Prep Ahead

March 27, 2017

Easy Oven Fajitas + Fajita Bowls

laura.smoak@gmail.com Chicken, Prep Ahead, Quick and Easy Mains, Veggies 4 Comments

Stepping off of the freezer meals this week, and bringing you one of our favorite slash easiest slash cheapest weeknight dinners turned workday lunches ever. I’m talking about oven fajitas. With tons of veggies and lean protein, what we have here is one weeknight dinner of fajitas with all the fixins and two days of fajita bowl lunches ready to go with minimal work.

You’ve seen oven fajitas on Pinterest for a while now, and I can’t really claim these to be very far off except maybe the addition of mushrooms? And taking them a step further by throwing in the whole meal prep thing?

I first need to discuss the ease of the whole oven fajita sitch. I generally plan to have these on a Monday night, so we get dinner Monday and lunches on Tuesday and Wednesday out of the way, and I generally prep it on Sunday. While I’m already in a veggie chopping groove after making our weekly veggie bags, I just finish up with the veggies for these oven fajitas. If you really don’t like veggie prep, you can buy most of these pre-chopped. I’m just so used to chopping things that it doesn’t take me more than 5-10 minutes, but if you need to save a little time then the prepared veggies are the way to go. Once I have everything ready, I just leave them covered in the baking dish for the next day. When I’m ready to cook the oven fajitas, I add the chicken, olive oil and seasoning. (Also – helpful hint – have the meat guy at your grocery store cut the chicken breast for you to save extra time and mess.)

While we generally just do standard fajitas for night one – chicken, veggies, tortillas, cheese, sour cream, salsa, avocado – I prepare other ingredients for the fajita bowls that we’ll have for lunch. While the oven fajitas are cooking, I make white rice (any rice works, but my rice cooker is a one-trick pony) and beans and corn for the fajita bowls. The beans and corn are just cooked with a little of the same taco seasoning as the oven fajitas, and really just need to be heated up to cook out the powderiness (word?) of the seasoning.

As written this recipe makes a ton, but that is because I want to get those three meals out of it. The fajita bowls look like a lot of food – and they are – but it’s mostly veggies and protein, so the calorie count is still in the 400-500 range (including a serving of shredded cheddar and sour cream). You can change up the amount of veggies and chicken used to cut down on the number of servings, but when you can get so many easy meals out of it, why in the world would you?

Oven Fajitas

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts – cut into strips (get your meat counter guy to do this)
3-4 bell peppers – cut into strips (I use 2 green and 1-2 red depending on what I have on hand)
1 large or 2 small yellow onions – sliced
1 lb white mushrooms – sliced
1 tbsp olive oil (plus more to drizzle over chicken)
1 tbsp taco seasoning (plus more to drizzle over chicken)
For fajitas: tortillas, optional toppings (avocado, salsa, shredded cheese, sour cream)
For fajita bowls:
Cooked rice
One can EACH beans and corn
A little taco seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice all veggies and combine in a baking dish. Add the olive oil and taco seasoning, and mix well.
Place the chicken strips on top of the veggies. Drizzle with another 1-2 tsp oil and taco seasoning, and rub over to make sure each piece is covered.
Bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes, or until chicken is done.
To make fajitas: serve chicken and veggies with tortillas and toppings of choice.
To make fajita bowls:
- While oven fajitas are cooking, prepare the rice.
- Rinse and drain the black beans and corn, then cook in a skillet over medium heat with about 2 tsp taco seasoning. I just cook them long enough to let the water from rinsing cook off.
- Assemble the bowls – place rice in the bottom, top with bean/corn mixture and then the oven fajitas mixture. Add any additional toppings as preferred.
Enjoy!

March 13, 2017

Freezer Quesadillas

laura.smoak@gmail.com Chicken, Freezer Friendly, Prep Ahead, Quick and Easy Mains 2 Comments

The lack of organized photos in this post is a good indication of life right now: busy. We have six weekends between now and when baby Pea #2 is due, and four of those are booked. I’m trying to stay on top of posting, but heads up there will be some weeks I won’t have a post. Please bear with me!

