one-pan honey mustard chicken with potatoes and green beans

Lately, I've been on a huge one-pan recipe kick. Probably because my husband often works late, so I've been taking over his job of doing the dishes and thinking about all the ways I can make less work for myself. (Sorry, honey, for all those years of multiple pots and pans.)

There's just something so appealing about having to only scrub out one dish. Technically, I mix the sauce in a separate bowl, so that's a grand total of two dishes. But still, two dishes for an entire delicious dinner is not bad at all. Today I wanted to share our new favorite recipe: one-pan honey mustard chicken with potatoes and green beans.

This recipe's hero ingredient is an absolutely delicious honey mustard sauce. It's thick, it's creamy, it's both sweet and savory, and it smothers other ingredients that are equally appealing to me: chopped roasted potatoes and sweet green beans.

Another great thing about this is you can easily mess with the balance of ingredients. If you don't have a lot of meat-eaters in your house you can add less chicken. If you love greens you can add more green beans or even another roasting vegetable like brussels sprouts or broccoli in there. If you're craving comfort food, add a few more potatoes. There's really an endless way you can customize this meal to make it perfect for you.

It doesn't get much simpler than this. Put some chicken tenderloins on a cookie sheet (usually I marinate the tenderloins in the some of the sauce for 15 minutes, but when I forget to do this I just make sure the chicken gets liberally covered with sauce and it turns out fine). Add the chopped potatoes. Mix up the sauce (made with only a few easy ingredients!) and smother everything. Then you bake it, add the greens half an hour later, and bake a little longer until everything is soft, roasted and inundated with the delicious sauce. And that's it!

Here's the recipe. Adapted slightly from Cafe Delites.

ONE-PAN HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN WITH POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS

6 chicken tenderloins, thawed (or 3 chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise)
salt and pepper, to taste
6 red potatoes, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons smooth dijon mustard
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard (or 1 tablespoon ground mustard)
2 tablespoons water
2 cups fresh green beans
fresh rosemary: optional, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375. Lay the chicken tenderloins on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped potatoes around the chicken. Mix the rest of the ingredients except green beans in a medium mixing bowl, and then spoon 2/3 of the sauce over the potatoes and chicken. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add the green beans and last 1/3 of the sauce. Bake for another 15 minutes, until chicken is tender and white through and potatoes are soft. Garnish with rosemary if desired and serve hot.

Enjoy!

PIN FOR LATER:

See more easy weeknight dinners here.

baby-led weaning: how we never bought or made baby food

When my oldest was six months old, I hadn't done much research on feeding babies, so I did what I kind of assumed you were supposed to do: baby oatmeal cereal added into formula or breastmilk, and then months and months of store-bought (and a few homemade) purees. And every single time I fed my baby, I thought, "This is so gross."

Have you ever tried baby food? Never. Taste. Them. (Although my baby was used to drinking formula, so I guess anything's an upgrade from that.) Plus they're super processed, they're not like real food humans eat, they are dang expensive, and they don't teach your baby what real food feels or tastes like. But I thought it was just what you had to do, so I did it.

Then, when my baby was nine months old, I heard about baby-led weaning, and since the day I researched it, two more kids later, I have yet to buy another puree, puff or yogurt melt.

If traditional pureed baby food is what works for you and your baby, absolutely go for it. But here's what has been a much better fit for our family.

B A B Y - L E D   W E A N I N G

In a phrase, baby-led weaning is all about babies feeding themselves real food.

Instead of buying or making pureed foods, give them real foods. Instead of spooning bites into their mouth, put the food on the tray and let them feed themselves. It's that simple.

When I first heard about baby-led weaning, I was feeding my daughter a tupperware full of sweet potato puree with one hand while also scrolling through a friend's blog post about this "babies feed themselves" crazy talk. I put down the phone and opened the fridge to see what I could experiment with. I found an avocado, cut a big slice, and put the whole slice on her tray. You guys, she was SO happy, and the entire thing disappeared in about 30 seconds flat. (In fact, she ate it so quickly I was convinced she was choking.) (She wasn't.) The next food I introduced was a third of a banana, and then a steamed baby carrot.

