Blueberry Muffins

Hey There!
Today I'm sharing a family recipe for blueberry muffins. 

I've been loving going through my grandma's recipes. 

There are some new recipes and some tried and true ones. 

I found this one last weekend and since Alex brought me home two containers of blueberries instead of one, I decided to make muffins after making a blueberry cake the week before.

What You'll Need:

2 TBSP. Flour

5 TBSP White Sugar

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

2 TBSP. Butter (Softened)

2 C. Flour

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 C. Butter (Melted)

3/4 C. White Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/4 tsp. Lemon Peel

1/2 C. Milk

1 1/2 C. Blueberries

For the streusel topping, combine the first set of ingredients (flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter). 

Cut up until fine pieces.

Set aside.

Set the oven to 375 degrees. 

Line muffin tins with wrappers.

Combine flour. baking powder and salt. 

Set aside.

In mixer combine butter, sugar and vanilla. 

Mix well. 

Add two eggs. 

Mix again. 

Alternate adding the dry ingredients and adding the milk.

Fold in blueberries.

Pour into muffin tins. 

Sprinkle with streusel topping. 

Bake 20-25 minutes. 

Cool in pan 5 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Chicken and Noodles

Hey There Wednesday!
I'm back with a delectable treat for a frigid day like today. 

This is comfy, cozy food at its finest. 

There's nothing better than a bowl of chicken and noodles on top of mashed potatoes.

What You'll Need: 

1 Pound Chicken Breast (I used thawed)

2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup

2 Cans Chicken Broth

1 Stick Butter

1 Package Frozen Egg Noodles (24 oz.)

Get out your oval Crock-pot. 

Trim any extra fat off of the chicken. 

Place the chicken in the bottom of the Crock-pot. 

Pour the soup on top of the chicken. 

Add the chicken broth.

Put the stick of butter on top. 

Set the Crock-pot to low for about 6 hours. 

Take the chicken out and put in a separate bowl. 

Shred the chicken. 

Place it back in the Crock-pot.

Add the frozen noodles. 

Mix in. 

Cook for 2 more hours.

*I have to give credit to Pinterest for this recipe.
I adjusted it a bit, but I got the original recipe from there.
I couldn't find who posted it, but it was a Pinterest win!

I was considering putting these on top of a warm biscuit but Alex requested mashed potatoes. 

So, we had warm chicken and noodles on top of mashed potatoes!
Yummy!

Ronald Reagan Macaroni and Cheese

Happy Monday!
By the time you are reading this I hope I'm back in my classroom. 

I went to school one day last week and that was for a professional day of meetings.

 

It's rained, snowed, been -4 degrees, been 50 degrees, and flooded all within the last week. 

Our weather in Ohio is crazy, and as I'm typing this I think I have cabin fever. 

On Thursday it was snowing at 4 am and then an inch or two of snow an hour later. 

I waited until Alex got home to take me to grocery store. 

I had gone running in the morning and it was even slippery to run, so I was a bit hesitant to head to the store. 

I've been baking all kinds of good recipes while I've been home. 

My only caution is to not bake too many things because we're only two people and can't eat it all. 

I typically share a lot with my parents and that helps make things go faster.

Today I'm sharing a recipe that I've found several times in my grandma's recipes. 

Ronald Reagan's mac and cheese must have been the rage at the time!

What You'll Need:

1/2 Pound Macaroni

1 TBSP. Butter

1 Egg (Beaten)

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Dry Mustard

1 TBSP. Hot Water

1 C. Milk

3 C. Grated Cheese (I used Cheddar-in the future will try American)

Cook macaroni as directed (usually about 9 minutes).

Drain. 

In the meantime, butter a casserole dish. 

Add butter and beaten egg to macaroni. 

Add in cheese. 

Add salt, dry mustard and hot water to milk. 

Pour macaroni in buttered dish. 

Pour milk on top. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 

The last 10 minutes add a little cheese on top. 

The recipe called for you to pout the milk on top of the macaroni; however, in the future I might might it all together and then put it in the dish. 

I can't quite handle boxed macaroni and cheese anymore. 

I just don't like the taste for some reason.

Any kind of macaroni and cheese used to be my favorite, so I'm not sure what has happened along the way.  

This was a great alternative.

Enjoy!

Ruthie's Potato Soup

It was a frigid one last weekend. 