If you’re my husband, mom, dad or sister, then I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, so no need to continue reading. If you’ve been reading this blog for the last few weeks, I may be getting there for you, but today we’re back on the meal-prepping-for-baby train. If I’m being completely transparent, these posts are almost more for me than for you. If we decide to go for #3 down the road, I want to be able to look back at how I prepared for #2.

Anyone that’s done the new baby thing will probably be able to relate, if not let me paint you a picture…

You have a newborn, and your husband has gone back to work, so it’s just you and bebe. Bebe insists on being held during waking hours unless you’re good with constant (ummm, LOUD) crying <– not an exaggeration. The clock strikes three in the afternoon and you suddenly realize you haven’t eaten a single thing all day. Leftovers from last night’s dinner are tonight’s dinner (and it would also require you to put the baby down – see above), so you reach for a tortilla and shredded cheese and nuke it for 30 seconds. It’s one of the few things you’ve found that only take one hand to both prepare and eat. You know you need more, but you’re just too wiped out to make it happen.

Enter these pre-made freezer quesadillas. Stuffed with protein-y chicken and black beans, and ready to eat (one-handed for the love) straight from the freezer in less than three minutes.

Now, I know these aren’t exactly healthy, and my goal is to keep up with the veggie prep once baby Pea #2 arrives, but for me the first several weeks are all about survival. Last time I was totally unprepared for a baby that constantly needed holding. I mean, any moms that have babies that can happily lay in a floor gym or swing for any amount of time should take a moment right now to send up praise hands because having a baby that will not do that makes it that much more physically/mentally/emotionally hard. I loved my time at home with Anna Ruth, but I was just a mess, and I largely attribute that to trying to establish a milk supply while not keeping myself nourished. Sure the hormones played a part, but the physical parts of breastfeeding and not eating had the bigger impact. Knowing what I do now it won’t matter if #2 is also a stage-five clinger. Having simple things like freezer quesadillas ready to go will mean I can better take care of myself before hitting that wall of physical exhaustion in the afternoons from forgetting to eat.

As you can tell by the pictures, I had two little helpers making these freezer quesadillas over the weekend. Anna Ruth and Abigail love helping in the kitchen, so I promote that any chance I can. These quesadillas are perfect for little helpers. There are no exact measurements, so you really just have to supervise to make sure they’re not using too much or too little of any one ingredient.

The recipe here doesn’t include exact measurements because it is all to taste and preference. I used a chicken that I roasted earlier in the day, and large tortillas. You can easily use shredded rotisserie chicken, different cheese and beans and any size tortilla you prefer. This particular batch was one chicken, 2.5 bags of shredded cheese and one can of beans. We made 16 quesadillas, but ran out of black beans after about 12.

Freezer Quesadillas

Ingredients:

1 roasted chicken – shredded (rotisserie chicken works as well)
Shredded cheddar (or other cheese of choice)
Canned black beans – drained and rinsed
Tortillas – any size

Directions:

Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
Prepare tortillas with desired amount of chicken, cheese and black beans.
If freezing*: heat quesadillas on each side just until the cheese melts.
Allow the quesadillas to cool completely, then wrap individually in plastic wrap and then place into a zippered freezer bag.
To reheat
- In the microwave: remove plastic wrap, wrap in a paper towel and heat for 1.5-2 minutes.
- In the oven: remove plastic wrap, wrap in foil and cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.
- On the stovetop: allow to thaw completely in the fridge, then heat in a skillet as you normally would.
Enjoy!

*If eating right away, simply cook as you normally would and serve hot.

December 21, 2016

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing

laura.smoak@gmail.com Prep Ahead, Sides 2 Comments

Quick post today – mainly because there’s not a lot to say about this easy sausage and mushroom stuffing …and also (if we’re being honest with ourselves) because stuffing just isn’t that exciting to photograph. If you’re a traditionalist, carry on. But if you’re open to the possibility that stuffing doesn’t have to be dry with little flavor then stick around.

We’re on the home stretch before Christmas. There were moments I thought we’d never make it, but here we are. We’ve had an exceptionally busy season, but I wouldn’t trade one second of it.

