Bunny Garland

This bunny wreath cost me nothing to make since I already had the supplies on hand. I cut out the bunnies with my silhouette electric die cutting machine, added a glue dot to attach a cotton ball, made holes in the ears to attach the twine and used a twine I had on hand. Love the little touches of Easter in my house. My decorating style has definitely matured over the years. I used to over decorate and now I'm careful to just put little touches around like this mantel. 

Tomato Cucumber Salad with Olives and Feta

In my opinion nothing beats a homemade dressing. This salad was amazing and made me feel like the warm weather will be arriving soon with plenty of grilling and salads. Will be making this one again soon.

http://fivehearthome.com/2013/06/28/tomato-cucumber-salad-with-olives-and-feta/

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

This was an amazing seafood recipe and was so delicious. If you love fish you should definitely try this

http://www.kitchme.com/recipes/parmesan-crusted-tilapia

Parmesan Baked Pork Chops

These were delicious and much better than that shake and bake box you buy. Here's the link to this recipe if you want to try it
http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/main-course-pork/parmesan-baked-pork-chops.html

Scrapbook Pages

Even though it's officially spring, it's still be cold here. So it was nice to scrap some of our pics from our trip to Hawaii March 2013.It was nice to think warm weather for a little while. Such an amazing trip to the Big Island and I can't wait till we go back. The volcano was amazing and since our hotel was in Kona it was about a 2 hour drive in our rented convertible to the volcano. Such a beautiful, scenic drive and as we got closer was amazing to see and feel the change in temperature. I used a mix of old and new papers trying to make each layout a little different.

Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

These took me back to my childhood, I remember eating a cookie just like this growing up. So tasty and my employees at work loved them. Here's the link for the next time you need a dessert to make

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2014/03/20/soft-batch-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Corned Beef and Cabbage

This is a once a year dish and each year I try to make it a little different. I drizzled the balsamic glaze on the top of it after plating. This was really good and a different way to make cabbage for me. This recipe is from one of my favorites- The Pioneer Woman. So delicious, you should save to make next year for St Patrick's Day.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2014/03/corned-beef-and-cabbage/

Sour Cream Waffles

This recipe is from the April 2014 Food Network magazine and was probably one of my favorites waffle recipes I've made. Kyle preferred the last waffle recipe I made because it was sweeter than this one, but this one was so good and really hit the spot for breakfast.

• 2 cups cake our
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 lg eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted
• 2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar

1. Preheat a waffle iron
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt till combined and set aside
3. Whisk the sour cream, egg yolks, milk and vanilla till smooth, then whisk in the melted butter and shortening. 
4. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl with a mixer till soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and continue beating till stiff glossy peaks form about 4 minutes.
5. Make a well inteh center of the flour mixture and gradually whisk in the sour cream mixture until just combined. Fold in the beaten egg whites until incorporated.
6. Brush the waffle iron with melted butter and make waffles.

Creamy Chicken Pasta Alfredo

I love this recipe because it includes two of my favorites - chicken and pasta. This was really good and the perfect leftover to take to work for lunch. Here's the link if you want to try this recipe

http://lilluna.com/creamy-chicken-alfredo-pasta-bake/

Scrapbook Pages

I finally finished scrapping my pictures from Christmas 2012 so wanted to share some layouts

 Inside decorations I love old world Santa's like my grandma collected and ornament wreaths

 Dining room decorations on the mantel and jar of ornaments for the table

 Setting up the outside decorations - we always decorate on the coldest days for some reason

Smoothies

I've been on a smoothie kick lately, not sure why but it's been my new obession finding new recipes to try. They are great to bring to work when I get hungry between breakfast and lunch so I don't have crappy snacks when I get hungry. My favorite is banana/almond milk/vanilla greek yogurt/strawberries and blueberries. But had to share these two that I recently made and loved

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/skinny-oatmeal-cookie-smoothie/

http://blissfulbasil.com/2013/03/04/smores-smoothie/

Will share more smoothie recipes as I find them

Parmesan Basil Orzo

I didn't get a pic of this, but had to share since this is an amazing side dish. I made it will steaks I grilled indoors and will make this again this summer when we grill outside. I love the parmesan in this dish, really takes it to another level. Here's the link so you can try it next time you're looking for a side dish

http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/12/09/parmesan-basil-orzo/

Chicken Francaise

This is from the April 2014 Rachael Ray Magazine, probably my favorite lemon chicken recipe I've made so far.

