recipe

So, I got a call from daycare on Monday afternoon that Zoe was running a high fever. Her teacher had joked with me that morning that her only goal for the week was to keep Zoe healthy for surgery Friday. Sigh. We were working on a three week streak, but all good things come to an end. One of the best things about working from home though, is I can make a delicious breakfast in the mornings! We had some squishy bananas left over from last week. Once a banana has a brown spot on the outside, I am like….yeah, no. Wont eat it. I figured I had to have most of the items on hand for a banana bread so I got to it!

What You Need

3 very ripe bananas

1/3 cup melted butter

Pinch of salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 large egg

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups flour

What You Do

–Preheat oven to 350 and line a bread pan with parchment paper (less clean up!)

–Mash bananas with a fork and stir in the butter.

–Mix in baking soda and salt.

–Stir in sugar, egg and vanilla extract.

–Mix in flour.

–Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 degrees between 50 minutes to an hour. It took mine right at 55 minutes.

On Sunday, Chris and I were piddling around in our favorite grocery aisle. The international foods/pasta aisle. You know the one. The one filled with ALL the goodness and carbs. Lots of carbs. I asked Chris what kind of pasta he wanted and he was all maybe some kind of burrito or something instead. You don’t have to ask me twice about any type of Mexican dish. I AM ON IT! I looked up a few difference recipe suggestions online, combined and tweaked from several and came up with this deliciousness. I might be biased, but this is better than any restaurant burrito I have ever had.

There is enough meat to do around 5-6 burritos.

What You Need

Soft flour burrito tortillas/wraps (we used the Mission large ones)

1 lb extra lean ground beef

2 cups cooked rice (I used Minute Rice because it was what we  had on hand)

1 can reduced sodium black beans

1/2 an onion, chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons tomato paste

6 tablespoons water

taco seasoning

Other Things I Used

enchilada sauce (we prefer Trader Joes)

cheese dip

shredded three cheddar cheese (or Mexican cheese, cheddar cheese, colby jack, your preference)

fresh diced tomato

Cooking spray

What You Do

–Spray a medium sized pan with cooking spray, cook onions and garlic for 2-4 minutes, add ground beef and brown

–Add taco seasoning (4 tablespoons/one packet) and mix around until completely blended. Stir in 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and 6 tablespoons water. Mix in black beans.

–Heat burrito wraps according to package (I did this in microwave with damp paper towels)

–Lay tortilla wrap on flat surface. Layer the rice, then the beef/bean mixture, top with some shredded cheese. Add in any toppings you may like, I did fresh diced tomato for Chris.

–Wrap the burrito by pulling each of the sides over first, then folding the two ends. Top with a little enchilada sauce and white cheese dip if you are wanting the true restaurant feel to it!!! You may want to heat them in the oven for a few minutes after assembling (350 degrees wrapped in tin foil), or serve immediately!

I imagine you could make a few extras and wrap them up and freeze them, breaking them out for lunches or a quick week night meal. These were honestly put together in under 30 minutes and so good!!!! We only had one each and are saving the leftover meat to make taco bowls or salad later this week.

The cheese sauce and red sauce just swirled together on its own in pure perfection!

I love a breakfast casserole and this one has to be the best one I have ever made. I think Chris and Zoe both agree. It was pretty simple to throw together. The best part is, you could prepare it ahead and refrigerate it to save time in the morning. You would just make it up to the point where you layered the tater tots and refrigerate.

What You Need

Cooked Ground Sausage (I used a fully cooked back of turkey sausage, you could use any kind you want. Just brown it before throwing the casserole together)

3 cups of cheese (i prefer sharp cheddar or a cheddar mixture)

2 cups milk

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 package frozen tater tots (2 pounds)

Bacon Bits or 4-5 slices of cooked bacon crumbled

What You Do

-Preheat oven to 350F

-Brown the sausage if you didn’t purchase pre-cooked

-Layer the sausage in your baking dish/pan (I used around a 9×13, maybe a little smaller because it was oval shaped) Cover it with 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese

-In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, onion powder, salt and pepper.Pour evenly over the sausage and cheese in the pan.

–Layer with tater tots.

–Bake in oven for around 40 minutes. Top with bacon and remaining cheese, bake another 10 minutes.

Everything is better with bacon, no? Especially pasta!!! This Bacon Pasta was a super quick meal that I whipped up last weekend and we really enjoyed. I think I may change out the bacon with pancetta or prosciutto to change it up from time to time.

What You Need

9-12 strips of bacon

1 box of penne noodles

2 cups of whipping cream

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

optional: green onion, red pepper flakes, shredded Italian cheese

What You Do

Cook pasta according to box.

Fry up the bacon in a pan. Ideally I would have had 11-12 strips of bacon, but alas my pan will only hold 9.

Cut the bacon up in pieces, remove the grease from the pan.

Stir in the pasta, whipping cream, parmesean cheese and black pepper. Simmer until sauce is thickened.

Stir in the bacon and green onions.

I like to top mine with a little Italian cheese and some red pepper flakes if I am feeling a little fiesty.

Enjoy!

I don’t have a lot of time to meal prep these days. Between working forty hours a week, having a baby, and just trying to do life….I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen for every meal. Where we would be without a crock pot??? Seriously??? I am thankful everyday for mine. And you can tell, because it looks well used loved.

I was able to throw this meal together in just a few minutes, while Zoe crawled around the kitchen floor growling and managed not to splatter anything on my work clothes. When I came home that evening, our house smelled amazing and dinner was ready!

What You Need

Rack of ribs or package of already cut ribs (I used St Louis Style)

1 bottle of BBQ sauce

2 tablespoons of brown sugar (optional – I like it and would suggest it if you chose a sauce that doesn’t have a sweet taste or brown sugar already in it)

2-3 teaspoons of worchestershire sauce

2-3 teaspoons of minced garlic

2-3 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

Cooking Spray or crock pot liner (I ran out of my beloved liners and need to get more!!!)

What You Do

Spray your crock pot with cooking spray or use a crock pot liner.

Place your ribs into the crock pot.

Dump the rest of the ingredients in, covering the ribs.

Cook on low for 8 or more hours.

Come home to an amazing smell and meat literally falling off the bone.

If you want to add a little crisp off-the-grill feeling to them…you could bake them in the oven for 10-15 minutes on around 400 degrees. But ummm I often don’t feel like dirtying another pan.