I hate meatloaf. It’s boring, it’s ugly, it’s not really all that tasty. But THIS meatloaf…

… This meatloaf is exciting! No ketchup topping on this beautiful meatloaf – instead there is a crispy, colorful topping. And what is that gooey white stuff oozing out? Well that’s mozzarella cheese, because this meatloaf is beautiful on the INSIDE too.

I’ve been trying to use up our ground deer meat from last deer season to make room in the freezer for this season’s meat, and there are only so many cheeseburgers a person can eat. We needed something different for the ground meat. There were several suggestions thrown out by my husband and kids (someone even suggested Hamburger Helper, which resulted in them being sent to their room), but none sounded good to me.

After brainstorming for a while, I decided I could combine the idea of meatloaf with meatballs, resulting in this amazing dish.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 lbs ground meat (I used deer meat but regular beef is fine – just get the lean beef so your meatloaf doesn’t end up floating in a dish full of grease)
• vegetables of your choice – I used onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper
• 2 eggs
• Italian breadcrumbs
• mozzarella cheese (I used a whole block)
• Parmesan cheese, shredded
• chopped fresh parsley
• a few mushrooms (I used baby portabellas, but any dark mushroom is fine – stay away from the white mushrooms or you won’t get a good color on your topping)
• salt and pepper
• olive oil or butter

First, chop up your vegetables and saute them in butter or olive oil until they are tender. Use any vegetables you’d like. This is a great way to sneak in vegetables your kids wouldn’t usually eat!

While the vegetables are cooking, cut half of the block of mozzarella cheese into small cubes, and shred the other half with a cheese grater.

Now it’s time to get your hands dirty! In a large bowl, combine the raw ground meat, eggs, cooked vegetables, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, cubed cheese, salt and pepper, and a few pinches of the chopped fresh parsley.

Mix it all up with your hands, then form it into a “loaf” in a greased baking dish. (You may have to add more breadcrumbs if your mixture is too wet.)

This looks pretty good on its own, but it’s about to look even better with the topping…

In another bowl, combine the shredded mozzarella cheese, a small handful of the shredded Parmesan cheese, 2 or 3 of the mushrooms chopped very finely, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, 1 tbs olive oil, and a pinch of the parsley. Using your hands, press the topping all over top and sides of the meatloaf.

There should be very little of the meat showing. I had extra topping – you may not need to use it all, just enough to cover the meat. Also, don’t freak out if you don’t like mushrooms – you can’t taste them – they just enhance the color and texture of the topping.

Now bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer reads 165-170 degrees in center of meatloaf. When it’s done baking, the topping will give it a rich color, and some of the cheese cubes will be oozing out of the sides.

And when you slice it, you can see all the cheese inside as well.

So what do you serve with something this extraordinary? Mashed potatoes are what we usually think of going with meatloaf, so you could add garlic and Parmesan cheese to make them more fitting for this Italian version. I ended up doing fettuccine (from a box) and some garlic Parmesan crescent rolls.

I hope this inspires you to think outside the box (of Hamburger Helper) if you are ever needing ways to use up your ground meat.

Thanks y’all!

– Nikki

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.”       -Psalm 9:1

The Halloween candy is gone, football season is in full swing, the weather is finally turning cooler, and it’s time to focus on what we’re thankful for.

If you’re like me, it’s getting harder and harder to keep yourself from putting up your Christmas tree! Christmas music is already on the radio and Christmas decorations are already out in the stores, making it difficult to remember that we actually have another holiday to celebrate first – Thanksgiving.

I wanted to share a couple of quick, easy projects you can do in your home for Thanksgiving to take your mind off Santa for a little while. Both of these projects are something the kids can help with as well.

These little votive cups were only $1 at Walmart, and the foam letter stickers came from the scrapbook section of the store. Have your kids go outside and collect fallen acorns to fill them with for a cute display. While they are collecting the acorns, talk about being thankful for everything that is wonderful outdoors, like how amazing it is that a huge oak tree came from just one of these tiny acorns!

