Holly's Real Meals

What We’re Eating: 11/3–11/7

2014-11-03T16:53:00.001-07:00

Apparently, I am craving unhealthy food this week! I guess that’s what happens when you meal plan before you’ve eaten dinner. Most of this weeks recipes are new to me, with the exception of the Pot Pie. When I first discovered that recipe, I’m pretty sure I made it at least once a week for over a month. It’s that simple and delicious. Tonight, I am finally going to try the Pinterest famous Spicy Sausage Pasta, so hopefully it lives up to all the hype!

Monday
Spicy Sausage Pasta
Side salad

Tuesday
Garlic Ginger Glazed Salmon
Roasted Potatoes
Collard Greens

Wednesday
Chicken Pot Pie (A family favorite)

Thursday
Spicy Grilled Chicken Teriyaki
Rice
Steamed Broccoli

Friday
Chicken Broccoli Supreme

*I am linking up with Org Junkies Meal Plan Monday

10 Pumpkin Recipes to Try This Fall!

2014-11-02T21:00:00.001-07:00

The weather is finally cooling down which means it’s time to warm up the kitchen with some baking! Pumpkin has turned into one of my favorite scents, and my preferred way to fill the house with that smell is to pop some delicious treats in the oven. Here are 10 mouthwatering recipes that I am itching to make this fall:

Pumpkin Pancakes from Allrecipes

Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping from Bakingdom

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes from The Craving Chronicles

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting from Hoosier Homemade

Slow Cooker Sticky Caramel Pumpkin Cake from Platter Talk

Pumpkin Spice Granola from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts

Pumpkin Upside Down Cake from Menu Musings

Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites from Paleo Grubs

Skinny Pumpkin Cheesecake Poke Cake from Skinny Mom

Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins from Kitchen Vistas'

I am excited to put some of these recipes to the test this season!

What We’re Eating: 10/27–10/31

2014-10-28T19:47:00.001-06:00

Every so often I get into a little funk where no home-cooked food sounds good, and this week is one of those times. I’ve been putting off making our meal plan for this week because I have been simply lacking inspiration. But after a night of spaghetti (my husbands favorite, but definitely not mine) followed by a night of pizza, I’m ready to get back in the kitchen!

Monday
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Salad

Tuesday
Pizza!

Wednesday
Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

Thursday
Sausage and Peppers Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Friday
Crockpot Chicken and Rice Casserole

*Linking up with Org Junkie’s Meal Plan Monday this week.

Apple Crisp á la mode

2014-10-19T19:25:00.001-06:00

Apple crisp is, by far, one of my most favorite desserts. The tart apples soften to perfection and become coated in a sweet glaze and the cinnamon-sugar crumble on top turns into a crispy companion for the apples. Topping off this warm dessert with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream simply takes this dish to another level.

This is what the crumble topping should look like when it is all combined and ready to go.

If there is any of the sugar mixture left in the bowl, sprinkle that over the apples after they are placed in the baking dish. The brown sugar will caramelize and create a thick syrup.

The finished product is soft and bubbly on the inside, and browned and crispy on the top.

Apple Crisp á la mode

For Apples
4-5 of your favorite baking apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions
In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. Thinly slice the apples and add to the sugar mixture, stirring until all the slices are well-coated. Set aside.

In small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour the melted butter on top of the mixture and mix with a spoon until moist. Be sure to leave small clumps as this is what makes the topping nice and crunchy!

Pour apples into an 8x8 baking dish or a 9-inch pie plate. Coat with the crumble topping and bake at 375 F for 35-40 minutes, or until apples are soft. Serve with a side of your favorite vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

What We’re Eating: 10/13–10/17

2014-10-13T20:47:00.001-06:00

Looking back at the last meal plan I posted, none of the new meals that we tried really “wowed” our family. Don’t get me wrong, they were all decent meals, but none of them landed a spot on my Favorite Recipes board on Pinterest. *We ended up eating leftovers one night and didn’t get a chance to try the Cider Braised Chicken…The Thai Basil Turkey is something that I have made for years, so I will have to post the recipe for that sometime soon.

