Halloween Party Faire

I know I'm about a week late, but here's what happened at our house! We teamed up with another couple in our Sunday School class this year to host the annual Halloween party! Computer Man and I really enjoy decorating the house up for October, November, and December. For Halloween, he goes all out with fog machines, strobe lights, and tombstones outside while I like to decorate the inside with blacks, oranges, purples, and greens. We were so excited to have everyone over this year...and then we got sick! We were so bummed, but the show must go on! We rallied all the strength we could and got the last of the decorations up as the first couple arrived. It's tough working when you've got a fever! Oh well, we still managed to enjoy ourselves and everyone said they had a really good time! Here are some shots of the table as well as some food that I made! Enjoy your November decorating--I know I am!

Halloween Party Table: Appetizers and Main Dishes (except for the baked potatoes that were still in the oven; they filled up that giant gaping hole)

Drinks and Desserts (Lemon-Lime Water, Orange Party Punch in the Skull Bowl {1 qt orange sherbet, 2 liter Sprite, 1 tube thingy of frozen orange juice concentrate, 1 cup apple or pineapple juice}, Dragon's Blood Fruit Punch and a table full of calorie-laden treats.)

Mummy Cupcakes (use tip #46...I think...and drag strips across top of cupcake leaving a space for eyes...I should've left a space for the mouth, too; dot two eyes in the empty space.)               

                                                                                                 Spider Web Cupcakes

(pipe 5 rings on top of cupcake and drag a toothpick from center to edge 7 times to create web effect; top with a fake mini spider!)

It's the Great Pumpkin Cupcake (I used the Big Top Cupcake mold, shaped the top to be round, frosted it with orange buttercream, used a circle tip to make the vines, and topped it with an extra square of cake that I spread brown buttercream on...bad grammar..."an extra square of cake ON WHICH I spread brown buttercream." There. Now I can sleep tonight.)

Seven Layer Bean Dip

1 28 oz can refried beans

4 avocados and 2 packets of guacamole mix plus the juice of 1 lime

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

16 oz container sour cream

4 oz can of diced green chiles, drained and a 4 oz can of sliced black olives, drained (I mixed these together to make one layer because otherwise I'd have to call this Eight Layer Bean Dip and that's just wrong because we always call it Seven Layer Bean Dip--that's just how we roll in my family)

1 cup chopped lettuce

2 tomatoes, chopped

(I piped some extra sour cream on top to make a spiderweb)

A bunch of tortilla chips

A big, long spoon so you can dig down deep to get some of everything on your plate; don't use those stupid little appetizer plates, just go for the big one!

Make guacamole at least 30 minutes in advance; squirt the lime juice on it and mix it up so the avocados don't brown. Use a trifle dish or whatever other deep dish you want. Layer in the order given...or in whichever order you'd like...or not at all...or leave some stuff out to make it a 4 layer bean dip...or add stuff in to make at 10 layer bean dip...or, okay I'm done rambling. How about you just enjoy this?!

Creamy Taco Mac

One of my nearest and dearest friends (K) and I have grown up together since we were in the 7th grade. Our dads met at work and found out that they each had daughters the same age, at the same school, and in the same grade. Our families had moved to the area at about the same time and our dads were working in the same department. We were destined to be friends. I don't get to see her very often (although she did come stay with us at the end of September for a few days--it was glorious!), but I always think of her whenever I eat Hamburger Helper. To begin, I'm definitely not "above" having Hamburger Helper and I think it's quite convenient in a pinch. Regularly they are on sale for $1 at the grocery store so I can feed us for under $5 if I have to. Growing up, we ate a lot of Hamburger Helper since we were on a fixed budget. That being said, as K and I became closer and closer, she was always at our house. If she was there during dinnertime, it seemed like we were having was Hamburger Helper! Again, the $1 price tag is quite intriguing! Serve with a salad and a can of corn or green beans and you've really got a good meal to serve a family! When my mom found out that K was coming to stay with us for a few days, she sent me a box of Hamburger Helper as a joke and I told K that that was what I was making for dinner to welcome her! She died laughing because she really can only remember eating it at our house! Good times! When I stumbled on this recipe at Annie's Eats, I knew I wanted to try it to see if it lived up to the ease of the boxed meal. It really did, and it was much healthier, too! Maybe I'll make this for K next time she comes!

Creamy Taco Mac
Source: adapted from Annie's Eats
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
8 oz. dry pasta (like tubes, bowties, shells, elbows, or curls)
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (14 oz) can Rotel's (or Mexican style diced tomatoes)
1 packet Lawry's taco seasoning
3 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 green onions, diced

Directions:
-Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water; set the water aside. Return pasta to large pot.
-In a large skillet, cook the onion and ground turkey over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Once the turkey is cooked, add in the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
-Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
-Transfer the turkey-tomato mixture to the pasta pot. Add in the cream cheese, sour cream, and reserved pasta water. Stir until the cream cheese is melted and sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit. Remove from the heat and top with shredded cheese and green onions!

