White Chicken Caprese Lasagna

I've always been scared of making lasagna. Every time I've ever made it, it's either been too dry or too watery. Half the time the noodles don't get cooked. Even if it ever had turned out for me before this moment, I would have fully expected it to just look like a big, hot, sloppy mess when I tried to photograph it. 

Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week we had a horrible, deathly cold. Usually when you have a cold, you are lucky enough to be able to say, "oh, it's just a sniffle". 

Not so lucky this time. I will consider myself lucky if I get rid of this cough and get my voice back a month from now. 

I was the last victim the cold took, so while Samuel and the kids were suffering, I was making cookies. "Good thing I've been taking my prenatal vitamins! I think they're keeping me from getting sick at all this time!" I said to myself, whistling as I worked. 

Several days later, Samuel emerged from the couch and croaked, "Where are those cookies?"

Persian Saffron Chicken {Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh}

Back when we lived in Berlin, you may recall, we had LOTS of Persian friends. They were all Christian refugees from Iran and Afghanistan that we met at our church there, which was packed to the brim every Sunday. 

Usually after church, there would be huge meal that some of the Persians would make, and we would squeeze through the door with the crowd, mouths watering and fingers crossed that it would be "the chicken with the red sauce". 

Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse Cups

Valentine's day is just around the corner. Whether you forgot/were too lazy to remember to buy your honey a gift and are frantically searching for a way to make up for it (like me. heh.), or you're single and looking for something to snack on with the girls while you indulge in some sweatpants and a corny chick flick, I've got you covered. 

Secretly Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread

I know, it looks like a one million calorie, dark, rich, fudgey, brownie-ish, delight. Guess what? Tastes like it too. But no, this guy is the most innocent loaf of banana bread in the world right here. No butter or oil, very little add sugar, and loaded with fruit!

Samuel tasted it and nodded approval.

"It's healthy," I said.

"No, it's not."

"Yes, yes. It is."

"Isn't there sugar in it?"

The Easiest Shrimp & Noodle Stir Fry {Naturally Gluten Free}

Today I am FINALLY sharing a recipe that I have been telling all of my real life friends and family about for a long time.

I am always raving to everyone I meet about the perfect harmony of the flavors of chili, sesame, garlic, and ginger. The beautiful texture of the caramelized fried noodles with the juicy shrimp. 

It's so simple to make! It's so easy to keep all the ingredients on hand at all times! It really only really dirties one pan! Well, when I finish, panting and out of breath with excitement, they are always bound to ask for the recipe. No, not a squirt of this and a handful of that, a RECIPE. 

Well here I am, finally here with your recipe. 

The Best Oven Fried Chicken Nuggets {Plus a BIG announcement!}

So, I have some big news to share with you. I keep forgetting to tell you because we were in the midst of packing/moving the past few months so I have just been really busy and scatterbrained (oh yeah, there's another big announcement that I never really even announced).

Please don't be too distracted as you scroll by this perfectly crispy, juicy, easy and healthy chicken nugget to read the news... 

The Most Popular Posts of 2018!

Happy New Year! 

As has been my tradition since 2012, I'll do a little recap of the year for you. Here are the past posts if you're feeing nostalgic:

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

3 Ingredient Crockpot Cranberry Meatballs

This is my Grandma's famous recipe for cranberry sauce meatballs. They are three ingredients, because the meatballs themselves are always a big bag of frozen meatballs from Sam's Club.

I was going to make a brand new recipe for meatballs from scratch for this post. The only problem is, I had a little helper. He was "stirring" the meat mixture for me (read: stabbing a spoon in and out of it vigorously and flinging bits of raw meat and parsley everywhere). I turned around for one second, and he had dumped an entire bottle of garlic powder in and begun stirring (stabbing) it into the meatballs.

I decided to bake them anyway, but of course, I forgot to set a timer, got busy with the kids getting up to no good or something, and when I finally went to check on them, they were burnt to a crisp.

So, frozen meatballs it is.

5 Minute Fudge with Easy Homemade Salted Caramel

And now it's time for some EASY Christmas goodies, just in case you have a two-year-old running around dumping bags of flour on your couch, throwing wet coffee grounds all over the kitchen, riding on his baby sister like a horse, or trying to change his own dirty diapers.

Not that I would know what any of that would be like, but you know... just trying to make Christmas easier for those of you who are struggling in such ways. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

Well, my friends, this has been quite a week for me. My toddler is getting three molars in right now, so we are experiencing terrible twos to the max. 

Diaper cream all over couch and both children? Check.

Almost all leaves plucked from my favorite jade plant? Check. 

Bottle of honey unscrewed and dumped on stovetop, dripping down oven onto toddler and the chair he's standing on and creating a large puddle for the baby to play in on the floor? Check.

