what's for dinner?

since we started our journey to a healthier lifestyle, i have made a few changes in my diet. i am a lover of the carbs, but this was one of the first things that had to go.  

goodbye bread, goodbye bagels, goodbye cereal, goodbye pasta. 

 that's all well and good for some people, but in this house, pasta is a staple.  it is usually my go-to meal when i don't know what to make for dinner. (it's also one of the few things that my husband loves).  

but i stumbled across this recipe & friends, we are back in business.

hubby can still enjoy his pasta, with lots of added veggies, and i can maintain my carb-free meal plan.

(well, not carb-free, more like less carb....still gotta have a donut every once in awhile...on cheat days of course!)

it does require a few more dishes, however, it is worth it because it is really delicious!

{this would also be great if you are gluten free!}

i typically use grape tomatoes when making pasta dishes, but this was the only tomato i had on hand at the time.  i just love the combination of grape tomatoes and parmesan cheese!

since i'm preparing this portion of the dish for just me, i use one small zucchini.

and because mike is having pasta we throw in some peppers as well.

our favorites are red, yellow & orange.

then to top it off, i add spinach and of course, parm cheese because you know, everything is better with cheese.
(unless you are my husband...weirdo)

i have made this once with sausage and once without, but we are a turkey sausage family if we eat sausage.
it's fantastic either way.


so there you go. 
if you're looking for something new to try, looking to cut some carbs, or just a way to boost your veggie intake, find your friends with the abundance of zucchini and invite them over for dinner!

enjoy!

That's Pintastic: White Chicken Chili

Recently we've had a couple babies born at church which means I've been in the market for some meals to cook.  When I'm bringing meals to people, I really try to do something different. Not crazy different because I want to them to eat what I bring, but something that is just different enough that I can be pretty confident no one else is going to bring them the same thing.  

When we had Eli, we were blessed by the meals we received, but we did eat chicken just about every single day that someone brought us a meal.  Please don't get me wrong, it was such a huge blessing to not have to worry about dinner, but let's be honest, chicken almost every day for 2 weeks.....kinda makes you want to not eat chicken again for 3 months.  And I really do like chicken!

The most recent meal I made is one of my new favorite recipes & I thought it might be fun to share because I found it on, yeah, you already know what I'm going to say, don't you?

Yes, Pinterest.

Which means it time for another installment of:

 

This recipe is for White Chicken Chili & seriously might be the easiest, most delicious ever!

You can find the recipe here.

Now you'll have to forgive my photos & lack there of. 

I have to admit that taking photos of food is not my thing, so this isn't going to be a step by step guide for you.

You'll just have to trust me that it's super easy, ok?

I mean really it's as simple as boiling some chicken, shredding it, opening some cans & dumping the ingredients into a pot. 

Just to give you a little variation on the recipe, instead of regular cream cheese, I use neufchatel because it's a little less fat, but you don't lose flavor.  I also add in tomatoes because I'm a fan of tomatoes in my chili.  The original recipe doesn't call for them.  

 I usually serve it with some tortilla chips & treat it like a dip. 

Seriously, so good! 

But I believe that all chili should be served with cornbread. 

I'm pretty sure it's a rule. 

So there you have it, folks. 

Your dinner one day this week.

You are welcome!

 {unless of course your husband is picky & won't eat beans. not mentioning any names.}

you need to try this.

If you like dessert, then this post is just for you.
I found a sweet little gem in this single serve chocolate chip cookie the other night on Pinterest.
I didn't bother going through the process because Sophie does a pretty job of showing you! 
Sometimes almost everyday I want to eat dessert.
I don't because I like to be able to button my pants, but oh how I wish I was one of those people who could eat dessert whenever they wanted!
Last week though, I wanted dessert & I indulged myself with this little treat.
I mean, it's perfect.
It takes a few minutes to throw together, a minute in the microwave & VOILA!
Dessert is served!
 I wrote to my BFF & told her she needed to make this.

'Yes', I wrote, 'NEED'.
And I think you need to too. 

{I think it would be really good with a scoop of ice cream on top, just sayin'}

dinner is served.

i really enjoy cooking.  

my favorite is to cook for a lots of people.

don't get me wrong, i do enjoy cooking for mike, but i like making lots of food.  

it makes me happy & feel fulfilled when i can provide yummy food for hungry bellies.

tonight i made my favorite recipe.

it's kinda my signature meal.

i made it up a few years ago & it's made its way onto many a friends' dinner table.

i have decided that i would like to share it. 

i think it's worth sharing, so here you go:

oh, but let me warn you....i don't measure things when i cook.

{you'll have to forgive me for not offering a true recipe.}

oh, and it doesn't have a name other than "shannon's recipe".

start with a pound of ground turkey {you could use ground beef if you wanted}

i use a wok to brown it up in some olive oil:

then i cut up a bunch of veggies. 

i use red, yellow & orange peppers, summer squash & zucchini 

{and sometimes spinach & grape tomatoes}

once the meat is browned, dump in the veggies:

then comes some flavor.

i use crushed red pepper flakes, onion powder & soy sauce.

but here's the part of the "recipe" that is where i freestyle.

i like some spice so i do a few shakes of the pepper flakes.

i give the meat a nice covering of onion powder.

and probably 7 shakes of the soy sauce {i totally just made that up}

while the veggies are getting tender, i cook the rice.

i'm all about microwaving my rice using my pampered chef steamer pot.

great purchase!

allow it to simmer until the veggies are tender to your liking.

i personally like them very tender, but i know some people like them a little crunchier.

then check on the baby who is crying in the other room:

serve over rice & you've got yourself a great meal!

for some reason awhile ago i started eating mine with parmesan cheese.

so there you have it.

"shannon's recipe" as prepared by me.

let me know if you try it!