Pineapple BBQ Glazed Meatballs

This dinner only took me about 20 minutes to prepare and cook.  These meatballs are so delicious and easy to make.  This is such a good dinner to whip up when you've had a lazy day and don't feel like cooking or have any time to make dinner.

what you need:

10-20 meatballs

1 cup of pineapple juice

1 cup of BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

2 TBS butter

(To save time, I used these precooked meatballs.  These meatballs are amazing!  Truly the best precooked meat I've ever worked with.  You can buy them at Costco.  Stock up on them because you can use them for so many recipes!)

-Make up some meatballs according to your favorite meatball recipe, or cheat like I do and use precooked

-Melt the butter in a large skillet

-Once the butter is melted, add the meatballs (I put them in frozen, but thawed would cook faster)

-Cook on medium heat and cover, stir ever few minutes until they turn golden brown (about 10 min)

-In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the BBQ sauce and pineapple juice

-Pour over the meatballs and stir together

-Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes

Serve plain, over rice, or however you prefer!

Easiest meal ever right?!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This casserole has been a family favorite in our house ever since I first made it when Parker and I were married almost 3 years ago.  Now when I make it, my baby eats it up!  He just stands by me with his mouth open the whole time I'm eating this casserole.  I can't take any of the credit though.  This recipe comes straight from my best friend, Erika.  When we were in college, we refused to gain the freshman 15 so we kept each other motivated by working out every day and cooking dinner.  College is where I found my love for cooking and baking.  Thank goodness I lived with my best friend for 2 years so we could keep each other motivated!

This Chicken Enchilada Casserole is so easy and everyone who has ever tried it loves it.  If I don't know what to make for dinner, this is usually my go to.  I've made it so many times and I've never gotten sick of it!  Also- I have the hardest time photographing casseroles! 

What you need:

2-3 boneless chicken breast

a packet of taco seasoning

flour tortillas

1 can of black beans

1 can of corn

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/4-1/2 cup milk

shredded cheese

-Put the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle the taco seasoning over top.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

-Once the chicken is done, shred with two forks and put aside.

-Grease the bottom of a 9x13 pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

-Take a pizza cutter and cut the tortillas into medium size squares.

-Drain the black beans in a strainer and rise them, add the corn to the strainer and rinse them.  Mix together.

-Take the can of cream of chicken and dump into a bowl, add the milk and stir together (the more the milk the thinner the sauce will be, the less milk, the thicker).

-Take the tortilla squares and make a layer on the bottom of the pan.

-Put a layer of beans and corn over the tortillas.

-Take half of the shredded chicken and sprinkle that over top.

-Spread a layer of the soup over the chicken.

-Sprinkle enough cheese to cover the soup.

-Repeat all of the steps as above.

Cook for 30 minutes 

Serve with chips and salsa

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

This is my new favorite pasta salad.  We ate this up pretty fast at my house.  This would be a great dish to take to a potluck or BBQ.  It can served warm or chilled (I preferred warm).    

what you need:

-16 oz package of any shape pasta

-2 boneless chicken breast

Montreal Chicken Seasoning 

(I use this almost every time I cook chicken now!)

-1 7 oz container of refrigerated basil pesto 

(I even found this at Walmart by their deli)

-1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

-Cook the pasta al dente according to the package

-Season the chicken and transfer to a nonstick skillet and cook until golden brown.  Cut into thin slices or chunks.

-In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, pesto and parmesan cheese.  Mix well and serve.

Giant Pom Pom Garland

I can't believe my baby boy is 1!  How cute are these pictures of Kayden that were taken at Camera Shy?! (camershy.com)  I wanted a cute background for Kayden's smash cake pictures looked on Pinterest forever.  I'm not much of a crafter.  It seems that everything I make turns out horrible, but I came across this site, http://www.bestbirthdays.ca/2014/05/giant-pom-poms.html and decided to go for it!  These giant pom poms were so easy (once I got the hang of it) and they turned out so cute!  It gave these pictures a perfect pop of fun and I'll treasure these photos forever!

What you need:

Yarn- I got 6 balls (the fatter the ball of yarn the poofier)

A good pair of scissors

A long string of thin ribbon

-Take a long string out of the ball of yarn and cut it.  Wrap it around the middle of the ball and tie it tight.  This should make a snowman type shape.

-Cut through all the loops on one side.  Then turn over and do it to the other side.

-Grab your ball of yarn by the long string you tied.  Now you get to trim all the yarn hanging down.  Just keep cutting and cutting.  Cut from all angels, turning it around and around making the shape of a sphere.  The shorter you cut, the poofier it gets.

-Repeat these steps with each ball of yarn.

-When you've made all the balls, get a long piece of thin ribbon, take the long pieces you tied from each pom and tie them on the ribbon.

-You've just made a giant pom pom garland!

(for step by step pictures, go to the link I posted above.)

   

Berry Lemon Cookie Cups

Who needs a fun and festive treat to bring to their 4th of July party?!  These Berry Lemon Cookie Cups are easy and delicious.  I couldn't stop eating these.. The cookie, the filling and the fruit were all soooo good!  These cookies aren't just for a patriotic holiday, pair them with any color fruit and make them all the time!

what you need:

Cookie-

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon zest

Lemon Filling-

1 (8oz) package cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbs lemon juice

Toppings-

any fruit you desire

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 12 standard size muffin tin cups with a nonstick cooking   spray.

2.  In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking soda together and set aside.

3.  In a medium size bowl, cream together with an electric mixer the butter and sugar for 2-3 min.  Add the egg, vanilla and lemon zest until well combined.

4.  Take the flour mixture and slowly add it to the wet mixture until combined.

5.  Take a 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop and scoop the dough into each muffin tin cup.  Press the dough down to the bottom of the cup and up about half of the way up the cup.  This should make a cup shape.

6.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges turn golden.  Remove from the oven.  Take the back of the cookie scoop and press the center of the cookie down forming a cup.  Let the cookies cool completely.

7.  For the filling- cream the cream cheese with an electric mixer for a minute.  Add the sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice and cream together.

8.  Spoon the filling into the cookie cups and top with fruit.

9.  Serve immediately or put in the fridge to keep cool.

recipe inspired by http://www.spoonfulofflavor.com/