Tag: home cooking

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Let's Look

Let’s Look: What’s In Our Grocery Carts

Hello everyone! Happy Wednesday! I hope you have had a great week and are enjoying the spring season. It’s time for another Let’s Look as I link up with Shay and Erika

In January we talked about cleaning our closets.

In February we discussed things we do every day.

This month we are talking all about what’s in our grocery carts.

This topic was a little tricky for me since I still live at home. When I go to the grocery store, I’m not just buying for myself but for other family members too. I typically go shopping with my parents for their weekly grocery shopping trip.

Before I head out to the store, I always plan meals with my family and make a list of meals we plan to make in the week. Typically, we aim to cook five to six meals at home each week and we make a list of what nights we plan to eat them (this may change through the week, but having a list saves stress from figuring out meals the night of and it saves money from eating out.

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to cook a meal for my family each week by trying and testing new recipes, so I will take one night, my mom cooks the other four and then we may go out or order in for the remaining nights. Our meals range from a mix of chicken, pasta, salads, sometimes seafood, and then an easier night of leftovers or soup/sandwich/salad for late or busy nights. 

One of my latest meals, baked chicken tacos!

When we are making a list of what to buy, we take an inventory of things we already have and can use for dinners or lunches. Making a list saves money and it encourages you to use what you have rather than buying new. 

Besides things for meals, we tend to stock up on fresh produce and veggies and any staples we may be low on in the pantry, like bread, milk, lunch snacks etc.

At the store, I also to keep my eyes open for new products to try. For example, I enjoy eating hummus with veggies or fruit, I saw this hummus trio at the store and gave it a try and loved it. You never know when a new item could be a win. I also get inspired by different things I see at the store that I may want to try on my own. 

As far as my lunches go for work, I did a post about meal prepping here. I like to have a variety of easy food options for lunch. I typically have some sort of fruit, veggie, something sweet, and then either a salad (veggies, chicken, tuna, egg etc.) or I will eat leftovers from the night before. I like to use what I have in my home before going out and shopping.

We love a good meal prep!

That’s a look into my grocery cart. Not too exciting or thrilling, but fun to share what things I enjoy buying and making.

Happy Wednesday!

Categories
Fabulous living

Valentine’s Day Date Ideas

Hello All! 

Happy February! I’m SO ready for a new month. January was slow and steady and a great month for relaxing and resetting, but I was ready to flip the calendar. The holiday months tend to go by in the blink of an eye and some of the calmer months seem to take their time. Nevertheless, I’m ready for what this new month will bring.

One of my favorite things about this month is celebrating Valentine’s Day. I have always enjoyed celebrating this holiday, but I have grown to love it even more as I have gotten older. I think Valentine’s Day is a great day to remind the people in your life how much you care for them and as a way to show your appreciation to them. I always love to plan Galentine’s Day meetups with friends that live close by or send cards to those who live far away. The heart shaped candy, themed events and red, pink and white decor always brings a smile to my face in the middle of winter. 

You can go all out or keep it low key when it comes to celebrating Valentine’s Day. In honor of the holiday, I thought I would round up a few ideas that can be used for a date night out or girl’s night in, you can even do some of these activities on your own or throughout the whole month. 

Here’s some Valentine’s Day Celebration Ideas:

Candle Making- This is becoming a popular activity and would be so fun to do with your girlfriends as a big group or one on one with your significant other. You learn how to make the candles and have something to bring home at the end of the night. As someone who loves to light candles, this would be so fun. I attended a candle making workshop last year and LOVED it, you can read about my experience here. 

Such a fun activity!

Local Performance-If you are a fan of the arts and culture this would be a great experience as a treat for you and your date. Whether it’s a big show or your local theater, heading to see a performance is a great way to get out on the town for a date night and some fun, of you are both into sports, choosing a sporting event wouldn’t be a bad idea either, choose an activity that you both enjoy!

A night out for a show!

Ice Skating and Hot Cocoa-If you are looking for an afternoon out or are looking to celebrate the big day the weekend before, Ice Skating and Hot Cocoa go hand in hand. Some cities may have rinks open outdoors if you are looking for a fun atmosphere, but an indoor rink works just as well. You are getting some exercise in and getting some one-on-one time together, finish off the date off with some hot chocolate or a warm beverage. If skating isn’t your forte, bundle up and take a long winter walk with your warm drinks, another way to spend quality time together. 

Hot cocoa
and ice skating…the perfect combo!

Homemade Meal-As much as I love a night out, I am a homebody, so I love a good homemade meal as opposed to braving the elements in the middle of winter. Whether it’s a new recipe or a favorite of yours and your date, nothing says love, like some hard work in the kitchen. You both can spend time preparing the meal together and enjoy the fruits of your labor with your meal. To make things fun and special, dress up for the dinner, light some candles and use the good plates or buy accessories for your dinner. Yes, leggings may be more comfortable, but you may feel better being all dressed up.

