Love, Lipstick and Pearls Guest Post

I was a guest blogger at Love, Lipstick and Pearls this week. I have been following Kristin's blog for a couple pf years now. She is expecting her 2nd little girl soon! I shared some books to help get your toddler get ready for a new baby on her blog.

Check it out... Big Brother/Sister books!

Italian Veggies

Is it a stew, is it a side dish?

I have no idea because I have made this recipe for so many different reasons and enjoyed it in so many ways. I love to make a big batch of Italian veggies and eat it throughout the week for lunch, a snack, as a side dish. I told you this meal is confused, but it IS incredibly delicious, so the confusion is worth it!

The most challenging part of this whole process is the veggie prep and that is a breeze.

Italian Veggies

sweet onion, roughly chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 yellow squash, peeled and quartered

2 green squash, peeled and quartered

1 eggplant, peeled and chopped to match the size of the squash

mushrooms, quartered

large can of crushed tomatoes

salt & pepper

parmesan cheese

Look at these pretty fresh veggies!

Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a dutch oven or other heavy bottom pan.

Once hot, add the roughly chopped onion and cook until translucent.

Add the garlic and other veggies and cook until veggies are slightly tender.

Just added the veggies to the pot.

Cooked until just tender.

Lower your heat to low. Add the crushed tomatoes. and stir until combined.

Season with salt and pepper. I do not actually use much salt here because I love nothing more than a heaping bowl of these veggies topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. The parmesan adds enough of a salty kick for me. 

Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ready to devour...

Serve up a bug bowl of these veggies topped with delicious, freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Heavenly...

I am fully aware I have a cheese problem.

Roasted Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Oh, man. This is legitimately the easiest, tastiest fresh tomato soup one can make. I know its weird that I make soup in the summer, but I just love, love soup. Even if I end up sweating while eating it!

This soups flavor does not match its simplicity. If you were to just taste this soup you would think, 'surely this is a complicated soup'. It is not. Unfortunately, I am the only one who appreciates tomatoes in my house, so I don't end up making this as often as I would like, Last week Troy was going to be at work late and planned to grab something for dinner on his way home. I hate when Troy works late, buuuuuuuuut making tomato soup makes these situations a teensy bit more bearable! You know that age old saying, tomato soup makes the heart grow fonder... that's it, right?

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as I do!

Roasted Tomato Soup

10-13 Roma tomatoes, cut in half
I have also used vine-ripened and heirloom tomatoes. Heirlooms do not produce that traditional reddish tomato soup, unless you get all red heirlooms. If that bothers you then stick with romas or vine-ripend tomatoes, which are equally delicious. I stuck with romas this time because they were the most delicious and ripened tomatoes when I went to the store. ALSO, romas tend to be smaller than heirlooms and some vine-ripened tomatoes, so you might need less depending on the variety you choose. Phew, I am tired from all this tomato talk.

1 onion, cut into large chunks

5-6 or 8 cloves of garlic, depending on your preference
I always go big on the garlic. Trim the ends but leave the skin on the garlic to avoid burning.

2 cups of chicken stock, Do NOT add more stock without adding more tomatoes or you will have an icky wet soup. Blech. If you want to make more soup, you will need to add more tomatoes and stock.

Splash of cream, if you prefer

olive oil, course kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper

butter, for the pan when making the grilled cheese

french loaf of bread, I like to use wheat to offset the butter I use in the fry pan. I am not sorry.

provolone cheese, or whatever other type you prefer


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
On a cookie sheet, arrange your halved tomatoes, cut side up, your onion chunks and garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, shake on the pan to spread it around. Generously season with kosher salt and black pepper.

Place in center of oven and roast for no more than 45 minutes- you want that roasted flavor and texture but you don't want to lose all those yummy tomato juices.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool. I roast the tomatoes while Emma naps, let them cool and cover them with foil until about 30 minutes before dinner time.

30 minutes before dinner, add all the tomatoes, onions, de-skinned garlic and juices into your soup pot or dutch oven. Resist the urge to pop a clove of the sweetened roasted garlic in your mouth.

