Chicken Cordon Bleu Cassy

What day is it!? HUMP DAY!!! Happy Hump Day Y'all!!

I hope all of you have been keeping busy and enjoying the weather. Its been nice here in Pensacola. Thank God the rain has, for the most part, stayed away! We are actually under a flash flood warning again, but where I'm at now is just overcast. 

I also hope y'all had a great Mother's Day! Whether you were enjoying it as a mom, new mom or just celebrating your mom! David and I both got to have a nice convo with our mom's to wish them a happy mother's day, and he spent the weekend spoiling me.  I cant complain :) We had our first baby class Saturday, Infant Care, went for a nice lunch down town, and then he took me shopping and got me a new phone as my Mother's Day gift... Hello iPone5s! On Sunday, we went to church, had a nice brunch at the Broken Egg and went shore fishing at the beach! It was a great weekend! I'm not a full mother yet, but growing a child counts for something right!?

On to the reason for this post.... Chicken Cordon Bleu Cassy!! 

I made this last night for dinner and it turned out pretty good! Dave took the leftovers for lunch today, I'm kind of bummed I don't get anymore. Especially since I don't really eat leftovers. I found this recipe a couple weeks ago while browsing Pinterest. I was looking for something that sounded good but also wasn't too much work. I don't like to always cook the same things for dinner every week. 

I made some alterations to the recipe, and I would recommend serving this with some buttered egg noodles or some white rice. Maybe even baking this in the oven with some rotini too. 

So..... here it is! Chicken Cordon Bleu Cassy. Its super easy to make and really inexpensive. I'm sure you have at least half the ingredients in your kitchen already. 

What you need Part 1:
Chicken: recipe calls for a rotisserie chicken. I used 3 chicken breast I got on sale as buy one get one. They were huge breasts so I hammered them out and pan fried them (seasonings of your choice. I used rosemary and garlic) and then cut them up.

Ham: recipe calls for shaved ham or deli ham. I used ham cubes because they were so much cheaper than buying deli ham. 

Swiss Cheese: recipe calls for Swiss cheese slices. I used shredded Swiss because the store had a sale of buy 2 for $5 and we eat a ton of cheese. 

What to do Part 1:
Preheat your oven to 375.

LAYERS!

Spray the bottom of your baking dish with some Pam. Layer the chicken on the bottom, then the ham and finally the Swiss cheese. SUPER easy!!

What you need Part 2:
Flour: recipe calls for 4 tablespoons. I used 2.

Butter: recipe calls for 4 tablespoons. I used 2.

Milk: recipe called for 3 cups. I used 1.5 cups. 

•  I didn't think I would need all the sauce that it makes so I cut it in half. turned out well, but if you're going to put this over noodles or rice, Id recommend making the full batch. 

The rest of the ingredients I didn't measure, click the link if you'd like exact measurements.

Lemon Juice

Dijon Mustard

Paprika

Salt & Pepper

Garlic & Horseradish: recipe didn't call for any but I added some and it was delish!

What to do Part 2:

Its time to make a rue!! Don't be afraid, its really not that hard. This is the basis for making your own cheese and Alfredo sauce too. Super easy.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. I added the garlic with the butter and let it saute a bit.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute or so. 

Slowly add the milk and keep whisking to avoid clumps. A tip I learned from the Chew was to heat your milk first before adding it to your butter/flour mixture, I just popped it in the microwave for a couple mins.  Turn the heat up and cook until the sauce thickens, whisking often.  

Once its thick, turn the heat off and add the remaining sauce ingredients.  Once mixed and tasting to how you'd like, pour the sauce over your layered meat and cheese. 

What you need Part 3:

I didn't measure these at all but if you'd like full measurements, click the link above. 

Panko

Parmesan Cheese

Butter

Seasonings

What to do Part 3:

In a bowl, season your panko if you didn't buy seasoned panko already. I used paprika and my natures own seasoning.

Add some Parmesan cheese. I didn't have shredded so I just used the stuff you usually sprinkle over spaghetti. 

I melted about 2 tablespoons of butter and added that to my panko mixture. 

Mix it all up and sprinkle over the top.

Bake in the oven for about a half hour and BAM... you have yourself a yummy and easy dinner!

Again, this turned out awesome! However, when I make this again, I'll either be adding some rotini to the bottom and bake it that way, OR I'll make some buttered egg noodles or rice and put this over the top. It was yummy without it, but I think it would add a little something to the dish. 

I hope you enjoy!! Let me know if you try it!

~Eat, Drink n Be Crafty

Spray Painting Masterpiece

Happy Thursday, Y'all!