With my younger babies, I've been doing the same thing. We start with avocado, and then gradually increase to other foods, and all three of my babies have been quite enthusiastic. They all got into it at slightly different ages, but once they were interested in real food (aka once they started dive bombing for whatever food I was eating), they've all done great.

THE PROS:

+ Your child gets exposed to more fresh fruits and vegetables and less processed food.

+ Your child gets used to different textures and flavors early, and lots of studies have suggested this makes them less picky eaters.

+ It's much cheaper because you don't have to buy baby food.

+ The prep time is practically nothing because you don't have to make baby food; your child literally just eats what you're already eating.

+ Your child learns better hand/eye coordination and fine motor "pincer grasp" control.

+ Eating becomes something your whole family does together. There's no kid food vs adult food, there's just food.

+ It's easier to go places, because you don't have to pack up special food for the baby in addition to whatever you're already bringing or buying for yourself.

THE CONS:

+ Your baby will sometimes gag when they're just starting. Gagging is different from choking, and babies actually gag as a way to move food around in their mouth. It's totally fine and normal, and gagging is what helps their gag reflex develop normally. Obviously you have to be watching your children when they eat no matter what, and I don't give large whole grapes, or any other food that's a choking hazard in the beginning.

+ Usually, with baby-led weaning, you start at around 6 months old, when your baby is better at sitting up unassisted and picking things up by themselves. Sometimes, with purees, you can start as early as 4 months, so if you're super anxious to have your kitchen be a disaster every time the baby eats, I guess it's a con that you have to wait a month or two. (I get it, as an excited new parent it's sometimes hard to wait for the next milestone.)

+ It is MESSY in the beginning. Brace yourself that at least 50% of the food will end up on the floor or smushed into your baby's hair in the beginning. But I promise it gets a lot better very quickly; these babies really do pick up this whole "eating real food" thing faster than you'd think.

GOOD FOODS TO START: (anything 2-3 inches long and fairly soft is great to start)

+ fresh vegetables: avocado, peeled cucumber
+ fresh fruits: banana, strawberries, apple, pear, mango
+ steamed vegetables: carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, green beans, zucchini
+ protein/ dairy: scrambled eggs, black beans, turkey, chicken
+ puree-like real foods: applesauce, yogurt (I'll sometimes break my own rule and spoon feed these to my babies to avoid a mess)
+ grains: crackers, whole-grain cereal, veggie straws, bread, pasta

The other day we were FaceTiming with some family during dinner, and they were like, "AH! Addison got her hands on a a huge thing of broccoli! Help her!" It was a nice, soft piece I purposely picked out from our meal to give to her. I explained she's eaten broccoli before, and then naturally we spent the next five minutes watching her gnaw on it and grin and drool green drool everywhere until the whole thing was gone. (Family: the only people who are remotely interested in watching your daughter eat broccoli.) 

See the baby-led weaning website here, or just google for more people's experiences and ideas of first foods. We love these cover-all bibs and also these easy-wipedown silicon bibs to help contain the mess. Everyone alive recommends these super cheap IKEA high chairs (which sadly are permanently out of stock at my local IKEA), so we have these ones that attach to a chair instead. They're also cheap, and I love that the tray can go straight into the dishwasher.

PIN FOR LATER:

That's been our family's experience with baby-led weaning.
Easy, cheap, no prep, and everyone eats together as a family.

Any other fans of baby-led weaning out there?

chicken with sun-dried tomato basil cream sauce

I had to fend off my husband to get three minutes alone with this plate of food and photograph it before Sam gobbled it up. Literally. That's how good this recipe is, you guys.

We first had this sun-dried tomato basil cream sauce a few years ago at my family's house in Alpine. It quickly became Sam's favorite, and whenever it was his birthday, he'd request that Krysti make it for him. I finally wised up and got the recipe from her. The rest is history, as they say. Sam requests it for every single birthday. And Father's Day. And Valentine's Day. And holiday of any kind. And every week when I'm making a grocery list and ask what he wants to eat. Last week we had it just because it was Monday.

