Hello!! So, we had a pan of brownies in our house ... and they didn't last long at all. lol! Brownies are a hot commodity in our house! So, I thought I would make my next door neighbor's gingersnaps... another family favorite! I remember going over to her house (I visited a lot!) and we enjoyed these gingersnaps with orange pudding. It was such a delicious combo! I got smart this time - doubled the recipe (doubled it made 8 doz!) and froze most of them...just took out a few at a time...hoping they will last. smile emoticon I may try to make some ice cream sandwiches with @Edys Slow Churned Caramel Delight ice cream! smile emoticon

Tips & Tricks Tuesday! Bacon is a sure hit in our house! ...however, I hate cooking it in the fry pan. Grease everywhere!! We love it with breakfast for dinner....or on BLT's (tomato season is a-coming!). I always keep 1# in my freezer. It thaws easily and quickly in hot water. Then, here's the best part - cooking it in the OVEN!!! Heat your oven to 400 degrees. I layer a cookie sheet with foil and parchment paper for easy clean up. Then, cook for approx 18-25 min... then, wah-lah, crispy bacon! smile emoticon

Meal Plan Monday is back again! It's another exciting week and "short" week in our house as the "big" kids are headed to Tampa for my cousin's wedding! Looking forward to crazy family and fun times! 

Monday - Chicken Parm, White Pizza, and Salad

Tuesday - Ham Steak, Mac & Cheese, and green beans

Wednesday - baked chicken tenders, baked potatoes, and salad

Thursday - Hamburgers, French Fries, and raw veggies/dip

Friday - Florida

Saturday - Florida

Sunday - The big "I Do!"

Have a great week!

So, I asked you to bear with me while I am navigating our new schedule with a practice/activity every day after school. It's crazy...but I love it! I thought I would share some of our "heavy" snack ideas. On lacrosse days, we have some time once we get home from school, which is nice, but it also pushes dinner back quite a bit. So, we all have a "heavy" snack to tide us over. Here are some of our favorites -

*yogurt with ALL-BRAN bites or granola and an orange
*whole wheat toast topped with jelly and a banana
*hard-boiled eggs and toast
*cheese and crackers
*peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat toast
*ham roll up and a cheese stick
*popcorn and apple slices
*apple slices and peanut butter
---all kid-tested and mom-approved! smile emoticon

Hope this helps give you some tasty, filling, and healthy snack ideas! smile emoticon

Howdy!! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Our spring break is finally over...all 13 days... and our "school" routine is back in swing! Here's our plan for the week ahead...

Monday - Lemon Chicken, baked potatoes, mandarin orange salad

Tuesday - PYO (pick your own) sandwiches, chips, raw veggies, and fruit 

Wednesday - ham steak, mac&cheese/rice pilaf, green beans

Thursday - spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and garden salad

Friday - "mock" Chicken marsala (http://www.adashofsanity.com/…/rustic-chicken-marsala-bake/…, french bread

Saturday - W's 1st Holy Communion dinner...stay tuned! smile emoticon

Sunday - {crock pot} pork BBQ, baked beans french fries, and salad

Enjoy your week ahead!!

Rustic Chicken Marsala Bake - A Dash of Sanity

Chicken Marsala pasta bake, with a rustic twist. Made with portabella mushrooms, penne pasta and marsala wine cream sauce.

ADASHOFSANITY.COM

...and the results are in....the Tuscan Chicken Meatball sandwiches were a hit!! I will be honest - I have never worked with ground chicken and I had my doubts, but they were sooo yummy!! I will share with you my modifications...

1) I couldn't find sundried tomato pesto -- so, made my own by using my mini food processor and combining an 8 oz jar of sundried tomatoes, a big squeeze of garlic, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, and minced onion (loosely using this recipe - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sun-dried-tomato-pesto/)

2) I have no idea was the Garlic Everything Spread is - so, I made my own garlic bread topping with melted butter, garlic, and garlic salt. 

3) I totally forgot to add the sun-dried tomato mayo, that would have been an outstanding addition!

4) I made the meatballs early in the day, then heated them up while I toasted the garlic bread and cooked the French fries. 

