Quick and easy meals

Whether you're a working mom or a teacher on your summer break, you probably have a list of go-to recipes that you make over and over again because they are quick, easy, and reliable. Mine include spagehetti, marinated chicken breast with whatever marinade or dressing looked good that week, ravioli, sloppy joes (it's hard not to picture the lunch from your elementary school cafeteria, but I promise it's good!), and pasta with shrimp and vodka sauce to name a few. Just think though, if we all shared our own quick-and-easy recipes, we could mix-up the mundane and add a little flare to our own kitchen creations.  So here are some quick-and-easies I made this week that you can throw into your own rotations if you like. I would love to hear your go-to's too!

Pierogies

Inexpensive and always delicious- found in the frozen food aisle of any grocery store

Sautée onions with garlic, EVOO(extra virgin olive oil), and a little Smart Balance butter. After slightly browned, add Pierogies with some extra olive oil on top.

 Make an easy salad with spinach leaves, strawberries, and blueberries.

Add fresh parm to the salad, sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on the pierogies (just a little! but trust me, so good!), and scoop a dollop of sour cream for dipping the pierogies.

We ate it with a side of cantaloupe- they are SO sweet right now!

Other times, I made them with a side of veggies- they are so quick and easy!

Chicken-Salsa-Mozzarella 

(I made that name up- can you tell?!) Andrea actually gave me this idea- love sharing easy faves!

Place thawed chicken breasts or tenderloins in a baking dish.

Pour one jar of salsa on top- I chose this one from Kroger because it was on sale and looked yummy. 

Bake for 20 minutes on 350F. 

Remove and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for another 20 minutes at 350F. 

Voila :)

Serve with whatever side you like- I already had the spinach, so this time we had blueberry and feta salad.

What easy recipes do you love to make?! If you have a link to share or an easy go-to you can type up, I'd love to hear it!

Plant Annuals and Herb Garden- Check!

I picked the two cheapest things to cross off the to-do list, but still, it's progress! I get excited to show Matt what I've done when he gets home from work. Have I mentioned that I would really love being a stay-at-home wife?! 

So the annuals are planted and the herb "garden" in the back is complete for now. We're having to continually kill the ivy that keeps reappearing in the back (click here if you want to see the massive amounts of ivy that was pulled up in our backyard), so I can't plant anything in those areas until it's all dead and gone (now I'm singing the Justin Timberlake song).  So for now, the herb garden is very small and in an awkward place at the back of the driveway that gets the most sun. This area will eventually be part of the patio or deck (whatever we end up doing), but for now, it serves the purpose! 

Herb Garden

Basil: This was the original inspiration for the herb garden that Caitlyn brought over last week.

Parsley

Oregano

Strawberries: Not exactly an herb, but I thought Matt would be excited to have these, considering he eats the full Costco container in just a few days.

Ta-da!

Before I move to the front yard, these are pictures of the encore azaleas we planted about a month ago. They're starting to bloom!

And now for the front yard. We planted these pink vinca a few weeks ago, but they needed to be spread out to help them grow fuller. So I separated them and moved them behind the mums, and planted two light-pink vinca in their place. They look a little sad from the move, but hopefully they'll perk up and grow fuller soon!

Before

After

Lastly, I'm a sucker for the .99 cent flowers at Home Depot. These red salvia were only .99 cents this week! So now we have a little extra welcoming by the front door. :)

In other news, I'm counting down the hours until I leave for Charleston tomorrow morning. One of my best friends is having her first baby and I cannot WAIT to see her and meet her sweet new baby girl! Emerson, you better wait til I get up there to come! Here's a picture of me and Meagan from Mexico a couple years ago, and then one of her and her husband, Chris. Yes, their babies are all going to be gorgeous, it's pretty much a given. :)

Lots of pictures from the weekend to come... :)

Lake Weekend

This weekend we packed six people in our friend's Expedition (thanks Dustin!) and headed out to Greenwood, SC for a weekend getaway with friends. We had a blast!

 Me, Matt, Cara, Ashley, Kemble, and Frank

Watermelons for sale!

 Getting a very elaborate lesson in picking out a watermelon

Boys being boys :)

The life :)

Ice-cream boat!

 Kemble and Ashley

 Frank and Cara

Matt with Kelly's little sister, Cooper, who came up for the day. Precious!

 Here we go!

Clearly much easier for Matt than for me- ha! 

Kelly's brother, Scott- such a sweetheart!

 As Cooper and Scott said... getting ready to "3-2-1 zip it!"

Scott, Kelly, and Cooper

View from the boat- Cara with the perfect wave!

Kemble and Frank

Sorry guys- had to. Please look at their faces- haha!

Ashley and Kemble

Matt- again, had to :)

Playing the best game ever... Think Bowl I think?! My stomach hurt so bad after we finished! New favorite game that Cara and Frank taught us. Hilarious!

Matt doing the charades part of the game- it's kinda dark, sorry!

Bliss: Looks like the Corona ad minus the Corona