Chicken Biscuit Rolls

Today is the first day of school for my junior year in my undergrad and I am honestly so excited to be here! Even though the work in college is difficult, it's so rewarding for me. And honestly, I wouldn't have started this blog if it wasn't for one of my classes that I took last year. We were given a project to start a blog of our choosing and post once per week. We used blogs, social media, presentations, and planning throughout the semester and I absolutely loved it! When the time came that the class was over, I decided to keep up with blogging because it was so much fun for me and I seriously enjoyed planning something out and making things the way I liked. It has helped me with social media, cooking better meals, and staying organized so much better. I believe that is one thing about college that some people misunderstand, that they're tyring to push you into a big career or something. When in reality, they're trying to help you find something that you love and enjoy doing. Even though the class I took was for a personal blog and marketing, it helped me find a hobby that I love to do!

Mashed Potatoes for Two

If you're like me, then you could eat a TON of mashed potatoes every time they are placed in front of your face. I seriously could eat a huge bowl of them all by myself. I used to love those potato pearl thingies when I was younger, and now I don't even get how I could have a little bit of those things because the real stuff is so much better! My mom only cooked potatoes about once each week, usually in a slow cooker but sometimes baked. Rarely did we have mashed potatoes because they were saved for special occasions at our house it seemed like. We regularly ate rice with our dinner and ate pasta too, so these mashed potatoes were sooo good to us growing up. Now, I still cook them just as regularly as my mom did, but I have to make sure to cook the right amount for two people.
The first couple of times I made mashed potatoes, I used about 8 potaotes, sour cream, cream cheese, butter, shredded cheese, you name it. I didn't quite know what was healthy to put in them regularly and definitely not how many potatoes to use when preparing them for only two people. So, after about one year, I've finally gotten it to be able to feed two people for two meals, and it's perfect for us since we do leftovers. So, if you're feeding four people for dinner, you'd be set there too!

Mixed Roasted Veggies

These roasted veggies are a favorite of mine! They’re as customizable as you’d like them to be. I like to bring them for Sunday dinner at my parents’ house because anyone can eat them. My brothers don’t like a lot of veggies, but they can pick and choose what they like off of the pan and put it on their plates to eat.

Now that it’s August, it means that school is starting this month (not until the 28, but still)….and it has put me in “back-to-school/Autumn mode”. Summer is pretty much over for me it feels like, and these last few weeks are going to be busy ones! Next week, my little brother is leaving on a 2 year service mission in Arkansas, so we won’t see him for two whole years, hopefully it goes by fast because I’m going to miss him! A few days after that, my husband’s brother and his wife are having their wedding reception. They were married just about two months ago, but it had to be kind of rushed because my father-in-law was going to marry them and he was being released as a bishop that next week, so they decided to get married a little earlier than anticipated and have their wedding reception on the planned date. I’m so excited to attend their reception to celebrate their marriage and cute family. And also, because it means family members who have been living in Texas and Wyoming are coming back to Utah and I’m looking forward to seeing them! All my nieces and nephews get to be in one place haha. That’s one of my favorite parts about being married into this family, Michael’s the youngest in his family so everyone has kids already that we get to play with. On my side of the family, I’m the only one married so it’s fun having two such different family dynamics because of the age differences.

Week Two Dinner Plan

Week Two Meal Plan is loaded with recipes by The Pinstriped Pantry, I hope you enjoy them! My favorite hamburger seasoning, grilled tilapia, and pulled pork sandwiches will be coming soon, so keep an eye open for those recipes!

Monday- Hamburger BBQ
Tuesday- Grilled Tilapia cooked with Lemons and Garlic with Quinoa and corn
Wednesday- Yummy Ritz Cracker Chicken with rice and Cooked Carrots
Thursday- Loaded Spaghetti with turkey kielbasa and steamed squash
Friday- Grandma's Chicken Marinade with Sweet Potatoes and steamed broccoli
Saturday- Quinoa Chicken Nuggets with Seasoned Oven Fries and frozen peas
Sunday- Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Pasta Salad

Loaded Spaghetti Sauce for Two

Spaghetti is one of my favorite meals ever! I love how tasteful and filling it is every time you eat it! I am very used to cooking it with pre-made marinara sauce, but thought it would be nice to try a sauce by myself. It's been gloomy here for the past while with scattered rain showers and cloud coverage for the last couple of weeks, with the occasional sun peeking in through the clouds every once-in-a-while. So, a warm and filling meal is exactly what we needed!  I also realized that taking photos when the sun is peaking out of the clouds isn't the best idea for spaghetti sauce, lighting was pretty off when I was taking these photos, but I think that they ended up turning out okay!
I like my spaghetti sauce to be filled with everything, but you could easily take those things out and it wouldn't make that much of a difference. I changed this recipe up a bit from Fox and Briar. Her recipe is marinara sauce and it is about double the amount as mine, so try that one if you want a little more of a simple marinara sauce!

Chicken Stir-Fry for Two

Making dinner is the summer is a struggle some days! When it's so warm outside, you just don't want to turn your oven on and cook food. But sadly, you just have to eat! I have tried for months to make a stir-fry that I have actually really enjoyed. Most of the time, I just choose to make the frozen bags because it cooks so much better! I try so many different recipes and they have not worked for me. They're too spicy, soggy, meaty, etc. and I just haven't found one that I'd like to use again. It's also so difficult to find one just to feed two people! So, I decided to try one for myself, and I personally really enjoyed it. Michael said it was his favorite one yet too, so that makes two...all we need in our house!

