.chicken marsala.

This recipe was introduced to me by my good friend Megan and adapted with a recipe from my favorite allrecipes.com. This pictures does not do this recipe justice. It really did taste much better than my picture looks! Such a simple meal that I made for company and it was a big hit! Also, made it with homemade mashed potatoes (recipe coming soon). Try it out for yourself and enjoy!



Ingredients (serves 4)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry

Preparation
In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

.lemon poppy seed bread.

This recipe is AMAZING and from a favorite website of mine Annie's Eats. The original recipe made muffins..but I am a bit lazy and tossing it all in a loaf pan seemed so much easier and was great to have as a grab and go breakfast. Try it out for yourself! btw..do make it with the glaze because it was so very tasty. Enjoy!



Ingredients
Yield: about 12 muffins
For the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
1¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup yogurt (plain or vanilla)

For the glaze (optional):
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir briefly to combine. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in the lemon zest and the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the yogurt, beating each addition just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the muffins are still warm, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to make the glaze. Drizzle a small amount of the glaze over each muffin. Let the glaze set before serving.

.ravioli.

I love cheese. I love pasta. I love cream. Now only if all of these things were amazingly good for me we would be in business. This meal is my "im too lazy to cook" recipe. It is so simple and I almost always have ready made ravioli in the freezer. Did you know that you can buy packages of refrigerated ravioli and just toss it in the freezer and it lasts practically forever?! As for the sauce I heat up some simple marinara sauce and toss some heavy cream in for that extra bit of awesomeness. Try it out for yourself and enjoy!



Ingredients
1 package of refrigerated or frozen ravioli of your choice
Pasta sauce of your choice
Heavy cream (optional)
Parmesan cheese for topping

Preparation
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add ravioli and cook according to package directions. Heat up sauce in saucepan for 5 mins, add cream and cook for an additional 2 mins. Top ravioli with sauce and cheese. Enjoy!

.chocolate chip kisses.

The non-baker in me combined with my baking friend Teresa made these amazing delights. So fun and they did not last very long in our house after we made them..note to self, careful when you press the kiss in, they melt quickly and can look like a pile of chocolate instead of a kiss..but I don't think many people will actually complain about a pile of chocolate on there cookie..so make these and enjoy!





Ingredients
1 18oz. package of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (didn't have so I didn't use)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
32 unwrapped milk chocolate kisses ( I used peanut butter cups too..tasted wonderful, but did not look as cute)
powdered sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375. In a large ziplock bag place all ingredients and knead dough until all ingredients are combined. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, place 2 inches apart on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Immediately press a kiss into the center of each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Sift powdered sugar over cooked cookies. Enjoy!

.treasure box.

If you have never heard of Treasure Box you MUST check it out!!! I was introduced recently to Treasure Box and now we are hooked and trying to get everyone we know to do the same. There mission is to provide families and individuals with a substantial box of grocery store quality food retailing between $60-$85 for just $32 each. The Treasure Box cultivates relationships with more than 500 major food manufacturers across the country to purchase and provide top quality, nutritious food at sizeable volume discounts to the general public. Ordering and pick up is so simple and we were able to find a site 1/2 mile away from our house. Amazing food (helps that we are the least picky eaters ever) at an amazing price. Really has helped us keep to our monthly budget. Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

Each Treasure Box contains between 21-25 pounds of high quality, frozen foods, including chicken, pork, beef, or seafood, as well as vegetables, fruit, a side dish and a dessert. One Treasure Box is enough food to nutritiously feed a family of four lunch and dinner for almost a week or a senior citizen for nearly a month. They also have several different boxes to choose from according to your needs (This is Bella investigating our treasure box for the month of April..im behind in posting I know)

.meatball sandwiches. {husband's choice}

Let me start by saying that these meatballs from Trader Joe's are my new favorite meal addition! They are so unbelievably tasty, simple, healthy and affordable how could you go wrong?! In my attempt to focus on simple meals in the next few months I thought I would try them out in a meatball sandwich. This meal took hardly any time at all the the hubby loved it!!! Meals like these help me remember that a fabulous meal can be simple too. Enjoy!





Ingredients
4-5 meatballs per sandwich1 French baguette
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
4 slices provolone cheese

Preparation
Bake meatballs according to package instructions. Meanwhile, cut the baguette in half lengthwise, and remove some of the bread from the inside to make a well for the meatballs. Slip the baguette into the oven during the last 5 minutes of the meatball's time, or until lightly toasted. While the bread toasts, warm the spaghetti sauce in a saucepan over medium heat and add garlic powder. When the meatballs are done, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the sauce. Spoon onto the baguette and top with slices of provolone cheese. Return to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Cool slightly, cut into servings, and enjoy!