The Bachelor Party Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

Bachelor fans! I won't disclose who won, but I wanted her to win and so I invited a few ladies over to watch the 3 hour finale! We all put our kids to bed and gathered for some dessert and wine. Not pictured are the delicious brownies one of my friends brought over with a caramel sauce on top. A simple and delicious dessert I made was a strawberry shortcake trifle with my pretty trifle bowl. We had a blast watching and feasting!

Simple Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

- 2 x 8 oz. Cool Whip
- Angel food cake, cut into cubes
- Strawberries, sliced

1. Place a layer of Angel food cake on the bottom of your trifle bowl.
2. Spread a layer of Cool Whip on top of your cake.
3. Stick strawberries slices along the outside of your bowl and on top of your Cool Whip layer.
4. Repeat layers.
5. End with Cool Whip on top with sliced strawberries around the top.

 Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

 Will you accept this Rose?

 The spread

Wine Time

Enjoy!

Brittney

Champagne Cheese Fondue

Happy (late) Valentine's Day! Every year we make fondue - cheese and chocolate for dinner and dessert. This year we tried a new fondue recipe with a champagne base - and it did not disappoint! Delicious! We hope you can make some fondue soon - we will be enjoying some more at the end of the month when we go on vacation to the mountains!

Champagne Cheese Fondue

- 1 1/4 cup Champagne or sparkling wine
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 1 x 8 oz. cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 2 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- large pinch of nutmeg
- 1 tbsp. flour

1. Heat your champagne in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add your shallots and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add your cream cheese and whisk until it is no longer clumpy.
3. Add 1 tbsp. of flour to your gruyere and add it in handfuls as you whisk the mixture together.
4. Add your parmesan cheese and bring cheese to a boil, constantly whisking.
5. Mix in your nutmeg and place cheese in your fondue pot.

*We like to dip French bread pieces, carrots, broccoli and Kielbasa sausage slices into our cheese!

 Champagne, shallots and cream cheese

 Adding Gruyere

Dipping!

Enjoy!
Brittney

One Pot Lemon Greek Chicken

I can't believe it's February! Where did January go?! We have been really busy with work and school and Kyle's recruiting schedule for Summer internships. Things are looking good for Denver... so we will see!

I've made a few new dishes last month and last night I made this really simple and delicious chicken and rice dish. The rice was so moist like it had been cooked in a crock pot for many hours, when in fact, it had just been in the oven for 30 minutes! Below is the recipe.

One Pot Lemon Greek Chicken

Marinade for Chicken
- Juice and zest from 1 lemon
- 5 chicken thighs, bone-in (I used boneless)
- 1 tbsp. dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. salt

Rice
- 1 cup rice
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp. oregano
- salt and pepper to taste

Garnish
- chopped parsley
- Lemon zest

1. Make marinade and place on chicken in a ziplock bag for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. In a deep pan use 1 tbsp of olive oil and brown your chicken thighs. Keep reserve marinade in the ziplock bag to use for later.
3. Remove browned chicken and set aside. Clean out pan. Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil and cook onion until translucent.
4. Add your rice ingredients and reserve marinade and bring to a boil.
5. Place chicken thighs on top and cover pan.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place covered pan in the oven for 30 minutes.
7. Serve with garnish if desired.

One Pot Lemon Greek Chicken

Enjoy!

Brittney

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Happy New Year's Eve! What a year it has been for us - moving to a new state, starting a new career, starting new schools, making new friends, and finding a new community. It has not been easy, but it has been fun. We look forward to many new memories in 2016! I hope you have a wonderful year!

I hope to find more time to update my blog this year and hope to share a link to purchase my sweet husband's Christmas gift to me - my blog as a published cookbook! I was so surprised and touched he compiled a majority of the recipes on my blog and made a pretty cool cookbook out of it. I'm a book!

I'm a book!

This is a hearty meal that tastes delicious. If you want to add meat, I would recommend some ground turkey or chicken, but it still tastes great without meat! My kids even enjoyed this lasagna. But we did have regular meat and red sauce lasagna a few days later and they seemed to enjoy that a tad bit more - kids!