Add your chicken stock and bring to a boil, Lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 15-20 minutes,

While the soup is simmering, heat your fry pan for the grilled cheeses. Add a pat of butter.

Toast the bread on one side, flip. Add your provolone cheese. Toast the other side.

Remove from the pan and put into a warmed oven, until dinner time,

If you have many sandwiches to make you may need to add more butter to the pan.

Once the soup has simmered for 15-20 minutes, use an immersion blender to smooth it out. You can also use a blender, but be very, very careful. Work in batches and leave the opening part of the lid off, to avoid burning.

I like my soup a bit rustic, so I just add a splash of cream, stir it up and serve it up. You can always strain your soup through a fine mesh strainer. I am too lazy and impatient for that.

Make this, love this and enjoy it for dinner and lunch! Leftovers are just as delicious!

This little love preferred the grilled cheese to the tomato soup!

Monday Meal Plans #5

It was another fantastic weekend for us. Well, except for the fact that Troy had to work on a big project Friday and Saturday. Emma and I made the most of it all, though! On Saturday, we got in a little IKEA time. There were some things we were looking at for Emma's big girl room and they were on sale this weekend. We traveled north to an absolute zoo! There were a lot of families shopping for back to school. It was sweet to see these fresh faced college students to be shopping with their families for dorm room and apartment necessities. I remember being 17 and preparing for college, I thought I knew it all. Within a week of being on campus I quickly learned how little I actually knew about people and the world I was ready to conquer. I couldn't help but look at the faces of my fellow IKEA shoppers and think about how much they will experience and grown from in this next phase of their lives and how exciting it will be for them! I don't mean for this to sound superior, at all. I truly believe AND feel that the older I get, the more I realize how much I still have to learn, Aging is a humbling thing.

Any who, onto our weekly menu! I have been trying to expand our horizons a bit over here. I tend to have a few regulars in my rotation because they are familiar, easy and I know they are well loved. The problem is, I get bored of making and eating them after a while. I have been on the hunt for easy and tasty newer recipes to add to our meal plans. If you have any favorites, please pass them along!

Monday- rotisserie chicken, sweet potatoes and bacon green beans
I have a long day of doctor appointments, helping Troy at the office and grocery shopping. One stop on my list is Costco. I love grabbing a rotisserie chicken... makes a great dinner and I use the extra chicken to make a simple chicken salad for lunch!

Tuesday- burgers, corn, green bean almondine
Can you tell green beans are on my Costco list? Have to use them all up and we don't mind!

Wednesday- Chili Stuffed Baked Potatoes
I will make an easy crockpot chili and jazz it up by using it as a topping for baked potatoes.

Thursday- flank steak salads
Troy will grill flank steak for our salads when he grills burgers on Tuesday. I hope I can resist a piece here and there so that we have some for salads Thursday!

Friday- double date night!
Troy and his business partner AKA bestie for life, Matt, are taking Katie and I out to dinner. There will be some nerd talk business conversations but mostly it will be fun to get out with our friends, the Bernies!

Saturday- I could totally make something up here and you would never know, however I wouldn't do that to you. I have no plans yet, BUT I have a hunch that it will be egg drop soup. I was obsessed with egg drop soup when I was pregnant with Emma. Early in this pregnancy just the thought of eggs was enough to send me running to the bathroom. Well, that has passed my friends, and the egg drop soup obsession has set in. I have to have once every week and I prefer it from my favorite hole in the wall local Chinese restaurant. They know Troy and they know his order. They think he doesn't have a real family because they have never met us. I think they believe he lies about having a family so he won't be embarrassed that he is ordering for two. They love him anyways. Plus we get free wontons out of the deal. Another reason that I think they feel bad for him! I am not complaining, though. Wontons broken up in egg drop soup... is there anything greater? (The answer is no.)

Sunday- Family dinner
Love not having to worry about family dinner, unless I host it. We live a good 45 minutes across town, though, so my mom hosts most weeks. I try to host a holiday, Troys birthday celebration, my moms birthday and a couple others here and there.

Again, if you have any favorite family recipes please share!!