This past weekend we wrapped up the hosted events in our house with a birthday party for Jesus. We got together with a few friends (you may remember them from our Memorial Day Weekend beach trip with the best fish tacos or from the Christmas in July party with chocolate chip peanut butter cups), and had just what it sounds like: a birthday party for Jesus. We had pizza and birthday cake, and the kids sang happy birthday to Jesus. It was such a sweet time with these friends that we’ve come to love so much. We’ve gone from three to five kids with another on the way, and it is so fun to see their friendships developing. And since I’m not bombarding you with too many pictures of sausage and mushroom stuffing, here is one of these sweet kiddos blowing out the candles on the birthday cake for Jesus.

Now back to business. I’m wrapping up my self-dubbed “Christmas Series” with an unconventional dish: sausage and mushroom stuffing.

What is your family like? Are you traditionalists that want everything exactly as it’s always been, or are you open to updates on old favorites? Please be the latter. I’m sure if I thought long enough on it, I could probably come up with a dish that I just can’t condone making any way other than the way it’s always been. Stuffing is not one of those dishes. There are gobs of stuffing recipes that go away from the norm – some of which I’m sure include mushrooms and sausage – but few of them contain six ingredients or less.

You heard me.

Six. Ingredients.

This is another great prep-ahead recipe that can be assembled the day before, then cooked before the meal. Simply wait to add the broth until you’re ready to cook.

Whether you plan to make this sausage and mushroom stuffing, Aunt Peggy’s cranberry apple casserole or bring a stunning cake stand of treats, I hope you all have the merriest Christmas.

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 package herb seasoned classic stuffing (I use Pepperidge Farm – 14 oz)
1 shallot – minced
2 stalks celery – minced
1 lb mushrooms – chopped
1 lb mild Italian sausage
4 cups chicken broth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet cook the sausage, making sure to crumble as it cooks. Remove the sausage to a paper towel lined bowl and set aside (leaving the fat in the pan).
To the pan, add the shallot, celery and mushrooms and cook until softened – about 7-10 minutes.
Combine the cooked sausage, veggies and stuffing in a large bowl and stir to combine.
Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and set aside until ready to cook.
When ready to cook, pour the chicken broth evenly over the stuffing mix.
Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking an additional 10-15 minutes, or until browned on top.
Enjoy!

December 14, 2016

How to Host a Holiday Cookie Party and Red Velvet Oreos

laura.smoak@gmail.com Life, Prep Ahead, Sweets 5 Comments

I can’t believe we’re less than two weeks away from Christmas – how did that happen?? Today is sort of a two-part post: we’re talking about hosting a cookie party and being holiday ready with a stunner of a cake plate display (including the best ever red velvet oreos).

First off, I went a little crazy this year and decided it would be a good idea to invite Anna Ruth’s entire play school class (plus siblings) over for a cookie party. I roped in my friends Kristy and Ginny to help me, and we lived to tell about it. We had 18 kids in our living room with icing and sprinkles, and my hardwoods somehow managed to survive (praise hands!).

You guys, this party was a hit. We had easy snacks and cookies for decorating – we even had a bounce house for playing outside. I just pre-made the cookies, and we had sprinkles and icing set out down the length of the kid’s tables.

I know I’m going on and on about it, but I was just so surprised by how easy this party (and clean-up) was to pull-off. If you ever find yourself in this boat, just make it easy on yourself and plan on covering the floor with painters paper, use disposable tablecloths and all disposable containers for the icing and sprinkles. We literally just dumped everything in the trash and had minimal vacuuming afterwards.

As mentioned, we just had easy party food: cheese and crackers, berries, veggies and hummus, bagel bites and my Christmas treat cake stand display. Let’s talk about having a Christmas treat cake stand display for a minute. This has become one of my favorite things to do for the holidays.

Generally speaking we don’t have a lot of sweets in our house. We’re not anti-sweets, we just don’t usually go for them. However, during the holidays I feel like they are a must. A week or so after Thanksgiving I’ll make my Christmas treats for my yearly display, and they’ll last through Christmas.

The truth of it is that we don’t even really eat the treats that much, but the whole point of it is to be guest ready with little to no warning. Something about having a knock-out sweets display just makes me feel a little more in control and like maybe I actually CAN EVEN during an otherwise hectic time of year. It says to your drop-in visitors, “it’s no intrusion – I’m ready for you – have a treat.” Plus it just looks pretty sitting on your kitchen counter.