5) I used Italian cheese instead of plain parmesan...I like the flavor of the 5 cheese variety, although I am sure the parmesan would be great too. 

I think that's it - you could totally double the recipe and save some for another time. Also, you could use ground beef and I think it would work out just as well. ...in fact, my guys asked for that! smile emoticon Yeah - another one to add to the mix!

Happy Monday, friends!! Wow - it's been awhile since I posted. I have to share - we had an amazing experience in the Big Apple! We saw amazing sites, ate incredible food, and had the chance to catch up with some family and close friends while we were there. 4 days full of wonderful memories to last a lifetime! smile emoticon

On another note - we hit the ground running with Easter on Sunday and now the start of the week. I am very grateful for the week of Spring Break ahead to relax, tackle the mountains of laundry and start some spring cleaning (first on the list, the kiddo's closets!). 

Here's what the week ahead looks like at our house:

Monday - Tuscan Chicken Meatballs (http://www.momontimeout.com/…/tuscan-chicken-meatball-sand…/), french fries, raw veggies and dip

Tuesday - BBQ chicken on the grill, grilled portobella mushrooms, mashed potatoes/gravy, and salad

Wednesday - grilled shrimp, garlic/olive oil pasta, and salad

Thursday - Tacos, chips, salsa, black beans, and toppings

Friday - chicken prosciutto bake, white pizza, and salad

Saturday - steak, grilled asparagus, zucchini, and portobella mushrooms, {crock pot} garlic parmesan potatoes (http://damndelicious.net/…/slow-cooker-garlic-parmesan-pot…/)

Sunday - creamy chicken and pasta (http://iowagirleats.com/…/creamy-chicken-pasta-no-pasta-p…/…)

Have a wonderful week!!

Tuscan Chicken Meatball Sandwiches - Mom On Timeout

Enjoy the amazing flavors of Tuscany with these family-friendly Tuscan Chicken Meatball Sandwiches!

MOMONTIMEOUT.COM

Meal Plan Monday is back again! This will be a short one, folks. We are venturing off to the Big Apple for a few days while the kiddos are on spring break. I can't wait! The kids haven't been to NYC, so we are taking the train up and visiting some of the iconic sites...not to mention getting to see some of my college buddies. Yeah!! smile emoticon

Monday - Lemon Chicken, Rice Pilaf, mandarin salad
Tuesday - "pick your poison" aka clean out the fridge wink emoticon
Wed - Fri - NYC, baby!
Saturday - Hot dogs/mac and cheese/raw veggies for little kiddos; egg sandwiches for big kiddos, aka adults  smile emoticon
Sunday - Hoppy Easter!
Easter Brunch --
egg casserole
peach french toast
bacon/sausage
asparagus wrapped in prosciutto
oven fries
sour cream coffee cake
vanilla bean scones 
...and the boys picked ice cream cake and cookies for dessert...who am I to say no wink emoticon

Have a great week ahead!!

Happy Friday, friends!! Here is a Friday treat for you!! Buckeye Bark!! If you are a fan of the Buckeye (wahoo Ohio State!!), you will be happy with this recipe! Peanut butter and chocolate goodness! First pic is the Buckeye Bark I made - I will say that only 2 out of the 3 layers *really* stuck together. For the chocolate pieces that didn't stick, I just pressed on the peanut butter part on and that worked okay. The 2nd pic is the chocolate that I used (I actually used the milk chocolate variety, the white chocolate variety is in the pic) - I have fallen in love with this almond bark. Contrary to it's name, it doesn't taste like almonds, but it melts SO incredibly smooth. You could use it for just about any kind of bark or for dipping needs (fruit, cake pops, etc). Happy Friday all!! smile emoticon

http://www.livesigmakappa.com/2011/12/06/buckeye-bark/

If you are looking for some tasty cookie creations to add to your religious celebration...check out these sugar cookie crosses. I made them for my son's First Holy Communion, but could easily be used for a baptism as well.

