All in Recipes
I made these appetizers for the Super Bowl earlier this year. I found the recipe on Pinterest, but like with most recipes, I didn't follow it exactly. Since it was just Brad and me, I didn't make them super pretty either. But you could easily add some cute, decorative toothpicks to make them prettier and more festive.
I made these potatoes the other night for dinner with Emily and Justin. These are super easy to make and are perfect for a crowd.
In an effort to eat less red meat, I have been searching Pinterest for more fish and chicken recipes. I found a 20 minute one pan recipe that I decided to give a try. It turned out really good, but my first attempt wasn't the best. I didn't love the dish. I made a few adjustments (including the meat I used), and it was perfect. I have made the adjusted recipe with chicken, and it was great too. Below is my adjusted recipe to the original I found on Pinterest. At the VERY bottom I have included the pictures from my original attempt and some more info about why I didn't love it.
For the Super Bowl earlier this year, I made these baked onion rings. They were super delicious but must be eaten immediately. I didn't care from them leftover or even as the game progressed to continue to eat them. However, if you are entertaining a crowd, these won't last long. They are much easier to make then frying onion rings. Or at least I think so. I could not make them look super pretty either, but the taste is truly what matters! Also, I didn't use almond flour; instead I used regular all purpose flour.
One of Melody's favorite desserts is chocolate chip cookies. I have never really made them because Brad won't eat them. But since I discovered she loves them, I decided to make some. I used a Martha Stewart recipe I found online. I did half her recipe.
I love french onion dip. It is a staple at all of our parties and family gatherings. My favorite is Purity brand, but I wanted to try and find a recipe to make at home. I found one on Pioneer Woman's website and decided to give it a try. I mean can you go wrong with anything Pioneer Woman? It has now become my absolute favorite, and it is so simple to make! Check it out below.
I found this recipe on the American Diabetes Association website. However, I changed up the ingredients slightly so the nutritional information no longer applies that is found on their website (unless you use their ingredients). This may also explain my "flat" biscuits. Either way, they tasted really good, and not only are they great for breakfast but they would make a great bread serving at dinner too.
I made these mini taco cups for the Super Bowl earlier this year. I have made something similar using fillo shells. I do feel like the ones with fillo shells are slightly better, but these may be slightly healthier, ha! They are super easy to make and are really easy appetizers to have at any event!
As I have mentioned before, Brad loves patty melts. I made some breakfast ones a while back that were pretty good but pretty bad for you. Well I feel like these are not quite "as" bad for you. They are still full of butter, but you could probably find some healthier alternatives if you really want. I could not eat more than half, but Brad was able to finish the entire thing. Just a word of warning!
I found the roasted chicken recipe from the American Diabetes Association website. We wanted to find another way to cook chicken and while I was scrolling through their recipes I ran across this one.
I love potato skins. They are one of my favorite go to recipes for game days at home too. That are usually fairly easy, very filling, and super yummy. I mean who doesn't like them?!? Well one thing I do dislike is I feel like I waste so much of the potato when I do full potato skins. I also go through so many potatoes too. Well one day while flipping through Pinterest, I saw where people were using sliced potatoes instead of full potato skins. So I decided to try it out. Not only do you go through less potatoes, I actually like it much better. You don't have quite as much skin, but you still get some on the edges. You should give this a try if you love traditional ones!
We love asparagus in our household. Brad isn't a fan of it from a can, so we usually buy fresh asparagus and try to find different ways to cook it. Usually we just simply bake it. But every now and then we like to spruce it up at bit. This isn't anything super fancy or even complicated, but it adds just a touch of something different to a really great vegetable.
I love Mexican food, and I am always trying to find new ways to make it. Brad isn't the biggest fan of it, so I have to be creative. Taco Pizza is very similar to taco ring, but it is different enough to offer some variety :). You can change things up with a different type of seasoned meat, and you can customize with your toppings preference!
In an effort to find more ways to get vegetables in our diet, I have been trying to figure out new ways to cook them. Melody loves anything crunchy, so I decide to bake some squash "chips". She didn't eat them unfortunately. But Brad and I really liked them! My only recommendation is to cut them more evenly so that they cook more evenly!
In an effort to help Brad get his diabetes under control and change our eating habits, I found this recipe on the American Diabetes Association website. Like a lot of food we have cooked lately, the pictures do not look as appetizing as the meal actually was. This goes perfectly with rice and broccoli and even a few spring rolls!
These mini frittatas are another recipe I found on the American Diabetes Association website that is low carb and high protein. They are also very good and really quick and easy to make. My only recommendation would be to not use cupcake liners or use better ones that we used. The egg mixture stuck to ours. You can also add additional veggies or even some more protein via bacon, sausage, etc.
Previous to Brad's diabetes diagnosis, we made a lot of casseroles. And not that he can't have casseroles, but most were carb heavy. I ran across this dish on Pinterest. The pictures below do not do it justice. This wasn't a one dish meal, however, but it was pretty close to it. I do believe I served this along side some mashed potatoes or another carb. But the chicken portion is very protein heavy with the bacon, cheese, and chicken. And the broccoli added a nice touch of green!
In an effort to continue to find low carb food for Brad, I came up with these ham, egg, and cheese cups. I have seen similar recipes before, but I kind of just went out on a whim with this one, ha! These were easy to make on Sunday, and Brad took them to work for breakfast during the week. He would eat 2-3 at a time. He seemed to enjoy them. I am not a huge fan of ham, so these were not for me. Brad however is a huge ham fan!
Mexican is such an easy type of food for us to quickly throw together for dinner. We tend to eat Mexican at least once, if not twice, a week. Ironically, Brad isn't a huge fan of Mexican food. He definitely tolerates it more when I cook it at home vs. going out, but it is still not his favorite. I wanted to try and and figure out a different take on Mexican, so I came up with chicken taco salad. Nothing too fancy, but it was different enough. It was really good, and I prefer it over beef taco salad.
Brad loves regular patty melts, so when I ran across this recipe for breakfast patty melts, I knew I had to try them. They are not ideal during the week because they are a little time consuming to make. There is also nothing healthy about these, but they are oh so good!