I usually change it up a bit, but this year I went with five of my favorites: red velvet oreos (recipe below), homemade peanut butter patties, Oreo truffles, rice krispie treats and chocolate chip peanut butter cups. It seems like a lot, and I generally only do four things, but with the bigger party this year I decided to go for all five. My mom came over after work one night, and we knocked out all of these in around two hours.

You may remember the chocolate chip peanut butter cups, and you can find the Oreo truffles recipe here (but I dip mine in white chocolate). For the peanut butter patties, simply spread a little bit of peanut butter between two butter crackers, freeze for 10-15 minutes and then dip in melted milk chocolate. You can either make traditional rice krispie treats, or you can be like me and buy the giant rice krispie treat from Target that they sell during the holidays. This thing is so great because they’re so good, and ready to just cut and go.

The recipe for the red velvet oreos comes from one of my life long besties, Danielle. She’s been making these for as long as I can remember, and she generally does them with devil’s food cake mix. Since it’s Christmas, though, I went with red velvet to make them festive. No matter what the occasion, these cake-based cookies are perfect.

Red Velvet Oreos

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix
1 stick unsalted butter – melted
1 egg – slightly beaten
1 tub cream cheese frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine the first three ingredients until well mixed.
Form into 1-inch balls* and gently flatten onto the cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for one minute before removing to cool completely.
Once completely cooled, use the frosting to create cookies.
Enjoy!

* I generally make them a little larger, but this is how she gave me the recipe.

December 7, 2016

Christmas Breakfast

laura.smoak@gmail.com Breakfast, Prep Ahead 1 Comment

It’s week two of my four-part Christmas series, and today we’re talking about one of my very favorite parts of Christmas: Christmas morning and Christmas Breakfast.

Growing up, Christmas morning was one of the most special times with my family. It was always the four of us, and we would have a lazy time of opening gifts and then have a special breakfast. Now that Andy and I have our own family, we’ve continued the tradition. The holidays are so full of parties and other obligations, and – while very fun – there’s just not much time for it to just be us. That’s not the case for Christmas morning. Andy and I decided before kids that Christmas morning would always be a time for our family to just be together.

The last two years were great, but Anna Ruth is really starting to get it now, and the joy and wonder you can just tell are going through her heart and mind are incredible to witness. Every house we pass that is decorated, she lets out a squeal of excitement – “Christmas lights!!” Every present I wrap – “is this for me??” (No, sweet girl, it’s not.) Randomly singing “Happy Birthday to Jesus” because they’ve been practicing at play school. All of these little things leading her up to the big day. We’re even getting together with friends in a couple of weeks for a birthday party for Jesus (stole that idea from my sister, and I am probably more pumped for that than anything else we have planned). She’s loving this time of year and we haven’t opened a single present yet.

I admit I need to check myself with all of the Christmas hoopla we’ve got going on, and make sure to keep our focus on the birth of Jesus. It is just so hard to find that balance, though, when your child shows so much joy in the festivities of the season – lights, parties, treats, gifts. I want her to love this time of year, and the meaning behind it for our faith. Any traditions you do with your kids to give them a sense of wonder during this time that keeps the focus on Jesus? Please share!

In the meantime, I’ve got your Christmas breakfast covered. This is an overnight casserole that is almost like a savory overnight French toast. The thing I love most about this is that it goes straight from your refrigerator into the oven. Most breakfast casseroles I see have you pull it out of the refrigerator an hour before baking for an additional hour <– ummmmm, who in the world wakes up two hours before they’re going to eat breakfast?? Not us.

Guys, this is easy peasy to put together the night before, and is perfect for Christmas morning…get the casserole in the oven -> open gifts -> eat breakfast. You can easily cut this in half, but then you will be missing out on leftovers for days, and that would make us very sad.

I hope you are all enjoying this season, and taking time to find joy in the little things. Thanks to this little overnight wonder, Christmas breakfast is covered, giving you one less thing to have to plan – you’re welcome 😉

Ingredients:

1 lb breakfast sausage
10 slices white bread – torn
8 eggs
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
3 c milk
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt

Directions:

Cook the sausage and set aside to drain off excess fat.
In a greased baking dish, combine the torn bread pieces and cheddar cheese. Mix to evenly combine.
Sprinkle the sausage over the top in a single layer.
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the bread/cheese/sausage.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, remove the cover and place in the oven BEFORE preheating. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees, and bake uncovered for one hour or until completely set.
Enjoy!

