CasaCullen

Recipe of the Week: Momma's Breakfast Strata

I mean, I know I'm one of four kiddos and my Mom was one of five children but even though we have such a history of big families, that doesn't mean you'll always have rockstar cooks in attendance. But I can honestly say, I've never known my Mom to make anything that's not absolutely scrumptious. It's like she just knows how to feed the masses and do it with grace and ease with complete and utter yumness!

You recently saw the re-cap from our the Birthday Brunch gathering HERE but what I didn't tell you is all the attendees (especially the men) were raving over 'my' strata. I think one of our good friend's Steve actually said, 'Yep, me plus a big glass of milk and that entire pan of strata and I've officially found my dream Saturday afternoon watching tv!' It was something along those lines and I died laughing. I asked Walt what was his favorite dish and he said, 'Number 1 was definitely the monkey bread and a close second was your Mom's strata!' So there you have it, the reviews are in...you'll want to try this recipe!

PS - There is really nothing at all healthy about this recipe, except for the fact that I used whole wheat bread in our version, ha! I also made it MORE unhealthy by using chorizo instead of regular sausage to spice it up a bit. I really think it added so much flavor so know that's also a meat option for your strata making fun!

Momma's Breakfast Strata Recipe

 

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread, crusts trimmed, cut in fourths

1 lb. sharp, grated cheddar

1 lb. cooked, crumbled sausage or ham

4 eggs

2 1/2 cups cream (half and half is fine)

1 1/4 tsp. brown sugar

1 green onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. Worcester sauce

salt, pepper, cayenne

 

Directions:

Blend together all ingredients from the 4 eggs all the way down to the salt/pepper/cayenne. Butter a 3 qt. baking dish (glass is best.) Layer half or bread, half of cheese and half of meat. Repeat until all layered. Pour blended egg/cream mixture over layers. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Remove and let come to room temperature (takes about 2 hours.) 

Bake uncovered 30 minutes or so at 350. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Cuttin' some bread...

Arrangin' it in butter. I mean, come on people, bread and butter is how this recipes starts out...YUM!

Sizzlin' up our chorizo!

The creamy/egg mixture.

 

One of my favorite ingredients...adds such a depth of flavor so don't omit these!

Hello...I love you!

Layered and ready for creamy mixture to be poured over.

Cream is in and now it's ready to sit overnight in the fridge.

The end result...insanely scrumptious! Yep, this preggers is officially now craving more of my Momma's strata goodness. Looks like we might have to make another batch in the coming weeks!

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Quick and Easy Shredded Chicken and Black Olive Enchiladas, Yo Momma Blind Man Barbecue Chicken, Real Simple's Yellow Cake with Fresh Strawberry Filling and Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting, Banana Bread, Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas, Homemade Ziti, Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula, Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: CasaCullen's Quick and Easy Shredded Chicken and Black Olive Enchiladas

This is a great recipe when you have some leftover chicken breast meat or some rotisserie chicken. It's quick, easy and even better the next day. I think I'll actually make it the day before and then let it sit in the fridge and let the flavors soak up. This was our dinner for this past weekend's Saturday and Sunday night. We must say, Sunday was way better! You know how we roll, on the weekend we like to throw our super healthy eating plan to the wind and enjoy our cravings and culinary wants.

The only ingredients we have to get that are out of the ordinary and not constantly 'in stock' at CasaCullen would be the black olives and enchilada sauce. Other than that, these are commonplace ingredients that you likely have lying around! Let us know if you try it and what you think! Read on for the recipe and a picture tutorial!

Pammed pan.

Shredded chicken combined with salsa and greek yogurt (gotta get in those good probiotics!)

We literally always have tortillas. I love making egg salad and tuna salad and just plopping it in a wrap for a last minute snack. I'm a big snacker and eat mini-meals all day long so tortillas are a superb way to get my snacky-snack on! Oh and by the way, we usually buy whole grain but I knew since this was a special Saturday night dinner, CC Hubby would love the normal flour kind. He's always happy to eat healthy but he's also a big fan of white french bread and flour tortillas!

Cutie olive slicer!

Finished product, pre-roll!

Rock-n-roll(ed) up and ready for some saucin'!

