New Year, New Cook (hopefully...)

Can I just say that I wish I had known it was going to be this cold before Christmas so I could've asked for ski wear and a marshmallow jacket?

My Georgia-winter clothing is not sufficient enough to sustain me from the highs of only 45 degrees, with the wind blowing at 15 MPH. And my decorative scarves are doing nothing to keep my neck warm.

But they sure do look cute!

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about it being cold! I enjoy the cold, but only when I'm prepared to go out into it without feeling like my body hasn't turned into a human Shake Weight.

It's a good thing I'm used to this Georgia weather, or else I would go nuts trying to figure out whether I need to dress like a beach bum or like poor Randy in 'A Christmas Story.'

 

 

Oh, that kid and his inability to put his arms down cracks me up every time I watch this movie, even if I have seen it 1,000 times.

 

 

******

 

As I had mentioned before, I want to start living a healthier lifestyle in 2014. I knew there was no point to start anything until after the new year, just because I have very little self-control when it comes to Christmas goodies.

 

It is now January 16th, and there is no longer any excuse. I have got to get my butt back into shape.

 

My birthday is next Sunday (woo hoo!), and I really wanted to, at least, be a little bit smaller and a little bit darker than I was at Christmas.

 

Doesn't look like I'm going to achieve that.

 

Don't you just love having all of these glorious plans of what you're going to do to better your lifestyle, then let it all fly out the window when it comes time to actually put the plans into action?

 

I will say that I really have tried to monitor my cooking a little more. I attempt to limit how much red meat we eat, start altering little things such as buy the reduced-fat or fat-free instead of the regular, and cook more meat and veggies instead of so many casseroles.

 

Of course, I still cook casseroles, and most of them have some good ole ground beef in them. I think Chris and I would die if I stopped cooking that completely. But, I've started to become more conscious of what I'm putting into our bodies and minimizing all of the processed and not-so-healthy foods.

 

I'm kind of stuck, though.

 

Chris gave me a healthy cook book for Christmas that I really enjoy, but it's going to take some time and practice to be able to do some of those recipes. I also ordered a Cooking Light cook book, but I haven't received it yet. So, that leaves me with modifying recipes in my other cook books, and Pinterest.

 

Those don't exactly tell me what I should be cooking and how I should shop for it.

 

Especially when it comes to fish.

 

We buy the frozen, pre-packaged salmon fillets from Sam's, and we really enjoy them. I know they're not the healthiest fish out there, but I don't know whether it's better to buy other fish packaged and frozen the same way, or to buy fresh and freeze what I don't use, or if I should only buy fresh and never freeze.

 

I just don't know!

 

Growing up, we ate catfish, brim, bass, crappie, and other pond/lake fish that my family caught. My dad would skin them, cut into fillets, throw some batter on them, then into the Fry Daddy they went. Definitely not healthy, but that's pretty much the only way I ever had fish. This broiling and baking is completely new to me, and I'm a little lost.

 

Fish aside, I know chicken is great to eat (when prepared correctly), but it's not Chris's favorite. And, to be honest, I get a little burned out on it too.

 

So, what else is there? We don't exactly have to have meat every meal, but I don't really know what to cook without it. I'm also not sure about buying organic. I know it's more expensive, but is it worth it? Is some worth it, but some not? What do I need to look for and where's the best place to buy it?

 

Help!!

 

I am open to any and all suggestions, I just want to have more healthy options that I can cook on a busy schedule.

 

******

 

With my birthday coming up, I wanted to do a little kick-start to getting healthy, so Chris and I are going to do a little detox this coming week. I found it on Pinterest, so we shall see how it goes!

 

If you want to check it out for yourself, I've included our plan at the bottom. Hopefully it works well, especially since I need to get rid of all of the junk I enhaled over Christmas and New Years. It'll be nice to have my clothes fit a little better like they used to!

Go Dawgs and Wreck Tech! (GameDay Recipes)

For anyone who is a college football fan, you know the importance of this week.

