Because Facebook doesn’t show all of our followers all of the awesomeness all of the time we have . . .
We are so ready to get our summer on, and we are NOT just talking about the flip-flops, vacations, and poolside cocktails either. Nothing beats summer eats! Bar-B-Qs, fresh salads, and anything off the grill are on the menu. To that end, we were talking food this week.
Nothing says summer like dishes that can be pulled together in about 20 minutes. This will be a go to recipe all summer long. Healthy, delicious, nutritious. YUM!
Want our blog posts delivered directly to your inbox? Follow us on Bloglovin. It is SO easy even your four year old could do it! In fact, let your four year old do it. They gotta learn this stuff young!
Why do they want dinner ? Every. Single. Night. While that is tongue in cheek, it’s no joke how monotonous finding new and tasty options for meals can be. Well, friends, we have gathered a collection of recipes that will change your life! Hmmm, seems we have crossed over from tongue-in-cheek to hyperbole, but these recipes will rock your dinner time.
Healthy French Country Crockpot Chicken
THIS, this right here, is our best, most clicked recipe. This is the crockpot recipe for people who claim they don’t like anything that comes out of a slow cooker. See how easy it really is and make sure to make a bunch because we have a new recipe for using the leftovers.
It saves so much time to make multiple meals from one batch of cooked chicken. This recipe is packed with vegetables, but it’s so savory and cheesy, too.
6 ounces whole wheat or whole grain thin spaghetti noodles
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 cup red pepper, chopped
1¼ cups fat-free cottage cheese
4 wedges Light Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb Cheese (cut into small pieces)
1 (14 oz) jar of pasta or spaghetti sauce (We like Vodka Sauce)
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese for the top
(If you feel so inclined you can add a small spaghetti squash also, but this requires a little more prep – Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a sharp knife, cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a large spoon. Grease the bottom of a baking pan lined with foil with olive oil, and place the spaghetti squash halves face down on the pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Scrape the flesh out of the rind using a fork.)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 7 x 11 inch baking pan or Pyrex dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cook spaghetti noodles and drain.
3. In the meantime, in a large bowl, add onions, zucchini, and red bell pepper. Cook in microwave 3-4 minutes until soft. Drain any liquid. Stir in pasta sauce, crockpot chicken, Italian seasonings, black pepper, and, if desired, the spaghetti squash.
4. In another bowl, combine cottage and cheese wedge pieces. Mix well. A whisk works well for this task.
5. To assemble casserole: Spread a small amount of sauce (about ¼ cup) on the bottom of pan. Spread half of spaghetti noodles on top of sauce. Cover with cheese mixture and spread evenly over pasta. Cover with ¾ cup pasta sauce. Add remaining noodles. Finally spread remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese evenly over top.
6. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until hot and browned.
7. Let sit for about 15 minutes to set. Leftovers freeze well.
Because Facebook doesn’t show all of our followers all of the awesomeness all of the time we have . . .
The “Spring Shiver” Edition
Here’s a laugh and a cringe:
Okay, here’s one to take away the cringe:
Maybe the haunted house talk still gave you a shiver?
Ok, this one is JUST about Spring minus the shiver. Well, on second thought, spring cleaning does make us cringe.
Let’s give you one more cringe:
Can you believe these nails? Exactly how does bathroom time work for this woman? And more importantly HOW could we have missed this one for our Pintershit: The Nail Polish Edition? If you haven’t read this post you really should because you’re like one of two people on the internet who hasn’t.
Thank you Alison of Writing, Wishing for pointing this out to us. In turn, we would like to point out that if you have never visited her blog, you are missing a lot. She is versatile, funny, tender, smart, and just a darn good writer.
You cannot miss this post. We even cracked ourselves up.
Where we were on the web:
Kelley of Kelley’s Breakroom spilled Erin’s purse for the internet to see. It’s only fair since Ellen exposed her soul, we mean purse, the other week. I think we can all agree that Erin has superb hygiene.
Seriously, Kelley’s Break Room is hilarious:
Check out her post. Ellen likes to call it justification for keeping every textbook she has ever owned.
