you know i didn't forget dessert....just the picture

[6] three chocolate mousse cake. need i say more. well i will. the mousse was out of this world. i imagine heaven being like mousse-sweet and light and full of handmade love!

Tis the Season to spend with family

we were blessed this christmas to have my parents in town for the week. it was such a fun and relaxing week filled with shopping, eating, cooking, eating, and sleeping. lots of pictures to keep you entertained. next christmas we will be in texas and hopefully in our first owned home!

[dinner at modern steak for christmas eve]

mom and me in the cutest bathroom ever

mom and dad

hubby and me

[Christmas morning]

thomas and snickers very excited to be up

roxie on toy overload

i think santa came.

and the stockings were....too full to hang

a couple more spoiled stockings

and thomas had TWO stockings. gotta love mom's handmade stocking since i had already filled his.

[cooking for the week]

cranberry salsa with blue corn chips

apple cider donuts

orange marmalade thumbprints-i did not make the marmalade. store bought worked just fine

monkey bread muffins-add extra sauce after done baking

xox-k&t

My First Christmas Dinner

it was my first christmas to be in charge of planning and preparing dinner. i started dreaming up ideas about a month ago (i wanted to be super prepared of course). i had grand ideas of cooking lamb or prime rib.....but after debate and looking at the dollar signs i decided to go with a ham and lots of homemade sides instead. i'll save the lamb for next year!!! So here goes:

[1] my honey glazed ham from target...my fav part actually so easy and delicious and i bought for 10 even though it was just us four so i could have tons of leftovers and make ham and navy bean soup (which is cooking right now!!!)

[2] the spread: duchess potatoes, sautéed garlic mushrooms, homemade rolls, corn bake, and not pictured mixed veggies(from a bag. frozen. gasp.). two things to note in this picture: i was way too hungry to take pictures before we ate and there is the nice bottle of tums right in the middle.

[3] Duchess Potatoes from Pioneer Woman

[4] 30 minute homemade rolls by your home based mom

these are TO DIE FOR. i will never used store bought again

[5] corn bake from my aunt vickie. its a tried and true recipe

i hope everyone had a delicious christmas as well!!!! the craziness of work and school has sortof slowed a little so i am hoping to get back to posting about running and cooking again!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

k&t

Hey good lookin', whats cookin' ~Week of Oct 16th

fall is in the air. oh wait its 100 degrees. outside. welp. i'll close my eyes, make myself a hot apple cider, and imagine its cool outside.

{halloween marshmallow rice crispies}

secret. time. i already made them. and they are so good! only thing i would change-less reeses. personal preference but they are still amazing.

{spaghetti squash lasagna}

looks amazing and at only about 400 cal per serving, sounds even better.

{honey lime enchiladas}

i've blogged about these before and they are one of our fav meals

{addl items on the menu this week}

~i never got around to making the cupcakes on last week's blog, so those are coming soon.

~also never made the salad. will def be doing that this week.

~frozen soup either chili or the italian soup from last week

{last weeks review}

-a-chocolate wasted cake-unbelievable. way too rich to really make again, unless it was something super special or for a chocolate lover. i also wouldn't use the liqueur next time.

-b-mexican stuffed shells. loved them. they are so easy and are delicious. i used half the cheese and they were still plenty cheesy enough.

{xox-kristen}

what's cooking this week

{chocolate wasted cake}

omg. seriously. this looks like sin on a plate. and no its not part of my diet, but it looked so good, i had to make it...then send it immediately to clinic with thomas. it's cooling right now.

{pumpkin spice latte cupcakes}

its fall, well sortof, and i wanted to make something to take to work to celebrate fall. can't wait to see how these taste.

{mexican stuffed shells}

these look so good!!!!! i found taco seasoned turkey a few weeks ago and this will be a first time to use it.

{bbq chicken salad}

just looks delicious. a healthy salad always is on the menu.