Lemony Chicken Caprese Pasta

This is a little Amanda original, meaning I combined some recipes together to get my 'own' recipe. This is a quick, light pasta that you can totally customize to your own tastes. I typically go the caprese route- tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella. I think it would be really great with fresh asparagus, peas, spinach and if you want a bigger bite some feta cheese. I might have to try some new combinations myself!

Lemony Chicken Caprese Pasta

1 lb chicken breasts, pounded thin
3/4 lb whole wheat penne pasta you can use any kind of pasta you prefer
1 tbsp butter
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup heavy cream
juice of a medium lemon
salt, pepper
Buffalo mozzarella
2-3 Roma tomatoes
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Put your chicken breasts in a gallon ziploc bag OR between plastic wrap.
Pound your chicken evenly and thin... this will ensure even cooking times.
Season chicken with kosher salt and black pepper.

In a lightly oiled pan (I use olive oil) cook your chicken. Resist the urge to flip or move your chicken around multiple times. Plop it in and leave it until you see the edges of the top side of the breast start turning white. Flip and then cook the other side until the juices run clear. There are few things worse (in the kitchen) than an over worked, rubbery, dry piece of chicken.

Put a pot on for your pasta. Once the pasta water starts boiling, season heavily with kosher salt. This is the only opportunity you will get to season your pasta. Add in about 3/4 of a box of whole wheat penne. Cook until al dente. If you are adding fresh vegetables, like asparagus or broccoli, to your meal, cook them along with the pasta in the boiling water.

While the chicken is cooking, in a separate bowl, mix the chicken stock with your cornstarch until all the lumps are removed. Dice your roma tomatoes and your buffalo mozzarella. You can also tear the mozzarella up into bit sized pieces.

Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan to a plate to let rest.

Add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the garlic. The pan is hot, hot, hot so let the garlic cook for less than a minute. Add the stock and cornstarch mixture. Make sure to stir up all those yummy brown chicken bits from the bottom of the pan.

Slice chicken into strips or bite sized pieces. Return to plate. DON'T get rid of those yummy chicken juices yet!

Bring the liquid to a simmer. Cook for about 2 minutes until you can see the mixture thickening. Add the cream, lemon juice, alt and cracked pepper. Stir and let combine for about a minute. If you are adding frozen peas or fresh spinach, I would add those to the sauce now.

Add the sliced chicken and all those delicious juices to the sauce and let combine.

At some time during all of this you should be casually checking on your pasta. Once it is done, drain it and put it back into the pot.

Layer the buffalo mozzarella on top of the pasta, next add the chicken with the lemony sauce and finally the diced tomatoes. Stir it all up and put a lid on the pot for a little while so the cheese will begin to melt. Usually I set the table and wrangle Emma during this time.

Serve yourself a nice heaping bowl and top with fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. It is important not to skimp on the quality of cheese, people.

I hope you enjoy as much as Emma does... I would show you pictures of Troy and I eating it, but it is not nearly as cute!

I mean the melty cheese is THE best!

Sausage Tortellini Soup

This is a really easy stove top recipe that totally fits into the comfort food category. Being Italian and from back east (originally) when I think of pasta, I think 'ahhh...'.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

Chicken Sausage- links or ground, you can substitute any type of meat sausage you prefer
Yellow Onion, diced
Garlic- about 3 cloves, minced
Low Sodium Chicken Stock- 4-6 cups, depending on your preference
2 can diced tomatoes
Small package of refrigerated tortellini- I use the whole wheat tortellini, the whole wheat makes me feel better about eating cheese filled pasta
Fresh Spinach, roughly chopped
Italian Seasoning- basil, oregano
Fresh Parmesan cheese

In a dutch oven, brown your chicken sausage in a bit of olive oil. If you have link sausage you can run a knife down the center of the sausage to free it of its casing, Or you can do my favorite method which is twisting the sausage in the center and squeezing the meat out from either side. It is fun, I swear.

Once cooked through, add the diced onion. Saute until slightly tender. Add the minced garlic and cook for no longer than a minute.

Add the cans of diced tomatoes and their juices.

Add in the chicken stock. I usually go for 6 cups because I like this soup a bit more liquidy.

Season with your Italian Seasonings. I use dried basil and dried oregano and I totally eye-ball the mesurements. You can make life even simpler by buying a bottle of Italian Seasonings pre-mixed.

