Dinner for 1 & 1/2!

So I don't know about a lot of other moms out there but when my husband is out of town on business I struggle to think of ideas for dinner. I'm so used to cooking a large meal every night that I honestly get stuck on what to do for just myself and one little person. I don't like resorting to pizza, or instant dinners. Plus let's be honest we have all cooked breakfast for dinner in these situations. But I can't do that every night. So I need other alternatives.

I have lunches and breakfast down packed for just the two of us. But thinking of cooking dinner for just us and dirtying pots... blah blah..(excuses I know) I get turned off the idea quickly. I know some folks would just cook a big meal and have leftovers. But people who know me already can tell you I am not a leftovers person. Sorry just not a fan.

But I do have one good go to meal I want to share. It's one pot and takes probably less than 15 minutes to make. And my kid loves it! You could easily make it for more people if you wanted. 

Creamy Lemon Chicken Fettuccine with Spinach

Ingredients :- 1 large chicken breast
-  Olive oil ( just a drizzle) to cook chicken
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon of flour
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons of cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper (or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a dash of pepper)
- 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
- Approximately 3 oz of pasta

First heat up a skillet and dice chicken. Then cook chicken in a drizzle of olive oil. Next add butter and flour to pot. Let them combine into a paste. Add in your chicken broth.Stir until flour is dissolved. Easy next step. Dump all other ingredients in. Pasta will cook in the sauce! Cover let simmer until pasta is tender and sauce thickens. That's it! Plus it tastes sooo good. Dinner for 1 and 1/2 done. With easy clean up. 

Please share some other easy meals you cook for just yourself or those like me 1 & 1/2. I really would love to know and add to my repertoire. 

Semi-Homemade FO-Reo Cupcakes

I recently made these and they came out really good. Thought I would share the recipe for my semi-homemade cupcakes.

Cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups really good quality cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot coffee

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In the bowl mix all dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl mix the coffee, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Once mixed add to dry ingredients slowly and combine all together.

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter in each cupcake liner and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes. Then cool completely before frosting.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Now here is the not homemade part. I frosted mine with regular store bought vanilla frosting. Then crush a few store brand FO-Reo's and sprinkled on top before the frosting sets. Next top each cupcake with a whole cookie for decoration. Then Voella!

I also took these to a Mommy and Toddler Picnic and from the way the kids devoured their cupcakes I think they were a big hit!

Hope you all have a wonderful day perhaps filled with cupcakes!

Adventure's in Pinterest: Blueberry Croissant Puff, Carrot Chips & Easter Eggs

Pinterest is such an awesome place for ideas and new recipes.  Here are some recent Pinterest trials that I ventured into and thought it would be fun to share how it went.

First was a really yummy and easy breakfast recipe.

Blueberry Croissant Puff

This was not my own recipe so I will link it here 

The only variation I made was to use Greek Yogurt instead of Cream Cheese. It came out fantastic. I would highly recommend this to everyone!

Here is a pic of how mine came out.

Carrot Chips

Again this is not my own recipe.  Here is the Pin link.

I tried this seeming easy recipe for snack time.
And here is how mine turned out.

BIG FAIL!!! I want to try it again but I'm going to tweak the recipe and use non stick cooking spray instead to insure they get crispy.  These were either way to burnt or for lack of a better word soggy.

Now for the Fun!

Kool Aid Easter Eggs

This Easter we tried the Kool Aid egg dying technique.  For the most part our eggs came out so bright and it was so cheap! However we couldn't make a purple egg. Since our purple looked more black/grey my husband drew the the Batman symbol on one with a yellow crayon...hence the infamous Bat Egg.  My only big problem with this technique was even after drying the eggs over night once they hit the grass the dye started to come off onto our hands...  So if we do them again I will have to research how to "Water Proof" them.

If you would like to Follow me on Pinterest Feel free!
Happy Pinning

My Homemade Vegetable Lasagna. So Good!

My Vegetable Lasagna is so good I had to share. I hope you try this one and tell me if you do. It's packed with lots of veggies, creamy goodness and I guarantee your taste buds will enjoy it.

You will need a Casserole dish or Large Pyrex dish.

Pasta: About 12-16 lasagna noddles depending on the size of your dish, cooked and ready to assemble. (I used Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles)

Cheeses:

- 2 Cups Low Fat Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 Cup of Grated Parisian Cheese

Bread Crumbs:
- 1/2 Cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs for the top.

