On the menu…

*These are not my recipes unless stated otherwise.*

I’ve gotten a little behind on posting last week’s dinner menu. I started volunteering recently. By the time I got home, made dinner, and got the minion in bed I was wiped out and not up to blogging.

Tuscan Spaghetti Squash
This is a great low carb recipe. Lots of flavor and fairly easy to make. I will say getting into the spaghetti squash was quite the task, but after a quick Google search I found a shortcut. Take a knife or fork and poke holes in a straight line down the squash vertically on one side. Then microwave the squash for 30 seconds. Grab the pot holders and retrieve the squash, then cut down the line you made. It’s still not super easy to cut open, but easier than cutting it before microwaving. I also substituted chicken instead of bacon. (We’d had a bacon type recipe earlier in the week.) And since all the spaghetti squash at the commissary was rather small, I used two for this recipe. I probably could have gotten away with one, but I’d rather have extra than not enough.

 

Rosemary Portobello Chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes
To. Die. For. Absolutely one of the best chicken recipes I’ve ever come across. Tons and tons of flavor and the chicken is moist. My husband, who is not the biggest fan of rosemary, loved this recipe. Definite winner!

 

Sushi Bowls
If you’re a sushi fan, this recipe is for you. Quick, easy, and healthy. And the leftovers were great for lunch the next day! It was a light meal, but it was filling.

 

Ultimate Easy Quesadilla
If my two year old will eat it you know it’s good. This is definitely an easy recipe. I think the most challenging part was flipping the quesadilla in the pan. Well, for my husband anyway since he’s the one the made them.

 

Garlic Bread Meatball Sliders with salad
This one requires a little prep, but worth it in the end. It was a fun meal to have in the middle of the week. I threw a salad together to get some greens in with the meal. This would also be pretty good for a Super Bowl party. They are quite messy, though. So you’ve been warned.

 

Sausage Egg Roll in a Bowl
Very easy and mighty tasty recipe here. It truly does taste like an egg roll. If you’re trying to figure out what you want for dinner tonight, this is it!

 

Bacon, Brussels Sprouts, and Butternut Squash Flatbread with Tomato, Olive, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
I’ve posted about the flatbread (that I actually made as a pizza) before. Just as fantastic as last time. The salad in the newbie. Very fresh and would pair well with many different meals. I made a balsamic and basil vinaigrette to go with it. (1 part balsamic vinegar to 3 parts olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped basil. Whisk and pour over salad.) Truly a refreshing and delicious salad.

 

And that sums up last week’s menu. If you decide to visit one of the links provided, be sure to check out the other recipes posted on the website of the recipe creator. Happy cooking!

Is It Spring Yet?

**Friendly reminder: These are not my recipes unless stated otherwise.**

I don’t know about you, but I’m about over this cold weather. I’m a Florida girl living in Colorado. I will say, as far as snow goes, the area that I live in hasn’t been nearly as bad as many places in the US. But it has been a bit on the chillier side most days. Brrrrr!

Garlic Parmesan Wings with carrots, celery sticks, and fries
These were REALLY good! If you’re in a chicken wings mood I would recommend giving this recipe a try. They’re easy to make and definitely hit the spot and cheaper than heading out to a restaurant.

 

Salsa Verde Chicken Casserole
Great week night dinner. I love casseroles. They’re easy to make with minimal clean up. Almost as great as slow cooker meals…which are even easier to clean up. This recipe packs a lot of flavor. And if you’re not into a lot of spice, you can always take it down a notch. This time we did something a little different. While at Costco we found a guacamole salsa. It’s super delish (but quite spicy). Instead of the verde salsa, we used the guac salsa. Mighty tasty!

 

Caprese Steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus
This is one of our favorite go-to steak recipes. Gives steak and a caprese salad a nice twist. And please don’t cook the steak to well done. That just ruins everything. 😉

 

Enchilada Stuffed Shells
Always a hit in my home. I do deviate from the recipe a bit every time. It calls for refried beans and I HATE refried beans. They’re just not my thing. So to add flavor and substance in place of the beans I add chopped black olives (canned). I also used the guacamole salsa with this recipe. SO GOOD! This is a very tasty meal, buuuuut does take a bit of prep. Stuffing the shells isn’t always the easiest task, but in the end totally worth it! And don’t skimp on the cheese.

 

Buffalo Style Mozzarella Pork Chops with roasted potatoes and green beans
This recipe is a great way to get away from the typical pork chop recipes. Lots of flavor and they come out super moist! I always have issues when cooking pork, whether it’s a loin, roast, or chops, they never come out moist. No issue with this recipe though! And since the buffalo sauce is being baked, you don’t get a whole lot of the spice factor. Good recipe for week nights, too!

