Loaded Italian Stuffed Mushrooms

April 4, 2017April 13, 2017 - Mama Leave a comment

This recipe for stuffed mushrooms may contain affiliate links.

My mom is devastated, y’all. Seriously, her favorite Italian restaurant, Zio’s, closed their doors unexpectedly… and she didn’t even get to go one last time. One of our absolute favorite dishes to share was an appetizer… stuffed mushrooms. Loaded Italian Stuffed Mushrooms. Oh my goodness, these were good. Now, the chef wouldn’t share his recipe when asked, but he was kind enough to give me an idea of the ingredients they had in theirs, and this is a super close approximation to the real deal… but in jumbo form. See, they used baby bella mushrooms for their dish, but I’m all about the full-sized portabella mushrooms for mine.

Sesame Caramel Ribs: Perfect for Easter!

April 3, 2017April 2, 2017 - Mama 2 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. We hope you enjoy this recipe for sesame caramel ribs! #GetGrillingAmerica #CollectiveBias

Easter Sunday is now less than two weeks away, and we’re planning out our menu around here. Don’t expect our Easter Sunday menu to have ham or lamb or anything, though… we’ve stepped up our game with something that the whole family is going to love. Ribs. See, I don’t know about you, but I love an extra tender, extra juicy rib dinner. But my favorite Easter treat is those delicious caramel-filled eggs, so I’ve decided to have my caramel… and my ribs… at the same time. It’s not as crazy as it sounds; if you’ve ever had a honey barbecue sauce and liked it, you’re going to love these amazing caramel ribs, too. They’re sweet, they’re savory, and they have a little zap of ginger. Perfect for Easter, or for any spring and summer day…

Spicy-As-Heck Sticky Ribs

March 21, 2017March 17, 2017 - Mama 1 Comment

Some links in this post about sweet and spicy ribs may be affiliate links.

Being from Kansas City, not much beats a good barbecue rib. Burnt ends, sure, but when it comes to ribs, around here, it’s usually barbecue. Now, I love barbecue ribs, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes I really want to take it up a few notches and to do that, I have to get spicy. That’s when these spicy-as-heck sticky ribs come in.

Why spicy-as-heck? Because you’re using a whole heck of a lot of hot sauce on them. And why sticky? Because to offset all of that spice, you have to have a little bit of sweet, and that comes in the form of brown sugar that caramelizes on the ribs and makes these stick to your fingers (in the best way… you’ll be licking them clean, trust me). You can bake these in your oven or toss them on the grill and have these spicy ribs practically falling off of the bone.

Semi-Homemade Toaster Pastries

March 14, 2017March 16, 2017 - Mama Leave a comment

This post on Homemade Toaster Pastries may contain affiliate links.

One of my favorite childhood breakfasts was Pop Tarts. I just love something grab-and-go in the mornings, especially because I’m a reluctant breakfast-eater. I know the importance of it now, but it’s taken me years to even be that excited about breakfast. Toaster Pastries just have that awesome feeling that transports you back to childhood, and there’s something nostalgic about biting into a toaster pastry in your favorite flavor. But you can actually make a homemade toaster pastry (or semi-homemade toaster pastry) that is so easy and so delicious, you may think twice about buying the store-bought ones.

Coconut Sharks in the Water– a twenty øne piløts Inspired Mocktail

February 21, 2017February 25, 2017 - Mama Leave a comment

MamaPlusOne is not endorsed by or affiliated with twenty øne piløts. We are just fans who really wanted to share a drink inspired by the band, and hope you enjoy this Coconut Sharks in the Water mocktail!

If you listen to the radio, you’ve probably heard of twenty øne piløts. Well, unless somebody stole your car radio. I’m just going to warn you now, this post is going to be filled with some twenty øne piløts references. If you aren’t a twenty øne piløts fan, that’s okay– this mocktail would be SO delicious for summertime parties and pool parties, but if you are a twenty øne piløts fan, you’re going to get what I’m saying.

If you’ve been a twenty øne piløts fan for awhile, you’ve probably heard the song… not the Taco Bell Saga but the other one. Coconut coconut sharks in the water, coconut coconut sharks in the water, coconut coconut sharks in the water, frens. Yeah, that one. Well, after my son and I got to see twenty øne piløts in concert, I decided we definitely needed to make a twenty øne piløts-inspired drink to share our story of seeing them live, and that’s how the Coconut Sharks in the Water mocktail was born!

So-Simple Strawberry Turnovers

February 15, 2017February 24, 2017 - Mama 2 Comments

These strawberry turnovers are so insanely easy that you might just cry a little bit. Fill, fold, bake, glaze, DONE. Breakfast in under 20 minutes, easy enough for any morning but fancy enough for Easter, Valentine's Day, and more. These simple strawberry turnovers are going to become a staple in your house-- promise.

