Crockpot Glazed Ham

Alex loves it when we make a ham in the crockpot so I occasionally make one for him. Typically I do some sort of sweet glaze since that is what traditionally goes with ham. However, I let Alex make this particular glaze and since he’s not huge on sweet ham he opted for a more savory flavor.The finished flavor is actually quite interesting. While it certainly wasn’t something I would have thought to put together it really actually works. Alex absolutely loved the flavor and I thought it wasn’t bad. I still prefer a sweet glazed ham, but this is a great option if you’re in the mood for something a little more savory.By cooking this in the crockpot it really is a set it and forget it type of meal. Just let it cook and marinade in its own glaze for several hours and voila, a fantastic dinner. I love to pair it with my Mac Cheese recipe. They really go perfectly together.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:240]

Classic Acorn Squash

With the advent of squash season I wanted to try something new this year. The last few years we’ve been making butternut squash in various recipes but we’ve yet to make acorn squash. I found an acorn squash on sale at the grocery store the last time I was there and decided it was high time to try it out. I went with a classic recipe for this particular trial of acorn squash. The mix of brown sugar and maple syrup is absolutely incredible. However, I realized that I personally don’t care for the texture of squash since its very slippery. Alex doesn’t prefer sweet versions of squash so this wasn’t really to his tastes either. However, if you’re looking for a very classic squash recipe this one is perfect for you. The sweet taste compliments the sweetness of the squash perfectly and is perfect for those cold fall nights.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:239]

Crockpot Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

One of our absolute favorite soups is my Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. A few weeks ago I had the rice and chicken prepped for this soup but I didn’t actually have time to sit down and make it. So I decided that I needed to figure out how to make this in the crockpot. This saved me time when it came to the cooking since I could just set it and forget it.If you were to cook this longer you could totally cook the chicken and the rice in the the pot with everything else. I already had the rice and chicken cooked so I chose to add them about an hour before serving this. Just long enough to let the flavors simmer together but not long enough to actually cook anything. I wasn’t sure how this would actually turn out so I left out the creamy portions from my original recipe. I’m planning to try this crockpot version again in the future but this time cooking the rice and chicken in the crockpot. I’ll probably also include the creamy portions of this recipe back in too. I’ll update you once I have a chance to perfect the recipe![amd-yrecipe-recipe:233]

Stromboli

We decided that we wanted to try something new for pizza night and I immediately thought of trying Stromboli. It had been on my list for ages and I’d just never gotten around to making it. Stromboli is a rolled pizza that is often served at pizza restaurants. It differs from Calzone in that it is rolled into a pizza log rather than just folded. Most recipes I saw online included the sauce inside the roll. However, Alex and I decided that we didn’t really care for that. Expect an updated recipe to this one in the future!The base for this recipe is a premade pizza dough. You can use whatever you prefer, our preferred recipe is in the bread maker. You could even make this gluten free by substituting for gluten free dough. You can use any pizza toppings you prefer, we just used our standard go-to pepperoni and sausage.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:230]

Grilled Lemon Rosemary Chicken

If you’ve been looking for one last recipe to grill this summer look no further. We’ve been grilling a lot all summer long and I wanted to get a new recipe on the menu since I felt that most of the ones we’d been making were getting tired. I wanted to base it on a lemon and pepper chicken since we’d been loving that this summer. I had some white wine left over in our fridge so I paired that with lemon juice, black and white pepper along with some rosemary to really make the flavors pop.Alex said this recipe was amazing! I actually wasn’t home the night he grilled it but he said that he very much enjoyed it and he thinks you will too. You can also easily double or even triple the recipe to feed a large crowd or a party. This recipe would also be wonderful over a bed of spinach with a light dressing for a really fun lunch.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:229]

