Chef Master Recipe

How is is Thursday already?  This whole week has totally gone by and I haven't even barely noticed!

I'm sitting here wondering how many of you grew up in a place where the ice cream truck would drive around in the summer time playing that crazy loud super annoying jingle that you could hear from 3 streets away?  Every summer without fail it would come driving slowly through our neighborhood streets and we would all get excited and run to our mothers and ask for money. 

What sweet treat would you get with the money that your mom gave you?  Maybe a super delicious Orange PushUp?  Even though they were tiny they would almost immediately start melting the minute you unwrapped the top.  By the time you got all the way down to the bottom you would have a melty mess but it was always so sweet and creamy and good! 

I didn't realize how much I loved those little treats until I came across a recipe for an Orange PushUp Smoothie from Averie Cooks and made if for my family.  I did reduce the amount of sugar from the original recipe and added a little bit of ice cream to the mix.  Delicious, yes!  Will I make it again, heck yeah!

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I have been so good this past week you guys!  Last weekend I searched for recipes I wanted to try, made a huge grocery list, went to the store and got everything on my list.  Then I proceeded to cook a new recipe every night for the last week with the exception of one night.  It rarely goes that smooth in our house.  

Something always comes up and I don't have time to make a big dinner.... or if I do make dinner then my photo's don't turn out great... or I'm too hungry to take photos and I dig right in.  

That's why I was happy that I had time to make this dinner, and that my photo's turned out good, and that I wasn't too hungry (well I was, but I restrained myself long enough to take pictures, lol!)  

So I've really been looking forward to trying this Chicken Marsala recipe from Pass The Sushi this week! I did tweak it just a little bit and it turned out to be so tasty!  Definitely making this one again for dinner :)

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I can't tell you how many times I've waited too long to make dinner and have had to resort to using canned refried beans.  I know... I should be super mom and totally prepared with awesome meals everyday but someday's I run out of time (and energy) and just need something quick and easy to make that still tastes like I slaved over it all day.

That's why I love this easy refried beans recipe that I found over at Money Saving Mom.  She gives you the instructions on how to prepare this recipe if you are using dry beans.... but then she also let's you off the hook and says you can use canned whole pinto beans!  That's my kind of girl right there.  She understands that I needed my refried beans to be quick and easy.  And the best part is that canned whole pinto beans don't have lard in them so it is a healthier alternative to using canned refried beans.  

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The Weekend re-Treat is going to be up and running a little early tonight :)  I've got some things to do later so I thought it would be fun just to start the party early.

This week we have more than 5 features.... we have 50 to be exact!  I spent the morning going through the past couple of weeks collecting as many chicken recipes as I could find and then I put them into one big post "50 Fabulous Chicken Dishes"!  Most of the links are from the The Weekend re-Treat weeks #7 - #11 with a few of my recipes mixed in ;)

You guys are pretty much awesome and have been cooking up some fabulous recipes in your kitchens!  

If you were featured on the 
"50 Fabulous Chicken Dishes"
 post please grab a button 

HERE to display on your blog!

Now on to the PARTY!  

Here's how our party works!

#1 Each week I will be featuring a few of my favorite links and showcasing them on the following week’s link party post, so be sure to come back next weekend to see if you were a featured link! 

Also, by linking up you give The Best Blog Recipes permission to use your photos on our blog (round up posts, features, etc), Pinterest and Facebook pages.  All credit will be given to you with any photo used linked directly to your post. 

#2 Grab a button to put on your post, or somewhere else on your site.  A text link is fine too!

#3 Link up as many projects, recipes & DIY’s as you’d like…. But please don’t link any giveaways or Etsy Shops here.

#4 We’d love if you’d follow us on Facebook, GFC or via email so we can stay connected

#5 Show the others bloggers some love and check out a few of their links.  Let them know you saw their link on “The Weekend re-Treat” while you are there!

And... I'd LOVE if you'd follow The Best Blog Recipes on 

Facebook while you were here today if you aren't already :)  

Message me on FB to let me know you are following from The Weekend re-Treat so that I can make sure that I'm following you back too! 

Other recipes that you might enjoy

while you're here today:

Texas Style Lasagna

Banana Pudding Cookies

w/ White Chocolate Chips

Chicken Mexican Casserole 

I love hosting The Weekend re-Treat Link Party each weekend (Fri-Sun)!  I see so many talented bloggers submitting their awesome recipe creations.  I always come away with so many food ideas for the week that my head spins :)  

I've put together a "50 Fabulous Chicken Dishes Recipe Round Up" from links that have been submitted to The Weekend re-Treat over the past couple of weeks, along with some of my favorite chicken dishes here on The Best Blog Recipes! 

Hope you enjoy all of my blogger friends wonderful Chicken Dishes! 

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Ok, I have to admit that I'm not a huge oatmeal for breakfast fan.  I never ate it growing up and to tell you the truth.... I just had oatmeal for the first time about 2 years ago.  I know, I know... I was a super picky eater growing up and the thought of a bowl of oatmeal was not my idea of a good time. But, now that I'm older and less picky (parents there is hope for your picky eaters, I promise) I've discovered that apple cinnamon oatmeal is my favorite but I'm open to try new things. 