{extras for the week}

frozen chicken spaghetti and leftover italian chicken soup

delicious week i'm sure!!!

An Apology

hi friends. have to apologize for being the worst blogger in the word. and i can't promise it's going to get better. with work/school/keeping the house somewhat clean/baking/spending whatever time is left with my amazing other half....blogging has become the last thing on my mind. now i don't want to say that i'm taking a break, because i am going to try to keep posting when i can. keep checking in with me :) so. with that said. i want to post some of the amazing things i've cooked lately.

{chicken pot pie}

in love with make once, eat twice meals. if you are gonna make it, might as well make double and freeze half. this was really good and was adapted from a recipe in a magazine.

{spaghetti squash}

seriously my new fav thing and with it being 8 calories/ounce, it fits right in my diet.

{chicken napa cabbage}

delicious! reminds me of my grammy's salad.

{italian chicken soup}

so good! very spicy!!! and it makes so much so i froze it in silicone muffin tins to reheat later on.

{lasagna cups}

not gonna lie. these are to die for. i used turkey instead of beef!!! also made extra and froze them.

{fig and priscuitto pizza}

so, i found this little gem and it made me think of my favorite restaurant postino and i just HAD to make it. and it was so delicious

{cheddar and chive cornbread muffins}

i had some almost bad chives in the fridge and i saw this recipe and went for it. easy and yummy

i hope this inspires you all to cook and bake. love you all~kristen

Vegan Sushi

Ok, so no I'm def not a vegan, but some good friends of ours wanted to do a Vegan Sushi night. I really had no idea and was a bit skeptical. Thomas and I are both meat lovers, and a meal isn't a meal without it. But I'm always up for new adventures in the kitchen and this one was amazing and surprisingly easy!!!

Here's what you need:

~Seaweed

~sushi rice (although reg white seemed the same)

~veggies cut into small squares: avocado, asparagus, carrot, lettuce

~wasabi

~Soy Sauce

~Sake

~Beer

Directions:

~Start rice cooker or follow instructions on bag and cook rice.

~Cut all the veggies

~Once rice is done it's time to assemble

~Wet the seaweed and place rice on top, spread into a thin layer

~Place veggies in the middle third of the seaweed/rice roll

~Add some wasabi for some extra kick

~Roll it up slowly, careful not to make it so tight that it splits

~Cut into small rolls

~Enjoy!!!

{Assembling my roll}

{Shawna making hers}

{T's perfect roll}

{The masterminds behind the whole thing}

{The roll}

a pie for mikey

you may think "who is mikey"....well i was thinking the same thing when last week i got on the tastespotting and foodgawker and saw pages upon pages of posts of a singe peanut butter pie for mikey. i was thinking what the heck! well, i finally clicked on a blog and found my answer. a week and a half ago a food blogger lost her husband unexpectedly. his favorite pie was peanut butter pie and she had been telling him she'd make it but kept postponing, saying i'll do it next week. well, as she posts about making this pie, she explains how later sometimes isn't always an option. it made me blessed for the days i have and to always remember that today is important because we never know if we have a tomorrow here or if it will be with our Father. i wanted to celebrate and remember mikey by making the pie that his loving wife asked us all to do.

my ingredients:

the pie:

it. is. amazing. we both love it. its such an easy pie and i'd love for everyone to make it. to show a bloggers world support for one of our own. the blogging world is a funny place. i've never met jenni and probably never will, but we all felt compelled to support her in this time of need. thats pretty amazing if you ask me.

Weekly Menu June 26th to July 2nd

A Short Week of Food=San Fran on Friday!!!!!

[not guilty cookies]

Umm...yeah cookies at 45 cals a piece...sounds right up my ally! This recipe is pretty easy to change, so your imagination is the limit of different ingredients you could add to it!!!

[lighter sesame chicken]

Who doesn't love asian food?!? And a lighter version made at home...pretty much makes my day!!!!

