The Best Alfredo Recipe

For the longest time I thought that I didn't like Alfredo sauce.  I had tried it off my husband's plate every time he ordered it and even tried it from a jar.  I always thought it was just okay and I never thought it was good enough for all the fuss people seemed to make over it.  Then when it was my turn again to take our friends food after the birth of their son so I asked them if they had any requests.  Well the first was for more homemade bread and the second was for Alfredo.  So I did what any good blogger would do and looked for a recipe out in the blog world.  And boy did I find it.  Kevin & Amanda provided me with a fabulous recipe and a new staple in the Jones house.  

The recipe from Kevin & Amanda makes a Chicken Alfredo, which is what is pictured in my version (my chicken was cut into strips).  However, I've found that I can make just the Alfredo and it's less work and still ridiculously good.  So good my husband gives me googly eyes when I make it.  So good that my mother called and told me I had ruined her dinner because her jar of Alfredo tasted awful after having mine.  I also omit the parsley because I don't particularly care for it and I don't grow it (meaning I just have to go out to the garden for the basil and sometimes that is as far as I want to go, lol).  I also reduced the pepper because I'm not a huge fan and I didn't want to hear any complaints from the "it's too spicy" whiners department.  So here we go.  Beware, this is full calorie deliciousness so check your diet at the door.

What you need:

Enough Pasta of your choice for your Posse (I use a box of penne pasta from Target) 

1 scant cup of chicken broth (Scant means a little less than) (I used Emeril's Organic it was delicious)

2 cups of heavy whipping cream

1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese 

3 cloves of fresh minced garlic

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

8 basil leaves, chiffonaded  (to chiffonade the the basil roll the leaves together and then make small cuts in the roll from the top of the leaves down to the stems, you will be left with beautiful little strips)

Instructions:

Bring the chicken broth to a boil over a medium heat.  While it's heating up mince your garlic.  Once the broth has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium and add garlic, cream and cornstarch.  Whisk while bringing to a soft boil for one minute.  Reduce heat to low and add Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Whisk occasionally while allowing your flavors to incorporate and your cheese to melt.  While you're waiting cook your pasta.  Two minutes before your pasta is done, chiffonade your basil and add to sauce.  Drain pasta and return it to pan (no heat).  Immediately pour the sauce over the pasta and serve.  

Now your table will either be really quiet or filled with gasps and ooohs and aahhhs.  Either way you'll be smiling and you probably won't have any leftovers.  I paired my Alfredo with a Caesar salad and a homemade Baguette.  It's one of my favorite meals and comfort food for sure.   

What's for Dinner? February Meal Plan

For some reason I had a hard time creating this months meal plan.  There were a few days where I just wasn't sure what to do.  It's going to be a busy month with basketball playoffs.  So my plan has to be pretty flexible.  There are also things like our Valentine date which I scheduled Mac and Cheese, I like to make it easy on the grandparents.  I also add sides according to what I have fresh on hand.  If we are out of fresh I will go to a frozen or canned back up.  The number represents the date of the month.

1-Pork Chops
2-Baked Potatoes
3-Shrimp
4-Roasted Chicken
5-Super Bowl, Party Food
6-Chicken Quesadillas
7-Meat Loaf
8-Potato Soup
9-Pizza
10-Chili
11-Mac and Cheese
12-Leftovers
13-Ham and Beans
14-Homemade Hamburger Helper
15-Pork Chops
16-Sandwiches and Soup
17-Shrimp
18-Spaghetti
19-Pizza
20-Roasted Chicken
21-Breakfast
22-Potato Soup
23-Chicken Quesadillas
24-Leftovers
25-Pizza
26-Pork Chops
27-Mac and Cheese
28--Chili
29-Spaghetti

This month I'll be posting recipes for Crock Pot Shrimp and my Homemade Hamburger Helper.  I'll also show you how to add "Sneaky Vegetables" to meals you make.  I add them in all the time.  So meals like Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti and even Pizza are full of added veggies.

