Long time no blog!

Ke was busy finishing up her college career so this blog was put to the back burner for awhile!!  But she is now back and has started a new blog which will still have lots of delicious recipes but will also be a little bit more about her everyday life.  The new blog will be mainly Ke's but Ki will be sure to put her two cents in as often as humanly possible :)  Check out the new blog and tell us what you think and what you would like us to be sure to keep in the new blog.  Thanks for following along for this transition!

My Search of Summer - http://mysearchofsummer.wordpress.com/

Sunday Night Tater Tot Casserole

Most people have a few nicknames they can remember.  In high school, there was a year or two where my nickname was tater tot.  I seriously have no clue how this name was given to me, but it stuck haha.  This recipe showed up in a Hungry Girl email and I just knew we had to make it.  The mixture of ingredients may sound a little interesting, but it all combined to a delicious casserole that any member of your family would enjoy!

Not your Noodles & Co. Macaroni

My freshman year of college, I got a part time job at Noodles & Co.  A brand new location opened about 10 minutes away from school so I was able to be a part of a somewhat intensive four day training program since almost all of the employees were brand new and we obviously had no clue what we were doing.  One of the things on our itinerary was to try all of the dishes on the menu - tough job, right?

You can do all that with a box of pancake mix?!

Ki and I love breakfast, and a couple of weekends ago I thought it would be fun to be able to eat breakfast for EVERY meal.  So on a Saturday and Sunday, we were able to make not merely two breakfasts, but SIX!  It was a lot to handle, and I am not sure if it is the best thing to do all of the time, but at least we have multiple recipes to share with you guys for breakfasts, brunches, or anytime you want breakfast for dinner.

St. Patty's Day Feast!

St. Patrick's Day this year is nothing compared to St. Patrick's Day last year... I was studying abroad in London and Ki came to visit over my spring break, which just so happened to coincide with St. Patrick's Day.  We wanted to do some traveling during her visit, and of course we just could not resist going to Dublin on the big day... it was interesting to say the least as the city was littered with green-clothed tourists to watch the parade and to pack the pubs.  Probably not something I would choose to do again, however it's pretty cool to be able to say we spent a St. Patrick's Day in Ireland.  I personally prefer a trip  to Chicago to see the most artificially green river in the world and see the crazies out and about there ;).

Mardi Gras! Miniature King Cakes

Tomorrow is the celebration of Fat Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent which traditionally included fasting.  It was in essence the last day to indulge in favorite treats and luxurious meals - yum :).  To this day, some people decide to give something up for Lent - this year I have chosen soda, and Ki is giving up Starbucks, so it will be a trying time for us all haha.

Sunday Night Chicken Dinner

The transition of the idea of the original recipe we were going to make to this one is a funny one.  In a Hungry Girl email about a month ago, there was an ad for Betty Crocker instant mashed potatoes and a recipe for a mexican mashed potato parfait thing.  It looked really good, but the question of what to have on the side or what to add to make it a substantial meal was up in the air.

Late Night Craving?

Want a recipe that will save you from that 4th meal craving?  Here is a recipe for an easy meal that will keep you satisfied, and away from that drive-thru window ;).  The recipe may seem a little time-consuming, but it only took about four minutes to get everything assembled and onto the pan, and it was extremely delicious.  Enjoy!

It's National Pancake Day (Tomorrow)!

Tomorrow is the celebration of National Pancake Day, and of course we could not pass up the day!  Here is a wonderfully simple and delicious pancake recipe we made the other weekend - utilizing our favorite, Fiber One Pancake mix.  So if you happen to have these ingredients on hand for the morning, definitely try it out :).

A Twist on Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are probably one of my most often consumed meals.  They were a childhood staple, and I have continued to make them on occasion throughout the years because frankly, they are delicious.  This recipe comes courtesy of Hungry Girl, herself, however we switched out the called-for ground turkey for ground boca crumbles, and used additional sauce to make it sloppier.

February 13th marked the IronCupcake: Milwaukee challenge, which we luckily found out about a couple of weeks prior to the event.  Let me just say that we were both ECSTATIC to be going and bought our tickets right away ;).  One of the perks of going?  The judge was none other than Duff Goldman, himself, from Food Network's Ace of Cakes.  This. Is. Awesome.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

BBQ sauce is delicious, but unfortunately not always the healthiest choice because of all of the sugar, and some can be surprisingly high calorie.  We made something with BBQ sauce about a week ago - oh how my mind fades so quickly - so we had extra laying around and figured, why not make some BBQ Chicken Pizza with it?!  The sauce is easy to put together and can keep in your fridge for a couple of weeks, giving you some time to play around with other BBQ goodness :).

Who Says You Can't Eat Pasta?

Pasta is one of my favorite meals - basically anything Italian is good in my book.  Unfortunately, most pasta dishes are made with white pasta which means there are few redeeming qualities.  There are a few simple additions and swaps you can do to make a big bowl of pasta not guilt-ridden.  The bowl that is pictured is actually quite a substantial bowl - and is definitely filling and delicious!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Due to my hectic schedule during the week, I am not able to blog, but believe me we have definitely been eating!  So there is a backlog of meals for me to post, and this one is quickly going to the top even though I literally just finished eating it - because it was just THAT good!

Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches have been my favorite for as long as I can remember - I don't even know if I could actually function without them.  It killed me when I studied abroad last year and PB&J's were not staples in other countries - even finding peanut butter is a struggle!  Maybe that says something about our obesity epidemic?  Well, this recipe will definitely not aid in increasing the obesity rate of our country, on the contrary this will help you meet your weight goal, or maintain where you are while indulging yourself in the most delicious Peanut Butter and Jelly creation I have had.  Period.

Chinese Chicken!

There is nothing quite like Chinese takeout... if only it wasn't all delicious because of the insane amounts of calories, fat, and sodium one plate can dish out.  A quick takeout order of your favorite dishes can easily harm your quest for healthy eating.  Hungry Girl actually offers quite a few different options to satisfy Chinese cravings, giving you the taste you are looking for but not even close to nearing the caloric intake which comes along with it.

Be My Valentine?!

Today is St. Valentine's Day.  While neither myself nor Ki are extremely into Valentine's Day, we both do enjoy things pink... and sometimes heart-shaped :).  Since it is the day for pink and heart-shaped things, we figured we would 'indulge' on a marvelously pink breakfast - complete with PINK coffee!  This is a amazingly easy breakfast which you could make any morning, not just on February 14th.

Cheesy Boca Burger Wrap-Up

Mmm cheesy burgery goodness?!  Yes please!  These wraps are magnificent and are from a Hungry Girl cookbook.  As usual, we made a few modifications and I made mine without mushrooms (I've never been a fan, but Ki had them).  They are SUPER easy and will fix any burger craving you are experiencing.  These ingredients can also be kept on hand quite easily to make on a whim.

Chocolate Covered Banana English Muffin French Toast

The other morning, I saw a recipe for banana split french toast - which then sparked the creation of this recipe.  We did not use whipped cream or a cherry which made their recipe 'split', so ours was simply chocolate-covered ;).  The use of english muffins in french toast recipes allows a more moist end product, more similar to brioche bread than regular sliced bread would be.  They do not seem to soak up as much coating, but definitely still hold the flavor of the banana which is a delicious addition!

Saturday Morning Cinn-Ful Pancake Stack

I have gone through periods of time in my life where the only breakfast I would eat would be chocolate chip pancakes.  I still thoroughly enjoy all types of pancakes, whether they be chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin... good thing I just ate breakfast or I would be HUNGRY from thinking of them all!

Superbowl XLV GO PACK GO!!!

The superbowl is just one of those things... this will mark my second football game watched this season (first one being when the Packers creamed the Bears two weeks back), so obviously neither I nor Ki are avid football fans.  But, we do live in Wisconsin, and I am a marketing student so obviously there are a few reasons today excites me.  The packers are in the superbowl(!), and I get to see all of the wonderful marketing ploys companies are spending mucho bucks on for a commercial spot.  Sounds like a win-win for me!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Applesauce Cookies

Jeesh, what a mouthful!  Haha, I (Ke) looove baking cookies.  I literally began baking because of my love of the Martha Cookies cookbook I got as a present a few years back for a birthday.  I cannot even count how many recipes of hers I have made, but unfortunately the amount of butter alone in these babies have made me stop baking from her book as much and made me turn to other options... such as other bloggers.

I found a recipe on a fellow blogger's page, and edited it slightly to make it even healthier ;).  I will include the original ingredients next to the modified ones if you do not want to use the peanut butter modification (but really, who wouldn't want to have peanut butter?!).

-Banana Split Dessertini-

One night, Ki had the marvelous inspiration of this quick and easy dessert recipe, just with items we happened to have on hand.  Definitely a more calorie-conscious alternative to a regular banana split!

Simply multiply the recipe for however many people you have over if you want to use this as an entertaining option - and they can obviously be dressed up in different cocktail glasses to give them a fancy flair.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Obviously, we started shoveling to try and dig our way out of the house (since school/work will not likely close again tomorrow - but here's to hoping!).  Certain snow drifts were up to the windows, making it quite difficult, as well as quite a lot of work.  We made it a quarter of the way down the driveway (it is fairly long), and were hungry and cold when we back in.  At the grocery store a few weeks back, we got the ingredients to make the following muffins, but never got around to actually baking them up.  Which ended up perfect as it was a great time for a mid-morning hot chocolate break!

Why start a blog?

We are currently snowed in.  As in, there are feet of snow outside of the house making it next to impossible to open the door to even let our dog out.  It has officially been declared a 'civil emergency' in our area - highways closed, schools and businesses shut down, etc.  So what are we to do to pass the hours?