creamy cajun chicken pasta

I'm bringing you another delicious recipe! This time, I found it on another blog and it looked so good, I had to try it. Remember, I'm a sucker for pasta?

This meal was a hit with the whole family (minus the wee one, as I was afraid it may be just a little too spicy for her) and was requested again by my husband. When that happens, I know its good!

I also managed to take a photo of the ingredients (go me!) So without further ado, here is what you will need:


- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- jar of julienne sun dried tomatoes
- pasta (I went with linguine, you can use any kind, really)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (I'm lazy, I used the kind in a jar)
- 4 green onions
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp basil
- shredded parmesan cheese for topping

Take your chicken breasts and cut them up into bite sized cubes. I think next time though, I will cut them into strips instead. Next, you'll toss the chicken in a ziploc bag with the cajun seasoning, shaking well to coat.



Meanwhile, melt your butter and garlic in a pan before adding the chicken. Once the chicken is added, allow it to saute until chicken is no longer pink.


While the chicken is cooking, you can chop up your green onions. I love slicing green onions. They cut so easily and do not leave that onion smell on your hands for days!


Once the chicken is cooked, add in your green onions, basil, pepper, salt and sun dried tomatoes. With the tomatoes, I drained most of the oil out of the jar. Not sure if you're supposed to, but I didn't want a really oily sauce. Oh! And do NOT do what I did and accidentally add a full teaspoon of salt instead of half. It made the dish really salty :/ After everything is added, stir it all together!


Next, you'll add in the whipping cream, stir it all up and allow it to simmer on the stove while your pasta finishes boiling.


When the sauce is warmed up and the noodles are done, its time to eat, so sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top! I served this round with garlic toast and steamed asparagus. Normally, I'd prefer a fresh salad with this type of meal, but I had a bunch of asparagus that needed used.


Bon appetit!

Scooter Spaghetti

A lot of times when I'm cooking a dinner that I just know is going to be good, I think to myself that "darn, I should have taken photos of this to blog"..especially since I am so bad with posting in here, and something..anything would make a good post!

I like to think I am pretty good with mixing it up and making new things for my family for dinner. Sure, there are the staple meals that are in rotation (you know, the no fail, easy meals that you know everyone likes?) but its always nice to make a new meal we haven't tried before. Thanks to Pinterest, I'm always finding delicious new recipes!

Since I we love spaghetti around here, I recently found a new recipe that looked yummy, and I had to try it! You can never go wrong with Italian, and I am always down for a comfort meal consisting of pasta and sauce :)

Of course, I was midway through chopping my vegetables when it hit me again that I should blog this. Since I wasn't very far into the preparation, I ran to grab my camera (go me!) so I apologize, but you won't be getting the obligatory "ingredient" photo (but I would hope, my dear few readers, that you can manage to gather your own ingredients without needing to see them ;)

What you'll need:

- 1 lb ground beef (I used that plus about 1/4 lb ground turkey I needed to use up)
- 8 oz. uncooked spaghetti noodles
- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used a 32 oz. jar..anything smaller and the meat soaks it all up)
- 8 oz. softened cream cheese
- 1/2 c. chopped green peppers
- 1/2 c. chopped onions
- 1 tbl. butter
- 2 tbl. milk
- french fried onions
- parmesan cheese (there is no amount, you decide)



Start off by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. Then, start boiling your water for your noodles, and browning your ground beef. I always add a little seasoning to the meat while its cooking (usually salt, pepper and garlic powder) Once the meat is browned, drain all the grease and set aside for now.


Your water should be boiled by now, so drop those noodles in and let 'em cook! But not too much, only till al dente. Drain those when done, also set aside.


Meanwhile, start chopping your vegetables. Next, put them in a bowl & add 1 tbl of butter. Microwave for a couple minutes or so (until they are soft)


You'll want to put the sauce in with the browned meat at this point (leave about 1/4 c. in the jar). Let it simmer on the stove while you finish up the rest of the preps. I also like to add a little "flair" to my sauce in the form of some Tastefully Simple seasoning. It's yummy..get some!


Next, you will add in your cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of milk to your bowl of peppers & onions. Mix 'em all up until its a nice, creamy mixture.