November 30, 2016

Aunt Peggy’s Cranberry Apple Casserole

laura.smoak@gmail.com Breakfast, Prep Ahead, Sides, Sweets 4 Comments

With Thanksgiving behind us, the Christmas season is in full swing in our house. Today I’m starting a four-part Christmas series, and I hope you’ll join us as we work our way through some of my favorite recipes for this time of year. Up first is my Great Aunt Peggy’s Cranberry Apple Casserole.

First, let me introduce you to my Aunt Peggy. Aunt Peggy was my mom’s aunt (grandmother’s sister), and she lived in small-town North Carolina about 45 minutes from our house. When my grandmother passed away my freshman year of high school, Peggy became like a surrogate grandmother. The bond wasn’t quite the same because there’s just no replacing Mima, but having her made the loss more bearable. We didn’t see her as much as my grandmother, but we always made a special trip to visit with her on Christmas Eve. Peggy also passed away about five years ago, and I miss those trips and visits.

Fast forward to today. I was reading through an old church cookbook Peggy gave to my mom years ago, and came across this recipe. I remember the first Christmas Eve I went to her house when she was making it. I was in high school, and she had the apple/cranberry/sugar mixture in the casserole dish and was finishing up with the topping. We (my mom, sister and I) immediately got her recipe and made it for several years after. For no real reason we just stopped making it, I guess because we would have other recipes to try out. Once I came back across her recipe, I knew I wanted to bring it to the blog to share with all of you.

You know the church cookbooks I’m talking about. The ladies of the church submit their recipes and it’s all compiled into a little bound book. The recipes involve lots of margarine, canned soup, sugar and any other processed food you know isn’t good for you, but it’s grandma’s recipe so OF COURSE I’M EATING IT. You may not know this about me (though I’m sure it won’t be a surprise), but I love reading cookbooks for fun. Like cover to cover. I’ve never actually read through a church cookbook like this, so when I saw it out on my mom’s counter I decided to check it out. Mainly because I wanted a laugh at how absurd some old recipes can be.

Back to the cranberry apple casserole. Guys, I have to admit. It’s a stretch to call this a casserole. I would categorize it under a crisp or somewhere else in the dessert category, but Peggy called it a casserole, so that makes it a side dish mmmmkay? The reality here, though, is that this is perfect as dessert with whipped cream or ice cream on top, but it also makes for a really really good breakfast…not that I’ve done that, but – ya know – I’m just thinking it could…okay, fiiine, I make this with hopes that I have leftovers for days, so I can have this for breakfast. Apples, cranberries and oatmeal make it a 100% justifiable morning meal.

This cranberry apple casserole is perfect for your Christmas table. In my not-so-surprising fashion, I’m going to list the reasons why:

I mean LOOK AT HER. She’s gorgeous, and that red is perfect for the season.
This can be made a day in advance and just reheated before serving.
It can be served hot or room temp. If you have a bunch of dishes to make for the big day, do this first. Once it’s done you can just leave it until mealtime.
It’s reallllllly good with vanilla ice cream on top.
^^that is worth mentioning again.
The leftovers last for days.

There you have it. I hope you’ll add this into your Christmas menu along with any other recipes that make you nostalgic for the past. Here is Peggy’s recipe as written. If you want to double the topping, I won’t be mad about it.

Cranberry Apple Casserole

Ingredients:

2 large (or 3-4 small/medium) sweet apples* – unpeeled and chopped
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 ¼ c sugar
1 stick butter – melted
½ c chopped pecans
½ c brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
¾ c quick-cooking oatmeal
1/3 c flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Mix the chopped apples, cranberries and sugar and pour into a 9×13 baking dish.
Combine the melted butter, chopped pecans, brown sugar, oatmeal and flour, and spread evenly over the cranberry apple mixture.
Cook uncovered in the oven for one hour, or until the apples are soft and the mixture is bubbly.
Enjoy!