In fact, if you've been over for dinner in the last year, chances are we've served you this dish. Or homemade Cafe Rio. We're currently on a homemade Cafe Rio kick.

I can't begin to explain how good this recipe is. First, I start with chicken tenderloins, coat them in crunchy Italian breadcrumbs, and bake them until the chicken falls apart in your mouth. Then, I top it with sun-dried tomato basil sauce. The sauce is easy to make and full of flavorful garlic, sweet basil, delicious cream, melted parmesan cheese, and pops of sun-dried tomatoes (which I don't usually like, but trust me, they are so good in this recipe). Last, I drizzle the sauce over the chicken, add some rice pilaf and whatever baked vegetable I'm in the mood for, et voila. Heaven in my mouth.

Here's the recipe. It was originally adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything, but I've changed it enough over the years that I claim it as my own. (In my apparently-not-humble-at-all opinion, I've managed to make it both easier and more delicious.)

You're welcome in advance.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO BASIL CREAM SAUCE
serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
6 Tbs butter, divided
6 chicken tenderloins, thawed (or 3 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise)
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken broth (or 1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup water)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

THE CHICKEN: Preheat the oven to 375. Melt 3 Tbs butter in a bowl and put breadcrumbs in a second bowl. Dip chicken tenderloins in the butter and then coat with breadcrumbs. Place each coated chicken piece in a baking dish (I use an ungreased 11x7 baking dish).  Cook in oven for about an hour, or until crispy on edges and very tender in the middle.

THE SAUCE: Melt 3 Tbs butter on a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add crushed garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cream and sun-dried tomatoes; bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low. Add parmesan cheese, basil and pepper. Heat through.

Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve with this rice pilaf and roasted broccoli or zucchini. And if some sauce accidentally gets on the rice pilaf, well, there's really nothing you can do except eat it (and rejoice in the excuse for added sauce).

Yummmmm. Sam just took the last of the leftovers to work today, which is a shame because looking at these pictures makes me wish I was having it again for dinner tonight.

PIN FOR LATER:

the best caramel chocolate brownies

Go ahead and throw out all the other brownie recipes you have.

You guys these brownies are so good. They're made with a german chocolate cake base (yum), but they're thick and gooey like brownies. Add the layer of caramel right in the middle and the chocolate chips sprinkled on top and you have brownie heaven.

I make these all the time when I have to bring a treat somewhere, and they have never once let me down. They freeze really well too, so you can make a double batch and use them as needed. So, you know, one every day when the kids are napping and you need a treat. ;)

The other plus? They have a short ingredient list (only 5 ingredients!), and they are super easy to make. Low risk and time investment, huge reward.

A little back story: Before I posted this recipe, I was trying to track down the rightful owner so I could give them credit. I have this recipe in two different family recipe documents, so I texted both people, who both got the recipe from someone else, who got the recipe from someone else. So then I researched a bit and found it online too. Apparently they're called backyard brownies or basement brownies or something. Some sort of household area that starts with a B. (Bathroom brownies???) If anybody knows the true creator of the recipe, please send them my way! So I can worship at their feet, mainly.

THE BEST CARAMEL CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 German chocolate cake mix
2/3 cup evaporated milk, split
1 stick butter
1 pkg (2 cups) chocolate chips
1 pkg (2 cups) caramels

WHAT YOU'LL DO:
Combine cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and softened butter. Press 2/3 of the mixture into a greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 6 minutes. While they're baking, melt caramels with other 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a saucepan. Pour over cake and let set 5 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Crumble remaining cake mix on top. Bake 15-18 minutes. Cool for several hours and cut.

YUM.

What are your fool-proof recipes?

Ones nobody ever gets tired of?

Happy weekend!

