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Looking for a new fundraiser? Check out Little Caesars Pizza!

Abby H.

Did you know that Little Caesars Pizza does Fundraising? Really.

If your non-profit group is looking for a fun, easy, TASTY way to earn some money, Little Caesars is the way to go.

There are many different ways to earn money for your organization, including Pizza Kits, Cookie Dough, and Bread Kits. We’ve purchased from Little Caesars fundraising events, and the pizza kits are awesome!

Recipe: Marry Me Cannellini Beans

Abby H.

Maybe you’ve seen videos or recipes online for marry me chicken. It’s a creamy Tuscan style dish that can be served with noodles or by itself.

Here is my version, but instead of using chicken, I substituted Cannellini beans. Why? Because I had cannellini beans, and I didn’t have any chicken.

If you want to use chicken, substitute about a pound of either boneless skinless trimmed thighs or boneless skinless trimmed chicken breasts for the beans.

Ingredients 

  •  2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons your favorite cooking oil (I used the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes)
  • One small, yellow onion, diced
  • 2 15.5 ounce cans of Cannellini beans, drained, and rinsed
  • Three cloves of crushed garlic/3 tablespoons of Jarlic
  • 2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes 
  • 2 cups of chicken broth 
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • One cup evaporated milk, or half-and-half (choice) 
  • 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (use the freshly grated variety, not the powdered variety)

Directions

  1. In a large skillet, melt butter and mix oil in with butter.
  2. Sauté onions over medium heat until translucent, about five minutes.
  3. Add in garlic and stir frequently until garlic is fragrant.
  4. Add in rinsed and drained beans, sun-dried, tomatoes, broth, Italian seasoning. Cook on medium, stirring frequently until mixture comes to a boil.
  5. Using the back of a spoon or a potato masher gently mash up about half of the beans. This will add thickness to the sauce or without adding any additional ingredients. 
  6. Once a thickened mixture simmer for about 15 minutes, add in milk/half-and-half, spinach,  and about a half a cup of the grated cheese. 
  7. Stir and turn stove down to low. Simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes until mixture has thickened. 
  8. Serve with noodles of your choice, or serve mixture in a bowl with toasted/crusty Italian bread. Top each bowl with some of the remaining cheese.
  9. I prefer to serve this in a bowl and eat it with a toasted/crusty bread. 

Substitutions:

  • To make this recipe vegetarian, substitute chicken broth for vegetable broth/stock. 
  • To make this recipe vegan, substitute as above, and additionally substitute milk/half-and-half with your favorite dairy free variety, as well as your favorite dairy free variety of “Parmesan” type cheese. 

Recipe: Cafeteria Noodles

Abby H.

This recipe has been all over social media lately, and for good reason too!

It’s delicious. Easy to make, filling, and pretty inexpensive. It would make an awesome addition to a potluck, to your weekly meal rotations, and the best part is, it reheats really well- if you have any leftovers.

The name comes from the types of noodle dishes served at cafeteria-style restaurants across the south, where the recipe originates.

Ingredients 

Optional but pretty good with the recipe: 2 cups of frozen carrots and peas 

Directions 

  1. In a medium-sized pot bring broth, cream of chicken soup, and better than bouillon to a gentle boil.
  2. Add egg noodles, turn off stove, cover pot with lid. Leave to cook off heat for about 10 minutes. 
  3. After 10 minutes, stir taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. Optional- Add frozen vegetables, and stir to combine. 
  4. Allowed to sit undisturbed for an additional five minutes, stir and taste adjust seasonings as necessary. 

Serves 6 to 8 as a side or 4 to 6 as a main dish. If you want to add a little extra protein, add one cup, of diced or shredded cooked chicken while adding the noodles. 

Both of my kids really liked these noodles, and I took leftovers to work for lunch. Everyone commented how good they smelled.

New Recipe: Chicken Bruschetta Stew with Orzo

Abby H.

This soup was easy to make, flavorful, and a big hit.

I used Bruschetta from Aldi’s, however, if you don’t have one nearby, Trader Joe’s Bruschetta is great too.

Unlike most of my other recipes, I will not be providing any sort of dietary alternatives. I’m not sure this recipe would come out the same if it was vegan/vegetarian.

