Champagne, Pearls, Sippy Cups and Rubber Ducks

This meal is very quick and easy to throw together; especially if you make the chipotle sauce and cole slaw topping ahead of time. Each component of the fish tacos is just as simple as the next, so don't be intimidated by the different parts of this recipe. It's easy smeashy, promise!     Chipotle Sauce  The chipotle sauce adds a nice zip to the tacos, but I often used to frown when I saw that a recipe called for chipotle peppers because I would end up throwing away the majority of the can. Chipotle peppers are very flavor packed and most times you only need one or two to get the desired heat level and flavor you are looking for. Well, I decided that I wasn't going to let these extra peppers go to waste again, so check out the nifty storage trick that I posted at the end of the blog. Rachael Ray recently showed this storage tip on her show and it made me so happy that I will no longer have to fear spending $1.34 on a can...

Due to the thousand of requests that poured in I have decided to post yet another week of meals for all of my followers! This post is short and sweet, but stay tuned for the yummy recipes that will be posted later this week. Menu for a Week: Day 1: Cod Tacos with Sweet Slaw Topping and Chipotle Sauce Day 2: Slow Cooker Open Face Roast Beef Sandwiches with Whipped Potatoes and Homemade Gravy Day 3: Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup Day 4: Pesto Herb Chicken with Spicy Tomato Cream Penne Day 5: Homemade Pizza Grocery List: I decided to make a slight adjustment and break the menu up by day. My hopes are that this will allow you to buy specifically for the meals you are interested in. I want to take a moment to give a shout out to my new favorite place to shop, Aldi. If you haven't been there you should check it out. Their produce is VERY reasonably priced and has allowed me to cook with a variety of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. Aldi, I will accept cash, check, or...

I really do enjoy cooking, but when I get home from school it often seems I am worn out, and the last thing I want to do is prepare dinner for my family. I know, shame on me! What woman doesn't want to come home and prepare a feast for her family?!? Well, I find no shame in admitting that many days I just did not feel like it. I am worn out from hanging with my "60 school children" and am ready to spend time playing in the floor with my daughter. I guess that brings me back to the reason why I started this blog...we were eating out almost every night, the pounds were starting to pile on, and my body was feeling awful! While I have been on summer break it has actually been quite easy for me to find the time to prepare dinner each night, but I try to be a realist and know that once I start back to school those same old feeling will start to creep back in. That is why I am always on the search for a good slow cooker recipe! I recently stumbled upon this recipe while...

  Cook-out Style Sloppy Joes Sloppy joes are so simple because they are made from ingredients that almost everyone keeps on hand at their house. We have them for dinner at least once every other week for that reason. Let's be honest though, most of the time when you hear sloppy joes, you are probably wishing you could just get take-out instead. Well, my sloppy joes have something just a little extra that makes them a meal we look forward to each and every time I make them. Kick the old stereotype and try these sloppy joes for dinner this week!  I start by adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a fry pan. I heat the pan over medium-high heat and when the oil ripples I add 1 lb. ground turkey. You can certainly use ground beef if you prefer, but I have been trying to substitute ground turkey into all of my cooking because it is much healthier. If you haven't tried ground turkey then you should give it a shot. You can't even tell the difference, pro...

I think every family has a favorite "Mexican spot." Who doesn't love chips, fresh salsa and a margarita? We do! We do! We absolutely love Mexican night! I talked once before about our favorite Mexican restaurant that is right up the street. We love this place because we can go during happy hour, stuff ourselves, and have a few brewskis all for about 15 buckaroos! What a steal!! However, when the waiters start to know who you are, it might be time to take a break from frequenting the Mexican restaurant two-three times a week. Due to our Mexican food obsession, tonight I am making quesadillas inspired by the meal that my husband orders each and every time we go to our favorite "Mexican spot."   First, I chop up one red onion and one green pepper.  Meanwhile, I heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a fry pan over medium heat. When the oil begins to ripple I add the vegetables to the fry...

I am always trying to find new ways to cook fish for dinner, but sometimes simple is best! In my opinion, a little olive oil and seasoning can go a long way when cooking any type of seafood.   My family recently went to Destin for vacation and had access to many local fresh fish markets. I was in heaven! I pan seared 4 pounds of fish one of the nights we stayed there and there wasn’t a single flake of it left. It was delicious! A variety of fresh fish is not as easy to find in Lexington, KY, but I was inspired to amp up my use of fish after being in Florida.  If you aren’t a big fan of fish you should at least strive to incorporate it into your diet once a week. Why? Well, fish is low in fat, high in protein, and is proven to reduce the risk of many different types of disorders and diseases. Ok, enough with the soap box…tonight I made pan seared Cajun tilapia for dinner. I often choose to cook with tilapia because it is a very mildly flavored fish. I am n...

The easier a recipe is, the more I like it! I especially love recipes that can be made in my slow cooker. I know that there are better ways to make barbecue, but the ease of this recipe makes it a favorite of mine. First I rub down all of my chicken breasts with a homemade spice rub. If you don’t have a huge spice collection like I do, DO NOT run out to store and buy every spice in the rub recipe. Just buy one jar of McCormick’s Mesquite Chicken Seasoning (or something similar), or use what you already have at home and make something up yourself! Don’t be afraid to try new things. Note: Most rubs have a paprika, garlic, and onion base with some type of added heat, sweetness, or both. You could add things like dry mustard, dark brown sugar or cayenne depending on what you like. I have made a rub that is a good seasoning mixture for a Mexican type meal as well because I will be reserving ½ of the chicken I am making today for the quesadillas I am planning to make later this week! ...

One of the things I love about being a teacher is that I get to enjoy my summers at home. This is my first summer at home with my baby and my appreciation for the teaching work schedule has grown with each day I get to spend with her! Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I want to pull my hair out and wish I was at school getting a “break” for a moment, but the majority of the time I spend with her are moments filled with laughter, kisses, and snuggling. Oh wait, that was about four days ago…before she starting crawling, pulling up on everything, and pretty much trying to kill herself every two minutes.   Being a working mom, it is hard to prepare home cooked nutritious meals each evening for my family. After the birth of my daughter, my husband and I fell into the same rut that many other American families are stuck in. My husband says I became “addicted to eating out”. I’m not sure if it was that, or if I was just addicted to the convenience of running through a drive-th...