Sweet as Pie: And roasted Chicken with Cheesy Herbed Potatoes

When I first read this recipe, I thought it was going to be harder than it actually was.  

I diced the red potatoes and put them in a microwave safe bowl with some chicken broth, set for 13 minutes and was good to go!

When the potatoes were done, I added the cheese and chives. The recipe called for fresh chives.  However, I don't cook with fresh herbs a lot, so often, they end up going bad. Therefore, I just went with dried chives.

Well the potatoes were cooking, I heated up the oil until it was just starting to smoke.

I browned the chicken for five minutes.  I then covered the pan and let the chicken cook for the next 18 minutes.

When the chicken was done, I drained the fat, cooked onions instead of shallots, and thickened up the sauce.  Once the sauce was done thickening, I added cheese and chives to it as well. Then, drizzled the sauce over both the potatoes and the chicken.  The only complaint out of this dish was from my husband who doesn't like any chunks in his mashed potatoes. I like a little bit of chunk in my mashed potatoes, so he had to adjust :-). The next time, I may try to get the mashed potatoes a little creamier. Loved the cheese sauce on top of everything!

Sweet as Pie: Homemade Nutter Butters

Oh. My. Goodness! Heaven is not a good enough word to describe how delicious these are. The cookie part was very easy to make and easy to handle. My three-year-old and five-year-old helped me make the cookies. This made a huge number of cookies. You could even make the cookies slightly smaller to increase the number of cookies in the recipe, but the size that they recommend is just about perfect in my book. I made the frosting the next morning, which was relatively easy. 

 Check out these very cute helpers!!!

 I threw all three of the ingredients into the mixer and let it go. I put the filling in between the two cookies and only ate one in the process of making them… That is success in my book!

These cookies were good the first day, better the second day, and unbelievably divine by the third and fourth day. The longer they sit in an airtight container, the better they are. I will definitely be making these cookies again. This be a great thing to make for a party because it will impress people, it's relatively easy and it makes a huge quantity.

#9. Take the Boys to a Gwinnett Braves Game and sit in the Outfield

This is potentially going to be a problem for us, just because my two youngest typically go to bed around 6 PM :-). We had gone to an Atlanta Braves game back when H a S was only six months old. It was at the end of July and was 102°. Not our smartest move as parents. So, we thought we would try this one in April. It was not 102°. However, by the end of the night, it was 45°. The best part was that the Gwinnett Braves won and we were there for Friday night fireworks.

#56. Go on a Bike Ride as a Family Once a Week for a Month

We love to write our bikes as a family and the two little boys are just getting to the point where they can keep up and enjoy this experience with us. We had a hysterical experience several years ago, when I was pregnant with LPS. I've attached the link to that experience for your reading pleasure. HAS is now able to ride his bike on his own, so that makes the experience even more enjoyable. LPS is still a little small, but does enjoy the bike trailer. One of these weekends, included a 34 mile bike ride down the Virginia creeper trail in Abingdon, Virginia. We did this with my extended family to celebrate my dad's retirement. LPS Rode in the trailer the entire time and loved it. HAS rode on a trail-a-bike behind me, and pedaled 32 of the 34 miles. I was so proud of him. For my boys, their favorite part of the Virginia creeper trail was probably the train the road right by the little house we rented. As we were checking this off the list, we were able to find a new trail, or new to me, that will be great to ride on in the future.

#8 Leave a 100% tip

I have wanted to do this for a long time, but I struggle to find service anymore that warrants such a tip.  In addition, we do not eat out frequently, so that was making this a challenging task.   However, I love the place where the two little boys get their hair cut.  David cuts JMS's hair.  They are so patient with the boys and always attentive to them.  My boys do not like to sit still and the movies that they have playing do not even slow the boys down at all.  Needless to say, I thought this was a great place to leave a 100% tip.  In addition, they have just closed the facility two days a week so I know in a hurting economy, it would benefit these sweet ladies.  The best part was letting LPS hand them the tip.  This made my heart smile. 

Sweet as Pie: Hot Fudge Pie

I love a hot fudge sundae. So, I was really looking forward to this recipe for Hot Fudge Pie. I made it for myself, my mom, my aunt (mom's twin sister), and my cousin When we had a girls weekend at the cabin. I think I must have done something wrong, because the recipe looked nothing like the pictures that I saw and the taste was not that great. I was highly disappointed, and didn't even have a second piece. I believe my mistake was that I used self rising flour instead of all-purpose flour. The chocolate and the other ingredients seem to separate while cooking. We did have one piece each, but through the rest away. I was disappointed, but might be willing to try this recipe again at home.

I made this the same night I made the Broccoli with Walnuts and it was all I could do to take any pictures.  Clearly the hot fudge pie suffered, not only in photo opportunities, but in creation as well. 

Sweet as Pie: Roasted Broccoli with Buttered Walnuts

This is also a recipe that I made during girls weekend, with mom, my aunt, and my cousin, when we were all up at the cabin. I opted not to make this recipe at home because none of my family eats broccoli, so I thought it would be a big waste on them :-) This recipe was ridiculously easy and unbelievably delicious. It was a great way to enjoy broccoli and everyone who ate it loved it, but the broccoli and the walnuts. I will definitely make this again, more likely to do so as the price of walnuts go down :-).

