turkey sausage + bell peppers

holy moly, have i found the dinner jackpot!!!

i have to disclose: i had dinner at carmella's house one night, and she made something very similar, so i kind of stole this from her :)

similar to other things i like to cook, this dish is super duper easy!

chop all of your ingredients
(i used sweet italian turkey sausage, bell peppers, tomato, and zucchini *i forgot onion here, but definitely add it!)
i cut the sausage so that it would cook faster, but you can leave them whole if that suits you
pour a touch of olive oil into a pan; add ingredients and cook over a low/medium flame
cooking time will depend on how much food you are preparing. to speed cooking, cover the pan and stir frequently

i have to mention that i was so scared about adding tomatoes because i thought they were going to burn in the pan, and burned tomatoes doesn't sound like the most awesome thing in the world. luckily, they didn't burn :) they did fall apart a bit, but they flavored the sausage really nicely.

while your meal is cooking, you can prepare your side. in this instance, we thought rice pilaf would go nicely (which it did). this was boxed, so i just followed the cooking directions.

a few other ideas: you could make 'sandwiches' with the sausage mixture and pair with a nice salad; or you could finely chop the ingredients and put it on top of whole wheat pasta. the other night i paired it with some crinkle-cut sweet potatoe fries that i roasted in the oven, and it was a very fall-feeling dinner.

however you decide to serve it, i guarantee it will be a big hit! randy finished his plate in just about 4 seconds!

add some olive oil to the pan so that your food doesn't stick and burn

yes, this is a santa plate

 

 

alaina + randy's egg bake

i've found a great breakfast that packs nutrients, and is also easy for those hectic mornings when you're trying not to be 15 minutes late to work.. again!

let's call this one.. alaina + randy's egg bake :)

*i've also seen this type of thing done using a cupcake pan. here, i use a bread pan.

for the pan i use, i find 9 eggs works best
crack and pour eggs into a mixing bowl. scramble the eggs
add in vegetables of your choice (my faves are tomato, zucchini, and a bit of onion)
pour contents into your pan. i "stir" once it's in the pan to make sure the vegetables are evenly distributed
top with a light layer of cheese
bake @ 350 degrees; i've never timed it, but i like to tip the pan to one side, and if the contents are pretty sturdy and no raw egg leaks out, i know it's done

if i'm making this at night time, i let the dish cool for about 10 to 15 minutes. then, i cut 6 slices and put 3 slices into 2 tupperware containers. this will be randy's and my breakfast for 3 days. each morning we take a slice out and pop it in the microwave.

 

 

 

 

easiest chicken dinner in ze world!

randy and i have been participating in a weight-loss challenge with some of our friends, so i've been trying really hard to cook healthier meals at home (or cook at all, for that matter..)

one thing i've found that is super easy and tastes delicious is this chicken and veggie thing (there is no official name yet). i do have to admit, i stole the general idea from pinterest, but changed some things around a bit..

it's so super easy i feel silly writing directions, but basically you:

put raw chicken into a baking dish
add vegetables of your choice
pour just a touch of melted butter over all contents (i've forgotten this step and it's still delicious)
*this was my contribution* add a can of diced tomatoes over the top
cover with foil and bake @ 350 degrees for about 1 hour (or until all ingredients are cooked)
and you've got dinner!

i usually always add potatoes; you can also add other vegetables like zucchini (3rd image) or carrots, etc.

 

i didn't realize, but the can of diced tomatoes i had also has green chiles in it. this gave it more of a salsa-y taste.

 

how easy is this, seriously? and when you plate it, it looks like you spent more time on the meal than you actually did. the reason i didn't used to cook as much is because i didn't think i was creative with food; this dish makes me feel like i've got a little more going on in the kitchen than i thought!

 

happy cooking!

 

 

turkey cookies!

remember my pumpkin cookies?

welp, it's time for some turkey cookies!!

but eating the dough is the best part!!

always close by when there's baking going on..

man down :(

alaina

pumpkin cookies

my absolute favorite thing about the holiday season is pillsbury sugar cookies!

turkey ones for thanksgiving, christmas tree ones in december, and of course..

pumpkin ones for halloween!

look at how cute the little pillsbury man is!

lilly always helps me clean up..

**don't forget to come to the haunted house on halloween night!

alaina

losing my quinoa virginity

so i've been hearing lots of hype about quinoa, an amino-acid rich seed that is very high in protein and magnesium. i had been wanting to try it for a while, so last week i bought a box and made a meal with it!

i previously perfected what i call 'chicken marinara,' which is just putting chicken, cut up vegetables, and pasta sauce (diluted with some water) in a covered pan. it's totally simple, but looks impressive and is really really tasty. i added some quinoa, and it was delicious!!

ingredients: marinara sauce (diluted with water), asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, chicken breast

up close + personal

cooking away!

quinoa! (i used half the measurements reccomended in the directions)

raw quinoa

the finished product!

unfortunately randy was at work when i cooked and ate this meal, so it was my own private victory!

**update: i made this exact same dish last night (including some rice, bean, & veggie leftovers from wahoo's, which i cooked in the pan with the chicken, sauce, and other veggies) and randy ate it! and he liked it (for the most part)!

until next time..

<3 alaina

this is totally unrelated, but i received my new business cards in the mail today and just had to share!

the color looks a little crazy because it's an iphone pic that i tried to photoshop back to life, but it serves its purpose.

so excited

: D