Easy Weeknight Dinners: Ramen Stir-Fry

My stepmom Krysti is a master of using up every last piece of produce she buys. Sometimes I'll stumble across half a satsuma, a third of a zucchini, or some other tiny quantity of produce carefully stored in the fridge at her house, and wonder why she bothered to keep them. Until dinner, when the satsumas add a perfect touch of citrus to the salad and the zucchini has been diced and simmered into the pasta sauce.

I've been trying to get better at using my vegetables and fruit for multiple purposes so none of it goes to waste. For example, if I buy a few heads of broccoli, I'll use some one day as a side dish, the next day in a salad, and the third day in a stir fry. It helps me cut down on my grocery bill and eliminate extras that end up going bad in my fridge anyway. 

About once a week, I love to make this stir fry with whatever vegetables I have left over for the week. And want to know my weird secret ingredient?

Ramen noodles. Yup. Those gross things you ate in college. You guys, I buy packs of ramen noodles and save them specifically for this stir fry. 

Why? First of all, because ramen noodles are 14 cents a pack. FOURTEEN CENTS. It's almost impossible to beat that price. Secondly, because when you leave the flavor packet out and cook them up with vegetables, teriyaki sauce and soy sauce, they taste like thin yakisoba noodles. So good. So incredibly good. And third, it only takes 3 minutes to cook them up, so you have a super yummy stir fry meal in 10 minutes start to finish.

Claire and I literally eat this for lunch at least once a week. We hope you like it as much as I do!

EASY RAMEN NOODLE TERIYAKI STIR FRY

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups chopped veggies (we love broccoli, bell peppers, snap peas, zucchini, and carrots the most)

fresh ginger to taste

1 ramen packet (noodles only - discard flavor pack)

1/4 cup hot water

2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce

2-3 Tbsp soy sauce (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a large skillet on high for 2 minutes.

2. Pour teriyaki sauce in skillet and the grated fresh ginger on top. Heat for 30 seconds, then add in vegetables. Simmer and stir vegetables for 2 minutes.

3. Add hot water, and wait for it to come to a boil (again, this should happen within 30 seconds. Stir fry is a fast-paced thing!)

4. Loosely break apart ramen noodles and place in skillet, stirring constantly to help them cook evenly and quickly. Sometimes I need to add a bit more water here.

5. When the noodles are soft, add the soy sauce and stir on high for about one more minute, until the liquids are gone and it's barely starting to scorch in places.

6. Serve immediately and enjoy!

TIPS AND TRICKS:

Like I mentioned earlier, this is a stir fry, so things go fast. Make sure you have all the ingredients ready before you start. 

This is the hardest recipe I've typed up in a while, because I never measure my exact quantities. And that's one great thing about this recipe. You can use whatever veggies you want, and in whatever quantity you want. If things are dry, add a little more liquid (teriyaki or soy sauce or water), and if there's too much liquid, just keep stirring it for another minute till it's gone.

I personally love fresh ginger, so I always add a ton, but you can totally skip it if you don't like the taste.

P.S. Other easy weeknight dinners:

Kielbasa Potato Bake

Gourmet Open-Faced Quesadillas

Easy Weeknight Jambalaya

Enjoy!

cranberry pineapple yogurt bowl

Naturally the first thing I did when we got back from our holiday late last night was head to the kitchen to see what snacks I could rummage up. (Nothing, by the way. It was so disappointing.)

So after putting the kids to bed, I sat down and made a grocery list for the next morning. Isn't it weird how a little break from something will make you so much more eager to get back into it? I was in such a food rut before I left, but when I made my list last night, it was filled with all sorts of yummy new recipes I want to try, and some old classics we love (see my easy weeknight dinner recipes here). 

Today's late breakfast was a super delicious yogurt bowl. My stepmom and I first fine-tuned this recipe on New Year's Eve, and I was reticent about the fresh pineapple with the vanilla yogurt, but I have to say it's my favorite part. 

Here's a quick how-to in case you're in the mood for a delicious morning yogurt bowl. This bowl is quick and easy, can be tweaked to fit your mood, is a nice healthier option, and has the most delicious flavor combinations.