 

Slow Cooker Pork Roast with Apples, Carrots, and Rosemary with mashed potatoes
Great slow cooker pork recipe. There’s a ton of flavor and it’s super easy to put together and throw in the slow cooker. Also, whatever is left over makes for a great pulled pork sandwich! (No photo for this one.)

 

Italian Chicken Orzo Soup with French bread
This was the perfect soup for a snow day. My husband, who doesn’t care much for soups, was in charge of making this one…and he loved it! It was pretty straight forward as far as soups go. Tons and tons of flavor. It definitely paired well with some fresh French bread and topped with fresh grated parmesan. We have many more snow days ahead, so I see more of this soup hitting our table.

 

That’s all for today, folks! Please be sure to check out the other recipes featured on the websites I have provided links to. And don’t forget, you can see these photos on my Instagram account – tfchronicles. Happy cooking!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year! I hope everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the new year. Goodbye, 2016. Hello, 2017! On to new beginnings.

White Castle Sliders with fries
This is a favorite in my home. They’re so simple to make and good for a White Castle fix when you’re nowhere near one. There’s one ingredient in here that may have you scratching your head, but trust me when I say you’ll be glad you tried it.

Deli Sandwich Night with chips
Not much of a recipe to share. We wanted a simple meal night. While my husband was munching away on Capicola, I opted for roast beef. Everyone’s sandwich was made with Ciabatta buns. For my sandwich I made a garlic aioli and added mixed greens, provolone cheese, and tomato.

Spaetzle, Pork, and Sauerkraut
This was our New Year’s Eve dinner. It’s a meal my husband’s family used to enjoy when he was a kid. They’re pretty easy to make and super tasty. We like to pop them under the broiler for a few minutes to get a slight crisp on the top layer. I’d recommend a spaetzle maker, but they can be made without the maker by dripping the dough into the boiling water or a colander. As for the pork, we just use a pork loin and let it cook in the slow cooker all day. Season as you like.

 

Skillet Tuna Melt
I would recommend this recipe as an easy week night meal. It’s basically a deconstructed tuna melt sandwich. The first time I made this, I discovered their ingredient list was not enough with an entire baguette. This time I doubled most of the ingredients and it turned out better.

 

Baked Garlic Butter Chicken with salties and green beans
Pretty simple and delicious. The chicken was juicy and moist. The salties paired pretty well with the chicken. And green beans are always a good side choice. My 2 year old may argue that, though.

Slow Cooker Beef Bourguigon
Holy melt-in-your-mouth beef! This was an amazing recipe! However, it’s definitely a weekend meal…unless you have quite a bit of prep time before leaving for work. This is one of my top recommendations.

 

Only 6 recipes this time because I included our Christmas dinner in the last post. If you try any of these recipes, let me know how to liked it. I love feedback! Happy cooking!

 

‘Twas The Week Before Christmas and Hanukkah

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! I hope everyone had or is having a wonderful holiday filled with good food, family, and friends. Our Christmas was spent watching our two year old open his gifts on his own for the first time. It was the best thing to see his little face get excited every time he unwrapped a new toy.

This week’s post will also include the recipes we used for Christmas dinner. Christmas dinner isn’t quite as extensive as Thanksgiving dinner….fortunately. 😉

Balsamic Mustard Roast Beef with broccoli and salt potatoes
Since I don’t have the fancy mustard that was used in the roast recipe, I substituted Dijon mustard. I also mixed in a bit of balsamic vinegar. This was an awesome roast recipe. My husband thinks it’s the best one yet. Very simple and delicious. The salt potatoes paired really well with it. Great flavor and a creamy texture.

Easy Oven Baked Spicy Tacos
This. This. This. THIS! These were, hands down, the best tacos I have ever made. If you’re a “taco Tuesday” person, you have to try this recipe. If you’re not into spicy, there is a non-spicy option mentioned in the recipe.

Ranch, Chicken, and Potato Casserole with broccoli
This was a good recipe. I didn’t run out to get a rotisserie chicken for it, though. I have plenty of chicken in my freezer and the recipe calls for shredded chicken. So, I simply boiled some chicken breasts and shredded them. I really wanted to have them cook in the slow cooker all day, but time did not permit for this. This would be a good recipe for a larger crowd.

Swedish Meatball Pasta Dish
As I’ve mentioned in a past blog, I’m not a fan of pasta. But my husband is so I like to throw in a decent pasta dish every once in awhile. This one was decent. I wouldn’t say it was superb, but definitely worth a try. Maybe I didn’t fully enjoy it because of my distaste for pasta. Everyone else in the family really liked it though. So there’s that…

Slow Cooker Carnitas
Another great recommendation for “taco Tuesday”! These were packed with flavor and so easy to make.