[chipotle chicken sliders]

I know, I already posted these bad boys in my burger post, but I am actually making them this week and super excited about them!

Recap of last week:

[a&b] Churro-yum, Custard-ehhh

[c] quinoa lunch bowl=heavenly good

[d] i got too lazy to make the eggplant canneloni...still on my to do list of course

[e] pineapple salsa chicken is always a fav and always leaves me with plenty to freeze

[burger post] i made the black bean burger and it is my new favorite thing. both of us really liked it and it was soooo easy and healthy!!!!

Lots of love and happy early fourth of july!!!

WILW

~Burgers~

Yup, today's what I love Wednesday is burgers. I must admit I have a strange addiction to them. To me, they are the idea of an all-american meal. Big, Juicy, Sliders, Pickles, Red Onions, Delicious Sauce...Just a few of the reasons I love them. And the sad thing is I'm not too picky about where I get it....but now that I am on a diet, a nice beef burger really isn't on the list of healthy options. Which makes me sad, but thanks to the amazing and creative world of food bloggers, I have found several healthy recipes for burgers that I am beyond excited about. Now, I know its not the traditional burger that I am posting about today, but new things are always good....So here goes!

Burger #1-Hawaiian Chicken Burger. This is a yummy looking chicken burger that I am just dying to try!!!!

Burger #2- Black Bean Burger. If you have ever had a black bean burger, you know how amazing they can be. This looks like its gonna rate pretty high up there!!!

Burger #3- Chipotle Chicken Sliders- Yeah, spicy and healthy....Sounds good to me!

Burger #4-Quinoa Burger. This bad boy, or should I say delicate baby, is the most unique on my list to try and I am so excited about it. Quinoa has been the ingredient of the season, being deemed a super food because of all the great things in it!!!

Well, I hope yall enjoy these tasty treats!!!

Weekly Menu June 19th to June 25th

First off~ Happy Belated Father's Day to all the amazing dads out there, especially my dad and Thomas' dad. We are very blessed to have been raised by such awesome heros. Now, onto some yummy treats and healthy eats!!!

{ONE}

Churro Cupcakes. This was one of two desserts I made for a friends summer fathers day bbq and I loved them!! They were pretty easy and I thought perfect for a summer treat! They made me thing of fair food, which is always a plus!!! Next time I would double the recipe because 14 of these bad boys just wasn't enough!

{TWO}

Coconut Custard Pie. The second dessert I made....I figured out I don't like custard...or maybe just this one. It was too sweet and buttery for both Thomas and myself. Others said it was good, but I think they were just being nice!!! Maybe I messed up somewhere in making it...

{THREE}

Quinoa Lunch Bowl. I am so excited to try this recipe out!!! It's been on my to do list for a while!!! I hope it is as good as it looks!!!! I am really on a quinoa kick...so you will be seeing more of this super food!!

{FOUR}

Roasted Butternut Squash and Eggplant Cannelloni. I think this looks so yummy!!! I've never cooked butternut squash or eggplant so this should be a learning experience....we will see how it goes :)

{FIVE}

Pineapple Salsa Chicken. DELICIOUS. I have made it before and I love that it gives tons of leftovers. Its a great freezer option. Last time I froze some and made some into taquitos and froze those as well. I'm pretty obsessed with freezing things lately.

{Two weeks ago review}

So I realized I never reviewed June 5th-June 11th so here goes!

{a} Creamy Quinoa is still one of our fav new meals. It is extremely filling and makes a ton of leftovers. Now we aren't fond of it leftover, soooo from here on out i'm only making 1/2 the recipe

{b} Crunchy Asian Salad was so easy and by far the best salad and homemade dressing I've done. We both really liked this and plan on doing it again soon!!!

{c} I never made the chicken marsala so its on the to do list!

{D} the fauxtisserie chicken is now a weekly or every other week thing. I make it sunday and use the chicken for lunch meals or in my dinners. then i freeze the rest...of course!