The sweet smell of success...

I don't know if you remember, but I used to write a blog about being a new mom.  And now I write mostly about cooking and meal plans and food.  I hope you aren't growing tired of that.  I feel like people are generally pretty excited about my meal plans and recipes, but I just wanted to call out the elephant in the room.  This is still a blog about parenting.  I just spend most of my life as a parent feeding others.  I hope this makes sense to you because it basically makes no sense to me, but it makes me happy to cook and happier to share it with you.  Okay? Okay.

 So, anyway, a couple of times a month, I like to share my reviews of new recipes I've tried as part of our meal plan. The recipes we have been trying so far have been a wild success.  In case you've missed it, I also repin the pins for all of the recipes I try through Pinterest on my board "I Made This" so make sure you are following!

Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef - Well, to say this recipe was successful would be a major understatement.  For starters, my husband actually MISSED OUT on this dinner due to delayed/cancelled flights while he was out of town.  So, the next day he heated it up for lunch - and then proceeded to eat it for lunch for the next three days.  In fact, we all loved it.  I knew from the minute I mixed up the sauce and poured it into the crock pot that it was going to be perfect.  I served it with some boiled new potatoes and steamed broccoli.  Next time, I'll definitely consider serving it up with some mashed potatoes and using the sauce in the crock pot as as gravy.  Either way, this is a wonderfully easy and delicious meal.

Quick Lime Cilantro Chicken - I accidentally cut up the chicken too small when I did this recipe.  The only thing that affected was the way I wanted to serve it.  I felt like it was small enough to be a taco filling when you're really supposed to eat it over a bed of rice (review for the rice below).  My husband disagreed and said he wouldn't change a thing.  I wouldn't necessarily call this a "quick" recipe.  The prep took a bit of time (zesting/juicing limes, cutting chicken breasts, chopping cilantro, mincing garlic, etc.), but once it was in the pan it wasn't a big deal.  We did a sprinkle of both the chili powder and cayenne pepper along with cumin.  The flavor was awesome.  I am thinking about using this recipe for shrimp or fish to make fish tacos for Lent.  I'll let you know how that turns out!
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Fiesta Lime Rice - Oh, holy hell this was great.  My husband who does not like beans or tomatoes even raved about this.  TIH took one bite and said, "MMMMM."  I could eat a giant bowl of this for every meal.  The flavor reminded me of a Chipotle Burrito Bowl, minus the sour cream, cheese, meat, and guac.  So, that also means it's got all of that flavor with mostly healthy ingredients!  BEST.  We used brown rice instead of white and it was perfect.  I allowed everything to sit together for a bit before service which I think helped the flavors meld a bit.  Couldn't recommend this higher.  We had almost none leftover.

Chicken Tortilla Soup - The other day, a friend of mine texted me and asked if I could point her in the direction of a good Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe.  I knew this one was on our meal plan, so I shot her the link with the caveat that we hadn't tried it yet, so I had no idea if it was going to be any good.  She let me know that it was, in fact, delicious and I excitedly looked forward to making it for our Saturday dinner all week.  My excitement must have clouded my judgment.  Because not only did I forget two key ingredients (black beans and red bell pepper...what?!), I also totally neglected to check out the cook time and pretty  much started cooking dinner about 2 hours later than I should have.  (This was also on the day when I completely forgot about a birthday party TIH was invited to until someone texted me.  Seriously.  My brain must have turned to mush from all of the snow days.)  HOWEVER, brain mush aside - this soup is actually DELICIOUS and SUPER simple to put together (as long as you don't forget key ingredients.)  You should not only cover it with every suggested garnish in the recipe, I also read in the comment section that many people suggested serving it with a squeeze of fresh lime over the top. (Definitely do that, it was great!)  Our only snafu in serving this was that the avocado I picked up had clearly frozen at some point (probably when traveling on the truck through our polar conditions.)  So, when I cut into it, it was no good.  The next time we make it, I am really interested to see what the diced avocado adds as a garnish, but it was still pretty dang fantastic without it!

