Link Party: The Weekend re-Treat {#6}

You guys are awesome!  Last week we had 124 links submitted, oh yeah!  I get so excited when the link party is running.  I just love seeing everything that you guys have been up to for the past week!

With that said, I have only just begun to post all of your links to my Pinterest Link Party Recipe Board & Link Party Craft/DIY Board.  I've had a sick baby since last Thursday.  Yes, you read that right.  We have been in sick baby mode all week and now he has Croup.  What fun.  He has decided that he wants to help mommy "blog" and comes right over when I sit down to do a post.

I'll be working over the next few days to get both last weekends & this weekends links up to my boards so be on the lookout for those on Pinterest. 


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Creamy Bacon Spaghetti Pasta Carbonara

 

I only had one question after I made this dish for the first time this week... Why the heck did I wait so long to make Creamy Bacon Spaghetti Pasta Carbonara at home?

This dish tasted great just the way it was but I think next time the only thing I will do different is add a couple of seasoned grilled chicken breasts to the sauce.  Oh yeah, that would be good!

Now, with that being said... the cooking process did freak me out when I first read so I decided to do it just a little differently from the original recipe that I found over at Just Get Off Your Butt And Bake.

I added a few ingredients, cooked the sauce longer than suggested and we were very happy with how it turned out :)

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Chicken Shepherds Pie

Sometimes I have to get a little creative when it comes to cooking for my family.

They have their favorites and it can be kind of hard to get them to try new stuff.  

That's what happened to me when I stumbled across a recipe from Simply Recipes for their Easy Shepherds Pie.  To say it was amazing is an understatement.  It is an out of this world Shepherds Pie.  Of course I tweaked it a little bit but really, it is to die for. 

But... I can only eat so much hamburger if you know what I mean?  Without fail if I ask my family what they would like for dinner one of them will respond with Shepherds Pie!  Welcome to my world. 

So I had to change it up a bit.  I kept the same basic ingredients but I just tweaked Simply Recipes Easy Shepherds Pie and turned it into a Chicken Shepherds Pie that is absolutely amazing. 

Don't take my word for it though.  This one you'll definitely want to try for yourself :)

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Liebster Award!

I want to shout out a big THANK YOU to Wanda Ann over at Memories By The Mile for thinking of me for this award!

The Liebster award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. 

What is a Liebster?

The meaning: Liebster is a German word and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

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Greek Yogurt, Berries & Granola Parfait

About 2 weeks ago I went to a friends house for a play-date and she made us a snack while the kids were playing.  She broke out some yogurt, berries & granola for us. 

Here's my dilemma... I have never tried Greek Yogurt and for those of you who read one of my previous posts I just kind of assumed that Greek Yogurt was really gross.  And granola...  IN... yogurt?  Who does that.  I'm not a walnuts in my brownie kind of girl either.  I like my sweet things plain.  I was having a hard enough time with the "Greek" part to start with and you want to granola me too.     

I just kept talking and decided that I wasn't going to say anything and just eat what she gave me.  My mom would be so proud! And besides,  I really trust this friend since she is such a fantastic cook and I'm so incredibly happy I did because lookout...  THIS TREAT WAS SO DELICIOUS!

Oh my goodness.  I couldn't believe it.  The combination of the delicious honey flavored yogurt, with the berries, banana and wonderful granola were just out of this world!

In 2 weeks I have finished 2 large containers of Greek Gods Honey flavored Greek Yogurt all by myself (but who's counting) and I literally just can't get enough.

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Link Party: The Weekend re-Treat! {#5}

It's that time again.  Time to come on over and get your party on!

I just love seeing what you guys have been up with all of your busy projects and cooking.  Each week
you guys amaze me with the awesome things you link up.  As I visit each one of your blogs to pin directly from your site your stories are really fun to read and I enjoy them very much!

Now what you've all been waiting for....
the FABULOUS 5 FEATURES from last weeks link party.

