Pumpkin Pancakes

I've been making these pumpkin pancakes almost every morning this month. I found the recipe online one day while searching all things pumpkin. They are very easy to make and so delicious! Jack and I have been enjoying them on a regular basis. I've made them for different guests we've had in town, and they have all loved them and asked for the recipe. 

You must give these a try- you will not regret it! 

Easy & Delicious Meatball Sliders

I recently saw an episode of The Pioneer Woman on Food Network where she made Mini Meatball Sandwiches. I decided to give the recipe a try, and I am so glad I did! I've never made meatballs before, but now I am thinking it will become a regular meal at our house. They were so easy to make and so delicious! Our whole family loved them.

The recipe says to use shredded mozzarella, which I did, but on her blog and the show, she used sliced provolone, which I might give a try next time. I bought mini hamburger buns from Trader Joe's, which worked great for the sandwiches.

The recipe made enough for the three of us to have for dinner (one for Jack and three each for Josh and me), then the following day we put the leftover meatballs and sauce over angel hair pasta, which was wonderful as well.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

So I have been a big slacker when it comes to this blog lately. I am 19 weeks pregnant, and for the first trimester I was usually too tired to cook, or nothing sounded good to my uneasy belly. So we ate a lot of take out and frozen pizzas...not the healthiest time for my family. However, I am feeling much better now and have been spending much more time in the kitchen. I am determined to get back to cooking blogging more!


I recently found this recipe for Barbecue Shredded Chicken from the Oven or Slow Cooker and was inspired to adapt the recipe to make it my own. To make my version of Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, you'll need:

• About 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (this ended up being 6 thighs for me)
• Salt & Pepper
• Cayenne
• Paprika
• 1 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce
• Hamburger buns

Place chicken in your slow cooker. Sprinkle chicken with a little salt and pepper, cayenne, and paprika. Pour one cup of barbeque sauce over chicken. Cook on low for 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is finished cooking, shred meat using two forks. Place meat on a toasted hamburger bun and drizzle with more barbeque sauce. This will make about 4-6 sandwiches, depending on how much meat you like on your sandwich.

This was one of the easiest and most delicious slow cooker chicken recipes I have ever made. One piece of advice: use good barbeque sauce! I grew up in Texas, so I am very picky when it comes to barbeque sauce. My favorite brand that is available at most grocery stores is Stubb's Original Sauce.

Buffalo Pasta Bake

The other day I was trying to figure out what to make for lunch with the limited supplies in my kitchen. I remembered seeing a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake, on Pinterest recently and thought I'd give it a try. I made about 1/4 of the recipe in a small Corningware dish for a single serving. I did not have any chicken, so I left that out, and I used rotini pasta instead of penne. Other than that I followed the recipe and thought it was great! I wanted garlic bread, so I improvised by toasting an English muffin and spreading butter on it with a little garlic salt. It was great for dipping in the extra sauce.

This pasta was creamy and delicious with just a touch of spice. It's one I will make again in the future. Very easy, inexpensive, and tasty!

Best Burgers!

Last night we enjoyed a beautiful Memorial Day by grilling burgers and corn for dinner. I looked around online for burger grilling tips and recipes to see if I wanted to try something different. I decided to try this hamburger recipe from Bobby Flay. It is the easiest, yet most delicious burger you'll ever cook! I plan on using this recipe every time we grill burgers from now on. 

Now that corn is in season, it is super cheap. I found ours for $.20 each at Albertson's. I love grilling corn, and when you are already grilling your meat, it's a much easier and less messy way to cook it. Just brush the corn with canola oil then grill it over medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes, moving often to cook evenly. Just watch it, you want a little char, but not too much. After cooking mine, I spread a little butter on it and sprinkle it with Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning. It gives the corn a great flavor and a little kick!

My only regret with this meal was buying the cheap hamburger buns, which as you can see, were a little small for our burgers!

Pimiento Cheese & Bacon Paninis

Last night I decided to make an easy Sunday night dinner. I made my pimiento cheese and spread some of it on two slices of Trader Joe's sourdough wheat bread. Then I put two slices of cooked bacon between the slices of bread and cooked it in my panini press. This is a wonderful meal for a lazy Sunday night or a weekday lunch. My pimiento cheese recipe will make plenty so that you can make sandwiches for your whole family and/or have some leftover to use throughout the week. It's also great as a dip with crackers.

Southwest Roast Chicken Breasts

The other night I was planning on making some Tandoori Chicken using this recipe I found in Cooking Light last year. However, as the afternoon began to turn to evening, I realized it was not going to happen. I had not marinated the chicken ahead of time and there was no way we were going to have the energy to grill. For some reason, grilling on a Wednesday night seems to take an extra amount of effort.

So I decided to try making roast chicken breasts with a southwest twist. Baking the chicken with the skin on gives you crispy skin and moist chicken. These were very easy to make and tasted delicious! I look forward to making them again.

To make my Southwest Roast Chicken Breasts, you will need:

• 2 bone-in chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp. chile powder (or a little more if you want extra kick)
• 1-2 tsp. chopped cilantro
• salt & pepper
• olive oil

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine butter, garlic, chile powder, cilantro, a generous dash of salt, and a dash of pepper in a small bowl. Carefully spread half of butter mixture underneath skin of each chicken breast. Sprinkle salt and pepper over each chicken breast and drizzle with olive oil.

Place a layer of aluminum foil on the bottom of a broiler pan then put the broiler rack on top of it (you could also use a wire rack on top of a baking sheet). Place chicken on top of pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let chicken rest for about 5 minutes after baking.

When I made this, I only put salt and pepper on top, not in the butter mixture. I realized it needed more salt, so I think adding it to the butter mixture as I mentioned in the recipe above will help. Also, if you have limes around, squeeze some fresh lime juice on the chicken after baking.

I served ours with my favorite roasted asparagus. This time I minced some garlic and mixed it with olive oil and salt and pepper, then poured it over the asparagus. I also baked it at a higher temperature, 400 degrees, for about 10 minutes which made the asparagus and garlic nice and crisp.

This is a great meal for a busy weeknight or when you have guests. You can prepare the chicken ahead of time and stick it in the oven just before your guests arrive. This way you can visit and not have to worry about cooking when everyone arrives.

If you have any leftover chicken, it would be great for making my green chile chicken spaghetti! 

Pizza Cups

Some friends of mine use to make "taco cups" for their kids with canned biscuits. The other day, Pillsbury biscuits were on sale, so I tried to do something similar. Instead of taco cups, I decided to make pizza cups. They were so simple. And delicious. I made them two nights in a row.

Cook 1 pound of Italian sausage until completely cooked through. Remove from pan, leaving some of the grease. Place 1/2 diced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic in the same pan and saute until soft. Return sausage to pan and add 1 large can or jar of marinara sauce. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Allow sauce to simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Place Pillsbury flaky layers biscuits in muffin tins, pressing down in the center of each one to form cups. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of sauce into each cup and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese.

Cook at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.

These pizza cups were so good and will definitely be something I make again. They would be great for a kids' birthday party, game watching party, etc. You could also mix it up by using pepperoni, ground beef, veggies, whatever your favorite pizza topping is.