Category: Recipes

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in a Pressure Cooker

How to cook spaghetti squash in an Instant Pot! An easy spaghetti squash recipe that is super quick and can easily be made in your pressure cooker! Great dinner recipe for any night of the week! Always makes a ton for leftovers too!

How to cook Spaghetti Squash in a Pressure Cooker

Last week I basically broke out in a sweat trying to cut a dang spaghetti squash in half. I knew there HAD to be an easier way. We loved all of our spaghetti squash based meals, but I had to find a better solution for cooking and cutting.

Of course, like so many other times before, my Instant Pot came to the rescue.

I cannot tell y’all how many times I planned to do a crockpot meal and completely forgot to start it so I just make it in the instant pot. I make large batches of chicken each week to make our meal prep easier. I use it to hard boil eggs and now… to cook my spaghetti squash!

If you don’t already have an instant pot, you can find one on sale here. 

Some recipes will call for you to cut the squash in half before placing it in the pot, but I found there was no need to do that. I simply cut a bunch of holes and placed it in the Instant pot on the metal rack insert and added 1 cup of water. I set my times manually for 20 min.

Keep in mind that the length of time will depend alot on the size of your squash, but I’ve done this twice now and 20 minutes has worked perfect.

Let the spaghetti squash cool for at least 10 minutes. I always use oven mitts to remove it because it is VERY HOT!

Once cooled, cut lengthwise. It is SO much easier to cut this way!

Once cut, use two forks to shred and make into noodles. Add whatever topping you’s like (we love making Chicken Alfredo lately) and ENJOY!

 

The Keto Friendly Starbucks Drink Everyone is Freaking Out Over (including me!)

The Starbucks White Drink and How to Order It

How to order the keto white drink

One of the great things I love about the Keto Diet is that it allows me to have so many food I love that would normally be restricted on a typical diet. Bacon, eggs, cheese… yet I still missed my skinny caramel machiatto from Starbucks (which btw, a 16 oz serving her TWENTY ONE grams of carbs and 18 g of sugar according to Starbucks website!)

Now, Starbucks has a drink for all those Keto-ers in mind: The WHITE DRINK!

It’s a combination of their unsweetened Peach Citrus White Tea, half and half and a pump or two of sugar free syrup! Other keto-ers, like the Instagram user below, opted for heavy whipping cream instead of half and half. Either way, be sure to request no water and no sweeteners!

With all the buzz this drink is getting, I’d say it’s at least worth a try…plus, it’s a great excuse to take a mid-day break to Starbucks!

As soon as I tried it, I knew why everyone was freaking out. It really does taste like peaches and cream! Just a heads up- my barista had no idea what I was talking about when I said the Keto white drink (awkward…) so you may need to just order it by listing off all the details above… at least until it becomes more well known!

The nutritional facts provided by Nutritionix.com show that the unsweetened version is sugar free and carb free! Keep in mind that this is just for the tea. Add ins are not included!

Keto friendly starbucks drink dubbed the White Drink and it's delish!

15 Party Recipes to be “Known For”

15 party recipes for large crowds- easy to make dips and finger foods

You could name off member of my family and group of friends and just about every one of them has a party dish they are known for. Hayley is chicken salad sandwiches. My younger sister has an infamous bean dip.  My moms cream cheese bread is requested at just about every holiday party.

I’m still on the search for my dish. But I’m not complaining; I’m loving the process of testing out new recipes with every get together we attend or host. Here’s my top 15 recipes on my “to try” list for 2018!

Sheet Pan Loaded Nachos from Damn Delicious

12 easy party recipes, perfect for super bowl, birthday parties, outdoor parties and mroe!

The best thing about this recipe is you can add or remove any additional items you like! I’m not a big spice lover so I’d skip the jalapenos but double up on the sour cream!

Grilled Asian Steak Skewers from The Recipe Critic

 

I love that you could serves these directly on the skewer or even remove them and do them toothpick style. A great grilling option other than hamburgers and hotdogs!

 

Crack Pigs in a Blanket from Plain Chicken

Not your typical Pigs in a Blanket… they’ve got cheese and ranch dressing!

 

Bacon Brown Sugar Chicken Tenders from Dine Then Dessert

If your guest plan to indulge a little bit at your party, you will certainly do their taste buds justice with this recipe!

 

Cheesy Spinach & Artichoke Dip from Lil Luna

 

I’m a huge fan of anything Lil Luna does! Her recipes are always over the top with flavor in the best was possible!

 

Oven Fries and Spicy Mayo from Daily Clove

A grease-free (and guilt free) way to do fries! The spicy mayo is a must make!

Buffalo Chicken Poppers from Tasty

The perfect tooth pick popper! Add a side of ranch and blue cheese and some celery sticks and you are all set!

Bacon Cheddar Dip from Spend with Pennies

This recipe has been shared over THREEHUNDRED THOUSAND TIMES on social media. And for good reason!

 

 

Slow-Cooker Buffalo Ranch Chicken Wings from Delish

Any sports related get together requires something ranch, buffalo and of course, WINGS! This recipe has all three together and it’s a winner!

 

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches from Food Network

 

With how much work goes into the day of the party, it’s nice to have a slow cookie recipe that can be prepped early on!

Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders from Merry About Town

 

You’ll be hard pressed to find a party guest who doesn’t love a classic cheeseburger slider!

Waffle Fry Sliders from Neighbor Food

The perfect twist on the classic.

 

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps from Cooking Classy

…because you always need to have at least one healthy option

Avocado Egg Rolls from Damn Delicious

These are a Cheesecake Factory copy cat recipe…as if you needed more convincing! Cue drool…

 

 

 

13 Comfort Food Freezer Meals

Well, the last round of  freezer meals came to an end and it was time for a second round! I *tried* to do things a wee bit healthier this time since I have started breastfeeding less and the lbs. seem to be slowly adding up! But there were some recipes that sounded just too delicious to pass up! This round was a tad bit more difficult to make because I have a teething baby who can only seems to be happy when held… so while it took me longer to make these than the last round. But still, super easy! Be sure to pick up your essentials before starting:

Recipes

Baked Ritoni Casserole from Gracious Panty (link has 4 other freezer meal recipes, but I only tried the one!)

Healthy Lasagna Soup from Guide 4 Moms ( no left overs, because we ate it all in one night and regretted NOTHING!

Chicken Parmesan Meatball Casserole from The Good Stuff

Spinach and Artichoke Chicken from Laurent Greutman

Copycat Lean Cuisine Chicken Margherita from Once a Month Meals

Crispy Cheddar Chicken from Mom Savers (I doubled the recipe each time AND made two batches of this one)

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole from Money Saving Mommy

Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin from Lauren Greutman

Swiss Cheese Chicken from One She Two She

Ham, Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole from The Good Stuff

Crock pot Chicken Tacos from The Good Stuff

Boneless BBQ Ribs from Happy Money Saver

Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops from Recipe Book and More

If you haven’t checkout the first round where I knocked out 3 weeks of meals in just three hours, check it out here!

UPDATE: When baby #2 came along- I made even more freezer meals! Get the recipes and see the pictures of my sweet hubby contributing here! 

 

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

Crockpot french dip sandwiches with Au Jus Sauce- Easy Recipe for lunch or dinner! Crockpot dump meals!

Last week Jay and I had a rare occurrence to go out on the town for a date night! It was wonderful! We frolicked around the city just like we were young again (sigh).

While we were out, we stopped into the Tommy Bahama restaurant for a quick bite.  We have been to the restaurant dozens of times. It’s one of our favorites because the menu is so large and there is always something new to try!

This time around, I ordered the French Dip Sandwich and I was left so inspired. It was wonderful! So I wanted recreate it at home! Here’s what you will need:

  • 3 lbs chuck roast
  • Vegetable oil
  • 1 can Beef Consume Soup
  • 2 Cans French Onion Soup ( I opted for Campbell’s on both soups!)
  • Choice of bread for sandwiches (We did Pepperidge Farm Hoagie Rolls)
  • Provolone cheese, sliced
  • Your trusty crock pot!
  1. Start by browning the roast in a tablespoon or so of oil on the stove top
  2. While it is browning, add both types of soup so your crockpot
  3. Once your roast is browned, move it to the crockpot.
  4. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours
  5. Once cooked, remove and shred meat using two forks or an electric knife. (My husband and I both agreed that we prefer our mead a little more sliced than shredded; you lose less of it when dipping!)
  6. Add shredded/sliced meat to sandwich bread and top with a slice of provolone
  7. You can melt the cheese in the oven under broil. I like to stand directly next to the oven while doing this final step, no one likes a burnt bun!
  8. Serve with a small bowl of sauce from the crockpot for dipping

Enjoy!