Banana Pecan Pancakes Recipe

Oh so decadent.  Add some maple syrup and I guarantee you'll be in heaven with these.  One of the meals we have at least once a month is breakfast for dinner.  It's kind of like a free-be for my oldest who is not too fond of vegetables, although I've started sneaking in pureed vegetables into everything (shhh don't tell him).  I normally make pancakes or banana pancakes but since the holidays are over I found that I had bought an excessive amount of pecans and dropped some in the batter this time.  It was one of my best ideas ever!  The kids were done eating and asking for seconds by the time I sat down with my plate.

The recipe:

1 cup of flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
1 cup of milk
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1-2 very ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup or more chopped pecans

Combine ingredients until all are incorporated, be careful not to over mix.  Cook on hot griddle and enjoy.

Here they are pre-syrup.   I knew once I put the syrup on I wasn't going to pause to take a pic.

Still working on a good recipe for a home made hair conditioning treatment.  I'm sure it would be funny to see me with all of the goo on my hair so when I make a really good recipe, worth sharing, I'll post some good pictures of my hair covered in goo.  It has been fun trying them out.  Regan has given me some really amused looks, especially when I put mayonnaise in my hair.  She ewwwed that recipe.  I'm trying out a new one this week.  We shall see.  While I really enjoyed being unplugged last week, it feels good to be back.

Easy Baked Potatoes from the CrockPot

Seriously one of the easiest dinners I've ever made.  Before I got organized I would never make baked potatoes because I just didn't have my self together enough and I was throwing dinners together at the last minute with what I had on hand.  I usually had plenty to choose from, but if it required more than 20 or so minutes it wasn't going to happen.  It also really stressed my husband out that I didn't know what we were having in the morning, his mom would set out what they were having in the mornings and so it was what he was accustomed to.  Whereas my mom worked a lot of overtime and I made a lot of meals for myself as I got older, just throwing them together at the last minute.  While my husband has never cared what we ate for dinner, this process really caused us to talk about how our childhood influenced our expectations for everyday life.  Hmm maybe a little deep for a post about Baked Potatoes?  Well life is pretty deep!

Recipe adapted from Stephanie O'Dea's "A Year of Slow Cooking"

• You need enough potatoes for your family, but you don't want to stack them on top of each other, which was about 7 for my Crock Pot.
• Wash and take out any bad spots.
• Stab your potato with a knife, but don't stab yourself because no one wants to eat bloody potatoes.
• Dry thoroughly- Stephanie explained that if you don't there will be rust.
• Wrap in foil and place in the Crockpot.
• Bake them on Low for 10 hours or High for 6 hours.  Mine were done after 9 hours on Low and I just moved my setting to warm.

They turned out perfect.  I used leftover chili, cheese and cooked up some bacon for toppings.  I paired it with green beans, grapes and a Baguette.

The Best Chicken Enchiladas

My family ate these up.  I'm talking the kids hovered around the pan of cheese sauce and licked it clean before the enchiladas were done baking.  The recipe is fairly straightforward and the ingredients are simple.  I found the recipe on Pinterest and its from a cute little blog Joyful Momma's Kitchen.  This recipe is a keeper.

The Recipe:

10 Soft Taco Shells
2 cups of cooked and shredded chicken (I used the leftovers from a Roasted Chicken)
2 cups of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used up to 2 1/2)
3 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Flour
2 cups Chicken Broth
1 cup of Sour Cream
1 4oz can of Diced Green Chiles

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Mix the chicken with 1 cup of the shredded cheese.  Roll the mixture up in the tortillas and place in the pan.   In a sauce pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour cooking 1 minute.  Add the broth and whisk until smooth and heating until it is thick and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes.  Turn the heat off and stir in the sour cream and chiles.  If you have a picky eater that will freak out about the green things in the sauce puree them in a food processor first.  Pour mixture over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 22 minutes and then under the broiler for 3 watchful minutes to brown the cheese.

