Indoor S'mores

We lived with my parents for a summer. They were nice to put up with us for 6 weeks. This was the highlight of our 4th of July because: food. Duh. Anyway, my sister made these because my other sister had friends over and they were doing fireworks and these were amazing :) I'm pretty sure she used the recipe from the box but I think this one is exactly the same.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bag (10.5 oz) miniature marshmallows (5 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (9 oz)
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box (13 oz) Golden Grahams cereal (8 cups)

DIRECTIONS:
Grease 13×9-inch pan with butter. Reserve 1 cup of the marshmallows.

In a large saucepan, melt the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup and remaining marshmallows over low heat. Stir until completely melted.

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Pour cereal into saucepan. Stir until coated with the melted chocolate mixture.

Stir in remaining 1 cup marshmallows.

With buttered back of spoon, press mixture in pan.

Cool at least 1 hour or until firm.

Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Thai Red Curry Chicken

I'm just a country bumpkin kinda gal so most foods from other cultures are quite foreign to me but lately I have been trying to branch out and I found this fantastic, not too spicy/hot dish that we really love from Carlsbad Cravings (she has an amazing story by the way and she makes some tasty dishes). Anyway, hope you like this as much as we do :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1 pound chicken breasts sliced into 1/4” slices then 2” pieces**
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced then chopped into 2” pieces
1 orange bell pepper thinly sliced then chopped into 2” pieces
1 small zucchini, sliced
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1  13.5 oz. can quality coconut milk (I like Chaokoh)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon Asian/Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (like Mae Ploy)
2 tablespoons less sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
sriracha to taste (optional)

Garnishes
lime zest to taste
fresh basil
fresh cilantro
fresh lime juice

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil over medium high heat in large nonstick skillet. Add chicken, onion and red curry paste and cook just until chicken is no longer pink. Add bell peppers, zucchini, ginger and garlic and saute 1 minute.

Add half of the coconut milk. Mix remaining coconut milk with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and add to skillet along with all remaining ingredients (expect Garnishes).

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the vegetables reach desired crisp-tenderness. If you would like a thinner sauce, thin with water (I don’t do this). Discard bay leaf.


Garnish with additional optional fresh basil, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice and Sriracha to taste. Serve with rice.

Have patience with me . . . . a better pic is . . . forthcoming lol

Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Found this on Pinterest and I'm so glad I tried it. This recipe comes from Cinnamon-Spice & Everything Nice

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
¾ cup onion, diced
½ cup carrots, diced
½ cup celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
coarse salt and fresh black pepper
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 + ½ cups half & half
2 cups cooked white meat chicken, shredded or cut into small bites
1 pound potato gnocchi
3 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
fresh grated Parmesan and/or Romano, for serving

DIRECTIONS:
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven heat the butter and oil together over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until tender over medium-low heat about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir into the vegetables, cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time, followed by the half & half.

Add the cooked chicken. Bring up to a simmer and maintain for 20 minutes stirring often. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the gnocchi separately according to package directions. Add them to the soup along with the spinach. Simmer until spinach is wilted. Stir in basil. Serve with grated cheese.

Tuna-Stuffed Avocado

I really love this recipe from the Stay at Home Chef :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 avocado, halved and pitted
1 (4.5 oz) cans tuna, drained
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoons minced jalapeno
¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt and pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
Scoop out some of the avocado from the pitted area to widen the "bowl" area. Place the scooped avocado into a medium-size mixing bowl. Mash it with a fork.

Add the tuna, bell pepper, jalapeno, and cilantro to the mixing bowl. Pour lime juice over. Stir it all together until everything is well mixed.

Scoop the tuna into the avocado bowls. Season with salt and pepper.

Banana Cream Pie

I don't know how I get so lucky but it seems like MOST recipes I try from Pinterest are winners. Anyway, glad to have stumbled across this super easy recipe :)

INGREDIENTS:
Ready Made Pie Crust or Easy Homemade Pie Crust*
1 box Banana Cream Pudding (3.4 oz)
1 3/4 cup Milk
8 oz Cool Whip
3 Bananas

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400.

Par bake crust for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool.

Slice 2 bananas and layer in bottom of crust.

Combine milk and pudding mix and whisk until thickened (about 2 minutes).

Fold in 2/3 of whipped topping.

Transfer to pie crust and chill for at least one hour.

Slice last banana.

Top with remain whipped topping and garnish with banana slices.

*She likes that kind of crust, but we are more into the graham cracker so that's what I went with . . .

"Jamba!" . . . "Juice!"

Can we get real here for a sec? For a minute there I had 3 kids under the age of 3. Being prego with #3 was rough and I could barely keep up my strength to take care of my family. We pretty much lived on these Jambas (at least for breakfast) up until #3 started eating and sleeping better.

Anyway, blessed be the name of Jamba. I am so grateful to have these little smoothie packs--they have been life-savers numerous times and they are so easy to make (no, I'm not an ad for these but I certainly wouldn't mind getting paid lol). I just want to share something that has helped us and hope it might help others, too. Someday I will save us some money and maybe make my own but I don't know if I'm up for the task or if they will be as good. But I can never turn down a fast and easy recipe like this :)

Ingredients:
Jamba package (found in the freezer section by the fruit)
8 oz of Apple Juice

Directions:
Blend until smooth :)

Breakfast Sliders

I found these awesome breakfast sliders and had to share! They come from Mom Endeavors :)

Ingredients:
1 pkg (12 count) Hawaiian Rolls
8 - 10 eggs (depending on egg size & how "eggy" you want your sliders)
6 large slices provolone cheese (thin slices)
sliced ham (at least 6 large, thin slices)
¼ Cup butter (melted)
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Instructions:
Scramble up your eggs however you like to do them.

While the eggs scramble, cut the entire package of rolls in half (so you have a sheet of the tops & the bottoms).

Place the bottom sheet of rolls in a pan and top with a thin layer of provolone cheese (I used about two large slices).

Once the eggs are done, cover the cheese layer with the eggs. Then, lay ham slices over the eggs. If your provolone is nice & thin, then you can add two more slices over the eggs and then again over the ham.

Place the top sheet of rolls over the ham.

At this point, either cover and store in fridge/freezer for future use or continue on to finish making...

In a small bowl, combine melted butter, mustard & brown sugar. Stir until well combined (and the sugar is at least mostly dissolved). Then coat the tops of the rolls with the mixture. (I like to use a little pastry brush to make sure I get the tops evenly and a little on the sides).

Cover with foil and then bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes (until cheese gets nice & melty).

Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Then cut, serve, and enjoy!