You may not think crockpot when you think spring, but aren’t you busier than ever? This recipe is healthy, fast, and warm weather easy. Just think, no heating up the oven.
Welcome to April’s Finding the Funny! Before we start sharing our funny posts, we have a (huge) giveaway!
My Parenting Victory (and a HUGE giveaway)!
My small parenting victory really started out as more of a personal quest: a quest for the perfect green smoothie. I tried so many versions, but let’s just say I had to force them down until I tweaked a recipe to use Chobani yogurt. It is delicious and, well, perfect. Bonus? This bad boy contains 6 cups of spinach!
I was so enthralled with the wonder of this smoothie that I served it to my kids. While my 14 year old thought it was pretty good, my 12 year old was repulsed and she pouted through pursed lips, “Greek yogurt is disgusting!” Oh no! In my hubris, I had flown too close to the sun! Now she wouldn’t eat Greek yogurt! Chobani is so much better than “normal” yogurt because of its higher protein content, lower sugar, and live active probiotic cultures. I had turned her against the perfect food! But in swooped Chobani Champions tubes to save the day!
They are all delicious!
Apparently, it is all in the presentation. Glass of green liquid: bad. Kicky, fun tubes: good. At least for my tween, that is. For me, it’s all good. I get the green smoothies AND the tubes.
-Ellen
Raising kids isn’t easy, but Chobani Champions is all about celebrating the little victories in parenting. Together with Chobani, we wanna make YOU a winner. Enter below to win 1 GRAND PRIZE* of a year’s supply of Chobani and Chobani Champions. Yep, a year’s supply of that delicious, nutritious, protein-packed parenting victory known as Chobani greek yogurt. Our grand prize winner will build a custom case for themselves to be delivered to their doorstep monthly, including 1 case of assorted Champions Flavors, 1 case of assorted Chobani Flavors and a bonus case of either Champions tubes, Chobani Bite or Chobani 32 oz cooking sizes. Every month for a YEAR!*
10 Runners-up will receive one case of Champions Tubes delivered to their doors! Giveaway begins April 2 and ends at midnight April 8. Chobani is gettin’ social to find the good, the bad, the ugly… and a REAL taste of life with kids.
Join all of us on twitter for #spikedpunch Sunday night, April 7 from 9-10pm EST.
Enjoy the party and a chance to win 1 of 2 cases of Chobani tubes! *Giveaway open to residents of the United States only. Grand prize winner will choose from products available at http://chobani.com/products/a Rafflecopter giveaway
We don’t ask you to link back to us or include a button on your blog, but we do ask you to send out a tweet or post about the party on your Facebook page. Be sure to use #findingthefunny.
Because Facebook doesn’t show all of our followers all of the awesomeness all of the time we have . . .
We’re All Over The Web:
Kelley from Kelley’s Breakroom spilled Ellen’s bag for all of Facebook to see! Well, technically Ellen spilled her bag, took a picture, we wrote a post about it, we sent the picture to Kelley and she wrote super cute captions on it and shared it on her awesome Facebook page. (Why not click on over and give her a “Like” from us?)
Super Bowl Sunday is just days away! The American holiday to end all holidays! Okay, maybe that is taking it a bit far, but we are very excited that the Baltimore Ravens are in it this year.We are native Marylanders, you know.
Erin:My family is all in!
Ellen: We are happy for the Ravens, too, but I feel like I have to present that with an asterisk. My family is truly fans of the Philadelphia Eagles.
See once upon a time there was a little boy named Frank (my husband) who use to go with his father to see the Baltimore Colts play in Memorial Stadium. But then in 1984, a mean old man named Irsay moved the Colts to Indianapolis in the middle of the night. When a love that great is ripped away, it leaves a void. Luckily, the Eagles were just an hour away to fill the hole in his heart.
Erin:That is my story too! We stopped watching football altogether when they left town, because even that void would not make my family Redskins fans.
Ellen: Well, duh.
Erin:My family embraced the Ravens with open arms when they came to town and never looked back. There are plastic geese bedecked in Ravens jerseys at my aunt’s house.