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients

Butternut Squash Filling:
- 2 cups butternut squash, boiled in a pot of water for 14 minutes or until soft
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Spinach Filling
- 8 oz. steamed spinach
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- pepper to taste

Other
- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
- 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
- Paprika
- Basil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray your 8" x 11.5" baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Mix your soft butternut squash, ricotta cheese, milk, salt and nutmeg in your blender to make a puree. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix your spinach, mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, garlic, salt and pepper together and set aside.
4. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook your lasagna noodles according to directions on package.
5. To assemble the lasagna spread 1/3 of the butternut squash filling on the bottom of your dish, sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese, place 3 x noodles on top and half of the spinach filling on top of the noodles. Top lightly with more mozzarella cheese and 3 x more noodles.
6. Spread 1/3 of the butternut squash filling on top of the noodles, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese and spread the rest of the spinach filling on top. Sprinkle it with some mozzarella cheese.
7. Top with 3 x more noodles and spread the remaining butternut squash filling on top.
8. Sprinkle lasagna with Italian seasoning, paprika, basil and parmesan cheese.
9. Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

 Spinach Filling

 Butternut Squash filling  before pureed

 Pureed Butternut Squash Filling

 1/3 butternut squash filling on bottom of dish sprinkled with mozzarella cheese

 Noodles and spinach filling on top

 Completed Lasagna prior to being baked

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Enjoy!

Brittney

Banana-Berry Baked Oatmeal

I was looking for a something different to try out for breakfast that my kids would eat - and Bakerella sent me an email for this "Banana-Berry Baked Oatmeal." Super easy to throw together and bake beforehand. I just cut slices up the next day and re-heated them in the microwave. My kids loved it! I also used Craisins instead of real cranberries. Perfect breakfast for a cold winter morning (or 60 degrees here in Philly...)

Banana-Berry Baked Oatmeal

- 2 cups Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 egg
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 tbsp. melted butter
- 1 cup cranberries, I used Craisins
- 1 large banana, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8"x8" dish.
2. In a bowl mix oats, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, salt and baking powder and pour into dish.
3. Using same bowl, whisk egg, vanilla, milk, and maple syrup together. Add melted butter, mix and set bowl aside.
4. Place cranberries and banana slices in dish and toss to distribute.
5. Pour milk mixture gently over your oats.
6. Bake 35-40 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup.

 Dry Ingredients

 Milk Mixture

 Cranberries and Banana added

 Milk mixture added

Banana-Berry Baked Oatmeal

Enjoy!

Brittney

Butternut Squash Pasta

It's getting colder outside these days, so why not make something hearty and warm? This pasta sauce is surprisingly delicious and will leave you wanting seconds! I bought a container of already diced butternut squash at Wegman's - which made prep for this meal even easier!

Butternut Squash Pasta

- 1 butternut squash, diced and peeled
- 12 oz. linguine
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup vege oil
- sage or rosemary
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add your squash and some salt to it. Let cook 12-15 minutes.
2. Fry your sage leaves with some olive oil. Or you can just add rosemary to your sauce as it simmers, it smells so good!
3. Using a slotted spoon, take your squash out of the hot water and place in a separate bowl.
4. Add pasta to the water the butternut squash was in and cook according to package.
5. Using a blender, puree your butternut squash until smooth. Add vege broth until sauce reaches your desired consistency.
6. In a deep skillet, add your olive oil and sautee your onions and garlic until flavorful. Add your pureed butternut squash and stir in your parmesan cheese.
7. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
8. Add pasta to your sauce and stir to coat. Add your sage or rosemary and serve hot.

Butternut Squash sauce with pasta added

Butternut Squash Pasta with rosemary

Enjoy!
Brittney

Kinley's 5th Camo Birthday Party

My son is 5! I can't believe it. I'm almost in denial. These last 5 years have gone by so quickly and I am so impressed with the little man he is today. He is obsessed with Army guys and legos, loves to go to school and learn, and is a great big brother (even when his little brother wrestles him). It is so fun to watch him learn and ask questions I think I didn't even worry about at 5. What a wonderful kid he is. We absolutely love being Kinley's parents and can't wait to see what this year has in store!

Army guys. Soldiers. Camouflage. Tanks. No problem buddy!

I made soldier cupcakes for Kinley to take to school and we invited a few kids to come over and celebrate his birthday this past weekend. It was a small party - which was perfect for our small house!

Here are the details from our Soldier Camouflage Party!

 Traditional "Kinley is 5" shirt from Etsy

 Goody Bag: Soldier gummy bears and camo sunglasses

Tank Balloons

Craft: Make your own pinata candy bag - sponge painted brown paper bags

 Tank pinata from Party City

The kids loved it!

Camouflage Cupcakes

- 1 box cake

- 1.5 cans frosting

- brown and green frosting gel

- 3 piping bags

- large star frosting tip

 Juniper Green and Brown frosting gel

 Separate cake batter into 3 bowls and dye two of them brown and green

 Take turns with each color spooning them into the cupcake liners - I used white liners

 Camo Cupcakes

You can see the camo through the white liner!

 Dyed frosting green and brown and placed in separate piping bags. Placed both piping bags inside 1 piping bag to get both colors to come out.

 Added a toy soldier to the top!

 Cupcake Army

Kinley celebrating at school!

Enjoy!

Brittney