Creamy Goat Cheese and Kale topped Portobello

So I wanted to try something a little different and when I came across this recipe and knew I had to try it. I just recently started eating portobello mushrooms (Steve made me try them) and I actually really like them now. They are healthy, filling and delicious! I never liked mushrooms but now they are growing on me. I was hesitant about working with the kale because I have only ever used Kale to make Kale chips in the oven but it ended up turning out great and really filling. Here's the recipe, I'll definitely be making this again. Could be used as a small meal or as a side dish. 

What you need

-Large portobello mushroom

-Kale 

-Olive oil 

-Goat Cheese

-Garlic

-Sun dried tomatoes

-Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do

Roast the mushrooms in the oven until they start to get brown and juicy. Meantime in a frying pan add the oil and garlic and then the kale and let it all cook down. Once the kale has cooked down add the goat cheese and chopped sun dried tomato and watch it all melt together then put it on top of the mushroom and put it back in the oven for another few minutes. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Yesterday I wanted to experiment with some recipes from Pinterest so I tried this no bake oatmeal cookie. The recipe was very simple and it was all things that I already had in my house which made it even easier. 

What you'll need
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 stick butter 
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 cups oatmeal (old fashioned rolled oats, not instant)

What to do

Mix the sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk in a medium saucepan.

Boil for 1 minute.

Add the peanut butter and vanilla. 

Mix quickly until peanut butter melts, then add the oatmeal and mix til well blended.

Drop spoonfuls on tin foil, wax paper or parchment. Allow to set and cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen 3 inch cookies.

They were delish! I even froze some for when my friends come next week. 

Let's Go Mountaineers!

So how about those Mountaineers!! 

Steve and I waited all day for this game to come on! We spent the day Saturday doing things around the house and I went grocery shopping. We also carved pumpkins and I made some roasted pumpkin seeds. 

I made taco rollups for dinner click here for the recipe they were sooooo good but they didn't look a thing like the picture which was fine with me. I don't care how they look as long as they taste amazing! Here's a picture of what they were suppose to look like...and I'll spare you from my disaster of a picture

And then we tuned in to watch the WVU Game! What a game I was nervous for a little but Steve was cool, calm and collected as usual. After the win we were both ecstatic! I wore a West Virginia shirt to the grocery store and got so many compliments! Today (Sunday) we just finished watching the Steelers beat the Eagles and are enjoying a relaxing weekend at home. I turned the couch into a pillow nest and have been laying here working and watching football all day.

For dinner we are going to have left over eggplant parm that I froze a few weeks ago. I've never froze individual pieces of eggplant parm and then reheated them so I wonder how they are going to be ill let you all know! Happy Sunday!  

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast

Got this recipe from Skinny Taste I love all her recipes they are so good and healthy. This one takes a little more time but so worth it! I modified it by adding some marinara sauce on top a trick my friend Michelle taught me. We are both equally obsessed with Skinny Taste and cooking its a match made in food heaven. Anyway I made this recipe on Sunday with some grilled zucchini and some cheesy mashed potatoes.

What you'll need

10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and juice squeezed out

1 tsp oil

1/2 cup (2.5 oz) fat free Feta cheese

1/3 cup fat free ricotta

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

3 (1.25 lbs) chicken breast halves

1 egg

1 tbsp water

1/2 cup whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs (I used 4C)

spray oil

toothpicks

In a small sauté pan, heat oil. Add onions, garlic and scallions and sauté about 1 minute. Add spinach and parsley, salt and pepper and cook another minute. Removefrom heat, add feta and ricotta cheese.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Slice chicken breast halves into 3 thin cutlets. Pound them to make them thinner. This helps when you wrap the cutlets. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Place just under 1/4 cup of spinach mixture in the center of the chicken. Roll it and secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent filling from coming out. It's ok if it's not perfect. The egg wash and breadcrumbs keep everything in place.

Dip chicken into egg wash, then breadcrumbs.

Spray cookie sheet with oil and place chicken on cookie sheet. Lightly spray chicken with oil and bake about 25 minutes, until cooked through. Remove toothpicks and serve. Good Luck! 

Zucchini Quiche

Grandma Maries Zucchini Quiche is always a hit and its pretty simple to make. Perfect for when you have company over it makes quite a lot of food. We had this Saturday for lunch while we watched the West Virginia game and then again for breakfast on Sunday!  

What you'll need
- 3 or 4 cups diced Zucchini
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup Bisquick (I used gluten free to make this recipe gluten free)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated italian cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella, diced
- Paprika
- 1 tbl basil 
- Salt and pepper


What to do
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until the zucchini is coated

Pour into a greased 8 by 12 inch pyrex baking dish and sprinkle paprika over the top. Then bake at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes or until golden brown. 

WVU Apron

I went to Hobby Lobby the other day to look around for a new project to do while Steve watches football (theres only so much football I can watch). I saw these blank aprons next to all different colors of puffy fabric paint and thought they would be perfect. I needed a new apron and since it's football season I figured I needed to make it a West Virginia Apron- you can never have too much Mountaineer gear. I would paint my house West virginia colors if I could but were renting :( Anyway I just bought the blank apron and drew on the West Virginia logo and then painted it- it was very simple and I love the way it turned out! 