Lastly, you will begin the layering process. Start by spreading a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. And, because I am paranoid of food sticking and burning the crap out of my pans, I always spray a little Pam on the bottom first! After the sauce, you will layer the spaghetti noodles, the cream cheese mixture, followed by the meat/sauce. Next, you will sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top (this is where you can put as much or as little as you want!) Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle a (generous) layer of the french fried onions (the best part!!) and bake for about 5 more minutes, being careful not to burn them. Sadly, I did not take any photos of the cheese or onion layers :(



Next -- enjoy! I served ours with a crisp salad and some garlic bread. It was a hit! My brother in law had three helpings! Even the little one (who can be quite picky!) seemed to like it. I will definitely be making this again as its a nice twist from your regular spaghetti, and something about the creamy, cheesy center is mmm mmm good :)

a sesame street inspired 1st birthday party

Once fall time hit, I realized I should probably start thinking of ideas for themes for Audrey's first birthday party. Of course I still had a handful of months left until she turned 1, but thanks to Pinterest, I felt the pressure to plan a cute party that I would be proud of. Pinterest is both a blessing AND a curse in my book. It has SO MANY awesome ideas, that you can use..but then, you also want to make everything in your life as cute as it is on Pinterest!

Initially, I was going to go with a Ladybug theme. Ryan was pushing for something involving Valentine's Day (and he calls ME cliche), but I was against that. I also thought that I should probably make it girly, but I just wasn't impressed with any of the princess or Minnie Mouse type themes. One day while perusing Pinterest, I came across some ideas with Sesame Street that were adorable! I also really like the bright color scheme, and just went with it! Audrey does like Sesame Street and really seems to enjoy Elmo, so the theme was born!

After the holidays, I began my quest to start party prepping. I had explored some Etsy shops for decorations and as cute as they were, I was not about to spend $30+ on one birthday banner I would be using once..not happening. So, I decided to make my own. I also wanted Audrey to have a tutu to go along with her outfit (which I had a friend make) and after checking out prices of those, decided again, I'd make my own. With this party, I certainly tested my creativity limits! And I must say, I am pretty proud of how everything turned out!

I started crafting back in January because I knew it would take awhile to get everything done (with a very active baby running around its near impossible during the day!!) and I did not want to be rushed. I decided to make a birthday banner, a high chair banner and a monthly banner. I went to Joann Fabrics and purchased all of my supplies. A lot of things were on sale, so I was able to get all the supplies I needed for all of these for less than $30. This also included my supplies for the tutu. As for the invitation, I made that as well through Photoshop. It took a little time to get it just right as I'm quite rusty in PS. I use it to edit photos, but hadn't done any design work in it for quite some time. I based the design off of some ideas I found, and I think it turned out pretty cute. My only complaint was the priting quality. I probably shouldn't have taken it to a 1-hour place, but oh well. Next time, I'll go more "professional" quality. But, I paid $5 for 55 invites + envelopes. Can't beat that!


When it came to menu planning, I had all kinds of ideas in my head, but ultimately, decided to go the simple route -- pizza & salad. I figured that hey, Elmo's favorite food is pizza, so its sticking to the theme..right?! Of course I had all these grand plans to incorporate the characters names into all the food (Murray's meatballs, Bert's banana wands, etc etc) but lets face it, I simply did not have enough time. I am a stay at home mom, yes, but I also work part time five nights a week. Time is money! Plus, people like pizza and salad. I know I do! And, the birthday girl loves pizza..so, problem solved ;)


I also was going to make the cupcakes myself and order a smash cake. Of course, I found adorable character faced cupcakes that I so badly wanted to try my hand at. But then I ran into the problem with time. You obviously can't make cupcakes more than a day or two in advance and there was no way I was going to be able to bake & decorate cupcakes the day before the party because of course, I had to work that night. So, I ended up ordering them and was pleased with how they turned out. I went with Sam's Club. 30 cupcakes for $14 plus they threw in a free smash cake! Sold.

I also came across a DIY cupcake tower on Pinterest and wanted to make one. I have those little metal cupcake stands, but they just weren't as cute to me, and so I decided to make my own, which was actually quite easy. All it took was some ribbon, poster board, soup cans and some hot glue. Easy enough!


The rest of the decorations were simple. I bought some crepe paper & balloons in primary colors and added some strands here and there. I also bought the plates, napkins and utensils in primary/rainbow colors too. Loved all of the colors!! I was very happy with how everything came together.


The party was a hit. We had a great turn out and were so happy to see so many people come to celebrate our little girl's milestone day. I got a lot of compliments on my decorations and the party in general, so that made ME feel good. My Aunt even mentioned I should do party planning (HA!) but that made me smile.



And this little sugar faced sweetie had a blast, loved all the attention she got and really, thats all that mattered to me in the end :)

ONE year old!!

