• Food

    Chicken Stroganoff

    Typically stroganoff is made with beef, but that isn’t the culinary rule. Stroganoff is just a cream sauce with meat, onions, and mushrooms. Knowing this, when I meal planned to make beef stroganoff and then did not in fact get beef for the said stroganoff…I improvised and made it with chicken. As much as I love the beef stroganoff, the chicken version was just as tasty and my children ended up loving it more. If you are not a mushroom lover, but want the true flavors of stroganoff, instead of using fresh mushrooms you can substitute cream of mushroom soup. Additionally, I love making stroganoff with pappardelle pasta, which is…

  • Food

    Instapot Philly Cheesesteak

    Have I mentioned how much I love Instapot recipes? All of the ease of the crockpot, but in a fraction of the time. I’ve made Philly Cheesesteaks in the crockpot before, but I knew I wanted to shorten the time significantly and try it in my Instapot. Additionally, I like to braise the beef, peppers, and onions for a few minutes before I placed them in the crockpot. With the Instapot having a sautéing feature, I also cut down on dishes. If you love Cheesesteak sandwiches, then you have to try this recipe. You could totally swap out the beef for thinly sliced chicken breast, or use red, yellow, or…

  • Food

    York Peppermint Cookie

    There are certain ingredients that I just always have in my pantry, instant pudding mix is one such ingredient. Not only can the pudding mix be for making pudding, but I mostly use pudding mixes for cookies and adding them into cake mixes. Pudding cookies are one recipe in my arsenal that I can whip out quickly and easily. Husband says he needs a dessert to serve after youth group…pudding cookies, I forgot to make a treat for our homeschool science club…pudding cookies. They truly are super easy and versatile. When I saw that Walmart was selling York Peppermint Pudding, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.…

  • Food

    Instapot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    I have a child who is very vocal about his likes and dislikes when it comes to food. I decided I was tired of hearing out of his mouth ‘Ewww, I don’t like that.’ So he now helps me meal plan, as well as is my sous chef most nights. If you have a super picky child, let them help in the meal planning, grocery shopping, and then meal preparing. Sometimes the child resists, but most often they really get into helping out and seeing the start to finish. They are also more likely to at least try what they prepared because there aren’t any surprises for them. On this…

  • Food

    Green Chili and Chicken Enchiladas

    Enchiladas are easily one of my most favorite Mexican meals. I have so many variations of enchiladas in my meal arsenal that I could easily make a different type every night for a whole month. So it was surprising to me when I realized I had never done a green chili version. I almost always used red enchilada sauce, but when I realized I had a bunch of green enchilada sauce in my pantry, I knew I needed to make a green chili version. I have to say, that this recipe is easily one of my top favorites. I love the slightly spicy flavors and the prominence of the green…

  • Food

    Perfect Instapot Pot Roast

    Pot roast is something my husband grew up on, almost every Sunday dinner was pot roast. Whereas it was definitely not a common meal in my family, we would have beef stew and the roast or pot roast probably once every other month, but it has quickly become a go-to for me since I have been preparing it in the Instapot. It took several tries, I had to figure out how to not drench the potatoes and carrots so they wouldn’t end up overly soft. The secret…use the steaming basket that comes with most electric pressure cookers. With being a family of 6, two of which are teenage boys, I…

  • Food

    Raspberry White Chocolate Bundt Cake

    I’m rounding out this Valentine’s Day 14 days of baking with my piece de resistance. Not to brag, but I think this bundt cake is even better than Nothing Bundt Cakes version. Using the pudding mix and the greek yogurt gives the batter a soft yet light texture. Also, the pudding mix MUST be the Godiva White Chocolate flavor. No substitutions! OK, it isn’t a must, but it amps up the white chocolate flavor without overpowering it. Have you tried the Nothing Bundt Cake version of raspberry white chocolate? Please tell me if you make this and you still prefer the Nothing Bundt Cake kind or if you’ve been converted…

  • Food

    Marshmallow Buttercream

    My favorite part of just about any cake or cupcake is the frosting. But after working as a cake decorator for my pivotal high school years, I’ve become EXTREMELY picky with buttercream flavors. I cannot stand buttercream where the main flavor is butter, or sugar. The flavors need to blend nicely. That is why marshmallow buttercream is my go to whenever I am decorating cakes or cupcakes. It is also super easy to add flavoring so the marshmallow flavor isn’t that detectible. But the base of my buttercream frosting is the marshmallow flavor. This buttercream is seriously loved by all. My child who LOATHES any sort of frosting or icing…

  • Food

    Red Velvet Whoopie Pie

    When I was asked by my 8-year-old what treat I was talking about today and I told him Whoopie Pies, he made a face and told me that sounded naughty. Then when I told him that they are kind of like homemade Oreos, he had to add “Mom, why are you messing around with a good thing?” Well…I showed him, he loves these red velvet whoopie pies. Especially because the frosting I used for the middle is the same marshmallow buttercream I used on my Black Forest Cupcakes. Definitely my top favorite buttercream. Have you tried whoopie pies before? I love them, they can be time consuming, but they are…

  • Food

    Black Forest Cupcake

    I love making cupcakes, they are just so fun and I love decorating them. It gives me all of the feels of decorating a cake on a much smaller level. I knew I wanted to create a black forest cupcake for this Valentine’s Day 14 days of baking. When I was planning out the concept of these cupcakes I knew I wanted to use real maraschino cherries and I wanted to make marshmallow buttercream for the frosting. I also knew I wanted to make it easier on myself and not make every single thing from scratch. So I did use a box cake mix. But if you are ambitious then…