Unfortunately/fortunately we got mostly rain on Saturday, which then turned to snow Saturday night and we ended up with about 8 inches by the time we woke up. 

We spent the morning shoveling snow at our house, some neighbors and at my parents and their neighbors. 

When we got home a few hours later I was ready for a nice bowl of soup. 

I had been going through recipes and found this one of our dear family friend. 

My grandma Beabout never really wrote down her soup recipes, so I was excited to find this one. 

I grabbed the potatoes and quickly got to work. 

What You'll Need:

2 TBSP. Butter

6 Large Potatoes-Diced

2 Med Onions-Chopped

3 Stalks Celery-Diced

1/2 Tsp. Salt

Pepper to taste

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Cup Milk

2 Cups Cheese (Velveeta)

In a saucepan, melt the butter.

Add in the diced potatoes, onions and celery. 

Add your desired salt and pepper. 

Saute 5 minutes. Stir often. 

Add 2 Cups of Chicken Broth.

Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. 

Stir in 1 C. milk. 

Add 2 C. cheese. 

Heat until cheese is melted.

*You can opt to use half and half instead of milk. 

In addition, we didn't have any onions, so I didn't use any. 

This is a great lunch for a snowy, chilly day!

Enjoy!

Try It Thursday: Spice Bundt Cake

I'm sharing another tried and true recipe today!

This one is from a cake I made for my mom's birthday. 

We had been away for a wedding the night before, so I knew my parents wouldn't be back in town until later. 

I wanted to make something for her, so I opted for a spice cake since that's her favorite!

It's simple and easy and tastes delicious in the end!

Items Needed for Cake:

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

Ingredients on Cake Box plus 1 Egg

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

Items Needed for Glaze:

1 C. Brown Sugar

1.2 C. Heavy Cream

4 Tbsp. Butter, cubed

1 C. Powdered Sugar

1.4 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1. Mix cake mix and spices together.
2. Add ingredients on the cake box plus extra egg and beat on low for 1 minute.
Change speed to medium and mix for 2 more minutes.
3. Pour batter into greased bundt cake pan.
4. Bake according to package.
5. Let cake cool for 10 minutes
6. Invert and let finish cooling.

7. In saucepan, combine brown sugar, cream and butter.
8. Stir over low heat until butter is melted.
9. Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil while stirring. Boil for 3 minutes, and then remove from heat.
10. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla.
11. Stir until smooth and drizzle over cooled cake.

*Credit to Chocolate, Chocolate and more for this awesome recipe!

This recipe was so light and sweet!
I wanted to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Enjoy it with a nice glass of milk!

How We: Meal Plan!

Hey ladies!

It's a "How We" Wednesday with Erika and Shay.
I haven't linked up for quite a while, so I'm super excited to see what everyone has to share today.
I love meal planning and find it so essential to running regular life with ease.
I'm always looking for ways to create quicker, healthier and more fulfilling meals!

The second Wednesday of each month these ladies share a new "How We" topic. 

If you're interested in the topics so far this year or ones to comes, check out the graphic below.

This month we're sharing: 

How We Meal Plan...

Before I've posted that I would go to the grocery store on Thursday and that allowed me to plan out in advance so that I knew what I was making the next week and could get all of those ingredients in ahead of time.
Since it's been the summer and I was off all of the time, I let go of my normal Thursday grocery shopping and went when I found it convenient.
Once it starts getting darker sooner I probably will jump back into that routine.
For now, I've been grocery shopping at a more local grocery store after church on Sunday's.

On Saturday or Sunday I typically plan out our meals for the week.
I ask Alex for suggestions and then write out the meal plan for each day.

Then, if time allows and I always hope it does, I make a few meals on Sunday.
Here I am on Sunday making hamloaf and then I actually made the meatloaf on Tuesday evening.
If I make a big batch, I will freeze half of it.
This keeps us from wasting food and also provides another meal for the freezer!

I simply write what it is and the date on whatever sticky tags I have in the drawer and pop it in the freezer.

The meatloaf was a special request by Alex.
He wanted it in the Instant Pot, so it's ready for Wednesday evening!

This allows me to have meals ready-to-go for the week.
I can pop them in the oven or put them on the grill when I get home from work.

I'm the type of person who has to eat at least three meals a day.
If I don't know what I'm going to eat for the next meal I'm stressing about it.
Having a plan is so convenient and makes life so much less stressful.