Monday
Peachy Pork Picante (recipe coming soon)
Rice
Steamed Broccoli and Carrots

Tuesday
Sautéed Chicken with Spinach
Fried Rice

Wednesday
Pea Pesto Pasta
Corn

Thursday
Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

Friday
Italian Baked Chicken
Spaghetti Squash
Corn

*I recently got a rice maker, but I still can’t make the perfect rice! I thought rice makers were supposed to make perfect rice every time…wrong! Needless to say, I am still experimenting with ratios and such, so that is why there is so much rice on the menu this week.

What We’re Eating: 9/21–9/26

2014-09-21T18:16:00.001-06:00

All of last weeks meals were pretty tasty! I probably won’t make the chili again, but everything else was a hit. This week, all of the chicken dishes are new recipes, so I will update next week on how we liked them.

Monday
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Legs
Caesar Salad
Sweet Cornbread Muffins

Tuesday
Thai Basil Ground Turkey
Fried Egg
Rice

Wednesday
Cider Braised Chicken
Rice
Fried Cabbage

Thursday
Oven Fried Chicken Strips
Simmered Cabbage
Corn

Friday
Tacos!

*We usually eat out on Saturdays, and on Sundays it’s either leftovers, something fast and easy like breakfast for dinner, or a frozen pizza.

What We’re Eating: 9/15 - 9/19

2014-09-15T19:14:00.001-06:00

Monday
Skinny White Chicken Chili
Crusty French Bread

Tuesday
Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce
Simple Seasoned Chicken Breast Halves (Seasoned with S&P, onion powder, garlic powder and a dash of Tony Chachere’s)

Wednesday
Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs
Corn
Mashed Potatoes (I will make extra potatoes to use in Thursday’s meal.)

Thursday
Shepherd's Pie (using only the filling recipe)

Friday
Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Hope this gives you a little bit of inspiration!

Sweet Cornbread Muffins.

2014-09-12T15:44:00.001-06:00

The only way I personally enjoy cornbread is if it is sweet. There is a certain restaurant we go to when we are in the mood for southern cooking, and with our meal they will bring us either biscuits or cornbread. I always excitedly order the cornbread, forgetting that I will be greatly disappointed when it arrives at our table and I bite into a dry, bland muffin.

These sweet cornbread muffins, however, have the perfect amount of sweetness for me. Not to mention, they only take a few minutes to whip up and pop in the oven. These are great with a dab of butter, a bit of honey, or enjoyed as is!

Sweet Cornbread Muffins
Recipe from The Neely's

Ingredients
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup whole milk
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F. Melt the butter in a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk, egg and honey and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together all of the remaining dry ingredients. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until combined.

Spray 6 muffin tins with nonstick spray, or line with paper liners. Fill each tin until they are about 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Mini Coupon Binder Tour + Video.

2014-09-08T17:34:00.001-06:00

Over the years, I have tried a few different methods of storing and organizing my coupons. At first, I only printed out coupons I needed immediately from the internet, so I never had too many on hand at once and it was easy just to stick them in my wallet.

Eventually, I started buying newspapers to get the weekly inserts, but if I were to stick every coupon from the paper in my wallet, I’m sure it would have made me go crazy. This brings me to my first attempt at organizing my coupons, which was one of the small, 10-pocket accordion files from Target. This worked well for awhile, but as I started accumulating more coupons, it started to become a tedious task to find one deodorant coupon in a section that held ALL personal care items.

Still, I stuck to this method because I knew that toting around a huge coupon binder was something that was not necessary for me to do, and I had no alternative way in mind to store them. One fortunate day, many of the home organization blogs I followed started posting about the new Martha Stewart line at Staples, and with her small 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” binder in hand, my mini coupon binder was born!

A few snapshots…

The first pocket holds envelopes with specific grocery store coupons and catalinas, plus my Target coupons.

The pink card sits on top of everything in the file, and as I add items to my cart that I have coupons for, I will put those coupons on top of the pink card to keep them separated from the rest.