*I generally use Fuji, Honeycrisp or Gala apples

October 19, 2016

Fair Fun and Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sausage

laura.smoak@gmail.com Life, Pasta, Prep Ahead 0 Comments

Let’s call today Wacky Wednesday, shall we? I have no tie-in between the two things I’m talking about today other than the fact that they’re both basic Fall things and that when we came home from the fair we had leftover butternut squash lasagna with sausage waiting in the fridge. That works right?

This past weekend we went to Raleigh to hang out with my sister’s family and go to the fair. I’ve blogged about it before, but anytime we get together with cousins it’s a great time. Throw in rides and fair food, and you’ve got one happy Anna Ruth. Corn dogs, hot dogs, obnoxious square ice cream cones, funnel cake, blooming onion and (the best ever) bagguetaboutit <– srsly, guys, this food truck makes me want to move to Raleigh. We ate things we never eat, and didn’t feel bad even for a second. The kids were troopers and had a ball, and I’m pretty sure we need to make this an annual thing. Here are just a few pictures, but just know I am crying over not taking food pictures because it was so wrong and so right and I wish I had a visual to get me through the next 364 days until we go back. (I’m mainly sharing these pictures so I can have it documented for myself, but enjoy! If you’re just here for the recipe – no prob, bob – just scroll on past.)

Okay, since I’ve already established I have no tie-in, let’s just jump right on into the butternut squash lasagna with sausage sitch. You guys, this lasagna is so basic and so Fall I just can’t help but do and wear all the Fall things. The day we made this, I just happened to buy five thousand pumpkins and mums (while sipping on my PSL, obv), and rocked my favorite boots and scarf JUST BECAUSE this lasagna got me in that kind of mood. It’s so basic and so Fall and everything I need in my life on a cool Saturday made for football watching and lazy cooking.

This is far from a traditional lasagna (read: butternut squash), but the effort and assembly are about the same. You need a little time for this one, which makes it perfect for a weekend meal. (Bonus: leftovers are a’plenty, and – voila – lunches are ready for the week.)

You may remember my love for butternut squash runs deep (read about it here, here and here). It’s just so good and so versatile. Roast it with a little olive oil, Italian seasoning and S&P and it can be used for so many different things. It is also incredibly good with Italian sausage. Fact: I started out making a meatless lasagna, but Italian sausage raised its hand and I just couldn’t say no. You’re welcome.

Ingredients:

2 lbs mild Italian sausage
2 lbs butternut squash – chopped (I buy the pre-chopped container at the store)
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt/pepper/Italian Seasoning – to taste
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 tsp sage
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
12 whole grain lasagna noodles
White Sauce:
-3 tbsp butter
-¼ c flour
-2 ½ c milk
-½ c shredded parmesan cheese
1 c shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butternut squash and olive oil on a baking sheet and season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Cook for 45-60 minutes, or until soft.
Prepare the sausage: Cook the sausage over medium heat until done, making sure to crumble it as it cooks. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towels and set aside.
Prepare the noodles: Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse with water to keep from sticking, and set aside.
Prepare the filling: Put the cooked butternut squash into a food processor (or blender), and add ricotta, sage, salt and eggs. Pulse until the ingredients are well combined, and then puree until smooth.
Prepare the white sauce: in a small sauce pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually stir in the milk, and continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture comes just to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan until it is melted.
Assemble the lasagna: spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

Spoon about 1/4-1/2 cup of the white sauce in the bottom of the dish
Spread four lasagna noodles over the bottom of the dish
Spread 1/3 of the butternut squash mixture over the noodles
Spread 1/3 of the sausage over the mixture
Spread a little of the white sauce over the sausage
Repeat: 4 noodles, 1/3 butternut squash mixture, 1/3 sausage, a little white sauce
Repeat again: 4 noodles, remaining butternut squash, remaining sausage, remaining white sauce
Top with shredded mozzarella

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and turn on the broiler just until the cheese is totally melted and starting to brown.
Enjoy!

Notes: I would definitely go with the mild Italian sausage here. Hot would overpower the other ingredients. Also, regular lasagna noodles will work, but the whole grain gives it a slight nutty flavor that pairs really well with the butternut squash.

October 12, 2016

Saturday Brunch Surprise

laura.smoak@gmail.com Breakfast, Prep Ahead 0 Comments

Happy Wednesday, folks! Today we’re talking about one of my favorite things: Saturday Brunch.

