My PB + J

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I don’t know about you guys but Pinterest has seriously refueled my passion for cooking. I have and always will be a cook but seeing all the recipes I have pinned all gathered nicely makes it so much easier for me to make my weekly meal plan. Jim was joking on Saturday that I must be on a Mexican food kick because everything, and I mean everything I have prepared has been Mexican inspired. Oh well, he better not be complaining after  only hearing for three months is, “I cannot wait for you to cook again”. Well, my dear hubby you get what you get and if that means we have the same staple ingredients every night just mixed up a bit then consider your wish granted! I kid, I kid! I know I have made this recipe before or something like it. I could eat these everyday, seriously. They are so good and you can easily switch them up for that picky eater. I made one small taquito for P since I only had two small flour tortillas left. That one was the perfect size and I would have gotten more out of the recipe and probably enough to freeze for another night which, I am going to do before this little man arrives! Seriously give them a try…your tummies will thank you (and hopefully me!)
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos 
Recipe Adapted From: Our Best Bites
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder (I omitted because I am out)
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro (to me, maybe because I am preggo this was a lot for me, if your not a huge fan of cilantro kick it back to 1 T)
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken 
1 C grated pepperjack cheese (I used Sharp Cheddar) 
small corn tortillas (I used large flour since I only had a few small ones left, which in my opinion taste way better for baking)
kosher salt
cooking spray
Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.Then roll it up as tight as you can.Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Strawberry Breakfast Bread

Last week when I finally got to do some major grocery shopping I hit up Henry’s as usual for all of my produce. They had a great sale on berries, which I took advantage of and stocked up on all the varieties: blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. I honestly don’t know what in carnation I was thinking purchasing four pints of strawberries, I mean on the first day Payton probably polished off a good half pint but really Melissa? They started shriveling so I contemplated what I was going to bake. After searching and searching I landed on strawberry bread and a strawberry ice-box tart. With the 90 degree weather plus a hefty amount of humidity I scratched the tart and only baked the bread. The recipe is great, the baking time took double what it states and after tasting it I think I should have used my blackberries instead. I totally plan on using my blackberries for a take on Starbucks’ Very Berry Coffee Cake which is my fav. I made it last year for my parents and it was delish but I am going to change that recipe up a bit. If you want to give this recipe a whirl here you go…

Strawberry Breakfast Bread 
(I found this recipe on The Village Cook and she adapted the recipe from “to die for blueberry muffins from allrecipes.com)
In a bowl, mix:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

Now- in a 1 cup measuring cup:
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla (while the recipe calls for vanilla, almond or lemon would be a great substitute)
1 egg
now add milk to the 1 cup mark.
Mix by hand or with your handy dandy KA mixer. 
Add 1/3 c coarsely chopped strawberries,  and combine the wet and dry ingredients. (I added roughly 1 cup)
Pour into a prepared loaf pan. (I topped with 6 slices of strawberries)
Bake at 375°F for 17-20 min. (I baked mine for 40 minutes, just make sure the bread isn’t all jiggly in the middle and that it has nicely browned edges)
Once cool, drizzle with 2 tps cream mixed with 1 c powdered sugar.

Optional: any fruit can be used. You can also throw in some nuts

Taco Pizza

Tonight marks the first meal I have made since being back in our house last Friday. Our kitchen has been scrubbed, boxes have been unpacked and our fridge is fully stocked. It was so exciting planning out my meals for this week and even more so going grocery shopping. I have never really talked about it on here but I am a wannabe extreme couponer in the making. I am no where near the crazy ladies you see on TLC’s hit show but I dream of it! I can totally see my Dad rolling his eyes to the side and telling my Mom, “why can’t you do this?” as I clip coupons and make my plan of attack. A few weeks back while shopping at Target with Mom I got couponing envy of two ladies who had their binders, lists and stacks of coupons as they hit the aisles determined, focused. ahhh! A girl can dream. 
Okay, back on track, tonight’s dinner was taco pizza and I have to tell you it did not disappoint. We ate all but one piece, I could’ve scarfed it down but I knew I’d be cursing my own name laying in bed tonight (acid reflux has totally set in due to a growing little nugget). I got the inspiration for this recipe from none other than the good ‘ole Pioneer Woman, I have a total girl crush on her by the way! It is super simple to make, of course I did the mom of a toddler version and used a few pre-made ingredients like the pizza dough, thank you Trader Joe’s! I also used pre-shredded cheese, used flour tortilla strips (thought I grabbed corn tortillas yesterday, but apparently with pregnancy comes illiteracy) added black olives and creamy avocado. To see the recipe click here. 
photographing food at night blows. I prefer natural light, oh well, you get the idea. 
For way prettier pictures go drool over at PW.  

