Creamy Cheesy Pasta

I made a version of this pasta one time and forgot to write down the recipe. My kids all loved it especially my 12yo Rowdy. It is so simple and easy and best of all fast for those busy nights when you dont really feel like eating. You can add you favorite chicken recipe with it and serve it as a side or just have it be the main dish. 

Creamy Cheesy Pasta

3 Tbls unsalted butter (or whatever spread you use, I used coconut oil spread) softened to room temp
1 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella but, parmesan/romano mix is good too)
1/2 c of cream cheese (I used this new greek cream cheese I saw recently and it gives it a great flavor)
1 pkg of your favorite pasta (I used Fusilli Caserecci)
Salt and pepper
1/4 c pasta water

Boil pasta per direction on the package. Reserve 1/4 cup and drain pasta in a colander.
Place butter, cheese and cream cheese in a bowl and mix together add reserved pasta water after pasta is done. add salt and pepper to taste. You won't need much salt but, I prefer lots of pepper. Add to warm pasta and stir. Done. YUM!!

Lemon Pepper Chicken

So, Rowdy asked me to send him a healthy lunch this year so he could get into shape for football. One day recently he told me about lunchtime with his friends. At lunch a bunch of the boys trade things in their from home lunches or school bought lunches with each other. Rowdy said no one wanted to trade with him because everything he brings is healthy. He said this in a way that made it a good thing in his eyes. :) However, I sent him a mini candy bar I had on hand the next day so he would have a trade item. He traded it for a chicken sandwich that he said was SO good. Today I decided to bake up a batch of chicken cutlets to make him some chicken sandwiches for his lunch this week. I baked most of them and grilled up 2 in my grill pan just to see which was better. I prefer the grilled and will do that in the future. But, here is the recipe I came up with, very simple!

Lemon Pepper Chicken

2 lbs Organic Chicken Cutlets

1 lemon (zested and juiced)

4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

3 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 pinches of salt and pepper to taste

Using a gallon sized zipper bag put in all the ingredients, except the chicken. Zip it up and mush( a technical term-hee hee) it all around. Add cutlets, zip and mush again. Press the air out of the bag and lay flat in the fridge for at least 1 hour. ( I left mine in for about 4) Remove and bake at 350* for 25 minutes or grill in pan or on outside grill.

See? so easy and YUM!!!!!

Quinoa Cheesy Meatloaf

So, in an effort to bring in dinner that is healthier but that the boys will still eat I looked up some meat free meatloaf recipes. After searching I decided that completely meat-free was too much right away fro the boys. So, I found one that uses ground turkey and that was my starting off point. I dont like to buy meat unless its all natural, no antibiotics or fillers, etc... and my Kroger didnt have any turkey meat like that so, I used all natural, organic very lean beef this time. I just sort of winged the recipe from there using whatever I had in my kitchen. It was very yummy! I love the Quinoa texture in this loaf! I will definitely make this again!

1lb extra lean organic beef
1/4 c Quinoa cooked (will be more like a cup after cooking)
1/2 chopped greens (I used fresh spinach, arugula and kale)
1 egg
1 can chopped low sodium tomatoes (pureed)
1/2 c bread crumbs
1T chopped onion (I used dried)
1/2 t salt 1/2 t pepper
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese


put everything in to a large bowl (just use about 1/4 of the pureed tomatoes tho) mix together. form a loaf and place in a shallow pan. drizzle more tomatoes over the top.
Bake 400* for 45-50 minutes

Taco Corn Casserole

Years ago I went to the pot luck supper at my church and tasted the yummiest casserole. I thought, hey! I should be able to figure this out. So, I conducted one of my cooking experiments that are known for being either really yummy or really awful, rarely in between.  Lucky for me and my family, this was one of the yummy ones.  Now, it has been one of our favorite dinners for years! So, here it is for you my followers. If you haven't clicked to follow my blog, please do...I need followers to make this worthwhile. :) THank you!

Taco Corn Casserole

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread (must be Jiffy, this is the secret to it's yumminess)
2 eggs( or egg beaters)
1 c milk
2 cans cream style corn
1-1/2 c grated cheese ( I like Mexican blend, but it can be any you like)
1 lb ground meat (chicken, turkey or beef is fine) browned and drained
1 pkg taco seasoning

Preheat oven to 350*.
Brown meat in skillet, drain and stir in seasoning, set aside.
Mix 1 box cornbread in a bowl with 1 egg and 1/2 c milk. pour and spread on bottom of greased casserole baking dish, Dish can be round, square or rectangle. about medium sized. (9x13 is too big, btw).
pour 1 can corn on top, spread out. Top with 1/2 the cheese then meat mixture. next layer the rest of the cheese and the other can of corn. Mix the other box of cornbread with the remaining egg and milk and spread over top of casserole. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.

