I’ve recently fallen in love with substituting cauliflower in recipes instead of using potatoes or meats. I was invited to a StoneFire VIP Media Dinner last year and it was there that I discovered that cauliflower is much more than a cold veggie served with a side of ranch. So I definitely owe StoneFire credit for showing me how delicious cauliflower is as a main dish!

Tonight I tried out a cheesy cauliflower meal that is a great veggie substitute for the beloved carb-filled favorite Mac & Cheese.

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Here’s what you will need:

• Large Cauliflower
• Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Shredded Cheese
• Seasoning of your choice (I went with Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb because its sodium free)

Directions:

1. Fill a sauce pan with about 3-4 inches of water and bring to a boil.
2. Chop the cauliflower head into bite size pieces.
3. Once water is boiling place all the cauliflower pieces in and cook about 10 minutes, or until they are tender when poked with a fork.
4. Drain the cauliflower and while its still in the colander place 2 tbsp. of butter and 1/2 cup of cream cheese in a pan.
5. Turn the heat to medium to melt the butter/cream cheese mixture.
6. Sprinkle in shredded cheese (as much as you like, but I used about 1/2 cup)
7. Season lightly with seasoning of your choice
8. Toss the cauliflower back in the pan and mix until covered in the cheesy goodness.
9. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and serve

 Enjoy!

It was super easy to make as the title suggests and it will have your whole family asking for seconds

• 2 Cans of Pillsbury Biscuits, I used the small flaky ones
• 2 cups shredded cheese, I also added chunks of mozzarella cheese from a block
• 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning and I also used Oregano
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
•  Parmesean cheese
• Side sauce – Marinara or Spaghetti/Pizza sauce
• Casserole dish
• Sauce Pan

You can also add pepperoni or your favorite meat, but mine was a vegetarian version 😉

Serve and enjoy!

I recently discovered a really easy way to get picky eaters to eat spinach. I know what you’re thinking; spinach? My kid won’t eat that! Well I’ve got news for you, mine won’t either. I’ve tried everything – hiding it in a super cheesy grilled cheese sandwich, blending it in a smoothie, bribery… like I said pretty much every way you could think of I have done it and none of them have been successful with my 5 year old 😉

Well over the weekend I was making baby food for my little girl and I realized that the Spinach Apple blend that I created looked like applesauce and even smelled sweet too. So I decided to see if my son would eat it. I gave him a spoonful and of course at first he was hesitant as to why it was green (green = veggies = no thank you Mommy) but after telling him to smell it he said, “It smells sweet. Okay I’ll try it.” To my surprise after 1 spoonful he asked for another and then asked if I could make him a batch of ‘big boy green applesauce’ so he could have more!

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Here’s how to make this tasty veggie applesauce:

You’ll need –

• Apples (any variety will do but I used Organic Braeburn)
• Spinach (I used Trader Joes bagged Organic Baby Spinach)
• Steamer
• Blender
• Storage Bowls or Tupperware

To make the applesauce –

First you will need to slice apples and peel off the skin, then dice the slices into 1-2″ pieces. Then grab a few leaves of baby spinach, about 5-6 leaves per whole apple used. Steam for 8-10 minutes or until soft. Let the steamed pieces cool completely. Put pieces into blender and add 1/4 cup of water. Blend to consistency of applesauce.

For added sweetness or smoother texture you can put a 2″ slice of banana into the blender too. When I make it for my baby I puree it to a safe texture for a baby her age and I even add a small slice of banana to make it a smoother consistency, but for my son I left it a little chunkier for a more applesauce like texture.

Hope your Little Darlins enjoy this homemade applesauce with a healthy ingredient thrown in as much as mine do!

Its been awhile since I’ve shared a meal idea with my Darlins, mainly because I have a newborn so being creative in the kitchen is not possible for me lately 😉

However, I recently was invited to Stone Fire’s Media Dinner to taste some new menu items (keep an eye out for my upcoming review) and one of my favorites was the Roasted Cauliflower so I was inspired to try cooking it myself!

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So long story short, here’s how I made this tasty dish..

