First Family Trip to the Zoo

A couple weeks ago, back on March 29th, some of our sweet friends from church, Heath and Brittany, invited us to join them and their precious baby girl, Addisyn, in a trip to the local zoo. We hadn't been to the zoo since before Rylee was born, so we were excited to visit it again and see how Rylee would react to seeing all the different animals for the first time. She has a few animal books here at home that she loves looking through, so I was hoping she would recognize several of them at the zoo based on their pictures in her books.
When we got there, we decided to go ahead and buy a one-year zoo membership so we can visit as many times as we want to for free throughout the next year. We also bought the train pass so we can ride the train as many times as we want to while we're there.
Between walking around to look at all of the animals, stopping to eat a picnic lunch, riding the train, and playing on the playground, we ended up spending about five hours there. Rylee seemed to really enjoy it, which makes me anxious to go back with her again soon. Ryan was asleep in his stroller basically the whole time we were there, but considering he's only three months old, that was to be expected. I know he'll enjoy the zoo a lot more as he gets older and becomes more aware of his surroundings.
Anyway, we had a great time enjoying God's amazing creations and making special memories with our friends and our little family. Below are some pictures from our day at the zoo. They're out of order, which totally drives me crazy, but believe it or not, I don't feel like trying to fix them.

riding the train

our friends: Heath, Brittany, and Addisyn (and Rylee looking at the monkeys)

my pretty girl, ready for her first trip to the zoo

swinging on the playground

swinging on the playground

swinging on the playground

swinging on the playground

swinging on the playground

Chicken and Dumpling Bake Casserole

Hello, Blog. I know I'm supposed to be trying to catch up on certain posts like our recent trip to the zoo and Easter this past weekend, but instead, I'm just checking in to share another recipe. Surprise, surprise. I promise I'm not turning this blog into a recipe blog... I just can't help but share this stuff since this has become part of my life (trying to cook more/experiment with new recipes). So anyway, please don't be mad at me... I will try to update on what's been going on with our little family lately very soon, but for now, you'll thank me for sharing this recipe. Trust me. It's called Chicken and Dumpling Bake Casserole. I found it on Pinterest. (Where else?) It's been sitting in my "Recipes I Wanna Try" pin board for several weeks now, and I finally decided to try it for dinner tonight. To be honest, I actually didn't have very high expectations for it. I mean, I like chicken and dumplings, but it's not my favorite meal in the world, and there was nothing to this recipe that really made me think, "Oh yeah... this is gonna be GOOD." Nevertheless, I knew I wanted to try it, and it seemed easy enough to be worth my time. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised when I finally tasted it. It was actually really yummy. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say it's one of my favorite recipes from Pinterest that I've tried so far. Jordan also really liked it, so I'll definitely be making it again. This is one to try, folks. You're welcome.
Here's the recipe:


Chicken and Dumpling Bake Casserole

Ingredients: 
3-4 cups cooked chicken (I didn't actually measure... I just used four nice-sized chicken breasts, cut up.) 
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 
1 cup self-rising flour 
1 cup milk 
2 cups chicken broth 
1 can cream of chicken soup

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Shred chicken, and spread it on top of the butter.
In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and flour, and slowly pour it over the chicken, taking care not to disturb the chicken too much. Do not stir.
Whisk together chicken broth and cream of chicken soup, and slowly pour over the flour and milk mixture. Do not stir.
Bake uncovered at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes until top is light golden brown.

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups

I'm back with another quick recipe from Pinterest for you. (You're welcome.) It's called Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups. I've always been a fan of chicken pot pie (especially Stouffer's chicken pot pie), so I was anxious to see how these would turn out, especially with the cheesy twist. Jordan and I both liked them. Again, they weren't anything that necessarily "wowed" us, but they were good. I'm sure I'll make them again at some point. Here's the recipe:


Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups

Ingredients:
1 can biscuits (I used an 8-count can of Pillsbury Butter Tastin' Flaky biscuits.)
1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (I used a peas, carrots, corn, and green beans mixture.)
1tsp. dried parsley flakes
1tsp. onion powder

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Separate biscuits and place each one in a cup of a lightly-greased 12-hole muffin pan, pressing the dough up the sides to the edge of the cup.
In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cream of chicken soup, frozen vegetables, cheese, parsley, and onion powder. Mix well.
Evenly spoon chicken mixture into prepared biscuit cups.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken and Cream Cheese Mac & Cheese

A few weeks ago, I decided to be REALLY ambitious and try TWO new recipes for one meal. Once again, I credit Pinterest for introducing me to these two recipes. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Pinterest? Yes? I thought so.) Anyway, the first recipe is for Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken, and the second recipe is for Cream Cheese Macaroni and Cheese. The chicken was so quick and easy to make, and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I will definitely be making it again. The macaroni and cheese was good overall, but the recipe calls for nutmeg, and I wish I had left it out, or at least cut the amount it called for in half. When I was preparing to make it, I didn't know/couldn't remember if I've ever had anything with nutmeg in it and if I liked it, so I decided to just go ahead and put it in, because I read that it really compliments creamy dishes. Well, in my opinion, the nutmeg gave the macaroni and cheese an earthy/peppery taste, and if you know me, you know I DON'T like pepper (the original recipe actually calls for pepper, too, but I omitted it). So anyway, if/when I make this particular macaroni and cheese recipe again, I will definitely be omitting the nutmeg. Otherwise, though, it was another successful day of recipe-trying. Here are the recipes:


Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix
1/2tsp. garlic powder
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix cheese, dressing mix, and garlic powder together in a bowl.
Moisten chicken breasts with water, coat with the cheese mixture, and then place in a shallow, greased baking dish.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.


