Graduation Cupcakes

I've been absent this past week because I was home in Georgia for my little sister's graduation! Her graduating class had more than 750 students but it passed by surprisingly fast! I'm so glad I was able to be there and so proud of her for all she's accomplished!

For her graduation party, I volunteered to make Oreo truffles and cupcakes. I had seen the cap idea various places online and decided to add a diploma into the mix. These were a big hit with everyone and added to the graduation decor! Use your favorite cupcake recipe!

For the graduation hat, you'll need Reese's Peanut Butter Mini Cups, small rectangle shaped cookies (I used chocolate covered graham crackers), Twizzlers or Fruit Roll Ups, and small round shaped candy (I used Red Hots).

Place the peanut butter cup upside down on top of the frosting. Use frosting to adhere the cookie to the top of the peanut butter cup. Cut small strips of the Twizzers or Fruit Roll Ups and use the frosting to "glue" it to the cookie as the tassels. Add the Red Hots or mini M&M's on top of the tassels, and you have a graduation cap!

For the diplomas, I simply used Pirouette Cookies and cut them into thirds. I had planned to add a red twizzler tie around the "diploma" but left them plain instead. Enjoy!

Weekly Meal List

Tuesday: Tortilla Lasagna Pie

Wednesday: Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Thursday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Friday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Saturday: Teriyaki Chicken

Sunday: Honey Balsamic Rice Casserole

Monday: Enchilada Rice Casserole

Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna is one of my go to meals for company. I use my mom's recipe and everyone loves it. But when it's just Neil and I for dinner the pan of lasagna is way too big for us. We would be eating lasagna for at least half of week and as much as I love it, too much lasagna can be a bad thing.

So, we make lasagna rolls! Portion control is so much easier when you can make only 1 or 2 rolls for yourself. These are meatless but you can always add ground chicken or beef to add a little more oomph to it. Recipe is from Stephanie Cooks!

5 lasagna noodles, cooked

1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese

1 egg white

1 cup baby spinach, chopped

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

1.5 cups tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350º. Lay the lasagna noodles flat on a cutting board. In a small bowl combine the ricotta cheese, egg white, baby spinach, Italian seasoning, and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Stir well.

Spoon an even amount of filling over each noodle. Add a tablespoon of sauce to each noodle and spread the sauce/cheese mixture along the noodle. Starting at one end, roll the noodle tightly. Place in a baking dish covered in sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the rolls. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Weekly Meal List

Monday: Baked Balsamic Chicken (we ate out a lot last week and still have this meal left over)

Tuesday: Lasagna Rolls

Wednesday: Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Thursday: Green Chile Cheeseburgers and Frys

Friday: Six Can Tortilla Soup

Saturday: Grilling out on the beach with friends (menu is still undecided so if you have any great grilling suggestions let me know!)

Sunday: Skillet Bruschetta Chicken and Balsamic Roasted Potatoes

Inside-Out Cheesy Cheeseburgers

As much as I love cheese, I hate cheeseburgers. I think it's because the cheese only slightly melts and it kind of has a weird rubber consistency. These were a perfect alternative. Having the cheese inside completely melts it and each bite has an added cheesy goodness.

You can use your favorite burger recipe and just stuff the inside with cheese but I just followed this recipe where I got the idea from!

For one burger:

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp seasoned meat tenderizer

1/3 tsp chili powder

2 slices of cheese

Season raw meat with onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned meat tenderizer, and chili powder. Separate the meat into two equal parts and make into patties.

Make a well in the center of one patty and tear one slice of cheese into eight pieces. Pile pieces of cheese into the well and fit the other patty over the cheese patty. Shape the patties together. Cook burger until done. Enjoy!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

We have the Crockpot BBQ Chicken quite a bit in our house. It's so easy since it's just a bottle of BBQ sauce and chicken. Neil suggested I use buffalo sauce instead and this was a hit! I followed the suggestions over at Running Mama Cooks and added a few more ingredients. It's a very spicy meal but worth trying out!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breats

1 (17.5 fluid oz) bottle buffalo wing sauce

1 oz package dry ranch salad dressing mix

2 tbsp butter

6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise (or sandwich bread of your choice)

Place the chicken breast in the crockpot along with 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter and shred with two forks. Add the meat to your bread and splash with remaining buffalo wing sauce. Enjoy!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm lucky to have a mom who is supportive, even from 2000 miles away.

And a mom who doesn't mind trying crazy things like paddle boarding even though it's cold outside!

Happy Mothers Day to my mom, mother-in-law, and all the mothers out there!

Weekly Meal List

Saturday: BBQ Chicken and Corn

Sunday: Baked Balsamic Chicken and Rice

Monday: Beef Stew

Tuesday: Bruschetta Chicken

Wednesday: Mexican Stuffed Shells with Black Bean and Corn Salad

Thursday: Chicken Monterey with Mashed Potatoes and Corn

Shrimp Lo Mein and Japanese Steakhouse White Sauce

I'm horrible with New Years Resolutions. One of mine for this blog was to post at least two times a week and here I am updating for the first time in a month. The hubs had to go to the field for some military exercise for the last month and I would be embarrassed to post what I ate this past month. I did get to eat a few dishes with beans, which the hubby hates, but other than that there were quite a few nights where I hit up the drive-thru...

But I'm back! And I thought I'd start it out with this gem of a recipe from Food.com. It's not exactly authentic Chinese food, especially since I subbed spinach for bok choy (that is one expensive and hard to find ingredient), but it is delicious.

2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup soy sauce

8 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 tsp sesame oil, divided

12 ounces snow peas

2 cups shredded carrots

1 head bok choy, sliced (I substituted spinach)

1 15 oz can chicken broth

7 scallions, sliced

12 oz fettuccine, cooked and drained

Combine first five ingredients and set aside for 10 minutes. In a skillet or wok, heat 1 tsp oil over high heat. Drain shrimp, reserving soy mixture. Cook shrimp until pink, 2-3 minutes. Remove from skillet.

Add 1 tbsp oil to skillet, then add peas and carrots and cook 1 minute. Add to shrimp. Cook cabbage in skillet with remaining oil 1 minute. Combine broth and reserved soy mixture and add to skillet, along with shrimp mixture. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and mix in scallion and fettucini. Enjoy!

The white sauce recipe can be found here. This sauce is pretty much the only reason I go out to eat at Japanese places. I love this sauce and his recipe is practically identical in taste. The person who posted this recipe asked to be linked instead of copied so follow the link above. Be sure to chill it overnight because that really helps the flavors mix.