Container of parmesan cheese dumped on the floor and swept into all the cracks between the oven and fridge? Check.

I should give him credit though, I think he was actually somehow trying to help by sweeping the parmesan cheese into every corner of the house after he spilled it.

White Queso Dip

So last Monday, I made an amazing grand total of FOUR recipes to post for you guys. One was those stuffed pumpkins I posted last week, one was this queso, and two more will be posted here in the next couple weeks (stay tuned).

I just figure it's easier to make a complete and utter disaster of my house once instead of four times throughout the month. And let me tell you, it was a complete and utter disaster in here that day.

Pumpkins Stuffed With Everything Good

I know what you're thinking.

Or at least I know what I was thinking when I first saw someone stuffing a pumpkin...

"What are you doing?!?!?! You can't EAT a whole pumpkin like that. WHAT IS HAPPENING??"

I mean, pumpkin pie is different. That's all sugared and spiced up and probably was made from a can so you didn't have to dig through those stinky, nasty pumpkin guts to get to the goods (but have you ever had a pumpkin pie with a fresh pumpkin?? YUM).

But, as it turns out, pumpkins are actually a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth squash under all those guts.

Construction Truck Birthday Cake

Hello again! After a short (heh) break from posting so that I could enjoy the summer with my two babies, it is now October, which means that one of my babies has abruptly stopped being a baby and turned into a two-year-old. 

He started off the terrible twos just as you would expect...

Allergy Friendly Chocolate Cupcakes (Gluten, Dairy, Egg, and Nut Free)

My future (in 8 days!!) sister-in-law and I spent a couple of days in the last few weeks making about a couple hundred cupcakes for her wedding and freezing them.

My poor, celiac mouth watered as I surveyed them all lined up like an army across my kitchen counters.

"Aren't there a few other gluten free people coming to the wedding?" I asked, with all the nonchalance I could muster.

"Yeah, I think so," said the bride.

"Oh," I said, "and what about..." I racked my brain, "Milk allergies! I know there are some of those people coming."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

"One of our nephews has a peanut allergy!"

"Ok."

"So I was wondering," I said, casually flicking a dried up piece of frosting off of my shirt, "Do you think maybe I should make a couple dozen cupcakes for the allergy people, or.....?"

"Oh sure, good idea!"

Small Batch One Bowl Oatmeal Cookies {Gluten Free}

Let's be honest, when you find yourself in a situation where you need to make gluten free cookies, you usually don't need to make five dozen. Whether it's for you or for your poor, pitiable celiac friend.

Of course, sometimes, in the case that you are the celiac in question (which happens to be my case), there are also those desperate times when you do, in fact, need to make five dozen all for yourself, but that recipe will be for another day.

French Toast Sticks for One

It was the day after I had finally finished making my new DIY backdrops. They were finally dry and I was in the biggest suspense wondering how they would look in photos.

I got big guy down for a nap and baby girl happy in her swing and started searching the cupboards and fridge looking for some kind of inspiration for a post. Moldy green beans and rotten apples flew over my shoulders as I dug. I was getting more desperate with each passing moment. I knew the kids wouldn't sleep long. This was my only chance.

Amazing Carrot Cake Loaf with Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting

So if you have been following me on Instagram, you have seen that even though I do not possess the time/sanity to cook you new recipes to post with a 1 1/2 year old and a newborn around, I somehow found the time/sanity to create 8 new homemade photo backdrops (see here).

Well maybe not the sanity, but we'll get there hopefully (someday).

Baby Number Two!

She's finally here!!!!

This sweet little lady was born almost three weeks ago now, and not a moment too soon. In fact, several moments too late, if you ask me. She was five days overdue, as anyone within a shouting distance of me was very tired of hearing in the last few weeks there.

Really, I'm sorry for being such a complainer, but imagine carrying around this chunky 9 pound 6 ounce baby in your belly for almost a week over the due date. Yes, that's right NINE POUNDS and SIX OUNCES. I am quite proud. Especially because she broke the record as the fattest newborn of all of her many cousins, which is quite an amazing feat, considering she was the 47th.

Just look at those rolls of fat on her arms!

The Perfect Chocolate Mousse

Hello, and welcome to my first post of 2018! January may be half over, but (as usual) I have some great excuses! 

First of all, Samuel now has an official deadline to finish his thesis to get his degree (after which he will have to fly all the way back to Berlin to defend it), so he has been working on it like crazy. Since we share a computer, this means no computer for me.

Two: I am in full nesting mode for this baby who is due in LESS THAN A MOOOONTH. I find myself spending 90% of the time writing elaborate and organized lists of things to do and buy before baby is born and the rest of the time cooking and freezing meals, cleaning, scrubbing, organizing, eating pickles, etc.