Ellen: You just can’t abandon your alliances at the drop of a hat. We like the Ravens, and Coco (14) is a true fan. We’re fine with it because it is a home team. It is not good fan etiquette to just “pick” a team from anywhere in the country and jump on their bandwagon. And for the love of Don’t-Break-A-Nail, you CANNOT pick a team based on their uniforms or mascot.
Erin:I’ll trust you on these rules Miss Manners of the Pigskin since I found out at the Mother/Daughter tea that you can talk some serious football. Plus other people agree with you. My beloved crush Frank Deford wrote a rocking’ piece about why it’s good to root, root, root for the home team!
Ellen: Our Sisterhood is versatile, right?
Erin: I read Sports Illustrated. I’m in the know, but my football knowledge is more about the players’ backgrounds and their roads to victory.
Ellen: Nothing wrong with looking at the color commentary side of things . . . as long as you’re not picking teams because their uniforms match the blue of your eyes.
Erin:Now, while we are very excited about the Super Bowl, it is not the only thing going on in our lives. Let’s get a grip.
Ellen: Shoot, I’ll be at a volleyball tournament until 3 o’clock.
Erin:So we don’t have time to be fussy with our Super Bowl spreads, but we may have enough pride that we can’t just throw out a pizza and a bag of chips.
Ellen: If like us, you haven’t thought about your party until two days before, here is the solution.
Erin:Lazy doesn’t really seem fair. I would call it smart. It’s smart to do things the easy way.
Ellen: Whatever, you’re the one who put the word “lazy” in your dip title.
So first the APPETIZERS . . .
Lazy Girl’s Black Bean Cream Cheese Dip
You know what? Be a hero and make a double batch from the start.
This dip has four ingredients: cream cheese, black beans, salsa, and shredded cheese. The most involved step is draining the black beans. We have found it ups the appeal to use gourmet salsa, but really that’s like saying the red convertible made the Homecoming Queen even more popular. This dip is always the first to go. Just make sure you buy enough tortilla chips because people have been known to clean the dish out with a spoon. Or their tongue. And no one wants to see that.
I make this all of the time, but there is still no picture because it goes too quickly! The secret to the scrumptious-ness of this dip is cooking the chicken in the crock pot the day before or earlier in the day. You MUST cook the chicken this way to get raves; if you just use plain shredded chicken, I can’t be responsible for the yawns you will incite.
And now the recipe is even better. I use to recommend a baking step, but that step has been punted. Now, I do EVERY step in the crock pot. Maybe “lazy” should be in the title of this recipe, too.
Alright, so everyone is wowed by the appetizers. Time to kick the laziness up a notch.
Erin: Still lobbying to switch from “lazy” to “smart.”
Ellen: Oy! Well, since this is a new “recipe” we’re sharing, I’ll humor you.
The Smartest Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Lazy or smart? Potato, Pu-tah-toe.
There will be no printable recipe , because you’re a smartie and we believe in you.
Three ingredients: 5 – 8 pound pork tenderloin, package of dry onion soup mix, and one 16.9 oz bottle of Coke.
Throw it in the crock pot and let cook for at least 7 hours. Shred the meat with a fork.
You can do it!
Ellen: Alright, we may be lazy, but we can’t throw health completely to the wind. Gotta have some veggies.
Erin: See! That’s smart!! Seriously, we should drop the lazy.
Ellen: How about we call this recipe “Switzerland” and just go with the title it already has?
Crispy Colorful Vinaigrette Coleslaw
Best Cole Slaw EVER!
This cole slaw is the best, because it doesn’t have a drippy, creamy dressing. It perfectly tops the pulled pork on a bun or takes the heat away from the Buffalo Chicken Dip. The recipe calls for some chopping of vegetables, but if you want a lazier smarter version, you can just dump a bag of shredded cabbage, a bag of broccoli slaw, and a bag of shredded carrots in the bowl and call it a day.
You can whip these up in minutes to be declared the MVP of all time of all Super Bowl parties. Yes, they are that good. Brownie mix, Oreos, and peanut butter: three ingredients that make your taste buds go boom!
But finally, here is the piece de resistance (the Super Bowl is in New Orleans after all) . . .