Chicken Bruschetta Stew with Orzo 

  • 1 lb chicken cut of your choice, diced into bite-size
  • One bag, onions, and pepper strips defrosted and chopped into bite sides pieces 
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or your favorite cooking oil
  • 1-quart chicken broth or stock
  • 1 14.5-ounce can of petite diced tomatoes with oregano and basil 
  • One small jar (about 6-ish oz), red pepper, and artichoke bruschetta (I bought mine at Aldi’s.) 
  • 1 1/2 cups dried orzo pasta (it is rice shaped)
  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder 
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder 
  • Salt and pepper to taste 
  • Topping: 
  • 2 cups Italian cheese blend, divided 

Directions: 

  1. In a large stock pot, heat oil. Add in bite-size pieces of chicken and cook over medium heat frequently until chicken is no longer pink about 5 to 7 minutes. 
  2. Add in onions and peppers, cooking over medium heat. Stir occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes until the onions are no longer white, and the peppers are fragrant. 
  3. Pour in a quart of broth and a can of tomatoes. Stir to combine, allow to simmer for about 15 minutes. 
  4. Add an entire jar of bruschetta (approx. 6-ish ounces) to stock pot. Stir to incorporate, and add in orzo and all seasonings. 
  5. Cover pot with lid, turn the stove down to low and allow soup to slowly simmer and orzo to cook for about 15+ minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed, and add salt and pepper as desired. 
  6. soup can be served at this time, or it can be left to simmer on low as needed. 

To serve: ladle soup into a bowl and top with approximately one to 2 ounces of cheese as desired. Serve with garlic bread or hot, crusty buttered bread. Well with a mixed green salad

And as always, the soup is better the next day. This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings and can be frozen.

Celebrate National Baking Day!

Abby H.

I love baking- cookies, bread, even biscuits. To celebrate National Baking Day, here are a few of my favorite recipes:

Want cookies but don’t want to turn on the oven? Try these:

Lunch Time: Fueling Success!

Abby H.
My kids don’t have a lunch quite this fancy, but it looks amazing!

During the school year, I take my lunch to work every day. Not only is it cheaper than getting takeout daily, but bringing food to work helps me stay “on track” with my nutrition goals.

My kids also take their lunches every day. California public schools offer free breakfast and lunch to all kids, but my kids don’t like the offerings, and that’s ok with me.

Here are my top tips for packing a tip-top lunch- a lunch that gets eaten!

  1. Invest in an insulated lunch bag. I have this one and it’s awesome. It keeps everything at the correct temperature.
  2. Speaking of temps- Blue ice is ok, but these flexible ice sheets are better. You can wrap them around stuff in the lunch box/bag that needs to stay cold.
  3. We have various-sized thermoses, perfect for keeping hot food at the best temp. To really keep hot food hot, I recommend pouring boiling hot water into the thermos and putting on the lid to let the inside heat up. After 10 minutes, dump out the hot water, pour in the hot food, and screw the lid on tightly. These 10-ounce thermoses are perfect for kids lunches. Spaghetti, soup, mac n’ cheese, and leftovers of most types work really well in these containers. My daughter loves Sanrio, and she has one of these with Kuromi.
  4. My son loves Smoothies, and to keep them cold and frosty, I use an insulated bottle like these. Much like prepping a thermos for hot food, keeping smoothies frosty, prep an insulated bottle with ice old water (with cubes)for 10-15 minutes. Dump them out, pour in the smoothie and screw the cap on. I include a boba straw with his lunch.
  5. I like salads for lunch, and with a container like this one from Contigo, all of my salad “parts” stay fresh and the lettuce doesn’t get wilty or gross.

In case you are wondering what my kids and I have for lunch, here are just a few examples:

Boy child: Smoothie (contains fruit, greek yogurt, fairlife milk), chips or pretzels, granola bar, fruit snack, protein cookies.

Girl Child: Something hot (usually chicken noodle soup or mac n’ cheese), apple slices, chips or pretzels, cookie, fruit snack, cheese stick.

Me: Meal Prepped lunch (2 ounces meat, 4-6 ounces of veggies, 1/2 cup starch), Salad with 2 ounces of meat,  or a frozen entree with at least 15 grams of protein, 2 small clementines or 1 orange cut-up,  1 cup of veggies (carrot sticks or celery), serving of guac or hummus, can of fizzy water.  My morning snack is a cup of Greek yogurt and 1 cup of fruit.

Piquant Post- Deals on Spices!

Abby H.

This is a new website to me, but I looked it over, placed an order, and decided to share. Have y’all heard of Piquant Post? It’s a spice website that sells individual spices, herbs, and blends, but it also offers subscriptions. Go month by month, 6 months at a time, or annually. Each month you’ll receive a package.

Piquant Posts has in-house chefs who curate the selection of spice blends and develop recipes around a new theme each month. In addition, 4 printed recipe cards to use the spice blends each month (1 for each blend).

And don’t worry about repeats: They currently have enough spices in their catalog to never repeat spice blends for 21 consecutive months.

I have a lot of cooks in my life and this subscription is going to make a great gift for a few of them!

But if you are looking for a single spice or herb to refresh your spice rack, or want to try something new, check out all of their offerings here. 

Family Recipe: Chow Mein Hotdish

Abby H.
My mom made some recently and sent some home with me!

OK, so growing up we used to have this like once every few weeks. It’s quick, it’s easy, and I swore that it was a family recipe.

When researching this recipe, I then found out that apparently, this is a hot dish that’s made all over the Midwest. And according to my mom, it’s in tons of church cookbooks.

This recipe is pretty simple, and it’s delicious, and it is kind of weird. And definitely not at all Asian.

Chow mein hot dish 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon of dehydrated toasted onions, or 1/4 diced white onion
  • one can of cream of mushroom soup
  • half a can of cream of mushroom soup filled with water
  • One cup of uncooked rice
  • Two ribs of celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 small can of water chestnuts slices, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can of chow mein noodles

Directions

  1. In an electric skillet over medium heat, cook and crumble ground beef and onion.
  2. Add all remaining ingredients except chow mein noodles.
  3. Cook on medium stirring often until rice is tender.
  4. Remove from heat, top with chow mein noodles, and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

If you want to add extra veggies, add 1 cup sliced mushrooms when cooking the meat and onion.

You can cook this on the stove, but I’ve always cooked the majority of my hot dishes in an electric skillet. I’m not sure why. Probably because my entire family does.

Some people like this served with a little bit of soy sauce, but I find that the condensed cream of mushroom soup is salty enough as it is.

Family Recipe: Calico Beans

Abby H.
Beans, Beans…

This recipe is one of my favorite Fourth of July favs.

Calico Beans. Easy to make, so good, gets better as leftovers (if there are any).

This will be one of the few recipes I will not change, so vegetarian/vegan/GF friends, scroll on.

Calico Beans -Makes a crockpot full

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef, crumbled, cooked, and drained
  • 1 package (12 ounces) bacon, chopped, cooked, and drained
  • 1/2 onion, diced (Or use 1/4 cup dehydrated onions)
  • 2 large cans of Campbell’s Pork & Beans
  • 3 cans of beans, your choice (Great Northern, Black Eye, Cannelli, Kidney, Butter Beans are all solid choices) DRAINED AND RINSED
  • 1/4 c brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

  1. Put all of the ingredients into a crockpot.
  2. Stir to combine.
  3. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

These beans are amazing. They are so filling, and taste like summer (at least to me). A friend of my grandfather always brought these beans to potlucks and swore it was a special secret family recipe.

It’s not. This recipe, or a variation is in almost every midwestern church cookbook. Gatekeeping family recipes is a no-no in my book. If you don’t share recipes, the food is lost to your family and friends when you pass. Share the recipe and your memory and the happy memories of eating your food will live on!

 

 

Summer Grill Bundles from Dream Dinners!

Abby H.

As you are all aware,  Dream Dinners is one of my favorite ways to save time and get tasty, healthy meals on the table in 45 minutes or less!

Just in time for summer, Dream Dinners is offering Grill Bundles. The perfect easy meal plan for camping, your next vacation, or a staycation. There are two Bundles, One available in June, and the second in July.

And it gets better- If you are new to Dream Dinners, order 3 or more dinners, and get a free medium Creamy Chicken Risotto as their gift to you. Use code SHARE at checkout.

If you don’t live near a Dream Dinners location, don’t fret! New Guests can receive free shipping on their first box of 4 medium dinners as a special offer just for you. Use the code FREESHIP at checkout.