Some good ole fashion Hate Week.

If you're a Dawg fan, it's one of the best weeks of the season. Especially the past few years, it's been pure joy to watch this game take place either Between the Hedges or....wherever Tech plays.

Yep, this game decides who runs this state. 

We all know who REALLY runs this state, but we can at least make it official with this match-up. 

Normally, I'm in Commerce with my mom and sisters doing some Christmas shopping on this weekend. This year, though, I decided not to go. I'm not feeling super well, plus I haven't worked this week, which means I don't really have a ton of money to do the shopping I would like to. It would be way too dangerous for me to take our debit and credit cards to a place where the sales are crazy and they're all outlet stores. 

Just. Can't. Do it.

Since I decided to stay home, I thought I would try some new recipes for the game. While I was babysitting last night, I came up with a couple of new recipes on Pinterest and went shopping at 10:00pm to get all of my ingredients.

DISCLAIMER: I have not tried these recipes yet! I went to make one of them this morning, but I forgot to take the meat out of the fridge to finish thawing, so now we will be eating a Tombstone pizza and chips for lunch.

The first recipe I'm going to make is Game Day Sliders. It looks fairly simple, plus it'll make a bunch for us to snack on throughout the game. It'll just be the two of us at the house, but I thought this would be a nice change to either a casserole or getting fast food.

My husband is a little obsessed with spinach-artichoke dip, so I found this recipe that I thought might work well. We haven't been able to find a store-bought kind that tastes decent, so I'm going to venture out a little and give this a try. The recipe calls for jalapenos, but I think we may just leave those out. We're not a huge 'spicy' fan, so adding those will probably not go over really well. I'm also going to attempt to make some pita chips out of the pita bread that I bought (Buy 1, Get 1 Free at Kroger, by the way!).

I figured we needed something else to go along with the sliders, so I found a recipe for these potatoes that look simple yet yummy. It'll also cut down on the calorie intake a little, since the sliders are not exactly on the healthy side. I think I may use a ranch dressing packet with a little sea salt over the potatoes, but I feel like any kind of combination of spices will work great! Maybe even some garlic-parmesan ones...that sounds really good, too.

I think that's enough for one day, especially since it's only the two of us. But I still wanted to make a big deal about this game day, so I think these three recipes will do just fine. 

Plus, I didn't really eat dinner last night, so I will definitely be devouring as much as possible. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, a safe Black Friday, and have a blast cheering on their football team during this Rivalry Week. I know we will be watching our Dawgs (hopefully) dominate the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech, while enjoying some game day food.

Gooooo Dawgs! Sic 'Em!

Our Favorite Recipes!

I've really tried to limit our eating-out to two or three meals a week. Considering that we used to eat out eight or nine times a week, that's really good for us.

It took me a little while, but I finally have a small bunch of recipes that I use and rotate through. Some more than others, but all really good.

My criteria of whether or not I attempt to make the recipe is:

1.) Meat that I normally have on hand or easy to get,
2.) The list of ingredients that I usually have in my pantry/fridge/spice cabinet,
3.) Preparation/cook time, and
4.) How many pots and pans I'm going to dirty up.

With me working full-time and Chris's uncertainty of his skills in the kitchen, trying a complicated recipe during the week just isn't practical. I don't want to spend my time after work entirely in the kitchen then bed time; I want a little time with my husband somewhere in there!

I have to admit, I keep forgetting about our crock pot. We have two of them, too! I just don't always have the meat for a crock pot on hand. I need to get better about that, though. It's so easy, there's really no excuse for me not to.

I think I'll make that my New Year's Resolution: use my crock pot more.

I'm about to brag on myself for just a bit. Don't worry, I'll come down from my high-horse in a second.

I am definitely my worst critic, but I have made some killer recipes that have even impressed me. Some I knew would be good; others I were very skeptical of that, but they turned out to be some of my favorites. Honestly, there haven't been too many that I have made that I really didn't like.

I did say 'too many,' not any.

