What do babies and baked spaghetti have in common??

They're both on my mind!

Its funny how a year can fly by so fast. You make so many memories along the way, but looking back you only immediately see the handful of major events, good and bad alike.  Looking back on the past year I can't help but smile. A year ago today was my last day of being just a person. Albeit a person with a REALLLLY big belly. Now I'm a mom, and quite honestly, I've never been a fan of titles or labels until I got this one. My baby girl is turning a year old tomorrow. And, before you ask, yes, I am one of "those" moms who gets all sentimental about my baby growing up. I can't help it.

It's so insane that one day they're just brought into this world, so tiny and helpless. I could never have anticipated such a mixture of feelings, I was SO happy and at the same time I was so incredibly scared. (Thank goodness for good old fashioned maternal instinct, seriously.) Now, just a quick year later, she's so close to walking that I'm ready with a camera every time she tries to let go of the couch, she likes to do as many things on her own as is possible (including try to climb up her daddy like he's a mountain) and she's even let a couple 'mama' and 'dada's slip out along the way (which I cannot for the life of me get her to repeat). So being one of those sentimental moms I naturally hugged and cuddled my baby girl today while we were watching Sesame Street and I just reminisced. I'm in love with what the past year has given me and what it's meant to me.

It's not the best picture in the world, I know, but this is me a year ago. And then there's my baby girl about a day old.

Now she's my happy-go-lucky adventure baby!

She's grown up so much, it really is crazy to me. Although I miss the little itty bitty baby that she was a year ago that I got to hold endlessly and comfort, I'm so in love with the little girl that she is right now. She honestly makes me laugh so hard it hurts sometimes. I wouldn't change my life for the anything.


But anyways, I'm done thinking back for the moment. On to the food!!

With a very curious mobile baby and a very busy husband that is hungry the moment he gets home, I've been working on organizing some quick, easy, budget friendly dinners. And actually, I'm really happy to say that it's been working! One of the hubsters favorites right now is baked spaghetti. He's got a thing for cheese so this hits the spot for him. I also make low budget garlic bread to go along with it. This recipe, for us, yields about  9 servings. Which means that hubby takes it for lunch if he wants, snacks on it when he gets home or when he's playing his video games. Bam! He's in love! It's a really good anytime meal for him

Here's what I did!

Baked Spaghetti:

You'll Need:

1 lb. spaghetti noodles
1- 66 oz jar of spaghetti sauce of your choice. (There's a little bonus with that, I'll tell you later!)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
Baking pan


What to do:


Cook spaghetti normally. Drain & set aside in large mixing bowl.

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat up your spaghetti sauce.
I only had Prego traditional sauce in the house, and to be honest with you I think it tastes a little bland... But with some basil, oregano, onion powder, minced garlic and a touch of salt it tastes pretty good! If I had an extra tomato to dice up & toss in there I would have done it in a heart beat!

Add mozzarella cheese to mixing bowl and add a few handfuls of parmesan cheese also.

Spoon in your spaghetti sauce.
Your only going to want to spoon in about 3/4 of the sauce. You don't want to put too much into the mix because it will end up looking like you just threw regular spaghetti into the oven for funsies. The bonus with this (told you there was one!) is that the extra 1/4 of sauce that's left over you can freeze, and after you make 4 meals you don't have to do anything but defrost what you already have! That's a HUGE bonus for me. 

Mix it all together! Mix mix mix mix mix mix mix!!!!

When your done mixing pour your gloriously cheesy noodles into your baking pan.

If your a big fan of cheese like we are here, top the entire pan with more cheese!

Put the pan into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes on the middle rack.
I put my camera down somewhere and had to go find it once I pulled the pan out of the oven, so this is what I came back to...

Budget Friendly Garlic Bread


You'll Need:


6 slices of bread (I used regular white bread)
6 tablespoons Margarine
Garlic powder
Oregano
Basil
Cookie Sheet

What to do:


Preheat oven to 400.
I usually just bake this towards the end of the spaghetti being done so they both come out of the oven at the same time. 


Melt the margarine in the microwave.

Lay out the bread on a cookie sheet.

Spread about a tablespoon of margarine on each piece of bread, covering as much of the surface as possible.

Sprinkle on a light layer of garlic powder to each piece.

Sprinkle on the oregano and basil.

Bake for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown.



And there you have it! The entire dinner is super easy and really tasty! It's also a really refreshing twist on the normal. I think next time I make this I'll cut some meatballs into quarters and toss them in the mix. I hope you enjoy! I'll be off celebrating my baby girls birthday! =)

"Keep Calm & Om Nom"

When I started this blog post four days ago I had every intention of sitting down and writing the entire thing out in one sitting. Seriously, no big deal, tell you about how things have been going, maybe share a delicious recipe with you, ramble on about something for a while. Well, lesson learned, if you have plans to write up a post - plug your husbands laptop into a surge protector, not that convenient wall plug that's right there to accommodate your laziness. The power flickered & the computer kinda sorta got fried... epic fail for wifey...I'm attempting to keep calm and figure out how to fix it.

At the same time when things like that happen it can serve as a blessing in disguise. It just so happened that my little munchkin decided that a half hour nap would be just fine and that it was time to play again. So we danced and sang a long to Sesame Street. (She's totally hooked on clips of the shows first 20 seasons. It's totally funny. Her favorite clip is of Smokey Robinson singing about the letter U.) She got into everything she could and totally wore herself out again some hours later. It's nice for me to have those kind of moments that sort of give me a good look and a quick reminder of exactly why we chose to live the way that we do. I know its not the choice that everyone would make, and I totally respect that. But for me, it allows me to watch my baby girl grow up every single day. That to me is the biggest blessing I could ever be given.

