Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese

For the record, as a child I hated Sloppy Joe's.  I mean, come on, even the name sounds disgusting.  I have literally never made them in my adult life.  Until last night.  And now I'm embarrassed because I loved this recipe.  So comforty, warm, gooey, crispy, yummy.  And there were no leftovers.  :(

*Note: I used Cracked Wheat Sourdough bread and Monterey Jack.  As if that could possibly make me feel any better about scarfing down the entire thing.

Baked Pasta and Broccoli with Ham and Cheesy-creamy Cauliflower sauce

I thought this looked like a really interesting recipe.  I liked all the components of the recipe and I thought the cauliflower would be a really great way to cut calories and sneak in some more veggies.  It was pretty easy to put together, I didn't have to blanch the broccoli first which was a great step to bypass, and it had AMAZING flavor, truly.  My only complaint was that the cauliflower changes the texture of the sauce (obviously) so while you're expecting a smooth creamy sauce, you get more of a mealy, lumpy feel, but that doesn't even begin to outweigh the benefits of all the calories cut, so I was good to go!

Summer Corn Salad

Oh.  My.  I.  Love.  Corn.  And every single other thing about this recipe.  I could literally eat a gallon of it.  It is sooooooo good!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

This recipe is total comfort food that no one can resist.  It was delicious!  I made it for my entire family when we went away to a cabin last April and people were eating leftovers for dessert and then again for breakfast...

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

This recipe is a total fav at our house.  SO delicious.  Even my 2 year old scarfed it down!

Chocolate Banana Bread

I just discovered my endless love for Chocolate Banana Bread.  I love bananas but I'm really particular about them, so there are almost never over-ripe bananas in my house.  But with Finley having only 2 teeth, now we regularly have super ripe bananas, hence my need for a good Banana bread recipe.  I found it!  I always swirl in about 2/3 a cup of melted chocolate chips.  It neeeeever hurt anyone :)

Glazed Meatloaf

It had been years since I'd made or even eaten meatloaf, but you know when you just get a craving... This recipe was a LOT of work, it just seemed like there were a lot of steps and a lot of dishes to wash after, but holy cow it was TOTALLY worth it.  Hands down the best meatloaf I'd ever had.  The glaze was delicious, but then again I am a sucker for any vinegar based sauce...

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

This is the most divine caramel sauce ever made.  I can drink it.  SO yum. 

Baked Breakfast Taquitos

I made these for our 4th of July Breakfast and they were a hit--even with me!  I don't eat eggs but these were so flavorful I just doused them in salsa and was good to go.  They were so good I even made them again for a friend who had a baby and they got the thumbs up again!  A great make ahead meal, and freezer friendly too

*Note: I added some black beans to hide some off the egginess I despise

Apple Streusel Bars

I've made these a few times and they are delicious!  A little labor intensive, but totally worth it!  LOVE the almond extract and I'm always a fan of fruity desserts

Cowboy Quesadillas

These are some all time favorites!!!  Most of the ingredients I typically keep stocked in my pantry--love that!  I can't even count how many times I have made these already...

Red Lentil Coconut Soup

Well, the weather is supposed to heat up tomorrow so I thought I'd better make this soup while I had the chance, even though I'd already made an entire dinner for the neighbors across the street that just had a baby.  Soup was just on my brain, so I threw it all together in less than 20 minutes!  It was really easy and super flavorful. 

*Notes: This is a vegan recipe, but I thought it needed a little more umph so I browned some ground turkey and it was perfect, and also added some chicken base to the water.  Also, I served it over Japanese short grain rice.

Honey Mustard Chicken Sausages

These are one of those (kind of) rare (sorry TJ's, you know I love you...) Trader Joe's sample recipes.  Super easy and a great addition to a vegetable soup or salad.  Just slice chicken/chicken apple/turkey/whatever sausages on the diagonal and brown them in a pan.  In a separate bowl, mix together a few big drizzles of honey and a teaspoon or so of Coarse Ground Mustard.  After the sausages are browned on both sides, drizzle the honey mustard over to coat just for about 30 seconds.  Done!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Love this soup.  So easy, so delicious, and so healthy.  Enough said!  The mustard croutons take it to the next level.  I serve it with these on the side and ooooh la la!

Sweet Potato Turkey Stew

You had me at sweet potatoes.  And a can of coconut milk didn't help either.  Oh, and crock pot sealed the deal.  This recipe is super easy and yummy, and healthy too!  Winner!

*It's a little spicy, so leave out the chili sauce for the babies and they will scarf it down, at least mine did!

Seven Layer Dip Cornmeal Pancakes

These were just too cute--they caught my eye immediately!  I recently discovered that I like pancakes (who'd have thought that after 27 years I finally realized that I like them...) and I love Mexican food too, so here we have it!  I picked up some salsa, guacamole, chips, rice, and beans from a nearby restaurant and wa-la! 

*Notes: I skipped the olives and added some taco meat for a little more heartiness

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I was intrigued by this recipe because I realized recently that I love Mayonnaise.  Dang it. 