Bacon, Brussels Sprouts, and Butternut Squash Pizza
Holy moly! This pizza was AMAZING! The bacon and butternut squash gave it that salty-sweet combo and the sprouts added a bit of an earthy flavor. I cannot recommend this recipe enough! I’d also like to note, this is actually a flatbread recipe, but I didn’t see why I couldn’t just make it into a whole pizza….so I did.

Ratatouille
So I made ratatouille. I won’t tell you that it’s super simple because there is A LOT of prep that goes into making it. However, all the prep is worth it. Lots of flavor and I felt a little sense of accomplishment once it was done. It’s a beautiful dish and sure to be a crowd pleaser, assuming the crowd likes veggies.

 

Here is our Christmas dinner…..

Foolproof Prime Rib
This truly is a foolproof way to cook a perfect prime rib. Ours turned out at a perfect medium rare (as prime rib should be) and had great flavor. Use this recipe. Seriously.

Slow Cooker Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
I used this recipe in my Thanksgiving menu. Same outcome as before – fantastic!

Sweet Potato Casserole
This recipe was also used at Thanksgiving. And it’s still the BEST EVER sweet potato casserole. I can’t wait to have the leftovers tonight!

Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Aaaaand another that I used for Thanksgiving. The only difference is I actually remembered to put this on the table on Turkey Day. Yup! I forgot to grab this from the fridge before we sat down for Christmas dinner. -_-

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
This was not used at Thanksgiving. Ha! These were quite tasty and definitely something I’d make any day of the week for a dinner side. Quick and easy to make, too!

Our other sides included au jus (made with the drippings from the roast) for the prime rib, a salad (mixed greens with some added toppings), and Sara Lee Hawaiian dinner rolls.

This is probably my last post of 2016. I hope your New Year’s celebrations are filled with love and laughter and that 2017 is an epic year for you. Happy cooking!

Instagram: @tfchronicles

I Am Not A Pasta Fan

Good morning! It’s 6:15 am, the house is quiet, I’m enjoying my coffee, and bringing you a list of recipes. All of this week’s recipes, with the exception of one, were a big hit with the family.

Best Slow-Cooker Garlic-Parmesan Chicken with potatoes and carrots
Though this is a fairly simple recipe, if you’re the type who likes to throw everything in the slow cooker and head off to work you may want to save this one for a non-work day. There’s a bit of prep prior to putting everything into the slow cooker. Now, with that said, this was a good recipe. And I would recommend using fresh shaved Parmesan. Makes a big difference.

Best Honey-Sriracha Chicken with Broccoli and rice
I was expecting this recipe to have a bit of a kick, but, for me, it was a decent amount of heat. The broccoli soaked up more flavor than the chicken did. If you’re not a huge fan of some spice then just adjust the amount of sriracha. Good recipe, not great, but I’d probably make it again.

Cajun Shrimp Scampi Rice
Loved this recipe! But, like the above mentioned recipe, if you’re not a big fan of spicy either scale back the ingredients or skip this one for this one has quite a bit of heat. There was so much flavor with this recipe. It was a lot like jambalaya without the sausage.

Carne Asada Crunchwrap
Skip Taco Bell and go straight for this recipe. Lots of prep work, but totally worth it. This has become a new household favorite and a great twist on Taco Tuesday.

Slow Roasted Honey Glazed Pork with Asparagus and Potatoes
This was a great pork recipe. It’s not a quick one, but it is fairly easy. However, I would recommend cooking the asparagus for a shorter amount of time or separately. After watching the video on the website for the recipe, I noticed the asparagus was extra crispy. I’m not a fan of burnt asparagus so I decided to make it separately from the rest of the meal. Cooking the potatoes with the pork for the same amount of time as the pork worked out perfectly. The meat was moist and had a great flavor.

Best Spaghetti and Meatballs
Biiiiiiiiig thumbs down for this one. It is, in fact, not the best spaghetti and meatballs. I’m not sure if it was a bad batch of tomato puree that I purchased, but the sauce was bitter and had NO flavor. I followed this recipe exactly as stated and after sampling the sauce I had to add more ingredients. Even after adding more it was horrible. The meatballs were good and I would probably use that part of the recipe again, but the rest of it was just awful. If you have a family recipe for spaghetti sauce that is without a doubt amazing, please share it with me. My husband loves spaghetti and meatballs, but I rarely make this meal. I’m not a pasta fan and generally don’t make any recipes that involve it other than orzo.

Pork Chops with Butter, Garlic, and Mushrooms with mashed potatoes and green beans
I got lucky this week and found two pork recipes that are definitely worth repeating. This one is pretty simple and packs a lot of flavor.

Well, my lovelies, that’s all I have for this week. And again, avoid the spaghetti and meatball recipe. I took one for the team, so heed my warning. Happy cooking!