Eggplant Parm

This is Steves FAVORITE recipe. I love cooking on Sundays while watching football because it makes the whole house smell amazing and its so relaxing. This is one of the more time consuming recipes so I had to get started as soon as we got back from church. You could use a good jar sauce but I prefer to make my own. I'll put my sauce recipe up another time but for now here is a great recipe for eggplant parm. It's a healthier version because I bake the eggplant instead of frying it (Nanny taught me that) but I need to give credit to my grandma Marie for the rest of the recipe. Isn't she the cutest? LOVE HER! 

Grandma Marie! 

What you'll need 
- Medium sized eggplant
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- olive oil 
- Fresh mozzarella
- Parmesan cheese 
- Marinara Sauce

What to do

Have your marinara sauce warmed and ready!
First you need to slice the eggplant in slices about 1/2 thick. Then have a bowl with the 2 eggs (scrambled) and another bowl ready with the breadcrumbs. Also spray down a baking sheet with cooking spray so you have a place to put the eggplant once they are breaded  

Dip the eggplant in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs and place on the baking sheet. 

Then bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes flipping them halfway or bake until each side has been lightly browned. Once they come out of the oven its time to layer them. 

First spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan. I used a glass pyrex dish but you can also use a throw away pan it makes cleanup much easier. I usually use the throw away tins if I make this for a large group of people. 

Anyway, first put down a thin layer of sauce, then place a piece of eggplant put a little more sauce on top of the eggplant then a thin slice of mozzarella top with more sauce and then repeat this entire process until you run out of eggplant. Top with parmesan cheese. I usually stack mine two eggplant slices high. 

Here's what it looks like before it goes into the oven- nice and sloppy and delicious! Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the eggplant is cooked through.

Then serve over pasta or with a salad and enjoy! I made garlic buttered asparagus and italian bread and some pasta for Steve with mine. Good Luck!

Pinterest Party

Friday night we had a girl's night at my friend Ellens house, we decided it would be cool to make it a Pinterest party where everyone makes a dish from Pinterest and then we could sample everyones dish. I made the funfetti cake dip and pared it with chocolate animal crackers and fresh strawberries. I also bought some of Nanny's cookies (otherwise Steve and I would have ate them ALL) so I had to get rid of them asap. 

Ellen made a greek hummus and an apple croissant (which tasted like an apple pie) it was delicious! 

 Pinterest party was a success! I recommend everyone try it! 

Nanny's Italian Butter Cookies

These are my absolute favorite cookies ever! My Nanny (Dad's mom) always makes these for the holidays and every year I look forward to eating at least ten or twelve. Steve loves them too, I always catch him going back for more. He also dips these in the funfetti cake dip which I have in the fridge for the party later (gross i know). Heres the recipe hope you like it as much as I do! 

What you'll need
- 2 eggs
- 2 sticks of butter
- 2 cups of flour
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla 

Once you have all the ingredients mix them together and then put the dough in the fridge for a few hours- this makes it easier to work with. 

 Then take it out and on a clean flat surface roll it out using extra flour so it doesn't stick to the table. 

Cut into long strips and roll it out so you can shape it into the pretzel shape(see below) its not complicated just twist it around! 

Then bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. When the cookies have cooled it is time to decorate them.

 -Mix confectionary sugar with a few drops of milk until it has the consistency of thick syrup then add the food coloring of your choice and paint on the cookies. While the icing is still wet put some on and enjoy! 

Funfetti Cake Dip

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and have been thinking about it ever since. My girlfriends are getting together tomorrow night for a girls night Pinterest Party! Everyone has to bring a dish from Pinterest so it was only fitting for me to make this funfetti dip. My college roommate and bff made this and she said it was amazing so I had to try it and she was right it is DANGEROUSLY good. I wish I waited until tomorrow to make it because I have a feeling not much will make it to tomorrow night. Heres the recipe.

What you'll need:
- One box funfetti cake mix
- Low-fat plain yogurt (2 cups)
- Lite Cool Whip (1 cup)

What to do:
Mix together all ingredients until smooth and refrigerate. Serve with fresh strawberries or fat free animal crackers! 

Servings: 24

Serving Size: 1/4 cup

Calories: 105

Fat: 2 g

Carbs: 20.2 g

Fiber: 0.3 g

Protein: 1.4 g

Old Points: 2.2 pts

Points+: 3 pts

Hello Fall

Good Morning! So you all know those crazy people who are obsessed with the holidays well I am one of those - and now that I have my own house I am going crazy with decorations. We even have fall decorations in the bedroom I cant stop. Also the dollar store has so many decorations so thats a great place to start for really cheap. 

I made a wreath and I love it! It was super easy and it looks great. I didnt glue anything so this way I can just take out all the flowers and replace them with different flowers for the next season I cant wait to make a Christmas wreath!

Im not a fan of halloween and scary decorations but I did put up a lot of pretty fall decoration lots of pumpkins and scarecrows. I want to get mums and a big bale of hay for out front. My mom always decorated our house so much for the holidays so I guess I got it from her. 

The outside still needs more work but its still early 

I picked these pinecones from our front yard and just paired them with a bag of potpourri from Walmart and it looks and smells sooo good!