Baked Apples and Italian Chicken

       Baked Apples

 Sorry I left you guys hanging on the baked apple recipe!  I realized that I completely forgot to add it to the Recipe File at the beginning of the rotation...blame it on my pregnancy brain...but I will admit that sometimes I can completely space things with or without a bun in the oven.  Anyways, hope you all have been enjoying your conference and that you made some delicious "Fall" Pumpkin Pancakes today or some other yummy fun breakfast!  Enjoy!

- Kristin

Happy Friday to you all!  I have been looking forward to this weekend :)  Here is a tasty, healthy recipe for your Friday and it is very simple to throw together.  If you know me, you know I LOVE my salads...but it can't just be a plain little "weak" side salad....it has to have lots of flavor and different textures and colors and this one does a pretty good job!  I love this recipe because you can use it as a side or you can use it as a main dish by cooking some chicken in one of your favorite seasonings.  In this case I used it as my main dish so I added the option for you to add your chicken.  I like to season mine with just regular salt and pepper and a hint of Caribbean Jerk seasoning but whatever you have on hand is perfect!  My husband even likes this dish and he is not a huge fan of salads but he likes the flavor and especially the walnuts. So if you are not allergic to nuts, then don't be shy!  Try them out!  They are seriously super easy to make and they really add some texture and sweet flavor to the salad.  I have even had people who don't like walnuts tell me that they love these!  If you make it let me know what you think! Enjoy!

- Kristin

              Conference weekend is coming up and not only am I looking forward to some guidance and spiritual uplifting, I must also admit that I am also looking forward to a day of staying in my pajamas.  A day where my family and I can spend time together and not worry about going anywhere or meeting any deadlines.  Growing up I remember that my parents would always have every radio in the house turned to conference on Saturdays.  That way if we were outside doing yard work or inside doing chores, we would be able to listen to it.  The best part about waking up on Conference Sunday was that they would always be making pancakes as a special morning breakfast treat!  I LOVED having something other than cereal.  It was just a special memory for me.  I like to carry on that same tradition with my kids but instead of pancakes every time, I like to switch it up and make different recipes such as Stuffed French Toast or Blueberry Muffins and scrambled eggs.  I've included some of the recipes that I like to use that are amazing.  The Stuffed French Toast is time consuming but it is well worth the end result.  The Fluffy Pancake recipe is one I use all the time for the kids. I always have the ingredients on hand and they always turn out just like their name...Fluffy and delicious!  You can always switch up the pancakes by adding bananas, blueberries, or chocolate chips.  If you add a 1/2 C. of canned pumpkin and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg...delicious fall pumpkin pancakes.  The hint of lemon in the blueberry muffins definitely adds to the freshness so don't be shy!  Any or all of these recipes will be a wonderful way to start your day!  Enjoy!

- Kristin

Okay this is quite possibly one of my favorite sandwich recipes to make for my family.  It is all about the bread and the toppings.  Have you ever been to Sensuous Sandwich in Provo?  It is this little "whole-in-the-wall" sandwich place...literally...however they have the most delicious sandwiches. This is the first time I had ever had a "hot" sandwich.  This was before panini's were big.  I was sold from the first time I had one and I can't even count the times I ate there in high school with my friends.  Anyways so I have spent a lot of time trying to recreate those sandwiches and I know this isn't anything out of this world but for me it is an easy, delicious meal that your kids will love too!  So first of all I always buy an Italian Loaf.  These you can find at Walmart in the bakery section at the front of the store.  They are only .99 cents and so worth every penny.  I prefer these over French Bread because it is a softer bread but either way it will still turn out yummy.  Now as far as the toppings go, these are just some suggestions, go crazy!  The more, the better in my opinion.  This is your chance to stuff every fresh vegetable on there that you can! Don't be scared to try the cucumbers, the texture and taste is great!  Banana peppers...delicious! Radishes...maybe?? Mushrooms? Okay now that's too far ;)  Okay..well maybe if you are a mushroom lover (traitors!) then that would be delicious!  Anyways, my point is don't limit yourself.  Just remember to put all your vegetables on after cooking...warm lettuce...definitely not appetizing.  Just be careful to not cook your bread too much so it's not crispy...we still want it somewhat soft.  Serve with a fresh fruit salad on the side (be careful with the cantelope though there has been a huge recall), or maybe some corn on the cob...you could even just open a bag of chips and call it good if your day has been crazy!  If you tried the recipe, let me know what you think!  I would love to hear of some of your creations.  Also check out the fun Halloween Subway Art I posted here.  Enjoy!

