Olive Garden Breadsticks

Anybody who knows me knows that I love bread. If there is any kind of bread being served as an appetizer at a restaurant then I will usually eat a couple of baskets by myself.
Olive Garden's breadsticks are so heavenly to me. So when I had my Olive Garden themed dinner a while ago I couldn't resist trying out a recipe that I have had sitting in my binder for years.
This recipe is great. Fairly simple to follow and the flavor really does taste a lot like the Olive Garden ones.

Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

The other night I was really wanting some comfort food and since I have been kind of on a soup kick lately why not have another soup. I couldn't stop getting Olive Garden out of my head.
This is my 2nd favorite soup from the Olive Garden. But alas, my husband and I knew that we were already going to be eating out this week on another night so I had to improvise and have the restaurant come to me. So I made a whole evening out of it.
Not only did I make this soup but I made a copycat version of their bread sticks as well and served it with yet another version of their salad. Topped the evening off with some Andes mints and hey we had a wonderful date night at home (AND IT COSTS A LOT LESS TO)
This soup was wonderful. It tasted very similar to the one at Olive Garden. Its also incredibly easy to prepare and doesn't take long at all. Perfect for a fall weeknight.

Crock Pot Turkey Chili

Oh chili. I have a love/hate relationship with chili. I always hated chili when I was growing up. And even now, if I have another choice I will usually pick something else.
THIS CHILI THOUGH---wow. I really enjoyed this and will definitely be making it again as soon as the weather cools down (dips below 100). I like this chili because the flavor is great and a little different then your average chili. This recipe didn't call for any beans....which is why I think I liked it so much. Usually, for me, chili's have way to many different kinds of beans in them that all I get is one massive bite full of beans...beans...beans.
I did adapt this recipe just a smidge and yes I did add a can of beans haha. I know I know...call the police because Im such a hypocrite!
This is a kid friendly chili as well because it isn't spicy but yet still has so much flavor jam packed into it. Adding the ground turkey instead of ground beef also helps cut out some unnecessary calories!
I served mine up with a huge side of Corn Bread.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

For the past couple of years I have been an addict to the Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches at Subway. My husband got me to try something new one day, which doesn't happen very often, and I have been addicted ever since. In fact, while I was pregnant I quite fondly remember eating more then my fair share of their yummy sandwiches. Mmm, just thinking about them gets me hungry.
So aside from my love for Subway, I decided that I could have the same thing at home. Why not?! So what did I do? I jumped on my faithful Pinterest account and started looking at every Buffalo Chicken Sandwich recipe I could find and piled them all together to come up with this beauty.
The chicken comes out so tender and juicy because you cook it in the crockpot, and then you can make it as spicy or not as you like according to how much sauce you put on!
I personally am a bigger fan of Ranch with my buffalo wings rather then Blue Cheese, but you could do whatever you like!

Hummus-Crusted Chicken

Good morning friends! I woke up extremely sore this morning. Yesterday my husband and I decided to start a 90 Fitness Challenge and give ourselves a nice reward at the end of it if we complete it. Yesterday was the fit test that kicked both of our behinds and thus the extreme soreness today!
BUT- aside from that I couldn't wait to share this recipe from last night. It helped top the night off in a very healthy and satisfying way, who doesn't want that!?
My husband does not like hummus, but he gobbled this stuff right down AND took it for lunch today so it really is just as good as I say it is. You literally do crust the chicken in hummus and bake it. The hummus keeps the chicken nice and juicy while making the hummus a little crunchy just on the top. It is great. At first I was a little skeptical because some of the ingredients are ones that I'm not totally fond of, but I tried them anyway and really liked how the flavors worked together! Give it a try!

Carne Asada

I realize this picture isn't the best of quality but my camera on my phone was all I had around when I made these the other night.
I could eat beef tacos every day of the week. While living in Southern California and working at the mall I grew accustomed to being able to have fantastic carne asada tacos whenever my little heart desired.
Since we are still fairly new to Arizona I haven't found a place yet that sells fantastic tacos for a good price so I had to resort to making my own. This recipe is fantastic. Its nice and zingy from all the citrus you put in the marinade but has all the wonderful classic flavors of a true Mexican taco. I served mine up on a white corn tortilla with some fresh made Pico De Gallo and avocado.

Lemon-Honey Water

Wow. I feel like I have been gone for far to long. We took a week long family vacation back home to Idaho this week. It was fabulous to get away from the craziness of our lives lately. Being at our parents houses is so relaxing. I love the laid back vibe. The best part, running around in our bare feet outside on the softest grass ever!
One problem that we all experienced while we were up there though, the dry air. My husband and I were waking up every morning with sore throats and my little girl had a stuffy nose every morning. Who would have thought that Idaho would be more dry then Arizona?! To make a long story short, to help our throats we would whip up a batch of this drink every morning and night. It worked wonders and tasted really good! Who knew something so simple could help so much. Honey actually has great healing benefits to the body. My husband was telling me that in some areas they have even started using honey under bandages to help heal open sores. (I have not personally tried this and would definitely need to do a little more research before doing it!)