One of our favorite dinners.

Kind of one of our comfort meals, the hubs and I almost think of this meal as a treat.  I make it more of the consistency of chili than soup, but this - my friends - is a pretty delish taco soup.  Here are the deets if you are interested:

Ingredients:
Meat of your choice (pictured: 1 lb. ground beef)
Diced tomatoes with Green Chilies (2 cans)
Kidney Beans (2 cans)
Vegetarian Baked Beans (2 cans)
Diced Green Chillies (1 small can)
Onion (medium in size, chopped)
Corn (optional - 2 cans)
Taco Seasoning (1 package or to taste)

To Make:
Because I used ground beef, I had to brown the beef with the chopped onion.  In a stock pot, I added the other ingredients - diced tomatoes and green chillies, kidney beans (drained), vegetarian baked beans, diced green chillies, and taco seasoning.  I placed the stock pot on a medium-heat burner and stirred the ingredients together, adding the browned ground beef to the mixture.  Finally, I let the soup  simmer together for approximately 10 minutes or so... pretty. easy.

To Serve:
We usually add shredded cheese, sour cream, and a few Fritos on top.  Yum.

To Alter:
This soup is also a very easy crock pot meal.  When I make it that way, I add chicken breast instead of beef and put everything together in the pot at once, close the lid, and let it cook for 6 to 8 hours on low.  I did not use corn in my soup this week (pictured above), but I have used it before.  The hubs requests that I add it back into the recipe next time... but I could take it or leave it.  We also add one little can of diced green chillies to add that extra **pow!** to the dish.  So good, so very good.

Give this meal a whirl and let me know how you do... because we may just have this as our main course again next week!

Recipe to Try: Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I got a craving for these bad boys after the hubs's cousin posted her version of this recipe on Instagram earlier this week.  A different take on banana muffins or banana bread, this recipe does not call for any flour or any sugar.  Sounds pretty healthy, right?  Here's what you need to make your own:

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas (I used three)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt (I used coconut Greek yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  Using a food processor, magic bullet, or something similar, pulse the oats until you have a semi-smooth, four-like consistency.  
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add the semi-smooth oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Whisk to combine these dry ingredients.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until semi-smooth (i.e. no large chunks).  Whisk in eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, and honey.  Stir until well-combined.  
4. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients; this can be done by stirring together with a wooden spoon or spatula until a thick batter is formed... or by using your handy dandy KitchenAid mixer, like I did.  
5. Spoon the batter into a muffin tin that has been greased or completed with liners, filling each one 3/4 of the way.  Bake for approximately 18 to 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (mine were done after approximately 14 minutes).

A pretty great guilt-free treat if you want a little something when trying to keep it healthy like we are.  And a good way to use up any extra-ripe bananas you have lying around your kitchen.  Give this recipe a whirl... and let me know if you come up with any adjustments that you think make it even better.  Enjoy!

{Original recipe found HERE.}  

{Week 3} The Boys

Kingston, Week 3: Eating goldfish crackers by our kitchen island during a play date.

Cole, Week 3: Giving the Dr. Seuss character on "The Foot Book" a taste of his sucker.

{Following the 52 Week Photo Project... taking one photo each week of our boys in 2014.}

It Felt Like a Banana Bread Baking Kind of Day.

I probably shouldn't have chosen to bake banana bread today... given the fact that it was all gone before I was able to get a decent photo of it.  But it was good friends, it was good.  Just ask the hubs.

PB + Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yep.  These happened over the weekend.  And they were fabulous.

There is just something about gloomy, Fall-like weather that makes me want to bake up a storm.

Not gonna lie - these were cheater cookies (i.e. from a box, add butter and water... and gold sprinkles).  But sometimes you just have to roll like that.

I'm wishing I would've made double the batch... then maybe we would still have some in our kitchen.  Maybe. Not.

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{photo credit: my instagram account... are you checking out this goodness?  link in above menu bar}

What's for Dinner: One Pot Chicken and Vegetable Risotto

{Recipe found HERE}

Sorry friends... I only paused mid-stir after adding the arborio rice to take a photo of what I thought would be many of this new dish I tried tonight on my family.  While I didn't quite get a finished-ready-to-serve photo, let me just tell you this recipe was a major hit with the fam... especially the hubs, who I had to keep slapping his taster spoon out of the pot before it was ready.

Chicken, mushrooms, yellow bell pepper, green onion, yellow onion - all diced and mixed with arborio rice, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, black pepper, beef stock, and water.  You really cannot go wrong.  

But, let me warn you.  Because I opted to make a bigger pot for leftovers during the week, this recipe turned into quite the ordeal today.  I think I clocked a total of four hours (not even joking one bit) of checking, stirring, liquid-adding, and repeat... when I do it again, I think I will pressure cook the risotto separately to speed up the time a bit.

Definitely try it out... and let me know your thoughts.   

Brick Oven Pizza

Probably one of the biggest hits from my in-laws annual pool party this year was the catered brick oven pizza.  As soon as these pies were hot off the oven, they were gone.  From your basic cheese pizza to a few specialty pizzas, there was something for everyone and plenty to go around.  Kingston and Cole both loved the cheese pizza and I helped myself to a piece of the canadian bacon + pineapple pizza (surprise, surprise).  The hubs couldn't say enough good things about the chicken garlic pizza, which I missed out on because I was in the pool (what can I say, my water babies get it from their momma).  Definitely going to be requesting they come back to next year's event!  

Homemade Banana Bread Kind-of-Day.

Kingston and I made THIS recipe today... minus the nuts... plus peanut butter chips.  Delish, friends.  Delish.