You’ll need:

• Head of Cauliflower
• Butter
• Parmesan
• Lemon
• Shredded Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475. Wash cauliflower and cut it into small sections. Lay cauliflower pieces in a glass baking dish in a single layer. Squeeze 1/2 lemon over cauliflower. Get 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a microwaveable dish and sprinkle shredded cheese over butter and sprinkle parmesan on top. Once its warmed up squeeze 1/2 lemon over mixture. Microwave butter mixture for 15 seconds. Pour mixture over cauliflower. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Cauliflower should be soft but not mushy that’s how you know its fully cooked.

** The next time I make this I will cut each of the cauliflower pieces in half so that it cooks a little better, but it was still very tasty this way.

Tonight I made Cinnamon Roll Waffles for dinner! I have to admit I’ve always thought about putting those sweet little Pillsbury rolls in a waffle maker but I feared that they wouldn’t cook thoroughly or that they would burn.. however that wasn’t the case!

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To make these tasty little treats you simply grease your waffle maker with butter or cooking spray, place Pillsbury roll on each section of your waffle maker and close. Then let it cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure you re-spray the waffle maker each time before you put new rolls on, the cinnamon makes them burn if you don’t. Remember to warm the icing while your Cinnamon Roll Waffles are cooking so you can drizzle it on your waffles when they are done, I simply put the icing cups on a cookie sheet and set them in the oven on warm for a few minutes.

This was one of the simplest & tastiest meals I have ever made! It will definitely be thrown into the dinner rotation from now on!

Tonight I made a Creamy Cheesy Chicken Casserole for dinner. It was just as yummy as it sounds

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The best part is that I made it from simple ingredients that I already had in the house and since we had a rotisserie chicken yesterday I was able to use the leftover chicken from that to make this meal even easier to make!

You’ll need:

• 1/2 lb of chicken breast
• Pasta Noodles (I used a combination of spiral & elbow noodles)
• Cream of Mushroom
• Block of Cream Cheese
• Shredded Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook chicken (I didn’t have to do this step since we had leftover cooked rotisserie chicken) Boil noodles and strain them. While noodles boil, get a bowl and mix a can of Cream of Mushroom, shredded cheese, and 1/2 block of softened cream cheese. When noodles & chicken are fully cooked mix them into the bowl with the Cream of Mushroom mixture and pour into a Casserole Dish. Cook for 10 minutes.

Serve & Enjoy

For Christmas Eve I wanted to try a new recipe so I made Creamy Crock Pot Spaghetti!

It was so easy to make and tasted even better than regular stove top spaghetti

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You’ll need:

• Spaghetti Noodles
• 1lb. Ground Meat (or Turkey)
• 2-3 cans of Spaghetti Sauce (depending on how saucy you want it)
• Block of Cream Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese
• Pepper, Garlic Powder and any other seasoning you like on your meat

Directions:

• Brown the meat & season it
• Pour 1 can of Spaghetti Sauce at the bottom of the Crock Pot
• Break Noodles in 1/2 and place on top of sauce
• Scoop ground meat on top of noodles
• Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese
• Cut Cream Cheese Block into cubes and place on top
• Cover with 1/2 can of Spaghetti Sauce

Cook for 2.5-3 hours on high. Spaghetti will be thick and not mixed up at this point, so you will need to stir it thoroughly and pour 1-2 cups of water in with the remaining 1/2 can of Spaghetti Sauce. Heat on Low for another 30 minutes.

Serve to your liking & enjoy 😀

Tonight’s meal was Stuffed Cheesy Ranch Chicken! Super easy to make and very yummy

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You’ll need:

• 2-3 Chicken Breast (preferably thick ones)
• Seasoning of your choice, I used Mrs. Dash Lemon Onion Garlic
• Ranch Dressing or BBQ would work too!
• Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken breasts, then slice them in 1/2 *its best to cut them horizontally so it opens up like a pita pocket.. but I left that step up to my husband and he sliced them down the middle on top accidentally which still worked just fine 😉 Pour Ranch on the inside of the sliced open chicken. Cut a few slices of the mozzarella cheese and place on top of Ranch. Place in a glass oven-safe dish and cook for 25-30 minutes or until completely cooked through.

Serve with your favorite sides & Enjoy 😀