1 more week...

...until the big move! This is the reason you haven't seen me around lately. I have been busy sorting, packing, cleaning, labeling, organizing and painting. Oh, and browsing the furniture section on Craigslist a lot. We got some awesome deals! Remember how we live in an 855 square foot home right now? So we don't have much to bring to the new, huge place. Not anymore! Craigslist helped us get an entire living room set (couch, loveseat and chair), a really nice dining table and chairs, a desk and some bar stools. Also, a washer and dryer from the appliance section. Hooray!

Life is a little chaotic right now but I wouldn't have it any other way. We'd move tomorrow if we could! Margot asks me every day "am I move to my new house today, mom?" and I tell her "only 10 more days, 9 more days"...and today I got to tell her, "only 1 more week!" Her face lit up (she has no idea how long 1 week is) and she gasped and said "1 more week?? I'm so excited!". So we're all ready to go :)

I knew next week would be even busier with the actual moving day (the 15th) and then unpacking all week after that. So I spent the whole morning yesterday in the kitchen making some meals to stick in the freezer for us to eat next week. I know I won't be thinking about menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking so I'll be glad I did the work now so I won't have to worry about it next week. This was my first time making freezer meals...I hope I did them right! I made penne with sausage and creamy ricotta, sour cream enchiladas and a chicken pot pie. They all looked like great recipes and they're from some of my favorite blogs and websites. I "healthified" them a little bit by using low fat and whole grain ingredients. I also made my brother a birthday cake for a little family party last night....it was de-licious. Everyone loved it. And one of the simpliest recipes ever! I will definitely make it again.

So, that's a little of what I've been up to! Hopefully I can keep up with posting more during this transition...we'll see what happens!

all my little meals, ready to go into the freezer!

one way to get to the girls to the new house :)

Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

So these are probably my new favorite cookie! Super chewy, great flavors, perfect summertime cookie. Not the prettiest picture, sorry! The only change I made to the original recipe is that I doubled the amount of coconut and added an extra egg. I'm glad I did because I think it prevented the cookies from spreading too much like the original recipe says they do. I didn't have trouble with that at all. I can't wait for an excuse to make these again!


Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c.butter, softened
1 ½ c. white sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime
3 tbsp lime juice
1 c. shredded coconut, toasted*
½ c. sugar (for rolling cookies)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut until fully incorporated. Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar until evenly coated. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned on the edges and slightly doughy in the centers. Let stand on cookie sheets for a couple minutes before moving to cool on wire racks. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

*to toast coconut just put in an even layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Watch it closely, it goes from white to burnt really quickly!

It's probably time I tell you...

...we're moving!! Hooray! It's been in the works for several months now but I haven't made the official announcement on my blog yet. So here it is! Just about 6 weeks to go and we'll be out of our little 855 square foot house into more square footage that I have ever dreamed of.

It's got 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a 2 car garage....my girls will each have their own room! Poor Amelia's been living in our walk in closet since she was born. Works for now! This house is such an enormous blessing and has come at just the most perfect time in our lives.

And the coolest part is that it's the house my husband grew up in. His parents are about to become empty nesters and recently snagged themselves a swanky condo and gave us an awesome deal on their house! I am beyond excited and I have SO many ideas for our new place that I can't wait to get started on. I'm sure I'll be sharing lots of them with you in the near future :)

P.S. This is my 300th post!

Nutella Rice Krispie Treats

I made these for Easter this year for the kiddos and my sister who can't have gluten. I think everyone else gave them a try, too! I was happy with how they turned out but I thought they could definitely be more Nutella-y. The hazelnuts and chocolate chips on top are a must!  It gave the that great Nutella flavor. I'll make them again but I'll try 3/4 cup of Nutella instead of 2/3 next time.

Nutella Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

1/4 c. butter (plus more for the pan)

10 oz. bag marshmallows

2/3 c. Nutella

6 c. Rice Krispie cereal

1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

1/2 c. chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Directions:
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Once mixture is smooth, remove from heat and stir in the Nutella. Next, stir the cereal in until well coated. Coat the bottom and sides 13x9 pan with a little bit of softened butter. With butter on your fingers, press the cereal and Nutella mixture into the buttered pan. Sprinkle the hazelnuts and chocolate chips in an even layer all over the top and press firmly with your fingers until they're no longer lose, but attached to the top of the treats. Allow to cool at least 1 hour, cut and serve.

Happy Easter...a day late!

We had a lovely Easter! How about you? My sister, her husband and their three kiddos have been in town for the last week and we've been having a great time with them! We had a big family lunch and egg hunt yesterday. It was a fun, relaxing day.

I wore a dress voluntarily for the first time since my wedding...and heels, too! Randy had a new outfit from Forever21 and the girls both wore ruffly dresses I found them at thrift stores. Don't we all look cute?? ;)

I was in charge of dessert and I made Nutella rice krispie treats (for the kiddos and my sister who can't have gluten) and then a 3-layer carrot cake for everyone else. Recipes coming soon!

Glazed Bell Peppers and Snap Peas

It's a fact that I'm no good at coming up with side dishes. I usually just throw a salad in with our meal, which isn't a problem at all, but it gets a little routine after a while. This last week I challenged myself to make a new side dish with every meal. This was our favorite one! I found this yummy recipe in my South Beach cookbook. I loved it because it used two of my favorite veggies plus balsamic. Gotta love balsamic! It's really pretty and colorful, too.


