FALL...in love

I am READY for fall to arrive... I have been dreaming of fall all week and how excited I am to get out my scarves and boots and whip up some of my favorite fall inspired foods!! I have TONS of new soups, stews, and casseroles that I will feature on the blog this coming fall!!...Think PUMPKIN:) These are some of my FAVORITE things about fall since I am feeling a little fall-inspired today.

FALL INSPIRATIONS



 

 

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte'

Buffalo Dip that I make for football season

all of my 2334245234 scarves :)

boots and skinny jeans :)!

drinking my coffee outside on my patio

the month of October

Our anniversary

Thanksgiving

Soups/Stews/Hearty dishes

constantly using my crockpot

cooking with tons of apples, cinnamon, and pumpkin!

My beloved Circle E fall scents-apple strudel and country morning

Fall décor inside my house

the fact that we are THAT much closer to Christmas...FALALALA

dark nail polish

and finally.. visiting the ranch with our family and friends. The ranch is gorgeous in the fall.

See? :)

 

 

Summer Chicken & Veggie Casserole

Typically when I think of casserole season a cold wintery night comes into my mind. There is nothing easier than making a casserole on Sunday and having it feed an entire family and  having leftovers the next day! This casserole is made with summer veggies and is very light so its a perfect summer dish to enjoy with friends and family. We served ours with a salad but you could totally just eat it by itself!

Shopping List:

One large zuchinni-grated

one squash-grated

two eggs

one cup cottage cheese

two cups cooked chicken

one cup parmesan cheese

two cups cooked brown rice or quinoa

1/2 bell pep diced

1/2 onion diced

1 1/2 cups tomatoes diced

salt/pep

celery salt

basil

Procedure:

mix everything in a large bowl

spread into a 9 by 12 baking dish and flatten out

pour the remaining parm over the top

sprinkle some basil on top

cook covered with foil at 350* for 35 minutes

cook uncovered for 15

DONE!

I couldn't post a picture for some reason but my finished product is found on Instagram!!! @mrsfranky! I also posted a link below!



http://www.pink-parsley.com/2013/08/chicken-summer-vegetable-rice-casserole.html

BBQ Chicken Flatbread-CPK style!!!

I am a pizza lover.. I could literally eat it every single day but then we would have a serious problem on our hands now wouldn't we. I know we all crave the unhealthy junk food at times so why deprive yourself?? How about just alter recipes to make them a little healthier, that way you don't feel deprived yet you don't exactly gorge on a large dominos pepperoni pizza. Brandon and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to stay home on a Saturday night and cook homemade fresh pizzas and then watch a movie together. It is literally the best date in my book so I have come up with ways to mix and match the plain ole' peperoni pizza. This is the BBQ version:

 

 

Shopping List:

 

Whole Wheat flatbread-whatever brand you would like

1 cup of two different types of BBQ sauce

low fat part skim Mexican blend cheese

cilantro

two cups of cooked chicken

chilli powder

garlic powder

salt/pepper

carmalized onions.

 

Procedure:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

pour half of one bbq sauce in the one cup and the other half and mix it..

pour all over flat bread

then top with Mexican blend cheese

then top with caramelized onions( you don't have to caramelize them it just tastes a little better in my opinon!)

top with chicken

sprinkle the cilantro

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes

 

 

You have got yourself a full blow California Pizza Kitchen styled flatbread pizza.
PERFECT for date night at home:)

 

 

 

 



Buffalo Turkey Meatballs

UM seriously all you buffalo sauce lovers you can just thank me for this recipe it is SOOO worth making!!! At our house we have a slight addiction with Franks red hot sauce as well as their buffalo sauce.. its a little much. I mean we buy them in bulk.. like FOUR of the HUGE bottles at a time. I know its weird..but I have an obsessive personality so whatev. Anyways I stumbled across this recipe on pinterest of course, and knew immediately that we would be having these the next night for dinner. Everyone loved it!!! So I wrote it down in my "Caleins" cook book for a staple recipe.
** Side note.. try not to get the "extra hot" version of franks buffalo sauce.. I didn't read the label very well and ended up having some serious issues. " Think Will Smith in the movie Hitch after he eats shellfish." yep.

 

 

Shopping List:

 

1 1/2 lb ground turkey ( the recipe calls for ground chicken but I used turkey)

one jar of Franks Buffalo Sauce

Green onions chopped

blue cheese

one cup plain bread crumbs

celery salt

salt/pep

one egg

onion powder

crockpot

 

 

Procedure: * preheat oven to 350
Combine the following ingredients in a large bowl:

ground turkey, all of the spices listed, green onions, one egg, and the breadcrumbs

once the mixture is very well mixed together, start balling them up into meatballs(whatever size you want: I did larger sized ones since it was our main dish for dinner but you could do small ones if you are making a superbowl appetizer!!) and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Cook in the oven for about 7 minutes.

Once they are slightly browned on the outside pop those babies in the crockpot and pour the ENTIRE bottle of franks on them. Cook on low for about 2 hours.

garnish with blue cheese dressing and some extra green onions.

 

AMAZING I TELL YA!

 

 

 



Healthy Enchilada Bake

My absolute favorite type of food is obviously Mexican food. From my previous taco posts...and Mexican stuffed peppers it may be pretty easy to figure that out. However even though we LOVEEEEE Mexican food and are in the heart of the most fabulous Tex Mex restaurants  ...we don't necessarily love the calories. Biting into those delicious Salsa Verde Enchiladas and sipping on an ice cold margarita doesn't sound to shabby right? Well my friend pinterest came up with a very yummy QUICK AND EASY Mexican dish that you don't have to feel guilty about!!! It was a huge hit in  my house last night and I definitely plan on making it in the near future. The cool thing about this dish is that you can switch out the meats in order to make it your own creation. We used elk hamburger as our meat since that's what we had but it would also be delicious with chicken, pork, or even as a vegetarian dish.