I think I used a little too much mayo (one of the hazards of my whole not measuring thing) but the flavor was amazing and the chicken was super moist.  One of those Gross/Delicious dinners.  You know what I mean....

Creamed Corn Gratin

Okay.  This recipe may go down as the All Time Most Successful Holiday side dish ever.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  It.  Was.  Amazing.  Will DEFINITELY be made again, and for many more years.

*Notes: I didn't use whipping cream, I think I subbed half and half and put in half at that.  Also, I ditched the fried onions (no thank you, grease splatters) and just mixed the canned ones from TJ's.  Way easier and just as good

Jalapeno Kettle Chip Chicken

Kettle Chips go fast in this house, so I had to make these quick or else I'd be heading back to the store before I actually got around to making them.  I actually made them on a night when I was going out to dinner with some girlfriends, and I was trying my hardest not to eat an entire chicken breast before leaving!  They were crunchy and spicy and just right, especially with some baked potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts (never mind it was like 85 degrees outside and my house was boiling from both ovens going...next time I'll better menu/weather plan)

Christmas Morning Casserole

Mmmmm.  I'm remembering Christmas morning all over again!  I was tired of the same old hashbrown and sausage casserole, so when I found this I was totally excited to try it out.  It's more of a savory bread pudding, and it was awesome!  The bacon and ham were the perfect texture addition.  Next time I think I might add some potatoes, not quite sure how, but for my hate of all things soggy there was just a little bit too much soggy bread in the middle and I think some potatoes would firm it up a bit.  I was worried about soaking it overnight (yes I have serious food texture issues), but it work out perfectly.  It was actually a breeze to put together on Christmas Eve and made the house smell lovely while we were busy ripping open presents.

*Note: I used Trader Joe's Cheddar&Gruyere mix instead

Christmas Bruschetta

I made these around 10 pm on New Year's Eve and they were yummmmmy--the perfect snack for keeping all of us sleep-deprived-yet-still-trying-to-prove-we're-cool-by-staying-up-late-parents awake until the ball dropped. 

*Notes: Don't cut your bread too thick and next time if I'm not too lazy I'll reduce my balsamic down so it's more syrup-like

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I've seen this recipe all over the web and I don't know why it took me so long to try it.  The cream cheese always throws me for a loop because I'm not really a cream-cheese lover.  But they were awesome!  And easy!  I love taquitos, and this was a great lower calorie recipe.  I made one batch to eat and put the rest in the freezer, and before I knew it, every single taquito was gone!

Mini Corndog Muffins

Aren't these the CUTEST???

I have been waiting to try them out, and when my neighbor had her baby the other day I thought PERFECT!  No, NOT for her and her husband!!! They have 2 already, 5 and 3, and what better food for them than this?  The mini muffin size is the perfect way to avoid the dreaded muffin crumbles, and this way they won't get sick of them after eating a whole big one all to themselves. 

I actually didn't even look at the recipe, I just grabbed a box of Trader Joe's Corn Muffin Mix and some of their awesome Nitrate-free Chicken Hot Dogs (cuz I'm cool like that).  I cut the hot dogs in half and then into chunks and made sure to coat them in flour so they wouldn't sink to the bottom of the muffin. 

They were adorable and SO easy, and yummy too! 

Basic Taco Meat

I LOVE me some good taco meat.  I remember as a kid my mom barking at us, "Don't take so much meat--fill your tacos with veggies and leave some for everyone else to eat!"  I always thought she was crazy and Hello, now I find myself "barking" at my husband as he scoops 1/2 a cup of taco meat onto his tortilla, "Not so much meat!!!"  Oh, and I won't pretend that I don't hide the leftovers in the back of the fridge so he doesn't scoop it out during the rest of the week, if there ever even are leftovers!

Here's how I do it:

1 lb. lean ground beef OR ground turkey

1 chopped onion, garlic cloves (or garlic powder if I'm lazy)

Brown, drain off fat if the fat content is higher than 7%

Add 1 can tomato sauce and then spice it up:

Salt, pepper, cumin, dark red chili powder, cayenne pepper all to taste.

(I never measure anything, I just keep adding until I like it)

Mexican Stuffed Shells

I found this recipe on my foodgawker app and I knew I wanted to try it! 

I always make my own adjustments, so here's what they are:

Instead of adding marinara, I just made a basic taco meat and added frozen corn and black beans.  I loved the addition of the goat cheese.  It gave it just the right amount of creaminess and tangyness.  I wouldn't normally have bought some but I happened to have some on hand and I don't think I'll be able to make it without it now!  I also prefer white cheese instead of yellow, so I used Monterey Jack on top and ditched the Panko because I didn't have any and I was over it with 2 kids pulling at me while I was trying to finish stuffing the shells.  Boiling the shells for 9 minutes was the perfect amount of time, and 1 lb. of meat worked perfect for a box of 35 shells (the addition of 1/2 cup of corn and about a can of black beans gave me a little more filling).  All in all, it was a really easy recipe, and I had most of the ingredients on hand already.  It seems like it would be an easy one to freeze too.