Food Fun Family

Creamy Verde Chicken Chili

Lolli — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:59:44 +0000

This post is sponsored by Harmony Books. All thoughts and ideas are my own.

Dinner time is complicated enough in a busy family like mine. I want to feed my family healthy, wholesome foods, and instill good eating habits in my growing children. But dinner time is also the time when I’m running to pick up kids from after-school sports, finishing up projects for work, and running low on energy myself. Some days I admit I’m tempted to grab something quick and not-so-good-for-us.

This month, I was sent a copy of the brand new cookbook, Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table By Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison. Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table is published by Harmony Books and is available for purchase now!

This cookbook is filled to the brim with family-friendly recipes that focus not only on making better choices in the kitchen, but also on the value of sitting down together for family dinner. I love “fixing up” old family favorites, and this book had page upon page of family-friendly dishes.

One of the first recipes that caught my eye was a recipe for Creamy Verde Chicken Chili – something totally up my family’s alley. We love Tex-Mex flavors!

When I saw the ingredients list, I admit I was a little skeptical. Okra and cauliflower in chicken chili? I was afraid my kids would turn their noses up at “hidden” healthy ingredients. After all, my kids are teenagers, so it’s not very easy to sneak anything past them!

I was amazed at how easy this recipe was to prepare. I put the chicken, salsa, beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, chicken broth, and seasoning blend* into my pressure cooker. Then I blended together the remaining ingredients and poured the mixture on top of everything. I closed and sealed the lid and turned the pressure cooker on. Then I waited while my house filled with the delicious smells of the Southwest.

I was shocked when my kids started eating that they immediately began commenting on how delicious it was. And then I was even more startled when they all reached for seconds to fill up their bowls again.

We will definitely be making this delicious chicken chili again in the near future. I can’t wait to try more of the recipes in this cookbook! I’m excited to try new ways to feed my family more healthy alternatives, while not sacrificing the time that we have together.

*the frozen small-cut seasoning blend is found in the frozen vegetable section of your grocery store and contains diced onion, celery, and bell pepper.

Creamy Verde Chicken Chili

Reprinted from Trim Healthy Mama; Trim Healthy Table. Copyright ©2017 by Pearl P. Barrett and Serene C. Allison. Published by Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

About Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table

From the bestselling authors of the Trim Healthy Mama Plan and Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook, a new cookbook for the whole family!

The Trim Healthy Mamas have helped hundreds of thousands of women lose weight and live healthier lives with their bestselling cookbook and eating plan and now they are ready to help the entire family! After experiencing incredible life transformations of their own, readers want to be able to help their families feel better and trim down, too.Trim Healthy Table is just the answer. It bursts with over 300 family friendly, delicious and trimming recipes, along with practical advice on how to healthfully nourish your family without going insane and chaining yourself to the kitchen.

Bestselling authors and sisters Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett have 18 children between them and their two families have been thriving on the Trim Healthy Mama plan for years. Trim Healthy Table contains all their best tips, tricks and encouragement for families, whether large or small. Serene and Pearl shamelessly share cunning ways to get picky eaters gobbling down veggies and other healthy foods they usually detest. You will learn how to painlessly use whole, unprocessed foods, including blood-sugar friendly carbs, fats, proteins, fruits and vegetables to create meals even the fussiest kids (and husbands) will love. You’ll also learn how one basic meal can make a whole family happy even with different nutritional needs. The quick and easy recipes include lots of one-pot dishes such as, skillet meals, slow cooker meals, electric pressure cooker meals, casserole and soups. With the recipes you can wake up to hearty breakfasts, prepare bars for on-the-go or try a creamy, quick-to-make smoothie, even Indulge yourself with the many trimming desserts…cake for breakfast is celebrated! And, if you’re simply looking for single serve 5 – 10 minute meals, the “Hangry Meal” chapter has you covered.

In addition to the hundreds of recipes, included is a “Simple Start Guide to the Trim Healthy Plan” which concisely explains how you can trim down by getting your blood sugar under control and how to, ever so gently, help other members in your family who may be struggling with weight issues. So, gather your family, bring them to the Trim Healthy Table… eat up… and trim down!

About the Authors

Photo Credit: David Bean Visual Reserve

PEARL BARRETT and SERENE ALLISON are sisters who share a passion for healthy eating. They both have large boisterous families and love to experiment in the kitchen on ways to best nourish their families while staying slim and healthy in the process. They are former Christian recording artists who traveled extensively for the record label, but they relinquished their touring careers to embrace a life at home with children, dinners, dishes, and diapers. They never looked back.

Win Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table

One lucky reader will receive a copy of Trim Healthy Mama’s Trim Healthy Table!

Open to US residents only. Prizing provided by Harmony Books. This giveaway will end at 11:59pm ET on October 4, 2017, after which a winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Good luck!

Entry -Form

Connect with Trim Healthy Mama

Visit TrimHealthyMama.com
Follow the Trim Healthy Mamas on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
Check out their Podcast and YouTube channel for more Trim Healthy content!