Its been crazy here in Pensacola the last couple of days. We had some really severe thunder storms, tornado warnings, funnel clouds, and lots of flooding. The flooding was so bad my husband couldn't even make it to work yesterday (yay for me), AND today there was an explosion at one of the jails! Crazy! At least its not snowing, right!?!?

I've got a pretty cool craft project to share with you today. I made this in maybe an hour last Friday, so it really doesn't take too long. 

Since we moved to Pensacola, we moved from a couple of small apartments to a house. LOVE being back in a house, there's so much room to actually move. With that being said, that leaves a LOT of open space on my walls. I've been looking at different photos and paintings to hang that would go with the color scheme of our current decorations, but I haven't found anything that I really LOVE or that I was willing to pay for. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and make something myself. 

I remembered seeing something on Pinterest awhile back about making your own quotes on old pictures and then spray painting them, check that out here. So I took a trip to Michael's last week and bought some supplies. I did tweak mine a bit but its still the same concept. I picked up a 2 pack of canvases and some removable stencil stickers. I had the spray paint left over from our wedding. 

I didn't want the back ground to be white so I gently spray painted the background brown, let it dry and then added the stencil stickers.

After I arranged my quote the way I liked it (which took the majority of the time), I spray painted over everything with the red. I had to cut up my spray paint sessions because I didn't have enough letters to complete my quote. I just covered that with a piece of paper so I didn't spray over it and then once I was done with the letters on the top, I placed them on the bottom. 

I sprayed the remainder of the canvas, let it dry and came out with my completed project! I can now move it to my "completed" section of my boards on Pinterest!!

I love how it turned out and I love that I was able to make my own decorations for my house. I'm going to hang this on one side of my TV in our living room and make another canvas for the other side. I saved so much money! I had a 40% off coupon for Michael's, the canvases came in a two pack for $9.99 and had a special running for buy one get one, and the reusable stencils were only $7.99. LOTS of projects for a little bit of money. 

Let me know if you try this out! Its super easy and fun :)

~Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty~

Its been FOREVER!!

Hey ya'll!!

I know its been forEVER since I've had a post. Life sort of got in the way! Ya'll know how that can be. Let's see if I can catch you up on some things...

I had a job at a newspaper that I really loved that consumed the majority of my time while living in South Carolina. On the weekends, the husband and I would be found exploring the gorgeous town of Beaufort, SC. Which is the major reason why I lacked on the posts. Booo, I know. 

We spent a year in Beaufort and then moved to San Fran in November for my husbands Job. Shortly after moving there we found out we're expecting!! Its been so awesome to know I'm growing a child! I've been reading and researching like crazy. I did find out that I have hypothyroidism but they caught it early so all should be well. We did find out what we are having, check out the video, Baby Busch Gender Reveal.

San Fran was short lived (thank GOD) and we are now in Pensacola, FL! We moved here the end of March. Its so nice to finally have a house again after living in an apartment for close to 2 years. Now that I have the majority of things set up in our new place, that brings me back to my Blog!!

I'm going to try and have a new post every week, lets hope I stick to that. I dont really have any excuse not to! I think I'm going to try and take a new approach to my posts. I know a ton of people use Pinterst and just pile stuff up on their boards. I've actually created a board called Completed Recipes and Crafts. I think it would be cool to post about what I've completed and my adventures on how I got there. Most of the time I just take the basic idea of something I see on Pinterest, and try and make it my own. This will also help me actually USE the things I pin! and hopefully will help you too!

So.... I hope you stick along with me for the ride!!

Eat Drink 'n Be Crafty

Stroganoff-in'

Hey Ya'll!!

I know it has been FOREVER since my last post, soooo sorry! I fell of the wagon but I'm back!
Even though I haven't been posting, I've still be making sure I've been logging my recipes to be able to share with ya'll so you'll be able to make some easy, delicious recipes for your families.

Stroganoff is one of the first things I ever learned to cook, I remember watching my mom make it when I was little. This was the first thing I attempted to make when I was on my own in college and having to cook for myself and roommates.

I first learned to make this with hamburger, egg noodles, mushrooms, beef broth, cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Over the years, my taste and liking of food has evolved as well as my mindset to eat healthier. I took the recipe my mom used and tweaked it a bit to make it a little healthier and to my liking. This recipe is my version of Stroganoff..... and it's Husband approved!!

Here's what you'll need:
Wheat Egg Noodles
Steak
Mushrooms
Onions
Garlic
Greek Yogurt
Beef Bullion
Olive Oil
Seasoning to taste

First things first, prepare the egg noodles according to the package.
Meanwhile, chop about 2 cloves of garlic, a half an onion and slice your steak. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your skillet and saute the garlic, onions and mushrooms until tender, season lightly.

Once tender, set aside and cook your lightly seasoned, sliced steak.