Spicy Hummus

We love hummus here at our house so when I found a jar of organic Tahini at Trader Joe’s a few weeks back I figured it was high time I tried making my own hummus from scratch. Alex prefers a spicy variety so I thought that would be a good place to start. I’ve made hummus before, but never with tahini, it didn’t quite taste right though I was excited to see how it turned out.This recipe turned out fantastic! The addition of tahini was what the hummus needed to really taste perfect. This was such a hit that by the time I got around to taking a photo it was mostly gone! This is a perfect recipe for a party, especially when served with a variety of crackers.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:227]

Vegan - Gluten Free Salted Caramel and Chocolate Cupcakes

Yesterday I posted a recipe for vegan caramel sauce and I thought I would follow that up with an amazing recipe for vegan and gluten free chocolate and salted caramel cupcakes! I had the challenge this summer of making treats for two friends, one who is vegan and the other who is gluten free. I also had the added hurdle of making things taste good. I really wasn’t sure how it would turn out but it surprisingly turned out amazing.Everyone who ate these were very surprised at how good they were. I even had someone remark that he “didn’t actually expect these to be edible, but they were and they were great!” The people I actually made them for really enjoyed them too. They said it was definitely one of the better recipes they’d had made for them.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:226]Source: Cake adapted from Sarah Baked G-Free

DIY Mocha Blended Coffee

I always thought I didn’t like coffee. I didn’t like the taste, it was FAR too bitter for me. I didn’t like how it was so warm. And I didn’t like how it wasn’t hot chocolate on a cold day. However, my lovely younger sister decided to introduce me to the joy that is blended coffee drinks. And since then I haven’t been able to get enough! Often this summer, in the mornings I would blend up one of these puppies and take it with me to Camp, or if I was really dragging in the evening I would blend one and take it to rehearsal. It got me through many a day and it is SOOOO super easy!You will need a blender that can crush ice for this recipe. Alex and I have a small one serving smoothie blender that works perfectly for this. I haven’t tried it in my food processor but I would imagine it could work if you wanted to make a large batch of these.Typically you would make this recipe with cold pressed coffee. However, since I’m new to this whole coffee experience I just make a cup of coffee with my Keurig then put it in the fridge till cold. It’s not as strong as it would be if you used cold pressed coffee but for me it does the trick. If you really want to take a shortcut you should try getting a large bottle of cold press from Trader Joes and then you eliminate the step of cooling the coffee!Personally I like to use Almond milk when making this. It is just like making skim milk but I find that it doesn’t add any taste at all to the drink like regular milk does. It also is great if you have a lactose intolerance. If you don’t like almond milk, or don’t have it you can simply use regular milk or even soy or coconut milk. Just adjust the amount to make sure things keep moving around in the blender.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:223]

Kale, Quinoa & Asparagus

 I had some extra asparagus laying around a few weeks ago, so I decided to make a kale and quinoa dish and add some! I settled on a spicy version of this dish so to give it a little extra kick. It got great reviews from those who tried it. One thing that was said was that the spicyness really doesn’t kick you in the face. It is more the perfect amount of spicyness to make things interesting. If you’re looking for a great side dish for dinner tonight look no further![amd-yrecipe-recipe:221]

“Box Mix" Gluten Free Brownie Mix

I love making homemade “box mixes”, they just make everything so quick and easy when you’re baking. I’ve been trying several different types of Brownie mixes over the past few months and here is another gluten free variety!These are crazy easy to make! I personally like to make 2 or 3 batches of this at a time and store them till I’m ready for brownies. This is actually one of the easiest recipes I’ve made to date. I love adding chocolate chips for a little bit of an extra chocolaty kick to any brownies. These work well with whatever your favorite brand of chocolate chips may be.If you’re familiar with gluten free recipes you will notice this one doesn’t contain any. I prefer to use blends with it already in it so there isn’t any need to add some. If your blend doesn’t contain any you will need to add some in order to keep the brownies together. I would suggest ½ - 1 teaspoon depending on what brand of flour you’re using.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:220]Source: Adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring: Quick and Easy - Nicole Hunn