They have just the right amount of kick to not be too spicy for the kids but just enough for a more mature palate.  Next time I think I will make the sauce first and then add a bit to the chicken and cheese mixture inside the tortillas and maybe add a bit of cheddar cheese on top.  The kids can't wait to make it again!

Tip:  Use a utensil to hold the tortillas in place as you roll and put them in the dish.  Otherwise they tend to come unrolled and give you grumpy face wrinkles.  

"Hurry up Ellie my mouth is open!"  Oh and Regan  is dressed for a picture.

Oh cheesy goodness.  Not low-cal tonight!

Five Easy Things to do to Lose Weight

I still have about 25-30lbs left to lose before I hit my goal weight but I've lost over that amount in the last year.  I bet you are wondering how I did that.  So here are 5 things that have helped me get this far.  I'm sure you've heard them before, but I am proof that they work!  If I can do it you can do it!

Drink water.  I hate drinking water.  I've tried drink mixes and things but that never did it.  What finally worked was putting it on my to do list dry erase board on the refrigerator.  Every morning I write out 5 things I need to do and then I write in "Drink Your Water."  Every time I drink a glass I erase one.  It not only makes me feel good that I'm doing something great for my body, it also feels good to mark something off of my list.  I also drink a small glass every time I go to the bathroom.  You've washed your hands and you are right there, just down a cup.

Stop finishing the kids leftovers and make your plate how you would make theirs.  If you have kids you know how hard it can be to "waste" that little bit (or a lot) of food that they might leave.  Quit doing it!  It is just causing body waste that you will have to work off later.  If its big enough, wrap it up and give it to them later.  Usually I give the little leftovers to my dog.  I know some people will say its not okay to feed dogs table food, but I've seen her eat poop so I think she'll be okay.  I also make my portions as though I was making the plate for my toddler.  It gives me wiggle room for later.  If I eat a cookie or have a snack its okay because I never have a huge meal.

Sweep and run the vacuum everyday.  If I don't sweep and mop my floors and vacuum every day I can feel such a difference in my activity level.  It's an added bonus of walking.  It may not feel like you are doing a whole lot, but you are taking extra steps and its something you can do when you have little ones.  You can add some squats or lunges in while you're doing it if you feel so inclined.  I tell myself that my chores are my workout.  Because I can turn any chore into a workout.  Oh and your house will thank you for it as well.

Eat Chocolate.  I don't believe in denying myself or extreme dieting.  I eat chocolate and dessert.  Do I sometimes have to do a little extra working out? Yes. It's worth it.  Food is good.  Once a month I would probably steal chocolate from the hands of my children and growl if they attempted to get it back.

Do crunches while you watch T.V.  Once the kids are all in bed I love to surf the DVR for my favorite shows that are not always kid appropriate.  Instead of just being a couch potato I lay in the floor and do crunches and leg lifts.  Of course it doesn't happen every night, but I'd say 4 out of 7.  Its like a bonus workout.

That's it.  If its gross outside and I can't go for a walk or run, or I just didn't get to it that day, I can always turn on some good music and have a dance party with the kids. I quit beating myself up about missing a workout, I quit defining what working out was (even 5 minutes is better than 0) and I've put my health and happiness first.   Less stress less weight?  I think so.

Food for Blog: Pinterest Pumpkin Brownies

These are simply delicious.  I had some leftover pumpkin and wanted something yummy (besides pie) to use it all up.  Thankfully Pinterest came to the rescue with these brownies from Small Home Big Start.  The kids inhaled them.  Good thing they are easy to make and relatively nutritious.  Regan seems to think if she gets one for Jack then its okay to get another one and since she mmmm'd and told me how really good they were I gave in and let them have quite a few!

