• Easy Peasy Sauce

    DO you have big family dinners in your family?  We try too and our family dinners are so much more fun now that we have my nephew and niece …they both love to eat and are sure to provide a show of some sort making it fun always. A family tradition… One thing we always try to make family dinner is easy and this sauce is perfect for any family dinner. Growing up mom would usually make something kinda special.  A favorite casserole (like this one) or her almost famous fettuccine alfredo, or chili when it was cool outside.  Whatever it was you knew it was going to be good.…

  • Chicken Spaghetti…from scratch!!

    Chicken spaghetti has been a favorite of mine for many, many years.  Ever since one of my oldest friends, Bonnie, made it for me.  Back then we used canned everything (including canned chicken) and processed anything we could find, and it was SOOOOO good. Remaking a favorite As much as I love this classic I decided Iw anted to remake it…all from scratch. OK I know from scratch can sound kinda scary but don’t worry this from scratch recipe is super easy.  To add in a ton of flavor and a little color I start with red, orange or yellow bell peppers.  Most of the time I will use 1…

  • creamy, cheesy goodness

    I cannot even begin to tell you how much I LOVE a creamy mac-n-cheese.   I am not a picky mac-n-cheese eater.  I will throw down the blue box or a homemade pot of cheese and noodles anytime, anywhere and be so HAPPY! Noodles, noodles and more noodles… Now there are a ton of noodles you can choose from for your mac-n-cheese.  You can use the traditional macaroni, or a corkscrew noodle like fusilli, or a even a penne.  I typically use a short cut pasta, I just feel it makes for a better cheese to noodle ratio, but use a long pasta if you would like. As much as…

  • one pan pasta…perfect for tonight

    Summer is definitely here in SE Texas and summer hasn’t even officially started yet.  Along with a large part of the country out temps are in the 90’s and feel like the 100’s. When the weather is like this the last thing I want to do is have the oven on for a terribly long time and have a ton of pots and pans to clean up after.  This dish is perfect as you cook everything in one pot.  Prep & clean-up are super easy, perfect for summer cooking. People make claims that their dishes are one pot wonders and then it turns into one pot, a skillet & few cutting…

  • one pan & done alfredo

    Who doesn’t love a one pan meal…I mean c’mon it comes together with just a few steps and clean-up is super fast making this a perfect dinner option for a busy day. Over the years I made my fair share of one pan meals like this one pan spaghetti and this one pot sausage & potato stew but one of my most favorites it this cheesy one pot alfredo pasta.   Alfredo sauce is my favorite sauce to put over noodles and when I can make everything in one pot it makes it even better. Now as we all know this cheesy and decadent sauce can be a little higher in…

  • lasagna in no time

    Do you love lasagna?  Do you love how long it takes to make a traditional lasagna?  Probably not (at least I know I don’t)…so how about a lasagna that comes together in less than a hour and brings together all the best flavors of your favorite traditional lasagna?  Yes, that sounds good?  GREAT… then I have a perfect recipe for you. This recipe came together very quickly…I thought The Hubby had a dinner meeting but I was wrong and he came home hungry and ready or dinner. Thankfully I had been to the store earlier in the day and I had picked up some sausage, I just like to have it…

  • a mac-n-cheese treat for all ages…

    Comfort food is always a treat and when we were growing up mac-n-cheese & sausage was a a treat for sure.  Back then my dad was the master of mac-n-cheese.  He would make it on the stovetop with noodles, velveeta and cheese and we thought this was the best mac-n-cheese EVER.  We loved how creamy it was and how cheesy it was…even better my dad would grill up some link sausage and it was a perfect dinner.   As I have grown up my taste have changed some but mac-n-cheese is still a favorite for me…and when paired with sausage it is still a treat.  To make it a little more…

  • chicken parm on the skinny

    Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean only salads and steamed veggies….casseroles can be a part of the menu as well, and this chicken parm casserole is a skinny but delicious dinner that everyone is sure to love.   I have made several chicken parmesans over the years, it is The Hubby’s favorite but most have been loaded with tons of calories & fat making them not very figure friendly.  So as we continue this healthier lifestyle one of the first dishes I wanted to recreate was chicken parm, but in a new way that The Hubby would love but without the guilt. Casserole’s have always been a favorite for The Hubby…

  • starting 2016 with a bang & spaghetti

    Don’t let the name of this dish fool you…this cream cheese spaghetti is still an under 400 calorie dinner that is perfect for your busy nights. It is no secret that I love my slow cooker but I especially love it when it involves pasta.  I think I could eat pasta everyday and this dish would be at the top of the list for sure.  It is rich and creamy, but without a ton of guilt which makes it even better.  To start with I used ground turkey, which I love to use in my pasta dishes…it gives the same texture of ground beef but with a lot less fat and…

  • homemade is so worth it

    I cannot believe that 2016 is already here.  With all the traveling and family obligations the Holidays had the last few weeks just flew by.  Don’t get me wrong it was an amazing Christmas.  My nephew, Wesley, was loving everything the season had…except maybe Santa… and it was so fun watching him experience it all.  Then with my precious new niece, Audra, she is only 3 months so too little to really take it all in, but I did get to buy the most adorable baby girl things for her, and who doesn’t love buying precious little girl things?  After celebrating Christmas with the family here in SE Texas The…