Granola (No, really Granola, not tree-huggers). :)

I know I posted about this granola very early on in my blog, but I made it again the other night and I think it turned out the best I ever made it. It is so simple to make and super cheap. Seriously, if you like granola and buy it a lot, then you should really try my recipe and make it yourself.

You take 4 cups of oats, not the minute oats, but the old fashion kind in the tall cardboard cylinder. Then add to that, 2 cups of coconut and 2 cups of sliced almonds. Don't use slivered almonds, make sure they are sliced or whole. I like them with a little bit of salt too, but you can just as easily use the unsalted almonds. In a separate small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of oil with 1/4 cup of honey. Whisk it together until it is fully incorporated. Then pour the honey mixture in with the oat mixture and stir completely until it is completely mixed. Pour it out into a glass cake pan and put into a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes, take it out and stir completely and then put it back in for another 15 minutes, again take it out and stir around completely and then put back in for another 15 minutes. Next, take it out and lay on wax paper or parchment paper until it is completely cooled. Put into a container and you can add craisins, cranberries, raisins, etc.

OMG! It is fab-u-lous!!! Seriously the BEST granola you will ever have. And it is waaaaaaay cheaper than buying it at the grocery store, cause let's face it granola is just way over priced.

Scallops and Pasta

So, I really love scallops, but I cannot always figure out different ways to fix them. So, tonight I thought I would go healthy.

I first diced up some zucchini, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and red, yellow and green bell peppers. I then added all of the veggies to some hot olive oil in a skillet. I let that cook for a while until I thought the zucchini was soft.

I then added some marinara sauce and then added some bay scallops. I like both bay and sea scallops, but I think when I am cooking a dish I like using the bay scallops because they are smaller. Let the scallops cook until they are opaque.
In another saucepan I cooked some angel hair pasta. I like angel hair the best out of all the pastas. I think I like it because it is thinner than the others. I am not a huge fan of pasta. I mean, I like it but I'm not all crazy about it. I know some people that could eat pasta every night and never get tired of it. Notsomuch me though. :)

Anywho, when the pasta and scallops are done cooking, I just added them all together. I then finished it off with some shredded Parmesan cheese. Mmmmmm, delicious!!!

I really don't have a name for this dish, but you really should try it. If you aren't a lover of seafood I am sure it would work well with chicken or tofu too!!

Was M.I.A. but Now I'm Back

Hi all! Sorry about being MIA lately. I have been swamped at school with grading, and grading, and even more grading. I seriously need to stop giving so much work. It is a hampering on my social life. Ha! I am back now though and will be posting more yummy, fab-u-lous dishes and restaurants that I love!

I recently got this oh so yummy salmon from Schwan's. Do you love Schwan's too???? I remember years ago when I was at home my dad used to get the best ice-cream from Schwan's. Well, believe me they have so much more than ice-cream!!! They come right to your door and you can get a ton of good products. Check out their website here and see if they deliver to your area.

Anywho, back to this salmon. OMG!!! It is so incredibly gooooood! I love salmon to begin with but this is super duper fab-u-lous!!! And of course you know me and rice. Yummy! And of course I always have butter on my rice. It is so good!!

Do you like salmon and if so, how do you like yours cooked? have you ever tried Schwan's?

Artichoke, Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

Okay that is a mouthful of a title and once you make and try this lasagna you will want to keep your mouth full!!! Ha! :) This lasagna is fab-u-lous!! OMG!!!! So good! And it is so easy to make. here's what you do.

Take a packet of Tastefully Simple's Viva Garlic Alfredo Sauce and make according to directions on the packet, mix it with 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream and 2-3 tbsp (or more if you like it cheesy like me) of Parmesan cheese.

Next in a separate bowl, combine 3 cups of shredded chicken. I used thigh meat because it is juicier. I just boiled the thighs and then let them cool and took off the skin and deboned them and then pulled the meat apart. Combine the shredded chicken with a 14.5 ounce can of artichoke hearts that you have drained and cut inot smaller pieces, 1/4 cup of chopped onion (or just 2 tbsp. of Onion Onion mix from Tastefully Simple), 1/2 - 1 tsp. of Garlic Garlic from Tastefully Simple, 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and 4 ounces of crumbled feta cheese. Mix that all really well. (How cool is it that you only need a couple of teaspoons or tablespoons of the mix compared to buying the vegetables???)