I altered the recipe and used Pumpkin Pie spice instead of Allspice and I think with the next batch I will eliminate the nutmeg (its not a favorite of mine) and use a little extra chocolate in its place.  I also substituted vegetable for canola oil.

Here is the original recipe:

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup canned pumpkin or homemade pumpkin puree
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Line your 11x7 pan with parchment paper, or if you're like me and are out just use aluminum foil and you'll be fine.  Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let them cool and cut them up.  Then watch them disappear!

Ethan wants to eat the screen.  I think I may be making these this afternoon!

What's for Dinner? Part 5 {The Menu}

Last post on this!  So today I'm going to give you my monthly menu. At the end of each month I will continue to give you my monthly menu's along with a shopping list.  So keep an eye out for that post at the end of December.

Knowing what's for dinner and having a plan is one of the many things that has completely changed my household.  I put what we're having on the dry erase board the night before and I don't have to answer that question anymore, everyone knows where they can find the answer.  I always have things on hand to make in a pinch and since I'm planned for the month if I need to substitute one night (like we go somewhere unexpected and get back late) I've already done the shopping for the rest of the stuff.  It's already happened this month and it wasn't a big deal!

December Meal Plan

1. Whole Chicken
2. Fajitas with leftover chicken meat
3. Hamburgers and salad
4. Breakfast for dinner
5. Crockpot Chicken Breasts
6. Frozen Leftovers
7. Pizza
8. Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches and Soup
9. Spaghetti
10. Dinner Party- Making Sticky Pecan Pumpkin Bites
11. Whole Chicken
12. Chili
13. Pizza
14. Leftover Chicken Fajitas
15. Manwich and salad
16. Dinner Party- Making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
17. Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup
18. Jones Family Christmas Party- Homemade Choc. Chip Cookies
19. Crockpot Chicken
20. Leftovers
21. Hamburgers and salad
22. Pizza
23. Soup and Salad
24. Christmas Dinner at Home- Ham and sides
25. Christmas Dinner at Grandparents- Making S.Pecan Pumpkin Bite
26. Chili
27. Spaghetti
28. Leftovers from Christmas Dinners
29. Chicken
30. Fajitas
31. Pizza

When I find a new recipe that I like I try to incorporate it into next month's plan.  As you can see, for this month we have a few parties and Christmas Dinners.  By incorporating what I'm going to bring to that party its saves me from having to scramble.  Knowledge is power!  Hopefully as the months progress I will be adding some really great recipes and some more diversity!  I also like to have leftover nights so that we are wasting as little as possible.

Next week I have some really fun DIY's like glass etching, a Christmas wreath and wood letter designs and a recipe for those Sticky Pecan Pumpkin Bites and Cake that I'm taking two places this month.  It's that yummy.  Have a great weekend!

What's for Dinner? Part 4

Today I'm going to let you know about some of the other meals I have planned for the weeks ahead.  Twice a month we have a soup and sandwich night.  It's kind of like a break night for me.  In the colder months we have more soup and in the warmer ones we have more salad.  It's an easy meal to make and I usually do a hot sandwich like grilled cheese on wheat or hot ham and cheese on wheat.  My kids don't like white bread!

I also make Manwich sloppy joes, spaghetti and breakfast for dinner once or twice a month.  Since I pre-cook the meat, prep is really easy for the Manwich and spaghetti.  I can't tell you the sanity it saves!  Ways to make it special are baking your own bread, freshly grated Parmesan and made from scratch pancakes like these.

Since I am not scrambling around trying to figure out what's for dinner and I've done some of the prep work it allows me to let my kids in the kitchen and have them help.  They love to help!

You might also like:

What's for Dinner

What's for Dinner  Part 2

What's for Dinner  Part 3

Homemade Pizza

There is something about homemade pizza that gives kids a sense of accomplishment like no other.  Maybe it makes them feel like since they can do that they could open their own pizzeria.  I love getting their help and they have gotten pretty good at it.  We are having pizza a whopping four times this month, its that good.  