Another way to remind your kids to be thankful everyday is with a “thankful tree.” I cut a “tree” out of a paper bag and taped it to our pantry door.

Have your kids cut leaves out of construction paper, and every morning have them write something on a leaf that they are thankful for…

…until the tree is full of “thankful leaves!”

What a great way to start each day this month – by being thankful! (These “leaves” are from a few years ago, when my now teenage daughter still called me Mommy!)

“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”  – 2 Corinthians 4:15

Happy Thanksgiving y’all!

   – Nikki

I spend so much time looking for new chicken recipes, that I sometimes forget about a simple, classic roasted chicken. Roasting a whole chicken is super easy, and you can incorporate any flavors you want. You’ll end up with a beautiful, juicy, delicious main dish.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• one whole chicken (4-5 lbs) with giblets removed
• seasonings of your choice – I used salt, pepper and Tony’s
• 1 head of garlic and 1 lemon (for stuffing inside chicken)
• vegetables of your choice to roast with chicken – I used baby potatoes, onion and bell pepper
• 1/2 stick butter, melted

First, remove giblets from inside cavity of chicken. (Sometimes they are already removed.) Cut the head of garlic in half, and cut the lemon into quarters. Season inside cavity of chicken, then stuff the garlic and lemon pieces inside.

Cut the remaining vegetables into bite-sized pieces. I used potatoes, onion and bell pepper because those are what I had at home already, but you can use any vegetables you’d like, such as carrots, zucchini or squash.

Place vegetables in the bottom of a baking dish, then season them liberally. Place chicken on top of vegetables, then season it as well. Pour melted butter over top of chicken and vegetables. Then roast in a 425 degree oven for about an hour and 30 minutes. Halfway through, brush some of the butter/juices in bottom of dish over top of chicken to keep skin from burning. (Or just use a spoon if you don’t have a brush.)

The finished product will have a deep, beautiful color from the butter and seasonings, and the vegetables will be tender and flavorful from the butter and juices released from the chicken. Serve the vegetables as a side dish.

Thanks y’all!

   – Nikki

Everyone has their favorite “go-to” chicken and rice dish, and this is mine. It’s easy to make, and it’s delicious! The chicken bakes in a mixture of rice and soup, which makes it incredibly juicy and full of flavor. The rice absorbs the flavor as well, making it an awesome side dish that cooks at the same time as the main dish.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 cups uncooked rice (I used plain white rice, but you can use any kind – wild rice, brown rice, etc.)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 packages bone-in and skin-on chicken (I used legs and thighs because they are small. If you use bone-in chicken breasts, reduce to just 1 package or they will be too big to fit in the casserole dish.)
• butter
• lemon pepper

First, cook your rice, then mix the cooked rice with the two soups. The rice will continue to cook in the oven, so don’t boil it too long.

Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13×9 casserole dish. Spread the rice mixture in bottom of dish.

Place your chicken in an even layer on top of rice mixture, pressing the chicken down into the rice just a little bit.

Add a little pat of butter to the top of each chicken piece, then sprinkle lemon pepper on top. (I don’t add salt because the soups are pretty salty tasting.)

Now just cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half, or until the chicken is completely cooked through.

The chicken will be so tender and juicy from cooking in the soups, and the rice will taste amazing from absorbing all the flavor from the chicken!

If your chicken doesn’t have good color when it’s finished cooking, just remove the foil and cook a few more minutes uncovered to brown the tops of the chicken pieces.

I’ve tried using boneless-skinless chicken in this dish, but it doesn’t taste nearly as good. The chicken was much less juicy, and the flavor was missing. But if you want to use boneless-skinless chicken, just reduce your baking time to about 45 minutes.

Thanks y’all!