CRANBERRY PINEAPPLE YOGURT BOWL

You'll need:

vanilla yogurt

sliced fresh pineapple

Post® Great Grains® cereal (we like the Cranberry Almond Crunch)

almonds, slivered or chopped

dried cranberries

optional: shredded coconut

I didn't include exact amounts of any of these ingredients, because the beauty of a homemade yogurt bowl is you can do whatever you want with it! Start with the yogurt (I did about 2 cups and split it with my toddler), and then sprinkle everything on top. I crushed the cereal just a bit before adding it to break up the largest flakes. I am NOT a huge coconut fan, so I left it out, but my brother added coconut to his and totally loved it, so add some of that in there too if you like!

See the video version of this recipe here. (Why are those live-action cooking videos so mesmerizing? I always watch them when they appear in my Facebook feed.)

Looking for more breakfast ideas to jumpstart your healthy eating resolutions? Click here for inspiration and awesome coupons for Post® Great Grains® cereal!

What are your favorite yogurt bowl combinations?

I also have a white chocolate and berry one I love, 

but, you know, pretty sure white chocolate chips

don't fall under the "eat healthy" resolutions

we're all trying to make these days. ;)

Easy Weeknight Dinners: Kielbasa Potato Bake

Do you have meals you only make when your significant other is out of town? The two foods Sam doesn't like are onions and peppers (I know, I know, he's missing out). Guess which two ingredients are prominently featured in this recipe? Yep. Onions and peppers.

So I like to make this dinner when he's out of town (or just working late on campus). First of all, this is major comfort food for me, so it's nice sitting down to a hot crispy meal when I'm sans husband and feeling lonely. Second, it's a great time to get my fill of peppers and onions. And by get my fill I mean eat two or three servings of this stuff, because it's just so good I can't stop myself. And then I get excited just thinking about the leftovers in the fridge.

Making this recipe only takes a few minutes, and it's pretty mindless work too (read: can be done while singing Frozen with my toddler or listening to a podcast). And then, 30 minutes later, you get the most delicious, hot, crispy goodness in your belly. That's my kind of night. Minus the Frozen songs, which I am heartily sick of.

Another great thing about this dinner is that you don't need exact amounts of anything. So if you want to add more potatoes or if you're missing half an onion, it's not a problem. Follow your dreams, friend.

KIELBASA POTATO BAKE

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:
5 small red potatoes
1 polska kielbasa or sausage (we like Hillshire Farm)
1/2 yellow onion
1 red or yellow bell pepper
1  Tbsp vegetable oil
1 packet onion soup mix

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DO:
1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Cube the potatoes, kielbasa, onion, and pepper. The key is to make them all about the same size so they'll cook at the same rate.
3. Put all the cubed food into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the vegetable oil on top, and then sprinkle the onion soup mix packet in. Use a large spoon to mix all together.
4. Spread on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and vegetables are starting to brown on top.
5. Serve with your favorite steamed veggies and fresh fruit. Enjoy!

P.S. More in the Easy Weeknight Dinner series:
Spicy Jambalaya
Open-Faced Stuffed Quesadillas

Easy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

We have this thing about bananas at our house. No matter what, we always have one single banana that goes brown before we eat it. If we buy 8 bananas, we'll end up with one brown one. If we buy 2 bananas, we'll end up with one brown one. I don't know what's wrong with us, or how this happens, but it seems like week after week I'm putting one single overripe banana in the freezer.

The good news is that every three weeks, we have three bananas in the freezer, which means we can make banana chocolate chip muffins.

I can't say enough good things about this recipe. There are no rare ingredients, so we always have everything on hand. They're soft, they're delicious, they're mild, they store well, and they have chocolate chips in them. 

I whipped up this batch last week, and we have one muffin left this morning, which of course I will generously give to my daughter for breakfast. Or else eat it quickly myself before she wakes up for the day. Either one. 

EASY BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2  1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. Mix together the first 6 ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. 

3. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips, and stir until just moistened. Batter will be slightly lumpy. 