Pesto Stuffed Shells

Wow! It really has been a long time since I posted a recipe on here! I used to post 2-3 recipes a week and now it’s been almost a year! I have to admit that in the past four months I have only cooked a few meals since we have been out of our house. Miss Payton and I have been staying with my parents for over a week now as our house is in it’s finishing stages. I had a stack of recipes that I have been pinning on pinterest and have had a chance to cook a few while being up here but I wanted to whip up something on my own so I came up with these shells! Let me tell you they did not disappoint! Give them a try! This recipe has three layers, each of which is equally tasty! 
Pesto Stuffed Shells:
Bechamel Sauce:
  • 1 TB Butter
  • 2 tsp Flour 
  • 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk
  • 2 tsp cream cheese 
  • salt to taste
  1. In a small sauce pan melt the butter, once melted stir in the flour. This will be lumpy, and that’s okay. Just keep stirring for a minute or two to get a golden brown color. 
  2. Pour in milk, once the milk has a soft boil add in the cream cheese and stir until melted. 
  3. Let sauce boil slightly until thickened. Turn off until ready to use. 
Marinara Sauce:
(This is not my usual recipe but you need a sauce that will not compete with the other flavors). 
  • 1/2 White Onion, diced
  • 1 TB Olive Oil 
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced. 
  • 1 can Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes
  • 1 can Tomato Paste
  • 1 tsp Italian Seasoning 
  • 1/4 tsp Salt 
  1. In a small saucepan saute onion in olive oil. Once the onion is translucent add in the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add in tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
Shell Filling:
  • 1/2 container Pesto Sauce or 1/2 cup homemade
  • 1/3 cup Romano Cheese, shredded. 
  • 1 16 oz. Container Ricotta Cheese 
  • 2 Cups Spinach, finely shredded. 
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • 1 Box Jumbo Shell Pasta, cooked according to package instructions. 
  1. In a bowl combine all ingredients and mix well until incorporated. 
  2. Pour the mixture into a large Ziploc bag and chill while the sauces cook. 
To Assemble:
  1. Spread bechamel sauce evenly over the bottom of a baking dish.
  2. For the shells: Cut a corner off of the Ziploc bag. Take a shell, folding back one side and squeeze filling into it until it is full. Lay shells evenly onto bechamel sauce.

3. Once all of the shells are filled spoon the marinara sauce over the middle of the shells. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the shells and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until sauce is bubbling.

Enjoy! I served this dish alongside a small feta and balsamic salad. 

Sweet P’s Recipes – Fruits

Today I decided to make Payton some homemade fruit purees and grains. She has been doing really well on veggies and she has only had a few organic store bought fruits. Using the Beaba Baby Cook is so easy and literally takes all the clean-up of a traditional food processor out. Here’s what I made today:


Apple Sauce – 
3 Organic Red Delicious Apples, peeled, cored and sliced 
1. Steam and puree until you have reached desired consistency. I divided the batch into thirds and mixed each with something different: plain, cinnamon and apple oatmeal. 


Blueberry Apple Sauce – 
1 Organic Red Delicious Apple, peeled, cored and sliced 
1/2 cup Organic Blueberries, rinsed. 
1. Steam and puree until you have reached desired consistency 
A variation I made on this recipe was by adding in organic oatmeal, see below for oatmeal recipe. 


Peaches and Brown Rice – 
3 Ripe, Organic Peaches, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup brown rice cereal (see recipe below)
1. Steam and puree peaches. Peaches tend to be a little waterier than other fruits, by adding the brown rice it made it the perfect texture for Payton. 


Organic Baby Oatmeal – 



1/4 cup of organic ground oats (do NOT use instant or Quick Cook), ground in blender or food processor
3/4 cup – 1 cup water

1. Bring liquid to boil in saucepan. Add the oatmeal powder while stirring constantly.
2. Simmer for 10 minutes, whisking constantly until cooked.
3. Mix in formula or breast milk and fruits if desired and serve warm.


Organic Brown Rice Cereal with whole rice – 
1/2 c. Organic Brown Basmati Rice 
1 cup water
1. Bring liquid to boil in saucepan. Add the rice and stir.
2. Simmer for 20 minutes or according to package directions; stir 1/2 way through cooking time.
3. When rice is finished and a bit cool, add it in 1/2 cup measurements with liquid of your choice (breast milk, formula, water etc.) and puree as needed. Keep a watch as you puree so that the rice does not turn into paste!
4. Serve warm mixed with fruits, veggies and liquid of your choice. 


** If you do not have a Baby Cook machine, cook all fruits for ten minutes using a steam basket in a saucepan. 



From left to right : 
Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal, Blueberry Applesauce and Apple Sauce 


Blueberry Applesauce Oatmeal