Healthy Muffins and Family

If you get to live near to, or within a reasonable driving distance from, your parents BE THANKFUL! My parents live 2000 miles away and we only get to see each other a couple of times a year--if that. We used to live in Northern California, but I moved to Southern California for college and just before I graduated they moved back "home." My whole family is native to South Dakota and I still call it "home" even though I haven't lived there in over 20 years. I love the weather of Southern California, I love my church, I love my friends and the little bit of family I have down here, but I really miss being close to my parents. A few weeks ago they came to stay with me and Mario for a few days before we went to a wedding in Vegas. It was SO MUCH FUN having them here in our new house. So, again I say, if you have the convenience of seeing your parents whenever you want, consider yourself blessed and cherish the time you have with them!! My parents have recently gotten on a health kick and I knew I wanted them to have a healthy breakfast option when they were at my house. My mom and I haven't had the chance to bake together in years so instead of having these muffins ready before they came, I asked her if she'd help me make them. We used to bake cookies and all sorts of fun things together when I was a kid, so this was surely a treat! These muffins are really delicious and you really can't feel guilty having 2 of them! They fill you up and make a delicious breakfast alongside a cup of coffee and an orange! I love you, Dad and Mom!!

Blueberry Applesauce Muffins
Source: Annie's Eats
Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 quick cooking oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 T canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup blueberries (frozen works just fine)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375. Either line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray well with Pam.
-Mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
-Add in applesauce, buttermilk, brown sugar, oil, and egg.
-Mix together until just incorporated.
-Gently fold in the blueberries with a spatula.
-Divide batter evenly between the muffin cups.
-Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
-Cool on a wire rack.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

One of my favorite things to do is order pizza on a Friday night and sit down to watch a good movie with a cold Diet Coke, a bunch of friends, and just veg the whole evening. But, some nights, like Tuesdays, we can't really invite a bunch of people over because there's work the next day, so I like to recreate those fun nights for just the two of us every once in a while. I think this pizza was delicious; Mario is totally satisfied with plain cheese, but you already knew that from previous pizza posts. You'll notice that just half of the pizza had red onions, so I still had to modify it slightly for his tastes. (Note: the recipe is designed for an entire pizza full of the red onions!) He did enjoy this, so that was good, but I know he won't be requesting this on his own. Ever. Oh well! Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Source: Me
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 pizza dough
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2-3/4 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
1 chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled and sliced
3 green onions, diced
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 500 (if you use a pizza stone, allow it to heat up with the oven plus leave it in there an additional 30 minutes after the oven is preheated).
-On a piece of floured parchment or wax paper, spread the dough out to the size of your pizza pan or stone.
-Spread a thin layer of the BBQ sauce on the dough, leaving about 1/2 border.
-Top with the cheese, grilled chicken, red onion, green onion, and cilantro. Drizzle more BBQ sauce over the top.
-Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Baked Chicken Parm

I know, I know, it has been sooo long since I last posted something. We have been so busy entertaining out-of-town guests and trying to keep up with crazy schedules! I made this delicious dish one evening knowing that Computer Man would enjoy it after a long day at work. It was a big hit with both of us and he enjoyed having the leftovers for lunches!

Baked Chicken Parmesan
Source: Me
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
2 T butter+1 T olive oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 jar favorite marinara sauce
1 lb. spaghetti

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400.
-Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
-Pour the marinara sauce in another saucepan and heat on medium.
-On a cutting board, cut each chicken breast in half so that there's a top and bottom; don't cut it down the middle, cut it so that there are two equal, but thinner, halves. Place each half in a large resealable plastic bag and pound it a handful of times to make it even thinner. Season each half with salt and pepper, coat in some flour, then egg, then the breadcrumbs. Set aside until all 6 halves of the chicken breasts are coated.
-In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter until the butter is melted. Put 3 halves in the skillet and cook on each side for 5 minutes. Remove from skillet, set aside and repeat with the last 3 halves.
-In a 9x13 glass baking dish, arrange the 6 halves on the bottom. Top with enough sauce to cover each half; set remaining marinara aside. Top with mozzarella cheese.
-Bake until the cheese is melted and the chicken is totally done--if it didn't cook all the way in the skillet.
-Serve over hot spaghetti noodles and top with freshly grated parmigiana cheese.

