Spinach, Feta & Sausage Crustless Quiche

I love a good quiche, especially ones with that delicious buttery/flaky crust. Buuuut, since I'm on the eating healthy train, I decided to throw together some ingredients I had on hand to create my own yummy crustless quiche.  Of course this would taste better with crust, but really, it's delicious and I *almost* don't even miss the crust.


Here's what you need to make this:

6 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1 tblsp of Parmesan cheese
salt + pepper
3-4 breakfast sausage links
Handful of spinach
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese


What to do:

Preheat your oven to 350. Cook your breakfast sausage - I like to use the pre-cooked breakfast sausage from Costco so this only takes me a minute in the microwave. Once done, cut up into small pieces. Whisk eggs, milk, parmesan cheese + spices together in a bowl. Add in your sausage.

In a greased pie dish (I use non stick spray), lay your spinach down first, then add the crumbled feta cheese. Then pour your egg mixture over the top.

Bake for 44-55 minutes - I like to then broil it at the end for a few minutes to get that nice crisp top. I cut this into 4 pieces and each one serves as my breakfast (or lunch) - It's delicious!!

So, are you a quiche person or no?




*linking up with Jessi's Design & Lindsays Sweet World

Shrimp & Asparagus over Quinoa

Happy Hump Day!!

So I've been jumping on the eat better train and while searching Pinterest for recipes, I came across several variations of shrimp & asparagus - 2 things I love. However, those 2 things alone will not fill me up, so I married in one of my other favorites - quinoa.

This dish turned out so yummy and is great for a summer night dinner.

Ingredients:

• Asparagus (as much to your liking) chopped in half after cutting the ends off
• 1 cup Quinoa 
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 15-20 large cooked shrimp
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• slat + pepper for seasoning

Directions:

In one pot, cook your quinoa according to the directions (usually it's 1 cup quinoa + 2 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10-12 minutes)


Meanwhile, in a large pan (I like to use my deep wok) heat your olive oil for a few minutes. Toss the shrimp in and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove the shrimp and set aside, add in the asparagus, chicken broth and lemon juice, simmer for about 6-8 minutes.

Once the quinoa is cooked, place in a bowl(s)

Add the shrimp back into your pan and heat through another 5 minutes.  Remove and add desired amount to your quinoa.

Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti with vodka sauce

Happy Hump Day! I'm not sure how it's already Wednesday - I totally thought this first week back from our mini vaca would drag but it's not seeming so.


I'm sharing today a super easy and super yummy dinner! This isn't the healthiest dish with the cream cheese but it's a household hit nonetheless (and to me that's all that matters these days)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of spaghetti 
• 1 bar of cream cheese
• 1lb of ground beef
• 1 jar of your favorite vodka sauce
• Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take your cream cheese out so it is soft by the time you are ready for it.

Boil water and cook your spaghetti al dente. While your pasta cooks, brown your ground beef.

Once the spaghetti is done, put it into a large mixing bowl.  Add your cream cheese and mix together well.

Grease a 9 x 13" baking dish and pour a little of your vodka sauce onto the bottom.  Once your meat is browned, add that to another mixing bowl with your remaining vodka sauce.

After you've mixed your noodles and cream cheese together well, place it on top of the bottom layer of vodka sauce in your dish.

Next, pour your meat/sauce mixture all over the noodles.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and pop in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

You'll have to let me know if you try it! This is definitely on the regular rotation around here.

Easy Summer Quinoa Salad

Happy Hump Day, friends! Today I'm sharing a super yummy and easy summer salad recipe (of course this can be made at any time of the year, but summer is so close so I'm going with that)

If you've been around for some time, then you know I love me some quinoa! My kids even use to love to quinoa but I'm not really sure what happened because now, not so much, and the hubby, well he deals when I make it but not his first choice (or second, or third LOL)

I love salads and am always looking for ways to change them up.  I thought the other day how yummy quinoa would taste with a greek salad.  I didn't have all the ingredients to make this totally a greek salad but it still works, and is still really good.

I made a big batch of this then ate it all week for lunch, it was sooo good.