Your very own ballot to up the fun! This thing gives you the opportunity to vote on all things football from who wins the coin toss to the COMMERCIALS! This is one of our favorite things ever! We are shaking our virtual pom-pons. Rah-Rah-Rah!
‘Tis the Season for imbibing, indulging, and ingesting all manner of fabulous food stuffs, but our favorite thing about holiday food is sharing it with family and friends. More specifically, The Sisterhood. The Sisterhood can throw some fantastic parties which means we break out the fancy clothes (read: no yoga pants allowed), ditch the kiddos, and pull out the industrial-strength hair products. If we are pulling out the blow-dryer, we mean business. So, without further ado, we bring you. . .
10 Things Holiday Party Food
1. On Dancer, on Prancer, on Brewsky, and Guinness!
One of the best things about a party is the drinks. And one of the best things about Erin perusing Pinterest is that she’s actually interested in getting her craft on. How do you think this self-professed non-crafter did with the Reindeer Beer?
2. Cheers!
Maybe beer isn’t your thing. Truly, you need all the gastric vacancy possible so you can stuff your pie hole with all of the yumminess yet to come. Well, a great host, maybe someone like this man . . .
. . . will make you a pomegranate martini . . . in a margarita glass.
3. Hors d’oeuvres!
Appetizers are our favorites. In fact, we love them so much, we’ll forget to take pictures until after we’ve eaten our final crudité. We are certain that the martinis . . . and Guinness . . . and wine had nothing to do with the oversight.
Imagine perfectly seared tuna, scrumptious stuffed mushrooms, and a Tavern-on-the-Green-worthy beauty of a cheese board because all we can show you is the aftermath. Maybe a swarm of locusts blew through when we weren’t looking.
4. Crab cakes and tenderloin and roasted veggies! Oh my!
5. The food does not get into your belly on its own, People!
You saw what happened to the appetizers! You CANNOT assume there will be seconds. Hostess extraordinaire, Mary, to the rescue. We didn’t have to limit ourselves to a plate of food. We got a tray-full!
6. Everyone needs an Erin at their party.
There is no charm school on this green earth that can teach this. You either have it or you don’t.
7. Cleanse your visual palette with dessert.
We do apologize that you can’t un-see Erin’s “see-food,” but how about this little darling of a dessert to bring your appetite back?
8. Fortify your cheer.
After all those carbs, a buzz can really start to lag. Time to move onto a Raspberry Vodka Seltzer.
9. Perform a spot inspection on the drink master.
Yeah, that’s right. Ellen’s drink was mixed on the top of the trashcan out of a stainless steel water bottle. Know what she did about it? Taunted everybody that she got the last one as she sucked that refreshing goodness down. She may or may not have broken out of that charm school we were mentioning. We’ll never tell.
What do you get when you bake one trillion cakes for your daughter’s birthday? Besides the accolades of your adoring family, you get a completely decimated baker’s pantry. This can be a huge problem when you have to make chocolate cookies NOW and you have no time to run to the store. While Ellen is still a devoted fan of the beloved Tollhouse cookie (And so is Erin! This recipe inspires her kids to say this about her) sometimes you have to work with what you got. Bisquick to the rescue!
Bisquick simplifies the ingredient list and it makes a dough that is made for speed. It has a drier texture than Tollhouse cookie dough so it is super easy to work with and get onto the pans. And these cookies barely spread so you can place them about one to one and a half inches apart, allowing you to bake more cookies at a time. These cookies are also a dream to get off of the pan. They easily come up with a spatula with nary a cookie lost to breakage. And the final perk? It transports so well! This is a sturdier cookie while still not being a hard.
As you can tell, we put food in its proper place in The Sisterhood, besides just our bellies, and we know how to wash it down too. Here’s a little “salut” from our peeps to yours this holiday season—an Irish Christmas blessing:
Nollaig faoi shéan is faoi shonas duit.
A prosperous and happy Christmas to you.
Full disclosure: Erin may have learned this blessing, NOT from her Irish father, but from the 24 bottles of Guinness she hot-glued antlers on.
We’re available for your festivities, too. Just contact us at 443-555-HAWT.
May the odds always be in your favor.
