Guest Post: Aimee from Like Mother Like Daughter!

Today's Tuesday, so that means I have another amazing (and dare I say mouth watering) guest post for you all today!!!
I am a TRUE FAN of this fine pair of ladies!! They are always sharing the yummiest and not so common meals to help you get out of your meal plan rut!! Today is NO exception.  If you are in the need of trying something new this post here is the best starting point!! Don't forget to stop by her blog and check out all the other goodies too!!!

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Hey everyone! And thanks to Jennifer for having me visit today. I'm Aimee and I blog over at Like Mother Like Daughter. Its a blog where my mother and I share our favorite recipes and also talk a little about our lives. I'm so excited to be visiting you all today!

About a year and a half ago I made a goal that I would try at least one new recipe every week. My husband and I had gotten in the routine of having spaghetti, tacos, and hamburgers way too often, so I knew this was a great goal for me to branch out. I've kept with my goal, and its now something that I want to continue for the rest of my life, as we've been able to try a great variety of types of foods, and even found some new family favorites.

Thanks to Pinterest I've been able to find a lot of yummy recipes, and I love it as I way to store the recipes I want to make too. Well a few months back I found this amazing recipe on pinterest, and after trying it decided that it was definitely a new favorite. So, here is my recipe for Baked Southwestern Rolls.


Baked Southwestern Rolls

2 chicken breasts (or about 1 lb pre-shredded chicken)

1 (10 oz) can corn, drained

1 (10 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup spinach, chopped

1 (7oz) can diced green chilies

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 TBS cumin

1/2 TBS chili powder

1 TBS salt

1/2 TBS pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 package egg rolls

1. Boil chicken until thoroughly cooked
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
3. Shred chicken with 2 forks
4. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
6. Lay an egg roll wrapper out with a corner facing you.
7. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling in the middle lower half.
8. Take the 2 outward points and fold them in.
9. Take the tip closest to you and roll over the mixture until mixture is covered.
10. Dip your finger in water (or beaten egg) and wipe over the free corner of the egg roll.
11. Press to seal closed.
12. Repeat with the remaining egg rolls.
13. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
14. Place the egg rolls on the pan seam side down.
15. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through baking.
16. Serve with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Thanks again Jennifer for having me over here. And I hope you all let me know if you have any questions regarding this recipe, or need any recipe ideas to get out of the same grind we were once in. And be sure to visit us over here :)

March Photo Challenge Day 7 and Easy Peezy Red Potatoes!!

Day 7: Something you wore:

My Old Navy flip flops!!

I love these, they are so comfy, as beat up as they look I will never let them go (unless they break of course) They come with me everywhere, they are my shower shoes, they are my beach shoes and they coordinate so well with a  pair of boy cut jeans with the cuffs rolled up and a white tee! I even have accessories to match! lol 

So tonight I made some mini meatloaf for the daughter and I! But I was wondering what to pair it with.  I needed it to be quick and easy. And I wanted it to be done around the same time as the meatloaf so that the little one can have her dinner.

So why not meat and POTATOES!! :) I had about five red potatoes left so I cut them into quarters and laid them out in an 8X8 baking pan.

In a pyrex measuring cup I melted 1/4 cup of margarine, and in that I mixed the juice of half a lemon, a 1/2 tbs of garlic ( I like a lot of garlic), 1tsp of salt. Then I poured that mixture over the potatoes, then mixing it to cover it nice and evenly. Before I popped the pan into the oven I sprinkled a generous amount of parmesan over them and covered with foil. The oven was set to 375° since I was already baking the meatloaf. So I shoved the pan on a rack underneath the meatloaf and set the timer for 30 minutes. 

After the timer's up remove the foil and let bake for about 5 minutes more or until they get golden. And voila!

We have a side dish!

It was sooo yummy...Garlic...mmmmm and the cheese was really a nice touch since there was parmesan mixed into the ground turkey meatloaf! 

I'd like to add this meal to another Mommy made - baby approved meal!!! YAY ME!!!

As for the meatloaf sauce I just used a 1/4 cup of Ketchup mixed with 2 tbs of Worcester Sauce!

If you try it out let me know! Especially if you put a different spin on it!

What I Cooked for Dinner: From Rachael Ray's Look+Cook

So, I had one of those I need to try something different moments.  I was falling into a rut of Rice & Beans, Salmon and Brown Rice for dinner every day.  I have this book that I found in Sam's Club over a year ago, and I figured it was time to try another recipe!

So I picked out the recipe: 

Bocconcini Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato-Pesto Sauce! 

Sounds delicious already right? That's exactly what I thought when I saw it, and read the recipe I thought that it wasn't too easy yet not impossible! The great thing I like about this book in particular is that the recipe and instructions are on one page, and the spread of pictures showing certain steps an the final product are on the same open spread. Which is great in mid-recipe when you need to double check something there is no reason for tomato-sauce fingerprints on the pages!

So with my dinner plan in mind I made my way over to Wegmans to grab up ingredients I didn't have!

(All excuses are great excuses for Wegmans! Especially when it involves the Olive Bar!)

Here is a gratuitous shot of the ingredients ready to go!!!

So, first thing is to soak stale bread in milk, so that you can later squeeze out the milk and crumble it into the meat mixture.

Which is this, the meat is a veal, beef and pork mixture, egg, flat-leaf parsley, minced garlic, grated Parmesan-Reggiano, and salt and pepper.

Make sure that there are no big clumps of bread, and mix to combine the ingredients well.

So as per the directions, I took a handful of meat, and flattened it, then took the Bocconcini which are pretty big, and nestled it right into the meatball. This is the part that counts, make sure to not leave a seam of ground meat as it will definitely break open an the cheese will melt right out! So make sure its closed up well and roll it between you hands to make sure its nice, round, and even.

Now I must say, these meatballs come out REALLY big.  But in the book its basically the only thing you eat. It isn't paired with pasta. But you certainly can if you want to!

Pin It

Before popping them in the oven,  I brushed some EVOO onto the meatballs so that they can brown nicely in the oven. (Which was preheated to 425º)

While the meatballs were cooking I started working on the Tomato-Pesto Sauce, I had a can of San Marzano Plum tomatoes, peeled and whole. I put them into a smallish frying pan and mashed the tomatoes.  I then added salt and pepper, to taste. 

This is what it starts to look like after stirring often and cooking on medium-high heat, it will even start to thicken up a little.

The Pesto was Basil, Parsley, minced garlic, lemon zest, chicken stock and S&P.  About of 1/4 cup of EVOO was to be added while processor was going to make it into a thick paste. This step was a bit of a flop for me. Because I have a mini Cuisinart Proccessor which you have open to add anything, so of course, I added too much Olive Oil and the paste just wasn't happening. Next time I will be more patient.

Right around that time, the meatballs were ready! Don't they look DELISH!?

(In the back you can see some of the mozza pouring out from one of the meatballs. Not the most ideal situation but then again, I don't mind the baked cheese at all!)

Here it is....now I'm just going to say this now...I am obviously not a professional food photographer and I am nowhere near skilled in the food presentation department, but.....this is the meal...The Tomato-Pesto which turned out REALLY tasty (and as easy as it was to make, I wonder if I'll buy jarred sauce ever again)

I topped it with the meatballs and then sprinkled some more grated Parmesan-Reggiano over it.

Now the meal as a whole was SOOO yummy...the garlic, herbs and cheese was such a good blend...and the sauce was a great addition.  

Now the recipe makes 16 meatballs stating that it serves 4, but in the end only twelve fit the rimmed baking sheet and two meatballs were more than enough for me! They are still quite large after cooked.  Its definitely yummy alone, but it can be easily tweaked to a meatball parm style open sandwich meal, or you can add a chunky pasta like bow-tie.  Either way, it's pretty easy to make, its totally customizable and get this....

My daughter devoured it!!

How's that for kid-approved!?!? :)

So dinner was a success and this one will definitely be a regular...treat!!! I will be running the calories off of this one today!

Hope you all get a chance to try and if you have any questions at all, feel free to email me or leave a comment below! :)

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