Spaghetti Pie and Life in Crazy Town

One of my good friends from Cornerstone keeps up a fantastic blog called "Life in the Off Season". I laugh inside because this season of life for me is definitely not "off" but rather full blown madness. I envy her a little bit in having some down time. :) I truly look forward to not being so busy with school, work, and internship in the not so near future (May 2013). As I count down the months till the end of all this, I think I will remember this to be a time in my life I  found God's guidance and peace most apparent. He has orchestrated some great changes and opportunities for me to grow. My internship has been amazing. I'm working at a private practice in downtown Grand Rapids and I have the opportunity to journey with and assist high school aged students to post college women in all different places in life. I am humbled by the stories I hear, and how great our God is in the process of positive change. I'm also taking on a new role at Wedgwood in the outpatient counseling center as part of my internship. I'm loving the opportunity to partner with families of hurting teens in the Dialectal Behavioral Therapy program. I am able to co-lead two groups for parents and kids as well as coach and counsel teens individually. It's awesome! 

Thanksgiving for Austin and I was spent with my dad's family in Kalamazoo. I also got to spend some quality time with my sister while she was home from school in Indiana, as well as get my Black Friday shopping on with my bestie, Kaycee. It was a lot of fun into the wee hours of the morning. Austin and I are looking forward to some more fun time spent with family in the coming weekends as the holidays approach for Christmas and we travel here there and everywhere. We have also been excited to become aunt and uncle for the 4th and 5th time in November as Austin's sister, Aubrey, welcomed her first two babies into the world. Aubrey and Josh are going to make amazing parents to twins, Brinley and Lane! I may be biased as an aunt, but these babies are quite frankly the cutest things I have ever seen :). 

So with all the craziness and nights away at my internship and school, I'm not making dinner any more. Austin fends for himself 98% of the time. He's actually quite self sufficient. I've been impressed. On the weekends, I am able to cook and bake occasionally  This weekend I was able to cook and make something that's one of my favorite things of course, PASTA. I freakin' love it. This spaghetti pie will blow your mind, and I just don't know if anyone can really hate this spaghetti.

The things you'll need for this dish include but are not limited to: 

1 9X13 or 9X9 Pan

1 lb of ground beef or lean turkey

1 can of spaghetti sauce (I used Market Fresh Tomato Basil sauce from Target)

Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, red pepper flakes

1 can of stewed, Italian seasoned tomatoes

1 package of whole grain/whole wheat spaghetti noodles

1 bag of mozzarella shredded cheese (I recommend Kraft brand with Philadelphia cream cheese blend)

1/3-/1/2 of cream cheese block (I used Philadelphia Cream Cheese and 1/2 of the block) depends on how creamy you like your sauce.

4 egg whites

STEP 1: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, if you plan on making it that day. You can pre-make this dish and refrigerate or freeze for future dinner times. Both ways taste great. 

STEP 2: Brown your meat in a sauce pan. Season as you please. I add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Drain off grease. 

STEP 3: Add a pot of water on the stove to boil your pasta. Add pasta in to boil with a pinch of salt. Boil until pasta is tender.

STEP 4: Add sauce in a large skillet on Med-Low heat.

STEP 5: Add in your drained meat and can of tomatoes to the sauce. 

STEP 6: Add in your cream cheese into the sauce. Stir to combine and melt completely.

STEP 7: Put drained pasta into a large mixing bowl. Beat egg whites and add in. I added about a tablespoon of parsley and a few shakes of garlic powder to the mix as well. Mix up well. 

STEP 8: Once sauce is done simmering, add spaghetti noodles into your pan(s). I used two 9X9 pyrex dishes, which work well with these portions. You can also use a 9X13 pan as well. I've used either. I also used Reynolds Wrap Pan Liner for easy clean up. :)

STEP 9: Distribute sauce evenly on top.

STEP 10: Add your mozzarella on top. I also sprinkled parsley flakes on top.  

STEP 11: Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. 

Just how many ways can you do spaghetti? I don't know, but I love testing the limits :) Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (3 ingredients!)

Life is speeding along through fall. I can't believe how much life is changing and advancing. I'm crazy busy with my internship/still trying to work full time. Austin is still working full time. We manage to see each other for about 5 minutes before bed every night. It's taken some adjustment, but God is truly blessed us in this season and I couldn't be happier. I'm just waiting to catch my breath it feels like. A vacation awaits me after all this internship/master degree business is finished! I'm highly looking forward to the day when I have no agenda or plans or work to be done. However, in the mean time, I am enjoying fall and Austin and I are anticipating being an aunt and uncle to twins in a few weeks as Austin's sister is expecting two new babies for the Lettinga clan to love on. :) I am very much loving being an aunt to his other niece and nephews so it will be fun to add two babies to the crew of children on his side of the family. I've been reminded by my own mother that my biological time clock is ticking in an ever so non-pressuring (yet pressuring) way. ("Thanks, Mom!") However, to her dismay, Lord Willing I will be waiting for my own family to start until I'm finished with grad school and "stable" career wise. That's the "plan" anyway... 