Stovetop Mashed Potatoes

Alex had been asking me to make stovetop mashed potatoes for a while and I finally tracked down a recipe I liked the look of. This is a very simple recipe that you will love. I’ve chosen to use garlic powder and salt in the recipe to get a garlicky mashed potato. You can simply leave that out if you’re interested in a plainer mashed potato recipe.One unique part of this recipe is heating the potatoes again after mashing them. This will allow some of the excess water to cook off and the potatoes will be less mealy. I also prefer to leave the skins on the potatoes when I cook them because I love mashed potatoes with skins. If you don’t like those types you can simply skin the before you quarter them.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:219]

Grilled Lemon-Pepper Chicken

A couple of months ago I made a lemon pepper chicken dish in the crockpot. It was good, but I figured I could do better with that type of recipe.  I decided that the chicken just wasn’t being done right in this recipe being cooked in the crockpot. I figured that grilling it would give it a wonderful smokey flavor in addition to the lemon and pepper flavors.This turned out incredible! Grilling is definitely the way to go with this recipe. The chicken isn’t soft like in the other recipe and the grill really makes the lemon flavor pop! I used lemon juice from a jar rather than fresh. I simply didn’t have any fresh on hand or I would have used it. I’m actually planning to revisit this recipe yet again with fresh lemon juice. I will of course post that recipe once I figure it out![amd-yrecipe-recipe:218]Source: Adapted from Food Network

Easy Stir Fry

I searched all over for my photo of this meal, but I could not find it! I’m planning to make this again in the next few weeks so I will update this post with a photo then. It really does make for a pretty meal though, you’ll just have to trust me!Alex absolutely loved this meal! It is great for a night when you just need something for dinner quickly. Make sure everything is defrosted before you start and you’ll be ready to go! You can use any type of wok sauce you’d like for this recipe. I used a Ginger sauce when I made this recipe. Since they’re premade it again will make it go quicker. If you want to premake a sauce for this that would also work. You can also pick a gluten free sauce if you want that option.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:217]

Italian Stuffed Pork Chops

Earlier this year I was watching Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America” and on one of the episodes they were making stuffed pork chops and discussing how it was a basic cooking idea that everyone should have mastered. I realized I’d never had a stuffed pork chop much less made one! These are absolutely amazing! The process of making them wasn’t too hard either. I did decide that the finished product was a little too full for my taste so next time I make them I’m going to fill them slightly less. I would fill them till they are just slightly bulging. If you fill them more than that the filling will leak out while cooking.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:216]Source: Adapted from Food Network

Spicy Beef Kebabs

Recently I decided to try more dishes outside my comfort zone. This was definitely one of them. Alex loved it though and I think you will too! This is the perfect recipe for the hot summer nights when you don’t really want to turn on your oven. Since you put these on the grill you can easily have a great dinner without heating up your kitchen at all. This is a slightly spicy yet fantastically grilled dish. I’ve used green bell pepper, onion and mushrooms but you can use whatever veggies you prefer on your kebabs.You will need skewers for this recipe. I found a pack of 4 metal skewers at Target for 2.99. These worked  fantastically for exactly what I needed them for and held up nicely on the grill. Since they are reusable you’re investing in your kitchen and future recipes.I really wasn’t sure what to serve with this recipe so we ended up having some Mac Cheese, chips and fruit. It made it into a very light, summery meal. As I was reflecting on the meal though, I came to the conclusion that you could easily serve these kebabs with rice or some potatoes and baked beans. Really any summery food would go really well with these.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:213]Source: Adapted from The Food Network

