First Post!

My first blog post! Forgive me for not being facy with this.

I am going to start blogging about dinners that I've made using Tastefully Simple products. Tonight was nothing fancy, I bought these butternut squash ravioli a little while back - finally decided to make them.

On the side I grilled up some mixed veggies with a little bit of TS Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Seasoned

Salt. I'm a HUGE fan of the seasoned salt, so I tend to go a little heavy on it.

Again, such a simple meal, I was done in 10 minutes.

Om nom nom! The ravioli was so delicious - and the veggies on the side went perfectly.  

To shop products or view more recipes visit the Tastefully Simple website.

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

I got this recipe from the Tastefully Simple website, but tweaked it based on what I had in they house. Here's what you'll need:

1 Tbs Onion Onion

1/2 jar marinara sauce

4 large bell peppers

1 lb ground beef - I cooked mine slightly to get some of the fat out 

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 can corn - drained

1/4 tsp TS seasoned salt

Combine first 2 ingredients, set aside.

Cut tops off of peppers and remove seeds and membrane. Mix together remaining 4 ingredients and stuff into peppers. Place peppers in crock pot, and cook on low for 7-8 hours. I topped with cheese, this is optional.

Oh yea - I also made TS Perfect Parmesean Biscuits! My husband LOVED these stuffed peppers, he ate 3! I'll have to make more next time. 

To shop these and more delicious products visit the Tastefully Simple website. 

Heart Attack Mashed Potatoes

I love home made mashed pototoes, but I rarely have time to make them during the week. I thought it would be a great idea to make up 5lbs and freeze a bunch. Here's what you'll need:

5lbs pototoes

3/4 package cream cheese

1/2 stick butter

2-3 Tbs sour cream

1 Tbs TS Garlic Garlic

Preheat oven to 350. Peel the pototoes, cut into smaller pices and place in a large pot with water. Bring to a boil, then boil for about 20 minutes. 

Strain the potatoes, put in a large bowl and add all other ingredients, mix with a hand blender or masher. 

Spread in a dish and put in the oven for about 30 minutes, covering with foil about half way through.

Om nom nom! Enjoy! To shop products or view more recipe visit the Tastefully Simple website.

Tex Mex Dip

I LOVE Mexican food! I tweaked my moms recipe for Tex Mex dip, here's what I used.

1can refried beans

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

1.5 Tbs TS fiesta party dip mix

1 small can sliced black olives

1 tomato - chopped

1/2 green pepper

1/2 - 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

First mix up the TS fiesta party dip mix, set aside

Spread entire can of beans on serving platter

Spread fiesta mix on top of beans

Sprinkle olives, tomato and pepper 

Top with cheddar cheese 

This version is SO good, the original recipe used taco seasoning instead of fiesta dip mix. The dip mix really kicked this dish up a notch. I served this at a birthday party and everyone raved about it!

To shop products and view more recipes visit the Tastefully Simple website.

Spinach and Shrimp Pesto Pasta

I've been wanting shrimp lately so I decided to throw together a dish of spinach, shrimp and pesto pasta. 

I used:

Package of frozen spinach (thawed) 

Half a box whole wheat penne pasta

Shrimp in EVOO and a little bit of TS Garlic Garlic

Tastefully Simple dried tomato and garlic pesto mix

Olive oil and water (to make pesto) 

I boiled the pasta while the shrimp was sautéing in EVOO and a sprinkling of TS garlic garlic. I prepared the pesto in the microwave - SO easy, just 60 seconds and then let it sit for 5. 

Then all I had left to do was mix everything together, sprinkle with Parmesan and enjoy! 

To shop products or view more recipes visit the Tastefully Simple website.

Leftovers n Taters Casserole

I had some leftovers to get rid of so I threw together what I'm calling Leftovers n Taters Casserole. The original recipe was here and I made it with chicken.

Ingredients at 350 degrees:

Leftover pulled pork (about a cup and a half)

Frozen broccoli 

Cream of potato

Cream of chicken

Mexican blend cheese (about 1/3 cup)

Tater tots (about 1/2 bag)

Milk (1/2 cup)

TS seasoned salt

TS bacon bacon

TS onion onion

First, I chopped the broccoli and mixed that with the cream of potato and 1/4 cup milk

Then I spooned the mixture into a greased pan and topped with TS bacon bacon.

After that I mixed together the pork with the cream of chicken, milk and TS seasoned salt. 

Then I spread this mixture on top of the broccoli mixture in the pan and topped with TS onion onion and the cheese. Then I lined up tater tots on top of the whole thing and baked for 50 minutes. 

It's not the prettiest meal, but let me tell you - it was AMAZING. My husband Trey had 3 plates! So there you have it; a super simple dinner, husband approved. 

To shop products or view more recipes visit the Tastefully Simple website.

Pomegranate Chipotle Pork Chops

We recently bought half a pig, so stay tuned for lots of pork-themed meals! Tonight I decided to cook pork chops covered in Tastefully Simple's Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce, on the side I did mushroom risotto and a bag of steam fresh veggies.

After thawing out the pork chops I pre-heated the oven to 300 degrees and smothered the top of the chops with sauce and covered the dish with aluminum foil. 

I cooked them for about 2 hours, turning them half-way through and adding more sauce. In the last 20 minutes I made the risotto on the stove following instructions on the box and the final 5 minutes I microwaved the veggies. 

Viola! 

Such an easy dinner! The pork chops were a little dry so I'll have to tweak the cook time next time. 

The chipotle sauce was truly delicious, just the right amount of sweet an spicy - I can't wait to try more recipes with it! 

 To shop products or view more recipes visit the Tastefully Simple website.