Recipe Review : One Pot Spaghetti

One Pot Spaghetti (err...in this case...Ziti)

Pasta is one of my favorite meals, but no so much for the Fiance.  He's more into meat, and potatoes to be quite honest.  Well, unfortunately for him, meat and potatoes are a little bit more expensive than pasta dishes!  I found this recipe on Pinterest, and being as how I wouldn't have to dirty more than one pot to cook it I was down to give it a try!

In order to make the Fiance a little happier about pasta dishes he likes to have some kind of meat in them, and lately ground beef is just completely out of the question as it makes me nauseas during my pregnancy...so we usually have ground turkey or chicken instead (although the texture of the ground meat is just not my favorite to be completely honest!).  I also like to add veggies to just about every meal just to throw in some extra nutrients and flavor.

Recipe : One Pot Spaghetti (or any other pasta)

(Recipe adapted from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. Recipe found HERE)

1 TBSP of Butter (or your choice of oil)
1-2 Chicken Breasts (depending on how much meat you want)

1 clove Garlic, minced

8oz. sliced mushrooms

1 Bell Pepper, sliced into strips

1 can chicken broth (or homemade)

1 (26oz.) jar of spaghetti sauce

1 cup water

8oz. pasta (I chose to use Ziti)

1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

-Cut your Chicken Breasts into chunks, or strips.

-Heat a Large Pot over Medium Heat and melt your Butter.

-Add Chicken Breast chunks and cook until almost done.

-Add Garlic, Mushrooms, and Bell Pepper and stir until fragrant and mushrooms and peppers release their water (your chicken should be done by now also).

-Add Broth, Spaghetti Sauce, and Water and bring to a boil.

-Add pasta and reduce heat.

-Cook covered, about 17-20min until pasta is cooked al dente, stirring occasionally, and adding more water if needed.

-Stir in Parmesan.

-Serve hot with some garlic bread!

Mommy & Tots Review

I've made this twice so far, and both times we have completely loved it!  I even made it for my parents for their 25th Anniversary dinner the one night, and they loved it.  My mom has made it since then as well.  It's so simple and completely full of flavor.  The real perk of this recipe?  THE FIANCE LOVED IT.  He has begged me to make this instead of any other pasta dish lately, although I like to try new things as well so we tend to do that more often than eat the same things over and over.  

This is easily one of our go to meals from now on if we want something completely delicious and easy to make.

Is This Tot Approved? :

I wish it were, but my little man doesn't really like to eat ANYTHING to be quite honest.  If I come across something that he will eat I will be sure to scream it from the hill-tops and have it recorded so I can still believe it at a later date.

Mommy & Tots was not paid in any way to review this recipe, it was just done out of pure curiosity of the taste buds.

Recipe Review : Southern Sweet Tea - Duck Dynasty Style

Southern Sweet Tea - Duck Dynasty Style

I'm going to be completely honest and say we drink a LOT of tea at home.  Normally we just grab a gallon (or 2) from Turkey Hill because you honestly can't go wrong with Turkey Hill Brand!  I personally love their Lemonade, and get VERY frustrated if I go to get some and it's all gone.

I found the recipe for Southern Sweet Tea while on my normal day-to-day adventures of Pinterest.  I pin a LOT of recipes and try to make as many of them as possible...only problem is that I pin like 50 a day and only ever make about 10 total a week, so it's going to be a long process.

So the real reason I wanted to try this tea was because according to the Pinterest pin...this is the recipe Duck Dynasty uses!  We have just recently become fans of the show, and find ourselves watching re-runs a lot and laughing at the TV for hours.

Recipe : Southern Sweet Tea - Duck Dynasty Style

Find the original recipe HERE.


6 Plain Tea Bags

Pinch of Baking Soda
2 Cups Boiling Hot Water
2 Cups Sweet Sugar
6 Cups Cold Water

-Add Tea Bags to a measuring cup with baking soda, cover with boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes.
-Pour Tea mixture into pitcher and add sugar ; stir.
-Add cold water.
-Chill in refrigerator.

Mommy & Tots Review

Overall we really LOVED this Sweet Tea.  We've tried plenty of recipes for Sweet Tea in the past and while they tasted good and were nice and sweet, none of them had the distinct 'Sweet Tea' flavor.  We're convinced the Baking Soda has something to do with this!

This is from now on our Go-To Sweet Tea Recipe and we urge you to try it, even if you aren't a fan of Duck Dynasty!

Is this Tot approved? : I would say no, due to the amount of sugar, and the caffeine from the tea bags, we won't even attempt it.  Our son already bounces off the walls without the extra boost!  It is safe to say that baby thinks it's delicious though, because every time I take a sip of it she bounces joyfully in my tummy!

Mommy & Tots was not paid in any way to review this recipe, it was just done out of pure curiosity of the taste buds.

 

Coming Back to Blogging - I'm the Blogger Formerly Known for Falling Off The Shelf!

Some of you may remember me from my book review blog "Falling Off The Shelf".  I reviewed all types of books there, but stopped due to the birth of my son and a lot of personal issues.  I'm currently pregnant with a daughter now, and have decided to become a SAHM.  While I love being home with my son, and can't wait to meet my daughter, I still need something to keep me busy throughout the day!

I decided to start a NEW blog, because I don't want to just review books anymore.  I want to review all sorts of stuff like, books, movies, tv shows, recipes, household items and even items for my little ones.  Part of this is because I don't always have time to read anymore, because lets face it, taking care of a 2yr old and a Newborn 24/7 makes sitting back and relaxing to read a book a bit unrealistic and you would only ever get a review maybe once a week...and then what's the point of visiting my blog?  You'll most likely get some random posts by me as well, just because I feel like jabbering on and sometimes it gets frustrating communicating with a 2yr old.

So, while I don't get to read much, I do cook...A LOT.  I rarely create my own recipes, but I do try all sorts of recipes I find on Pinterest, and that's why I will be REVIEWING recipes...although you may get an original recipe by me on rare occasion if I'm feeling frisky, lol.  I also tend to watch a LOT of tv, mostly children's shows because of my little man, but you'll see movie and TV reviews here as well.  

I know a lot of you stop by a blog because you want to participate in the GIVEAWAYS.  At first I don't plan on having a whole lot.  I'll be more than likely giving away the books that I read - I never read a book more than once - the reason for this is because no matter how much I love a book I can never read it again because as soon as I try to everything comes back to me and I feel like I'm watching a re-run on TV or something.  So I'll give my books away to you, and trust me...I need to do something with them because I have more than I can count, and my hall closet has no room for anything other than totes of books (my hall closet is so big I could put a twin size bed and a full dresser in it...and probably some toys!).

So first things first I will be transferring EVERYTHING from Falling Off The Shelf to this blog, so if you see a review from there over here, it's OKAY, because I just want to keep everything together from now on.  I will be putting a post over there too, so you can see for sure that it's me and not just someone stealing content...cause that's just plain rude.