Pull Apart Pizza Bites

It is time to share my recipe for The Secret Recipe Club again and I think this one is a recipe that any parent can appreciate.

Most all kids love Pizza and mine are no exception. So when I am looking for a good recipe I am looking for a few different things. One is that it is easy to make. Another is that it won't take forever. And last, if my family will eat it.

I loved looking over Our Good Life's recipes because there are so many to choose from that fit into the above criteria. These Chocolate Amaretto Creams look amazing and so do these Lemon Bits Oatmeal Cookies, But I finally settled on the Pull Apart Pizza. It just sounds fun, right? Terri loves to bake along with traveling, reading and decorating. Sounds like my kind of friend!



It is super easy because it has very few ingredients, which I like!



Cut up the biscuits. I chose to cut them into 6 since I am using the mini pans.



Chop up the pepperonis



Mix everything together







Put the mixture into the (sprayed) mini pans



Bake on 350 for 19 minutes



Cool for a few minutes and then flip over to remove pizza. I had to use a knife on a couple to get them to come out!



Pull Apart Pizza Bites

• 4 T extra virgin olive oil


• 1 t Italian seasoning


• 1/2 t garlic powder


• 2 cans of biscuits


• 40 slices of pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni)


• 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°


2. Cut each biscuit into 4 or 6 pieces.


3. Cut pepperoni into small pieces


4. Add olive oil, Italian season, garlic powder and cheese to the bowl and mix


5. Add biscuits and pepperoni and stir until well coated


6. Spray your pan with cooking spray then add biscuits


7. Bake for approx. 20-25 minutes


8. Flip pan over plate to remove pepperoni pizza bites

So as you can see I used a pan that made 6 individual Pull apart pizzas. I cut the recipe exactly in half and it worked perfectly for the amount I needed. I also cut down the baking time to about 18-19 minutes and I lowered the original heat from 400 to 350 and it was plenty hot! I think even if you were doing the large pan you could cut the temp to 350°.



Now that I have shared my recipe, check out the other below!

Chicken and Spinach Bake

I can't believe it is the middle of November already. Anyone else feel like this year has flown by?

During this time of year I waste no time and I am all about casseroles and soups. Anything that is warm and will fill our bellies is good in my book. And the more cheese the better, right?

I found this delicious Chicken and Spinach Bake on pinterest (of course, where else do you find so much deliciousness in one place?) But really it comes from Joyously Domestic. At first I was a tiny bit skeptical. It does, after all, have spinach in it. And I think that is a turn off to some people. I don't mind eating spinach dip, or spinach in a salad. But cooked? Nope, not a chance. Until one time I had a chicken and spinach and garlic pizza. It was amazing and ever since have been a bit more open to the idea.



When my husband saw "Chicken and Spinach Bake" on the meal plan several weeks ago, I'll be honest, he wasn't a fan. His actual reaction was, "oh great". Yep. he was THAT excited! But I was actually excited. I thought the pictures looked amazing and I couldn't wait to make it.

I started with cutting up my spinach, cherry tomatoes cut in half, and sautéed chicken.



Next, the sauce.





Then I mixed the cooked pasta in with the chicken, spinach and tomatoes.



Added the sauce



And mixed it all together.





Then I added it all to my casserole dish.



Added some extra cheese



Ingredients:

10 ounces uncooked pasta - I used penne
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces chive and onion cream cheese
1 c plain Greek yogurt (You could do sour cream instead)
1 c whole milk (heavy cream or half-and-half work too)
1/2 c shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups cooked chicken (cubed or shredded)
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, cut into large chunks
Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


2. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray


3. Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Drain and set aside.


4. Meanwhile, heat butter in a skillet on medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic.  Cook for 3 minutes to slightly soften veggies.  Do not brown.


5. Add cream cheese and stir until melted.  Reduce heat to low then stir in greek yogurt, milk, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Stir until everything is well-combined and melted.  Turn off heat.


6. Put the pasta, chicken, spinach and tomatoes into a large bowl.


7. Mix in the sauce and stir until coated.


8. Pour into the casserole dish.


9. Top with the remaining mozzarella.


10. Bake uncovered for about 20 -25 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and beginning to brown.  Top with basil for garnish.

Amazingness, right?



So we ate this delicious dinner, and my husband says, "That was really good. Way better than I thought it would be. We should add that into the dinner rotation." So that is a WIN! You've gotta try it because it is easy, and believe me, you will not be disappointed!

Pecan Pie Milkshake

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareTheJoyOfPie #CollectiveBias

You guys! No joke- I have such an awesome recipe to share with you today!

When I came across the idea of taking a pie and making it into a creation of my own, I was thinking about the holidays, and the food I love. I knew immediately what I wanted to make.

