Recipe: Chicken Broccoli Rice

What attracted me to this recipe was that it was one pan.  I love making one pan dishes because of obvious reasons, barely any clean up!  I really liked this dish.  It was simple, delicious, and so quick.  Everyone in my house loved it.

Ingredients: 

1 pound of Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast, cut into bit sized pieces 

3 cups Frozen Broccoli Florets 

1 can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup 

1 cup and  2 tbsp Water 

1 1/2 cups Instant White Rice, Uncooked

1 cup Kraft Shredded 3 Cheese with a touch of Philadelphia

Directions:

Cook the chicken until its a golden brown.

Add in the broccoli, soup, and water, bring to a boil. 

Stir in the rice. Sprinkle with cheese, cover, and then let simmer on low heat for five minutes.

Enjoy! 

xx 

Recipe: Baked Italian Ziti:

I got this recipe off of Allrecipes.com I think, but I didn't read the recipe correctly, so I bought sauce as close as to the recipe as I could, and it turns out that I was supposed to make the sauce.  So, really, I guess this is more mine than theirs.  It was pretty good.  I'm not the biggest fan of Ragu, but it worked out.  

Ingredients:

1 box of Ziti Pasta

1 (7.9oz) Jar of Ragu Meat Creation Sauce 

2-3 cups of Mozzarella Cheese 

Directions: 

Cook pasta.

Mix in the sauce.

Grease an 11x7 in pan. 

Pour half of the pasta into the dish, sprinkle cheese all over.

Pour the rest of the pasta, and top off with as much cheese as you'd like.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

xx

Recipe: Mushroom Florentine

I wasn't really sure if I was going to like this dish.  I'm not sure as to why, seeing how I like pretty much everything on the list below, but who knows.  All I know is that I loved this dish, and it was super easy to make, even though I did use too much chicken broth.  I will absolutely be making this dish again! 

Ingredients: 

8 oz Linguine Pasta

3 tbsp All Purpose Flour 

3 tbsp Olive Oil 

1 cup Chicken Broth 

1 cup Whole Milk 

1/2 tsp Salt 

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

8 oz Sliced Mushrooms 

3 oz Shredded Gouda Cheese 

2 Garlic Cloves, minced 

2 cups Baby Spinach 

Directions: 

Cook the pasta. 

Whisk together the flour, chicken broth, salt and pepper, then set aside.

Wile the pasta cooks in a large skillet heat up the olive oil over medium heat.  When the oil begins to ripple add in the mushrooms. 

Saute for six minutes. 

Add in the garlic and saute for another two minutes.

Whisk in the the other mixture into the mushrooms, and bring to a simmer. 

Stir occasionally unto the mix thickens.  (2 to 4 minutes)

Add in the shredded cheese and stir until everything is melted.

Mix in the spinach and the pasta, make sure everything is covered in the sauce and then serve. 

Enjoy! 

xx 

Empties #5:

I haven't done an empties in forever!  I feel like I just don't run out of stuff ever and if I do I've already mention it in a previous empties.  I'll try to make these more frequently, but no promises!  Haha.  In this empties I have products that I absolutely love and then others that I really just don't.  Enjoy!

Nevea Touch of Sparkle Moisturizing Bodywash Diamond Powder and White Calla Blossom Scent: 

I used to use this body wash a lot when I was younger, but then I decided to swtich just for a change.  I love the smell. It's got a very soapy smell to it with a hint of floral.  When I smell it, I just think of the color purple.  However moisturizing it is not.  I don't know if it's because I switched from an uber moisturzing bodywash to this one, but this one just didn't cut it.  I really wish that it did though. 

Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo and Conditioner in Rose Scent: 

I've been coloring my hair since I was 13.  I'm not really one to use color protectant, because I've never seen my hair color fade to the point of me thinking I really need to protect it, except for that one time I colored my hair mahogany red and it turned pink in a week. I mean, I don't color my hair as often as it's suggusted, but when my roots get to a point I don't like I'll color it. I decided that I should try to protect the color though, just to see if anything would look different, but I really feel as if my color faded while using this shampoo.  I've noticed more gold in my hair compared to when I would just us a regular shampoo.  I don't know, I could just be seeing things, but I really don't think I'll be buying another color safe shampoo.  

If you've been here a while, then you'll know I love rose scented anything.  My sister likes to call me an old lady because I love it so much, but in all honesty this smells nothing of roses.  It's floral, but not rose, and something else.  I wasn't very pleased by the smell.  I will not be repurchasing this one. 

`

Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes with White Tea Extract: 

I have already done a review on these here, but just to say a little bit they work great and smell great. I haven't repurchased them, but if you're curious about them, then I would say go ahead.  I love them for lazy nights. 

Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer: 

I've talked about this moisturzer here, but in the end I don't really like it.  It says oil-free, but after I use it my face feels oily.  It has no fragrance to it, but it does smell like a cheaper moisturizer a little bit.  I wasn't very please by this product either, I wouldn't buy it again. 

Rimmel London Match Perfection 2-in-1 Highlighter and Concealer: 

I use this every single time I put on make-up.  This is my go to concealer.  I have already repurchase this concealer.  I just can't get enough of it!  My only complaint about it is that it can get air bubbles and it when it pops out there is no telling where the concealer will go.  But other than that, find your color and go try it.  I use 125 fair. 

Swish Alcohol Free Mouthwash in the Chilled Mojito flavor: 

I love mojitos.  But this is nowhere near a mojito flavor.  It was gross.  I hated using it everyday and I just couldn't wait for it to run out. It's very minty, but it has this undertone that just killed it for me. Swish has some really different flavors, but I've only tried this one, and I don't think I can bring myself to try the others.  

Do you have any of the same favorites?  Let me know!

xx

Recipe: Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

This week I tried something a little bit different (I think I say that every week...) and I went with a vegetable dish instead of the usual pasta.  This dish, oh man, is it delicious!  It has the perfect combination of broccoli and carrots.  I loved it! 

Ingredients: 

2 pounds Fresh Broccoli Florets

2 Carrots, chopped 

1 Yellow Onion, chopped 

2 tbsp Olive Oil 

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 tbsp All Purpose Flour 

1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese 

Salt and Pepper 

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream 

1/8th tsp Nutmeg 

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs OR Panko Crumbs 

Directions: 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Lightly grease a 2 quart pan.

Place broccoli and chopped carrots into a large sauce pan, cover with water, and bring to a boil.  Cook for 5 minutes. 

Drain well and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a skillet, add the chopped onion, and garlic.  Cook for 1 minute.  

Stir in the flour and combine.

Remove from heat and add in the broccoli-carrot mix.

Add 1/2 cup of the shredded parmesan cheese and season with the salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the heavy whipping cream and the nutmeg. 

Pour over the dish.

Then transfer to the casserole dish. 

Combine the rest of the cheese and the bread crumbs and sprinkle over the dish.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. 

Enjoy! 

xx

Recipe: Spinach Artichoke Dip Pasta

If you know anything about me, then you know how much I absolutely love spinach artichoke dip, and when I saw that I could make it into a pasta I jumped on the recipe.  (Not literally, but you know, why not?)  I loved this dish!  It was so tasty.  It was a little time consuming, but totally worth it!

Ingredients: 

8oz Rotini 

1 tbsp Butter 

1 tbsp Olive Oil 

1 large Shallot, minced

2 cloves of Garlic, minced 

3 tbsp Flour 

2 cups Skim Milk 

1/2 tsp Kosher Salt 

1/4 tsp Black Pepper 

1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese 

2 oz of Goat Cheese, room temp. 

3/4 cup Shredded Skim Mozzarella, divided

14 oz can Artichoke Hearts, roughly chopped 

2 cups Baby Spinach 

Directions: 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Cook Pasta.

In a large sauce pan melt the butter and olive oil over medium high heat.

Add the shallot and saute for about two minutes, or until the shallot is soft. 

Add the garlic and saute for another minute.

Add in the flour, stirring until completely combined. 

Cook for about another minute.

Slowly pour in the milk and whisk continuously.

Add the salt and black pepper. 

Whisk until the sauce thickens.

Add the parmesan cheese, goat cheese, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.  

Whisk until completely melted.

Add in the artichoke hearts and spinach. 

Heat until the spinach has wilted.

Combine the sauce and the pasta. 

Put into a casserole dish and top with 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese.

Put in over and cook until the top is a golden brown.  About 15 to 20 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

xx  

Azure Naturals Vitamin C Serum:

This is another product that I got in the mail a few weeks ago and I instantly started to use it.  I didn't really know what it was for, but from what I was reading from the company it helps all different things.  

It helps to repair sun damage, fade age spots, and reduce fine lines and wrinkles.  It is easy to apply and it absorbs into the skin so quickly.  After the first time I used the product my skin felt soft and I could see a little bit of differences.  My face felt firmer too.  

It smells like lemons in the bottle, but when I was applying it, it sort of smelled like licorice.  

After a month of using this my skin is softer and looks so much better than before.  I have one area on my chin/neck that just appeared when I was younger and this serum has help it lighten up.  It's amazing.  

I really like this serum, and I'm a little upset at myself that this is the first time that I've tried a Vitamin C serum.  I really need to try more things because I love the results I've been seeing!  

Have you ever tried a Vitamin C serum?  Let me know! 

Also, if you have any other suggestions let me know! 

xx 

Where to find Azure Naturals: 

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.