Next in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish, pour 2/3 cup of the alfredo sauce and spread evenly around.

Next add 3-4 lasagna noodles (I use the kind that you don't have to boil ahead of time).

Then 1 cup of packed spinach leaves.

And then 1/2 of the chicken mixture and 1/2 of the remaining alfredo sauce, repeat the layers.


Bake in a 350 degree oven covered in foil for 45-50 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until browned on top.

Mmmmmm, it is sooooooooo good. Seriously you've got to make it. It will definitely be a huge hit. People will be requesting it all the time. I made it last night for a Tastefully Simple meeting and it was seriously gone in about 10 minutes. No joke!!

Strawberries and Chocolate = Yumminess

Tastefully Simple just came out with their new spring/summer line of products and OMG!!! they are are incredible! I will be blogging about them throughout the next couple of weeks or months.

They have this amazing Strawberry Cheeseball Mix that is fab-u-lous!!! I like it as a cheeseball because c'mon what's not better than a sweet and delicious ball of cheese covered in graham cracker crumbs??? However, I thought of another way to serve it. I got this idea of sandwich cookies from the Joshua Brody Francis blog (you should check it out because it is a lot of fun to read and her sister has an amazing poof for her hair!!). A couple of weeks ago she made some chocolate chip cookies with vanilla icing in-between. Well, I thought it would be fantastic to make the Strawberry Cheeseball mix and then put that in-between two double chocolate chunk cookies. I then rolled them in red sprinkes. OMG!!! Can I just tell you how insanely good they were!!!! I mean really, strawberry cream cheese in-between chocolate chunk cookies!!!!

You should really try it out. They are incredible!! I am also going to try the Key Lime Cheeseball Mix in-between sugar cookies. I will blog about them too. Stay tuned.

Hop On Over for Cheddar Bunnies

These are so incredibly cute and so incredibly good!!! They are Cheddar Bunnies. You can get them in a variety of flavors. I like the white cheddar ones and also the regular cheddar ones. My friend Rachel gives these to her daughter Lila all the time and my sister Missy gives them to my niece Danica on a daily basis. Maybe I should say hourly basis. Ha! :) They are just so good. They are like the Goldfish crackers or even Cheez-its, but sooooo much healthier! They are made from Annie's, which is a healthy food brand that you may heard of. Their stuff is pretty good. But, I digress.

The Cheddar Bunnies have 0g Trans Fat, Low Saturated Fat, No Cholesterol, No Sugar Added, and Non -GMO. They are completely organic!! And really they are so good. They are definitely not just for kids, but if you have kids, then I would go out and buy these immediately because why not give your kids a healthier snack that they will love!!!! They can be found in every grocery store pretty much. Just look in the healthy food section.

White Chicken Chili

Okay, first off why is it called White Chicken Chili? What other kind of chicken is there besides white chicken???? Very confused by that. Ha!

Anywho, last night for dinner I made some White Chicken Chili. I love this dish because it is so full of flavor, so simple, pretty darn healthy and super yummy! And it doesn't make a ton and so since it is juts me I don't have to worry about all of the leftovers. I'm not a huge leftover fan. I can last about 2 days, maybe 3 on leftovers, and then I am just tired of it.
Like I said, soooo easy. You just take a pound of chicken and cut it into cubes and cook in a pan with 1 tbsp. of oil.


Once the chicken is white (and no longer pink) add in 1 cup of water and a packet of McCormick's White Chicken Chili mix and 1 can of white beans. Let that come to a boil and then turn it back to simmer for 10 minutes. That's it!!! So simple!


OMG!!! So good! I like to put green Tabasco on mine to add a little heat. I also put in onions, cheese and sour cream. You know, the normal chili staples. What do you like on your chili?

You should really stop by the grocery store today and pick up the ingredients because after a half hour of being home you will have an amazing and super yummy dinner ready. And it is healthy too!!