With that being said, I need new breakfast ideas.
Alex was asking me the other day about making a breakfast casserole on the weekend and having it to heat up during the week.
I'm open to that and new breakfast casserole recipes or other recipes to jump start our mornings.
We typically don't have a ton of time in the mornings as we both are usually out of the house by 6.
We find waffles and other processed foods don't hold us over very long.
Right now we are doing oatmeal and eggs, but eggs do take a bit of time.
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Try It Thursday: Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

Today I'm back at it sharing with you another scrumptious recipe. 

Today I'm sharing...

Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

from Shay's book. 

I made this previously for my mother-in-law's birthday and then again for a church function.
Everyone was raving about it.
It tastes just like a peanut butter cookie!
So moist and peanut buttery!

Items Needed:

1 Yellow Cake Mix

2 Small Boxes of Vanilla Pudding

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 1/4 Cups Water

4 eggs

1 Cup Peanut Butter

I adjusted the icing recipe because it typically makes too much for us.
This is what I used.

Icing:

1/2 Cup Butter, Softened
1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Splashes of Milk
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

Grease the pan.

Mix up all of the ingredients.

Pour into the pan.

Bake 45 minutes at 350

When it comes out, let it sit for 10 minutes in the pan. 

Flip over onto desired plate/dish.

Mix up the icing ingredients. 

Be careful not to add too much milk starting out.

Ice the cake.

Serve with a tall glass of milk.
What a great birthday cake!

Freezer Meal: Baked Ziti

I'm back with another make ahead freezer meal. 

It's the perfect pasta dinner for when you're having a busy evening. 

Items Needed:

1 Box Ziti or Penne

1 Pound Cooked Ground Beef

1-24 oz. Jar of Pasta Sauce

1-8 oz. Cream Cheese

8 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I saved this to put on before you bake)

Fry ground beef.

Drain grease and add in cream cheese.

Then, add sauce.

Cook pasta according to directions on the box.

Set out pans. 

I choose to use three smaller rectangular pans since it's just Alex and I. 

You could choose to use one big pan or two medium sized ones. 

Separate out the pasta evenly.

Add the sauce mix on top.

Put the lids on. 

Add label and cooking instructions. 

Freeze.

When you're ready to cook, thaw, top with cheddar cheese and bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

I have to give credit to Passion for Savings for adding this recipe to Pinterest. 

Pineapple Fluff: Only 4 Ingredients Needed!

If you're in need of a super easy dessert, try pineapple fluff!

I swear I posted this before, and just last week I jumped on the blog to look for the recipe and couldn't find it. 

The other night I was waiting for Alex to come home from work.

We were going to grill out, and I had the chicken, corn and asparagus all ready, but I wanted a dessert. 

I didn't have a lot of time, and I didn't want to bake, so I grabbed my desserts binder and found this super easy one. 

You only need 4 ingredients!

Items You Need:

1- 8 oz. Cool Whip (Thawed)

1 20-oz. Can Crushed Pineapple (Drained)

1 Can Eagle Brand Milk

1/3 C. Lemon Juice

Basically after you drain the pineapple, you mix everything together and enjoy. 

Just make sure the lemon juice is added last. 

It's quick. simple. and delicious!

Enjoy!

Pineapple and Eagle Brand milk.

Adding the Cool Whip. 

Friday Favorites: Beach Weddings, T3 Wand, Xcaret, The Travel Institute

Happy Friday!
I'm so glad to jump back in to one of my favorite days.
It's a Friday Favorites kind of day!
I have so many great things to share!


As always, I'm linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea. 

We're sharing our favorites from the week.

Grab their graphic and linkup with your favorites from the week, too.

Beach Weddings

I am a sucker for any and all beach weddings. 

A couple weeks ago Alex and I went to Mexico. 

We stayed at two resorts and both had lots of weddings!

One of the resorts had more over the top weddings, and I LOVED them!

My favorite thing about our destination wedding might have been my beautiful flowers that I couldn't even take home with me because we lived over 1,000 miles away and were going on a cruise the next day!

Xcaret

While in Mexico, we ventured off to our first ever excursion. 

I had seen and heard about Xcaret, so we decided to see what it was all about. 

So fun!

Xcaret is an all-natural park. 

They have animals, snorkeling, underwater rivers, swimming with dolphins/stingrays, etc. 

