Want to know food by the season?

Ever wanted to know what fruits and vegetables are in by the season? Well lucky you, I have a list that breaks it down month by month! This way you can save a little extra money by buying what food is in season rather than trying to guess. So here goes!

January

• Vegetables
• Cabbage
• Leeks
• Broccoli 
• Cauliflower
• Fruits
• Oranges
• Grapefruits
• Tangerines
• Tangelos 
• Lemons  
• Papayas 

February 

• Vegetables
• Broccoli 
• Cauliflower
• Fruits
• Oranges
• Grapefruits
• Lemons  
• Papayas 

March

• Vegetables
• Broccoli 
• Lettuce
• Fruits
• Pineapple
• Mango

April

• Vegetables
• Zucchini
• Rhubarb
• Artichokes 
• Asparagus
• Spring Peas
• Broccoli 
• Lettuce
• Fruits
• Pineapple
• Mango

May

• Vegetables
• Okra
• Zucchini
• Rhubarb
• Artichokes 
• Asparagus
• Spring Peas
• Broccoli 
• Lettuce
• Fruits
• Cherries
• Pineapple
• Apricot

June

• Vegetables
• Corn
• Lettuce
• Fruits
• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Blueberries
• Peaches
• Apricots 

July

• Vegetables
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Summer Squash
• Corn
• Green Beans
• Lettuce
• Fruits
• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Blueberries
• Peaches
• Apricots
• Kiwi
• Raspberries 
• Plums

August

• Vegetables
• Cucumber
• Corn
• Eggplant
• Tomato
• Summer Squash
• Green Beans
• Lettuce
• Fruits
• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Blueberries
• Peaches
• Apricots
• Kiwi
• Raspberries 
• Plums

September 

• Vegetables  
• Eggplants
• Pumpkins
• Tomato
• Spinach
• Lettuce 
• Fruits
• Grapes
• Pomegranates 

October

• Vegetables
• Pumpkin
• Winter Squash
• Sweet Potatoes 
• Broccoli
• Lettuce 
• Spinach 
• Fruits
• Cranberries
• Apples
• Grapes
• Pomegranates 

November

• Vegetables
• Pumpkin
• Winter Squash
• Sweet Potatoes 
• Broccoli
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Fruits
• Cranberries
• Oranges
• Tangerines 
• Pears
• Pomegranates

December

• Vegetables
• Sweet Potatoes 
• Broccoli
• Mushrooms
• Cauliflower 
• Fruits
• Pears
• Oranges
• Tangerines
• Grapefruits
• Papayas
• Pomegranates

There you go guys!! Hope this helps when it comes time to buy groceries! 

Hash Brown Casserole

Who doesn't love the casserole with hash browns and crispy cornflakes?? Every time I make this, both my husband and I eat it almost at every meal! Horrible, I know, but it's so delicious! So I am here to share this amazing recipe with you all!

Ingredients:

1 pound of hash browns thawed

1/4 cup of melted butter

1/2 can of condensed cream of chicken or mushroom soup

4 oz of sour cream

1 cup of shredded cheese

salt

pepper

Topping:

1 cup of corn flakes crushed

2 tablespoons of butter

You ready to know what to do in order to make this delicious dish?!

Step 1: 

Pre-heat the oven to 350

Take everything EXCEPT the topping ingredients and mix it all together in big bowl

Step 2: 

 Spray your dish and pour the mixed ingredients into your pan. 

Now for the topping!

I normally never measure the cornflakes or butter but if you must, it is up there (: 

But take the cornflakes and crush them in some sort of bowl and mix the butter in so they look a little moist, not soaked! 

Then sprinkle the cornflake mixture on the hash brown mix that's in the pan.

Step 4:

Place your dish into the oven for 40 minutes and then it will be done and ready to scarf on down! 

This amount will feed 6 people so feel free to change to your needs and enjoy!! 

One Pot Meal! (Hint: Chili!)

Who doesn't love chili when it's fall time?! I know that we do! So I found this amazing recipe that was quick, easy and only made one dirty dish! Here goes!

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef

2 teaspoons of chili powder

1 can of rinsed kidney beans

1 can of tomato sauce 

1 cup of salsa

3/4 cup of uncooked pasta 

1 cup of shredded cheese

(I added corn but it was not in the recipe but feel free! Just 1 can of corn drained.)

What to do:

Place the beef into a decent size pan to cook and mix with the chili powder

Then mix all of the other ingredients into the pan

Boil and then place on low/simmer for 15 minutes

Place in a bowl and add some cheese on top and you're chili is done! 

I made some rice to go with mine because the pasta was very tiny and there wasn't a whole lot of pasta so we added a little extra to spice things up a bit.

