading the recipe at different times and therefore it wasn't followed exact. We ended up throwing all of the milk and butter in at the beginning instead of at two different times. Oops. So I think our potatoes were probably not as creamy as they could have been but they were still really good and the meal was awesome!

You can find the recipes here:

Meatloaf: https://www.mrfood.com/Beef/BBQ-Cheddar-Meatloaf

Mashed Potatoes: https://foodfolksandfun.net/buttermilk-mashed-potatoes/

Best Chili Recipe and Brie Grilled Cheese

 I've really been trying hard lately to get a wide assortment of different meals and foods into the kids. With working and being a single mom I do find it really difficult at times to juggle everything and I know that certain nights when I am working they are not getting the proper nutrition so I am trying to do what I can.

I've also been really trying to use different boards on my Pinterest and try things that are common but at the same time that we haven't had in forever. So that brings us to having chili!! I have been making a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches lately to accompany all the soups, etc that we have been having.

This chili was easy to make and it didn't take much time at all. I followed the instructions but was missing a couple of key ingredients due to empty containers (enter small scream). So I was missing chili powder which definitely impacted the flavor but the chili was still really good.

Now the grilled cheese I also altered as I didn't want to add the chicken since we were already having the chili. This sandwich was totally awesome and the kids devoured it. That being said I really need to get a knife that cuts brie as it was definitely a struggle to get it sliced for the sandwich. I will take any assistance from people that have an easy way to cut it! 

This was a great dinner and easy to make!

You can find the recipes here:

Chili: https://grandbaby-cakes.com/best-chili-recipe/

Brie Grilled Cheese: https://www.fifteenspatulas.com/chicken-brie-grilled-cheese/

Orange Chicken. Chinese take out style, quick, easy and baked, not fried

 We generally have restaurant bought Chinese Food once a year. I really do like it but I find it costs us a lot and it's something we generally have to prepare for wanting and have to plan ahead.

That being said I do like to make it at home when I get the chance but tend to stick to the basics but this recipe looked good so I wanted to give it a try.

Now the recipe does take awhile to make as you are coating it several times and I did piece by piece whereas I think next time I would try and do the coatings in larger batches so it doesn't take as long. 

I absolutely love baking and not frying and definitely would do that again as you really didn't feel as heavy after finishing eating. 

Now I followed the recipe as directed except that my container of frozen orange juice wasn't as large. I think this did end up impacting the final flavor and not having it as orange as I would have liked. Mik and I also felt like there was too much red chili flakes and was too spicy for the two of us wimps! 

Still a great recipe and I would try it again. You can find the link here: https://www.rockrecipes.com/orange-chicken/

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL RICE KRISPIE SQUARES

 I have one kid that loves caramel and the other that could do without it but will still eat it if it's there. To me these looked awesome and I couldn't wait to give them a try.

The bottom layer is a traditional rice krispie which to be honest you can't go wrong with it. 

The next layer was good but to be honest I was shocked with the peanut butter as I really wasn't expecting that by the description of the recipe. This layer was still super easy to make a really good!

I was surprised again by the addition of peanut butter into the top layer as well. It was still really good but a small surprise!

These were really good but I definitely would have added Peanut Butter into the name!

You can find the recipe here: https://www.artandthekitchen.com/chocolate-caramel-rice-krispie-squares/

CARAMELIZED ONION BURGER WITH BALSAMIC MAYO

 There's something about having a really good burger at home that makes life seem a little bit better. We seem to rarely go out anymore for really good food but we've been finding that we really haven't been missing it too much since we've been making a lot of really good food at home. 

This was a burger I was looking forward to trying as I am really liking provolone cheese. That being said I struggled to actually find provolone slices and should have went to a deli but instead I cut it off a very thin block of cheese and I think each burger ended up with about 6 slices each in order to cover the whole thing.

Another thing I liked about this burger was really the simplicity of it. It had awesome caramelized onions and then was only topped with the balsamic mayo and the cheese. It was a burger with very few toppings but was full of taste.  

Now I personally probably should have been watching the onions a bit more as Mik was in charge and they were a little overdone but I had no complaints as she was watching. I also cooked the burgers inside on my cast iron pan due to the weather.

These are really a great burger that made me very happy!

You can find the link here: https://www.foxvalleyfoodie.com/caramelized-onion-burger-with-balsamic-mayo/ 

Sunday Dinner

 It was just Mik and I for dinner but I still wanted to try and get something healthy made and make it look good. I have decided to make homemade bread on Sunday's when I can so we can have some fresh bread for the week and of course I need to try making new kinds.

For dinner we went with Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Chicken. Now I ended up making it in the house due to the snow in my backyard so this wouldn't be exactly how yours may turn out if you used your grill instead. I also used large chicken breasts and maybe next time I would have made smaller pieces so that it cooked faster. I also ended up using white balsamic so that would have affected the color of the chicken as well.

For the bread we made a parmesan garlic bread which was awesome and full of flavour. I loved snacking on this one through the week and definitely would make it again! I am seriously loving the bread machine again and it makes me so happy! 

You can find the recipes here:

Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Chicken: https://www.rockrecipes.com/brown-sugar-balsamic-glazed-chicken/

Parmesan Garlic Bread: https://sumofyum.com/recipe/bread-machine-garlic-bread/

Fudgy Mint Chocolate Brownies

 So I made these because I thought Bren was really into mint but he seems to have an off and on relationship with it these days. Luckily he did eat some of them but I won't be making much with mint soon as he keeps referring to mint as toothpaste.

Anyhow, I still do really like mint and won't complain that I got to eat more of these than I definitely should have. I know I really have to be good but I love baking so much and it really relaxes me through difficult times.

The brownies were super easy to make and very straightforward. I love how easy delicious brownies are to make and that they don't require a lot of dishes!

The mint frosting was easy to follow and my main recommendation is just to make sure that the butter is soft so that it easily mixes in with the icing sugar. Also remember that the peppermint extract is little but mighty so follow the recommendation for how much to use. 

The ganache was an awesome touch as it was soft and totally good! Such a great alternative to plain a chocolate frosting. Just be very careful with the microwaving as you don't want to burn or overcook it!

You can find the recipe here: https://thefoodcharlatan.com/mint-chocolate-brownies/

Eggs Benedict Casserole

 This was a great way to use up those ham leftovers from Christmas dinner!

This recipe was super easy to follow and it is a make the night before and bake in the morning! I was glad that I double checked the recipe as I almost missed making it before hand.

Everything is super straightforward and I admit that I winged the ham and just put in what looked good as I was using up the leftovers. So I did use our ham leftovers from Christmas dinner and did not use Canadian Bacon. It still tasted awesome and I got rid of some leftovers from the fridge.

I followed everything as directed and it turned out awesome. I only made one package of hollandaise sauce as I knew that the three of us wouldn't be eating all of the casserole at one time. 

This was such a great recipe and I highly recommend giving it a try!

You can find the recipe here: https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/eggs-benedict-casserole/