When I think of the Fall and Thanksgiving I think of falling leaves, cooler weather and family of course. But then I think of food! And pecan pie. Typically people are all about the turkey buuuut..... I'm all about the pecan pie!

I was telling my dad, also a pecan pie lover, about my little project and he asked how anyone could wreck a perfectly good pecan pie, but then when he heard I was making a Pecan Pie Milkshake he suddenly became a little more interested!



So I headed to Walmart to grab my ingredients. Starting with a Marie Calender's® Dessert Pie and a can of Reddi-Wip®



I started with baking my pie. I found this cover on Amazon a year or so ago after I baked a pie and my foil fell off the edges and ruined my crust! So I don't take those kind of chances anymore!



Perfect crust every time!



Next, I put my milk, ice cream and slice of pecan pie into the blender and blended until it wasn't chunky anymore.



Poured it into a glass and topped with Reddi-Wip and a few chopped pecans and it was ready to drink!



For the shake:

• 1 slice pecan pie (make it a big one!)


• 3-4 scoops vanilla ice cream


• 1/3 cup milk

For the topping:

• Reddi-wip


• Chopped pecans

The kids LOVED it!

Because I love Fall so much I wanted to share a cute little way I decorate my house! Everyone loves a fun piece of subway art, perfect for the mantel! So here is how you can create your own holiday themed art!

First, I use PicMonkey for everything because it is basic and super easy to use!





Then play with the fonts and stretch them out until they are all placed where you want. Save and you are set to print!



Don't forget to check out more pie recipes and print money saving coupons HERE

Slow Cooked Creamy Mexican Chicken

One of the biggest tasks I've faced since starting 21 Day Fix is making meals that not only I will eat, but that my family will eat as well.

I typically do my own thing for breakfast, lunch and snacks, but dinner I try to make just one thing rather than something for my family and a separate meal for me.

This Creamy Mexican Chicken is one of those meals that my family will also eat, luckily!



Another thing I love about it is cooking it on the crockpot. Anything I can put in a forget about for hours is awesome because it frees up the afternoon or evening for cuddles, reading stories or playing. Or dishes and laundry, whatever.

But not having to spend an hour in the kitchen cooking a meal every night it great. And this makes enough that I have leftovers for lunch the next day. I win again!



So it's pretty straight forward. Mix everything except the yogurt and pico into the crockpot. And let it cook!





I did a purple of pico on the side so you could see it there, but then I mixed it all together before I started eating!

• 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use frozen)


• 15 oz. can black beans, drained


• 7 oz. canned chopped green chilies


• 1 cup frozen corn


• 1 large onion, diced


• 3 bell peppers, chopped


• 15 oz. can diced tomatoes


• Salt and pepper, to taste


• 2 tbsp. chili powder


• 1/2 tbsp. onion powder


• 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder


• 1 tsp. paprika


• 1 tsp. cumin


• 1 red container plain Greek yogurt


• Pico de Gallo (You can find my recipe here)

1. Add all ingredients to crockpot except the yogurt and pico de gallo.


2. Cook on low for 8 hours


3. Using two forks, shred chicken


4. Add yogurt and cook for 30 more minutes, mixing well.


5. Serve over rice or with a tortilla


6. Top with a blue container of shredded cheese.

This makes 6 large servings and each serving is 1 red, 1 green, 1/2 purple and 1 yellow.
Tortilla/rice is an additional yellow and Pico de gallo is an additional purple



YUM! A delicious WIN!

If you aren't a rice person, you could easily skip the rice and wrap it in two corn tortillas. You could also take two corn tortillas and slice them up, bake them and scoop it up with your {home made tortilla chips}!

Tyler and Summer's Carnival Party

With Summer's birthday in the middle of September and Tyler's birthday in the middle of October, it is so fun to combine them (while they are little and don't care!) and make one big birthday party! This year I did a carnival party and had all sorts of games and carnival style food!



I made frosting to put on top of the cupcakes and cake and while it was supposed to be red, and look like a ticket, I'm lacking the cake decorating gene so we opted more for a pink box. Hey, it works, right?



We had lots of games to play! We did a bean bag toss, pop a balloon, ball throw and ring toss. Each adding a fun little token to the kid's goodie bags!







And we have to have face painting! Luckily one of my friends jumped right in to help me out and she made some awesome animals! Tyler loved his shark!



For food we had Hot dogs wrapped in foil, corn on a stick, churro tots, caramel corn, lots of fruits and veggies, little smokies, and of course, cotton candy!











And what is a party these days without a photo booth?







It was a carnival for the books and the kids had a ton of fun with their family and friends and even got some cool new toys!







Because there can't be a carnival without cotton candy!





Thank you to everyone who came and made this day so special for my munchkins!