Said sauce.

Layin' it on thick!

I don't love a whole lot of cheese, so Hubby loaded up his side and I left mine rather bare (the near side of the image) and believe me, he didn't even bat an eye! My man loves some cheese, ha!

Preparing our accompaniments. We love to add cumin to any beans (black, red kidney, pinto...you name it) and we commonly have them as a scrumptious and protein packed side dish. One great tip, make sure to thoroughly wash all the beans in water to remove that icky coating.

Here's our additions...a bit of veggie goodness, some homemade guacamole, some sour cream for the Hubster and cumin beans!

Done and done...and completely YUM!

Seriously, a superb finished product! Way better than buying Mexican at a restaurant, we felt so fancy and professional, ha!

A bird's eye view of the table! Try this recipe for a quick and easy mid-week meal and enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Yo Momma Blind Man Barbecue Chicken, Real Simple's Yellow Cake with Fresh Strawberry Filling and Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting, Banana Bread, Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas, Homemade Ziti, Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula, Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: Yo Momma Blind Man Barbecue Grilled Chicken

It's like BBQ week around these parts! After yesterday's Tour De Que HERE and now today's scrumptious recipe/sauce review...there's surely some grill smoke in the air, people! Mmm, now this is some amazing sauce, people!

My good friend from High School is actually the mastermind behind Yo Momma's success and we couldn't be prouder or more delighted with it's amazing flavor. It caramelized perfectly on the grill and was a big hit with both Cullens and we don't always agree on our Q sauce. There isn't really a recipe except salt/pepper and Yo Momma's sauce. Check out the picture tutorial below to see how CC Hubby whipped together this amazing Sunday afternoon feast.

Click HERE for more information and to purchase Yo Momma Blind Man Barbecue Sauce. We love supporting smaller packaged goods producers and we're pumped to actually know the force behind such an awesome sauce!

So I know the big buzz right now is on couponing but we just aren't entirely sold, yet. We eat primarily lean meat and fresh produce and those are the two areas of the grocery store where coupons just aren't offered too often. But, we do see organic chicken reduced for quick sale and you better believe, we stock up. We have an entire freezer full of organic chicken for cooking at a later date. This is a great day to not sacrifice quality or price and still eat organic too!

A close up of the barbecue sauce.

Even the little snippets on the bottle are sure to make you laugh.

Our fave: Jiggle Well, bwah haw haw! AWESOME!

Drumsticks + olive oil + salt + pepper = Hubby's handiwork!

Ready for the grill. I was surprised to learn that you don't put the sauce on first thing.

Hubby also told me that lining the drumsticks up around the center (hottest) part of the grill would make sure they were all evenly cooked and not overcooked. Interesting!

Someone was actually very naughty and ran across the street to see our neighbor Gary. So she had to stay in the house and whined the entire time. All she wanted to be was outside with her Daddy...helping him on the grill.

Mmm, they're looking really good!

Finally, sauce time. Using a basting brush, Hubby slowly added a few layers of sauce to each drumstick. He then shut the lid for a few minutes to let the sauce caramelize and can I just say, those were some of the best caramelized pieces of BBQ chicken ever. What up? Yo Momma's up!

Zola's feisty friend, G (we actually don't even know her name but her collar has a G on it, so we're just goin' with it) came over to say hello and obviously smelled the goodness!

Yummers is right...that some amazing chicken, right there!

Hubby made some cole slaw and I was on mac-n-cheese duty. Velveeta to the rescue!

Another close up of the goodness.

Now that's a great Sunday afternoon meal, if I've ever seen one! Scrumptious and tasty, we are huge fans of Yo Momma's Blind Man Barbecue Sauce. Go get yourself some, HERE!

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Real Simple's Yellow Cake with Fresh Strawberry Filling and Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting, Banana Bread, Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas, Homemade Ziti, Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula, Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: Real Simple's Yellow Cake with Fresh Strawberry Filling and Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

So you know how I gave us dessert for Lent HERE, well we're baaaaack and more in love than ever. Me + dessert = a good tag team. We tackled this rather substantial dessert recipe on Easter and are totally pumped to share it. We can't say enough great things about the cake and frosting recipes but we've got to keep it real around CC. The strawberry filling is only so-so in our book...actually, rather sub-par. Maybe it's the fact that we didn't use seedless jam? Well, we'll surely be trying out other filling options of even just put a layer of frosting in between too.