Greek Stuffed Pitas - I will admit right from the start that I had my doubts about this recipe.  First...eggplant.  I like it in small doses, but I was pretty sure my boys weren't going to be into it.  Secondly...oregano.  I know it is so strange since it is such a common ingredient in so many recipes, but oregano is just not one of my favorite herbs.  Sure, I can handle it in spaghetti or pizza sauce, but I've been known to substitute (or fully omit it) in the past in other recipes.  However, this recipe was far too easy to put together to pass up.  When I opened up the oven, I was assaulted by the smell of oregano, and I thought my suspicions were coming true - I was not going to like this recipe.  I felt this way right up until I took a bite.  AND THEN MY SOCKS WERE KNOCKED OFF.  The flavor of the chicken (oregano and all) was PERFECT.  The eggplant took on the yummy flavor of all of the juices of the other veggies, chicken, and dressing and was perfect.  We served ours in whole wheat pita pockets with a little Greek vinaigrette (thanks Aldi) poured on top.  And, of course, feta.  My husband complimented the meal several times between bites, called dibs on the leftovers for his lunch the next day, and has already requested it for a future meal plan.  Simple?  Tasty?  Husband pleasing?  WIN.  (Also, vegetarian crowd - throw some tofu in there instead of chicken, or maybe some beans of sorts and you've got yourself a happy little meal.)

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Looks great, eh?  Anybody cook anything delicious?  I'd love to hear!

Comfortable...

Unless you've been living in a cave, you've probably heard that regions in the Midwest are experiencing something called a "Polar Vortex." (I linked you to a Wikipedia article to explain what that is, but I'll give you the Cliff's Notes - it's freaking cold.  Chicago was colder than the South Pole during parts of the day.  They brought the Lincoln Park polar bear INSIDE because it was too cold.  TOO COLD FOR A POLAR BEAR.)  Needless to say, we've all been snowed in (literally, our garage is frozen shut) and have been doing what we can to stay warm and not bored out of our minds.  (I love me a snow day, but being cooped up in the house gets a little maddening after awhile.)

So, what else could possibly be better on a too-cold-for-a-damn-polar-bear kind of a day than a nice, cheesy, comforting, casserole?

Before I go on to share this old family recipe, I must provide the following disclaimer: I know that cream-of-whatever soup is not good for you.  You'll notice there are a lot of foods I post on this blog which ignore some of my own basic food rules (i.e., feeding my  family with mostly whole foods packed with great nutrients).  SOMETIMES YOU BREAK THE RULES.  There are a ton of substitution recipes out there for cream of celery (et al) out there, so if that's your thing - check it out.  Otherwise, continue on.  All the while knowing that this recipe is built for comfort, not health.  And that it should be served in moderation. On days that are too cold FOR AN ACTUAL POLAR BEAR.  Now, proceed...

This used to be one of the simple recipes my dad would put together for us as kids when my mom would work late.  She would cook it sometimes too, but I think my dad was pretty much the king of casseroles in our house when I was growing up.  When my husband and I got married, he requested that I gather some of the simple weeknight meals that my family was accustomed to eating so that we would have some easy things to cook for the two of us.  This recipe?  At the top of his list.  You're gonna love it.  Let's get started.

{NMOTB Hamburger Casserole}

Ingredients
- 1 lb. of ground beef (We usually use the leanest beef we can find.  Go with what makes you happy.)
- 1 box of rotini noodles (We always use whole wheat rotini.  Growing up we used a lot of different shapes of noodles and obviously didn't use whole wheat.  You can experiment here if you want.)
- 2 cans of cream of celery soup (Just get over it.  It's fine.)
- Milk (You're just going to fill up one of the soup cans with milk.  LOOK, RECYCLING.  YOU'RE WELCOME.)
- Cheddar cheese (I use most of a 2-cup bag.  Eyeball this.  You just want enough to cover the top of your casserole)

Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta.  I forgot both steps while photographing this tutorial.  That was a bummer choice.  Do me a favor and don't forget.

- Begin by browning your pound of beef in a large skillet.  Truth be told I've never tried this with ground turkey or chicken (obviously, it's HAMBURGER casserole), but if you wanted to be experimental, I'd love to hear your results...

- Drain your beef once it is browned.  Add to your skillet both cans of cream of celery and then fill one empty can with milk and add that in there too.

- Stir the mixture around until everything is combined and allow to cook over medium low heat until it bubbles and thickens. (At this step my mom would also sprinkle in a little thyme. We've tried it both ways and like it better without. But, by all means - experiment! It's a casserole. You can almost never screw it up!)

Don't worry, it'll look more appetizing in the casserole.

- In the meantime, I hope you were boiling your pasta and didn't forget like me.

