Yummy Monday!

Yummy Monday posts are hard because Ian has class so it's usually just me unless I have a Junior League function so my versions of "Yummy Monday" will be simply posting what I made on Sunday!

By the time Sunday rolls around we are usually tired from the weekend and dragging our feet on starting the week ahead.

Saturday we decided to check out the new Whole Foods in the remodeled Southglenn area. My goodness that place is amazing!! I really hope that the center does well because it's a great concept. The Whole Foods down there was amazing! We do all our grocery shopping at WF because the company itself has a great mission and we want to support what the CEO/Founder believes in. Not to mention they are HUGE on supporting local farmers (watch Food, Inc and you'll understand why that is important). But I just WAY digressed!

At this jazzy new WF we found a multi grain pizza dough. We usually use their pizza dough when we want pizza because it's delicious and cooks so well but this was the first time that we had found whole grain so we decided to try it out.

It's WAY healthier if it's from WF. Totally.

The dough all spread out, read to be baked before putting toppings on.

All topped and ready to finish baking!

Ready to eat!

I really truly love pizza and think it's one of the best foods ever but it's not at all healthy. I don't like using the pre baked crusts or frozen pizza because if it has an ingredient that I can't pronounce it's probably not coming home with me. The method that we use allows us to control what is put into the pizza and as a result, what is put into our bodies.

Hello Dolly Bars!

It’s really no secret that I love sweets. The more sugary and ooey gooey the better! I came across a recipe on Monograms and Manicures that I had to try and I think they turned out quite delicious!

Here’s the cast of characters needed…1 stick butter, 1 1/2 cups graham crackers, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, nut topping, and sweetened condensed milk.

First you make the graham cracker crust which is melted butter mixed with crushed graham crackers. While most people melt butter in the microwave, since we don’t have one I simply put the butter in an oven safe bowl and placed it into the oven while preheating. But I digress… put the graham crackers into a plastic bag and make sure it’s closed tightly. I used about 8 crackers and crushed them down to 1 1/2 cups. This is the fun part! You whack the crackers with a rolling pin until they’re as crumbled as you like! Be careful when crushing the crackers though because you CAN bust the bag and end up with little crumbs all over the kitchen counter!

Once the butter has melted you mix it into the graham cracker crust and flatten it into the dish, spreading it out so it’s nice and even throughout.

Add the bag of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips before drizzling on the sweetened condensed milk. Pour it on evenly and then top with the nuts if you’d like. Bake it in the oven for about 25 min at 350F. Once the toppings look melted it is finished…or when it starts to bubble- whichever happens first. Once it gets out of the oven let it cool before cutting. Slice them up and enjoy!!

Just Call Me Bailey Crocker

I loooovvveeee to cook. It's really fun, soothing and a great source of entertainment for me. I like to freeball it though and sometimes things just turn out kind of ehh...and Ian has put in numerous requests for me to start using a recipe. Some things he is right about, but this particular dish, no need for a recipe!

I went to Sunflower Market this past weekend and stocked up on some of the canned goods that were on special. $00.79 cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatos are just too good to pass up!! I bought some large shells, spinach, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and a huge loaf of bread. We'd been planning on having Friday night dinner in and with the weather rain/sleet/snow-ing it seemed like the perfect meal!!

I put the sauce with garlic (YUM!) basil, oregano, onion powder, salt and pepper to a simmer for a few hours to get the flavors going. Then, I simmered the spinach adding salt, pepper and garlic until it was soft. I then split the spinach into 1/3 and 2/3 parts and added the 1/3 into the sauce. I shredded the cheeses and mixed them together with the 2/3 spinach for the stuffing. Boiled the shells until they were al dente and could be seperated easily to stuff. I drained the shells and put some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8x8 Pyrex dish (enough to cover) and filled the shells and put them in the pan. I covered with a layer of cheese, then more sauce, then more cheese. I'll bake it for 20 min covered and 10 min uncovered until the cheese gets crispy and browns a little. I also whipped some butter, parmesan cheese and garlic together and sliced the bread to make some garlic bread.

I've gotten everything all made so the flavors can develop more and it can get really ooey gooey!!