What you need:

For the pasta:

1 cup of dry quinoa

handful of cherry tomatoes

1 cucumber cut up

1/2 small onion

Feta cheese crumbled (as much as you like)

For the dressing:

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of red wine vinegar

salt + pepper

oregano (as much as you like)

What to do:

Cook 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups of water in a saucepan according to directions (I boil then cover and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes)

As your quinoa cooks, cut up your cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and feta - set aside

Once quinoa is done, place in a bowl and put in the fridge (I want it to stop cooking and be cool for when I add everything in - this is a cold salad)

While the quinoa is in the fridge cooling, make your dressing by combining all ingredients into a smaller bowl.

Take the qunioa out of the fridge, add in your chopped fruits/veggies/cheese then mix in the dressing. 

Enjoy!

This would make a great side dish to bring to a BBQ or to have for a weeknight family dinner, or you can eat it everyday for lunch like me :)

*linking up with Jessi's Design for what's hap-"pinning" Wednesday

healthy quinoa stuffed peppers

It's no secret that I love me some quinoa.  It's such a great alternative to rice or potatoes and it's so good for you too. Now ask my husband his opinion on quinoa and it will be much different, but he still eats my cooking so he gets some points for that.

Here's an easy, yummy recipe for stuffed peppers made with qunioa and ground turkey.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 large peppers - any color of your liking
1 lb of ground turkey - can be substituted with ground beef or ground chicken
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
1 can of red enchilada sauce
1 can of black beans
1 cup of shredded cheese of your choice + extra for topping  (I always use monterey jack)


Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Cook your quinoa in a separate pot according to the directions. In a separate skillet, brown your ground turkey.  

Cut the tops of your peppers off and discard. Clean out the insides and remove all seeds. Place your peppers inside a baking dish standing upright.

Once the turkey and the quinoa are cooked, mix them along with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.  Scoop the mixture into each pepper and add shredded cheese to the top of each one.

Cover your baking dish with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the dish and foil and sprinkle more shredded cheese on the tops and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes.

There you go, a super easy and pretty healthy dinner.  Happy Wednesday friends!

Easy Dinner: Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta w/ chicken

I saw this picture on Pinterest and knew this was a dish I had to make.  I love a good, easy recipe that doesn't take me long to make.  I changed quite a bit of this recipe around to accommodate what I had and also to eliminate making homemade pesto (homemade is great but not always quick to do and I don't have a whole lot of time to do homemade these days)

Ingredients:

12oz of linguine pasta

1 lb of boneless chicken (cut into slices or small pieces)

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 garlic gloves

2-3 tbsp. olive oil

8.1oz jar of sun dried tomato pesto (I used Classico)

Directions:

Cook pasta in separate pot.  Meanwhile, add the spices and garlic to a bowl and mix your chicken around in it. Use your hands to get the spices rubbed all over. 

Heat over medium heat your olive oil then add your chicken to cook.  It takes about 10-12 minutes to cook the chicken but make sure you are flipping and rotating regularly. 

Once pasta is done, drain and bring back to your pot.  Add the chicken, then pour the entire jar of the pesto sauce over and mix well.

This dish has some kick so I opted not to feed it to my kids, I just took some of the pasta out before mixing and gave them regular sauce. 

This was so so good, I can't wait to make it again!

Garlic Mushroom & Spinach quinoa

You guys, I LOVE quinoa, like I would marry it if I could.  Ok, that is a bit extreme but I do love love love it! It's a great replacement for rice and just all around very healthy for you.  I made this dish the other night for dinner and while it's not very filling, it was so good.

Garlic Mushroom & Spinach Quinoa

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup fresh spinach

6 cloves of garlic

pepper

basil

Start by cooking your quinoa - mix 2 cups of water with 1 cup of quinoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, for about 14 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a separate saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the mushrooms, spinach and garlic. Saute for about 5-7 minutes then add a dash of pepper and basil and mix in your cooked quinoa.

I added Parmesan cheese to mine and it was so delish!  Hope you enjoy this as much as me!