First off, let’s get right to the elephant in the room: that *obnoxious* name. The truth is I really don’t know what to call this dish. The inspiration came from Andy. When he was in college he worked at a little coffee shop that would make something similar to this whenever they had leftover hardboiled eggs. The owner of the coffee shop had a different name, but my mama raised me to not be crude, so Saturday Brunch Surprise it is! (Also, I’m open to any name suggestions you think would be more fitting, please and thank you.)

Now that that’s out of the way, back to business…Fall Saturdays (and really any Saturday if we’re being totally honest with ourselves) are made for a good brunch. Wake up, put on your warm slippers because Fall temps are starting to settle in, pour yourself a cup of coffee and have a leisurely morning topped off with a delicious meal. Have your people over or don’t – you, bae and the kid(s) can enjoy brunch before getting on with whatever Fall activity you have planned that day, and it’ll tide you over into the football-watching-snack-eating afternoon.

We enjoyed this particular brunch a few weeks ago with my family on the morning of my birthday, and everyone loved it. The “surprise” can be made ahead, so there is very little work involved the morning of. The gist here is you have a mixture of egg, bacon and cheese served over a bread of choice. Think of this as sort of a breakfast egg salad (surprise!), but with way way less mayo than would go into an actual egg salad. Side note: the bread of choice obv needs to be a halved biscuit, but I won’t judge you for using English muffins or plain toast. As written the recipe makes quite a lot, but it is easily halved. Whatever plans you have this weekend, make sure to include these. You seriously won’t regret it.

Ingredients:

12 hardboiled eggs – peeled and chopped
1 lb bacon – cooked and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Bread of choice*
Sliced cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Gently mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
Spoon the mixture onto the bread* and top with sliced cheese (if using).
Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

* We buy the biscuits with pull apart layers, bake according to package directions, then split in half and put the filling on the halves.

** These make great leftovers. Even if you’re planning to eat on these for days, go ahead and bake them with the cheese on, then just refrigerate until you’re ready to eat and then microwave for about 30 seconds.

October 5, 2016

Bacon Sweet Potato Kale Frittata

laura.smoak@gmail.com One Pot Dishes, Prep Ahead, Quick and Easy Mains, Veggies 2 Comments

Frittata: a dish that sounds fancy and complicated, but really comes together in minutes and makes you feel like a domestic goddess because you just made a frittata. This frittata is even better because two of the three main ingredients are make ahead, and the third just needs to be washed and chopped.

Seriously, guys, if you’ve never made a frittata before, please let me enlighten you. A frittata basically consists of eggs, optional meat, optional veggies and optional cheese. Think of it as a “clean out the fridge” dish resembling a crustless quiche. If you have 15 minutes, you can make a frittata. Any veggies you have that need to be used up are fair game. I have yet to find a combination that doesn’t work.

This frittata, however, came about from leftovers I already had in my fridge. Last week I talked about how roasted sweet potatoes have joined my list of veggies I like to prep ahead on the weekend, so there’s that. We also had some leftover bacon – Andy decided he should just finish cooking the rest of the package one Saturday morning, and HELLO we do not need to eat 12 pieces of bacon for breakfast, so I made sure we saved half.

Parents, listen up. A major bonus here is that I can get Anna Ruth to eat a ton of veggies she wouldn’t normally eat were they not baked into eggs. She loves frittatas, and clears her plate every time. Girlfriend will not touch kale otherwise. Have a picky eater? Try this and see if they take the bait.

The number one thing you need here is a skillet that can go from the stove top to the oven (I use my cast iron skillet). You start with the veggies/meat in the pan, add the eggs, let set and then finish in the oven – easy peasy!

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato – cubed and roasted (see last week’s post)
6 slices bacon – cooked and chopped
6 stalks kale – torn into small pieces
2 tbsp bacon grease or olive oil
8 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat bacon grease (or olive oil) over medium heat. Add kale and sauté until slightly wilted.
Add bacon and sweet potato, and make sure everything is evenly dispersed.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk and season with a little salt and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture over the bacon/sweet potato/kale mixture, and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the eggs start to set.
Top with the mozzarella and put into the oven. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the eggs are completely set and the cheese is melted.