I make the dough from scratch, its easy and you can too.  I used to make the sauce but I have since given in to store bought.  I buy the bread flour, pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni at Sam's.  One giant sized can of pizza sauce will make about 24 pizzas.  So I divide it up into sandwich bags and freeze it flat stacks.  On pizza day I just pull it out and put it on the counter to thaw.  Easy peasy.  If I have some tomatoes that have lost their salad appeal I will cut them up, put them in a sauce pan with some garlic, onion and oregano and let them stew until tender and puree them in the food processor.  So if you want a fresh sauce just wing it, its way easier than you would think.  


I use a super easy, delicious recipe I found on Pinterest, the original recipe can be found at Lauren's Latest.  It can be made ahead and frozen or you can make it fresh about 2 hours before dinner.  I like mine to have some kick to it so I also add some spices to the dough.


Here is the recipe with my modifications:


Basic Pizza Dough
yield: 2-12 inch pizzas, approximately 1 lb. of dough

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive and 1 tbsp of Pizza Seasoning, oregano, garlic or Italian seasoning.  Add it to the oil and let the oil absorb the flavors.  It will also help to incorporate the spices evenly.
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup…depending on the heat & humidity} 

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Let it for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam.  Pour in salt, oil and spices and half the flour and mix.

Once flour is incorporated, start adding the rest of the flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands.


Once you reach this stage its time to knead it for 10 minutes.  Set the timer and work out any frustration!  If you have a stand mixer you can use that for 6 minutes.  The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean.  This part always stresses me out because at first it looks like you have messed up and you have a big pile of nothing.  Keep kneading and it will all work out!


Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. That’s it!  If you want to freeze the dough now, divide it into two round discs and cover completely with saran wrap.  Make sure there are no air bubbles.  Now you can put it in the refrigerator the night before and you'll be good to go!


Now for baking, preheat you oven to 500 degrees.  You will need to divide the dough and shape it into two pizzas, or a pizza and cheesy sticks.  I used to have a problem with the bottom getting done well in the middle.  So now I put the shaped dough in the oven for 3-5 minutes before I add any topping.  Then I pull it out and carefully flip it over. This way the bottom is sure to be done and the toppings don't get overdone.  Be sure to let it cool a bit if the kids are going to add the toppings.  This is their favorite thing.  Probably why they like making pizza so much!  Bake in a 500 degree oven approximately 9-11 minutes.  Watch it well and then enjoy.  It is so good!

Olives, Green Peppers, Fresh tomatoes, Pepperoni and Three Cheese, this is one of their previous ones.

Who doesn't put pepperoni on their face?

Ellie puts her pepperoni on top.

Ethan put his under the cheese and then some extra on top for good measure.

Its magical watching YOUR pizza bake.  And yes Regan is in her undies, with  marker all over her.  We're potty training and color training too apparently!

Oh my goodness this is Ethan's.

Here is Ellie's.  I totally brushed garlic butter all over the crust.  It was so good!!!

This was part 3 of the Whats for Dinner series.  You might also like:


What's for Dinner? Part 1
What's for Dinner? Part 2
What's for Dinner? Part 4

What's For Dinner? Part 2

It's Tuesday and while this Tuesday is leftovers in the freezer I thought I would share some of the ways I prep.  I've told you before about buying in bulk at Sam's and one of the things I buy is ground beef.  I have Hamburgers on my menu twice this month.  This means 6 patties at each meal, 12 total.  When I bring home my 10lb tube of ground beef I divide up the meat and have a cooking afternoon.  I also pre-form my hamburger patties.  I put the meat in a big bowl, season it, form patties, wrap them individually and put them in a big zip-lock bag.  I used to put them in sets of 6, but I found that the ones in the middle took a long time to thaw out.  Also I can adjust how many I make that way.