I had to fix the problems that I didn't like. Soggy stir-fry is not something I like AT ALL!! I don't like mixing foods very much because they all mush, so I decided to cook the stir-fry and sauce seperately. I made the teriyaki in a pot and it turned out just fine! My favorite teriyaki recipe is from Food.com. There is extra sauce, but I usually save it for a couple of days and put it on leftovers and rice. I also wanted a good amount of meat to veggies. I used one chicken breast and cut it into larger pieces. I also limited the veggies what we wanted and cooked them all together! 

Week One Dinner Plan

I'm excited to start sharing dinner plans with all of you. One of the hardest things for me when we were first married was planing meals. My mom did a wonderful job of it growing up. She would let each child pick a meal they wanted from a list and we would help make that meal on the night it was planned for. She let us help with shopping at times, and it was always fun to be part of the whole meal process. After a while into our marriage, I decided I wanted to plan meals a little better and did just what my mom did, planning meals and shopping once each week for all of them. This actually saves money, because taking daily trips to the sotre, you don't see how much money you are spending on food, where when you take one trip you see how much you are putting towards your groceries, and make sure that you're only purchasing needed items.

Spinach and Basil Lasagna

This was my very first time making lasagna and I loved it! We usually opt for Stouffer's Lasagna, but thought that we would like a healthier option. We also knew exactly what was being put into this dish, and that's a lot more reasurring than eating frozen food. I found this recipe from Healthy Seasonal Recipes and I love how it can be catered toward your preferences of cheese, noodles, and beef. The spinach is also a plus, spinach is always a plus actually!
I halved this recipe, and it still could've fed 4-6 people. We had leftovers and then some. But, it's a great aount of lasagna for two people still, it would easily last three meals! We really loved this recipe and I am so excited for you all to try it!
I was surprised at the simplicity of this lasagna, I think I have always thought it was a very difficult meal to prepare, and while it did take more time than some meals, it wasn't the most difficult meal I have prepared, and didn't take up a lot of my time. This recipe is your meat, carbs, and vegetables all rolled into one. I still steamed some broccoli for more veggies, but I spend about the same amount of time in preparation of this meal as most meals, it just took a little longer to cook. It tasted fresh, healthy, and warmed us right up. I'll definately be keeping this meal on our meal plans!

Baked Chicken Rolls

This is perfect for a summer dinner. The fresh chives and parsley make it refreshing and the small size of each piece keeps it light. We served it with rice and asparagus and I don't think that I could have loved it more!
I honestly don't think I could rave enough about family recipes. I received a bunch of them from my grandma at my bridal shower and they are some of my favorites. They're so classic and just yummy! These chicken rolls were made by my mom growing up and she said this was the meal she requested for her birthday dinners as a young girl. They're a bit of a change from your regular baked chicken so it's a little refreshing to have the switch-up. I made them for my family and my younger brothers really enjoyed them, because my mom hadn't made them in a while. It's always fun for younger children because they're automatically fascinated with the toothpicks in them and somehow makes it more interesting to eat. Everyone will love this meal when you make it!
This is a pretty simple meal. I like to use chicken tenders because it makes them a lot easier, but you can use chicken breasts and cut them up to the size of tenders (about 3-4 pieces of the breast make a good size). I like to use fresh chives and parsley for this recipe also! And, as always, this recipe feeds two people plus leftovers! This can easily be doubles or tripled to feed more mouths!

Garlic Lime Sautéed Chicken

Summer is here and lime is one of my favorite flavors of this season! The lime perfects this chicken and compliments the garlic so well. Cayenne pepper and paprika give this chicken just a little kick to liven up your dinners! Sometimes, even when the A.C. is on full blast, turning the oven on in the summer is just a bad idea. It heats up the house and makes cooking a not-so-fun activity. This dish is sautéed on the stove, so there is still a little bit of heat, but definately less that won't warm up your entire home.

I have always loved summer, but after being in college, I have a whole new appreciation for this break! Besides work, there aren't as many responsibilities (homework, studying for tests, projects, and everything else that comes along with school) that take up my day-to-day. My husband works 10 hour days, and I work early in the morning, so we only get to spend our evenings together. We pretty much have time for exercising and eating, and maybe visiting our families before we fall asleep to wake up early again in the morning. It's busy, but on the weekends we get to fish, swim at the lake, hike, and spend time with our families, so I'd say all of the busyness is worth it!

Thai Coconut-Curry Broiled Tilapia

This is, HANDS DOWN, my new favorite tilapia recipe. Oh my goodness, it's amazing. Not a curry fan? Originally, me neither. But this completely converted me. My mom made this a few times when I was in high school, so I thought I'd give it a try again since we're trying to eat more fish. We love it! I've made it a few times, but made sure to add the fresh ginger and garlic and it MAKES it!
It's a super easy recipe, surprisingly. And again, fish is full of Omega-3's, so it's incredibly good for you! The original recipe is from Food.com , which I feel is always a trustworthy site. For spices, I also use good old McCormick, they are always perfect for my needs!

Tilapia Tips 

Keep your tilapia frozen. When thawing out, don't defrost in microwave like other meats. It thaws out super fast! Tilapia is pre-packaged individually, keep them in the plastic when thawing out. Fill a medium-sized bowl with lukewarm water and place tilapia filets into the bowl until thaw, refreshing the water every 5 minutes (only have to replace once for a a few fish-for more, you'll have to replace more). You can also place packaged filets inside of a colander and run slightly warmed water over them until thawed. 

Take the fish out of the packaging and rinse off. This gets the not-so-good, slimy, fishy taste off of them a little more and leaves the good taste. Another way you can do this, is soak them in a brine mixture in the fridge for about 10 minutes (1 cup of water to 1 tsp. salt). This makes them taste way better!