How to create an invitation in Pic Monkey DIY from Alderberry Hill

{I love this because I use Pic Monkey and I LOVE it! so I can't hardly wait to make my first invitation

 now that I've seen this tutorial)

Homemade Twix Bars from A Humble Bumble

(Since my daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts she can't enjoy a lot of different candy bars so this is perfect!  

Now I can make my own Twix Bars at home that she can enjoy too!

Cheereful TV Hutch Redo from The Project Palace

(Can't even begin to tell you how much I want to paint my new to me OLD desk and I absolutely fell in love with this TV Hutch Redo when I saw it.  I can't wait for it to warm up outside so I can get started!)

Peanut Butter Blossoms from Jen's Favorite Cookies

(To everyone that saw my "Thumbprint Cookie Recipe FAIL" you'll understand why I loved these cookies!  

Can't wait to try them!)

 

Beef with Chilli from Annie's Noms

(Such a cute story about her boyfriend cooking this authentic Chinese Dish!  My family loves HOT and SPICY dishes and we have a slight addiction to Homemade Chinese Food right now.  Ok, it's HUGE.  We LOVE Chinese so I can't hardly wait to try this)

If you were featured this week be sure to grab a "Featured Button" before you leave today!

Here's how our party works:

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Bacon, Egg & Chicken Breakfast Sandwich

You might be a little confused by my choice of ingredients for this breakfast sandwich.

I was!  Let me explain....

My super cute husband came home from work this morning (he works graveyards) and wanted a breakfast sandwich like he gets sometimes from Chick-Fil-A when he has to work overtime.  Ever been to Chick-Fil-A?  It's good... greasy but good.  I always get their Grilled Chicken Salad while my husband enjoys a combination of chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, and waffle fries.  I honestly don't know how A) he hasn't had a heart attack yet and B) how he's not like 500 pounds.  Nope, that man can eat whatever he wants and nothing happens.  Me, sometimes I just look at food and I gain a pound.

So, he came home this morning and requested a breakfast sandwich with Chicken Tenders on it (insert my laughter right about here).   You know the saying right... a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so into the kitchen I went. 

And so sorry this is the only picture I had of these sandwiches.  He was literally standing over me "waiting" for me to be done with my sandwich photo shoot so he could eat it.  Think I snapped 5 pictures before he was off and eating, lol!   

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Green Bean & Tator Tot Hamburger Casserole

I know the title says Green Bean & Tator Tot Hamburger Casserole but trust me when I say that it is SO MUCH MORE than just any ordinary casserole.

I found this blog Linda's Low Carb Menu & Recipes a few years ago and our family has become huge fans.  We've tried quite a few different recipes from her blog and we still to this day keep a few of them in our monthly rotation.

So when I was planning out this dinner I decided I'd take one of her yummy recipes that we normally make {Cheesy Chicken & Green Bean Casserole} and change it up just a bit. I wanted to use up some hamburger that I had thawed and the remainder of the tator tots that I opened over the weekend.   

How did it turn out?  It was to die for!  So good... cheesy and delicious.  And the best part?  My family ate a bunch of green beans and didn't even complain about it.  How could they?  Everything was smothered in this yummy garlic, cheesy-creamy sauce.  Yum!

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{Mini} Chicken Pot Pies

I love easy.  I love quick.  I love food that tastes goood!

And that's why I LOVE these little {Mini} Chicken Pot Pies.

I was out cruising the blog scene last week when I came across a site called  Quick Dish by Tablespoon.  It's one of those sites that has a bunch of different bloggers pictures and recipes, and I  happened to stumble across one of it's submitted pictures while searching Google.

I found an amazing picture and recipe for {Mini} Chicken Pot Pies and of course I had to check out the food blog Bev Cooks that had submitted the post.  I really liked what I saw, so I thought I'd give these cute little Homemade {Mini} Chicken Pot Pies a go.