Nothing better than a warm cooked meal

Out for Dessert– Many people may choose to go out for drinks and snacks or appetizers, but I am more of a dessert gal. Sometimes when I go out to eat, I enjoy my meal so much that I don’t leave room for dessert. I am a sweet tooth girl, so I love the idea of heading out just for dessert, whether you eat at home and then go out or if you your whole date is the dessert, head to your favorite restaurant or bakery and indulge on some Valentine’s Day sweets with your sweetheart. 

Dessert for the win!

I hope this list gave you some ideas of ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day this year. I am always looking for different unique ways to celebrate the holiday. Whether it’s big or small, be sure to tell the people in your life how much you cherish them. 

Happy February!

Categories
Let's Get Cooking

Fall Recipe: Cake Balls

I always like to make a new treat/ snack/ meal every season. At the start of the year I was on a roll with cooking one meal a week, I have to admit, I have been slipping these past few months. I’m hoping to do more cooking these next few months as fall and winter settle in. I did manage to make a new fall dessert a few weeks back with my mom. Here’s a tasty recipe for cold days inside. This is a super simple, three ingredient dessert that’s perfect for any get together.

Cake Balls

Ingredients:

  • Cake mix (baked or pre-made)
  • Icing
  • Melting chocolate
  • Garnishes (sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.)

Directions:

  1. Make cake (I used chocolate for this recipe, but any flavor works. I just made a cake from the box with eggs, water and oil. )
  2. Once cake is baked, let it cool.
Cake is done!

3. Break apart cake until it’s all broken up.

Cake broken apart

4. Combine icing (I used chocolate) and cake and mix together.

The new mixture

5. Roll cake mix into balls and then place in freezer for 30 minutes.

The cake balls ready to go in the freezer

6. Once they were done in the freezer, I melted chocolate and dipped the cake balls in to completely cover them. It can get messy, so I would reccommend using a spoon to dip them.

The cake balls all dipped in chocolate

7. The chocolate dries fast, so make sure you dip them fast and add garnishes, whether it’s sprinkles or chocolate chips or nuts.

The finished product. I had some leftover melting chocolate so I made some dip pretzels. Yum!

Enjoy your dessert! You can freeze leftovers and enjoy at a later date.

Up close of the dessert

This is just a fun and easy dessert that I saw on Pinterest and wanted to try for myself. It was easy to make and tasty and was a great crowd pleaser. What fall recipes have you been making?

Categories
Let's Get Cooking

Let’s Get Cooking: Southwest Chicken Salad

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday! I hope your week is off to a good start. As we embark on a new year, it’s time for some new and fresh content. Every year when I work on my blog, I always like to add new pieces and content. The closer I get to living on my own, the more I like to try out new foods and recipes. Get ready for some fun recipes that I plan on making and adapting. 

One of my favorite types of food or meals to make are ones with things I already have at home, not only is it resourceful since you aren’t wasting food but it’s also a creative outlet with cooking. 

This week’s recipe is Southwest Chicken Salad. This is so easy to make. I started with making some barbecue chicken. I just make regular chicken breasts and put barbecue sauce on top and cook them. Pretty simple, right?!

Southwest Chicken Salad

As far as the salad goes I start off with a simple garden salad. I added lettuce, celery, and onions. I then had little bowls for all the sides, but if you like them all you can just put it in the large salad. In smaller bowls I put black beans, corn, cheddar cheese, and taco chips. I also had dressing like Ranch and French available for toppings. 

All the ingredients

For my meal I added salad with black beans, corn, chicken, chips, cheese and dressing. 

This meal was fast and easy to make. I had all the ingredients in my fridge and it was very filling and healthy. I  was even able to have leftovers for other meals. 

This meal will definitely be on rotation for my meal planning. I can’t wait to learn more meals and share them with you too. 

What are some of your favorite go-to meals?!

Categories
Fabulous living

Fall Recipe-Apple Crisp

Hi everyone. I hope you all had a relaxing weekend and your week is off to a great start. Last week I shared my fall bucket list and one of the things on it was make a fall recipe. When I was home last week for fall break, I made one of my favorite recipes, homemade apple crisp. It is so flavorful and warm for fall. I am sharing how to make it today.

Before

What You Need:

6 large apples

1 and 1/4 cup of Sugar

1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon

1 cup of Flour

1/4 teaspoon of Salt

2 Tablespoons of Butter

1 Egg

1 teaspoon of Baking Powder

The original recipe

First slice all your apples and place them in a pan or dish that has cooking spray on it.

Then mix your 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon and mix that with the apple mixture. 

The sliced apples with sugar and cinnamon

Combine your flour, salt, butter, eggs, and 1 cup of sugar and mix thoroughly. Then spread over apple mixture. 

The completed mixture

Once your mixture is complete place in the oven for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. 

After it’s done in the oven, take it out to cool.

I like to serve mine heated with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There is so much flavor and it’s a warm dessert for fall, plus you don’t feel as guilty since you are eating apples. Haha! This is an easy dessert to make for family or friends, it’s simple to put together and easy to serve. All things I am looking for when I am cooking or baking.

Coming out from the oven

I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe, I will have more recipes coming soon. Have a great week!

Ready to enjoy!

What are some of your favorite fall recipes to cook or bake? Do you prefer apple flavored things or pumpkin flavored things?