Fave* Foods-Pesto Chicken Casserole

*If you have read my recipes/posts for a little bit, you may notice that there is something missing from the title there....Be warned! This is NOT a "fit" recipe....but, it sure was delicious! I do think, however, that next time I make this, I will try and "lighten" it up and bit! 

Pesto Chicken Pasta Casserole-very slightly adjusted from original recipe found here
Makes 6 servings

1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces whole wheat rotini pasta
3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups fresh spinach
8 ounces (about 1/2 of a 15 ounce jar) Alfredo sauce
3 heaping tablespoons pesto sauce
3/4 skim milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x9 glass baking dish with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and olive oil until moist then set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions until cooked yet firm. Drain in colander and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine chicken, shredded cheese, spinach, Alfredo sauce, pesto sauce, and milk. Stir cooked pasta into chicken mixture and spread into the prepared baking dish. Top with the bread crumb mixture and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

The original recipe calls for 2 cups of cheese however, I only had one (poor planning on my part) but, I don't feel like it needed any more. It also calls for diced tomatoes but, I left those out because the hubby doesn't like them. All in all, this recipe was super tasty and would even be good with the addition of some broccoli or fresh sliced mushrooms (don't worry, husband, I won't try to slip those in on you). I cut the recipe in half to make only the 6 servings (original made 12) and it was more than enough for the 3 of us. I will say that this tastes even better reheated (after the flavors absorb more in the fridge) so, if your household is the type that will eat leftovers happily, make more! Even my husband (who rarely will eat leftovers) heated this up on his own and ate it!

If you try this and have any pointers or ideas, let me know! I would love to hear how it turns out for you!

Enjoy!

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Fitter Fave Foods-Chili Lime Chicken Tacos

Here is a recipe I made last week that I thought was awesome. I made the chicken from this recipe and man, it was delicious! Super simple and packed with flavor...it even went over well with the husband who is much more of a ground beef taco guy!

Chili Lime Rubbed Chicken Soft Tacos-Makes about 6 soft tacos


                                 photo from recipe.com site

Ingredients:

Chili lime rubbed chicken breasts, recipe here. (I did not change anything about this recipe except for I only used 3 pieces of chicken and only had about 1 teaspoon of the grated lime peel but, still felt like it had enough lime flavor)
6 soft taco tortillas
1/2 large white onion
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
Fresh cooked black beans (or canned, if you don't have time to make fresh..I will post how I make them)
Whole kernel corn-I did use canned here because it was in my pantry and sounded good so I threw it in there!)
Additional toppings, if desired:
Light sour cream
Shredded fiesta blend cheese
Fresh chopped cilantro
Salsa

Directions:
I followed the chicken recipe exactly and it was great. I grilled the chicken breasts on our gas grill and they turned out perfect. I received the green version of this digital meat thermometer as a wedding gift and absolutely love it. Be gone, dry chicken! The rub was super easy to make and I had the chicken cooking in no time. Meanwhile, I took my onion and green pepper and put it on the stove in a small skillet over medium-low heat. I let these cook the entire time I was cooking the chicken and preparing everything. Cook until the onions are translucent and starting to brown. When the chicken was done, I covered it with foil and let it "rest" about 5 minutes while I got everything on the table. This is good to do with any type of grilled meat. I then sliced the chicken and served a "taco bar" with all our choice toppings, etc.

Voila! That's it!

Black Thumb Betty-Update

I am happy (oh so happy!) to report that so far (fingers crossed WHILE knocking on wood) all of my plants are still alive (well, unless you count that hanging basket.......).

Here are some photos I took yesterday morning:

Pepper plants still, uh pepperin'...well, not really pepperin yet but they have grown a lot!

Photo: WHY WON'T YOU TURN?!? I turn you the right way before I upload you and *poof* you are sideways again.....you must also be approaching three years old like my toddler....anyhoo....zucchini plant is the one on the RIGHT and is doing preeeeetty well (some hungry animal is trying to get the guy on the end..er, bottom there). On the left are the cucumber plants and they are taking off!! (in the good way, of course)

Photo: my blog readers (I think I have readers other than mom...Hi, mom!) do NOT want to stand on their head to look at this basil. so, knock it off!! So, here is the basil.....I did some moving around last weekend (more to come on that) and had this empty white pot so I planted a couple more basil seeds (more spread out this time) because a) we love basil and b) I am just excited the first ones grew at all?? who knows....

and, lo and behold, look who decided to join the party!!! CILANTRO!!! We had a few days of slightly cooler weather and my little cilantro seeds got excited and FINALLY started sprouting!! However, knowing it was about to get HOT again, I decided to see if these dudes (you don't call your plants dudes? well, you should...they are very hip) would grow in my window sill and, by golly, they have!! They have shot up 2 inches in the past week?! Go, buddy, go!!

Speaking of something else that has really grown.....my son. he has grown TWO AND A HALF INCHES since the end of March. 

SERIOUSLY. 