This whole dinner took me about 30 minutes or so to make and my husband loved it as well! Now it's not like real chili where it sits and there are a few different beans but in a bind or on game day, this is simple and yummy.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

I loved this dinner!! It was really yummy, made a lot, and my husband enjoyed it which is always a plus! Although, when I found this recipe they did not say anything about certain order so I was very scrambled and rushed while making the sauce! And on top of that baby was moving a whole lot which made it hard to get anything done! Anyway, here is the lovely recipe in the correct order!

For the Casserole:

1 Pound of broccoli steamed 

3 Cups of Chicken cooked and cut into small pieces

1 1/2 Cups of grated cheese 

2 Tubes of Ritz crackers crushed

1 Stick of melted butter

For the Sauce:

1/3 Cup of melted butter

1/3 Cup of chicken broth

2 Cups of milk

1/4 Cup of cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup of COLD water

Salt & Pepper

1 1/2 Cups of grated cheese

Make sure all sauce ingredients are ready to go before you start making the sauce! This was my mistake when making this dinner dish. 

Now for the actual cooking part!

• Turn your oven on to 350 and take a 9x13 pan and grease it up so nothing sticks. 
• Once the chicken and broccoli are done put them into the bottom of the pan and then put it off to the side. We will get back to that later.

For making the sauce

Turn the stove onto medium heat, or a little lower and pour all ingredients (EXCEPT THE CHEESE) in, in that order! And make sure you do it slowly. Once everything is dissolved and turning into a thick sauce you can slowly add the cheese to the pan. Little at a time to make sure that it melts. If the sauce is a little clumpy it's ok :) Mine was and it still came out delicious! 

• After the sauce is done, pour it over the chicken and broccoli.
• Add 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese

• Take the crushed ritz crackers and add the 1 stick of melted butter and sprinkle the crackers on the top of the cheese.

• Place in the oven for 15-30 minutes. Everything is already cooked so its more to brown the top and melt the cheese.

Let it set for about 5 minutes or so and then your dinner will be complete!

A Late Night Snack... Yum!

One of my new favorite snacks is a semi healthy type of snack... I at least like to think it can be healthy that way when I eat a million of them, I don't feel guilty!

Ok so here it is:

Strawberries 

Icing

Crushed Graham Crackers

What to do:

Take the strawberry and cut the top off (the green part). But cut in a circle so that it creates a little hole. Then take the icing, just a little, and fill the hole with the icing and then sprinkle the crushed graham crackers on top! 

It tastes like a little cheesecake.. but with a real strawberry! It makes for a nice little late night snack when you don't want to feel really heavy right before bed with something sweet. Plus, you get the real fruit part of it as well! Which is always a nice little bonus. Hope you enjoy!!

BBQ Sauce & Ribs!

Who doesn't love a good set of Baby Back Ribs?! I know my husband will never turn them down so I decided to make some tonight for him (sorry, no pictures but they looked yummy!) Alright, we had this big slab of ribs that were about to go back and heaven forbid that happens! So I had to figure out how to make ribs and make them quickly. But I had a dilemma... no BBQ sauce. Me being the creative person I try to be (ha!) I decided to make my own. And when I say that, I mean really on my own, no help from Google! Let me tell you.... my husband ranted and raved about this BBQ sauce the whole dinner! Now these are not exact measurements but I can at least tell you what I put in there.

BBQ Sauce:

Ketchup (Lots. This is the base of your sauce)
Mustard (Powder or regular)
A little bit of water
A splash of Apple Cider Vinegar
Curry powder
Hot Sauce
Liquid Smoke (A decent amount)
Ground Pepper
Worcestershire Sauce
Little bit of Soy Sauce

Mix all of this together in a sauce pan on low. If it is too thin add some flour or cornstarch but make sure to sift it in so it doesn't make your sauce clumpy. I left my sauce to simmer once it was all mixed for about 30 min or so.

Now on to the ribs!

Easiest recipe ever!

Take the ribs and rinse them off in water. Then place the ribs on some foil (make it a big piece) and add all the sauce you want. The more the better! Once you add the sauce add another piece of foil if needed to wrap them up tightly and let them sit for as long as you can (no more than 8 hrs though.) I let mine set for about 2 hours. After that turn your oven to 300 and place the ribs in there for 2.5 hours. Once you have let them cook in the oven for 2.5 hours, take them out, add more BBQ Sauce and then throw them on the grill (optional!) We put ours on there for about 15 min or so on medium, just enough to get the grill taste. Then voila! Your ribs are complete!

Hopefully your ribs will turn out just as delicious with or without the homemade BBQ Sauce! Let me know how yours turns out :)

Easy Crock Pot Lasagna

Ever want to make lasagna but don't have the time for it? Well now you do! Is so simple and easy; it took me about 10 minutes to make and then 4-6 hours to cook! Here's how you make this amazing meal!