Breakfast Super Sandwich

I love a good breakfast sandwich, so I created a healthy but very yummy one.

2 slices of your favorite bread (I prefer whole grain or whole wheat), toasted
1-2 slices cheese (again use what you want to I like provolone)
2-3 egg whites
1 handful of fresh spinach leaves
1/2 avocado, sliced thinly

Spray a non-stick pan and lay spinach in single layer in pan. Top with egg whites and cook 3-4 minutes till egg whites are almost done, flip for another minute. 
meanwhile  spread avocado on to toasted bread, lay cheese over avocado, top with egg whites. easy peasy. YUM!!!

The Perfect Plateful

  I don't like to seem as tho I do not appreciate my blessings. But, sometimes things are tough. I sugar coat it, if I talk about it because I don't like to seem a victim but, a survivor. This has not always benefited  me as my strength to a less charitable person is read as lack of caring about something. I haven't yet figured out the balance. So, when I talk about something publicly I tend to sound like I have it, mostly, together.

  Recently, I have begun to feel as if I am the only one who is a mess, or whose house is. I am not the most organized person, and while I am trying to get it all purged and situated, it is no there yet. But, I read everyone profile and see pictures of their homes and they all look like perfect little housekeepers. I am so envious. Why didnt I get that gene?  

  You see I came from a family where my mother kept everything perfect. I mean if you searched the back corner of her least used closet you would not find a speck of dust. But, I honestly cannot remember doing anything fun with her. My childhood memories are of her in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning, sewing. Now, I do appreciate how nice everything always was tho. But, I wanted to have my priorities to be different. I have never been skilled enough to be able to do it all, so I unintentionally had to choose.

  So, now I come to this past Christmas. My parents were talking about my mom's mom and her last Christmas.  I had never put it together before but, that would have been the time we were at her house and she threw me bodily out of the kitchen. You see she was a perfectionist and wanted the perfect last Christmas, all the best decorations and food, everything looking just so. But, what she didnt realize is that the perfect Christmas came with the price of her only granddaughter remembering her as a mean old woman. I imagine she was more than that. I dont remember the exact reason, I'm sure I was doing something annoying as many 8-9yo little girls can do.  Back then, no one would have explained that Grandma was very sick, and to please be more aware. Of course even if someone did would I have understood?

   It wasnt until this past December that I realized, she didnt feel well and was pushing herself physically to make Christmas wonderful. But, you know what? neither I nor my 4yo brother would have cared if we had the perfect decorations or food. I might have remembered her fondly if that last Christmas had been spent more low key, less worry on the perfection, more emphasis on love and affection.

  I dont know what my children truly got from their childhood. But, I hope it is love, caring, acceptance, the knowledge that they are important and special, that I am here if they need me. I don't have to be perfect anything. I just dont want to miss a moment to make a good memory. For me or them. What if it is that last thing they remember about me?

toffee bars

Toffee Bars

1 &1/2 sleeves of saltine crackers
1 c brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1 bag chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli)
3 Heath bars chopped (or the bagged toffee bits, however much looks good to you)

Prepare a large cookie sheet by lining with non-stick foil or spraying, however you prefer. Preheat oven to 350*.
Spread out saltines in one layer very close together to completely cover cookie sheet.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. add sugar. Stir till melted and combined well. gently pour over crackers, so as to keep them from moving all over the cookie sheet. Use an offset spatula to spread the mixture out and completely cover crackers. Gently place in oven. bake till bubbly or about 8 minutes, depending on your oven.
Remove carefully from the oven, mixture will be slide all over pan if you dont keep it level. sprinkle with chocolate chips, let sit while chips melt or place back in oven for a minute or 2. when chips have softened, use spatula to spread chocolate out evenly. next sprinkle with heath bits. leave in cool place to harden or place in the refrigerator to quicken the process. We prefer the fridge. ;)
These are addicting. I suggest having someplace to take these after making them or you will eat them all yourself. lol