Our Dearest Audrey Elizabeth,

You are officially 1 year old now, baby girl! Mommy does not want to get all cliche on you, but she and daddy truly cannot believe how fast this past year has gone by. You have filled our hearts with pure joy and made them burst with love for you. Every day, you learn something new and these past 365 days have been nothing short of amazing and a true blessing, being able to watch you grow and shape into the person you will become.

Your little mind is a sponge and you love to soak up everything. You've been picking up on a lot of things lately, and it makes us laugh. It also reminds us that we need to watch what we say around you! One of the cutest things you've done lately is pretend to talk on the phone. Typically, you'll grab one of our cellphones, but anything usually works for you! You'll hold it up to your ear, cock your head and smile, while babbling! You've also learned to shake your head yes and no..we think its funny now, of course, but one day I imagine we won't find it so "cute" ;) You love to walk around WHILE shaking your head no. You are too much sometimes!!

Now that you are walking, you are all over the place! You do not like to sit still for very long as you are quite the little busy body! Mommy has found one way to keep you still for awhile -- she'll pull you up to sit on the couch and you LOVE it, of course. You get the biggest smile on your face, and you are certainly proud to be sitting up there like a big girl. You are also quite the climber, always trying to climb on things you aren't supposed to, and get into things you know you shouldn't be in.

You are so very curious and yes, very nosey! You like to know whats going on at all times. If Mommy walks away for a second and you hear the bathroom door open, you coming running down the hall to see what she's doing! If we are out shopping or out to eat, you will sit and stare at everyone. Many times, you will wave to strangers and smile, maybe even yell a little to get their attention!

You have a large corner of our living room filled with all sorts of fun, new toys but of course, you prefer anything else, usually something you are not supposed to have! You really love any kind of toy with a little ball that you can carry around. You really seem to enjoy your dolls too, and like to carry them around. You also like any toys that make noise, or things you can take in and pull out, such as a shape sorter. You are such a smart cookie, you always figure out how things work!

You are such a loving and sweet little girl. You can be running around the room playing, and the next minute you are running into our arms for a quick cuddle. Those are Mommy's favorite times, because she knows they are not forever. You will not always be this little, so we are soaking up every moment with you, sweet angel. You also give kisses, which is nothing short of precious. Some days, you are a little stingier with your kisses, which makes us laugh. Other days, you are giving them out like candy! Those are the best days :)

At your 12-month check up you weighed 23 lbs 1 oz and were 29.5". Right on track and growing beautifully, baby! You are still in 12m clothing, but can wear some 18m (with plenty of room to grow). You can still wear a size 3 diaper, but we have transitioned to you size 4's. You got your very first pair of "real" shoes when you became an official walker, and at 1 year your shoe size is 4 wide (that wide part? you inherited that from your old man, so you can thank him!)

Your sleeping patterns have been the same for several months now, which is amazing. You still sleep anywhere from 10-12 hours at night and since January, you've been taking 2 hour naps -- IN YOUR CRIB!! You probably would have done this even sooner had Mommy tried..but she didn't, so thats her fault not yours ;) At night, you even "ask" to go to bed. We can tell you are ready when you start coming to us and laying or leaning against us. We take that as your cue that you are tired. We lay you down in your crib, and off you go! You make our lives so easy, sweet pea! Just a few days ago you decided you don't want any milk before bed either, and you'll go to sleep without having to be rocked. Its sad for Mommy, because she knows you are not a baby anymore, and every day bring you closer to being a little girl :(

You are a funny eater. Some days, you have a great appetite and others, you eat like a bird. You LOVE fruit, and have not tried a fruit yet that you do not like! Your favorites are definitely mandarin oranges, pears and most recently, grapes! You also love yogurt and sometimes, can't get enough. You are learning how to eat with a spoon and you are doing pretty well with it! Most of the food ends up in your mouth ;) Some days you decide to be picky with your food. You have to taste everything first. If you decide you don't like it, you spit it right back out, silly girl. You also really enjoy snacks like graham crackers, cheese puffs and cheerios. You know what "eat" means and when we ask you if you want to eat, you walk over with your arms stretched up so we can bring you downstairs. Other times if your empty cup is nearby, you'll hand it to us when you are hungry. Its so cute!

This past year has been nothing but wonderful. You fill our lives with so much of everything that is good! We have loved every single minute we've been blessed with you, and look forward to continue watching you grow and learn and become the person you are mean't to be. Mommy and Daddy love you SO MUCH more than you'll ever know, our sweet little princess.

Happy 1st Birthday, Audrey Elizabeth!!

Love Always,

Mommy