Bring the soup to a rolling boil.

Add in the refrigerated tortellini and cook 2 minutes less than the package directions.

Add in a lot of fresh spinach! I probably use at least 3 cups, as it cooks down so much. Cook aout 2 minutes longer, until the tortellini is done.

Taste and salt and pepper if you please.
BUT if you prefer (which I do) to add freshly grated, creamy parmesan cheese, then hold off on the salt.

I hope you enjoy it as much as this little nugget did!

Monday Meal Plans #4

Happy Monday!

Today is my littlest brothers birthday. That little brother of mine is 29. I literally almost had a heart attack when I realized that yesterday. I know what year he was born and how much older than him that I am, but I guess it had been a while since I had done the math. Two years is exactly how long it has been since I've done the math, because I thought he was turning 27. Yipes.

I have some chocolate chip loaf in the oven and once it is done and Emma is up from her nap we are going to bring it to him at the office. Never heard of chocolate chip loaf? Yeah, me neither. It was supposed to be banana chocolate chip bread, but some monkeys ate my bananas. So we improvised. Chocolate chips, sugar... I think it's hard to mess up that combo.

Here is what we are eating this week:

Monday- Chicken Caprese Pasta
This is an Amanda original... excited to share the recipe with you this week.

Tuesday- Crockpot BBQ chicken and sweet potatoes

Wednesday- Turkey Chili and cornbread

Thursday- Roasted Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Friday- TROY

Saturday- Sausage and tortellini marinara

Sunday- Family dinner

Troy is working this weekend on a big project, so Emma and I may scrap Saturday night's dinner for a night on the town! Chipotle and Target are some of our favorite ways to spend a Saturday night!

I will be sharing some peach picking adventures tomorrow!

Weekend Wrap-Up- Girls Edition

We had a blast this weekend!

Friday morning, I went into the office for a bit to catch up on some work. Troy and Emma met me there, we played around ad visited a little, then Emma and I ran some errands. We had to get critical supplies for our girls night, Saturday!

We made cookies and enjoyed some pizza for lunch!

Then Emma went down for a nap and I started the real fun. Laundry, cleaning the house, packing. Thrilling, I tell ya!

After Emma woke up, we met some buddies for gelato. I had every best intention of taking pictures but it is impossible when you are entertaining wrangling four, 18-22 month olds.

After peach and strawberry gelato, we met Troy for dinner.

Saturday we woke up early and did something. Honestly, I have NO recollection of what we did. I think I was just 100% counting down the minutes for our girls night to start. Whoops!

Sarah and I have had a girls weekend in Phoenix every summer for 4 years now, I think. We used to invite our girl friends along. Typically we would have a group of 4-8 ladies. We would stay at a resort with an awesome pool- have pool time, go out for dinner and drinks and then have more snacks and girls talk when we get back to the room. In the morning we would go for a hike or a walk and go grab breakfast before heading home. Katie and I would end up shopping a bit before heading back home. We skipped last year because Emma was new-ish and I wasn't ready to leave her just yet. This summer, Sarah and I decided we absolutely wanted and needed a girls weekend, but we would bring along our little girls to join in on the fun!

Patrick and Andrew dropped Sarah and Allison off at the resort and headed over to have 'guys weekend' with Troy. Patrick and Troy took Andrew to see the Minions movie, pumped him full of movie theater treats and popcorn and finished it off with pizza and a living room camp out!

Around 3pm, we met Sarah and Allison at the resort. It was heavenly. Sarah had already turned down the air to 69 degrees. That is literally the first thing I do when I get into a hotel room... blast the air. Emma was so excited to see Allison that she needed some time to just process, meaning she was just saying 'Ayison' over and over and pointing at her. She loves her big cousin!

I mean they are just adorable in their matching shirts and shoes, right?

We spent some time at the pool, took baths, had dance parties, colored, played charades, ordered room service, had fancy drinks (sparkling grape juice) and eventually the girls fell asleep. Pretty easily, too. I think we wore them out!

Emma enjoys coloring. Her body.

Snacking and happy!