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/3 '' thick
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3 tbsp butter, cut into 1 tbsp slices
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
• 2 lemons, 1 halved and 1 sliced into rounds
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. In a shallow bowl combine the flour, garlic powder and paprika. Roll the butter slices into the flour mixture and set aside
3. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs wtih the cheese and juice of 1/2 lemon
4. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium to medium/high heat. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then coat in the egg mixture. Cook until deep golden brown and cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side.
5. Transfer chicken to a plate
6. Add the lemon slices to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add the garlic to the skillet, cook 1 minute and add wine cook another minute. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the flour coated butter and swirl in the skillet till melted. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly about 1-2 minutes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll Ups

These were really good and were different than the usual chicken recipes I make. We make a ton of chicken so I try to change it up with different recipes. Here's the link if you want to try this delicious recipe

http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/chicken-cordon-bleu-roll-ups/

Cinnamon Raisin Smoothie

This was hard to photograph since I put it into the container I'm taking to work. I've started making smoothies at night for the next day at work. Here's the link so you can try this tasty smoothie

http://www.averiecooks.com/2012/08/cinnamon-raisin-bread-smoothie.html

Spring Wreath

I made this wreath for our front door with supplies I got at Michaels. I bought a styrofoam wreath and wrapped it in a yarn I found on clearance that screamed spring to me with it's color. The flowers I took of the stems and found the bunny and eggs in the seasonal section and I hot glued them on. Just have to tie a ribbon on top and will be going on our door this week.

Ham, Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

This is the first time I've made a quiche and this was really good. I don't really like cooked spinach so I didn't use cooked spinach or pre cook mine. Here's the link so you can try this amazing recipe
http://www.missinthekitchen.com/2013/12/05/ham-spinach-mushroom-quiche/#_a5y_p=1109949

Rosemary Mushroom Soup

This was a delicious soup and would be great with some rice. This is great if you love mushrooms like we do. Here's the link to the recipe
http://cookingontheweekends.com/2012/12/rosemary-mushroom-soup/

Scrapbook Layouts

Christmas 2012 some ornaments and our tree

 More Christmas 2012 tree and ornaments

 Christmas ornaments 2012

 Princess sleeping, got inspiration for this layout here:

http://www.shopellesstudio.com/gallery/2364/deck_the_halls/

I'm almost done scrapping my pictures from Christmas 2012 and so excited to move onto some newer photos.

Chicken and Rice One Pot Meal

I can't find my picture from this dinner, but it was amazing so I had to share. I love one pot meals, less to clean up and this one is great because once you start it the oven does the rest. Here's the link to this meal
http://www.bigredkitchen.com/2013/06/chicken-rice-pot-dinner/

Creamy Mushroom Fontina Pasta

This was an amazing pasta sauce, I used a different noodle type for this and it still was really good. This is perfect for a quick weeknight meal to make after work. Here's the link to make this dish:

http://cookingrecipecentral.com/creamy-mushroom-fontina-pasta/

Chicken and Potato Chowder

This was a great comforting soup, I used red potatoes and left the skins on. I also added a few mushrooms because I had some to use up before they went bad. Here's the link for you to make this soup, it's perfect if it's still cold by you like it is here

http://damndelicious.net/2014/01/17/chicken-potato-chowder/

Apple Pie Pancakes

These were a delicious breakfast and were amazing! So quick and easy to make and were a wonderful breakfast. Here's the link to make these:

http://www.averiecooks.com/2013/09/apple-pie-pancakes-with-vanilla-maple-syrup.html

Chocolate Mug Cake

I added speculoos to mine instead of nutella like the recipe has. This was a great little dessert to hit that chocolate craving. Here's the link so you can make this next time you have a chocolate craving:

http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2014/02/24/the-moistest-chocolate-mug-cake/#.UxOicZuG_G8