Best Homemade Cream of Mushroom Pasta with Italian Beef Sausage.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Pasta

Easy Homemade Cream of Mushroom Pasta

Although this recipe sounds intimidating, it is very simple and quick to put together and serve — sourcing some of Arizona’s best local ingredients. Sonoran Pasta Co has become one of my favorite fresh pasta companies. Not only are they supporting other local companies such as Hayden Mills Flour Co, they are also offering pre-order and delivery services during our COVID19 pandemic. That is something I think marks true character in small businesses.

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Greek Chicken Kabobs

savory and sweet Greek chicken kabobs

Savory Greek Chicken Kabobs

I am always on the hunt for a new tasty summer grill go-to. Lately we have been loving our local Greek restaurant, Greek Island Grill. But we all can’t order out every dang day. So, I hit the cupboards in search for a great Greek seasoning. I have finally come up with a great Greek seasoning and a chicken kabob I’d be willing to write home about. I am going to share both my Greek seasoning and my fav Greek chicken kabob line up!

delicious greek seasoned chicken kabobs Read more

Skirt Steak Chimichurri Tacos

homemade chimichurri skirt steak tacos

It’s another TACO TUESDAY!

And I have just the taco recipe for you! These super simple skirt steak chimichurri tacos are sure to become your new favorite. It’s so simple and calls for very few ingredients.

delicious Chimichurri sauce tacos

The first thing you are going to need to make is your chimichurri sauce. If you are anything like me, you always have cilantro on hand. I put cilantro in a lot of my dishes. It’s hands down one of my favorite herbs. HANDS. DOWN. Read more

Best Granola Bar Recipe

The best granola bars you'll ever have, they are easy and healthy!

Healthy granola bars never tasted so good!

It’s one thing to want your kids to enjoy a healthy snack, it’s an entirely different thing to actually get them too. I have been on the loosing side of “battle of the snacking” for over a decade. When I found this easy granola bar recipe…. that surprisingly tasted even better than it looks, I was dumbfounded. I mean, it’s not that often I have a legit #momwin! Read more

Kombucha for beginners

brewing, home brewing, brewing kombucha, beginner kombucha

Kombucha brewing for beginners

I have been brewing kombucha for about 10 months now, and can honestly tell you… anyone can do it! It’s so simple, low cost, and definitely low maintenance.

I was fortunate enough to have a friend walk me through my very first home brew. She gave me her tried and true recipe and even brought me a scoby. I am going to share with you that same recipe, as it’s the one I use most frequently. Read more

Sweet Tea Cocktail

Refreshing summertime sweet tea cocktail

Refreshing Summertime Sweet Tea Cocktail

There’s something quite nostalgic about a refreshing glass of iced cold sun brewed tea. This easy recipe is sure to bring some extra delight to your next summertime BBQ or backyard gathering. If you don’t have the time to brew your sweet tea by sun, simply use the boiling method for faster results. We will be enjoying this sweet tea cocktail all Holiday weekend long! It’s that good! Read more

National Sandwich Month

National Sandwich Month Roundup

National Sandwich Month Roundup

I am gladly welcoming August for two reasons, its national sandwich month, and my kids are heading back to school soon! Double YES! And I really love getting creative with what to pack in my kids lunch boxes. So I’ve rounded up 8 great sandwiches from dinner to dessert. If you have a great sandwich recipe leave the link and I’ll add it to the list!

Fried Eggplant Sandwich

B Hansen Studios

Fried Eggplant Sandwich
This savory fried eggplant sandwich is both satisfying and filling. A roasted pepper and garlic spread bring the eggplant to life in this mouth watering recipe. A perfect way to celebrate National Sandwich month and impress your family and friends.

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes 600x900

Rose Bakes

Crockpot Sloppy Joes
This recipe for easy and delicious Crock Pot Sloppy Joes is a family favorite. Better than anything from a can!

Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies (2)

That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies
Outrageously decadent, these Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies are filled with a dreamy chocolate ganache!

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies 600x900

Whole Food | Real Families

Homemade Oatmeal Cookie Sandwich
Head back to your childhood with this Homemade Oatmeal Cookie Sandwich. This version is just a little healthier and without the plastic wrapper!

grilled caprese sandwich-3

Kristine in between

Grilled Caprese Sandwich
This tasty grilled caprese sandwich is perfect lunch or dinner. It’s quick to prepare and is ready in just minutes. It’s warm, filling, and full of gooey mozzarella cheese!

Gluten Free Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese with Strawberry Hot Sauce and Arugula hero

Fearless Dining

Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Arugula and Strawberry Hot Sauce
Ooey gooey, this pepper jack grilled cheese sandwich with arugula and strawberry hot sauce is packed full of flavor. What better way to celebrate National Sandwich Day?

chicken-salad-marshall-fields1 Creative Culinary

Creative Culinary

Marshall Field’s Chicken Salad Sandwich
My version of a classic sandwich from an iconic Chicago Department Store. Roasted chicken is combined with dried cranberries and nuts in a mayo and sour cream dressing and it’s all topped with crisp bacon. Perfect for National Sandwich Day!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches Pin

Amee’s Savory Dish

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
These buffalo chicken sandwiches are full of amazing flavor and cook while you go about your day! This simple and tasty weeknight dinner is perfect for busy families.