I’m a breakfast person. Lunch, dinner, they’re great, but if I had to pick one category of food, it would be breakfast. I don’t even have to eat it at breakfast time (in fact, being so NOT a morning person, I’m notoriously bad at eating breakfast… like, at actual breakfast time). From pancakes to eggs to French toast, there’s nothing about breakfast food I don’t like. But there is one breakfast food that I cannot. ever. ever. ever say no to. Turnovers. *drool* The flakiness of the pastry. The flavor of the fruit filling (or cream, or chocolate, I don’t discriminate). And amazingly, the ease of making them. Seriously. This is the easiest breakfast dish you are ever going to make. And it might be a little dangerous for your waistline because oh my gosh, I can’t resist making these all the dang time. These strawberry turnovers are SO simple, you might cry a little. I won’t blame you if you need to grab a tissue really quickly before we keep reading.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat!)

February 13, 2017February 14, 2017 - Mama 3 Comments

If you're totally obsessed with Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli soup, but can't make it to Olive Garden every day, you're going to LOVE this option-- homemade pasta e fagioli soup with all the flavor, with just a few minutes of prep time. Simmer and enjoy! Skip going out to eat and have dinner in with this yummy alternative.

I would eat at Olive Garden pretty much every day if I could… from the super soft, delicious warm breadsticks to the salad, to the pasta e Fagioli soup, I just want it non-stop. Downside? My budget kiiiind of laughs at me anytime I say I want to eat at a restaurant every day. The bright side is, pasta e Fagioli soup is so easy to make, and it’s affordable enough that you can feed your whole family for what it would cost to feed, well, pretty much just you at a restaurant.

Personally, I think it would be worth it to not cook and just feed me at a restaurant every day… but my hungry family disagrees, which is where this pasta e Fagioli copycat soup comes in. Luckily, it’s easy and delicious, so everyone’s happy!

Loaded Cheeseburger Nachos for the Big Game

January 24, 2017January 26, 2017 - Mama 3 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KetchupWithFrenchs #CollectiveBias

There’s something seriously divine about biting into a juicy, delicious cheeseburger. My family is pretty serious about our beef and our cheeseburgers– every year, we even buy an entire cow. That’s how much we really, really like burgers. But burgers are just a pain in the booty to make for tailgating and Big Game parties. Getting it just how everyone likes it, making the perfect patty, standing over the grill… that’s not how I want to spend my game time events. That’s why these loaded cheeseburger nachos are perfect. They totally keep the party going, and they have all of the best parts of a cheeseburger– beef, bacon, fries, and delicious ketchup. You can’t go wrong with them!

Crock Pot Potato Soup

January 23, 2017January 23, 2017 - Mama Leave a comment

In the winter, I crave a nice, warm soup-- it is my favorite kind of comfort food. This crock pot potato soup is easy to make, and you can make it in your slow cooker! So simple! | crockpot | loaded baked potato |

In the winter, I’m usually craving a great, super warm, hearty comfort food, and I can’t seem to get warmed up unless I get it. For me, one of the best choices, when I’m a little chilly, is to make some soup, but I’m rarely in the mood to have to fuss with it if I don’t have to. I love this super simple (souper simple? Ha!) Crock Pot Potato Soup because it tastes amazing, but it also makes life so much easier because you just put it in the slow cooker and go!

Strawberry + Yogurt Breakfast Muffins

January 19, 2017January 19, 2017 - Mama Leave a comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SpoonfulsOfGoodness #CerealAnytime #CollectiveBias

Mornings can be hard, especially at the fast pace we're expected to live them in. But that doesn't mean you can't get a great breakfast-- these Strawberry Yogurt Muffins are a perfect breakfast on-the-go, giving new meaning to cereal and milk. #SpoonfulsOfGoodness #CerealAnytime [ad]

I was watching a lecture the other day about how getting older changes your perception on the length of a year. When you turn two, one year is literally half of your life, so it seems like it took a long time. At age 5, a year is 1/5th of your life, but when you’re in your late 20s like I am, one year is just 1/28th of your life, and it seems to really fly by. So when we set resolutions for the year, one of two things usually happens: we’re too busy to take them seriously and ditch them by March, or we realize the year flew by and we forgot to really give it a proper go. It got me thinking about the importance of setting smaller goals, perhaps even daily goals. Maybe this year, instead of saying “This year, I’ll accomplish something big,” I’ll start my day off saying “Today, I’m accomplishing this.” That isn’t to say I don’t have long term goals, but sometimes having a good year is as simple as saying “today, I’m going to start my day off right with breakfast before I dive into my extensive to-do list.”

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