So glad I did!  They were FANTASTIC!  Such a good flavor and SO EASY to make.  Yeah, my family was impressed by them.

After a bad recipe fail this morning I needed a little ego booster and these worked like a charm :)  My family went on and on about them and how they'd love for me to make them again.   

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Broccoli Breakfast Bake

So funny story about how this casserole came about.  

Last weekend I was so excited to try an English Muffin Egg Casserole recipe that I found that I actually got up early and went to the grocery store... in the snow... alone with the baby and got all of the ingredients that I needed to make the recipe that I had found.

I came home and put everything together and let it sit in the fridge like the recipe said for over and hour.  Then I put it in the oven and baked it exaclty how the directions said and ... well, mine didn't turn out that good. 

The idea was good, eggs, cheese, canadian bacon but we didn't like the kind of soggy muffins in it.

We didn't give up.  Everyone put in their suggestions on how they thought it could be better and here's what we came up with as a family:

• My husband wanted the eggs cooked before putting them into the casserole.  He just didn't like the texture of the eggs poured directly over everything
• Our breakfast guest said he'd remove the English Muffins and replace them with tator tots
• My daughter thought green onions would be a nice addition
• And I wanted a veggie in it and thought broccoli would compliment the Canadian Bacon 

So that's how our Broccoli Breakfast Casserole was created.  We changed just about everything from the original recipe and ended up coming up with something new and yummy!

Isn't it fun creating in the kitchen!

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West African Chicken Peanut Stew

I am so excited to give you a little preview of one of my new blog friends that will be Guest Posting one of her fanstastic recipes in the next few weeks!  

Her name is Bintu, and she blogs over at Recipes From A Pantry  

Check out this amazing West African Chicken Peanut Stew preview that she sent me.  Doesn't it look delicious!?!  I hadn't thought to cook chicken in a stew with peppers, onions, spices, and peanut butter before but now it's all I can think about.  

CONTINUE READING..... you don't want to miss out!

The Weekend re-Treat {#4} Link Party

I want to personally thank all of you who took the time to stop by last weekend and link up.  It was so much fun going through all of your links and checking out your fun blogs :)

It was a hard decision for me this week to narrow my Featured Links down to a manageable number.  You guys truly did link up some amazing recipes and crafts!

Here are the Fantastic 4  Fabulous 5 Features from last weeks link party 

(I just couldn't narrow it down I'm telling you)

Pie In A Jar from {Lemon Tree Dwelling}  

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies from {Karen's Kitchen Stories}

Caramel Corn from {A Creative Cookie}

 I Heart Cheese Pies from {Viva la Vida} 

 Dollar Bill Heart Origami DIY from {Crafty Journal}

If you were featured this week be sure to grab a "Featured Button" before you leave today!

Here's how our party works:

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{Guest Post} Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins

Happy Thursday everybody.... and Happy Valentines Day too!  

I am so excited for today's post!!!

Kate from i heart eating has put together a "sweet" Guest Post for you guys.... and I completely love it, and her blog too!

Ok, let me clarify.... Not the "Will You Be My Valentine" kind of love.. but more like the "I want to try all of your recipes because they look so darn good" kind of love!  Check out her blog and you'll see what I'm talking about :) 
 

Hi! I’m Kate from i heart eating, and I’m super excited to be guest posting at The Best Blog Recipes today! 

One of my favorite things to make is muffins. They are quick and easy and delicious. Plus, unlike cupcakes, you don’t have to decorate them; they look cute straight out of the oven. They are also my son’s favorite food. So, I wanted to share one of his favorite recipes with you – Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins. 

These muffins are just sweet enough to appeal to kids (and big kids), but they aren’t overly sweet. And since they have mini chocolate chips, you get a little bit of chocolate in every bite without the chocolate chips overwhelming the muffin. I hope you enjoy these as much as my little guy does!

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Creamy Tomato Tortellini Skillet

I didn't know that making homemade pasta sauce was so darn easy.