 

 

Shopping List:

 

1 cup quinoa

one can of green chilies

one can of enchilada sauce

one can of black beans

one small onion diced and chopped

three cloves of garlic chopped

olive oil

chili pepper cumin and cayenne.

salt/pep

Monterrey jack cheese

fresh cilantro

sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

 

Procedure:

 

preheat your oven to 375

in a large skillet start sautéing your onions and garlic with a little bit of olive oil

once they start to become fragrant add your meat of choice and cook through

then add your green chilies, beans ,cooked  quinoa, and enchilada sauce and mix well.

add your spices ( I eyeball them but I would say a teaspoon of each will do)

allow the flavors to marry for a little while.

Place the mixture in a baking dish ( I used a circular baking dish)

top with the shredded Monterrey jack cheese and pop in the oven for ten minutes.

When the cheese is browned on the edges and bubbly take it out and top with fresh avocadoes, and sour cream.

ENJOY!!!

 

 

 

 



Low Carb-Spaghetti Squash Turkey Spaghetti

This is a super healthy and fun twist on the normal spaghetti and would be fun to try if your household is eating low carb! I made my tomato sauce in the food processer but you can totally just use canned to make dinner a little snappier!

 

 

 

 

Shopping List:

** if your going to make sauce homeade

 

one medium sized spaghetti squash

about 12 tomatoes*

one bunch basil**

garlic

one package of spinach

kosher salt

pepper

oregano

Italian spice

one package of ground turkey( I use 85-15)

one zuchinni

one yellow squash

one medium onion

 

 

Procedure:

 

*If you are going to make the sauce homemade you will need a food processer, about 12 medium sized tomatoes, fresh basil, three cloves of garlic, kosher salt, olive oil, half of the onion, and pepper. Basically chop everything up into 1 inch pieces and pulse until the consistency is what you want. Add olive oil to your sauce to make it creamy and not so watery.-I also added half a jar of tomato basil canned sauce to thicken it up just a little.

 

Take your spaghetti squash and cut it in half. Then scrape the middle out with all the seeds and discard. Once it is clear of the (goop) splash some olive oil salt and pepper in side and place FLESH SIDE DOWN on a baking sheet. Pop it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.

 

THEN-

 

Chop the other half of the onion into small pieces, throw some olive oil in the skillet and start to brown the onion. To the onion add the turkey and let it brown. When it looks browned add your squash, zucchini, and spinach and cook until soft/wilted. Turn the heat down low and add your sauce to the mixture.  allow the sauce to heat with the meat/veggie mixture. Then add your spices-salt/pepper/oregano/fresh basil/Italian seasoning. allow the spices to marry together-about 7 mins.

 

NEXT-

 

Take the spaghetti squash out of the oven and scrape ( you will see spaghetti flesh coming off of the squash) into a bowl or plate. Top with the meat sauce....add your favorite pecorino and enjoy!!!!!

 

 

Shrimp Creole

As far back as I can remember my Nana would always make this Shrimp Creole dish. We love spicy food in our family and this dish puts off just the right amount of heat to make your mouth do a little happy dance! Chocked full of veggies and sprinkled with the perfect amount of seafood, this supper is a crowd pleaser for sure!!!!

 

 

Shopping List

 

one half of a medium sized yellow onion-chopped

two cloves of garlic

one lb of shrimp( can be cooked or uncooked..I always buy cooked shrimp and just throw it in there last second)

one bag of frozen okra

one jar of tomato sauce

one jar of rotel

one green bell pepper-chopped

one package of bacon-chopped in to small bits

cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

tony sacherys or cajun all seasoning

cumin

 

 

Procedure

1. In a Cast iron skillet start by sautéing the bacon
2. to the bacon add the onions and garlic and sautee until clear and fragrant
3. add your chopped bell pepper and bag of frozen okra. Cook until wilted and soft
4. Once veggies are wilted and soft add your can of rotel and a HALF can of tomato sauce let simmer
5. once veggies are coated with the sauce and starting to simmer then flavor it with cayenne, salt, pepper, and Cajun all seasoning.. taste it until it is to your liking or spice level.
6. lastly once everything is tasting right add your shrimp. If you chose to do uncooked shrimp you will want it to cook in the pot for about 5-7 minutes(until pinked) if you used cooked shrimp like I do then you can just throw it in there for about three minutes.
7. Serve and Enjoy!

 

 

 



 



Southern girl hair

If you are from Texas..which you most likely are if you are reading this blog, then you are familiar with the BIG TEXAS HAIR..am I right?? There is just something about huge hair that makes your confidence go wayyyy up. I look back at old pictures of myself in college and high school and wonder why nobody taught me about the Texas poof and tease  back then? Flat hair was so my look in those days. A few years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the most amazing invention called a TEASE BRUSH. O.M.G. I have used it every day since I was 22. They are about 4 dollars at Ulta and trust me, you will be so happy that you have one. My next beloved product (besides hairspray) is a little bottle of powdered gold.. also known as " Big Sexy Hair Powder". This is also available at Ulta but for 14 dollars. I cant begin to tell you what this does for hair.. it is like an instant volumizer.. and I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE volume:) BIG HAIR DONT CARE!!

 

 

Proof!!!

 

Very Happy I found this powdered stuff

 

Besties with big hair