I've made a couple of duds. They just didn't work out, at all, whatsoever. I was so hopeful of them, too! Nothing that hasn't been un-edible, but it was definitely something I didn't want to eat if I didn't have to.

I think my head would've become too big if I didn't have a failure every now and then.

I decided that I would compile all of my favorite recipes and put the links in this entry. After all, I want to share the wealth! I have put some of these dishes on here before, but they're scattered all over the place. I like to have mine close-in-hand so I don't have to search everything to find what I'm looking for, so I wanted to do that for y'all! So much easier than digging through the archives.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did!

*DINNERS*

'Healthified' Mexican Pasta Skillet - I didn't do the 'healthified' version. I just used the normal ingredients. It's expensive to use the 'healthier' stuff!

Pioneer Woman Sour Cream Noodle Bake - Chris's favorite! I've used ground chuck and ground beef (1lb instead of 1 1/4lb), and we actually prefer the beef.

Doritos Taco Bake - super easy!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole - don't use too much garlic like I did!

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese - warning: it's definitely spicy!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole - I used Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs, it added more flavor!

Quick and Easy Shepherd's Pie - I use instant mashed potatoes, make sure you add plenty of salt and pepper!

Chicken Enchilada Skillet - it was okay, a little bland, but read the comments. They have great ideas to make it better!

Jolean's Cheese Potato and Smoked Sausage Casserole - love, love, LOVE!

Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken - this makes a TON! I think it's even better the next day.

*SIDES*

Corn Casserole - Chris didn't like it too much, but I did!

Weight Watchers Ranch-Roasted Red Potatoes - so very good!

*DESSERTS*

Simple Apple Cobbler - I used a can of Sprite instead of butter, and it was still delicious.

Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate - the pumpkin didn't dissolve at all, and I used it straight out of the can. Probably needed to be pureed a little more.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake - I didn't use the pecans since I don't really like nuts, but I think it would've really added a lot to the dessert.

*APPETIZERS*

Cheesy Potato Fries - I used potatoes that were waaayyyy too big, so the potatoes didn't cook all the way through. Still so good!

Hot Corn Dip - Amazing. One of the best dips I've ever had.

****

I really hope you enjoy these as much as we did! And please let me know what you think!

I think it's almost time to go back through my Pinterest pages and see what else I can try out. I've got some days off coming up, so maybe it's time for me to go all and cook up something extravagant then...

We'll see :)

BTW, buying Christmas decorations for a new home is hard. When you have absolutely nothing and you need to get absolutely EVERYTHING, it's very overwhelming.

We did decide that our tree will be decorated in red, black and silver this year.

That's as far as we've gotten.

But at least it's a start!

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

My First Fail...But Probably Not Last

So, in my post yesterday, I mentioned that I was cooking up a new recipe that kinda reminded me of fall. It had chicken, sweet potatoes, applesauce, and a crock pot, which sounded like the makings of an interesting-yet-great dinner.

Wrong.

I also mentioned that I had to alter the recipe a little because I didn't have all of the ingredients it called for. The recipe called for red onions, garlic, apple cider vinegar, curry or cumin, and ground ginger to mix with the unsweetened applesauce, and then layer it onto the chicken and the cut-and-peeled sweet potatoes.

I forgot to get the onions and I didn't have ginger. Oops!

Me, being the lazy person I can be, just bumped the onions off and looked up on the internet what I could use instead of ginger. Nutmeg it is then! I had that in my spice cabinet.

Maybe it would've been better if I had actually followed the recipe and gone to the grocery store to get the correct ingredients. That's a definite possibility, but I'm not sure I'll try again to figure it out.

Chris was sweet enough to eat the bowl full that I fixed him (which, thank goodness, I put on top of rice to help out the not-so-good chicken stuff), but no seconds this time. He did better than me though, I couldn't even finish what I had. I eventually gave up and grabbed a Dreamcicle out of the freezer.

My cooking was no good this time.