Cream Cheese Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
3/4lb. elbow macaroni
olive oil, for drizzling
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2tbls. salt
1 1/2 cups (4oz.) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups (4oz.) shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 1/2 cups (4oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large pot of boiling water, cook macaroni for 3 minutes (don't worry... it'll still be very chewy). Drain macaroni, and return to the pot. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, and toss well.
Grease a large baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the half-and-half, milk, eggs, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in the cheeses and the macaroni. Spread the mac and cheese in the prepared baking dish, and scatter the cream cheese cubes on top.
Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and spread the melted cream cheese cubes evenly over the surface of the macaroni. Place dish back in oven, and bake for 40 more minutes, until bubbling.
Remove the baking dish from the oven, and preheat the broiler. Broil the mac and cheese about 3 inches from the heat source until richly browned, about 2 minutes. Let stand for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

Enchilada Stuffed Shells

I can't believe I'm actually back here already to write another quick post. Two days in a row - go me! I still have several posts I want/need to write soon to update on life lately and share some recipes I've tried recently, but for now, I wanted to go ahead and share the recipe I made for dinner tonight. It's called Enchilada Stuffed Shells. As I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of all things enchilada, so I was looking forward to trying these. They turned out pretty good... nothing that made me jump out of my seat, but I'm sure I'll probably make them again at some point (especially considering the fact that I still have half a box of uncooked jumbo pasta shells in my pantry). Anyway, here's the recipe:


Enchilada Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:
15 jumbo pasta shells
1lb. ground beef
2 (10oz.) cans mild enchilada sauce
1/4tsp. onion powder
1/4tsp. dried oregano
1/4tsp. dried basil
1/4tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup refried beans
1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preparation/Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain any excess fat.
Stir in onion powder, oregano, basil, and cumin.
Stir in 1 can of enchilada sauce.
Stir in refried beans.
Coat an 11x7-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and pour half of the remaining can of enchilada sauce evenly over the bottom.
Fill each cooked pasta shell with the beef/refried bean mixture, and place into the bottom of the coated baking dish.
Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tops of the shells.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, uncover, and sprinkle the tops of the shells with Colby Jack cheese.
Put the dish back in the oven, uncovered, for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Girls' Night Out, March 16th

Hello, Dear Blog. Remember me? Oh you poor, forsaken thing. I know it's been far too long since my last post, but I fear that is probably how it will be from now until... oh... FOREVER. Who knew that adding another baby to the mix would take up every last little bit of "free time" I used to think I had? (Yes, yes, I see you, all you parents of multiple children who are waving your hands in the air.) I know, I know. Really, though, I am sad I don't have time to blog the way I would like to anymore. There are several more recipes from Pinterest that I've tried lately that I want to share on here, and I'm so behind on updating about life in general. I'll do my best to get caught up over the next several days (do NOT hold me to that, though, because you more than likely will end up disappointed...), but for now, I wanted to post about the Girls' Night Out that the ladies from my Sunday school class had a few weeks ago.
We decided to meet at Olive Garden for dinner and fellowship. I LOVE Olive Garden, and I was definitely up for a little grown-up girl time. I am so blessed to be able to stay at home and take care of my babies every day, but sometimes, I NEED to get out of the house and have a little adult interaction.
Jordan got home from work that Friday evening and took over Daddy-duty, and I headed out the door to the restaurant. It was my first time out by myself since Ryan was born. It felt a little weird not having him with me, but I knew he was in good hands at home.
I got to the restaurant and joined two of the girls from our Sunday school class who were already waiting to be seated. Right after I walked in the door, a waitress escorted the three of us to our reserved table. Shortly after that, the rest of the ladies arrived. There were nine of us there altogether that evening. I'd say it was a pretty good turnout for our first Girls' Night Out.
I think I speak for everyone when I say we had a really enjoyable night. The food was really yummy (duh... we were at Olive Garden), and it felt so good to just sit around a table with other women going through some of the same challenges I am as a wife and mom and just talk and laugh about life. I think we were there for about two hours before we finally wrapped things up for the evening. I ended up running across the street to Target with my friend, Brittany (one of the girls in the Sunday school class with me) to grab a potato masher, since I was planning to try the Pioneer Woman's recipe for creamy mashed potatoes the next day (this is one of the recipes I'm planning to post about if/when I ever have the time). After that, we parted ways and headed home.
We're planning to have another Girls' Night Out later this month, and I can't wait. We don't have set plans for what we'll be doing yet, but I'm sure that, whatever we end up doing, I'll enjoy it. I'm so blessed to have a loving church family - and specifically a Sunday school class that focuses on the stage of life I'm currently in as a "young adult", and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to fellowship with each other every now and then for support and encouragement.
I took my camera with me that evening in case we had our waitress snap a picture of all of us at dinner, but of course that didn't happen (which is fine). I did have Jordan take a few pictures of me with my babies before I left the house, though, so I figure I'll share those instead...

Until next time...