I ran across this picture on the interwebz that totally entertained me with its relevance.

Other than that not too much has been going on. My uncle and cousin are coming in to town from Texas with his son for the holiday weekend. So hubby and I are really excited for that, and we're gearing up for the events of the weekend. Should be tons of fun. What are you doing for the holiday? I'd love to know!

While I wait for you to let me in on our celebrations I'll let you in on the miracles of satisfying my hubbys cravings!!

Do you ever plan your meals for the week, only to not cook one or two of those meals during the week because you were too tired or just down right too lazy to do so? Plus there was something totally easier to make anyways. My dinner the other night almost fell victim to this, as many of my dinners regrettably have in the past. But this particular dinner didn't! And thank goodness for that!

For the past few weeks my beloved hubby has been asking random questions about my Jambalaya. How much it costs to make, how many servings it would make, how long has it been since he had it last, et cetra, et cetra.

So naturally, I made it! And I just could not wait to share it with you! I even managed to take the pictures this time! w00t! Now I do have a bit of side notes on this recipe (fair warning). There are a couple of optional things that you can add, there are some ways to cut corners and save a little bit of money, which I am all for! Also, in my opinion this is one of those recipes that you're going to want to prepare and measure whatever you can to make the actual cooking process easier. So here we go!

This is the recipe for red Jambalaya. But I'll let you know later on what to do for making other forms of Jambalaya and an alternate way to make it a red, as well.
Also, this makes about 12 -15 servings! So it's great for get-togethers!

What you'll need:

1/4 - 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into about 1/2 inch pieces
1 - 1 1/2 lbs sausage (any kind you like), cut into 1/4 inch slices and then cut in half
2 cups diced ham - **optional**
4 slices bacon, crisped or 1/2 lb pork sides, crisped - **optional**
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
4 cups onion, chopped (this is about two large onions)
2 cups celery, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups green bell pepper, chopped (this is about two medium/large peppers)
5 cups chicken stock or water flavored with chicken bouillon (if your using cans of chicken stock you can use three cans)
4 cups long grain rice
kitchen bouquet (if you don't have this I will show you how to make it in your kitchen)
2 tbsp seasoning salt
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp oregano (Just a good shake)
1/4 cup paprika
2 cups green onions, chopped
parsley, to taste

Don't mind everything in the background, I didn't plan this in advance... I like taking these pictures of everything together before I start cooking because it entertains me. Its like taking a kitchen class photo!!

I'm easily entertained, I know. But I kind of messed up on this picture, its missing the oil, parsley and the paprika. I'm sure it's not gonna kill anyone, but I admit my faults...sometimes. lol



Preparations:

Making your own Kitchen Bouquet:
What you need:

1/4 cup water, microwave to a boil

Add 1 heaping tablespoon of dark brown sugar

Stir.

BAM! You just made your own Kitchen bouquet! You even just saved a few dollars!!! Do feel the rush of the penny pinching?! I totally just did!!! Oh, my drug!
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Getting Everything Else Ready:

Chop the celery.

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Chop the onions.

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Chop the green peppers.

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Put the celery, onions, peppers and minced garlic into a bowl and set aside.

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Cut up the chicken and sausage up.

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Steps for optional ingredients:

If your adding bacon, crisp it. 

If your adding pork sides until almost charred. 

If your adding ham, cook (if not already cooked) and dice. 

Making the Magic Happen!:

You've done all of the preparation, now lets get to the fun stuff!!

Put the oil in pot & let warm on a medium-high setting for about 4 minutes.

Add chicken to pot. 

Season with salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. 

Cook until chicken is about 3/4 of the way done.

Add sausage to pot. Cook 5-7 more minutes. 

(Make sure to stir it all around to ensure all meat is evenly cooked.)

Remove chicken and sausage from pot, set aside. (I spooned it out so the oil & drippings stayed in the pot.)

Add onions, celery, peppers and minced garlic to pot. 

Cook for 7-10 minutes or until vegetables begin to wilt.

Pour in chicken stock.

Add reserved chicken & sausage, seasoning salt, kitchen bouquet, Old Bay seasoning and oregano.

Stir. 

Bring to a boil.

Add rice (DO NOT STIR) and return to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. 

Remove cover and turn rice from top to bottom, making sure it all gets completely stirred in.

Replace cover and cook about 15-20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. 

Add 1/4 cup of paprika.

Add green onions and parsley. 

Stir until paprika covers everything. 

(Everything in the pot! Don't call me to help cleanup because you got into a paprika fight in your kitchen! I'm not helpin! lol)

That's it! Serve it up and listen to the clinking of forks & cured cravings! I hope you love it!! 

Additional Info:

Another way to make the red jambalaya (instead of using the paprika):

- Instead of just chicken stock you can use 1/2 stock & 1/2 tomato juice (or V-8).

To make brown jambalaya:

-Add 1 heaping tbsp of brown sugar to hot oil & caramelize.

-OR make a roux

-OR use Kitchen Bouquet. 

To make seafood jambalaya:

-Add any desired (cooked) seafood when rice is cooked. 

 That's all I've got. I'm busy celebrating the fact that I've finally finished this!!! Enjoy!

Don't forget the dishes! ;-)