Guiltless Buffalo Chicken Salad

I shared this a while back on my Instagram and Facebook account (which you can access from the right column here --->), but I'm just now getting around to posting it on here.  I'm so sorry for the wait!  This salad was so good and very healthy.  And, as the title describes, totally guiltless! My friend Kristy shared the recipe w/ me last October, and I finally got around to making it.  Definitely wouldn't regret making it if you're a salad lover, especially if you like a little kick (ya know from the hot sauce). Go ahead, try it, let me know what ya think.  What's your favorite salad?

Doesn't it look beautiful! I love a good loaded salad! YUM!

Jim 'N Nick's Copycat Cheesy Biscuits

Who else from the South loves Jim 'N Nick's as much as I do?  Or should I say as much as my husband does?  My first time eating there was about 1 1/2 years ago and I finally took my hubby about 6 months ago.  He got so mad at me b/c I had never taken him there before then.  My excuse was that I had never been before and that was his 1st time visiting my family in TN for that long.  Understand?  Anyways...he has never been able to eat any of Utah's bbq since then.  Jim 'N Nick's Brisket was just so good, that he cant settle for anything less.  But, not only is their bbq great, their cheesy biscuits...well...I just can't get enough of.  So, I found this recipe on Pinterest and had to try it out, actually I made it for Father's Day, and we all loved it!  Oh and a bonus was of course, it was so simple to make!

Sauteed Basil and Grape Tomato Spaghetti

If you're looking for a fresh tasting, light weight meal, this is the recipe for you.  It's a very quick recipe and great for hot summer days.  It's great as a side or as the main dish.  I actually made it as a pasta salad for a baby shower I went to, it worked out perfect. Go ahead and try it out, let me know what you think.

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls

First of all, Happy Mother's Day!!!  I hope all of your hubby's and children spoil you like crazy.

Remember way back in February when I shared w/ you what I made for Valentine's Day?  And I promised you a recipe for these yummy Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls?  Well, I'm finally getting around to sharing it w/ you!  They were very yummy, and very easy to make!  Below is a picture of the meal, just to give you a reminder :)

Oh fyi, the coins are a part of my serving platter.  I did not place a bunch of random coins next to the rolls.

Bruschetta

My husband has always loved Bruchetta, and honestly I have never really liked tomatoes.  But, the past little while I have tried to be more open to them, and you know what?  I decided I love bruchetta!  As long as it's not just a plain tomato, and it's mixed w/ other yummy things, like basil, then it's delisious!  So, I found this Recipe, and decided to try it, along w/ a few changes to fit my needs and wants.  So here ya go, so easy and quick to make!

Day 23 - Frozen Fruit Slush

Welcome to Day 23 of 25 Days of Recipes!!  I know this is VERY late, but today has been very busy...and I didn't have anyone's recipe to add.  So, here's one of my own, or one of my Hubby's Family's recipes, I should say.  This is one of their Christmas Breakfast Traditions to be served along side the Egg Strata, I've yet to make it though.  They actually call it Frozen Fruit Compote, but I like the word Slush better.  This will be the first year I make it, and I'll add my own picture after I do ;)  I only wish I could take pretty pictures like this!  Oh!  It's very tart, but my hubby loves it, so you might too.

Right after it was all mixed together, before freezing.

Day 22 - Grandma's Cheesy Potatoes

Welcome to Day 22 of 25 Days of Recipes!  Remember Lindsay from Day 3?  Well she's back!  She was so nice to offer to share another recipe.  So, she's here to share a yummy side dish for your Christmas dinner (coming up in 3 days!!!).

Take it Away Lindsay:

These aren't your typical cheese potatoes; they are 1,000% better!! Perhaps they are better than any other kind of cheese potatoes I've had before because they are filled with 31 years of warm Christmas memories. Perhaps they are just better because they are just better!! Whatever the reason, Christmas dinner isn't complete without these cheese potatoes.

Sometimes my grandma gets this wild hair and says she isn't going to make them because they take forever for her to make. The family gets in an absolute uproar when this kind of talk comes from her mouth. So, a few years ago my mom and I decided we were going to nip that talk in the bud and make the cheese potatoes ourselves every year...to be sure that we have them! lol.

Day 2 - Best Ever Sweet Potatoes

For Day 2 of 25 Days of Recipes please introduce my cousin-in-law, Andrea (our hubbys are cousins).  She's another mom who can do it all!  She's always making amazingly cute, budget friendly crafts and other than being a mom, she does a lot of side jobs.  One being an Usborne Books sales consultant, www.andreasbooks.com. People say these books sale themselves, and you know what?  They do!  They're all amazing, I can never decide what book I want to buy next.  So...

Take it Away Andrea:

Fresh Cranberry Muffins

Last year I did Bountiful Baskets all the time!  I haven't done it in a while, due to the time slots filling up too fast or being too early of a pick-up time.  But, this reminds me, I should sign up today so I can stock up on all the fresh fruits and veggies for Thanksgiving next week!  Anyways, last year I got a bag of fresh cranberries, I've never made anything w/ cranberries before, so I thought I'd search for something to make w/ them.  I came up w/ making these yummy Fresh Cranberry Muffins.  I probably won't go out and buy cranberries just for this reason, but if you have some and want a good recipe to use them in, then here's one to try!

I also served them w/ my Pumpkin Bread.

Frozen Fruit Salad

Once again, not the best picture, but seriously, it's soo good! I love the cream cheese and all the variety of fruit, yum!  This was my Great-Grandmother's recipe.  Seems like it'd be old, but I knew her very well, you can call her Nanny, b/c everybody did.  Nanny was very close to my family, she was closer to us than my normal grandparents.  She died when I was a senior in high school, totally unexpected.  I believe we were at the mall, just a few days prior to that, shopping for clothes, weird.  She was great!  So, in memory of Nanny, here's her famous Frozen Fruit Salad (famous in my family anyways).