   – Nikki

It’s finally fall – my favorite season of the year! Time for sweaters and boots, bonfires and football games, deer season and pumpkin spice everything! I get so excited when fall arrives, and I want my home to reflect the season, so that it reminds me what time of year it is every time I walk in.

There are so many little things you can do around your house to decorate for Halloween that are inexpensive and cute. Here are some of the things I did this year…

First, I emptied my front porch urns of the dying flowers they contained from summer and replaced them with some unique pumpkins. I know, I’m supposed to plant mums in the fall, but you actually have to water mums and take care of them, and who has time for that?!? These heirloom pumpkins don’t need anything from me. They just sit there all stacked up and cute, and will last until it’s time to decorate for Christmas!

If you want to get really cute, you could stick some straw in between each pumpkin layer, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet.

And speaking of pumpkins, putting a few out inside your house is a very easy way to bring the fall season in. I usually have a plant on this entry table, but replaced it with these for the fall.

All the dollar stores usually sell bags of small pumpkins for around $3. You can just empty them into a basket for a quick and cheap table centerpiece.

Throw a piece of burlap down underneath it to make it look even cuter! I know it doesn’t look like the huge arrangements in Southern Living, but it was super cheap and took less than 5 minutes!

These banners are easy to make out of burlap and twine, but they are even easier to buy from someone – I got this one last year from Etsy.

If you have anything your kids have made over the years, you can mix that in with other decorations for a display.

These are my son’s footprints on a plate we made a few years ago. The plate came from Walmart for about $4, and we used Sharpie markers to decorate around the footprints. (I doubt his feet would fit on a plate now!) The lantern is filled with more dollar store pumpkins, and everything is tied together with a fall-colored swag.

And of course it isn’t fall without a Leaves candle from Bath & Body Works making your house smell amazing! This is my favorite candle ever, and they only have them in the fall. The first day I lit it this year, my husband came home from work and said, “It smells like deer season!”

I don’t have room in my kitchen for many decorations, but a cute Halloween dish towel is really all you need.

Decorating for Halloween doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to involve anything scary. In November I’ll show you how to transition these Halloween decorations into Thanksgiving.

Thanks, y’all!

   – Nikki

Most of you are probably wondering what “zoodles” are – they are noodles made out of zucchini. I’m sure most of you stopped reading right there, but they really are worth trying. Think of all the carbs in regular pasta! And these are actually GOOD! I fed some to my husband without telling him what they were and he LOVED them! (Of course, once he found out they were made from a vegetable, he wasn’t so excited!)

My daughter and I love them, though, so I will usually make these while my husband and son eat pizza. They only take MINUTES to make!

Some stores sell the noodles already made up in the produce section, but if you can’t find any, they are super easy to make yourself. You can either invest a few bucks in one of these little tools (this one is called a “vegetti”), or you can just use a vegetable peeler to make thinner “noodles.”

If you are making your own noodles, this is a VERY important step. Let them sit about 5 minutes with salt on them. This draws all the water out of them. I put mine in a paper towel afterward and squeeze out. You’ll be surprised at how much water comes out! If you don’t do this, your noodles will have a bitter taste and the texture will be weird.

Now just saute them in a spoonful of olive oil for a few minutes. They only take about 3-5 minutes to cook, and then you can top them with whatever you want.

The easiest thing to do is just add some pasta sauce and parmesan cheese, which is how I do it most of the time.

This is my favorite pasta sauce EVER! It tastes even better than homemade, AND it’s organic. I could literally drink it from the jar. It’s that good.

Another way to top them is to make a pesto sauce. One of my favorite ones is made with avocado. Combine an avocado, a few cloves of garlic, a handful of spinach leaves, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a food processor, then pour over noodles. You can also add chicken or shrimp.

I promise these really are good, and so healthy. So the next time your family wants fast food or pizza for supper, but you want something healthy and not as fattening, spend about 10 minutes and make yourself some “zoodles!”

Thanks, y’all!