Easy No Bake Granola Bars

I love me some good homemade granola bars! I really have been trying to avoid the pre-packaged crap at the grocery stores and this is one food that is so easy to give up buying boxed and make yourself.  I have tried a few different recipes and came up with my own over time.  Brayden loves being my helper when we make these and I'm sure if you asked him, his favorite part would be when we add the chocolate chips :)

So here ya go - a foolproof recipe for yummy homemade granola bars that even your kids will love!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 ½ cups Rice Krispies 
• 1 ¾ cups rolled oats (I'm sure you could use quick oats too)
• ½ cup Cheerios
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup brown sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• handful of chocolate chips

First, grease a 9 x 13 pan and set aside. Then add the honey, brown sugar, and salt into a saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until it starts to bubble.  Make sure to mix it good while waiting for it to boil.  Let it boil for about a minute then remove from heat.  Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract.

Next add the rice krispies, rolled oats, and cheerios and mix it all together.  Make sure to scrape the bottom to ensure you're getting a good mix.

Once done, spread the mixture into your 9x13 greased pan and pat down (I use a spoon to help spread it around and flatten down a little)  Then add your chocolate chips and slightly press them into the bars.  I put mine in the fridge right away for a couple of hours and then they are ready to go!

I also keep mine in the fridge so they last longer (you can also freeze) but when I go to take one out, I let it sit out for a minute or two so it softens up a bit.  These are so chewy and addictive, I bet you can't eat just one :)  

Best of all my son begs for these once they are ready! They are good for breakfast or an easy, fast snack!

Easy Mac N Cheese...with a secret ingredient

So we loooooove mac n cheese around our house and once I had kids I realized I should probably get them eating a better version than the boxed kind (although that stuff is pretty good)  Homemade mac n cheese is super easy and I have tried several different recipes and ended up combining a little of everything into my own recipe that is amazing, if I do say so myself.

The little secret ingredient that I think makes this extra yummy is….hot sauce! And yep, I use hot sauce and my kids still eat this, it’s not hot at all, it just gives it that extra kick of flavor.

This recipe is so awesome because it is all cooked in 1 saucepan and you never have to drain anything, just mix it all and cook and BAM, a delicious mac n cheese meal is served.

Ingredients:

16oz pasta (I love using wagon wheels, I think it’s the kid in me)

3 ½ cups of water

1 cup of milk

1 teaspoon of flour

½ teasopoon of hot sauce (more if you would like)

8oz bag of cheese of your choice (I like using Colby Jack)

In a saucepan, combine the pasta, water and milk.  Cook on medium-high heat for about 9-12 minutes, until the pasta is cooked.  After the pasta is cooked to your liking, add the flour and hot sauce, stir together and let it all simmer for a few minutes, your sauce should start to thicken, but it won’t be completely thick.  Once you’re done with that, remove from heat and add your cheese.  Stir well and that’s it, all done, all in one pot and in less than 20 minutes.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Freezer Meals!

Woohoo I finally took the time to prepare tons of freezer meals! I have done this once before, but it’s been months, and when I saw Emily post about it, she gave me the motivation I needed to do it again.

With it being winter, this is the perfect time to have made ahead meals to just pop in the croc pot and dinner is ready when I get home from work.  I love this because clean up is so easy and best of all, it leaves me with a ton of extra play time with my little cuties.

I first chose the recipes I wanted to prepare, then started my shopping list.  I’ll list out each recipe I made, and the items needed underneath. 

All original sources are cited, but I did change things up a bit on most of them.  I also split each meal into 2 freezer bags.

To start, I first wrote the directions for each meal on the gallon zip lock bags

Then, I chopped up the onions and peppers I needed

I then cooked the meat that needed to be cooked and left it aside until I was ready for it.  Then it was time to start adding everything to the bags

Slow Cooker Black Bean & Corn Salsa Chicken

• 4  pieces of boneless chicken breasts
• 2 (14 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (14 oz) cans corn, drained
• 1 (1 oz) package taco seasoning
• 1 cup salsa
• 3/4 cup water

Toss all ingredients into gallon size ziplock bag and freeze.  When ready to make, cook on high 3-4 hours or low 7-8 hours.  Serve with tortillas and any toppings of your choice.

Original Recipe Found here

Croc Pot Chicken Fajitas

• 3 Chicken Breasts
• 1-2 Tbsp Fajita seasoning from packet
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 2 peppers sliced (I used orange and yellow)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles

Toss all ingredients into gallon size ziplock bag and freeze.  When ready to make, cook on low 4-5 hours.  Serve with tortillas and any toppings of your choice.