I always make this the day before Thanksgiving, that way it's done and out of the way.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ok, so this is the best picture I could come up w/, but you get the idea, hopefully.  I'll take pictures of the food that I make this year and update them on here.  This is a family favorite!  I grew up on these, we always requested my mom to make these anytime we had the choice.  I promise, you'll love them!

Mandarin Chicken Rice Bake

This is probably one of the easiest recipes I've made in a while...all b/c it was a one dish meal.  I use to make casseroles all the time, but hardly ever do anymore.  This was actually pretty good, and really simple to make.  Great for a quick meal...just prepare for the long bake time, it takes 1 hr and 15 minutes!  But, you have all that free time while it's baking, almost like a crock pot meal.  One thing odd is, either my family eats a ton (which could likely could be the case) and Eat at Home eats like birds or they used it as a side dish.  I don't know but, it hardly fed my 2 boy, me and hubby.  There was just enough, I don't know how it would even begin to serve 6 as said on her recipe.  Oh well, just plan for that, you can either double the recipe or make it for 3-4 ppl.

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Salad

I decided to serve C+C Marriage Factory's Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Salad as a side dish to their Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin.  I thought it looked good, and when I noticed it was made from Brussels Sprouts, I thought, "hmm...that's interesting, I'll give it a try!"  So, I did, it it was good!  I'm thinking I might try it again w/ cabbage.  It tasted and looked a lot like cabbage once it was all chopped up.  I think I might like the cabbage a bit better b/c the Brussels sprouts are a little bitter tasting in comparison.  But, still really good and a great way to use Brussels sprouts if you have 'em! 

Saute Brussels sprouts, I also went ahead and added the walnuts to brown those a little bit too.

Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

I made these Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes along side of the Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin recipe.  They were really good!  I love mashed potatoes, all kinds!  These were easy and tasted great!

Momma's Baked Beans

I grew up with my momma making these baked beans.  And now when I make them for ppl I get compliments every time.  And as I am, they're always surprised to hear that it's not completely homemade!  But, why the hassle of making completely home cooked beans if no one can tell the difference anyways?  They're so easy, and sooo dang good!  Don't be scared away that you have to use a can of Pork and Beans, trust me, they're great!  It's just another thing I have to remind me of home :)  It was really hard to come up w/ a written recipe because she throws everything in until it looks/tastes good. So, these measurements are approximates.

Grilled Vegetables

I'm sure all of you have steamed or boiled frozen/fresh veggies right?  Well, I've found a just as easy yet much tastier way to make them.  My friend Linzy served us green beans on night for dinner, and I was left wanting more!  I've never ever felt that way about vegetables before.  So, this will be my new way of making veggies for now on, well other than when my husband grills them outside, that's even more amazing! I rate this a 4.5 (a 5 if it's done on the grill).

Coat w/ olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt, black ground pepper and garlic powder.  You can either do this by putting everything in a plastic baggie or directly on the cookie sheet and use a basting brush.

Super Moist Cornbread

Lori, a good friend of mine who lives down the street, gave me this recipe.  She made it for a potluck luncheon that I hosted once, and I thought it was so amazing!  I honestly do not like dry, crumbly cornbread, and this was super moist!  I asked her how she made it, and I was (and you will be) so surprised at how easy it was to make.  It only consists of 3 ingredients!  What?!  If you tasted it, you'd be surprised too, it's that good!  Seriously, if you think you don't like cornbread, this recipe will change your mind.  Try it!  I rate this a 4.

It's easy enough, just try it!

Fried Rice

Once again, this is a recipe given to me by my sister, Bonny.  I have mostly made the fried rice as just a side, without the chicken.  This time I decided to make Chicken Fried Rice as the main dish.  It turned out pretty good!  You basically make it the same way either way, the only difference is w/ or w/o chicken.  This is a quick and easy dish.  I rate this a 4.

Heat oil and fry chicken until almost cooked through.  Add in garlic and soy sauce to heat.  If you don't want to use the chicken, heat the garlic and soy sauce in the oil until the garlic starts popping.

Easy Pasta Salad

So, have I mentioned that I like easy recipes?  I will take any short cut there is to make something, as long as it's still good.  My friend Kristina had us over a couple of years ago and made us a wonderful pasta salad!  I was so impressed, I asked her for the recipe and she was a little hesitant to share.  I coaxed her into telling me, and that's when she introduced me to Suddenly Pasta Salads by Betty Crocker.  I couldn't understand why she was embarrassed to tell me, it was wonderful news!  I loved pasta salads but never attempted to make any, up until then!  All of a sudden, pasta salad making was going to be a common thing in my house, and so easy to make.  I have made several different kinds and have served them to several different people.  I always get compliments and am never hesitant to share how I made it!  I want everyone to know how easy it is, anything to make life simpler is a great thing, right?!  Anyways, I am just going to go ahead and rate this a 5, it's just that good and just so dang easy!

Spanish Rice

So, as promised, here's the SpanishRice Recipe. I used to always just make the boxed Spanish rice, but one day I realized I was all out! So, I decided to look up a recipe online to see if there was any way possible to make it homemade, guess what, there is!!! I searched several recipes until I came across this one, which I just so happened to have everything needed! I'm sure you'll find you do most of the time too. It's good on it's own, but I actually like to take a little bit of rice and mix it with refried beans for every bite. Oh, it makes a ton! You'll definitely have leftovers. I rate this recipe a 4.

Saute rice, onion, and bell pepper.