THE AMUSED LIFE BLOG

AKA: Casseroles and Caveats (When One of You Isn't a Casserole-Person) Growing up in Pennsylvania, I have always looked at casseroles as comfort foods in the fall and the winter. I love them. The ooey gooey, savory creations have been staples of my childhood years and I prefer them for ease and simplicity during busy life. They also typically are super budget friendly. However, Erik is my significant other. He ISN'T a casserole person. His family is into smoked meats and barbeques...and his mother often told him that a casserole isn't cooking saying "It's just something that you throw together hoping that it works out." So imagine his chagrin when I asked him on one of my busy days to whip up the casserole recipe I chose for this week. "Ugh...really?" Yes, really. In the meantime, he followed through. He told me that my chicken noodle bake would have been far better if I had opted for fresh ingredients rather than all pre-packaged prepared items. Ok,...

FIRST TIME RECIPE ATTEMPTS FOR THIS WEEK: Cheesy Spinach Pesto Flatbread   *****out of 5 Stars! Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi    *****out of 5 Stars! I've decided to make this more of an open format blog adventure and not feel like I have to "fail" anything per se. So instead I'll focus on the week of culinary adventures in my household. First of all, the two recipes I picked out to try were knock out of the ballpark AMAZING (links are above to the recipes). Seriously, they both were just sensational and the shrimp scampi was even better on day 2. However a word of, ahem...warning. Look, I'm just going to be real. I've been cooking A LOT lately. I've also discovered how much I use garlic in the meals I cook. I LOVE GARLIC. However...if you eat a LOT of garlic (as I have been doing)...your ahem, smelly bits may begin to smell like...GARLIC. Seriously, I was starting to worry that the garlic smell was just imbedded in the air, then I realized it was l...

FINDS I have to give mad-props to Aldi (once again I know), for having the best deal on family sized skinless and boneless chicken breasts (and let me tell you these chickens are quite ample birds). It's less than 10 dollars and I end up getting between 5-6 breasts in a package which equals 2 meals out of one package. You cannot complain about that at all. In fact this lead's me to the second FIND of the week foodie-wise. My second find is this recipe for  CREAMY TUSCAN CHICKEN  I found on the website www.delish.com! It was incredible, now sadly my sauce didn't yield a sumptuous vodka/tomato sauce coloring as you'll note in the video on the delish website; and I'm pretty sure it's because I had a lot of browning on the chicken and the butter browned a bit as well. However, it did not ruin this dish - just gave me more excitement for making it again and perfecting it next time. Plus, I will 100% agree with the need to have some crusty Italian bread on hand becaus...

FINDS Take and Bake Bread is where it's at!  I swear you'd think I get a kick back from Aldi's but I don't. Not even a discount lol. But their take and bake french bread/baguette and their italian bread take and bake loaves will turn a regular meal into a night that feels truly home-made or akin to the night where you go out and they serve you fresh baked bread with your main meal. Seriously this stuff is good. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, it's a carb lover's dream. FAILS My Attempt at a Cauliflower Roasting Recipe was lackluster.  I tried this   recipe   for Ina Garten's Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower. It was good, but I think it could have been better. First my cauliflower didn't crisp up and brown as much as it should which I think would have made it more crispy delicious and second I don't feel that I truly seasoned it enough. While the end result was good and pretty great when you got a fork-full with the parmesan and gruyere melted ...

We're going to start a journey with dinner planning.  Chicken Margherita  with Spaghetti and Italian Bread (Anna)  - Completed 8/10/20 Amazing!!! Polska Kielbasa with Rice (Erik)   - Completed 8/9/20 Delicious and quick!   Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes with Breakfast Sausage (Erik)   - Completed 8/11/20 So Yummy! Sunday 8/9/10 We had a later than planned night and it was my 2nd night off of a weekend so Erik took over dinner tonight with a quick and easy Polska Kielbasa with Rice and the addition of some herbed stuffing. Quick, easy and hit the spot. Monday 8/10/20 I was exhausted today but I was dedicated to making this meal tonight. When I cook, I improvise a LOT. I don't measure so if you follow the recipe above (underlined); you can follow the instructions to the letter or just allow the magic to happen. It was so good that this Chicken Margherita will be in my regular menu rotation after tonight. For sure! Tuesday 08/11/20 In the world as we know it, ...