- Kristin

Recipe Card and Halloween Subway Art

Yay!  I am getting an early start on this :)  So as most of you know...if you're not a "Ba Humbug" sort of person :)...Halloween is coming up!! Oh how I LOVE Halloween!  It's just the start of all the wonderful holidays to come...how can you not be excited??  Well I am officially determined to get my readers here in the festive mood...so in order to get you excited I made a Halloween Subway Art Printable that you can download and put in your home! It is an 8X10 and the easiest thing I suggest is uploading it to Costco or somewhere similar and having them develop it so you don't end up using all your computer ink.  Go buy a cheap frame and stick this baby in it and you have got one marvelous Halloween decoration! P.S. Walmart has cheap frames for $3.00 for an 8X10 and then you can reuse it for all sorts of occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's...you DO decorate for Valentine's Day right?  No? This is going to be more work than I thought :)  All I ask is that you do not sell, or reproduce the free printables that I have on here and please refer them back to my blog rather than sharing the link to the download :)  If you would like to see more printables for your home on here, please leave a comment on this post, or let me know if you would just like to stick to the recipes!  Enjoy!

-Kristin

P.S. (Are you allowed to have 2 P.S.'s in one post??) Whenever you do your 3 week grocery shopping, don't forget your Costco trip is on an As Needed Basis...you don't have to go there every 3 weeks.  I go there just to buy Chicken, Pork Roasts and Ground Beef...so if you are stocked up on those and don't need Jack's Salsa then you are good to pass it up.  One more tip on the Jack's Salsa...if you find that you can't finish the whole thing before it starts going bad, Jack's Salsa freezes wonderfully!  However once it is frozen you can only use it for cooking, not for dipping chips in, but cooking is still perfection so don't stress in the least bit :)  Hope that helped!  If you need a reminder on how the 3 Week Rotation Works or if you are new just go to Helpful Hints and there will be some information laid out for you there or feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Taco Tuesday!

Hey friends! In college we used to have what we called a Taco Tuesday! We would go on a run to get the cheap tacos that were 3 for $1. Needless to say, these tacos definitely surpass the standards of Taco Tuesday and are actually healthy and fresh, which I those refried beans from the fast food store are pretty questionable to me. I am living off one hour of sleep...so I am posting this and then heading back to bed...hopefully :) This recipe is delicious and fresh! If you have corn tortillas you are more than welcome to use them on this but my family prefers the taste of flour so I always buy little flour tortillas for anything that has to do with tacos or fajitas etc. I love fresh tomatoes and onions so I included my version of Pico de Gallo to use on your tacos, it makes them so much tastier. You can adjust the amount according to what your family likes. As for the dip, it does make quite a bit and it is harder to freeze this dip so if you have a small family, I recommend halving the recipe. I know it sounds weird but just follow the tips listed on the recipe card and I promise it will work :) Also, don't forget that I have all the recipes already typed up and ready for you to print out here so you can have the recipes ahead of time. The recipe cards are just for fun and so you can add them to your collection. Enjoy!

- Kristin

Sunday and Monday's Recipe Cards!

Sorry it took me a while to get these posted! 3 sick kids + 1 doctor's visit + 8 shots = no bueno! My kids were so brave but they all 3 decided to take a nap as soon as they got home, even my oldest who never ever takes naps. So needless to say, we have been a bit crazy with medicine, Vick's Vapor Rub and fluffed pillows! I hope you all had time to try the recipe yesterday. This was the first recipe I had ever made for my husband when we first got married. I was so excited to make it for him and show him that I could cook...it didn't turn out quite as I planned ha ha but hey, you live and you learn and I never gave up ;) I love this recipe for it's simplicity. It is an easy "go to" recipe for a crazy day. One addition that I like to add that I didn't add in the recipe file is I like to add Seasoning Salt after I have it on the baking pan. I use it generously on the potatoes because potatoes really soak up salt and they need a lot of flavor.

The chicken salad sandwiches is also another easy "go to" recipe for me. Monday's and Tuesday's are crazy for me because I teach piano after school so I try to have easy recipes planned so I can just throw them together. I boiled my chicken and chopped everything beforehand so now it will just be easy to throw together! I put mine on sandwich rolls or croissant rolls...whichever is cheapest at the moment. But really they taste great on regular bread as well, it's just my preference the other way. Then just chop up some fresh fruit on the side and you are set to go! I hope you all enjoy!

- Kristin