Why didn't I know this?  I have been stuck in a spaghetti sauce rut for my entire life and nobody even told me.  Darn grocery stores with their bottled sauces.

When I came across this recipe over at Semi Homemade Mom over the weekend I didn't know if my family would go for a homemade creamy tomato sauce with spinach in it.  We're a Pizzetti kind of family and I was pretty sure that if I told them what I was planning on making they would protest.  

So what did I do?  I printed the recipe and decided that we were going to try it no matter how much protesting happened.  It's was cracking me up how they kept asking me what I was making for dinner and I just kept telling them that it was Tortellini Surprise!  Score one for the sneaky mom... protest avoided :)

I'm glad I made the decision to make this recipe because we finished every last bit of it and it was really good.  Everyone decided that it was a keeper and we would definitely make this for dinner again sometime soon!

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Doritos Cool Ranch Tuna Noodle Casserole

Doritos Cool Ranch Tuna Noodle Casserole is one of the best casseroles ever, well in my opinion at least!

I don't know what it is but I love this dish.  I love it so much I always make a huge casserole so I have lots of leftovers. 

Maybe it's the Doritos, maybe it's the cheese?  I don't know but everything comes together to create a perfect blend of flavors.

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Easy Valentines Rice Krispy Treats

I can't believe it's going to be Valentines Day in a couple of days.

Are you guys prepared and have all your cards, candy and fun things planned?  I still have a few things to do and then I'm all set too!  

So this year my hubby is working an odd schedule so we won't be able to do the traditional dinner date like we usually do.  Maybe we'll do a special lunch date this year instead.  Now doesn't that sound romantic?  Lunch.  Right smack dab in the middle of the day...lol!

Anyways, I ended up making these cute and yummy little Valentines Rice Krispy Treats yesterday while I had a casserole in the oven.  If you read my Chicken Tetrazzini post you know that I almost burned the kitchen down while I was frosting these little guys.  I was in the "frosting zone" and  wasn't paying attention to anything else apparently. 

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Chicken Tetrazzini

You guys, I was so excited this Sunday to try a few new recipes (yes, I said a few).  I figured I'd make something special for breakfast, I'd make a Valentines treat in the afternoon and a yummy and delicious supper.

Don't you love how you can plan till your blue in the face and nothing goes right and everything just starts falling apart, ugh.

I did make breakfast but we'll save that story for another time.  Let's just say the recipe didn't turn out that great and I'm gonna do some major tweaking this Saturday morning. 

I did end up making treats and almost burned the kitchen down in the process.  I was totally "in the zone" and focused on what I was doing.  I accidentally left our glass stove top burner on low and forgot about it.  I didn't notice that my hubby put the Chicken Tetrazzini with a hot pad on the burner till the hot pad was smoking and practically on fire.

That's about how my Sunday went.

How about you?  Any fun stories you can share?  It will make me feel better, like I'm less of a mess in my kitchen :)

Now let me tell you guys how good this casserole was.  It was definitely a 5 star recipe and that is hard to come by in this house.  We don't often give out a 5 star rating but this dish deserved it.  I have to thank Plain Chicken for posting this delicious goodness on her site.  I found it, pinned it, thought about it, tweaked it, made it, and loved it! 

It has minimal ingredients and came together pretty easily.  I wasn't thrilled about the cook time but it was worth the wait.  This is a must try you guys.  It was goooood!
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Tempura Battered Fish

Ok, I admit it... sometimes I cheat.

Not in a bad way, like on a test or anything... I just cheat in the kitchen.


I have those days where I don't feel like cooking a big elaborate meal and I just want to be in and out with minimal dish clean up.  Who's with me?

So that's why I love to make Tempura Battered Fish.  Quick.  Easy.  And super yummy!

I feel kind of bad even posting this as a recipe.  I didn't really do anything special and that's why I'm a big-recipe-cheater-pants today.

