Who doesn't love a french fry?! Well these oven fries are super tasty and (dare I say) healthier! I make them often in place of baked potatoes or mashed potatoes. I would add the steak recipe but it wasn't what I deem "blog worthy" so the finished product includes our entire dinner, but the pomme frites are the true star of the show here.

3 medium/large potatoes peeled and cut (see pictures for better idea of how I cut them)
3 tbsp EVOO
1 1/5 tbsp of garlic salt
1 tbsp pepper
3 tbsp freshly grated (or store bought) parmesan cheese

Set oven to 450.
In a large bowl mix sliced potatoes, EVOO, garlic salt, pepper and parmesan. Make sure to get all the potato fries covered in the mixture. On a cookie sheet covered in foil (this makes for the EASIEST clean up) spread out fries and if you like, add another sprinkle of parmesan cheese.


Pop them in the oven for about 20 mins or until cooked through/golden brown. A quick word of caution they might stick to the foil but usually peel off easily.

Oh Fall how we love you because of all the good fall-inspired treats you bring! I had some pumpkin cheesecake at a restaurant a week or so ago and it was absolutely fantastic. All week long I had been thinking about possibly trying to make one at home but I was worried I wouldn't like it once I made it. Well I made it and we ALL loved it, however I didn't take all the "usual" blog pictures so the finished product will have to do. I found this recipe online and changed some things to fit my "the less I have to do the better" attitude. The only downside (if there could be one) is that it is a large recipe, it yielded THREE cheesecakes. So I'd say making this for a party would be just the ticket!

For the crust I just bought a pre-made ones (again the less steps the better)

1 15oz can of pumpkin puree
3 8oz packages of cream cheese at room temperature
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese until it's smooth, add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Beat well, then add flour and vanilla. Beat the mixture until it's combined with few to no cream cheese lumps. It will be runny.

Pour into crust (don't fill it to the top) and place in the oven for 1 hour.
Let it cool for 15-25 minutes and cover it with plastic wrap/or pie tin cover and place it in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.

ENJOY!

I have to say this dinner may not look pretty but it's delish. I haven't posted anything in a while because we literally had soup for daaaaays. So as I cautioned in that recipe I'm going to say it again- it makes a LARGE portion, cut it in 1/2 if you wish.

So back to the quesorittos: the name originates from the basic idea of a quesadilla with the fixings of a burrito but assembled like a pizza. Whew! That's a mouthful. Anyway I have to start by saying that in case you don't know, the EASIEST way to shred chicken is to cook it in the crockpot. I just recently learned this and am SO happy I did because shredding chicken with two forks was much too much work if you ask me. Anyway, once it's cooked it will fall apart and is SO easy to make so many different things. Ok enough of my fantastic new found information and on to the recipe!

1lb of boneless skinless chicken breast (you can use dark meat as well)
1 package of Lawrys chicken taco seasoning
1 1/2 cup of water
1 15oz can of Bush's black beans
1 15oz can of sweet corn
1 package of tortillas
1 package of mexican blend cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
*Optional:
 your favorite salsa
 avocado
 sour cream

Turn your crock pot on low and place either frozen or thawed chicken in with 1 1/2 cups of water and taco seasoning (you can just toss it on top no worries on mixing or anything, that easy!)
If you are cooking frozen chicken it takes about 4-5 hrs, thawed takes an hour maybe 2, (cooking times can vary) but it wont dry out because of the water as long as its on LOW.


Once the chicken has cooked through you can use a fork to pull it apart in the crockpot. Meanwhile heat up beans as well as the corn. Heat up tortillas and you begin the "pizza" making. Heat one tortilla sprinkle some cheese, pulled chicken, a layer of beans and corn, another sprinkle of cheese and top it off with a tortilla. Put it on flat griddle until tortilla crisps on both sides. We like to use a pizza slicer to cut it into smaller, easier pieces to eat. Top it with slices of avocado and salsa, or you can also choose to add salsa IN the quesorittos while you are layering, but it's all preference.


BONUS :)
I also happen to make these with left over pot roast and it's just as fantastic. But I add a few things, you'll have to keep checking for that recipe but I promise you won't be disappointed.

My mother wasn't a big cookie baker when I was growing up. She always said her mom made cookies all the time and she got tired of them. But, she loves to bake and once fall/winter comes around our house is full of goodies! Well, we finally had some true autumn weather this week and it must've brought out her baking spirit because she made her Famous Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf. I absolutely LOVE this recipe. Very easy to make and, besides pumpkin, most of us have the ingredients in our pantry already.