Sarah and Allison

Emma loved putting the glass up to her mouth and saying, 'mmmm.'

She is not actually drinking anything, It is more about the process!

After the girls fell asleep, Sarah and I stayed up and gave ourselves a facial. We used the Bliss Triple Oxygen Facial in a Box. It was lovely. Then we chatted until we saw it was midnight and immediately tried to go to bed. We knew we would have 2 little girls up soon!

The next morning Emma woke up early so I toke her for walk around the entire property. It was incredibly beautiful and a good way to burn off a few of those cookie calories!

We met up with Troy, Patrick and Andrew for breakfast before The Phoenix Bogles hit the road. I always wish we all lived in the same city BUT I am grateful that we live close enough to get together often!

Troy, Emma and I went to visit with my brother Josh for a couple of hours. Josh and Amy had been on vacation for 10 days to Wisconsin and Chicago and we wanted to hear all about their trip.

Then we headed to my moms for Sunday dinner. I started to feel a bit sick at my moms house- too much sun and not enough water is NOT a good combination for a pregnant mama.

As soon as we got home and Emma was down for the night, I passed out, too!

It was such a fun and memorable weekend! I know the girls enjoyed themselves so much, Andrew did, too!  I can't wait until we can do it again!

Monday Meal Plans #3

It has been a slow, slow moving Monday for me! We had such a great weekend. I am always incredibly thankful for such weekends, but they do make Mondays hard to swallow. Usually I have my meal plan finished and my shopping list created by Sunday. That did not happen this week. Needless to say, there was a bit of scrambling to plan and shop this morning. Do not worry, though, we WILL eat this week!

Here are my last minute carefully thought out meals for the week:

Monday- Black Bean Burritos... fancy, no?

Tuesday- Broccoli, White Bean Mac & Cheese

Wednesday- Tortellini Soup

Thursday- Troy

Friday- Crockpot Beef & Broccoli

Saturday- Burgers, Sweet Corn and salad
We are taking Emma to a local farm for a peach and sweet corn festival. I may scrap the burgers and gorge myself with sweet, fresh, local peaches all night! Does anything else sound better than that?

Sunday- family dinner

I also am whipping up some simple, whole wheat mini blueberry muffins for breakfast options this week. I am always trying to come up with some different things to offer Emma. Troy gets up with her around 6:30am and feeds her breakfast #1. Yes, you read that correctly... Emma eats multiple breakfasts. Breakfast #1 is usually small, so I thought mini blueberry muffins would be perfect and easy!

I haven't yet decided which recipe I will share with you all this week... maybe the mac & cheese? Tortellini soup? Blueberry muffins?

Leave a comment if you have a preference!

Weekend Wrap Up- Fourth of July Edition

We had a really fantastic Fourth of July weekend. It felt like our weekend was in slow motion, but in the good kind of way.

On Friday morning, I went into to help out at the office. I help out with Troy's business about once a week. This way he can shave a few hours of work off his already full plate, we get to spend more time together as a family and I get some 'me' time. My mom stayed and played with Emma. I will not bore you with a picture of me at the office.

Friday afternoon, Katie and Addison came over to play with us. We also attempted a patriotic craft. I am not sure attempted is the correct word. We finished the craft but there were a bit more tears than smiles and laughter. Let me just say that Emma is not ready for painting. And mama isn't ready either.

This is what she gives me when I ask for her to take a picture with her art.

I didn't have any time to start dinner. The day just creeped away from us! So, we met Troy at a local Mexican food restaurant for dinner, Emma loves chips and salsa. Or dippy, as she likes to call it.

Yes. I am as tired as I look.

I woke up Saturday morning and the weather was gorgeous! It was breezy and overcast- I thought I was dreaming. Troy and Emma were leaving for a walk while I was heading to Body Pump. As I was walking out of Body Pump, there were Troy and Emma! It was a small surprise but it made me so happy! They had walked about 3 miles to the gym from our house. We piled into the car and went to have breakfast.