Read on for the recipes and intense picture tutorial. Our apologies for so much shutterbug love...but it had been so long since I'd had a great dessert, I just couldn't help myself. Also, in case you were wondering, CC Hubby's Easter basket was overflowing with candy so he's back in action there. It was really inspiring to actually sacrifice something we both loved for the Lenten season. Definitely not the easiest thing we've ever done...but we did it!

Click HERE for the yellow cake recipe. Click HERE for the strawberry filling recipe. Click HERE for the most amazing chocolate sour cream frosting EVER! Moving on to the pics, foodie photo lovahs!

Nah, we're not excited AT ALL about eating dessert again!

Zola clearly wants to know what all the ruckus in the kitchen is about!

I'm always a sucker for anything that involved fresh strawberries!

Paula Deen would be super proud of all that buttah, y'all!

The Strawberry Filling:

Berries are hulled and cut in half.

Jam is measured.

Combined and ready to pulse in our food processor...she's a wee lil' one, our food processor.

The end result of the filing we popped into the fridge while we got down to business on the other two parts of the cake!

The Yellow Cake:

The handsome mix master getting down to business.

Lined and buttered...those pans are almost ready for some batter!

Here's a cool little trick for you! Use your tea ball for dusting pans with flour and dusting french toast with confectioners sugar.

Batter up...dusted then poured!

Cha-ching! A Real Simple tip said to cool the cakes upside down.

We still had to scrape a bit of the top off to make it a flat layer. Not to worry, that scraped piece was devoured in literally seconds and oh my gosh, so good!

Finished product, pre-icing and filling and top layer!

Chocolate Sour Cream Icing:

I got to teach Hubby how to do a double boiler...it was his first time!

This frosting is insanity...I ate so much of it that my tummy hurt. It's addictive, be careful.

Finished amazingness of frosting goodness!

Putting the Cake Together:

Spreading the strawberry filling on the top of the flat top cake.

We went almost all the way to the edge.

Close up with top layer added.

Hubby has insane icing skills...he's pretty intense when he's getting the icing just right!

Ice, ice(d) baby!

Making some chocolate slivers for the decadent topping. I mean come on, it's not like this will even add to the caloric load at this point.

 

Finished product...man, we're so dang proud! Doesn't that look delightful?

Mmm, are you drooling yet? I am!

Lastly, there was no way the two of us would eat all this cake. Plus, when you have strawberry filling, you actually want to devour it in the first 24 (maybe 48) hours. So we wrapped up some portions and headed out to bombard our neighbors with some yummy and sweet Easter love. Man, they were so surprised and totally happy. We hope we made their dessert loving evening.

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Banana Bread, Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas, Homemade Ziti, Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula, Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: Banana Bread

Mmm, I mean seriously...what's better than fresh baked banana bread and an entire house that smells of oven cooked goodness. Nada people, we're going with nada! A few night's ago I was in a baking mood and decided to use up a trio of rotting bananas with this great recipe. I'm a sucker for banana bread, always. But I won't be adding nuts to my recipe, I like my bread sans nuts indeed. (PS - You can totally add 1/2 a cup of chopped nuts of your choosing.) Read on for the picture tutorial and easy recipe, lovelies.

You know it's an adored recipe when the card is all mangled, stained and lookin' rough for the wear.

These suckers only had about 24 hours left until they'd be tossed. This is such a great option for using up your super ripe nanners. 

When a recipe starts with sugar and butter...I'm in, head first!

Mix mastah! We love our new mixer...Hubby no longer has to do it all via brute force.

We only had one egg so I opted for an applesauce substitution. 1 tablespoon of applesauce per egg needed always does the trick when you're in a bind. 

Mushy madness...all mixed up.

It's all added together, except the flour mixture!

The loaf pan is pammed.

Into the oven she goes.

The final product wasn't my best version yet, but still pretty darn tasty. I had it in the oven for almost one hour but the middle was still a tad bit under cooked.