These meatballs are very easy to make and come out delicious. If you have time you can make your own spaghetti sauce, but I didn't have time so I used a jar of what I had in the pantry.


1 pound lean ground beef 
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (or more to your taste)
Salt & Pepper (to your taste)


Combine all ingredients in large bowl (I find that mixing with my hands incorporates them a lot better than mixing with a spoon). In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon (or one turn of the pan) of olive oil - just enough to create a little non-stick barrier - over medium-high heat. Form the meat into golfball sized portions and place in pan. Turn to brown on all sides (no need to cook them all the way through). 

Once they have browned on all sides, pour one jar (or your homemade) spaghetti/pasta sauce over the meatballs.




Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. This will finish the cooking process and also give a little more flavor to the sauce you used.
Serve over spaghetti (or whatever your favorite pasta is). I happened to have a box of jumbo shells half-used, so I combined with that. Enjoy!

One of my favorite soups is minestrone. It was nice and chilly today and felt like winter might just be here... mind you winter in SoCal is when it drops into the 60's. What I love about minestrone is that you can use a mix of your favorite veggies AND meat and it fills you up. I also happen to love food that has lots of color and this soup fits the bill. The prep time isn't too bad, but I'm sure you can find a few ways to cut corners and make it even easier. This one might seem like a lot of steps and a long process but it really isn't and you'll have full bellies all around. THIS RECIPE MAKES A VERY LARGE PORTION, if you like you can cut the recipe in 1/2 and I'm sure it would work just fine. However, we love it so much it doesn't last. My hope, is that it is a hit in your home, as it is in mine. Mangiare!

1 lb. of lean beef (I'm sure you could also use turkey)
1 cup of Ditalini pasta
2 32oz containers of beef stock 
1 15oz can of Cannelini beans rinsed and drained
3tbsp EVOO
1 cup of carrots
3 medium celery sticks
2 or 3 small zucchini (I used a yellow squash for kicks)
1 small onion
1 1/2 cups of green beans (you can use canned if you like)
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste (I highly recommend buying it in concentrate, it's pricey at first but worth it)
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbsp of meat seasoning (again, I used Lawry's)

Optional:
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan  (I bought a fresh block, cut it in 1/2 and stored one in the freezer and the other in the fridge)
Chicken bouillon- I use this quite a bit, buy a jar and it lasts for a while AND adds more flavor than plain salt/pepper.

In a small pot boil water to cook the cup of ditalini pasta, follow cooking instructions leaving it al dente and set it aside.

In a deep set pot or dutch oven set heat to medium and add EVOO, celery, carrots, onion and 1 minced garlic clove with a pinch of chicken bouillon (if you don't have it you can use a pinch of salt/pepper). Cook for about 5 mins until veggies soften up. Add beef, 2 minced cloves of garlic, meat seasoning, and tomato paste, use your cooking spoon to break up the meat until it's fully cooked.

Add the cannelini beans, can of diced tomatoes, beef stock, and bay leaves and allow it to simmer for 15 mins. Then add green beans, zucchini, and cooked pasta and allow it to simmer on medium to low for another 15min or until the zucchini has cooked through.

When you are serving the soup make sure you don't serve the bay leaves. If you leave them in the soup it renders more flavor so don't toss them.


We like to grate in fresh parmigiano reggiano to each bowl. Remember this cheese is much saltier than others, so watch your hand when salting/seasoning meat.


Try it with sliced baguette, croutons... whatever your taste buds are feeling!

This morning my hubby and I got to enjoy these smoothies and the Cozy Cottage Muffins (recipe below) that I made last night. The kids had a sleep-over night with friends, so it was truly a “blissful” morning. The tip with breakfast smoothies is to wash and cut the fruit the night before, or use pre-packaged frozen fruit so you can just throw everything in the blender in the morning. I peel and freeze bananas because I like the taste of a frozen smoothie, and you can stock up when they are on sale. Just blend and serve!
1 Banana
1 cup Strawberries
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt (or fat free plain Greek yogurt)
1 T Flax Seed Oil
1 T Raw Honey
1 or 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Optional: Throw in some protein powder. I recommend Garden of Life’s “Goatein” or “Raw” protein powders.
Variations of the recipe include the Orange Creamsicle Smoothie (1 banana and 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice), Chocolate-Banana (1 banana, 2 T raw organic cocoa powder), and Very Berry (1 cup blueberries, 1 cup strawberries or other mixed berries), with all other ingredients remaining the same. It's a yummy way to start the morning!