How I Got Organized

There are parts of my life that are über organized and there are others that look like they were put through the food processor with those onions last night! Husband has funny little quirks like making sure the TV remotes are all in a straight row, and I have funny little quirks like the urge to mess up his little row of remotes! But, when it comes to things like my belovéd bookshelves, my recipe collection, and laying out the 14 Hershey's Kisses I just got out of the pantry, there has to be straight lines and organization! I was also that kid whose room would appear to be organized (because my sister's wasn't and she was the one who was always getting in trouble--ha!) but I'd also have a "junk drawer." I also go through spurts of productivity, and, having recently just went through one, I'm hoping this spurt sticks. Being an unemployed teacher means I have a whooooooole lot of time on my hands to cook and clean, but I've been in a slump. I finally stood up one day and announced to all my little dust bunnies, "I will no longer be disorganized!" They ran and hid underneath the entertainment center...I'll vacuum them up tomorrow.

How I Got Organized
My friend, Summer, put up these corkboard tiles for me in my kitchen several weeks ago and then I added the vinyl at the top. Those wall words are so expensive! I use my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot to create custom vinyl work all over my house! :) These tiles are so handy--I love them! I keep my monthly menu, weekly shopping lists, and my printable recipes for the month arranged neatly on the board. By having these things in public view, it makes it easy for Husband to see what we're having for dinner. I think he really appreciates this organization because he took the September menu from me before I put it up and started commenting that he was excited to try certain meals, suggesting additions and deletions, and noticing my days of grocery shopping so he could plan our finances accordingly.

After having made myself plan out meals for all of August and having such a huge success with it, I planned all my meals for the month of September. I feel confident now that this organizational system works so I'm ready to share it with you! You'll notice on my menu that I made sure to incorporate days for leftovers and days when I'd do grocery shopping because I stick better to schedules and routines.

About a week before a new month starts, I sit down at my computer with several cookbooks, the internet, colored pens (for fun!), weekly grocery list template (see below), a Diet Coke, my chapstick, and go to town! I scour recipes trying to find something that we'll both like, we haven't tried yet, and that doesn't have a bunch of expensive, one-time use ingredients. I use Microsoft Publisher to create and maintain our monthly calendar. It's a 12-page document that I just open up and edit one page at a time. By keeping a single document that contains the entire year I'm able to look back to see what we ate each month so that I'm not too redundant.

I also created a weekly menu planner and grocery list template which I use while looking through the recipes and planning out my month of meals. It's helpful because I take the whole thing with me to the grocery store (along with my coupons!). In the past, I'd write down things like "Gruyère cheese" or "15 oz. can black beans" and get to the store only to question my sanity and the validity of those items and cross them off the list. Then I'd return home to make dinner and find I needed Gruyère cheese or a 15 oz. can of black beans for a recipe that night! Using this template forces me to refer to what I'm making for the week and not question a single item on the list.

In the end, I am a much happier and more organized wife and shopper. I am saving boatloads of dollars by shopping sales and using coupons deliberately, and dinner is actually getting cooked at a decent time. E-mail me at michelle.azar.636@gmail.com if you want any of my templates. I've gotta go vacuum up those dust bunnies!

The Wheelsagna Bus Go 'Round and 'Round

I love being a teacher and I love it even more when I actually have a classroom and job to go to everyday! It's been tough for teachers this year in California. Almost 30,000 teachers were given pink slips this past school year and very few jobs were ever posted to which we could apply. Any jobs that were posted received anywhere from 200-400 applicants. Needless to say, I was not one of the lucky applicants to receive a job this school year. This only would have been my 6th year teaching so I know that teachers with double or triple the experience deserved the jobs before me, but it's just a tough pill to swallow! At any rate, to commemorate the beginning of my first school year not in school, I thought I'd get a little cheesy and try to name a dish after something school-related. This fakeout lasagna was the perfect choice. Remember that song, "The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round, 'round and 'round,..."? I loved getting to do all the fun motions like the windshield wipers, the horn, etc. Such fun times! I'm a nerd, I know. I love school and everything school-related! This is the perfect dish to make after a long day at work and school! Enjoy and best of luck to all you teachers and students out there!

Wheelsagna
Source: adapted from Tasty Kitchen
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1/2 lb mini wagon wheel pasta (or any fun shape like bowties, tubes, or curly pasta)
1/2 lb ground beef or turkey (the original recipe called for 1 pound but I thought it was too "meaty")
3 cups marinara sauce
1 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cups sour cream

Directions:
-Boil pasta. Meanwhile, brown the meat in small pan. After noodles are cooked, drain, return them to the pot, and drizzle with the olive oil. Mix in the marinara sauce. Add in the fried meat, seasonings, cheese, and sour cream. Fold together and allow it all to combine and melt together over low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve with a simple green salad! So quick and easy!