Filling:
- 1 Diced Yellow Onion
- 1 Cup Diced Carrots
- 1 Cup Diced Celery
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 1 or 2 Large Diced Zucchini or more if they are small
- 1/2 Cup Sweet Corn (I prefer to use frozen)
- 1/2 Cup Peas (Prefer Frozen)
- 1 Cup Frozen Chopped Spinach or 2-3 cups fresh
- 2 Tablespoons of EVOO
- 1 Tablespoon of Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp of Mrs. Dash
- Salt and Pepper to Taste

Bechamel White Cream Sauce:
- 4 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
- 1/4 Cup of Flour
- 3 Cups of Milk
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese (part of the above mentioned full Cup)

Begin by starting your water to boil Noodles.

Then Chop up all of your veggies and set aside. In a large pan heat EVOO on Medium High Heat, add Garlic then Onions, Celery and Carrots. These veggies are know as the Holy Trinity of Cooking! These are the first to cook because they take the longest. And make for a great flavor base. I want tender veggies not mushy ones so saute until onions are transparent.

After they cook a few minutes add your Zucchini, then the rest of the veggies. Add your Italian Seasoning, Mrs. Dash, Salt and Pepper cook about 10 minutes for all to become soft and for the flavors to come together. Turn off the heat and let cool.

Next dump pasta in boiling salted water. Cool to al dente, drain and cool so you can handle.

In a large sauce pan begin to melt butter on medium heat, and flour and make a rue. Once the paste has the flour cooked through. Whisk in the milk. Continue to whisk and incorporate Rue with milk. Sauce will slowly come together. Add 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese, Salt and Pepper and stir. Once it coats the back of a spoon turn off the heat.

Assembly Time!
Start by coating the bottom of your pan with a little Bechamel. About 1/2 cup. This prevents sticking. Then layer 3-4 noodles. Use about 1/3 of the filling and spread over noodles. Pour about 1/3 of the left over Bechamel on top and them sprinkle about 1 handful of Mozzarella cheese on. Layer with more noodles and repeat until last layer is done. You should have a majority of the cheese left to really make the top cheesy. Last Sprinkle the Italian Bread Crumbs and 1/2 Cup of Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Then let it cool a bit before serving. Feel free to add in different vegetable, like mushrooms, eggplant or any thing you have that you like.  The filling is so flexible that's one of the good things about it. Remove what you don't like and put more in of what you do.

Bon Appetite!

Healthy Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins

I realized I hadn't posted a recipe since having William! I have a few on my previous blog. But decided I could start sharing some of my mommy recipes here. My son gets tired of the same old breakfast foods and lately he has really enjoyed the occasional breakfast muffin. I am always trying to get more vegetables in our diet and this one got him eating carrots for breakfast. Plus cutting done on oil and lots of sugar is also important for us. I use applesauce instead of oil and additional sugar along with egg substitute.

2 1/2 cups carrots shredded or chopped very fine
1/2 cup diced or crushed pineapple
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute (Which is what I used to reduce calories)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of applesauce
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients (I'm not a fussy baker throw it all into one bowl)
Preheat oven to 350
Spoon into paper lined muffin pan
Bake for 20 minutes

Makes approx. 12 muffins

Hope you guys enjoy them as much as we did. And I will try and put up more recipes in the future.

Snow and Power Packed Pancakes!

Well folks it's an exciting day for us, especially me. We woke up to snow! For someone who has lived their entire life up till now in the Central Valley of California it is so awesome. It never snows like this there.

 

I'm told I won't always feel that way but for William and myself our first real snow is putting big smiles on our faces. Even Teddy (our 10 year old cat) found it fascinating, it's his first snow too. While outside I could smell that wonderful smell that I remember from my youth going to the mountains to sled or ski. The church behind our house looked so pretty as the snow fell I sat on the back porch and watched the snow fall on the roof for awhile. 

Brandon is less enthused because he is dreaded the hours of snow shoveling in his future. 

We are supposed to get up to 8 inches today. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.  

This morning seemed like a good morning for my special banana pancakes. They and packed with nutrition and good stuff. 

  

William really loves them and he can really eat, trust me.

Here is the recipe for my fellow health nuts:

Makes 6-8 pancakes

1 Banana , mashed up

2 Eggs

1 cup Flour

1/4 cup Flaxseed Meal

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 - 1 cup of Almond Milk

Mix all together and you're ready to pour!