Glazed Bell Peppers and Snap Peas

Ingredients:
3 c. snap peas, ends trimmed
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-2 inch slices
1/4 c. water
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. Splenda (or 1 tsp. white sugar)
1 tsp. olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place the snap peas, bell pepper and water into a skillet with a tight fitting lid. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 3-5 minutes, or until most of the water is gone and veggies are crisp-tender. Remove the lid and allow any remaining water to evaporate. With the heat over medium, drizzle veggies with the olive oil and add garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes., until the garlic is fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the glaze, combine the vinegar and Splenda in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes, until mixture is reduced to 2 tablespoons. Remove from heat and toss with the veggies until evenly coated. Serve hot. Makes 4 servings,

Turkey Taco Peppers

I read a few different Mexican style stuffed pepper recipes and then made this one myself. I wanted to make something that would use up several ingredients I've had lying around for much too long. This did the trick! And they were pretty tasty, too :)

Turkey Taco Peppers

Ingredients:

3 bell peppers

1 small onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground turkey

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 c. chicken broth (water would work fine)

1 c. cooked rice or orzo pasta

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the bell peppers in half horizontally and remove all the seeds and white parts. Place, cut side up, in a baking dish. Saute the onion over medium/low heat in a little bit of olive oil. Once they are tender and translucent, add the garlic an saute another 2 minutes. Turn heat up to medium and add the turkey. Cook, breaking it apart as you go, until it is no longer pink. Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and stir well. Next, stir in the tomato paste and chicken broth. Bring to a bubble and cook until broth has reduced slightly, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the rice or orzo and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves. Top each pepper with a pinch of the cheese. Pour half a cup of water into the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.

Skillet Dijon Garlic Chicken

I posted this recipe a while back as one that you bake in the oven. The other day my house was feeling particularly warm so I didn't feel like heating it up even more by turning on the oven. So I decided to throw the chicken along with all the marinade in a skillet and I'm glad I did! This was WAY better than the oven baked version. Plus, as the marinade reduced it made an awesome sauce to serve over the top. I will make it this way from now on!

Skillet Dijon Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, pounded thin (I cut mine in half horizontally and had 8 pieces)

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 c. dijon mustard

1/4 c. dry white cooking wine

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. Sriracha (optional, if you like it a little hot!)

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

Place the chicken in a container with a lid or a gallon size Ziploc bag. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour marinade over the chicken, seal it up and shake around to coat evenly. Place in the fridge to marinade at least 1 hour, or overnight.

After marinading, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the chicken along with all the marinade. Cook 5-7 minutes on each side, until fully cooked. Served with the marinade spooned over the top chicken breasts. Serves 4.

Chai Bars with Honey Ginger Icing

Here is yet another delicious recipe I came across on Pinterest! I love chai and I love an easy dessert to throw together. This is both! I'm embarrassed to say that Randy, Margot and I devoured these all on our own over the last several days. They were awesome! Super moist, too. They had a nice fall taste, almost like pumpkin spice. The blend of spices in these bars is amazing. I figured this could the last dessert like this for a while since yesterday was the first day of Spring ;)

Chai Bars with Honey Ginger Icing

Bar Ingredients:

1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. butter, softened
1 egg
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt salt
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 tsp. cardamom (I didn't have)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Icing Ingredients:

2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. ginger
1 c. powdered sugar
water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar. Add the egg and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and spices and stir into the butter mixture until thoroughly combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, until the cookies are a light golden brown. Let cool.
To make the icing: mix the honey, ginger, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add water, half a teaspoon at a time, until the icing is spreadable. Spread over the cookies and allow to set before cutting into squares.

Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan - Meatless Monday

This is a recipe I've had flagged for a long time! Don't know it took me so long to try it out. I think eggplant intimidates me a little bit. There's a fine line between it being too bitter and tough and too mushy and flavorless. Sauteing it in small pieces was a great way to gauge it. This dish was fresh and tasty, loaded with flavor. 

It made a lot which was great for leftovers. The original recipe says this feeds 4. I'd say it serves 6-8, easy! There were a few little changes I made based on the ingredients I had on hand. If you're a eggplant parm lover, this is a simple, delicious, less messy way to enjoy it!

Recipe found here

Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 c. marinara sauce

1 c. water
1 lb. rigatoni or penne
10 basil leaves, torn
1/2 lb chopped fresh mozzarella (I had shredded I needed to use)
1/4 c. panko breadcrumbs
1/4 c. grated Parmesan

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. In the meantime, set a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add olive oil. Add the eggplant, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the eggplant is tender. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 more minutes.

Pour the marinara and water over the eggplant mixture and stir to combine. Simmer gently until the the eggplant is soft and just barely falling apart, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

In a small skillet pan, toast the breadcrumbs with a little bit of olive oil until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Set aside. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and add to the pan with the sauce. Add the basil leaves (reserving one or two for garnish) and the mozzarella and toss to combine.

Spoon the pasta into serving bowls and top each with a tablespoon of breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Garnish with torn basil leaves, and serve immediately.