I guess I still have a fairly decent record, though. I've cooked quite often since I've moved into the house back in June, and this may only be the second or third time I've cooked something that didn't work out as well as I had hoped. Can't complain about that! 
If you're interested in giving it a try for yourself, here's the recipe that I used. I also thought that maybe putting some brown sugar into the mix might help give it more flavor, because that's what it was really missing.

Maybe that's what the red onions were supposed to do. That's probably what they were supposed to do.

Anyways, if you try it, please let me know how it worked for you!  

Tonight, Chris suggested we have a leftover night. I'm thinking he may want me to take a few days off to re-group myself after that fiasco, then come back strong with food that actually tastes good again. Whatever his motivation behind it might be, I'm completely okay with it! It's nice to use a microwave every once in a while to fix dinner.

Plus, that gives me extra time to cuddle up with my handsome man on the couch. Sounds like a win-win plan to me!

Mexican Pasta Skillet (so good!)

I can't believe it is already Monday again, the weekends just go by too fast.
I enjoy them so much more now that we're married than I ever have before. There's something about spending time with your husband cuddled up on the couch watching football on a Sunday afternoon, even though I've watched enough football to last me until next season, you still can't beat it. Even though we've only been married not-even two months, and we don't plan on having kids any time soon, I still cherish our time together because I understand that, one day, we're not going to get un-interrupted time like this very often. I really try to appreciate our weekends, even if it is spent watching grown men tackle each other all day long.

Talking about all of this makes me miss Chris so much :(

Anyways, moving on.

Chris and I FINALLY made it to the grocery stores yesterday (we split our list between Sam's for our bulk buys and Kroger or Wal-Mart for the smaller things), which means we have food! No more eating out during the week! I am so excited about not driving through a drive-thru or arguing about where we're going to eat. Since I do the cooking, I get to decide what we eat!

Last night, we decided to cook instead of grabbing something out again, which is unusual for a Sunday night. I really didn't want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen since it was our last moments of the weekend, so I went with an awesome go-to recipe that is easy and delicious.

I actually found this recipe on Recipe.com when I had subscribed to their email list. You can find the original recipe here, but I'm going to give you a condensed, 'non-healthified' version that I used instead.

It's so easy!

-1 lb. Ground Beef, browned and drained
-1 16oz jar of Salsa ( I used Pace Chunky Salsa)
-1 8oz can of Tomato Sauce (it's a little less than 1 cup, but not enough to alter the taste)
-1 1/2 cups Water
-2 cups Elbow Macaroni, uncooked
-1 cup Niblet Frozen Corn (I used the Kroger brand of frozen corn and it worked just fine)
-1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used mild instead of sharp since Chris doesn't like sharp cheddar. I also used a little more than 1/2 cup since I love cheese :) )

1. Once Ground Beef is browned and drained, mix in Salsa, Tomato Sauce, and Water in the skillet. Heat to boiling
2. Stir in Macaroni and Corn, reduce heat.
3. Cover and let simmer for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender
4. Turn off stove, sprinkle with cheese, re-cover and let stand for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted
5. Enjoy!

If I keep taking pictures of our meals, I really need to invest in a camera that makes them look decent. Until then, iPhone camera it is!

I'm telling you, this recipe will not disappoint. From start to finish, it took me no more than 25 minutes to get it on our plates, and we only had 1/6th of what is in that picture left over. Plus, the dirty dishes are minimal! Which is always a great thing in our books.

This will definitely become a re-occurring meal for us, especially on busy nights when I just want climb into bed as soon as possible. It's easy, it's fairly inexpensive, and it's yummy. Three things that make this wife happy.

I'm telling you, there is just something about a Monday that makes me wish I could crawl back into bed and get more sleep! Even at 2 o'clock in the afternoon - it's so ridiculous. Thank goodness there's only one Monday a week!

Playing a Little Catch Up - Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese

I think I'm going to take a little break from blogging during the weekends.