{review} The other night I made the {Slow Cooker} Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes -- I thought they were pretty good. 3 out of 4 of us liked the flavor, however the smell coming from the crock pot was not the best. I would give them an B-. I think - if there was a next time - I would add the bacon in last (although cooked extra crispy, it got mushy) and definitely top with extra cheese and fresh green onions. ...back to the drawing board at this was a trial run of one of the recipes for W's 1st Holy Communion

Tips and Tricks Tuesday! Ok - so have you and your loved one ever fought over the corners of the brownies?? Not that I am speaking from experience or anything... wink emoticon ....but, I got one of these pans, and look, everyone gets a brownie with corners! How awesome is this?!?! I also am a huge fan of the Ghiradelli brownie mix. You can pick this box up at Costco and there are 6 bags of mix in there! I love it!

Meal Plan Monday is here again! Anyone else wrapped up in the NCAA tournament?? I went to Villanova, so got sucked in this year from the beginning when they were rocking their conference! Sooo bummed about last night....but I digress....here's what will be on our table this week...

 

Monday - Hamburgers, {crock pot} potatoes (http://damndelicious.net/…/slow-cooker-cheesy-bacon-ranch-…/), raw veggies and dip (hamburger recipe -- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/juiciest-hamburgers-ever/ I do not use evaporated milk..but sub in regular milk)

Tuesday - Italian Chicken Casserole, garlic bread, salad (Chicken recipe - http://www.shugarysweets.com/20…/…/italian-chicken-casserole I may throw in prosciutto to add some extra flavor)

Wednesday - Lemon Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Mandarin Orange/Almond salad

Thursday - Baked Chicken Fajitas and toppings

Friday - Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders (these got pushed from the following week), potato wedges, and raw veggies and dip

Saturday - Heavy Appetizers and Desserts with friends. I have the pleasure of making the desserts for two events this weekend. We will be enjoying:
*Meyer Lemon mini bundt cakes with Vanilla Bean Icing (http://foxeslovelemons.com/meyer-lemon-bundt-cake-vanilla-…/)
*Buckeye Bark (http://www.livesigmakappa.com/2011/12/06/buckeye-bark/)
*Bailey's Brownies with Irish Whiskey Ganache (http://www.icecreambeforedinner.com/…/baileys-brownies-with…)
*Almond Shortbread Bars

Sunday - Lasagna, Garlic bread, and salad

Have a wonderful week ahead!!)

Happy Thursday, friends!! Today is one of my most favorite days of the year...my birthday! My family laughs, but I love celebrating my big day.  wink emoticon I wanted to share a special birthday present that I got this year....http://www.amazon.com/Homemakers-Domestic-Han…/…/ref=sr_1_1…. 

It is a really neat book that captured me from the 'get go'.  Brit Morin is a 21st century crafter...a girl after my own heart! Thank you @Kurt and @Kim for such a thoughtful gift! If you have a 2nd, check this out -- from beginning cooking skills and basic "must have" recipes, to decorating tips to basic fashion advice to working out, Brit offers simple and modern ideas for the times. Well worth the read!

Homemakers: A Domestic Handbook for the Digital Generation

From “Silicon Valley’s Martha Stewart” comes a new manifesto for the modern homemaker in the digital age.Over the past three generations, the rules of...

AMAZON.COM

Hello Thursday! Hopefully, you are reading this from somewhere warm. smile emoticonWe had a streak of a few nice days, and now tomorrow (technically spring), we are supposed to get SNOW! Yes - 1-3" of that fluffy white stuff that just won't go away! Here's the funny part -- I used to LOVE the snow. When it meant no school and I could hit the slopes, I was a huge fan. Now it just means being cold, shoveling and dressing little people in and out of snow gear. Anyway - I had planned to bake "watermelon" cupcakes for Bake Sale Friday thinking it would be in the 50s and "spring" like. I guess the joke is on me. Lol! Well, here are the cupcakes...maybe they will help the kids think spring. smile emoticon

(For the pics - wanted to show you the dyes I love using - Wilton gels; just made a regular vanilla cake then dyed it and added mini chocolate chips; the finished product!)

Just looked at my calendar the other day and realized that Easter is just over 2 weeks away! Wow! Guess this bunny needs to get moving! I'll keep you posted on what's on the Easter brunch menu...but wanted to show you a cute Easter dessert a friend ordered. I was so excited with these... smile emoticon