If I put too much meat in the hamburger prep bowl I use the leftover to make a mini meat loaf.  Just add some garlic, an all-purpose spice like Cavender's, a couple tbsp of ketchup, an egg and some bread crumbs.  Combine everything well, spread in a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray and bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  You can cool, wrap and freeze it, or it can be your prep day dinner.

Tomorrow I will be posting about my semi-homemade pizza.  Homemade dough, store bought sauce and toppings.  The dough is really easy and can be made ahead of time and frozen!




You might also like:
What's for Dinner?
Food for Blog:  The best tips for making dinner faster!

What's for Dinner?

I'm starting a new blog series called What's for Dinner.  People are amazed when I tell them I have the whole month of meals planned and shopped for (minus perishables like milk and fresh fruit and veggies for the last half of the month.)  I haven't exactly figured how I'm going to post everything but for this week I'll post daily and do more posts on how I plan and shop.  So here we go!

Monday nights Ellie has gymnastics from right after school until 5:30.  So Monday's meals are always crock pot meals, ones that if you were working would take you maybe 3 minutes to put the ingredients in before you left for work!  There are four Mondays in December and I have the same meal twice this month, alternating weeks.

December 5th and 19th is Easy Peasy Chicken

Recipe:
Frozen Chicken Breasts (enough to feed your family)
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup + 1 can of water
1 packet of Lipton Onion Recipe Secrets Soup and Dip mix
A dash of garlic powder

Combine everything in Crock Pot on Low for at least 6 hours.  That's it.

For sides we will have pre-prepped garlic butter bread (that I've bought and prepped already with my own butter, less calories!), canned green beans or a simple salad and a fresh fruit such as apple slices.  It will take me about 5 minutes to heat up the bread, warm the green beans and cut up the apple slices or salad.  The main dish is all done!

December 12th and 26th is Chili

Recipe:
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or turkey cooked
2 cans of chili beans (I usually use the Great Value brand)
1 can of diced chili ready tomatoes

Combine everything in Crock Pot on Low for at least 3 hours, the longer the better though!

I usually make cinnamon rolls for dessert (which will be ready by that time if I put them in while I prep everything else), its a old school thing here where I live.  Sometimes we make Frito Chili Pie with it, other times not.  If I don't have salad ingredients we have baby carrots and as always a fresh fruit.

That's it!  Easy don't you think?  I buy the Cream of Mushroom soup, the Lipton Onion packets, the frozen chicken and the ground beef and the cinnamon rolls at Sam's.  I usually pre-make the ground beef after shopping for it, click here for some other tips on making dinner faster.  I've been really good lately about either freezing the leftovers or eating them for lunch that week.  As always feel free to comment if you have any questions or great chicken or chili recipes, I'd love to hear them!

Food for Blog: Chicken Bruschetta Melts

So Dale was at Sam's and thought he was picking up a big jar of salsa...he grabbed a big jar of bruschetta.  Which didn't really work for the fajitas we had that night.  Rather than just let it sit in the fridge I have been putting it to good use.  This is divine and even my picky eater ate these.

Ingredients:

• Leftover french bread or fresh 
• Butter
• Garlic cheese or a mozzarella would be nice
• Leftover chicken, I used the leftover fajita chicken (the kind in the big bag from Sam's)
• Bruschetta

Heat your griddle up.  On one end place the chicken to warm it up.  Slice your french bread and butter both sides, place them on the griddle and brown one side.  While they are browning grate some cheese.  My favorite cheese is a garlic cheese that you can find in the specialty section of Reasor's but mozzarella and a dash of garlic powder would do the trick.  Once the first side is brown flip it over and add the cheese to the top, the cheese will melt while the other side browns.  Once the cheese is melted top with bruschetta and the grilled chicken.  So yummy.  I made these for lunch but they would be perfect as an appetizer to some fabulous meal.  Great way to use up leftover french bread as well.  Enjoy!