During the week, I don't really get to see my husband very much. I teach dance Monday and Thursday nights and we have church on Wednesdays. Tuesday nights we normally don't have anything, but I have to get up early on Wednesday mornings, so I try to be in bed by 9:30 (sometimes by 8:00. I like my sleep!). After all of that, it just doesn't leave me much time to spend with Chris. So, I am now dedicating as much time as I can to my wonderful husband each weekend.

Unless it's guy-time. I will not be dedicating my time to that. I will instead be dedicating it to a pedicure and some new clothes.

Since I didn't write anything over the weekend, here's what took place:

Our small town team lost Friday night, 35-13. It was okay though! They played very hard, the other team was just a little bigger and a little faster. Or a lot bigger and a lot faster. Either way, they still made us very proud!

UGA beat LSU!! That was definitely an exciting game. A little too exciting, but I can handle it if we end up winning. I feel like when you lose after such a nail-biter, you feel like you wasted 4 hours of your life.

Maybe that's a woman thing, though. I doubt men find watching any kind of football a waste.

Chris and I also watched Oblivion last night. I was even more confused at the end of the movie than I was in the beginning. Great acting, interesting story, not-so-great execution and conclusion. Unless you're into stories that befuddle (like that 'big' word I used?) you and leave some questions un-answered, I wouldn't recommend it. 

This weekend, I decided to cook. That's kind of a rare thing since I usually only cook during the week, but we ate fast food soo much last week, and I really didn't want to spend anymore money in a drive-thru line, so I headed into the kitchen on a Saturday afternoon.

I didn't cook a ton when I lived with my parents because, well, my mom and dad are pretty much awesome cooks. I did do a little bit of cooking towards my last years under their roof, but normally mom picked out the recipe and did the shopping, so all I had to do was follow the directions.

Or go to Wal-Mart or by Zaxby's and buy already-cooked food. Yes, I admit, I did do that on occasion. Don't judge.

By the time I left home this past summer, I knew how to read a recipe and how to brown ground beef. Oh, and cook pasta. I knew how to do that. Fish and chicken? Not so much, unless all I had to do was put it on a pan and pop it in the oven or put it in a crock pot and let it simmer all day. Cooking either one raw just wasn't something I was prepared to do, but I was willing to try.

After a couple times of trial and error, I can finally cook up some mean salmon and some not-dried-out chicken.

I say all of this to now tell you that I am now a little obsessed with cooking recipes that call for cooked chicken, just because I'm a little proud that I can now do it. And I also love buffalo-sauce flavoring. I can only take so much heat before I need a gallon of milk to put out the fire in my mouth, but if it's covered in buffalo sauce, I am willing to put my taste buds in jeopardy.

I pinned a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese on Pinterest the other day (as you can tell from my other posts, I'm a little obsessed with this awesome website), and I decided to give it a try since it sounded like a football-season food, and it combines my love for buffalo sauce with my new obsession with cooking chicken.

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

So good. Just, so daggum good.

I've already typed out a ton on this entry, so I will just give you the >>link<<. But it is seriously one of the best, and fairly simple recipes I've used! I had everything on hand, and I used Ritz crackers instead of Panko crumbs to top it off, which made this recipe even better. I boiled three chicken breasts for about 15 minutes, and they turned out so juicy. SO much better than the way I cooked it in this recipe from last week.

And, to top it off, it was a hit with the hubby too! We used ranch dressing to help balance out some of the heat, but I think I might try bleu cheese dressing with some bleu cheese crumbles sprinkled on top to give it a little different flavor. Maybe even throw some celery in it too. So many possibilities!

 

 

Here's our awesome plates with the Hidden Valley Light Ranch and Texas Pete Buffalo Sauce I used (they were still on the counter so I thought I'd throw it into the picture too).

 

Tonight, we're eating frozen pizza, instant mashed potatoes, and Kraft Mac N Cheese.

 

Hey, it's still cooking at home! Just little shortcuts to make a little easier, and to give me more time to hang out with my hot husband :) 

 

Happy Monday, Y'all!

Casserole Love - Poppy Seed Chicken

Yesterday may have been the longest Monday of my life. I don't really know why either.