Enjoy this recipe!

Okay, seriously this might be the easiest dessert I've ever made. I am quite literally obsessed with pumpkin anything in the fall season. I have a diagnosable problem, I'm sure of it. Anyway, I found this recipe on Pinterest of course, and was skeptical at first due to the lack of ingredients but, friends, I am telling you this recipe saves calories and time. Pumpkin is a great substitute for the oil and eggs in this fun recipe. You can even leave out the chocolate chips to make it 2 Points on Weight Watchers...believe it! 

Combine 1 box cake mix (I have used both Spice Cake and Golden Vanilla Cake and I must say the Spice Cake was better tasting like pumpkin)

1 normal size can of pumpkin puree

Handful of chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together. If you're using any other cake mix besides spice cake like a vanilla, I would use at least 1 Tbs of pumpkin pie spice to give it a pumpkin flavor. The puree doesn't give enough spice flavor. 

Place all ingredients in tin with greased muffin paper cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

Below are my finished baked muffins. They're so pretty. They should be hard, not squishy on the top when you remove them from the oven. These are very moist so I do recommend the toothpick test to ensure they're done inside. 

Yum! Enjoy and feel guilt free. Bonus! They are such a yummy fall treat!

Fall Desserts Galore!

Happy Fall Ya'll! So much desserty goodness is happening this fall. I got inspired and went a little sugar crazy...but let me tell you it was so worth it! I got to bring a lot of joy to some folks this week with these desserts which is really rewarding to me.

Cinnamon Sugar Topped Banana Bread

Ingredients

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Topping: sugar and cinnamon  (3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Pour cinnamon and sugar mix on top. 

1. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Okay, these are not only delicious but they're also weight watchers friendly! (2 points each) Pumpkin is a major fat burner on top of it. So these are quality...bottom line. Oh, did I mention they're just two ingredients?? Yep, pick up a boxed spice cake and a small can of pumpkin puree. Blend together with an electric mixer...add in anything you want...raisins...chocolate chips...nuts. I used chocolate chips because frankly is there another better choice besides chocolate. 

Bake at 350 for about 18-22 minutes or until firm on top!

YUM!

Nutella Stuffed Cookies

Omygosh...these might be my favorite cookie! They're a fun twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie...and frankly...if you don't like Nutella...you're bloody crazy! This stuff is without a doubt my new favorite thing ever. So the cookies arn't hard to make, just a little bit time consuming. They would be super fun to make with kids! 

Ingredients

• 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• 1¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup milk chocolate chips
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator
• Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Melt butter in medium sized mixing bowl in microwave.
3. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients together into the large slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.
4. Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager...which is what I did...and it turned out just fine! 
5. While dough is chilling (also chill Nutella in fridge at this time) preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

6. Once dough is chilled measure about 1½ tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled Nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball — it doesn't have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the Nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand VERY gently. (Really only the tops need to be flattened a bit!)

 7. Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Omygosh! Chocolate and hazelnut deliciousness.

Cheesy Goodness Taco Pasta

"Open Arms" by Journey is playing boldly through my Pandora station...how fitting for such a week. I am in need of open arms and have received them in the form of those people willing to pour into me during a time of uncertainty, confusion, and anxiety. Love those people! Even helpers need some help sometimes I've heard ;) 

Throughout this journey professionally and spiritually, I am reminded once again that my coping skills take the form of cooking and indulging in that cooking...what a fabulous skill set, you say? Why yes, I happen to think so too :) I found this recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it to make it my own. I have to say I liked the results. Easy pasta dinner for any time of the year or to bring to a party. It's pretty cost effective as well...bonus. 

Just look at that...um yes please...

Chopped about a cup of red onion and half a cup each of green and red peppers...

"so much color..love the color" as my girl Rachel Ray would say with her raspy voice...

Used about a pound of ground beef...combined my peppers and onion in there until fully cooked and then drained the excess grease and returned to pan. 

At this point you can begin to boil your pasta. The original recipe called for shell pasta or whole wheat shells, but I only had whole grain roltini on hand so that worked just fine. 