   – Nikki

We have these little pork loin sandwiches about once a week. They are cheap, easy, and delicious! And most important – the kids love them!

You only need 3 ingredients – a pork loin, some cheese, and Hawaiian sweet rolls.

The easy part is that these pork loins come already seasoned, so they are ready to cook without any prep. You can find them in several flavors. Our favorite is the Cajun flavor, but they were sold out this week so this is a Peppercorn Garlic flavor. (I added some Tony’s seasoning to it to make it taste more like the Cajun flavor.)

I’ve cooked these in a glass dish and a metal pan in the oven, but I’ve found the best way to cook them is in a stoneware dish. You can find this kind of bakeware in just about any store nowadays. I don’t know the science behind it, but the meat stays juicy in this type of baking dish, while it dries out in the others.

Just put the pork loin in the dish, drizzle with about a spoonful of olive oil, and add about 1/4 cup water or chicken stock to the bottom of the pan to keep meat moist while cooking. The pork loin package will have cooking instructions on the label. This one was 425 degrees for 45 minutes. The cooking time will vary based on the size.

After cooking, the water (or chicken stock) will be cooked away and you will be left with this beautiful, juicy, tender piece of meat. Let it sit for just a few minutes and then slice it up for the sandwiches.

While the meat is in the oven, you can be preparing the sandwich part. First, cut the Hawaiian sweet rolls in half and lay out on a baking sheet.

Next, stack up your cheese (we use pepperjack) and cut into fourths.

They will be the perfect size to fit on top of the buns. (And yes, I put the cheese on the tops AND bottoms – we LOVE cheese!)

After you’ve taken the pork loin out of the oven, turn it to broil and put in the buns. It only takes a minute or so to melt the cheese, so watch it closely or the buns will burn.

Now just place the sliced pork loin on buns and assemble the sandwiches – super easy!

The sweetness of the rolls and the spicy pepperjack cheese go great together. If you happen to have any leftover, they are good cold as well, so you can put them in your kid’s lunchbox for the next day.

Thanks y’all!

   – Nikki

If you live in Louisiana, you have to love crawfish. It’s a state law. At least I think it is. If it’s not, it should be.

Besides eating them right out of the shell on the tailgate of a pickup truck, there are a lot of ways to eat crawfish. You can put them in a baked potato, gumbo, etouffe, casserole, omelet, or this recipe – crawfish-rice dressing. It’s a very simple recipe – all you have to do is mix up all the ingredients and pour into a casserole dish and bake. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 lb frozen crawfish tails (with fat/juice), thawed
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of onion soup (my store was out, so I substituted 1/2 can French onion soup and 1/2 can cream of celery soup and it turned out great)
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 4 tbs butter, melted
• 2 tsp Tony’s seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 dashes hot sauce (or more if you like it spicy)

Just mix all ingredients in a large bowl…

… and pour into a greased 13×9 baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Taste the rice when it’s done – if it’s still a little crunchy, put back in oven for another 10 minutes, or until rice is tender. That’s it! Super easy!

This is perfect as a main dish, but it can also be served as a side dish if you’d like. It tastes like you’ve slaved away in the kitchen for hours, and no one has to know that you were really watching old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy while it baked.

Thanks y’all!

   – Nikki

It’s hard to believe, but my blog will be one year old in August! To celebrate, I’m having another giveaway!

Up for grabs is this awesome tea towel and an Amazon gift card for $25! There are 3 ways to enter:

1. Follow my blog
2. Like any one of my blog posts
3. Comment on any of my blog posts

You must “like” or “comment” on the actual blog site, not Facebook or Pinterest. If you do all 3, you will have 3 entries in the giveaway.

The winner will be picked at random on Saturday, August 30, 2016. Good luck to everyone! And happy “blog-iversary!”

Thanks y’all!

– Nikki

*** Giveaway is now closed – congratulations to the winner Karla King***