Ingredients:

Beef

Ricotta Cheese

Pasta Sauce

Lasagna Pasta

Cooking Spray

Step 1: Cook your meat!

Step 2: Add your pasta sauce

Step 3: Spray the bottom of your crock pot for safe measures. Then add a layer of your sauce/meat and then put the pasta on top. I broke my pasta so it would fit better. And then add your Ricotta cheese. Add however much you want!

Step 4: Repeat step 3 as many times as needed.

Step 5: I sprinkled some cheese on now so I wouldn't have to worry about it till later but you can wait and do this step until 10 min or so before it's ready. 

Step 6: Let it sit and cook for about 4-6 hours! 

Banana Bread

This is my all time favorite recipe when it comes to banana bread! It's super simple (no mixers involved!) and quick to prepare, takes an hour to cook but during that time it makes your house smell like heaven. So here goes!

Ingredients:

3-4 ripe banana's

1/3 cup of melted butter

1 cup of sugar (or 3/4 cup if you're trying to cut back)

1 egg, beaten 

1 teaspoon of vanilla  

1 teaspoon of baking soda

A dash of salt

1 1/2 cups of flour

What to do:

Before you do anything, turn the oven to 350

1. Mash all of your banana's in a decent size bowl. Everything will end up in the bowl so make sure it fits.

2. Pour the melted butter into the smashed banana's.

3. Then mix in sugar, eggs and vanilla into the banana's.

4. Take the baking soda and salt and add it into the bowl as well.

5. And last but not least, add the flour. I do this a little at a time so it mixes well.

6. Take your pan and spray it with either oil or butter {I typically use a 4x8, but whatever you want will work} 

7. Pour your mixture in and put it in the oven to cook for 45 - 60 minutes.

There ya have it! Enjoy!

Spinach Manicotti

This was by far one of my most favorite dinners! Maybe that's because I love any pasta type filled with any cheese... regardless, this dinner was a hit! 

A few things before we get started. You are going to want to make sure you have enough counter or table space to be able to make this. Also, make sure it's not a rushed dinner, it will take you about 30-45 minutes and that's not including the cooking time. So keep those things in mind!

Ingredients:

Lasagna Pasta

Mushrooms {optional}

Spinach

Ricotta Cheese

Pasta Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

1. Take and cook the pasta, silly I know, but some people may overlook that step!

2. Cook your mushrooms and spinach or whatever veggies you decided on. I used my dad's amazing recipe for the mushrooms and then added the spinach in and it was perfect!

TIP: Make sure you keep the pasta in some water so they don't dry out and stick together!

3. Fill the pasta with a scoop of ricotta cheese and your fillers {mushrooms and spinach.} Don't add too much otherwise it will be very hard to roll up. Which is the next step!

4. Roll up your pasta and put it into any size dish that works for you. I sprayed a little {very little} oil on the bottom just to make sure that they didn't stick to the pan.

5. Pour the sauce over your pasta and then sprinkle some cheese on the top!

6. Bake it in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes or so, just enough for the cheese to melt. Then serve up and enjoy! {we were so hungry that I forgot to get a finished picture!}

I hope you enjoy this dinner just as much as we did! And thanks to my wonderful husband who helped make this dinner. I'm pretty sure it would have failed if I did it on my own! Ha

Thin Mint Cookies

Yes, you read that right! This post shows you how easy it is to make girl scout Thin Mint cookies right from your own kitchen. Let me tell you... They taste almost exactly like the real thing! Warning: They may not be as pretty as the real cookie but it will be ok! So here is goes!

What you will need:

Oreos

Chocolate Chips to melt

Mint Extract

Step 1: 

Take all the creame out of the Oreos and either eat it... or toss it! If you take a butter knife, it scrapes off super easy.

Step 2:

Cover them in your melted Chocolate chips. Its easiest if you use a regular spoon. Drop the Oreo into the chocolate and then flip it with the spoon and make sure its all covered.

Step 3: 

Place them on a wax sheet of paper so that when they cool down, they aren't stuck. 

Step 4: 

Place the cookies either in the fridge or the freezer to cool. This takes maybe 15 minutes for them to cool down.

Step 5: 

ENJOY! 

As you can see, they may not be the prettiest things in the world but they sure do taste super yummy! And now you don't have to pay an arm and a leg... Although nothing beats real girl scout cookies. My next project is to make the Samoa ones next. They seem a little bit trickier though so we shall see. 

Home Made Chips!

I made homemade chips for the first time and they turned out so great! Not only that but they took me a total of 12 minutes to cut and bake them! So are you ready to get started??

Ingredients:

Tortillas

Oil Spray

Salt or Cinnamon

Then, pretty simple, you cut the tortillas into whatever size or shape you want. 