4. Grease a muffin tin (or use cupcake liners), and fill each container until 2/3 full. 

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until barely browned on top. Makes about 24 muffins.

*The only possibly tricky ingredient is buttermilk, which I never have on hand, ever. But there's an easy substitute: just use 1/2 cup milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar. Works like a charm!

*I like my muffins tall and heaping, so I usually fill the liners 3/4 full and end up with about 18 larger muffins instead of 24 smaller ones.

*Whatever you do, do not be stingy about the chocolate chips. :)

Enjoy!

P.S. If you're in a sweet tooth mood, try the Arizona Sunset (my favorite mocktail!) or this divine chilled cheesecake.

sweet and salty white chocolate popcorn

When I was in high school, almost every Friday night was pizza night at our house. We all got to invite friends over, eat pizza, and then play games or watch a movie. I remember making a variation of this white chocolate popcorn mix on many a Friday night - usually to impress my older brother's friends, who were the ripe old ages of 17 and 18 and therefore soooooo handsome and mature in my 16-year-old eyes. Nothing says, "Hi, I'm the annoying younger sister!" like a bowl of sweet and salty white chocolate popcorn plopped down in the middle of a board game. ;)

Here's my autumn variation of this recipe. I'm just going to tell you right now - the salt is the key to this recipe! Don't try to leave it out. It just won't work!

INGREDIENTS:

10 cups (about one bag) popped fat-free or low-fat popcorn
1/2 cup M&Ms
1 cup mini pretzels
3/4 cup candy corn
1/2 cup peanuts (optional)
1 bag (2 cups) white chocolate chips
1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine everything except the last two ingredients in a large bowl. Stir loosely.
2. Pour the chocolate chips into a small glass bowl and melt in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds.
3. Pour the melted white chocolate chips over the popcorn mixture, a little at a time, sprinkling salt as you go. Stir often, until all ingredients are mixed evenly together.
4. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Enjoy!

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

Don't over melt the white chocolate chips. When there are still a few white chocolate blobs, you're done microwaving. Give it a good stir and those last chips will melt right in.

Whatever you do, don't use less than 1/2 tsp salt! I usually sprinkle and stir in 1/2 tsp, and then I taste it. If I think, "Meh. That's good I guess," I need to add more salt.

I usually use 94% fat-free microwave popcorn for this recipe. Buttered or movie-theater style popcorn won't work nearly as well.

I also love to bring this mix as a fun treat for the pumpkin patch, or in a bowl at a Halloween party. It would even be fun to put this in individual bags, tie it with festive bows, and give them out as party favors.

Ever made white chocolate popcorn before?

What variations would you add?
Happy snacking!

easy weeknight jambalaya

I have a note in my phone called "food staples." It's a list of easy dinners that I make so often I don't need to look at a recipe. Every week when I'm making a grocery list, I include at least one or two of my staple recipes. Isn't it nice when you find a recipe that's easy, delicious, and everyone in your family likes?

One of our favorite weeknight dinner recipes is jambalaya. So hard to spell correctly, so yummy to make. ;) It's flavor packed, almost impossible to mess up, and perfect for a quick weeknight meal. I've made several variations, and today I wanted to share my favorite with you.

EASY WEEKNIGHT JAMBALAYA

INGREDIENTS:
Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage (we also love the polska kielbasa variation)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, cubed
2 cups white rice + 1 Tbsp cajun seasoning OR 1 package Zatarain's Original Jambalaya Mix
1/2 cup diced green onion

DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop onion, bell pepper, and green onion. Set aside.
2. Begin preparing rice according to the packaging. (Mix cajun seasoning in right at the beginning, or, for ease of preparation, use the Zatarain's Original Jambalaya mix like I do.)
3. Slice sausage into pieces about 1/3" thick. Saute sausage in large frying pan on medium high heat, stirring frequently.
4. Add the yellow onion and bell pepper into your frying pan. Saute two minutes longer, or until onion begins to brown.
5. When there's about 10 minutes left on the rice, add contents of frying pan into the rice mixture. This ensures that all flavors will combine together.
6. When rice is done, serve warm with a garnish of green onion and a side of steamed broccoli.