The locals compared it to our Disney World. 

You pay a fee to visit the park and then you can add on any extras that you want. 

We paid for the whole day and evening. 

During the evening they have a couple shows, with the Espectacular being the final and most grand one. If we were going to be there all day, why not stay for the shows?

We added on swimming with dolphins and full-body fish therapy. 

We got there pretty early and didn't want to be wet all day, so we decided to forgo the underwater rivers until later. 

We walked around and saw various animals and basically toured the whole place, getting our bearings down for where our extra add-on activities would take place. 

We saw the butterfly conservatory, birds, stingrays, turtles, etc. 

We went on a little boat ride, which was beautiful. 

I would have ridden it several times had we had the time!

Then, we ate lunch and got ready for our swimming with dolphins extra. 

I've always wanted to swim with dolphins, so I was excited when Alex agreed with it. 

We chose the package that allowed us to interact and swim with them. 

I was a bit disappointed that all of the groups were in the same area. 

There was even bleachers and a waiting area for people to watch. 

I'm not much on crowds, and even though there were about 6 groups going at once and only 3 other people in our group, I would have enjoyed a little more seclusion. 

We had a blast interacting and swimming with the dolphins!
They are so intelligent!

Then it was time for our fish therapy. 

Alex really wanted to do this, and even though I feel it's kind of like swimming in fish poop, I went ahead with it. 

The best thing about this activity was that we did the full body one. 

There were two tubs overlooking the beautiful ocean with little fish in them. 

The water was freezing, and the poor worker wasn't quite sure how to communicate with us on what we were supposed to do. 

I would say this was the only time that there was an immense language barrier. 

Otherwise the Mexicans were so great at answering our questions and communicating with us. 

Props to them for learning more languages than their native one. 

We were easily able to figure out what the guide was trying to say and slowly got into the water. 

Now let me tell you....that water was COLD!

The view was breathtaking, and I think they forgot about us because it lasted longer than I think it was suppose to. 

After the fish therapy we headed for the underground rivers. 

We were SO disappointed to find out that they close early!

We didn't check the time because we just figured they would be open until the park closed. 

Nope. 

We were five minutes late and didn't get to experience the underwater rivers. 

I felt so bad for Alex because I knew he would love that. 

We learned a major lesson, though, always check the time to see when things close!

The day seemed to fly by. 

I almost wish we had two days there.

There was so much to do and see!

We ended the evening with the Espectacular!

T3 Wand

I've been hearing a lot about wands for a while now. 

I typically use a curling iron and wrap my hair around it just like a wand. 

One day I saw the Whirl Trio set on sale on Gilt City.
It just happened to pop-up in my email.


via

Interestingly enough I thought I had a credit on that site from our wedding. 

Sure enough, I logged in and found I had a $100 credit. 

I could purchase a $250 T3 gift certificate for just $160. With an additional discount I got it for $35!!

The actual set itself cost $270. I had my $250 credit and there was an additional discount, so I paid $5 for it.
That's a grand total of $40 for this set that retails for $270!

The great thing is I love this tool!
I wasn't sure how much I would use it, but I've been loving the tapered barrel.
It only takes 10 seconds to wrap it around the barrel and you are good to go.
I've been trying out the different barrels, but the tapered one is my favorite so far!

Red, White and Blue Trifle

If you're looking for a quick and easy dessert for this weekend, check out my red, white and blue trifle!

Yesterday I posted this light, airy and delicious dessert that I might have gotten more comments on than any other dessert ever!

It's easy to make and doesn't even require heating up your kitchen!

Check it out here!

The Travel Institute Scholarship 

Last summer I took a leap of faith and started working in the travel industry. 

I had no idea what I was doing but jumped right into a three day boot camp and got the ball rolling. 

Now that I have a base, I'm working on gaining more knowledge. 

Each week I've been watching several webinars. 

One of the webinars last week was the chance to win a scholarship for a certification through the Travel Institute. 

I quickly got to work on my essay and ended up winning one of the scholarships!
I'm currently working on certification through Royal Caribbean; I'm about half way through.

When I'm done with that I will start on the new one through the Travel Institute. 

The whole world of travel has been so exciting!

Currently I have clients in Jamaica and Vegas and Alex and I are off on another getaway tomorrow morning!

Here's to hoping you have a relaxed and enjoyable weekend!