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/