And that's it! The perfect mix of spice and flavor, and it's ready to go in 30 minutes or less. In fact, I like to stock up on the jambalaya mix and the smoked sausage when they're on sale, and freeze the sausage until I need it. (Incidentally, you can get 2 Hillshire Farms sausages for only $5 at your local Kroger between 3/30 and 4/19/16 while supplies last. I picked up four myself in the deli aisle at Smith's last week, and still have three in my freezer right now, waiting for next week's easy dinner prep.)

Get more easy weeknight dinner ideas here.

What are your favorite no hassle weeknight meals?

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®  and Hillshire Farm, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #nohasslesavorymeal http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Ritzin' up a Ritz

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

My kitchen and I have a standing appointment at 3:30 every day. Snack time. These days, snacks are the quickest way to my heart (blame the pregnancy), so I take snack time very seriously. Claire usually wakes up from her nap around then and joins me, and Fixer Upper is usually in the background because I have been inordinately interested in home repair shows considering I'm currently renting and can't even paint my own walls.

These days, my favorite snacks are any fresh fruit or vegetable, trail mix, cottage cheese, or fancied up RITZ Fresh Stacks Original Crackers. I really love putting toppings on these yummy crackers. (Ahem, I may have blogged about this before, twice, here and here.) Here are my current favorite RITZ Fresh Stacks Original combinations. 

THE APPETIZER - This is my all-time favorite, and if I sign up to bring a finger food to a party, it's almost always this one. The combination of the fresh basil and the buttery cracker and the savory cream cheese...... Is it 3:30 yet?

Ingredients: RITZ Fresh Stacks Original, chive and onion cream cheese, fresh basil leaves, quartered grape or cherry tomatoes.

DECONSTRUCTED PB&J - I love this one, because it has all the protein and vitamins of a regular PB&J, but without the extra calories that come with two slices of bread. It's also easy, and we always have these ingredients on hand.

Ingredients: RITZ Fresh Stacks Original, your favorite peanut butter (we grabbed Peter Pan Simply Ground Peanut Butter), and your favorite jam or jelly.

THE SWEET AND SAVORY - I discovered this combo at a live event at Walmart last weekend, and it is just so good. The RITZ Fresh Stacks Original and peanut butter provide the savory, the bananas bring the sweet, and the cinnamon provides the final touch. 

Ingredients: RITZ Fresh Stacks Original, peanut butter, thinly sliced bananas, sprinkle of cinnamon. Drizzle lightly with chocolate syrup for a true delicious sugar rush.

THE DESSERT - If you're my toddler, you'll peel the crackers apart and lick out the chocolate and caramel in the middle. If you're anyone else, you'll just take a bite (or eat the whole thing at once!) and enjoy the chocolate and caramel melting in your mouth. 

Directions: Place RITZ Fresh Stacks Originalon a baking tray, and put one unwrapped chocolate caramel candy in the middle of each. Heat in the oven for 5 minutes at 350. (I set them in the oven right when it starts preheating, and then take them out when I hear the beep that means the oven is done preheating.) Immediately place a second RITZ Fresh Stacks Original on top. 

I saw a presentation in Walmart last weekend about these new RITZ Fresh Stacks Original packs. They crackers come in smaller sleeves, so you can open just one for snack time, or grab one when you're headed out the door for an on-the-go snack. RITZ Ultimate Butter Stacks are available for a limited time starting March 28!

OTHER FAVORITE TOPPINGS:

banana slices and chocolate syrup

cream cheese frosting and fresh sliced strawberry

marinara sauce, shredded cheese, and pepperoni (melt in microwave or broiler)

artichoke dip

turkey and swiss cheese

So much yum.

Adding any of these to your afternoon snack menu?

Thanks again to RITZ Original Fresh Stacks 

for sponsoring my love for being in the kitchen at 3:30pm. :)