- Once your soup mixture has thickened a bit, your casserole is ready to assemble.  Begin by draining your pasta and putting it in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.  (You can probably put it in something slightly smaller, but you may want to adjust cook times.)  Pour your soup mixture evenly over the noodles.  You don't have to worry about mixing it up, it'll get in there, but make sure it's relatively even so the whole casserole is layered correctly.

- After you've layered the noodles and soup mixture, sprinkle the entire top with cheddar cheese.  Like I said, I usually use most (if not all) of a 2-cup bag of cheddar cheese to do this.  Hey, no one said this recipe was health food.

- Then, just like any good casserole, you stick it in your preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted/bubbly.

You know it looks delicious.

- We usually serve ours with some sort of salad or green vegetable.  Because it makes me feel better about eating something so rich.  IT BALANCES OUT, RIGHT?  Recipe serves at least 8.  Or, two people who like seconds and a busy 3 year old who eats two pieces of pasta - with leftovers.  ENJOY!

In a hurry to get things done...

Throughout the month, I will be sharing new recipes I have tried as part of our meal plan.  Unsurprisingly, this month was filled with meal plan changes due to some impromptu social events, illness (ugh, again), and just generally being too busy to cook every night.  I'm putting a lot of meals we didn't have back on our meal plan for January so check back tomorrow when I'll be sharing the first menu of 2014.  Remember, I also repin the pins for all of the recipes I try through Pinterest on my board "I Made This" so make sure you are following!

Lemon Parmesan Chicken Skillet - My husband loved this so much and raved about it the next day when he ate the leftovers.  I thought it was pretty good, but also felt the flavor needed some enhancing.  It also wasn't the easiest meal for a weeknight, so by the time we were sitting down to actually eat, I was a bit on the exhausted side.  Definitely worth a try and definitely worth repeating (perhaps with some tweaks next time.)

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff - Beef Stroganoff was a favorite in my house growing up.  I've looked for a long time for a simpler recipe than the one my mom would always make, but that wouldn't sacrifice the flavor.  I would say this one came pretty close.  The beef we used fell apart a lot in the slow cooker as it cooked and that made the finished product (which I sadly did not take a picture of) look a little off-putting.  The taste, however, was fantastic.  Maybe we can figure out a cut of beef that doesn't fall apart so much, or we can cook it for a shorter period of time next time.  Without a doubt, this is a repeatable recipe.  Very tasty.

Chicken Parmesan Roll-Ups - My husband loved this and raved about it.  It just didn't do much for me.  I think, again, it was a lot of work for a weeknight meal and the end product wasn't all that great.  (I think I'm still hung up on my Chicken Parmigiana recipe, to tell the truth.)

Chipotle Grilled Steak with Lime Butter - Someday, I promise I will make this meal.  I hope that it will not grace the January meal plan only to be ignored again.  But, I can obviously make no promises.  I swear it looks delicious to me (and I'm not even that much of a steak eater), but I continue to plan it for nights when we end up not eating at home.  The same goes for my World's Best Chicken and Smashed Potatoes meal.  I feel like I'll never get around to that one either.  Oh well.

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So, what's looking good to you all for next month?  Does anyone have a resolution to eat healthier in 2014?  My husband is making that one of his goals, and so if you have any great recipes to share, our family would love to try them!

Need that picture of you...

A couple of times a month, I will be sharing new recipes I have tried as part of our meal plan.  Everything I'm reviewing today has the awesome theme of SIMPLICITY.  There's a pasta meal that will definitely become our "Last minute, I don't know what to cook and I don't have a whole lot of time to think about it" meal.  (Yes, even with meal planning, this still happens!)  This post also has the theme of  forgetfulness as I didn't take pictures of almost any of the meals.  Gah.  I'm sorry.  They all turned out looking relatively similar to what you see under the links...just trust me on that.  Remember, I also repin the pins for all of the recipes I try, my meal plans, and all of my recipe reviews through Pinterest on my board "I Made This" so make sure you are following!

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Easy Lemon Chicken with Roasted Brussel Sprouts  -  I forgot to take a picture of this.  That's such a bummer because it was awesome!  The flavor was perfect and I was only halfway through my plate when I told my husband, "Don't have seconds, I'm eating this for lunch tomorrow."  My only beef with this recipe is that the pin called it "Easy Lemon Chicken."  I think we have different ideas of the word "easy."  It's not that it is difficult to make at all, but it does involve multiple steps and several dishes.  I think the pinner was probably trying to describe the simplistic (but oh so yummy) flavor profile.  I also tried a new recipe for the roasted brussels because the ones I have pinned keep getting flagged for being spam.  Whoops?  This one was great, but either I measured the salt wrong, or it calls for way too much because these were definitely a touch on the salty side.  I think you could get away with half of the salt.  We finished it with some freshly shredded parmesan which was delicious (but may have added to the overall saltiness.)  Definitely a repeatable dish.

Mexican Casserole - I also forgot to take a picture of the finished product for this recipe.  Dang it. I loved this so much I ate it for lunch the next day!  We served it with my famous guacamole.  Despite this being a Weight Watchers recipe (which I can sometimes be laden with substitutes that decrease calories, but increase other things that aren't good for you) - it's a relatively clean recipe.  (Relative to other Weight Watchers recipes, I should say.)  I think one change I will make next time is actually to add a little bit more of the chopped jalapenos.  I expected the dish to be a bit spicier and I think just a touch more of a kick would be great.

Pesto Cavatappi with Chicken - If you are looking for an easy, tasty, and cheap weeknight meal for your family, look no further.  The level of skill required this recipe is probably less than what I had as a college student.  Cavatappi is one of my favorite pasta shapes and pesto is one of my favorite sauces, so I knew I was going to love this, but I had no idea it was going to be so flipping easy!  Instead of using a rotisserie chicken (as recommended on the blog), we just made up a little bit more of the same marinade used for the roasted tomatoes and basted some chicken with it on the grill.  It was a snowy day here in Chicago when my husband was out there on the grill, so now I know he really loves me ;)  I also packed this for my lunch the following day and it was delicious heated up as well.

Taco Stuffed Shells - (UGH. I just suck visually as far as this post goes.  No picture of this one either.  Shoot.)  We had a few bumps as we were trying to make this.  First, in a (very helpful) effort to defrost the beef in the microwave (it hadn't totally thawed in the fridge), my husband accidentally cooked the beef a bit (I guess it as more thawed than he expected.)  So, by the time it was browned, it got a little dried out.  The texture of the filling was therefore a bit dry and off putting to me.  Fortunately, some magic occurred in the oven and once it baked for 30 minutes, it was on the road to delicious.  The second bump was that I forgot to pick up taco sauce and I'm not sure I even saw it as part of the recipe.  So instead, I just used salsa on top.  Which might have been better.  I don't know.  I love me some salsa.  The entire meal was a home run for our family. (Though I'm still on the fence about stuffed pastas in general...it might be my only weird food thing.  Eh. Whatever.)

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Anyone have any great recipes to share with me?  I'm already thinking about the meal plan for December.  Do tell!

If it ain't broke don't fix it...

When I was growing up, we never had stuffed peppers.  I can't remember which one of my parents it was, but either my mom or my dad didn't like stuffed peppers.  A few years ago, a co-worker brought her homemade stuffed peppers to work for lunch and I thought, "Wow, that seems like a really healthy recipe."  I did some research and found one that wasn't only a great foundation for the recipe I'm about to share, it's also one of the few stuffed pepper recipes you will find that does not feature breadcrumbs or cheese in the recipe.  In fact, by my calculations this recipe is 288 calories per serving (1 pepper.)  Not bad, eh?  The original recipe turned out okay, but the next time I made it I made several adjustments so it would fit our tastes a little better.  I actually searched for the old recipe for awhile and never found it.  Good thing I printed it out!  (This was in the days before Pinterest.  I know. Weird, right?)

So, get yourself ready.  You're going to want to keep this recipe in mind for a rainy day (or any day...it doesn't have to be rainy. Whatever.)

{New Mom on the Blog's Stuffed Peppers}

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef (I use the leanest ground beef I can find, but have used ground turkey before as well and it was great.)
1/2 cup of uncooked brown rice (Or you can use one of those awesome Uncle Ben's Boil-in-a-Bag things [pictured below]s and just stick it in the microwave.  Otherwise, cook your rice in a cup of water/chicken broth and set it to the side.)
4 bell peppers (My husband likes red and I like green so we always do two of each.)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2-15 ounce cans of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt to taste
(I think you could easily make this recipe vegetarian by using more rice and no meat.  I think quinoa would also make this super interesting both with and without meat.  I haven't tried either substitution, but if you do and it is a success, let me know!  I'd love to try it!)


Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

- Cook rice in a sauce pan or use one of the delightfully easy boil-in-a-bag thingies.  You'll thank me later.