That tells me two things (lots of things around here tell me two things...) a) those "growing pains" we thought he was having in the middle of the night were more than likely definitely (I am so confident, eh?) growing pains and b) my baby isn't a baby anymore :..( off to cry in my cilantro pots now....

ok...*sniff* I am back. If you are wondering why I have everything so close together, etc. Mostly it is because I didn't honestly know if anything would grow....so I over seeded...whoops!! Husband and I have been discussing making some raised beds for me to do my gardening in but haven't ironed out any details so when we do, I will maybe be replanting some things....my concern is that re-planting them will kill them...thoughts? suggestions? If anything, I really need to plant them in some 5 gallon buckets but, I think Husband would like something that looks a little nicer than that so who knows. We shall see! All I know is that they are growing!! 

DIY Tips and Tricks- Homemade Cleaners

Here are a few tips and tricks I have picked up along the way and put into use in My McCarty House: (most of these were probably found on Pinterest but I cannot remember so, if these are your ideas/recipes/etc please, please let me know so I can probably reference you! I will be sure and make note from now on...)

• Cleaning a Glass Cook Top Stove:
• if you have burnt spots on your glass cook top stove, make a paste of baking soda and water and apply to those areas. Let sit for about 30 minutes or so and then rub with fingers to remove tough spots. 
• Cleaning a metal sink - 
• baking soda and a couple of squeezes from a fresh lemon are the way to go! Just sprinkle baking soda around in your sink and add some fresh squeezed lemon juice and clean away! 
• Homemade "All Purpose" Cleaner
• Mix equal parts distilled white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and use it to clean surfaces. 
• Homemade Tub Cleaner:
• Mix in a leftover spray bottle (I have been using up my old store bought cleaners and then saving the bottles to re-use), mix 1/2 cup Dawn dish soap with equal parts vinegar and water. The article I read I believe said to just use the dawn and vinegar but I only had about a cup or so of vinegar left and filled the bottle the rest of the way with water and it seems to still work great. I used to use "Scrubbing Bubbles" to clean my bath tub but the smell was so strong and it just didn't seem to be working as well in our new house where we have hard water. With this cleaner, you just spray it on, allow to sit for a few minutes then just wipe it off and it works MUCH better than the bubbles without all the yucky fumes.

That's all I have for now but I have been trying to research some germ killing cleaners that are a little bit safer to use so I will let you know what else I find! 

Momma McCarty

Here lately, we have really been looking at our budgeting, lifestyle, spending vs saving, waste, etc. Not necessarily in a "Go Green" save the planet kind of way, although, we do love Earth and would like it to continue to be nice for Son then his sons then their sons, etc but, in an old fashioned homemaking sort of way...what would you call that? thriftiness? being frugal? self sustainable? who the heck really knows what to call it but what I mean is this.....less waste, less spending, more saving, less junk (do not confuse the word "junk" for "treasures" because they are NOT the same thing!!), etc. I think it stems from several different things and here are a few small examples of them:

*this momma got sick of throwing out a week's worth of leftovers every trash day...it was like lighting twenty dollar bills on fire every week, and child, that's just silly

*trying to keep a 3 year old (SHOCK-yes, sweet baby is almost three *snifffffff*) out of what you are doing so you can scrub and clean the house with "stinky chemicals" was making me crazy...there had to be a better, more affordable way to clean without putting him at risk of asphyxiation...and honestly, that baby boy loves to help me clean...loves it and I think it is good for him to learn at a young age to clean up after himself a bit, etc

*the need to save more....there have been a few recent life events that have dwindles our emergency fund down to well, none, and if you know me, you know that sends me into a PANIC...P A N I C. because just like that, life happens and you gotta be a little bit prepared for it! oh, and, son needs to go to college someday too...

*I have always been someone who got a great sense of pride in something homemade ...mostly that has been in the kitchen but as I have gotten older and after I became a momma, I started thinking a little bit more about just everything in general...what am I really feeding him? what is really on that surface he is touching now? what kind of person do I want him to grow up to be and how can I lead him there by living that way myself?

So, we are going to be living a little bit more of an old-fashioned lifestyle. A few quotes I have come across lately that have stuck with me are these:

"Make do and mend"

example: Last weekend while son and I were home with the ol' pink eye, I tackled a stack of repairs (missing buttons, etc and also, made my first article of clothing....normally, if a shirt got a hole or something, husband would just get rid of it and go buy something else. Now, while I will never ask him not to buy something for himself (new clothes, etc), I will try my best to keep him lookin' sharp with what is already in his closet ;) and also, I have been learning to revamp clothes I already have to get some different/more wear out of them.

"Eat it up, Use it up, wear it out, or go without"

example: no more buying an ingredient for one meal use and then throwing it out two weeks later when it is a science experiment in my fridge. Multi purpose items from now on....let's get creative! :)

an old favorite of mine "Happiness is homemade"

etc...

So, please join me as I continue my cooking adventures (and some mess ups! but, by golly, I WILL master bread baking....I cannot for the life of me get down how to make homemade bread, etc with yeast...but I will!! it's a challenge to myself), sewing adventures, cleaning tricks and tips, etc.