That's why I set out and searched, and searched for an oatmeal recipe that I thought I might like.  I came across a blog (Good Thymes & Good Food) with a Fresh Fruit Baked Oatmeal recipe that I thought was worth a try.  The only problem is that I didn't have a huge assortment of fresh fruit on hand so I used bananas and frozen blueberries instead and it turned out really fabulous!

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It's Tuesday morning so that must mean that it's time for the newest Printable Household & Grocery coupons that are available this week.

These are so nice because they are super easy to print and you just take them to the store just like any other coupon!

I love saving money.... and every little bit helps!

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So I've been on a bit of a Chinese food kick for the past couple of days.  Friday we made Chinese Beef Brisket in the slow cooker and it was amazing!  Then Mexican Saturday night at our favorite restaurant and Chinese Mongolian Chicken for Sunday Dinner.  

And let me just read your mind really quick and answer the question that you're probably thinking to yourself... NO I'm not pregnant.   

Phew, now that you're not thinking about that anymore let's talk about how delicious this Mongolian Chicken  was :) 

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Guess who spent the whole day relaxing, taking a nap and playing with the baby and my hubby who didn't work on his side job today.  I did!

I kind of feel like a bum and I'm lovin it!

Everyday it's all about recipe searching, cooking, cleaning the kitchen just so I can dirty it up again and cook another meal ;), having food photo sessions, laundry, playing with the baby, giving my teenager a hard time about doing her homework, blogging, face-booking, pinning, commenting, linking up to link partys... etc!  The list goes on and on.  I don't think I realized when I started blogging that it would be so time consuming.  It does bring me a lot of happiness but also distracts me sometimes from the other important things & people in my life.  What I'm trying to say is that I need to find a good balance in my life and taking the day off to spend it with my family was a step in the right direction :)

I bet you're sitting there shaking your head knowing exactly how I feel.

I stepped out of my comfort zone, broke every daily routine, didn't follow my normal schedule and didn't even look at my planner today.  Instead the hubby and I just sat on the floor and played with our 14 month old who loved every minute of it. So here's my challenge for each of you... think about the last time you really took the day off and gave your family 100% of your attention?  If you can't remember when that was then I challenge you to do it.  Give them 100% of you for the whole day. They'll be glad you did and so will you!


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Oh my goodness.. my lunch today was so tasty!  If you are a regular reader of The Best Blog Recipes you probably already know that I've been on a journey to lose weight and that I'm down 50 pounds (you can read my story here)!  Each and every day I have to make healthy decisions about the things I am going to eat  and sometimes it's pretty darn challenging.

I love mexican food and get serious don't mess with me cravings.  But my mexican food cravings come with some seriously unhealthy eating habits too.  I could eat my weight in chips & salsa and don't get me started on tortillas & rice. 

See my problem you guys.

I'm a mexican food-a-holic!   

I've never been much of a salad eater either until recently.  I've figured out that you can do a lot more with salad then just dump some ranch dressing on it.

So I've been busy experimenting and have come up with some pretty amazing salad recipes.  One of my favorites is Chipotle Black Bean Salad for lunch!  Yummy!

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I am So Excited for today's post you guys!

I couldn't hardly wait because today I am Co-Hosting Ginger Snap Crafts {wow me} Wednesday Link Party to help her celebrate her blogs 2 year anniversary!  How fun is that?!?

This is gonna be huge! I've heard through the grapevine that there are going to be a lot of fun co-hosts and I can't wait to see what everyone links up.

And just in case you haven't already found Ginger Snap Crafts blog yet... here's a link to her site so you can stop by and see all of the fun things that Ginger has been busy creating.


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Since I've been running this food blog for the past couple of months I have noticed that our grocery bill has gone up... I don't know why, lol!  Maybe it's because I experiment and try a new recipe almost everyday and I'm always running to the store for last minute ingredients.  We all know what happens when you "run" to the store for that one thing you needed...  yes, we end up walking out with 2 bags of "stuff" we remembered we needed while we were shopping.  This drives my husband nuts.  I run in for 1 and walk out with 10 :)

I don't know about you but I really don't have the time to look through the paper (which we don't get anyways) or search online for new coupons for the products that I regularly buy so that's why I've decided to join forces with an online network and will be bringing the coupons straight to The Best Blog Recipes.  Yay!

They are super simple coupons to print and each week I'll post all of the best coupons so you can pick and choose which ones you'll need for your menu's that week.  And... since I'm a mom, a maid, a transportation driver, chef, beautician, dog walker, playmate (not the Hugh Hefner kind... the I have a 14 month old who loves to play kind), counselor, fighter, lover (oops, got off on a tangent there) I'll make sure to post coupons that will be beneficial for running your entire household.


Let me know in the comments if you saw any good coupons and if you are printing them. I want to make sure that the links and everything are working correctly!


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If you live in Utah and you're reading this post then you are probably familiar with Cafe Rio's Sweet Pork Burritos.  Oh, just thinking about them makes me hungry.   

If you don't live in Utah or have never tried Cafe Rio's Sweet Pork goodness then I'm sorry for you because you are really missing out.

It's sweet... It's got a little kick to it... and it's so darn good. 

I'll admit I've tried more than a few copy cat Cafe Rio recipes out there and have been disappointed by most of them.   Then I finally came across a recipe for The Best Sweet Pork Taco's from The Recipe Critic.

Oh my goodness... this meal is SO EASY to make and it's so good.  It shouldn't be legal.  Seriously!

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