Easy Picnic Foods – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #73

Lolli — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 11:00:53 +0000

You guys. We’re in the home stretch. Another high school graduation is under our belts. Later this week, our fourth child will graduate from middle school. And then come Friday….the kids are finally done with school for the year. Let summer time begin!

I keep waiting for my schedule to slow down. I’m hoping that it will next week. I’m looking forward to working pool-side. I’m excited to turn my 5am alarm off for a few months. I’m happy that I don’t have to nag kids about finishing homework for a little while. Summer break…I’m ready for you!

Speaking of summer, my fellow Delicious Dishes hostesses and I chose our favorite picnic-worthy foods to feature today. My mouth is watering and I’m itching to pack up a meal and a big blanket and enjoy a meal outdoors. Ok, maybe not THIS week. It’s oppressively HOT. I might wait for a little cool-down first.

Welcome to Delicious Dishes Recipe Party! In case you’re new to the party, here’s what you need to know:

Delicious Dishes is a weekly link party where bloggers can share their most delicious recipes while checking out the amazing recipes that other bloggers are sharing.

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Cooking in Stilettos – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Southern Cornbread Salad from Cooking with K

#2: Blueberry Breakfast Bake from Crafts a la Mode

#3: Mini Coffee and Cream Cakes from Cookie Dough and Ovenmitt

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Creamy Delicious Grape Salad from Bunny’s Warm Oven

Lois loved Red White and Blueberry Trifle from Starfish Cottage

Brett loved Fresh Asparagus Tomato Pasta Salad from Flour on My Face

Susan loved BBQ Smores from The Bewitchin Kitchen

Aly loved Salted Watermelon Slushies from Cherished Bliss

Keri Lyn loved Easy Quinoa and Avocado Salad from Premeditated Leftovers

Emily loved Shrimp Macaroni Salad from Bunny’s Warm Oven

Mary loved S’more Ice Cream Sandwich from Lolly Jane

Follow us along on our Pinterest board. We pin a ton of recipes that are shared to our linky party each week. So get your recipes ready. We can’t wait to see what’s cooking in your kitchen this week.

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

French Toast Wrapped Sausage Dippers

Lolli — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 16:11:09 +0000

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville. The opinions and text are all mine.

My kids start Spring Break tomorrow, which means that the next week and a half will be all about sleeping in, baking our favorite Easter treats, and getting ready for an epic Easter egg hunt. In the past, this week of Spring Break has also meant big cousin sleep overs and always ALWAYS lots of food to feed lots of hungry kids and adults.

Basically, this time of year is about food and family (and to go along with my website, a good dose of FUN, too). I love to remind my friends and readers that preparing delicious meals – whether they’re for an ordinary family dinner or a big holiday brunch – doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Satisfying, family-friendly foods can be basic, using ingredients you are probably already adding to your shopping cart, like Johnsonville breakfast sausage links and bread. Did you know that you can find Johnsonville breakfast sausage in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, next to the bacon? I love that the sausage links are fresh, not frozen, and that I cook them up when I’m ready to eat.

We love cooking hot breakfast foods for breakfast, brunch, and dinner. There’s really no “wrong” time to eat things like sausage and French Toast, right? I love eating my French Toast with a side of sausage, because the sausage cuts the sweet flavor of the French Toast just right. Plus, my kids and I LOVE dipping our sausage links in maple syrup (despite what my mom thinks, sausage is better with syrup!), so they really are the perfect breakfast foods to pair together.

This week, I not only prepared French Toast and Johnsonville sausage links together, but I meshed them into one fantastic crowd-pleasing menu item, perfect for your Spring brunch, breakfast-for-dinner meal, or weekend breakfast.

Have you ever tried wrapping your French Toast around sausage links? This was a first for us, but it won’t be a last! It was a total hit for the kids and adults alike.

French Toast Wrapped Sausage Dippers

Yum

French Toast Wrapped Sausage Dippers

Ingredients

12 oz package (14-count) Johnsonville breakfast sausage links (any flavor variety)
14 slices of soft, airy bread
3 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Cook sausage links in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, turning to brown all sides. Remove sausage links from pan and set aside.
In a wide, shallow bowl, beat together eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla.
Cut crusts off of each slice of bread so you're left with a crust-less square of bread. Gently press the bread down with the palm of your hand.
Place one sausage link on each slice of bread and roll the bread up around the sausage. Dip each sausage roll in the egg-milk mixture and place in the skillet. Repeat for each piece of bread and sausage link. Note: I used the grease from cooking the sausage, which was still in the pan, but you may opt to wipe out the pan and use butter or vegetable oil to cook the French Toast with. Your choice!
Cook over medium heat, turning to cook all sides, until golden brown.
Serve with syrup for dipping. No utensils necessary!

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://foodfunfamily.com/french-toast-wrapped-sausage-dippers/

Here are a few process shots, showing how easy these are to make for a gathering or for a simple family meal:

Delicious!

What are your favorite recipes using sausage links? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comment section below!

Connect with Johnsonville:

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jvillesausage
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Johnsonville
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jvillesausage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnsonville

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville. The opinions and text are all mine.

Easy Lasagna Soup

Lolli — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 13:50:45 +0000

Last month, I shared a new family-friendly recipe using RAGU Homestyle Thick and Hearty Roasted Garlic Sauce (seriously, if you haven’t see this recipe for Chicken Parmesan Meatballs, you really should go save it now!).

This week, I was challenged to create another recipe using RAGU Homestyle sauces, and I immediately thought about trying a lasagna soup. I have seen several recipes for lasagna soup in the past that looked delicious….but a little complicated. I rarely make lasagna because it’s so time consuming – all of the layering (actually, dealing with wet, floppy, sticky cooked noodles is enough to deter me!).

But we LOVE eating lasagna – the sauce, the cheese, the noodles – at our house, so I really wanted to figure out a way to have the flavors of lasagna without all the work.

I totally nailed it with this soup. It was so easy to make, and everyone loved having the lasagna noodles already cut up – so much easier to make AND eat, I promise!

The reason tonight’s dinner was so easy and tasty was RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce. It is RAGÚ’s thickest sauce, which was perfect for our thick and hearty lasagna soup. RAGÚ® peels, chops and simmers each ingredient and uses a special blend of herbs (basil, fennel, oregano and black pepper) to layer and build the flavor. Plus, they don’t use artificial flavors, artificial colors or high fructose corn syrup.

You can get RAGU Homestyle in the following delicious flavors:

Homestyle Thick and Hearty Traditional Sauce
Homestyle Thick and Hearty Meat Sauce
Homestyle Thick and Hearty Four Cheese Sauce
Homestyle Thick and Hearty Roasted Garlic Sauce
Homestyle Thick and Hearty Mushroom Sauce

Yum

Easy Lasagna Soup

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic cloves, minced
1 (23 oz.) jar RAGU Homestyle Pasta Sauce
5-6 cups chicken broth
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6 oz) jar tomato paste
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12 uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
1 cup whipping cream
Basil, dried or fresh, chopped
Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Brown ground beef, diced onion, and garlic in a large pot (I used a cast iron pot), Drain any excess oil.
Add RAGU Homestyle sauce, chicken broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, and spices to the cooked meat mixture. Stir in broken lasagna noodles. Heat to boiling, then reduce temperature to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add 1 cup cream, stir, and heat for an additional 5-10 minutes.
To serve, top each bowl of soup with a scoop of ricotta cheese, and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

https://foodfunfamily.com/easy-lasagna-soup/

If you love cheese like we do, then take our lead and be generous with the cheese you add to your soup! You can’t go wrong by loading it with these three yummy cheeses!

What is your favorite way to use RAGÚ® Homestyle sauce? And what is your favorite flavor? Sometimes a good, hearty traditional sauce hits the spot!

Want MORE delicious recipes with RAGÚ®? You’ve got to check out the recipe section HERE for a ton of family-friendly homestyle dishes.

Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #32 – Easy Recipes for Back to School

Lolli — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 11:00:23 +0000

I’ve been waiting for this week ALL summer long! I’m finally on my yearly retreat with my mom and feeling the stresses of everyday life just melt away. Ahhh!

Before we get into this week’s Delicious Dishes party, I wanted to ask for some support for one of my sponsor’s sites. Last week, I made the most tasty chicken parmesan meatballs with RAGÚ®…but look at a few of the many incredible recipes they’ve got using their Homestyle pasta sauces. Click the collage below to get a few new dinner or lunch ideas:

And now on to the party! I’m especially excited about this week’s collection of host favorites from last week’s party. We pulled together 8 delicious – and easy – dishes for back to school cooking.

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Cooking in Stilettos – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: https://www.graceandgoodeats.com/25-awesome-breakfasts-for-back-to-school/
#2: https://cincyshopper.com/apple-pie-fries/
#3: https://cookinginstilettos.com/philly-cheesesteak-hot-dogs/

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

Since most of us have kids heading back to school soon (or already!) we thought it would be fun to collect some of our favorite easy back to school recipes. I am so excited about these recipes!

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved 5 easy back to school dinner ideas from Kids Activities Blog

Lois loved One pan pepperoni pizza pasta from Meatloaf and Melodrama

Brett loved Peanut butter and jelly bars from Everyday Savvy

Susan loved Teddy bear toast lunchbox idea from Grace and Good Eats

Aly loved BBQ meatloaf from Teaspoon of Goodness

Keri Lyn loved Fresh & easy cauliflower tabouli from The Produce Gathering

Emily loved bacon cheddar muffins from How To Nest for Less

Mary loved Fajita hot dogs from Craving

Follow us along on our NEW Pinterest board. We pin all your amazing recipes!

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up