My day was not out of the ordinary. I got up at 6:40am, fixed me a cup of coffee, kissed my husband bye (the lucky man gets to sleep in later than me), then drove twenty-five minutes to go nanny. I left there at 4:45pm and went to dance at 5:15pm, finished at 7:30pm, then headed home to cook.

Maybe it's because I had the brilliant idea of trying a new recipe that required me to cook chicken before I even started assembling the casserole. We didn't eat until after 9:00pm. By the time we finished eating, I could barely keep my eyes opened.

And I still needed to get a shower.

I apologize now for anyone who brushes by me and smells a tiny bit of an odor. Sleep was more important last night than smelling nice.

Anyways, the reason for my little rant above was to state that I made a new casserole! I really am trying to give my poor husband some variety besides pizza and ground beef. So, I decided to make something that my mom used to make all of the time, and I always enjoyed it. A lot of you can probably remember having this dish at home growing up, as well. I feel like this is a classic recipe that I hope to keep perfecting throughout the years.

The recipe I used is originally from Six Sisters Stuff (here's the link!), but, of course, I found it on Pinterest.

I tell you, if it wasn't for Pinterest, I would have been the most lost bride, would be a lost wife, and will definitely be a lost mom. I. Love. Pinterest.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
2 cups Ritz crackers, crushed - I ended up adding some more last minute
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (optional) - I only used the garlic, which I DO NOT recommend. Do all three or none at all. Garlic was waayyy too strong and it needed the others to dilute it some

I cooked the chicken in a skillet/frying pan (I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that pan is), which may not have been the best way. It took a while and I kept getting the pan too hot, so the chicken was sticking. I've heard of boiling the chicken, but I've never attempted that, so I just stuck with what I knew.

1.) Once the chicken is cooked, dice it up into small bite-size pieces.
2.) Mix chicken, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream together in one bowl. If you decide to use the optional ingredients, mix them in with the chicken as well.
3.) In another bowl, mix Ritz crackers, melted butter and poppy seeds.
4.) Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
5.) Pour the chicken mixture in, then top with the buttery Ritz crackers.
6.) Cover with foil and place in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.
7.) Take foil off and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
8.) Enjoy!

Doesn't it look yummy? It really was good! Except for the garlic. I could've repelled Dracula in Transylvania from our house in Augusta. It was that bad. My sweet husband didn't complain about the garlic-overload at all, though. In fact, he even tried to tell me that it wasn't super strong because of the Ritz crackers.

I knew there was a reason I snatched him up as soon as I could!

So, anyways, I do believe this recipe could become a favorite of ours. So easy and delicious.

Does anyone else have any tips and ideas on how to perfect this? Or any ingredients you add and/or exchange from the ones I used?

I'm going to grab me a Lunchable now. All of this talk about food is making me hungry.

Big Macs and Cracker Stackers

I have this small obsession with McDonald's and Lunchables.

Okay. It's a pretty big obsession.

One of the highlights of my week last week was finding out the new building that is being constructed right down the road from our house is, in face, a McDonald's. I will now be 2 miles from one instead of 3. *insert Hallelujah chorus here*

I went grocery shopping this past Friday (very long overdue!), and saw that the real Lunchables, not the off brand, were on sale for $1 a piece. I bought 8. I would've bought more, but I was afraid my husband would be a little upset that I spent more money on cracker stackers than I did on, well, anything else I bought.

Here is why these two gifts from Heaven are so delectable to me:

Growing up, my mom cooked almost every meal, especially dinner. But occasionally, we would go out to eat. We never went to sit-down restaurant (would you try taking a 12 year old, 6 year old, 2 year old, and a newborn to a sit-down? Yeah, me neither), and Chic-Fil-A was a SUPER special treat, so where did we go?

You guessed it. McDonald's.

