For When You'd Rather Eat Wings

Hey Friends,
        We're at T minus 15 hours to the first day of school! I am working on making sure that everything is ready (or as close as it's gonna be!).

         This recipe has been ready to shoot out to you for a bit now, and I'm excited to share it with you. Every so often I get the craving for wings and that kick of hot sauce. Of course, I very rarely have wings in the house, and they're not always the healthiest option for my hot sauce desires. Lucky for me, I found this method of dressing up veggies with the taste of wings!

You Will Need:
*one head of cauliflower
*2 tsp. olive oil
*1 tsp. garlic powder
*1 tsp. paprika
*1 tsp. chili powder
*1/2 tsp. kosher salt
*2 tbsp. hot sauce (or as much as you want!!)

     Let's get kickin'! Preheat your oven to 425, and get to washing that cauliflower. Once it is washed, break it up into little florets in a medium sized bowl. In a separate, smaller, bowl combine all of your spices. Apologies ahead of time; my mind went to La La Land and didn't get pictures of these first two steps.
   
     Believe it or not, you don't have many steps left. Drizzle your olive oil over the cauliflower florets and toss them a bit to make sure they are coated evenly. Next you're going to coat these florets with your spice mixture. It should look like this:

Voila!

          Pull out a cookie sheet that will be able to hold all of your kickin' florets! I like to cover my cookie sheets in tin foil so that the clean up is THAT MUCH EASIER! :) Spread your florets out on the sheet so that they are all in one even layer. 

    Pop these babies in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. They'll start to have some crispy, burnt edges to them when they're ready. When they come out of the oven, I like to dump them back into that original large bowl. That way, when you coat them with hot sauce, you pick up some of the extra spices that were left behind. You can't stop me from making sure there's LOTS of flavor.

    Pour in your hot sauce and mix to coat. Let's face it, I don't usually stick to my 2 tablespoons. I drown these suckers! It's all about how much spice YOU want.
     Ta Da!!! You're done! These things are so tasty and are a big hit for me and the mister. I think it might be the only way he's eaten cauliflower!

     Let's be honest, are these a complete trade for wings? Heck no. BUT, when you're looking for that spicy hot fix- they're great. Give it a try and let me know how you like 'em!

     To all you fellow teachers out there, get it started with a bang! I'm looking forward to meeting my new group of kiddos, and showing you my fabulous classroom. Much love to you all.

               <3 

Dinner: Quick and Easy

   Well, ladies and gentlemen, today has been productive to say the least. I am proud to say that, during this lovely, rainy, Harry Potter Marathon day, I got plenty done! I am about to show you a DELICIOUS dinner that is simple and easy. (And as usual, Pinterest finds...)

Today's meal: Crock Pot Pesto Ranch Chicken and Crash Hot Potatoes

   Now, I will start with the chicken. The original recipe for the Pesto Ranch Chicken is made with chicken thighs. However, I had a whole chicken to cook, and that is what I did! Let me tell you, this chicken is stupidly easy and tastes fantastic.

You Will Need:
*1 whole chicken
*1 packet of dry Ranch Mix
*1-2 tablespoons Pesto
*1 cup Chicken Broth (again- I make mine with bullion cubes)

   In your crock pot, put the chicken broth and whole chicken. Take your Pesto and spread it all over the chicken. Follow by sprinkling the Ranch mix on top of this. Guess what??? You're done. Seriously, done. Doesn't it feel wonderful??? I left mine in the Crock Pot on high for about 3 hours.

  Now, while the hubby may have commented on this lil dude's color. (I believe the words Swamp Chicken were used...haha) We both found it moist and flavorful!

   Next up are the potatoes, and let me tell you. They are WORTH IT. Again, a Pinterest find, however, my recipe is slightly altered. In the future (because this will happen frequently now) I will use smaller potatoes, probably new potatoes.

You Will Need:
*Potatoes (enough for each person to have 2 or 3)
*Olive Oil
*Salt (I used a my favorite go-to spice, a sea salt and garlic grinder)
*Freshly Ground Pepper

  Begin by boiling your potatoes in salted water until they can be punctured easily by a fork. (Also pre heat your oven to 450)

    Once the potatoes are done, place them on an oiled cookie sheet. I used Olive oil and a brush to make sure the whole sheet was coated. I also had to cut my larger potatoes in half due to their size. You may not need to.