Once ground beef/onion/pepper mixture is drained and back in skillet, add in a can of diced tomatoes (mine had green chiles in them too), garlic to taste (I used about 1.5 TBSP), and 1 packet of Taco seasoning (low sodium).

Allow to simmer and mix together about 5 minutes...

Set aside 3 oz of cream cheese (Low Fat), LF sour cream (1/2 cup), and Mexican cheese blend. 

Spray a glass cooking dish with cooking spray and set aside. 

I didn't take pictures of the following process, but it is fairly easy. Once your pasta is done cooking, combine your sour cream, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup of water to your drained pasta (or leave about a half cup of the boiled water in there). Mix the pasta well until creamy and all ingredients are blended well. 

Add pasta to the glass dish and combine the meat/veggie mix on top. 

 All combined...looking quite delicious!

I added my Kraft Mexican cheese blend on top with some cilantro to garnish. In the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Perfecto. I may try it with shells next time just to change things up. I definitely am glad I added the extra veggies that the original recipe didn't call for. 

Thai Noodles N' Pan Seared Chicken

Life.Is.Crazy. Sparing you the ultra-boring details, saying I'm truly humbled by this time in my life is an understatement. I'm realizing how very little control I have over just about everyone and everything surrounding me. Control freak, you say? Yes, probably, I am. However, slowly I'm learning to let go and trust that God's plan is so much better than I could plan for myself. My internship is an amazing place and I'm blessed to be there. I love counseling so much. It feels good to actually be helping people in a way that is so meaningful and I can see positive results...and bonus...they actually come back to see me! I say that just because, as confident as I am that I am well prepared for this milestone in my life, I am still amazed people find peace and solace in talking with me about life and sharing their journey with me. It's is just the coolest profession, ever, in my humble opinion ;). So May is D-Day (aka graduation day!) and I cannot wait to be done with school and start practicing with a Masters degree....Whoohoo!

In the midst of it all, I'm still journeying at Wedgwood. Following where God leads me there as a case manager and working with lots of kiddos and folks who are hurting in different ways. Its equally challenging and unique in its own way. Stretched in about 4 different directions this year...but loving the journey.

This summer has flown by in an instant it feels like. I'm amazed it's September already, but thank goodness for some cooler temps! I'm so ready for fall...pumpkins, apples, and sweaters please and thank you!

Austin and I celebrated our 1st anniversary in August. It was very fun and we celebrated with my parents and sister in Chicago for a "mini-vaca". It was not so relaxing, but was very exciting,  we saw a lot, and WALKED a lot. Shop till you drop of course!

 Lookin' in the bean.

Thai Noodles N' Pan Seared Chicken

original recipe found @ http://asmallsnippet.blogspot.com/2011/03/spicy-thai-noodles.html

This recipe is sooo good! My husband raved about it. My batch turned out a bit spicier than I'd hoped but next time I will use less red pepper (1 Tablespoon or less). I thought I was stronger...my mouth is still kinda tingly hours later... 

 Chopped some green onions, grated carrots, and place aside. Also begin water to boil in a large pot for your noodles, and get them done and strained for the next steps.

Combine 1-2 Tablespoons of crushed red pepper flakes in a wide brimmed pan with 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of sesame oil. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Then strain out the oil into a separate mixing bowl. As you can see from the photo below, I have a large holed strainer...which didn't work so well in keeping out the flakes...so I added the paper towel on top in order to try and strain better. Worked okay! 

Whisk together with reserved oil: 6 TBSP Honey and 6 TBSP Soy Sauce. 

Add mixture of sauce to your cooked linguine or noodles (I used whole grain spaghetti). Mix the liquid into the noodles well. It may look like there is not enough sauce but the sauce settles on the bottom of the pan quickly, so just use a spatula to mix it well. Once mixed, add in your carrots, green onion, sesame seeds and cilantro. (I used dry spice cilantro...still tasted good!)

While you let the noodles simmer on low, you can start the chicken. I marinated my chicken in teriyaki sauce overnight. Make sure it is well done inside with thicker breasts, or slice them up before hand to make the cooking process quicker. 

Runny nose, finger lickin' good. Well worth the three pans it took to create and the dishes I had waiting for me afterwards too... ;) 

Bon Appetite! Or the equivalent of that saying in Thai.... 

Healthy Chicken Parmesean

Okay, I know pasta is literally all I post pretty much, but darn it I just love it! The pasta isn't even the best thing about this meal which by the way my husband would like to be quoted was "bitchin'" so there you go...bitchin' chicken. It really was good and healthy too. Whole wheat pasta to accompany this with some seasoned broccoli florets...yessir this is a meal! 