You'll forgive me, right? 
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The Weekend re-Treat {#3} Link Party

Ok, I have a confession to make.   I had planned on staying up last night after the baby went to bed to get this link party ready and posted and I accidently fell asleep while I was putting him to bed... at 6:30pm.  Besides the baby who goes to bed at 6:30?  I don't!  Usually it's about 11 for me but I guess I was really tired and nobody woke me up to let me know that I never came back out to shut off the lights, make sure the doors were locked or most importantly BLOG.

But on the flip side I do feel very well and rested!

So I'm sorry that this party is getting off to a late start but let's still make it a GREAT one!  I was so excited last weekend to see all of the links that everyone posted!

Thank you so much for taking the time to come over and link up with me :)  You guys sure are awesome!

Now for the featured links from last week's party....

Herbed Roasted Pork Chops from 

{The Unsophisticated Kitchen} 

Super Bowls (Individual) 7 Layer Dip from 

{Smart School House}

Valentines Jars from 
{My House and Home}

Our simple Party Rules:

1) Follow The Best Blog Recipes on Facebook
2) You can also subscribe to "follow us via email" in the right sidebar to receive party updates and to find out if you were a featured link that week.
3) Spread the love... and the comments!  Be sure to check out a few of your fellow linkers and let them know you saw them at the link party this weekend :) 
4) Don't forget to add a grab button to your post, or somewhere on your site that links back to us so that others can join in the fun too! 
5) By linking up you grant The Best Blog Recipes permission to use your photos on our site, FB and Pinterest accounts.  All credit will be given directly back to you if used.  

Now go get your party on! 

  

Banana Pudding Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Who's ready for Valentines Day?

Cards, candy, flowers, dinner dates... I love it!

I made these Banana Pudding Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and put them in little gift bags for my husband to take to work and give to a few of the ladies that he delivers to and I have to tell you... these cookies are so good it's going to be hard to see them go.

I don't know... I might have stashed a bag or two around the house for later :)

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Blogging 101: How to Center Your Page Tabs in Blogger

Have you been wondering how to "Center your page tabs on a blogger blog" or "How to remove the page tabs divider lines"? 

Well, I'm here to help!  Here's an easy DIY to make the changes yourself!

Part 1: Centering your Page Tabs

Here’s a quick tutorial to show you how to center your page tabs in Blogger. This technique only works if you’re using the “Pages” gadget.

Please backup your template before making any changes!
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No-Bake Homemade Granola Bars

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So I've literally been searching and searching for a good granola bar recipe to make.  Nothing was really exciting me until I finally found 2 that I wanted to try.  So I made them both and served them to my family to see which one they liked best.  

And I'm happy to announce that this No-Bake Granola Bar recipe was the winner :) 

These little granola bars are so yummy and easy to make.  I had everything I needed in the cupboard so I was really excited about that too!  They've been perfect for after school snacks and for my husbands work lunches.  

And the best part... it was homemade and healthier than store bought granola bars.

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Easy Beef Stroganoff w/ Rice & Cheese

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We have a major dilemma in our house.  Both my daughter and I love stroganoff and my cute hubby doesn't like it at all.  Without fail every time I even mention making stroganoff he cringes and askes if I can make something different.  

Granted... he does have a point.  

When I was younger I thought good stroganoff came out of a box.  Don't laugh. 

So what did I do?  I decided to make stroganoff from scratch and make it super yummy.  

While this might not be a "traditional" stroganoff recipe it sure is tasty and good.  I wouldn't have it any other way and my husband actually likes it, yay!

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Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

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Homemade Peanut Butter Cups are the best you guys!

I mean, what's not to love... 

You can make a whole batch and not feel guilty about eating like... I don't know, half of them!

These are so tasty and easy!  I don't know why I don't make them more often.

And the best part?  I make these with all peanut free products so that our peanut allergic child can enjoy them too!  I'll let you know what substitutions you can make in the ingredients below.

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