After breakfast, Troy dropped Emma and I off at home for nap time and he went to Lowe's to get supplies for Emma's bed. Since we are having another baby in December, we have been thinking and planning on Emma's big girl room. Emma's nursery is very gender neutral, as we didn't find out what we were having when pregnant with her. We agreed that we would skip the decorating until we moved her into her big girl room. Long story short, we aren't ready for her to be in a twin bed and we didn't want to buy a toddler bed or another crib for the new baby. I found some ideas for a mini toddler daybed on Pinterest and we decided to build it for Emma. We are actually going to make this gender neutral, as well, so we can use it for our future children!

While Emma napped and Troy shopped at his mecca, I worked on organizing the office. We have some rearranging to do in our house with the new baby coming. One of the MAJOR projects is organizing and storing my teaching supplies. I purged A LOT when I officially resigned from my position, but there was a lot I couldn't part with. Some of it I can use as resources in the courses I teach, some of it is curricula I created and am passionate about, most of it is children's literature. I just can't get rid of my books. Never.

When Emma woke up, we headed to my aunt's house for a BBQ. My cousins, who have been stationed in Pendelton, California are being transferred to North Carolina. We all got together for the 4th of July and to be celebrate their move.We were blessed to see them often when they lived only 6ish hours away.

Aren't they so cute? I love them. I actually babysat my cousin Jordan for Nicole when she first started dating Chris a million years ago. I just love these two and will miss seeing them often!

We had SO much fun being with family and the weather was quite nice, if a little humid. Emma loved splashing in the puddles from the pool, dancing and eating cookies. 3 cookies to be exact. My family is Italian, they like to sneak food to the littles to see them smile, laugh, run away from their mothers when they are trying to limit their cookie intake. Sigh.

 Emma says, 'It is actually a cannoli mama, get with the program.'

This was originally MY cannoli, until the cookie monster took it.

There was one point when I looked over at Emma and she was slamming her body into the back of the couch cushions over and over again while taking bites of a chocolate cookie. Sugar high in full effect.

 She is getting crazy eyes...

This is mid- body slamming. Troy is smiling, but he is incredibly fearful for his life. I mean, look at her face. On a side note, this is my Aunt Betty... isn't she gorgeous?

Emma also got in some major bonding time with her cousins Rhet and Christian. Emma, Rhet and Christian were all born about 6 weeks apart... Christian, Rhet and then Emma. My cousin Katy, Rhet's mom, just found out she was pregnant again, too! Annnnd... she is almost exactly 6 weeks behind us. The answer to everyone's question is YES, we conference together about family planning. We actually don't, we just have perfect timing.

 Christian, Emma and Rhet.

Christian wants to know what is wrong. Emma wants to know where her next cookie is.

After we made it home and my little sugar fiend passed out, Troy and I tried to stay up a bit longer. I hoped to sneak out into the back yard and see some fire works, but we were both so tired. We fell asleep to listening to the sound of fireworks going off in the sky. That counts for something, right?

Sunday morning started early because we were all so well rested. It was an even more overcast, breezy day. The perfect kind of day in my book. I went to the gym to get some cardio in, while Troy and Emma played. Afterwards they met me at the grocery store to get our weekly supplies. Emma loves to run around the aisles and pick up all kinds of treasures. She also loves the fruit and meat department samples. We enjoy them, too. Bacon? Ummmmm...yes!

We then all went to Lowe's to get some final supplies for the bed. After Emma took a nap, I worked on the office some more and Troy got to work.

After Emma woke and had lunch, we went into the garage to supervise Troy's project. Emma had the best time sitting in a lounge chair, practicing riding her tricycle, picking rocks from the front yard and just hanging out with us. I worked on organizing/picking up the garage.

Emma also worked on perfecting the art of the selfie. I found these photos on my phone and Troy and I thought they were so adorable. I wonder what she is thinking as she is taking each one?

Troy finished up his work on the bed and Emma LOVES it. Seriously, she wouldn't get out of it once it was done. Seriously, though.

Just needs one more slat and then it is into my hands for upholstering!

We ALL cleaned up, ate dinner and passed out again. We were so busy going, going we didn't realize how sleepy we were until we sat/laid down.

Looking back, it was such a great weekend. It was filled with family, food, activity and quality time together. Those are my favorite things and how I wish to spend all my weekends!