Close up for all you foodie/macro shot lovers. Melted butter on top, yep...that's a good combo! Hope you try and like our recipe, readers.

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas, Homemade Ziti, Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula, Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: Meatless Monday - Real Simple's Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas

Mmmmm, another meatless monday option. Today's recipe is quick, easy and can be ready in a snap. We were impressed with the fact that the only ingredient we had to buy were the zucchini, so it's nice to have a healthy recipe with pantry/fridge staples. Read on for the recipe and step-by-step tutorial.

The super easy recipe...you can also print it over at Real Simple HERE.

Chopped zucchini and naturally, a few of them ended up in my mouth!

Chickpeas, garlic, red pepper and zucchini are all simmering in the pan with a little olive oil.

Mixing up the pasta with the reserved water and parmesan cheese...man, I could've just eaten that right out of the pot.

Real Simple's foodie shot.

Our foodie shot attempt. How'd we do? Not too shabby! We paired it with a fresh chopped salad.

Here's the tablescape and an eagle eye version. For a quick meal, in a hurry, that's meatless and yum...we highly recommend this one. It literally took 10 minutes from start to finish...you just can't beat that!

Psst - also make sure to head over to our other blog, GentDaily, and check out Thomas Keller's recipe for his famous grilled cheese HERE!

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Homemade Ziti, Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula, Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: Morgan's Homemade Ziti

Yummers, we love...LURVE this recipe! Obviously when you watch the video above you'll see for yourself Hubby's total love for my homemade ziti. It makes me smile, big time. I don't know what makes this recipe so special but it's insanely easy! I hope you try it and update me on what you think. I've made this for so many, sooooo many friends and I just have to say, everyone always loves it! There are also numerous combos (mentioned above in the video) for healthier or meatier options. Read on for the recipe and picture recap.

Some of the ingredients. Except for the ricotta, it's pretty much household staples...cha-ching! And if ricotta is your household staple, I want to come over for dinner, ha!

Simm, simm, simm, simm...simmah time! Yeah, you know you're singin' it like Will Smith, I mean...DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince!

Seasoning and sugar added in...

I'm a serious pasta lovah! I mean, we honeymooned in Italy, pasta is our thang!

Oil added for non-stickiness!

Ricotta goodness...pre.

Post...all mixed up.

Layer 1.

Layer 2.

Layer 3 (spatulas work great on this layer!)

Layer 4.

Layer 5.

Layer 6...sauce and then cheese. I also like to sprinkle a tad more Italian Seasoning on top. It's super yummy all melted into the gooey cheese.

We served it with Walt's amazig side salad. He's such a champion salad maker...but doesn't everyone else's salad always taste better than your own? I always think it does!

Warm french bread...I told him he could get white instead of wheat since he did the trip to the grocery store. Of course, he came back with white. But I had to bite my tongue...I told him he could, ha!

We also tried the easy technique of rubbing garlic cloves on the outside of the buttered french bread loaf. It provided a really faint garlic crust, not overpowering, but very subtle. Walt said he would've liked more garlic taste, I thought it was perfect.

The scrumptious finished product!

We were actually entertaining the night we served this. Our good friends Chris and Wes came over for dinner and enjoyed the ziti feast too! I had to take a picture of our table...yum!

Our dessert...one of our favorites: angel food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I told him I'd only be having the berries since I gave up dessert for Lent (more on that HERE!) He actually served everyone's whipped cream and then put the serving spoon on my plate so I could have a small dab of goodness. Sweet boy! Other than that, I've done really, really well with my goal. 

Oh, real quick, when you make this dessert, here's a trick I learned from my Momma. Put all your cut up strawberries in a tupperware and add a tsp. of sugar. Shake, shake, shake that tupperware (no really, give it your best effort, you're aiming to bruise those berries) and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours. The sugar will make the berries release their sweet juices and it'll up the ante for a splendid strawberry syrup. Psst - You can also put in a drop of vanilla extract into your whipped cream for another added touch! Ok, that's it, I'm outta suggestions...and outta here, enjoy!