 Place them on your tray.... 

Spray with your oil and then sprinkle your salt!

If you want them to be sweet I suggest cinnamon sugar, it's really tasty! 

Put in the oven at 350 for 10-12 minutes and there ya have it! Homemade chips! Now you just have to make your favorite dip and enjoy.

Whipped Cream, Starbucks Frap!

This is one of my new favorite drinks! You will come to learn that I love to make and find random drinks because every once in a while, you may just need somethin ;) So here goes!

Ingredients:

Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka

Starbucks pre-made 

Crushed Ice (optional)

Take the Coffee and pour it into your cup with or without crushed ice.

Add however much Vodka you want. Some people like it stronger than others ha so make it how you'd like!

Then stir and cheers! 

Hope you enjoy! 

 

BBQ Beer Chicken

So this meal is one of my husbands favorite dishes that I have made since we got married. He took the first bite and ended up finishing up the rest! BBQ Beer Chicken is not only one of the yummiest dinners but one of the easiest I have made so far.

What you will need:

BBQ Sauce (any kind!)

Beer (any kind!)

Chicken

That's it!

All you have to do is put the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot, dump a bottle or can of beer in, add as much or as little BBQ sauce as you want (I used a half a bottle of a regular sized BBQ container) and turn the crock pot on low and let it sit! After 6-8 hours open it up and shred the chicken and add the rest of the BBQ sauce; let this sit for another 30 minutes and then you are good to go. We had ours on buns but you don't have to add the bread, you can just do the chicken with the sauce and some corn maybe? And some sweet tea? Make it an official "southern" meal :)

I had a friend of mine make this dish and they added pineapples in the last 30 minutes and had honey BBQ sauce and used the Hawaiian buns you get from Publix which made it a Hawaiian style dinner. They really enjoyed it that way as well. So experiment and have fun with this :)

(Not the best picture but you get the idea :)  )

Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Tonight's dinner is one of my favorite dishes in the whole wide world! Ask anyone... even Panera employees.... I am there quite often eating the Broccoli Cheddar soup. Well tonight I found a recipe and decided to try it out. 

The items on this recipe list are simple and easy to find, nothing complicated!

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 of an Onion chopped

1/4 cup of Butter melted

1/4 cup of Flour

2 cups of Half and Half

2 cups of Chicken Stock (mixed with the water)

1/2 pound of Broccoli (chopped up)

1 cup of Carrots (slivered)

1/4 teaspoon of Salt

1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg

8 oz of Shredded Cheese

• To get started you need to take some butter (not the 1/4) but just some extra butter and saute the onions and set them aside when you are finished with them.
• Also, cook the broccoli a little bit otherwise it will be a tad crunchy in the soup. If you like it like that then no need to cook the broccoli! 

• Next you will take the 1/4 cup of melted butter and put that into a pretty decent size pot and then slowly add the 1/4 cup of flour. Make sure you keep stirring while you add the flour or it will get chunky. Yuck! Mix that for about 3 minutes; you will know when it's done :) 

• After that you will slowly add the 2 cups of Half and Half, again stir while you pour it in or it will get weird and no one wants that when it comes to food! 

• Now you will add the 2 cups of chicken stock and as before, STIR! Once you are done with those steps let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Make sure you stir while it simmers otherwise it will get a layer on the top.

• While this is simmering, take time and cut your veggies! It's perfect because if you cut near the stove like I do, you will see the soup and remember to stir. So take your 1/2 pound of Broccoli and 1 cup of Carrots and chop chop chop! 

• When the 20 minutes are over add your broccoli, carrots and onions into the soup; stir it up a little and now you let it cook on low for another 25 minutes. 

• After it cooks for 25 minutes add your 1/4 teaspoon of salt and nutmeg and now its gets a little crazy....! Take the soup and put it into a blender! Yup, a blender and puree it for a little. At this point in time you can do it however you'd like. If you like big chunks of broccoli, only do it for a little, or if you like smaller chunks then blend away! 

Almost done! I promise! 

• Once you are finished blending your soup, put it back into the pot and add your cheese. When the cheese is melted the soup is all done! 

Eat with some french bread and enjoy :) 

Instructions:

1. Saute onions in a little butter in a small pan – set aside.
2. In a large pot – melt butter. Add flour and mix for 3 minutes.
3. Slowly add half- half – mixing the entire time.
4. Slowly add chicken stock- mixing the entire time.
5. Let simmer on low for 20 minutes.
6. Add broccoli, carrots; onions and cook on low for 25 minutes.
7. Season with salt, pepper; nutmeg.
8. Place soup in a blender or use an immersion blender and puree.
9. Heat soup over low heat and add cheese and mix till melted.
10. Serve and Enjoy