Original recipe found here

Pot Roast

• 2 1/2lb of chuck roast (uncooked)
• 1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix
• 2 packets of brown gravy mix
• 4 tsp of dry onion flakes
• 2 C of water
• 1 bag of baby carrots (do not add in freezer bag)

Add all ingredients to bag (except carrots) and freeze. Add baby carrots. (you can also cut up potatoes and add at this time as well if you’d like)
Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours.

*Cannot find original recipe source

Meatball Stroganoff

• 1 bag of frozen meatballs
• 1 C chopped onions
• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 C sliced mushrooms
• 1 package of cream cheese (do not add to bag)
• 8 oz sour cream (do not add to bag)

Add meatballs, onions, soup and mushrooms in bag and freeze.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours. During last hour, stir in 1 package of cream cheese and 8 oz of sour cream. Serve over hot pasta or rice.

Original recipe here

Taco Roast

• 2 1/2 lb of chuck roast (uncooked)
• 1 14oz can beef broth
• 1 ½ tbsp of chili powder
• ½ tbsp cumin
• ½ tbsp onion powders
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• Dash of pepper
• Juice of 1 lime

Put all ingredients in bag and freeze. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve with tortillas

Original recipe here

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 16oz bag of frozen broccoli florets
• 2 16oz jars of alfredo sauce
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 4oz can sliced mushrooms, drained

 Place all ingredients in gallon zip lock bag, freeze.  Cook low 4-6 hours. Serve with fettuccini.

Original recipe found here

Croc Pot Chili

• 2 lb ground beef (you could also use ground turkey)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup or chili sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans
• 1 packet chili seasoning mix
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon sugar

 Cook the ground beef or turkey with onions, let cool.  Place all other ingredients into your gallon zip lock bag, add the meat once cooled.  Freeze.  When ready to eat, cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

 Original recipe found here

Beef Enchiladas – Non Croc Pot

• 2 pounds of ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cups of shredded cheese (I used cheddar & mozzerella)
• 10 large tortillas
• 2 14oz red enchilada sauce

Cook the ground beef and onions together, drain.  Pour a little enchilada sauce on the bottom of foil pan.  Add the meat, most of the cheese, and 1 can of enchilada sauce together. Spoon the mixture into the tortillas and place the seam down in the pan.  I put 5 tortillas in each pan.  Once done pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas then the rest of your cheese.  Cover with foil and freeze.  When ready to cook, place in over for 45-55 min at 350 degrees.  

I think this took me a total of 3 hours but I also did it while I was home with the kids and the hubs was out bowling, so there were plenty of distractions.  I made a total of 16 freezer meals and I spent about $75 on all of the ingredients.  I don't think that's too bad?!

Healthier Pizza My Toddler Will Eat!

Being a working mom, I am usually flying by the seat of my pants once I get home from work.  I have really been trying to meal plan lately but sometimes I don't.  I made these for dinner the other week and it was so quick and easy but best of all, Brayden actually loved it! Yes - even the zucchini pizzas!

 

Crescent Roll Pizzas

 



I originally saw this recipe on a Pilsbury commercial

You will need:

• Any brand of crescent rolls
• Pizza sauce
• mozeralla cheese

 Just add the ingredients to the crescents and roll up and bake as the crescent roll can indicates - I believe it's 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes

After I made these, I realized I can sneak in veggies without Brayden  knowing (hopefully!) Next time, I'll try adding some onion or mushrooms.

For more really easy recipes using crescent rolls just go here

 Mini Zucchini Pizzas

I saw this recipe on FB from a page I follow - MOMables - she sometimes posts recipes and they always look good - if you are looking for good healthy kid recipes, check her page out and like it!

You will need:

• Zucchini
• Mozeralla cheese
• Pizza sauce

Wash and cut your zucchini into cirlces or whatever thickness you like - add pizza sauce and mozzeralla cheese.  I just throw these in with the crescents and bake for about 7-8 minutes (but keep checking)



I was so happy this was a hit with Brayden, he has become quite the picky eater lately!