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula, Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: Meatless Monday - Real Simple's Creamy Fettuccine With Corn and Arugula

This recipe was extremely easy and tasty. It's creamy without all the fat and you don't feel weighed down afterwards either. It's one of those meals you can throw together with some minimal produce and pasta. We loved the addition of fresh cracked pepper and fresh grated parmesan too. Isn't your mouth watering? If you're not a vegg-head like me, possibly not. But if you are, or are looking for a great meatless Monday meal idea, definitely give this one a go! Read on for the recipe, a video review recap and a picture tutorial too. Thanks Real Simple for such a great one!

Here's the super easy recipe. You can also click HERE to print/view the recipe on Real Simple's site.

Their gorgeous foodie loving imagery.

Leeks. Love em!

Did you know this is a great way to wash leeks? Many people want to cut the stems off and then wash them. Keep everything intact by doing a slice up the center, but leave the stems on. They'll hold the leek together and give you the ability to clean the leeks without losing pieces down the kitchen sink drain.

Then you chop it up with the ends still on until you ge all the way down to the stems. Many people cut up an onion the same way to avoid onions falling all to pieces too. I'm no chef but I find this way of choping leeks pretty user friendly.

Boiling the fettuccine.

Sauteing the corn and leeks with a tiny bit of stock. You can nearly always substitute stock for wine in any recipe.

We stirred in the cream (in this case, almond milk) and pasta and let it simmer for a few more minutes.

Hubby topped it off with some fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Nom, nom, nom. We're big side salad fans when we eat pasta so that's what we paired this meal with. Definitely getting our veggie quota on this one!

Yep, we totally hated it, ha! Totally clean plates...yum!

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Maple BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joe's, BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: Everyday with Rachel Ray's Sloppy Maple-BBQ Turkey Joes and BHG's Parmesan Potatoe Wedges

How insanely yummy does that look? If we could give this recipe 10 stars, we would! We made it for a weekend meal, as it was quite the treat. We recently got our first issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray and we're totally hook, line and sinker...in love! My soon-to-be sister in law loves it and she's a whiz in the kitchen. I heeded her advice and saw it for a super low price and now know it's worth every penny! Do you subscribe? Don't you love it too?

So we're thinking that all kiddos and your loved ones will flip over this healthier (turkey meat) and interesting (pickles for toppings) take on the classic sloppy joe! Read on for the easy recipe (find and print it online HERE) and a picture turorial. All pics on this post were actually shot with our Canon Elph that we mentioned HERE. Man o man, that little camera packs a powerful punch!

Zah...ress...ahhh...pee! So easy, fo' show!

Hubby on choppin' duty...

Turkey starting to simmer...

Red pepper, onion and garlic added and the kitchen smells like dinner heaven.

I love all three of these in every recipe...should've known the combo would be whack (in a good way...you know, a good whack!)

I just thought this was pretty...neato!

Stirred...

...and added to pot o' goodness. While that was simmering, we got busy with our side dish!

  

Potato wedge pic from THIS amazing cookbook that is one of my faves. If I need to look up anything classic or simple, they always have it in their index. A great basic starter cookbook that I've utilized for years. Just last week we featured BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers and they rocked too!

The one-two step recipe...try these, they're awesome!

Handsome Hubby's handiwork! I love sweet potato fries but Hubby doesn't favor them so we had a little bit of both kind kickin' it!

We heart toppings!

Taters are done...how scrumptious do those look?

The spread.

Rachel Ray's awesome imagery...

...and our attempt! Yummers!

Tablescape.

One last close up pic of the gooey goodness! This meal rocked and is a perfect weekend treat. Let us know if you try it out and what you think!

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: BHG's Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers, Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.

Recipe of the Week: BHG's Prize Tested Greek Spinach Veggie Burgers by Heather Nagy

Mouth...officially...watering! Did you all know that we really, really try to eat two vegetarian meals every week? Yep, this counts as one and this was also the perfect meal combo for us. Why? He's a burger and fries junkie and I mean JUNKIE! That boy would eat drive-thru meat and potatoes everyday if I left him. Well, I guess I don't really have much control since he's cruising around doing his salesman thing, but he mostly brown bags it or takes clients out for lunch. He craves, loves and devours burgers and fries. I can't explain it...it's totally his comfort food.