Fried Eggplant Sandwich

Fried Eggplant Sandwich

Fried Eggplant Sandwich with sweet pepper and garlic spread

Before you go and get started on this project of a sandwich, let me warn you… it takes some time. Completely worth it in the end. I prefer to make this when I already have left over fried eggplant from the day before. But if you’re in the mood for a delicious, hearty, warm and gooey sandwich, and you’ve got some time to spare…this one’s for you! I am going to give you all the yummy layers to this satisfying Sammy, get ready for a treat.

I like to keep this roasted mini sweet pepper and garlic spread on hand. Not only is it super easy to make and store, it goes great on a lot of things! Pasta’s, sandwiches, and even stuffed into  chicken!

Roasted sweet pepper and garlic Spread

To make: Buy a bag of mini sweet peppers and a whole head of garlic. Remove seeds and stems from peppers and cut them in half. Place your chopped peppers along with 4-5 big garlic cloves on a baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil and sea salt of the top and bake at 400 degrees until golden.

Roasting mini sweet peppers

delicious roasted mini sweet peppers

Let it cool and blend in a small food processor. Store in glass jar in your refrigerator for up to two months.

roasted sweet pepper and garlic paste

Fried eggplant is one of my favorite snacks. Eggplant is a staple in my kitchen. But I’ve shared this before. To bread my eggplant I give them an egg bath and dip them in a 2-3 ratio of parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Add a pinch of salt to your dry mix. I like to bread all the eggplant prior to starting, this way I am not trying to do two things at once, causing me to burn them.
Fry on both sides until golden brown in some extra virgin olive oil.

breaded eggplant to fry

frying eggplant

perfectly fried eggplant

Now to the good part, building this amazing sandwich for you to actually enjoy! I begin toasting my bread with fresh mozzarella on one slice, and my roasted sweet pepper and garlic spread on the other. Once my bread is toasted to buttery perfection I add some thinly sliced tomato, handful of spinach leaves, and of course your fried eggplant. Add as many of each as you want. You really can’t go wrong when making this sandwich.

fresh motzella cheese

roasted sweet pepper and garlic spread

layered fried eggplant sandwich

I could eat this sandwich everyday, and not get sick of it. True story.

hearty fried eggplant sandwich

DIY Easy Gummy Bears

This DIY easy gummy bears recipe is so easy a kid could do it. (As featured here) I found an awesome YouTube video last week and knew I needed to try this out. Sometimes when I see things and think, hey now… I can do that, I end up being the butt of the joke. What seems like an easy project ends up being like I really needed to possess the skills and steady hands of a heart surgeon. Well, luckily for all us DIY parents, this was not one of those projects. This was so simple, my five year old did most of the work today as we made our second batch.

DIY Easy Gummy Bears

The ingredients are simple.
Some silicone molds
2 Gelatin packets
1 small package of flavored Jello
1/4 cup of light corn syrup
1/2 cup COLD water

I had to share the picture of my son’s hand. It was just too cute. Imagine little ole me, standing on a table chair trying to get all my ingredients perfectly in frame for the picture then my photo bombing son with his booger picking finger sliding in at the very last second to shout as loud as possible “mom, what’s this?!?!?” . And no, my son is too much of a germaphobe to actually pick his nose.

Mixing the corn syrup with water

To get started combine your corn syrup with your cold water. Really make sure your water is cold, it makes a difference in your later steps.

Add jello and gelatin

Once all your corn syrup is completely dissolved in your cold water, pour it into a sauce pan. Do not turn the heat on at this point.

completely dissolve before heating

With your burner OFF, add your dry ingredients, your small package of jello and your two packets of gelatin, and mix well. The cold water helps the gelatin dissolve. Once its looking clear, go ahead and turn your burner on medium to medium low. I have a gas stove top so I needed to keep mine on medium low because my burners get really hot.

Poor into seperate container

You will heat your gummy mixture for about 5-10 minutes, I waited until I saw tiny pre-boiling bubbles.

put into squeeze bottle

Once it hit that “pre-boiling” point I transferred my gummy mixture to a separate container. This is what separates the girls from the women. As the gummy solution starts to cool, the bubbles and any foam that came from your mixture rises to the top. After about 15 minute’s you can scrape off the pleasantries for a perfectly clear gummy solution. You could just go straight to the molds but the foam will end up being on the backs of your chewy candies. Thus raising questions like, “mommy, why it there nasty squish on my gummies??” or “mom, I have to eat my gummies rear first so no one see’s this foamy madness…”.

Once you have a semi cooled gummy solution, for best molding results, pour into a condiment bottle. I picked up a few at Walmart for .97 cents each. They make it so much easier to get the solution into your molds without over filling or spilling everywhere.

let molds sit for 5 hours

Once you have them in the molds, let them sit for at least 5 hours. And if you have the patience, just let them sit over night. If you unmold them too soon, they are quite tacky and stick to your hands like crazy. Washing your hands off frequently helps, but its super annoying.

cute diy easy gummy bears

Here are some shots of our awesomely fun easy DIY gummy bears and lego guys.

I bought my molds off amazon. Here are the links.
Gummy bear trays
Lego Guys

I have these molds on the way because I’m just having too much fun making these.
Star Wars Ball
Star Wars Trays
Lego Building Blocks

Here is the youtube video I saw that inspired all of this.