   The next step is to take your potato masher and mash each potato so that it is relatively even and flat. After each potato is mashed, brush it with Olive Oil and season it with salt and pepper.

   Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake your potatoes for about 25-30 minutes at 450 degrees. They will be gloriously golden and crispy when they are done.

   Again, this recipe comes with a warning. They were dangerously fantastic. To the point, that both hubby and I are afraid, that no matter how many I make in the future- we will eat them ALL. So, fair warning, eat at your own risk!

   The beauty of this meal is that I was able to accomplish even more while my crock pot chicken was cooking! While dinner was cooking, I enjoyed way too much Harry Potter and did my nails. I had seen the idea of a "gradual" french manicure look using glittery nail polish. I experimented with this using what I had in my polish collection.    

   I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. I may try different methods of applying the glitter in the future. However, if you'd like to try this exact look, I used two coats OPI "Passion" and then topped that with gradual layers of OPI "Happy Anniversary."

   Now, while you may be impressed by some of this. I feel as though you need to be even more impressed. And here is why. During this entire day of productivity, there have been 2 very adorable BABY BUNNIES hanging out in my backyard. That's right. I got ALL of this done, while spending far too much time gazing out my kitchen window. These two little dudes have been hanging around and munching in our backyard for days. I am very hopeful that these adorable ones will be residents for the near future. They are too sweet and cute, and I spend altogether waaaay too much time marveling in their adorableness.

   Well, that's it from me for now! As always, if you ever try any recipes, please let me know how they turn out! I'd love to hear what works or doesn't work for you. Good night and enjoy!

<3

Breakfast is Served!

Hi all!
       It's been a week or so, and let me tell you, it was busy and fantastic. The last few days have included my golden birthday, giving the blog a facelift, and a brand new camera. (Which was used for today's post!) Speaking of which- it's time to get down to business! I've promised you breakfast, and I'll deliver. Not to mention, that breakfast is healthy, delicious and lasts me about a month!!! WHAT?!?! I bring you Baked Oatmeal Muffins-individual sized baked oatmeal:

     This recipe makes about 30 muffins.

Ingredients:
*2 eggs
*1 t. vanilla
*2 c. apple sauce
*1 banana (mashed)
*1/2 c. honey
*5 c. rolled oats
*1/4 c. flaxseed meal
*1 T. ground cinnamon
*3 t. baking powder
*1 t. salt
*2 3/4 c. milk
optional toppings: chocolate chips, raisins, walnuts, etc.

     Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. After this, you're going to combine the eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana and honey. Sometimes when I'm having trouble mashing my banana I'll microwave it for about 30 seconds. Seems to help the process quite well. Also- have you ever tried this trick?? When putting something sticky in a measuring cup, you'll have less trouble getting it out if you do this first. Fill your measuring cup with really hot water and dump it out. (no need to dry it) Immediately fill with your sticky substance (honey in this case). The honey will come out much more easily! 

This is what the initial mixture looks like! (eggs, vanilla, applesauce, etc.)

     Next you are going to add in the oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix this well. Your mixture at the end of this will almost look like wet granola. Observe: 

     After this, you are going to add your 2 and 3/4 cups of milk. It will seem like a lot- but once you mix it in you will have a more liquid-y texture. This is ready to be put in the muffin tin. You can fill the tins almost to the top. They don't rise much. 

     The last step is to add your toppings! Now- here is an additional note. You can also mix in fresh fruit with this. I have previously mixed in fresh blueberries and loved it! With the fresh fruit, you'll mix it in before separating into the tins. This time I did half chocolate chips (for me to indulge :) ) and half raisins. (Hubby loves raisins!) Bake for 30-35 minutes until tops are golden brown. Last additional note! I have successfully frozen these and thawed them out for later. During the school year I bake a whole batch and only thaw enough for each week of school. They stay well and taste delicious even weeks later! 

I hope this is something you find useful and helpful. Don't forget to comment below with ideas of projects for me to try over the summer! 

Enjoy the newest addition as well (thanks to the hubby!)- the ability to pin my blog to Pinterest! Hovering over any picture will lead you right to pinning a recipe to your boards! Use the function well!