Recipe of the Week!

This recipe was SO easy it shouldn't taste this good! Take salmon filets, top with basil pesto, Parmesan cheese and tomato slices. Wrap in foil then bake at 400 for 15 minutes! Served with spinach and sweet potatoes! 

Recipe of the Week!

Feta, mushrooms and spinach are a classic combination seen in many dishes and meals. Especially on Pinterest, I'd been seeing this Crustless Mushroom/Spinach Quiche recipe for a while and finally decided to try it out!

After sautéing mushrooms and garlic, I placed them over a bed of spinach in a baking dish with crumbled feta cheese (our favorite). Then added the egg cheese mixture on top.

45 minutes later, you have a beautiful quiche! It reminds me of quiche brunch at my uncles for Christmas Day. Delicious, healthy and nutritious. Would definitely make again and play around with different ingredients! My uncle has seafood quiches which is my absolute favorite.. Not on that level yet! Click here for the recipe!

Recipe of the Week!

I've never been a big meatball person, or meat for that matter. There comes a time for comfort food and this week was it! The other day, scrolling along PINTEREST, the cheese lover in me said STOP, Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs. recipe here!

Paired with Barilla plus angel hair, these definitely hit the spot. I used cheese sticks to fill the homemade meatballs, replaces panko crumbs (didn't have any) with saltines, and added onions. Like I guess I do have a little cook inside me!

First, they were pan broiled then baked for ten minutes. Just enough time to get the pasta ready. Definitely would make again! Specifically in the presence of men aka Jake and Eric!

Christmas Crack

UYou're bound to try this stuff at any Christmas party. Cookies, pies, cake and all desserts. But not many people have experienced Christmas Crack. There are several variations of this recipe, however I just stick to the basics. Christmas Crack is made with saltine crackers, brown sugar, butter and chocolate chips; topped with whatever you please.

Cookies are the way to my heart, but I just can't stop eating this Christmas crack! Recipe can be found anywhere but I followed Averie Cooks recipe here. Definitely a hit! Gonna put this in my Christmas give aways this season! 

Recipe of the Week

With six days off, I've done all the eating, shopping, baking, cooking and crafting that I can! I've been pinning a lot of easy recipes so finally decided to try one! This is a Broccoli-Quinoa casserole which is so simple, has quick ingredients and was delicious!

Before baking, it was just a spinach mozzarella and quinoa soup! The quinoa goes into the dish uncooked but it turned out fabulous.

After baking for a half hour, add in the broccoli and extra cheese if preferred (which obviously I prefer :) ). This was such an easy recipe and my roommate and I loved it! 

Chilly? Chili!

I think winter has arrived... Last night was "feels like 15 degrees" and I really was just wishing I had a bowl of chili to warm me up after work. Who doesn't love a nice bowl of chili? Or pot for that matter? I used my beautiful new crockpot to arrange tonight's dinner and surprise my roommate with a nice warm comfort meal for after work.

This baby is brand new so I was so excited to get crock in! Lol. 

The awesome thing about chili is that there are no boundaries or rules. I took a leap of faith and threw together some ingredients without a set recipe. Here, I sautéed peppers, onions and garlic before adding my turkey. Once I added the turkey, I waited until it was browned and added it into the crock.

I love beans! And I love veggies, so this chili is full of healthy protein, minimal ingredients but giant taste. I combined red kidney beans (you can also and I sometimes do black beans!), canned corn, diced tomatoes, and some water for the liquid parts of chili. Everyone likes their chili different which is why "chili tasting competitions" are around. A friend of mine used to put little pasta Os in hers along with sausage and Fritos. Another twist would be buffalo chili or white chicken chili (which I hope to try!) 

After letting the chili CHILL in the crock for the day, definitely feel free to add cheddar cheese, sour cream ( if you're a fan), avocado slices, cilantro... Whatever you like! Funny thing is I ran a mile home from the store with tomato sauce in hand on my way from the gym because it was so cold. ( don't forget this ingredient!) Worth it.

Crockpot Cookin

New apartment means WOW I NEED TO BUY EVERYTHING IN KOHLS AND TARGET RIGHT NOW. But wait, I need to budget and save money. What is a budget....? My first appliance purchase was a 3 qt crockpot from Kohls with Kohls Cash (sweet and brilliant invention) and I've been using my moms crockpot to practice my skills and approve of certain recipes for our new place. Tonight I decided on a Chicken Burrito Bowl crockpot style. 

I tried to follow the recipe as closely as possible, but drifted away a little bit since I decided to throw everything into the crockpot at once and serve the rice later. Topped with cheddar cheese and sour cream (if preferred). Thanks to the recipe found here! 