There are three main categories – Food, Household and Personal Care. Each of these categories is arranged in alphabetical order with sub-categories:

FREE
Baking – chips, mixes, oil, sugar, misc.
Breakfast – cereal, oatmeal
Canned – beans, broth/soup, fruit, meat, pickles, salsa/tomatoes, vegetables
Condiments – salad toppings, spreads, sauces
Coffee (including creamer)
Drinks
Frozen – breakfast, dinners, desserts, rolls, pizza, seafood, snacks, vegetables
Meat – breakfast, deli, fresh, sausage
Refrigerated – butter, cheese/dairy, eggs, snacks
Snacks – candy, chips, cookies, crackers, fruity, granola bars, jerky/nuts, popcorn
Starches – bread/tortillas , pasta/rice
Dog – food, treats
Cleaning – air freshener, candles, carpet/floor, dishes, furniture, glass, laundry, shower, sponges, toilet
Paper – bath, kitchen (trash bags and paper towels), kitchen (food storage)
Personal Care – body lotion, deodorant, face, feminine products, hair, oral, shaving, soap-body, soap-hand, makeup, medical

These page protectors are the standard baseball size pockets, and they have flaps at the top of each section to make sure nothing escapes.

Best part of all is that it can easily be carried around in my purse!

Cherry Dump Cake.

2014-03-27T12:31:00.001-06:00

My body is currently suffering from sugar overload. Why? Because my lovely husband suggested we make this delicious dessert.

My mom always made her dump cake with a mixture of cherries and pineapple, but pineapple kind of grosses me out, so I always just looked at it with my nose scrunched in disgust. But recently, I had a version where the pineapple was omitted and I fell in love.
First, simply dump the can of cherries into the bottom of a 9x13 dish and spread it around.
(Now would be the time to add a can of crushed pineapple and stir the two together if your heart desires.)

Next, sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the top of the cherry filling.
Slice the stick of butter into thin slices and place along the top of the cake mix.

Place in the oven at 350 F for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the cake is nice and brown.
It’s normal to have a few dry patches on top that the butter didn’t reach.

Serve with a scoop (or two!) of vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Dump Cake

Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
1 stick margarine

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Spread cherry filling along the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over the filling.
Place thin slices of the margarine all across the top of the cake mix.
Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the cake is golden brown.
Enjoy with a side of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

This excites me.

2011-04-13T20:08:00.000-06:00

Lately, I’ve had a craving for strawberries. But the only time I ever see them on sale is when they are dark and mushy, and that doesn’t fly with me.

Today, I was out doing a little grocery shopping when I came across the most perfect, bright red strawberries. Most importantly, they were actually a good price so I had to pick some up!

Then I went to grab some bananas as well, and I heard some kiwis calling my name. That’s when a light bulb went off –- Fruit Salad!

Strawberries, grapes, kiwi, banana, apple, and a little squeeze of lemon juice…

Ahh, my little bowl of fruity heaven.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars.

2011-04-11T16:45:00.000-06:00

The perfect late night snack? Peanut Butter Granola Bars.

It was 1 am, and the craving for something sweet hit me.
So I made my way into the kitchen and 5 minutes later, these granola bars were in the oven.

Yes, they are THAT simple to make.

I have to admit that I’m a pretty impatient person. With that being said, this sweet treat was only able to cool for a maximum of 5 minutes before I couldn’t stand it anymore and just HAD to dig in.
This is what happens when you don’t let them cool:

They turn into warm granola globs that MUST be accompanied with a nice, cold glass of milk.

And I may have put in a few too many chocolate chips.
Okay, I DID put in too many. I always measure out the amount the recipe says, and then I add more.

Because I’m a chocolate fiend.

The extra chips could be a blessing in disguise though, because if I hadn’t been heavy with the chocolate, I probably would have eaten the whole pan in one night.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Adapted from Laughter, Strength and Food

Ingredients
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
2 Tablespoons of oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Add the egg, peanut butter, honey, oil and vanilla into the large bowl and mix until well blended.
Combine the oats, brown sugar and salt in a separate bowl; add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chips. The batter will be sticky.
Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes until set and edges are slightly browned. Cool on a wire rack, then cut into squares.