Combine the steak, garlic, onions, and mushrooms. 

Add Greek Yogurt until you have you're desired creaminess, I use about 2-3 spoonfuls. Sprinkle with some beef bullion, mix together and taste test. You may have to add more seasoning, beef bullion or Greek yogurt until you have the desired taste you want.

Serve over your lightly buttered wheat egg noodles and ENJOY!

This version is healthier than the original I learned from but still as delicious! I also use ground turkey instead of steak from time to time and it still turns out fantastic. I hope you enjoy this classic meal as much as I do!

Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty!

Stamping

One of my guilty crafting pleasures is stamping; its so easy and fun!

I was first introduced to stamping when I was about 10 from my little sister Andi. Her grandma was into stamping her own cards and had given her some of her old stamps. When I would go visit my sister, we would stamp... our names, sports, things we liked; we'd stamp pages for hours. 

When I started scrapbooking (thanks so my sister, Mandy), I got back into stamping. I was looking for a way to spice up my pages without using stickers all the time because they were so expensive. I was strolling through Michael's, ended up down the stamp section and remembered stamping with my sister Andi; I thought "why not!?" its gotta be a good alternative to stickers. 

A couple of stamp pads and stamps on clearance later, I ended spending maybe $5 versus the almost $2 a piece for stickers. 

When it came time to figuring out how to save money on wedding stuff for our October wedding, I knew I wanted to stamp our "Thank You's" instead of buying fancy ones. Not only is it WAAAAAY cheaper, it adds more of a personal touch! I'm not knocking anyone here so please don't take offense, but I'd rather have a "Thank You" card made by the Bride and Groom with a hand written note than one that's just a bunch of pictures with the Bride and Groom's signature. 

These are some of our "Thank You's," we did a couple different versions. We wanted to give our guests something nice and personal because most of them traveled pretty far to share our special day with us. 

Everyone loves to give cards for holidays; if you love being crafty and like to save money, consider stamping! Instead of paying $3 or more for a card, make one. You can buy blank cards from any craft store, and there are always stamps and stamp pads on clearance. Add that personal touch for gramma's birthday or for someone's baby shower all while saving some money!

     Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Breakfast Cassy

Hey y'all!

Today's all about breakfast; its the most important meal of the day!

For breakfast, I like to eat more than just cereal or yogurt.  I got the basis of this recipe from a co-worker in Florida and adapted it into my own. 

I love this recipe because its so easy to make and it's delicious!

Here's what you'll need:
10 eggs
Milk
Seasonings
Sausage
Mushrooms
Onions
Garlic
Jalapeños 
Cheese

To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next, brown your sausage, chop your veggies and  make your seasoned scrambled egg mix.

Pour your egg mix into your baking dish. Sprinkle the sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and jalapeños throughout your dish. 

Pop your dish into the preheated oven for 30-40 mins or until eggs are cooked. Turn the oven off and pull your dish out of the oven, and smother in cheese. Then pop the dish back in the oven for the cheese to melt. 

Easy peasey and now you have a delicious breakfast :-)

       Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Balls of meat..... MEATBALLS!

MMMMEEEEEAAAATTTBBBBAAAAAAAALLLLLLLSS!

Who doesn't love Meatballs!? Spaghetti and Meatballs, Swedish Meatballs, appetizer Meatballs... The list goes on. 

It's a bite size amount of meat mixed with various ingredients such as breadcrumbs, eggs, herbs, and cheese to make a mouth watering feast in your mouth.

I made turkey meatballs for dinner this week and will forever use this recipe when making these glorious bites of meat in the future. 

Here's what you need:
Ground Turkey
Breadcrumbs
Eggs
Parmesean Cheese
Chives
Basil
Garlic
Salt n Pepper
EVOO for cooking

(Some of these ingredients were used for my sauce and not just the meatballs)

I first chopped my fresh garlic (2 cloves because I'm a garlic freak), fresh basil and fresh chives. I used a big bunch because I love the bold flavors of chive and basil. 

In a large bowl, I added a little over a pound of ground turkey, about a cup and a half of bread crumbs,  two eggs, about a cup of Parmesean cheese, salt n pepper to taste, and my fresh garlic, basil and chives. 

Time to get down and dirty..... Use those hands and mix everything together. 

Once mixed, make the balls to your desired size and set on wax paper. 

Turn your stove to medium heat, add some EVOO and cook your turkey meatballs for about 10 mins, turning to brown on all sides.

Waaaaalaaaaaa! The most succulent meatballs you'll ever have!!

My husband and I enjoyed ours with fresh herb linguine I purchased at our local farmers market with a Greek yogurt cream sauce and mushrooms.

Once you try these meatballs, you'll be hooked for life. Enjoy!

      Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty