Sugar, Spice & Everything "Nice"

While I've never actually eaten at PF Chang's, if their lettuce wraps are this delicious I might have to stop by and check out the rest of the menu. I made this for a quick meal on a weeknight and it did not disappoint. You know it's good when you set it on the dinner table, turn around to grab something else and it's almost all gone. I definitely did not make enough for the 3 of us, so if you have a family of 3+, I would suggest doubling this recipe, it's that good. Ingredients: 1T olive oil 1 pound ground chicken 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 onion, diced 1/4 cup hoisin sauce (found in the Asian isle at Safeway) 2T soy sauce 1T rice wine vinegar 1T freshly grated ginger 1T sriracha 1 8oz can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced 2 green onions, thinly sliced salt and pepper to taste 1 head butter lettuce Lets WRAP this up (pun intended): Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned; drain excess fa...

Ya'll need an easy, delicious dinner for the week night that feeds a lot? Make some of this fried rice. It's so easy and makes a great side or just a meal all in it's own. I made pork chops to go along with it and cut it into chunks and just threw them in at the end and it worked out perfectly. But I took just the leftover fried rice to work with me the next couple of days after that for lunch and I couldn't get enough. Good tip before you start though is to cook the rice the night before and let it chill in the fridge. Cuts out a lot of time waiting for it to cook and chill. Minimal ingredients with great flavor! I had pretty much everything I needed in my fridge and pantry (other than green onions) to make this. Ingredients: 2T butter, divided 3 eggs, whisked 2 medium carrots, diced into small pieces 1 small onion, diced into small pieces 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 cup of frozen peas, thawed 4 cups cooked and chilled rice 3T soy sauce 2T oyster sau...

The holiday's are here, can you believe it? I normally do a wider spread of cookies but I just don't have the energy for it right now. I went to my best friend's house to do a Christmas cookie baking extravaganza and I brought this new recipe with me. They were probably my favorite one's that I made! Pretty simple as well, with minimal ingredients. It makes quite a bit of cookies though, so prepare yourself for some oven time! Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour 1 1/2t baking soda 1/2t salt 1 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 box Jell-O vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix 2 eggs 1t vanilla 2 cups green and red M&M's milk chocolate 1 cup white vanilla baking chip Bake me to life! Heat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy; scrape the side of the bowl. Beat in dry pudding mix. Beat in eggs, ...

Here we are getting into the fall months and all we want to do is spend our time bundled up in a blanket on the couch with a cup of tea and the Food Network channel on all day...oh wait, maybe that's just me. I ventured out yesterday from my warm, cozy home and went to my cousin's game night, where we played Farkle (such a fun dice game!) and Cards Against Humanity (always a good laugh with this game). It was an appetizer and snack food kind of night, and I knew my sister was coming who just so happens to be a Vegetarian! So I figured I'd cater towards her just in case there wasn't a lot of other options for food (we are a meat loving family). This is so quick to throw together, less than 15 minutes with prep time! And, IT'S DELICIOUS! Kids and adults alike will love this yummy side dish. Bring it as an appetizer or just make it as a side for dinner! Ingredients: 2T olive oil 2 cloves minced garlic 4 zucchini, diced (it's fall, so squash is winding...

PSA : Hamburger Helper is a guilty pleasure of mine , but I figured I would make it myself rather than get it from a box since it's actually really quite simple. And I'm so glad I did! Easy ingredients, and only 3 steps! Just like it's coming from the box, but you're using fresh ingredients! And I'd have to say it tastes a bit better than the box and takes just as long to make.  The best part is, I made this on a Monday, after picking up Aidin from the bus, making our hour drive home and going to the grocery store! Less than 30 minutes of making dinner, we got a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery (good tip, send your cute kid over and ask if they have anything fresh out of the oven, works every time!) and some salad as a side. Perfect dinner and makes leftovers for lunch!  Ingredients: 1 pound lean ground beef 1 small onion, finely chopped 1t paprika 1t dried parsley 1t garlic powder a pinch of cayenne salt and pepper to taste 1 1/2 cups of milk 1 1/2...

This is a good recipe to start off fall with! I made this last Sunday for an easy dinner to just throw in the Crockpot and just walk away for the day and it was mighty tasty! And I had almost everything I needed already at home! (But there's always that one you have to go to the store to, because it would just be TOO easy to have everything). Ingredients: 1# ground Italian Sausage, browned 1 yellow onion, chopped 2 large carrots, chopped 2 stalks celery, shopped 4 gloves garlic, minced 1T Italian seasoning 2t beef bouillon powder (this is usually in the soup aisle at the grocery store if not in the spice section) 1/2t salt 4 cups beef broth 1/4 cup cornstarch mixed and dissolved in 1/4 cup water 3 cups of half and half 1 - 12oz package three cheese tortellini (or whatever flavor you prefer) 1 package of fresh baby spinach (the smaller bag) Crock it like it's hot: Brown the sausage (and drain) and put it in the Crockpot. Place the onion, carrots, celery, ga...