Cheese Ball

Who doesn't love cheese balls? This ranch cheese ball is so easy to make and everyone always loves it! I started making these in high school for my cheerleading team dinners and felt so proud of myself for not buying one haha. So, I thought it's about time I put my famous recipe up!

Garden Rotini Pasta Salad

For a family get-together, my aunt brought this wonderful pasta salad. She told me how simple it was, and I HAD to make it! This is my new go-to for gatherings. I also like to make it and eat it for almost every single meal throughout the week...it's just that good. I like this recipe too because you can really cater it towards who you are feeding. If you're at an adult gathering, use more of a specialized dressing, spicier pepperoni, and sharper cheese. For kids, use a more simple dressing and flavors that aren't as strong. If you've ever had Suddenly Salad, this is pretty much the same thing, but tastes more fresh! When we were younger, my mom used to make a pasta salad like this, and my siblings and I used to call them "Hakuna Matata Noodles" because they reminded us of the food Simone and Pumba ate on The Lion King. Pretty smart on my mom's part to get us to eat our lunch!
Really, this recipe is so simple. I like to use Kraft dressing because it has a really good taste! I buy the garden noodles to make them a little bit more nutritious, they use spinach and other veggies mixed into the noodles!

Quick & Easy Quinoa

Quinoa is one of my favorite things to eat! It's super great for you. It's a gluten free, plant-based protein that has all of the amino acids. So pretty much a superfood! They are small and round, and you can also make it into a flour. You can use quinoa as a side dish or add it to salads, soups, and even make cakes with this stuff. This article gives you some more ideas for uses of quinoa. I love this stuff! Usually, my meals consist of a meat, a side, and a vegetable. For my sides, I switch out sweet and regular potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and quinoa. It adds to your dish and helps fill your belly up!
When using it as a side, I like to cook it with chicken broth to add a little bit of flavor. It doesn't have a strong taste, so this small thing helps a lot. Preparation is a lot like rice. It's double the amount of water to the dry quinoa. You put them both in the pot together on high until it boils, then cover and cook on low for about 15-20 more minutes. The more you are cooking, the longer it will take. You will know it's finished when there is no longer water at the bottom of the pot.

Cooked Carrots

I love these carrots! I usually make a large amount to snack on throughout the day and then also to have as a side for dinner. They're the most simple thing ever. Sometimes, I get sick of the same old snacks: raw veggies, fruit, crackers, and granola bars. Snacks are quick, easy, and usually not cooked because of these reasons. A lot of the time, because of convenience, snacks can be pretty unhealthy. I found the perfect solution to this problem with these carrots.
Originally, I just made these as a side for dinners. But, I have this problem-I pick at food so badly! If there is food sitting there, I will test it a few times just to make sure it tastes okay and whatnot. When cooking these for dinner, there was usually only about half the carrots left for dinner- oops! So now, I make them double just to be able to have carrots for snacks throughout the day!
This could be one of the most simple recipes ever. You wash the carrots, and then throw them in the slow cooker. Add some liquid- you can use water, but I prefer using chicken broth. I add about one cup, but there is usually quite a bit of liquid to drain at the end. I would rather this than them burning. Add salt and pepper, butter, or even brown sugar to the carrots for flavor (don't do brown sugar if you cooked with chicken broth, only water).