Ingredients

• Pre-made breadcrumbs (packaged kind...plain) *original recipe calls for you to make your own w/ whole wheat bread...waste of time and effort. ;) just kidding...do what you want. 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 egg whites (I actually did not have eggs! so I went without and only used the milk...worked fine!)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 (6 ounce) skinless boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 jar good-quality marinara sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons (1/2-ounce) shredded Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Original Directions: Place the bread in the bowl of a food processor and process until fine crumbs are formed, about 25 to 30 seconds. Put the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, until golden. (You will wind up with about 1 1/3 cups toasted crumbs.) 

My Way (or the highway): Simply pour some pre-made bread crumbs in a bowl or shallow baking dish (pie plate) and add your seasonings to it (see below).

In a medium bowl, toss the crumbs with oregano, garlic powder, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and milk together. In a third bowl stir together the flour, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Dip each piece of chicken, 1 piece at a time, in flour, shaking off excess, then egg, then bread crumbs, shaking off excess.

Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place breaded breasts in a glass baking dish and spray on each side with cooking spray, about 5 seconds total per side. Bake breasts until cooked though and crumbs are browned, about 15 minutes. Top with marinara sauce, mozzarella and parmesan and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbling. Serve right away with some pasta! 

Classic Banana Bread with a Twist

So...its been over a month since I posted a recipe on the blog...such sadness. I promise I didn't stop cooking completely, life just became a bit more complicated with working nights and my schedule being bombarded with new things. Loving life right now though. It's a constant state of learning and growth it seems like. I've never felt more like a professional in the field I'm in. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to be finally counseling people rather than simply reading about it. It's a blessing and yet a curse because of the incredible influence I now have on these folks. God has been so good and placed me in an internship that is molding me and shaping me to work with young people in such a new and refreshing way. I'm grateful for that. 

Anyhoo...my hubby has been so great about making dinners on his own and even preparing a few meals here and there for us both when I work late. Recently, realizing that we have literally NO food in our house and are too lazy and cheap to go do anything about it, I decided to get my cooking and baking back in business. What we did have was about 9 frozen bananas just developing frost bite in our freezer. Banana bread is amazing and good basically at any point (breakfast, lunch, dinner). I wanted to try a new recipe out...and adjusted this recipe on the Cooking Light website to incorporate some of my own creativity...always a good thing...maybe.. :)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar 
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt or vanilla works fine as well
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cooking spray 

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
3. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray and sprinkled with some flour on the bottom of the dish. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

**My additions: I doubled the recipe in a huge bowl. I added the sugar with my dry ingredients and it still turned out fine. After transferring 1/2 the batter into the one bread pan, I added about 3/4 cups of chocolate chips into the remaining batter and place in the other bread pan. The original recipe did not call for cinnamon...I just feel it adds a little something to it. :) Also, I used vanilla instead of plain yogurt because that's what I had on hand!

Pre-oven, ready to get golden brown!

Mixing the wet ingredients 

Wet vs. Dry...but not for long...

Plain banana bread with some butter on it...fresh outta the oven...omygoodness....yummo

chocolate chip banana bread....very yummy....but more dessert like. 

Happy Baking! 

original recipe found at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-banana-bread-10000000549764/

In-N-Out Burger Sauce

So I've only been to California once. Definitely recommend going to an In-N-Out burger joint at least once! I love burgers...probably not as much as my husband (for him its probably a staple food item in his diet literally) but I do enjoy burgers just like any American. So this sauce is really easy and incredibly good on a hamburger. It's probably not the healthiest thing on the menu tonight, but I'm going to enjoy it none the less....I'll run it off...maybe ;)

Ingredients for the Special Sauce.

• 1/2 cup Mayo - (I used low fat miracle whip)
• 2 Tbsp. Ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
• 2 tsp. sugar (You could substitute Splenda or Truvia)
• 2 tsp. Sweet Pickle Relish
• 2 tsp. finely minced onion
  I added about a half teaspoon of garlic powder and peprika seasoning to the mix
  
  
  
  
  
  Blend those babies up together - i used my pretend magic bullet - and its good to go!!
  
  
  
  
  
  I would refrigerate the sauce about a half hour before serving. 
  
  
  

Did some chopping. Baked up some sweet potato slices and zucchini and squash mix in the oven.

Zucchini and squash and 1 chopped tomato, I placed in a glass bread pan, tossed with "I can't believe its not butter" spray, seasoned with Mrs. Dash, and topped with Reduced Fat Parmesan cheese (yum!) 

Sweet potatoes I sprayed with the butter spray as well, topped with cinnamon sprinkles and dried rosemary...even more yum.

Walah! Easy yummy weeknight meal. :) Sauce...so worth the calories.