Cooking Thursday: Fish Slider Sandwiches and Caprese Chicken Pasta

Hello Friends and happy Thursday to you! 

We are currently dealing with a windy snowy day. And it looks like it's going to continue for a few days and we may end up with a foot of snow before it's done. Ugh! 🙈 I'm just hoping it all clears up in time that everyone can be plowed out and still get here for a lovely Easter Sunday together. Guess we'll have to play it by ear. It's where we live so it's truly not surprising...just crummy timing. 

In anticipation of the weather Matt & I ran and got the groceries last night so we didn't have to deal with trudging through snow and ice to get them later in the week. So at least while it's snowing and blowing outside I can just focus on cleaning projects and some cooking and baking. A lovely perk of getting groceries with my Honey is that he bought me some sweet Easter roses. 😍🌸. I put them on the piano, as Bubba is less likely to mess with them up there. Aren't they beautiful? Love that soft pastel color for Easter.

 

 But today I thought I'd share a few recent recipes I've made. We've been enjoying fish on Fridays during this Lenten season. So the first recipe I wanted to share is for these fish slider sandwiches with homemade tarter sauce. The tarter sauce was so good and made them taste like McDonald's. I found the recipe at fedbysab.com I definitely recommend this if you like fish! They were easy and so tasty and nice to have them smaller sized. We ate the leftovers up the next day. The recipe is below.

INGREDIENTS:

Next up is this one pan chicken caprese pasta dish with balsamic glaze. This dish was also so very yummy, and easy as it's cooked all in one pot. I found this recipe at reciperunner.com 

First I gathered the ingredients, as it made it easier to prepare because once you're done with one step (like browning the chicken) you take it out and add in the next ingredients. So it was nice having it all ready to go. I would also highly recommend this dish as it was so flavorful!! You can find this recipe below as well. We had ours with a side salad and some bread our neighbor had made and left for us. So good! 😋

If you try these dishes I sure hope you enjoy them! xoxo

Wishing you all a very safe, healthy and joyous Easter weekend. 

✝️🐰🌸

Happy Homemaker Monday

Hello dear Friends!

Happy Monday and Happy March to you!

☘️🌈☀️💚

Yay for another month ahead that may bring lovely Spring moments as well as the first official day of Spring! I'm here for it all....even though it will be several weeks yet until we see green growing things in the northwoods. The anticipation that it's around the corner sure helps with the wait. Especially with the maybe 4-8 inches of snow in our forecast for this week. 🙈 However, today may reach 50* and it's already bright and sunny this morning. So we will soak it up!! 

How was your weekend? It was a snuggle in kind of one around here. I've had a viral infection that's been causing me to have hives for several days now. It finally feels a bit better today. I've been taking allergy meds and benadryl each day and it sure has helped. Yesterday was especially rough because I also had a bit of an arthritis attack. Nothing terrible, but needless to say our intentions to go to church and the grocery store were put on hold. We watched our church's stream on youtube and we're going to get groceries this week. I see moments like these as a blessing because they sure help me appreciate my health and good days that much more!! 🙏🏻😉

But we did get some Spring cleaning done on Saturday, and I started my Spring decorating. Still a bit more to do, but it's nice to see a few bunnies and flowers that bring me lots of smiles. 

On to a fresh new week ahead...

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

coffee with sugar free creamer and I was hungry for toast so I had a piece with a little butter and dunked in my coffee. I love to dunk - are you a dunker? 😋

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

groceries and other errands, order ham for Easter, bible study, Ash Wednesday mass, more deep cleaning projects, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT:  

How Lent will begin soon (as I'm Catholic). Matt was raised in more non-denominational and Lutheran based churches. He is interested in learning about Catholic faith and goes with me to my masses. We share in a belief in the Lord and faith and it's so special for me to share it with him. We pray together every day. :) 

I have been reflecting on what I want to do for the Lenten season and I plan to do some sacrificing and some service. I will be sacrificing through increasing my fasting time and prayer with it. And I will be giving service through rosary time and in working on a faith based project I'm beginning. I love this time of truly inward reflection and in the powerful heartfelt meaning of acknowledging all Christ did for me and my sins. 

✝️🙏🏻

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

The sun is streaming in and Bubba is making his funny chirps as he watches the birds at the birdfeeder. Spiritual music is playing and I'm looking at the sunny Spring magazines next to me that I want to finish looking at today. I'm working on our grocery list while I work on this post. I can hear the hum of the dryer going in the other room. Peaceful home sounds that I absolutely love. 

CURRENTLY READING

Debbie Macomber's book A Good Yarn 

ON THE TV TODAY:

When Calls the Heart, The Rookie , Shifting Gears, Jeopardy, Ghosts, Shark Tank, The Flip Off & Christina on the Coast (HGTV shows), Survivor, TWD catch up, Grey's Anatomy starts back this week

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - pesto turkey wraps (might have mine on wasa cracker), veggies and protein dip

TUESDAY -   protein chicken crust BBQ chicken pizza, salad

WEDNESDAY - cottage cheese protein pancakes with berries, chicken sausage(for Matt)

THURSDAY - spicy spaghetti sauce I froze earlier in the winter with healthy noodles, roasted oven veggies w/balsamic glaze (still haven't had this and finally going to thaw sauce and do it this week)

FRIDAY - out for fish fry dinner

*we've been getting tougher about tracking our meals, calories etc. I'm going to make some healthy sweets this week. One being a version of strawberry pretzel salad. The other being a 3 ingredient berry cobbler. I'll share recipes in the future. 😋

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

 work on our wedding scrapbook, read

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

It's beginning to look like Spring and the Easter season around here with decorations including flowers, bunnies & eggs. I still love these hand painted eggs I got in Poland over 20 years ago and put out every year. 

We did enjoy some cozy comfort food this weekend when I made jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffins with honey butter glaze on them. And some homemade sloppy joes to put over the top. I had also made some honey herb carrots as a side dish in my small slow cooker. 

My hubby makes me laugh every day. I had gotten him this shirt as a joke for one of his Valentine gifts. He always calls me "Wifey". He wore it this weekend and kept pointing to it and saying goofy things and just being a cornball. I kinda just love the big Lug. ❤️

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace.  For a Friend of mine needing extra prayers dealing with some things with her aging Dad. For everyone's safety with the winter storm predicted this week.

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Hope you're feeling lots of love this week Friends! 

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

My Week in Photos

ONE

Endured more snowy cold. Snuggling with Ruby helps. Nourished my body with some healthy, but yummy food. Early in the week I used up leftover roast on a bed of sundried tomato quinoa with a fried egg and a sprinkle of parmesan. Made a semi-homemade BBQ chicken pizza with good veggies and rotisserie chicken. Breakfast this AM was hearty 12 grain bread with some mashed avocado. 

TWO

Welcomed March! Got my planner calendar filled out for the month. Began prayer-filled Lent. Started getting out my St. Patty's Day/Celtic things around the house. May even dig into the bin of Spring decorations this weekend. ;) 

THREE

Scrubbing my heart clean during this season of Lent. Went to Ash Wednesday mass. Nourishing my soul by reading in devotionals and doing prayers/reflection/journaling time. And sometimes I like listen to meditative or Christian music and get lost in color. 

FOUR

Finished a project for a close Friend of mine. I had made some like these for gifts for relatives this Christmas season. My Friend saw them and joked about "where was hers". ;)  Well I found that I still had some of these materials leftover - so I made this for her this week. I look forward to surprising her with it soon. It'll be perfect, as her home is very northwoodsy like mine. xo

FIVE

I further nourished my creativity by working on more scrapbook catch up. This week it was tackling my son's school years album. He's in high school now - so I'm actually close to being caught up!  

I hope you had a blessed week Friends and were good to yourselves! Enjoy your weekend. xoxo 

I'm sharing this for Five on Friday with Amy of Love Made My Home.