It is still ingrained in my head that McDonald's is a treat. Don't get me wrong! It wasn't like it was a twice-a-year thing, but it definitely wasn't a twice-a-week thing. I can still remember the excitement of knowing we were going. I would anticipate it for days if I knew we would be going grocery shopping or to a doctor's appointment, because I knew there was a strong chance we would be making a trip through the drive-thru (again, would you take 4 young kids inside McDonald's?). Even at 24, this excitement still exists, only difference is I now have a driver's license and a pay check, which entitles me to go whenever I want to.

I used to get Lunchables when I was an only child for a snack and sometimes for school. When my sisters came along, that was four mouths that wanted Lunchables. And regular Lunchables wouldn't do, you HAD to have the ones with the chocolate treat and the Capri-Sun. So, the solution to wanting the more expensive ones was to not get them at all. It was probably also due to the fact that we would eat them all in one day. So, once again, Lunchables were a treat. Any time my mom said I could pick out a Lunchable for whatever reason was a major life-moment to me.

I know, it's weird. But hey! That's how I'm wired. Funny how the brain latches on to certain things like this and won't let go.

There's partial bad news for me now. My husband is not a fan of McDonald's, and a Lunchable does nothing to satisfy his hunger. He will be sweet enough to eat McDonald's with me every once in a while or make a special trip just for me (especially when I offer to pay for it), and he goes along with my Lunchable-buying mania for now, but his love for these two wonderful food-options is not near as strong as mine. I am not going to lie, it does break my heart a little, especially about the McDonald's. I could seriously eat a Big Mac and a cracker stacker every single day, but since my husband does not agree, I now have included other options into my daily diet.

My arteries should probably thank my husband for his non-compliance. I'm sure they greatly appreciate it.

Casserole Love - Sour Cream Noodle Bake (Pioneer Woman)

Now that I am a wife, I feel like it is my duty to start cooking for my husband instead of going out to eat every night.

A lot easier said than done.

I thought the choice of where to eat each night was a daunting task, but it is nothing compared to figuring out what to cook for dinner. At least the restaurants will have all of the ingredients for whatever I have a taste for.

Fortunately, my husband will eat just about anything (score!), so I know that pretty much whatever I cook, he will enjoy. For instance, one of his favorite meals is Prego alfredo sauce, canned chicken, and spaghetti noodles. That's it. Now, I know that is not the healthiest meal in the world, and I try to minimalize how many times I cook it, but after working for 10-11 hours and finally arriving home at 7:30 at night, healthy is not exactly on the top of my priority list. Not proud of it, but let's be honest, bedtime with my husband sounds a lot better than making this meal from scratch to 'health-ify' it (like how I created my own word there?).

Enough of my rant about that, back to the post.

Casseroles are my go-to now, mainly because they are super easy with normal ingredients that I usually have on hand. This particular casserole I found on Pinterest, and it is ridiculously good! It's originally from The Pioneer Woman (link here), and is a perfect casserole to fit into our busy schedules. It's seven ingredients, salt and pepper, one casserole dish and an oven, which makes for two very happy and full individuals.

All you need is...

1-1/4 pound Ground Chuck (I used 1 pound of Ground Beef instead- still very yummy!)

1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles (I use egg-less)

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1-1/4 cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese

1/2 cup Sliced Green Onions (I use 1/4 cup instead, they can have a VERY STRONG affect on the flavor of the casserole)

1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese (my husband does not like sharp cheese, so I used mild instead)

Simple instructions...
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.) Slice Green Onions
3.) Boil the Water, add Noodles, drain
4.) Brown the Ground Chuck/Beef, mix in Tomato Sauce, salt, plenty of pepper, and let simmer
5.)Mix together the Sour Cream and Cream Cheese, add to the Noodles, mix in Green Onions
6.) Layer half of Noodle mixture, Meat mixture, then 1/2 of cheese in a 13x9 pan. Repeat layering
7.) Bake for 20 minutes
8.) Enjoy!



This picture is of the first time I cooked it, before it had placed it in the oven. I didn't have a 13x9 pan, so I had to improvise. I call that 'Newlywed Problems.'

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!