Thank you, kind sir.  You make life easier.

- In a skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic and let warm up a bit.  Add uncooked ground beef (or turkey), mix it around, and cook until evenly browned.

 - Meanwhile, remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers.  Arrange the peppers in a square baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward.  (Sometimes this is a balancing act, so when I'm choosing peppers in the store, I always try to make sure I get some that will sit evenly in the pan.)

Gorg.

- Once the meat is browned, mix the meat, cooked rice, 1 can of the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder in a large bowl.

Trust me.  This tastes amazing.

- Mix the remaining can of tomato sauce with the Italian seasoning in a separate bowl.  Add salt to taste.

Look familiar?  Basically the same as the sauce for my Chicken Parmigiana recipe.

- Spoon an equal amount of the rice/meat mixture into each hollowed pepper.  (You may have a little bit leftover depending on the size of your peppers.)  Pour the other bowl of sauce evenly over the tops of the peppers.

Peppers before the final "saucing."

- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Serve with some freshly baked bread.  You'll want it to mop up the yummy sauce.

Enjoy!

Today is the greatest day I've never known...

(See what I did there?  It's Halloween AND I'm reviewing a recipe for Pumpkin & Butternut Squash soup, so I made the title a Smashing Pumpkins song.  Get it?!  And, scene.  Moving on.)

A couple of times a month, I will be sharing new recipes I have tried as part of our meal plan.  Yet again, we have had another month full of successful new recipes (several we will be repeating on future meal plans).  I'll be posting our November meal plan on Monday, so check back to find out what other new yummy things we'll be trying next month as well as what old favorites we are bringing back for a second round.  (Spoiler alert: Spicy Sausage Pasta.) Remember, I also repin the pins for all of the recipes I try through Pinterest on my board "I Made This" so make sure you are following!

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A picture of my mise en place for the soup.
Because I forgot to take a picture of the final product.  Whoops.

Pumpkin & Butternut Squash Soup - My first piece of advice for anyone hoping to make this recipe is for you to  make sure you have a big stock pot.  I have one, but I didn't think I would need it. I was wrong.  The second piece of advice is to invite guests.  In other words?  This makes a whole lot of food.  However - it's also DELICIOUS.  It's just the right amount of savory and rich and it literally tastes like fall in a bowl.  A chef friend of mine told me that the proper consistency is less like baby food, more like heavy cream.  I don't own an immersion blender, so I had to rely on the power of my food processor.  The result was definitely more like baby food than cream, but we were kind of okay with that.  Definitely worth a repeat sometime this fall...

Parmesan Panko Italian Chicken - Sorry there's no link there, but this was actually a recipe on the back of a box of Progresso Italian Style Panko.  And...WOW.  So easy.  So cheap.  And SO delicious.  I served it with a salad and some roasted carrots on the side.  We marveled at how delicious this was.  I feel this panko could also easily be substituted for Italian bread crumbs in my Chicken Parimigiana recipe.  Pick up a box of this stuff immediately.  You will NOT be disappointed to have this recipe in your arsenal of easy weeknight meals.

Moist Lemon Chicken with Herbs - GAH.  I forgot about Book Club.  (We're discussing Divergent so I'm not even sorry.)  But, it looks like this month we're going to have to push this one off.

Spicy Thai Noodles - My sister-in-law suggested this recipe to us and it looked amazing.  I was a little intimidated by the spice, but knew my husband would probably love it.  It turned out great (and I was right, my husband LOVED it.)  As suggested by the blogger sharing the recipe, I cut the red pepper flakes down to a little less than 1 tbsp.  This gave it just the right amount of kick.  The only thing I did different (read: wrong) was that these noodles were actually meant to be served cold (YUM), but I served them warm.  If you've never had spicy cold noodles before, you are missing out.  Definitely try it that way.  We will for sure make this again and serve them cold.

Mongolian Beef - We served this alongside the Spicy Thai Noodles.  I absolutely loved the flavor in this recipe.  I'm actually not a big ginger fan myself, so I wonder what it would be like if I used less (or left it out all together), but my husband loves it and loved it in this recipe.  Making both this and the noodles was a little labor intensive, but it was definitely a change from our usual repertoire and totally tasty.  Maybe next time I'll just do each recipe on separate nights.

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So, there you have it! Anyone try anything delicious this month that I should definitely have on my menu for November?  Let me know!  It's not too late!  Happy Halloween, everyone :)