Boredom to Usefulness

Over the past few months of post-graduate life, I've really learned how to make use of my time. You always wish you had time to do certain things and had time to do this & that, so I finally do! I didn't want to look back and feel like I could've done so much more with my funemployment. Since I've been on my usefulness kick ever since I got an apartment, I decided to prepare a dish to bring into my nursing unit (once I start... aka two weeks away.....).

I am starting orientation on November 17th, so decided a Thanksgiving treat would definitely be appropriate. I'm guessing that nursing units have their own little Thanksgiving/Nursegiving? celebration. Today I made Snickerdoodle Bread for my unit in way advance!

The batter was so creamy and I threw in a few extra Hershey's Cinnamon Chips! People have been saying on the post that these are hard to find but I've actually seen them in Walmart and ShopRite, but these are from Acme!

I ended up making two breads since they came out miniature sized! But I plan on using some type of icing in between to make them more decadent and dessert like! YUM :) thanks to Averie Cooks (AMAZING dessert blogger) for this wonderful gift recipe. Xo

Canvas Art

I've always seen such beautiful canvases on Pinterest, homemade and used as apartment or door decor. I thought I'd give it a try! I had so many designs and patterns and quotes in mind so it was tough to choose. I invited my super artsy and painter friend over for help. I was mainly support. This decal screams diva and chic and I'm in my 20s 👸 and I'd been thinking of doing a good and pink bathroom. It came out incredible.

Masking tape and painters tape were used to outline the lips and create the cracked and imperfect effects. This was such a good idea because then the outlines weren't perfect edges.

SO cute! We used different types and shades of gold acrylic paint, mixed with glitter and a tiny bit of sequins. We got the clumpy look by scrunching up washcloths and wrapping rubber bands around them for a cool and raised look. To reward my artist and support person, I made apple crisp and honored the beautiful fall day.

I had used honey crisp apples but this recipe can be tailored and delicious with any apple! I also topped each slice with Edys Vanilla Caramel Praline Crunch frozen yogurt which was AMAZING..

Such a fun and fally recipe.. and not to mention; easy! xo

Quest Bar Cereal

So I think everyone knows about Quest Bars, and obviously how freaking delicious they are. My personal favorite is Cookies n Cream.. However I haven't gotten to try too many of the flavors. I am always looking for ways to use my quest bars, especially since they don't come around my house too often. Quest Creations actually posted a "15 second recipe" for COOKIE CRUNCH CEREAL. Um, amazing. I love baking and cooking and when it's healthy -- even better. So I'm feeling awesome.

I used the Cookies n Cream bar just because who doesn't love milk and cookies? Excellent combination, and it's also what they used in the video.

First step, heat your oven to 350 degrees. It's recommended to heat the quest bar in the microwave for about 10 seconds just to make it easier to cut up into small pieces like above.Spread the cookie bits (I obviously snacked on some of these babies during this process) on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 4 minutes, turn and swish all the cookies around on the tray... Then return them to the oven for another 4 minutes.

I got my little guys off the sheet as soon as possible because I didn't want them to be overcooked or tooooo crunchy. However, let them cool or else they'll turn to mush in the milk! I topped my cereal with fresh banana slices and vanilla almond milk. It was simply amazing and simply healthy. Who doesn't love cookies and cereal!? Enjoy!

Holy Guacamole

We had an end of the year nursing lab assistant party today where we were all required to bring in a dish! Since I'm in serious withdrawal of Cancun and yummy treats, I took it into my own hands to recreate a Cinco De Mayo necessity.

Recipe here! 

I had searched around for a few recipes but ended up going with my first find: Pinterest! This recipe is so fresh and SO good. I like how the avocado was soft enough to smash and blend but I also love the avocado chunks and consistency I made. I added garlic salt and a dash of pepper, as well as a bunch of lime juice.  I hear the lime juice makes spread on top delays browning of the guacamole and avocado color. I was worried about the boring but turns out that making this dish 1-2 hours in advanced works out wonderfully. Everyone raved about it so this is a keeper recipe! 

DIY: recipe cards!

I love crafts that are actually useful.. things that will come in handy or look cute hanging up on the wall (OR around my neck ;] ). After running a ton of errands with my dad today, which was super fun, I decided to do some crafting. 1. I LOVE a good meal! 2. I love pretty colors and designs. and 3. I love baking people goodies! Recipe cards were perfect. 

All I needed was some colored ink, cardstock and wah-lah: my own personalized recipe cards. I filled each recipe card with my famous Christmas cookies, and my family's favorite recipes. This is a GREAT template for Christmas Cookie recipes; it allows you to type in the recipe and directions/ingredients. There's even Thanksgiving themed from this same blog! Thank you Lisa Griffith!

There are so many cute recipe templates on this website; I especially used the ones from here. Now I just need a super cute recipe box and I'm set! Enjoying my last weekend at home! xo