Besides the puppy, no one in our house is a morning person. But when I was a stay at home mommy, my kids never had cereal for breakfast. I always made eggs, waffles, toast, etc. Now that all four of us have some where to be quite early in the morning I have to improvise. These yummy breakfast treats are a hybrid of omelets and muffins. The prep time is about 15 minutes. If you double up on the recipe, you can make them on the weekend and then freeze them in a zip-lock bag and microwave them in the morning.
2/3 cup low fat cottage cheese

Ok I know I said I love food. But I must first admit. I HATE seafood. I can't stand the smell and I don't like the texture. That said, my husband (and my younger sister who lives with us) happen to love seafood.  My husband has a serious love for Whole Foods, and we spend a small fortune every time I let him grocery shop there b/c he buys so much seafood. But I don't blame him- it's all organic, fresh, and who doesn't love that! So after opening my freezer to massive amounts of seafood I decided to try my best to make the shrimp we had bought a few weeks ago. Here's my BIG disclaimer. I have NO idea how to cook seafood, so I looked up a recipe on how to make shrimp scampi and found one that looked easy enough and did what I always do: tweaked it. So take this recipe with a grain of salt. If it's not your favorite, I won't take it to heart.

1lb of shrimp peeled and deveined (about 12)
EVOO
7 cloves of garlic (we happen to LOVE garlic, but if you don't just use 3 or 4)
2 lemons
handful of pasta of your choice (I had a little of both linguine & angel hair so I just mixed them)

a pinch of red pepper flakes

garlic salt & pepper I just sprinkled on top of the shrimp (see the pic for a better idea, I don't usually use measuring spoons for spices, usually eye-ball it)
handful of sugar snap peas

Boil water with a dash of EVOO and pinch of salt- when it's ready add your pasta

In a skillet pour 2 tablespoons of EVOO, 3 or 4 garlic cloves chopped, and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes on medium to low heat and saute for about a minute CAREFUL to NOT let the garlic burn/brown or else it turns your EVOO bitter. 

Add shrimp and season with garlic salt & pepper, cook until shrimp turn pink approx. 5 mins.

** You can season it with the spice of your choice
Add the juice of 1 small lemon to the shrimp while it's still cooking.

Drain the pasta and in the same pot add 2 tbsp of EVOO with the remaining chopped garlic (3 or 4 cloves) let the EVOO come to a sizzle and return the drained pasta back letting the garlic/EVOO flavor your pasta. Add 1/2 lemon's juice to this and if you like a pinch of zest. After mixing this on a medium heat add pasta to the shrimp skillet, mix and let it sit for a few minutes on a medium heat.


Meanwhile, in the pot you cooked pasta in pour a tablespoon of EVOO and the sugar snap peas, saute for about 3 mins on medium heat then add them to your pasta skillet, mix and voila!



The remaining 1/2 of your lemon can be used as slices to accompany each dish for guests to add extra lemon if they prefer.

I admit I did NOT taste this. My husband did and he said it was good.... yay me!

I found this recipe on rachelray.com and it has been a complete hit. My husband is a meat and potatoes guy and this couldn't be more perfect. I tweaked some ingredients because 1) I'm a texture person 2) the less I have to add the better. I also add my homemade red salsa to kick it up a notch because we like our food on the spicy side. (I promise to do a post soon on how to make red and green salsa)

1 lb lean ground beef
1 bag of hashbrown (or you can grate your own potatoes, I'm about simplicity but to each their own)
1 bag of grated cheese (I use the Mexican blend)
1 small onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 tbsp of all meat seasoning (Lawrys is a staple in my home, use what you have)
1 15oz can of kidney beans
Optional- 2 tbsp of red salsa, add your own at your discretion.

** The original recipe calls for tomato paste (1/4 cup) but if you don't have it, which I didn't last night, no worries. It also calls for a 15oz can of diced tomatoes but I don't like the texture so I skip that as well. Also I don't use EVOO b/c the beef, even the leanest, renders enough fat.

1. Set your oven to 425
2. In a deep set skillet cook the 1lb beef adding the onion, garlic, and meat seasoning until it browns.
3. Rinse and drain the can of beans and add it to your beef, (If you like diced tomatoes add them and your salsa) once it has warmed through (3-5mins) pour mixture into a deep dish.
4. Add a layer of cheese on top, followed by a layer of hashbrown and another layer of cheese. It should be about 1/2in thick, or as thick as you prefer. We like a lot of hashbrowns :)
5. Use a cookie sheet to place your chili on in case of over bubbling, place it in the oven for 35 mins or until the top layer is nice and golden brown.



We like to add a dollop of sour cream and can't forget the veggies, a side salad.

The finished product: