A DASH OF ASH: THIS WEEKS EATS

So if you follow my blog religiously, you know that I like to actually make the food I pin on Pinterest. Shocker I know! So lately I've tried a lot of good things that I have yet to tell you all about so here you go:

SWEET AND SPICY BACON CHICKEN

Delicious. I didn't put that much chili powder so we only tasted the sweet part but definite winner. Plus it was super easy and fast. Recipe found here.

STUFFED CHEESE BUNS

I'm not cray-cray, and therefore I used pre-made roll dough {I don't do bread from scratch}. But anyway you make these, you can't go wrong. The best part is you can really choose whatever cheese you want or whatever you have laying around. I used Parmesan and sharp cheddar. The weird thing is that most rolls are better hot, but these were way better cold. They tasted like Cheez-It rolls! Recipe here.

ZUCCHINI CHIPS

Now I make a version of this all the time with Parmesan and garlic butter, but this new recipe I found also coats them in Bread crumbs which I absolutely loved. Recipe found here. I still coated them all in garlic butter and would highly recommend adding that because it really adds to the flavor.

Parmesan only recipe here. They add "garlic spread" from Costco but basically you can make your own by meting butter and sprinkling garlic salt in it.

PENNE FRESCA SALAD

I brought this summery dish to a get together we were having for my Dad's birthday. I used Olive Garden dressing on top, but you can use any Italian dressing. I never find that olive oil has enough flavor for me alone. Recipe found here.

GARLIC SPAGHETTI WITH HEB AND LEMON CHICKEN

This dish I made when we had my brother-in-law over to eat. It was really good and a nice twist on spaghetti. I still added a little red sauce because I like my pasta extra saucy! Recipe here.

Have you ever been to Macaroni Grill and had their delicious bread with their olive oil and balsamic? It's to die for. I'm a sucker for a good balsamic. I once tried to recreate it with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar but it tasted super bitter... and now I know why. They use a balsamic reduction, not straight balsamic vinegar. So I was on the hunt to get that perfect balsamic sweetness... and what is the secret ingredient... brown sugar! Here is the recipe I used:

Balsamic Reduction

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/2-1 cup Brown Sugar

Put Balsamic on stove top until it comes to a boil, then turn down temperature and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook for another couple minutes.

It's called a reduction because the sauce reduces to half the amount by the time it's done. I don't always wait that long though! To be honest you really can't mess it up. Just keep tasting it until you have the desired amount of sweetness. Then just grab a plate, add the olive oil, drizzle the reduction on top and sprinkle some rosemary if you desire. And then dip away! Seriously I could drink that stuff! I dipped some homemade garlic cheese bread in the sauce and it was amaze-balls!

So this recipe below has been floating around Pinterest so I decided to make it. It was...ok. There was just too much of a ricotta flavoring that over powered everything, and I even smothered it in red sauce. I like this similar recipe below better...

So this dish that I posted before, was a better version of the one above. If I still wanted to do them in the little pie crusts, I would use the filling recipe below plus add tomatoes (which is what I did with the recipe below in the first place). Recipe found here.

Last but not least...

CAKE BATTER BLONDIES

Now go ahead and save yourself from buying the sprinkles the recipe calls for, and just buy funfetti cake mix instead of white cake mix. Trust me on this one. Seriously though, for someone who isn't into dessert, this is 5 stars. Recipe here.

And in other news:

Someone left their cart in front of my car the other week. I truly believe there is a special place in hell for people who don't return their shopping cart, but in all my years I've never had one of those carts in front of my car.