100% Pure Primers: A Review

I’ve tried several primers in my quest to find a clean beauty one that actually works. I thought I would review two of my favorites from 100% Pure. They have two different types of primers, the Mattifying Primer and the Luminous Primer. There is definitely a primer for every skin type!The Mattifying Primer is my personal favorite. As we move towards summer I tend to have more issues with oil and sweat. I have found this primer to be excellent at controlling oil and sweat on my face. I also don’t have any issues with it clogging my pores or causing me to break out.The Luminous Primer is fantastic for my skin during the drier months when tend to have issues with dry patches. This does an excellent job at providing my skin with a little bit of life when it’s extremely dry. I cannot however, use this when I might sweat at all since it causes my foundation to slide around if there is any sort of excess oil.You can see the difference between the primers in this photo. The Mattifying primer is on the left, the Luminous is on the right. You can see how the Luminous one provides just a hint of a sheen beneath anything you’re wearing on top. The Mattifying one really just mattifies anything over it to give you a very even base.I love each of these primers, however the Mattifying primer is by far my favorite. I will continue to repurchase this item since I use it every day. I will probably not repurchase the Luminous primer since I cannot use it for most of the year. These are both excellent, clean, green beauty products that you need to try!

Shredded BBQ Pork

I love using my crockpot often to make dinner. It is a great way to have a hot dinner ready at night even when you may not have time to actually cook anything that day. This is one recipe we tend to make often since it is easy and very tasty. Basically just throw everything into a crockpot and let it cook away all day long. I love serving this with the Pretzel Bun recipe I posted a while back.Any type of BBQ sauce will work for this recipe. Our favorite is either the Famous Dave’s or the Sweet Baby Ray’s brands. You do not want to include all the BBQ sauce when you’re first beginning to cook it. Leaving some until the end will ensure all the pieces are evenly coated with a generous helping of BBQ. Just simply add it after you’ve shredded the meat, stir it around and let it cook for about 30 more minutes. This will ensure everything is evenly coated and warmed through.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:203]

Grilled Italian Chicken

This is one of our favorite grill meals to make. Not only is it really easy with just two ingredients, it is super tasty too. It is also a great meal for summer nights since you use the grill instead of the oven! I typically start with frozen chicken breasts, cover them with the dressing then let it marinate for about 24 hours. If you start with unfrozen chicken breasts you can marinate for about 4 hours before they’re ready.You need to make sure to use Zesty Italian Dressing. I’ve tried both types of dressing and the zesty really just kicks the recipe up a notch. If you use regular Italian Dressing the flavor isn’t quite as good. Don’t worry though, the zesty doesn’t make it spicy, it just give the flavor a more complex note.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:199]

Garlic Asparagus

Alex is actually always asking me to make asparagus in the spring. I finally decided it was time for me to figure out how to make it for him. We both enjoy garlic so I decided this was the best flavor to add to the asparagus since it certainly wouldn’t ruin it. Even though I didn’t love this recipe, it wasn’t actually bad. I just didn’t really like the flavor of the asparagus. However, Alex absolutely loved this! So if you’re an asparagus fan, you will probably enjoy this.This is a very easy recipe and will add a great bit of spring flavor to your meal. One thing I struggled with was knowing when the asparagus was actually done cooking. Since I’d never cooked it (I’m not even sure if I’d had asparagus before this) I had no idea what I was actually looking for to know when it was done. Thankfully I had guests over who cook asparagus all the time and helped me figure it out. What I discovered is that the asparagus turns a brighter green as its cooking. You want to wait until it is pretty bright green and tender.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:198]

Peanut Butter Mousse Filling

I was able to go see my Mom for Mother’s day and when I asked her what she’d like me to make her as a special dessert she said, “anything as long as it has THICK chocolate ganache!” So I decided these cupcakes were the perfect thing for her. However, I didn’t want them to be so plain and chocolaty, so knowing she loved Reese’s Peanut Butter cups I decided to do a take on those.This peanut butter mousse filling is incredible. It is light, fluffy and very peanut buttery. It goes perfectly as a filling for cupcakes or as a filling for pretty much any type of sandwich cookie. I only had crunchy peanut butter at my disposal but I think it gives the finished product a great texture that creamy certainly won’t. However, if you’re really opposed to crunchy (like my sister) you will probably want to stick with creamy peanut butter. It won’t change the taste, only the texture. Be careful also, to not use any natural peanut butters. Those will separate as you’re beating them. Just use Jiffy or another “regular” type of peanut butter.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:197]Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart