Dont Judge Me..

I really want this skirt! And I didnt win the first give away... so now I'm entering another one for a different blog... same skirt.. Here's the new blog,  picture in the post below!



Sweet Saturday will happen later today! I'm excited!!!! ... Still haven't decided what to make... too many choices!

Fun Fact Friday!!!

Good morning everyone!! I've got a secret... I LOVE Fridays... Whats that you say? Everyone loves Fridays? Well, this is why I love Fridays, not only is it fun fact day, but its also the beginning of my 3 day weekend every week! So I love Fridays because they are like a first Saturday for me!

So today is my first Fun Fact Friday! And I've gotta tell you it's fun looking up random culinary facts, it was hard choosing just one for today! But here it is! Ladies, this ones for you!!

Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love. 

Short but sweet. No wonder we all love chocolate so much!!

Well as I said last night, I have 2 birthday parties to go to tonight one for a good friend of mine who also happens to be an AMAZING photographer!! Check out her blog here, her facebook here, or her website here! Happy Birthday Stephanie!!! Her birthday party is garden party themed and I am super excited!
The other birthday party is for James, who might as well be my brother. He's been hangin around the family for years (cant seem to get rid of him!! Just kidding :) The only downside, the parties are pretty much at the same time James's is at 6 and Stephanie's is at 7. It will be a crazy night for me! Oh and the fact that I wont be cooking (aw shucks...) But really though, this blog has given me so much incentive to cook every night! Two things I'm normally a slacker at doing, I have been doing every day for nearly a week!! You're impressed right!! WELL there has been food that I have cooked, served every night, cause we've had two left over nights. It's amazing how much money you really do save when cooking! I always thought it was a bunch of bull when you're only cooking for 2, but really!! You do save a ton!


Well before I go I wanted to blog about a blog I have recently discovered. Its a fashion blog, which usually I dont follow so well. There are so many fashion blogs now and some are great! And some I seriously only read because I am so baffled by how bad the person's style is... Ok... Theres only one of those and I assure you its not one of my followers blogs. But seriously the style is so frumpy in some of the blogs. But this one I am new to and I found it through a give a way one of my friends blogged/facebooked about. It was my first give away I have ever entered and now I am sold forever on her blog! I love her style, I love her blog. And the skirt up for give away is SO cute! The give away ends today so click here to enter!
Seriously though! Look how cute this skirt is!

You want it now don't you! I know I do!!! Follow Cori at La Vie Petite!

Thanks for checking back! And sorry that this wasn't so much about food but hey! A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to win right!!! Dont forget tomorrow is Sweet Saturday!!
Until tomorrow!

Whole Wheat Mac n' Cheese!!

Soo today was super fun for me! I decided to make my mother in law's mac and cheese. And the recipe makes a LOT. I thought... Maybe I should cut the recipe in half... Then I thought nah I'd rather entertain so I invited my awesome sister in law and her cute family over for dinner and it was a blast! I was going to take pictures BUT I couldn't find my camera sorry!


The recipe:

Homemade Mac & Cheese: 

3 cups elbow mac
6 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
3 cups shredded cheese
1 tsp salt

Boil mac in salted water until tender
While mac is cooking make the sauce.
Mix all ingredients except cheese. When the sauce gets
thick, mix in two of the three cups of cheese (save the
last for the top). Bake @ 375ºF for 25-30 Min.


So this recipe was fun and I will definitely do this one again! I bought whole wheat macaroni on purpose on Monday (because its healthier and tastes the same) but when I started cooking I realized the only type of flour I had was whole wheat flour. I had already made plans for my sister in law and her family to come over and there was NO way I was going to the store again. So I just thought what the heck it's healthier so I'll just substitute it and hope it turns out. And oh boy did it turn out! It was so good and Bren told me he likes it a whole lot better then the white flour mac and cheese! SCORE! It looks a little darker than the normal recipe does but it tastes so good! I'm not sure what type of cheese my mother in law uses but I went with Tillamook medium cheddar. But really the only changes I made to this recipe were the substitutions for whole wheat.
I can't say I did the whole recipe, my sister in law Kiera brought over squash and zucchini for the side and it was delicious! She sliced it and fried it in a pan on the stove with butter and that's it. It was so good!

So as I said earlier in the post, I couldn't find my camera so I didnt get a chance to take a picture of the meal BUT I did find it while I was doing the dishes so I got a picture of the left overs! YAY. No pictures of the side (because we ate all of it) but I do have one of the main dish!

Picture below!

And I just have to post one picture of my little princess. Or should I say trouble?

nothin' but trouble!

Well folks that's all for this evening! Thanks again for checking back! Don't forget tomorrow is Fun Fact Friday!!! A little heads up, I have two birthday parties to go to tomorrow so cooking wont happen. But I'll blog about the food that is served and hopefully it will give me ideas for future meals!

Until tomorrow!!

Not the most exciting of posts

Sorry everyone but today will be yet another boring post. Due to a large amount of homework and studying for finals next week, my husband has requested that tonight be a leftovers night. (which is fine by me, we have so many chicken bundles left over from last night!) SO while you are reading this sad excuse of a post... I will be enjoying my delicious left over chicken bundles! MMM!!! (its so hard for me to say chicken bundles without mmm behind it!)


On a more fun note, I just got back from the chiropractor (had a nasty case of torticollis three months ago. Not sure what torticollis is? Click here to find out.)  and found out that my whole body is crooked! Yay (insert sarcasm here)!! This would probably be the result of my second bout with this fun (sarcasm again) health condition.

Sooo due to my lack of an exciting meal ( I was going to try that mac n cheese out tonight) I will post a fun cooking tip!

* Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds and double the juice you get
      before squeezing.

who knew! Well thanks for checking back. I promise I will have something a bit more exciting tomorrow! 

Until Tomorrow!  

MMM Chicken Bundles!!!

Heck yes guys I'm on a roll!! So far I have blogged every day since I set this blog up! Wooo keep up the encouragement it really is helping! Today I cooked one of my favorite recipes of all time! Seriously, if you love chicken and cream cheese, you HAVE to try this one!!! 

The recipe: Chicken Bundles ---- Cookin With the Crazy Lady, by Trish Jenkin (former chef at the Manti House Inn).

6 oz. cream cheese
4 tbsp butter
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups cooked cubed chicken
2/3 chopped mushroom
1/2 cup chopped celery

2 pkgs crescent rolls
4 tbsp butter (melted)
seasoned bread crumbs
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk

Cream together cream cheese, butter and pepper. Stir in chicken, mushrooms and celery. Separate crescent rolls into triangles. Roll each one slightly with a rolling bin to make them a little larger. Put a heaping spoonful into the center of each roll and roll them into bundles. Seal any openings. Dip each roll into melted butter and then roll them in bread crumbs. Bake on a cookie sheet at 375ºF for about 20 minutes. Heat soup and milk together and serve as gravy for the bundles.

I keep this one pretty simple. I'm not a huge fan of celery and Bren isn't a huge fan of mushrooms so we leave those out. The thing I love about this recipe is you can do just about anything with it. Sometimes we mix in bacon, sometimes its just the cream cheese, butter and chicken. We've also toyed with the idea of mixing ham in with the chicken and making it a new twist on chicken cordon bleu. Tonight I cooked my chicken in butter (mmmmm butter) and Texas Roadhouse seasoning (you can buy this at any Texas Roadhouse). Really any way you cook the chicken it will be fine. I also put a sprinkle of the Texas Roadhouse seasoning and dried thyme in with the cream cheese mix. 

Over all it was awesome, it was a great revival of a recipe and a perfect time to make it! As posted in my Sunday post, this was a very common meal for Bren and I our first year of marriage. I will more than likely be making this a lot more often then I have recently. Although I will probably cut the recipe in half from here on out. 8 bundles is just more than we can eat... But they do make great leftovers... Hmmm.

Pictures of dinner posted below!

Right out of the oven

The finished product! MMM!!

As always, thanks for checking back!
Until Tomorrow!!!

Monday of Madness!!

Today's blog post will be short and sweet!

Today was one of the more fussy days for my sweet little 9 month old Anna. Pair that with grocery shopping and you're set for a FUN evening! Shopping tonight was an adventure (thank goodness I only have to do that once a week!) But I am very excited for the next few nights and the meals I will be preparing! Tonight was left over night (probably wouldn't have survived if it wasn't)! Left over chicken and stir fry made my life a little easier!

Well duty calls and the baby is crying for her Mommy. I'm sorry this blog post wasn't the most exciting of them all but hey at least I have a picture of our shopping adventures today at Walmart!

yes her arm is sticking in between the bars... couldn't get her to stop

Thanks for checking back! I promise tomorrow's post will be much more exciting and actually have something to do with food!
Until Tomorrow!

Sunday Sample!!

Ok followers!! (all 4 of you!) Today is my first official day on the blog! Yesterday was more of a test run! So far so good!

Just a brief overview of how its going to work.  Every Sunday I will post my menu for the week. I will write the full recipe on Sunday. When I cook the meal, I will write the changes I make to each recipe. I will pick 4 recipes to make throughout the week. I wont decided the day's I'm going to cook them for the simple fact the sometimes you plan a meal in advance and when the day comes to cook it, it no longer sounds appealing. I have left two days for left overs, and one day for date night of course! Monday will be my shopping day. I have also decided to do Fun Fact Friday's, where I will give a random culinary fact. This will be a fun way for me to expand my knowledge in the kitchen and pass that on to everyone else! I will also be doing a Sweet Saturday, I am a primary teacher for the CTR 4 and well we all know how much kids LOVE treats, so I'm going to spoil my class a little and give me something extra to blog about! One more goal is to try at least one new recipe a week.

If anyone has any fun ideas that you think would add to my blog leave a comment, or email me at chantalmcrae@gmail.com. Same thing goes for any special requests or things you would like me to try! I am open to any and all ideas to make this blog an exciting experience for both myself and my readers!

disclaimer: 70% (probably more) of the time I have no idea what I am doing! There will be fails and flops, and I may not do things the way a culinary professional might do them. Also, healthy foods will be common, but I can't guarantee my recipes will be low in fat. There may also be mistakes in my writing, spelling, and grammar. Hey its life, and I'm not perfect! :)

Now that we got that all out of the way lets move on to the fun stuff!

My menu for the week:

Homemade Mac & Cheese:  This recipe is Bren's mom's homemade mac & cheese. I haven't tried this recipe before so this will be my new recipe for the week! I'm excited (and I hope I dont screw it up!).

3 cups elbow mac
6 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
3 cups shredded cheese
1 tsp salt

Boil mac in salted water until tender
While mac is cooking make the sauce.
Mix all ingredients except cheese. When the sauce gets
thick, mix in two of the three cups of cheese (save the
last for the top). Bake @ 375ºF for 25-30 Min.


Chicken Bundles: This one is out of my Cookin With the Crazy Lady, cookbook by Trish Jenkin (former chef at the Manti House Inn). This is one of my favorite recipes and was a common meal our first year of marriage. Its been a while since I've made it so I figured what better recipe to start this blog with!

6 oz. cream cheese
4 tbsp butter
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups cooked cubed chicken
2/3 chopped mushroom
1/2 cup chopped celery

2 pkgs crescent rolls
4 tbsp butter (melted)
seasoned bread crumbs
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk

Cream together cream cheese, butter and pepper. Stir in chicken, mushrooms and celery. Separate crescent rolls into triangles. Roll each one slightly with a rolling bin to make them a little larger. Put a heaping spoonful into the center of each roll and roll them into bundles. Seal any openings. Dip each roll into melted butter and then roll them in bread crumbs. Bake on a cookie sheet at 375ºF for about 20 minutes. Heat soup and milk together and serve as gravy for the bundles.


Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri:  This is Bren's choice, and he will be making this one (but never fear I will still blog about it). This recipe came from the Men's Health Magazine. Bren makes this one just for the simple fact that its on his BBQ (and his BBQ is his baby. Plus he's much better at BBQing then I am). This is a common appearance on our table as well.

12 oz flank, skirt, or sirloin steak
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh full leaf parsley
1 bunch scallions
3 tbsp red-wine vinegar

2 tbsp water
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried red-pepper flakes
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. To make the chimichurri sauce, mix the vinegar, water, garlic, salt, pepper flakes, and black pepper. Whisk in the oil. When everything's blended, whisk in the parsley.
2. Preheat a grill or grill pan on high. Season the steak with salt and pepper and place it on the hot grill. For medium rare, cook it 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 140ºF. Trim the roots from the scallions and add the entire bunch to the grill. Just after you've flipped the steak. Cook the scallions until they're lightly charred, about 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Drizzle the steak with the chimichurri, and serve it with the grilled scallions.

Eat with a scoop of pinto beans or black beans and hot corn or tortillas. Makes 2 servings.



Skillet Fiesta Chicken & Rice: This recipe is from my Campbells 1-2-4 Dinners. I make this one often. Not only is it good, but its quick and easy.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbells Tomato Soup
1 1/3 cups uncooked instant rice
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (1 ounce)

1. In medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until browned. Set chicken aside. Pour off fat.
2. Add soup, water and chili powder. Heat to a boil.
3. Stir in rice. Place chicken on rice mixture. Sprinkle chicken with additional chili powder and cheese. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until chicken and rice are dine. Stir rice mixture. Makes 4 servings.

Dinner tonight was simple and quick. I didn't have much to make so I had to hunt around my kitchen for something. We ended up having Birdseye Oriental Stir Fry (freezer section), with chicken.

Bren and I LOVE chicken so you will see it on this blog often!

I cubed and cooked the chicken in peanut oil in my wok. I sprinkled a little bit of onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper for a little flavoring. The stir fry has its own sauce so I didn't want to take away from that.
After the chicken was cooked I threw the stir fry in and followed the directions on the package.

Over all it was pretty good, probably not my favorite meal but quick and easy (which I like). My only complaints were: there were way too many carrots in there. I like carrots, but they brought it to a whole new level. I ended up taking half the carrots out and there were still a ton left. Also the water chestnuts. Honestly, does anyone like water chestnuts? They seem like a waste of space and a sorry excuse for food.

here is a picture of the final product.

Thanks for checking back! Hope you are as excited about my new blog as I am!!

Until Tomorrow!