 

Delightful!!!  Hope if I continue to make this, then my family will get on board with eating it :) 

Sweet as Pie: Chocolate Raspberry Cobbler

As all of you who read my blog know, I love dessert. However, I do not typically like a dessert that is made up of boxed ingredients. That might make me a bit of a dessert snob, but as I grew up, my mom never had any pre-bought desserts. My sister and I used to think that Oreos and Chips Ahoy cookie where treat. Now that I'm older, I know homemade desserts are much more of a treat!

I made this dessert for my three boys, my husband, and my mother-in-law. We served it warm, with ice cream, and there was very little left over :-)The one thing I loved about this dessert was how easy it was to make.  I couldn't find Raspberry pie filling, so I used Strawberry pie filling.  In addition, my  husband has a new found love of strawberries, so I thought he would like it better.  Three steps, place the pie filling on the bottom of the pan. 

Sprinkle the cookie mix over top of it, and bake.  Easy !!

Serve warm with ice cream and enjoy.  I know we all did!

Sweet as Pie: Crockpot Cheese Tortellini

As I have mentioned a hundred times, I love pasta.  One of our recipes for the Sweet as Pie Cooking Club this month was Crock pot Cheese Tortellini.  I have also mentioned my love of a crock pot recipe.  I made two adjustments on this recipe.   First of all, I only used half the amount of cream cheese.  I make the same adjustment with my favorite mashed potatoes recipe, and the taste doesn't suffer at all (and my waistband suffers less :) ).  In addition, my boys will eat any pasta, but they struggle with any green product.  However, as a mom, I am a firm believer that green is good, so I often use the food processor to chop either spinach or kale into very small, less noticeable pieces and then I can get it mixed into almost every one of our pasta dishes.  So, rather than leave the spinach in big leaves, I chopped it into tiny pieces and they boys never complained.  That equals one happy mommy. This was very delicious and very easy- both of which are requirements for me to add meals to the meal rotation in my house.  Also, everyone liked it... one more requirement.  This means I will make this again.

Browning the Sausage

The Food Processor FILLED with spinach, that was about to be chopped into tiny pieces!

These are the sausages that I used

Add everything to the crock pot and let it cook... have I mentioned how much I love a crock pot recipe?

 

 

One dish of Cheese Tortellini

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet as Pie: Easy Pasta Carbonara

When I first saw the list of recipes, I was dying to try this because I love any pasta dish. However, I put it off because we are trying to cut carbs out of our diet for awhile.  My mom, aunt, and my cousin and her kids were in town, so I thought it was the perfect time to try this.  This was DELICIOUS and I think it was the peas that made the dish so great.  I will DEFINITELY make this again. 

 Line up the bacon, cut it and then sauteed the bacon and onions.

 Added the chicken broth and evaporated milk.  This is my fairly new dutch oven that I got for Christmas from ME :)  I love it. 

 Peas added (and a perfect fit if I do say so myself)!

Served up- there was not enough left over for seconds :(  That is a good thing and a bad thing I guess!  I will be making this again. 

Sweet as Pie: Delicious Healthy Pizza

We have made a conscious effort to move toward clean eating this year in our house so I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would try it out for my pick for this month.  I shredded the fresh mozzarella cheese.

 And, I had this very handsome assistant chef. 

 Sauteed the fresh veggies.  I love how fresh and colorful they look in the pan.

 

 Put it all on top of the mushroom and bake it. 

 Wait until it is warmed through and the cheese melts. 

I would make these again and maybe tweak things just a bit.  David was not sold and the boys would NOT eat the mushroom at all. 

#38 Take the Boys Skiing

David and I love to ski.  The last time we went skiing, I was pregnant with our youngest.  We noticed how great the youngest of kids were skiing and realized we wanted to start ours young.  So, we took the boys.  HAS and JMS loved it, but LPS did not.  I think part of his problem was that he is so tiny that he couldn't lift his leg at all once the boots and skis were on his feet.  All 3 of them did remarkably well.  At one point, I even took JMS and HAS to the top of the mountain and we all skied down.  It took a long time to get down, but it was fun.  It started raining in the afternoon, but the boys had a good time regardless.  LPS was done after lunch... he just couldn't do it for one more minute.  He actually needed a nap, but there wasn't a place for that.

Getting Ready to Hit the Slopes

Getting Lift Tickets

David helping HAS with his skis

Me and LPS

JMS and me on the Ski Lift

Seriously... How cute is this kid??

HAS has the same simple joy factor in his life that I do

Didn't mind falling

Love these two... even if they spent a LOT of time on the snow!!!

He was determined to carry his own skis

JMS Skiing-

 HAS Skiing-

LPS Skiing-

We had a great time and are already planning next year's trip.  We are hoping LPS weighs a little bit more and can enjoy it more.