September 28, 2016

Fallish Salad

laura.smoak@gmail.com Chicken, Prep Ahead, Salads 1 Comment

Well hello there beautiful, glorious Fall. I’ve been waiting about nine months for you to come back around. Today we’re transitioning from summer with a Fallish salad. We’re taking the base salad we’ve eaten basically every day all summer and adding a little coziness to it because what is this life if everything in Fall isn’t cozy?

Let’s break this Fallish salad down, shall we…

Really this isn’t so much of a strict recipe, but more of a guide for building your Fallish salad. The beauty of salads is that you can load as much of a particular topping as you prefer. (I know some of you like exact amounts, so the recipe below has the portions we generally go with.) We start with grilled chicken breast because every salad we’re calling a meal needs a protein. Grill with just a little salt and pepper, and you’re good to go. Next we have the roasted sweet potatoes. They add just a hint of savory sweetness, and (oh, hello!) bright orange yummmm to your salad. Then we have the brown rice and quinoa. Guys, just trust me here, grains on salad = good. These three things are the only “requirements” for this Fallish salad, but I added cherry tomatoes (from our garden, thankyouverymuch) and sliced avocado for good measure. Top with a little balsamic vinaigrette (hint: the Good Seasons spice pack made with balsamic vinegar and olive oil is muah muah muah), and you’re done.

I love this salad because you can prepare the chicken and sweet potatoes the day of or several days ahead because – ta da – this Fallish salad is good hot or cold. Also, the whole “brown rice and quinoa” situation sounds fancy, but it’s really just these awesome, organic, ready-to-go-in-90-seconds pouches that you can buy at your local Costco. We go through so many boxes of these a year because who has time to make their own quinoa and brown rice with garlic? As. If. (Feel free to use whatever grains you have on hand, though. I just prefer the convenience of the magic pouches.)

Fall: the season where Laura gets back on her prep all the things train. Don’t get me wrong. There’s a solid place in my heart for summer, but getting back into this groove just makes me feel like myself again. Sure, I’m myself all summer, but just a lazier, unprepared version, and that is just so unsettling for this type-A planner.

As detailed above, this Fallish salad uses two of my current favorite prepped foods – grilled chicken breast and roasted sweet potatoes. You may remember how I like to roast cauliflower and butternut squash on Sunday’s. We took a break from that over the summer, but now I’m into the same thing, and sweet potatoes have joined the mix. Sweet potatoes just scream Fall to me. And have you ever tried them on a salad? So good.

My latest food prep obsession, however, is chicken breasts. This is probably a duh thing for most of you, but I hope I’m not the last one to figure this out. Over the summer we got into the habit of grilling 3-4 chicken breasts on Sunday evenings, and using them throughout the week for at least two dinners and two lunches. During the season where my cooking interest involved going into my garden, plucking a few tomatoes and cucumbers off the plant and putting them on a bed of lettuce, having grilled chicken at the ready was a life saver. My goal was to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, and having extra chicken ready for the week was key. So why not continue that into Fall? I certainly can’t think of a good reason not to. Now, instead of using all of the chicken for salads, we make other hot things with the chicken that is already prepared – think burrito bowls, quesadillas, chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, etc. The skies really limit on this one.

So there you have it. Grilled chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, brown rice and quinoa on a bed of lettuce. I hope you’re as excited as I am about all of the delicious Fallishness coming your way from Miss Foodie Two Shoes!

Ingredients:

Boneless/skinless chicken breast (about 1/4-1/3 lb per person)
Sweet potatoes (about 1-1.5 for every two salads)
Grains (I use this pouch of brown rice and quinoa)
Salad greens (Spring Mix, spinach or arugula work best)
Optional: avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, any other salad topping you like
Dressing of choice

Directions:

Grill the chicken breast(s) with a little salt and pepper until the juices run clear.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes, spray with olive oil spray (or mix with ½-1 tbsp olive oil if you don’t have spray), and season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning (Rosemary also works here by itself). Roast in the oven for one hour, stirring half way through.
Prepare the grains you are using according to package directions.
Prepare any other toppings you wish to use.
Assembly: add the chicken, sweet potatoes, grains and any other toppings to a bed of salad greens. Top with dressing of choice and enjoy!

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