Cute gift idea-Mini Pumpkin Cream Pies

I follow a lot of blogs and find some really great recipes and crafts that I want to make. I just came across this one for Mini Pumpkin Cream Pies that would be cute to give as gifts. This might be annoying to some that only read the blog for Ava updates but I might have to start posting more of the things that I find so that I have a point of reference when I actually want to make these things. Kind of like my own version of the Crafter's File Box.

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

I L.O.V.E pumpkin spice and now that it is officially Fall I can't wait to sprinkle some in my coffee grinds before brewing a nice cup of coffee and also try out these two recipes from skinnytaste.com. I am not a good baker but I do love to eat!

Pumpkin Spice No-Bake Cheesecake

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Call me crazy

but this delicious greenness was part of my lunch today :)

Before you gag let me explain. It is called The Green Monster, great name by the way, and it is a smoothie that combines fresh spinach, almond or soy milk, a frozen banana (and anything else you want to add to it). I also added some flaxseed to it and a tsp. or so of peanut butter. I first heard about it from Jenny's soon to be sister in law Rani and then I looked at this website, The Green Monster, to get the full scoop on this strange looking smoothie. I was very skeptical at first but since I am on a super health kick these days I decided to give it a try. Let me tell you in all honesty.....it is actually good! It tastes nothing like spinach, thank God! I actually taste mostly banana and a little trace of the peanut butter. The almond milk I put in it is vanilla flavored so that also makes it taste good. It tastes like a healthy banana milkshake really. It claims to give you more energy, glowing skin, and of course you know you are putting really good things in your body when you drink it. This is only my first day to try it but I am already a fan. I plan on drinking this in place of my coffee and peanut butter toast every morning for breakfast. I will check back in in a few weeks and let you know if I have noticed any changes. Amy is also on board so we are doing The Green Monster Movement together! Who else is brave enough to try it with us?!

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Dinner tonight was pretty tasty so I wanted to pass on this super easy, delicious, and healthy recipe. Even Ava loved it! My friend Danielle passed on this blog with tons of Weight Watcher recipes. I'm not on Weight Watchers but I love eating healthy and I have several WW recipes that are in my "favorites" section of my recipe notebook. Yes, I have a recipe notebook. I like having things organized. :)

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

There are several other recipes on the blog that I am interested in trying. Maybe they will be worthy of making it into my super cool recipe notebook.

Veggie Frittatas

I found this recipe in Parents magazine and it is mmm good! It suggested making this for your kids as a healthy breakfast choice. I doubled the recipe and used a normal size muffin tin rather than the mini one. This breastfeeding momma loves eating at all hours of the day so this will be a good mid morning snack that I can just pop in the microwave. I think it would also be an easy breakfast to take with you to work. Let me know if you try it and like it too!

Mini Veggie Frittatas

4 eggs

3 Tbs. low fat milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup part skim mozzarella, shredded

4 whold sundried tomatoes, packed in oil and chopped

1/3 cup green pepper, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spritz 12 mini muffin tin (or 12 regular size muffin tin if doubling) with vegetable oil spray. In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt. Add cheese, tomatoes, and peppers. Spoon a tablespoon into each muffin cup. Bake for 12-14 minutes (or approx. 20 if doubling and using regular size muffin tin)

And this next picture....welll, you would think that my days of dressing up Macy were over now that I have a little girl but I couldn't resist! She is always at our feet in the kitchen, hoping for scraps of course, so we have nicknamed her "Dogatouille" (taken from the movie Ratatouille). She gives us insider input into the recipes! ;) Thanks Dogatouille for helping me with these yummy Veggie Frittatas!

Another awesome recipe!

Here is another goodie that I made this week. It is Shells with Cripsy Pancetta and Spinach. We had left over pancetta and cream from the chicken scaloppini we made last week so I found this recipe that also uses them. All the reviews said it was wonderful and I agree!! It was DELICIOUS and very easy! In fact I was able to multitask by making sure Ava was happy AND prepare the meal. Who would have thought little ol' me would enjoy cooking?! Thanks to the food network, which is my new addiction, and a little more time on my hands I have found a new hobby!

Click here for the recipe

I am anxious to make this recipe again but try and make it a little healthier next time. I'll do some experiementing and let you know how it is.

I have to give a random shout out to all my fellow So You Think You Can Dance fans!! Are you not loving this season?! I have a few favorites already but can't remember their names.

Cooking and Crafts

Since Bri and my mom arrived we have been busy making crafts and trying out new recipes. I showed Bri how to make appliqued onesies and we even tried it on some plain white bibs. These are the ones that Bri has made. They turned out pretty darn cute if you ask me! We plan on making some decoupaged clipboards and pencil cans next!

Here is a link to one of the recipes we made this week. It is Paula Deen's Chicken Scaloppini. We already had most of the ingredients so we thought it would be a good one to try and plus all the reviews on food network were awesome. Notice the picture below. I wanted to take a picture of it so Mikey and my mom ran with the idea and put it on a new clean platter (this is actually what is left after all 4 of us ate) and put flowers and candles around it. They were proud of their display!


Click here for the recipe!

*You know Paula loves herself some butter so we only used 2 sticks instead of 4 and it still tasted yummy.