Me? Not so much! I tolerate and cater to his foodie whims on occasion. Today's combo is the best of both world. It's a meatless meal (Team Me) and homemade fries (Team Him) so we were both totally happy! A few things we definitely will change for the next time we make this recipe; bread crumbs instead of stuffing, spinach in the food processor for a few pulses and we'll try to NOT burn the fries or patties, ha! Read on for the recipe and a photo recap.

PS - Check out the video below too! We'll now be doing a 'one take' review of all our weekly recipes over on our YouTube channel! Oh and yes, CC Hubby totally called the stuffing...croutons! No one even say a word because he won't even know he flubbed up, hee hee! Fun, fun!

See/print/share the recipe HERE over at Better Homes and Gardens. I know, my pic doesn't really cut it...but hey, I try!

Mix, mix, mixture.

The goods...just try to guess which of these are two of my all time fave ingredients, ever!

Stuff, stuff...

Stuffin' with feta! Why does feta literally make everything in the world taste better. No joke, you could top any of Andrew Zimmern's picks with feta and I would probably munch on down. You're right, that's taking things a bit too far.

Mister master spinach separator.

Boys got mad skills...

Ok, so I popped back in the kitchen and just had to laugh, super loud. Spinach balls, umm, wth! Hubbhy informed me that he'd be doing the patty making process in the pan for supreme eatability. I trusted him, but had no idea how he was going to make the above into the below...but he always ceases to impress.

Patty in the house!

Our side of choice, homemade cumin and cayenne fries. A shout out to my parents for this awesome mandolin, we're loving it and can't wait to share more recipes involving this kitchen gadget.

Mmm, isn't everyone a sucker for homemade baked french fries? They were pretty freakin' good! Just olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne and in the oven for baked goodness.

Here's what we were working with...

Dinnertime display with grapefruit on the side, you know, for good measure. We really loved this dinner and found it easy, healthy and affordable. Be careful with the patties because they stick like nobody's business to the pan. We used quite a bit of olive oil when we warmed them on the stove. We also loved adding some scrumptious toppings to up the veggie ante for the evening.

If you also had a chance to cook this meat-free meal, what did you think? Did you have the same trouble with the patties sticking to the pan? We had to work really hard to keep them all intact too. What about the taste? Didn't you think this was a great tasting, homemade, meatless patty? Share your details and what worked/didn't work for you in the comment section below. We'd love to hear!

Take a minute and check out our other awesome weekly recipe re-caps we've featured so far: Mark Bittman's Chicken in a Pot, My Momma's Monkey Bread, CC Hubby's Easy Chicken Parmesan, Sophie Dahl's Chicken Stew with Green Olives and Asparagus/Edamame Salad, Ryan's Poached Egg Breakfast Ramekin Surprise, Momma's Homemade Chili,  Christina's Paprika Chicken, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats, Momma's Crockpot Pot Roast, Vanessa Barrington's Almond Milk, Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie, Sweet Frozen Lime Slices, Amy's Awesome Homemade Pizza Crust, Brownie Caramel (Pecan) Cake, Papa Horner's Grill Top Paella, What's New Cupcake's Chocolate Chunk Surprise, Green Monster Smoothie, Bacon/Onion Compote Served on Crostini with Gruyere, Eat Clean's Meal in a Bowl Soup, Elie Krieger's Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth, Williams Sonoma's Cauliflower with Orange Zest and Green Onion, Williams Sonoma's Summer Fruit Parfaits, Williams Sonoma's Grilled Beef Fillets with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce, Eat Clean's Tam's Constitutional Muffins, Healthy for Life's Stuffed Peppers, Mango, Dill and Cilantro Gazpacho, Women's Health Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew, Real Simple's Vegetarian Tacos, Aunt Beth's Pineapple Souffle, 15 Minute Cream Biscuits, Sunset Magazine's North Indian Style Spinach Chicken, Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread, Jordan's Momma's Quiche Lorraine, Shelby's Leek and Lima Bean Soup, Rosemary Grilled Kabobs, Homemade Tomato Soup, Easy Fruit Cobbler, Macho Man Meatballs, Super Bowl Dip Trio, Nana's No Bake Cheesecake, Rum Cake and Microwave Spiced Nuts.