Parmesan Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti Squash
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Salt and Pepper 
• Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut squash in half lengthwise.  Make sure you have a very sharp knife and be careful because they are very hard.

 Scoop out seeds.  Drizzle with olive oil and generously salt and pepper.  Some olive oil will pool in the middle just swirl it around to cover the inside.  Add a couple dashes of garlic powder.

Bake skin side down for 40 minutes.  

 Let the squash cool for about 10 minutes.  Then scrape the squash with a fork.  It will look like spaghetti.  Top with parmesan cheese.

This recipe was featured on the Marvelous May Menu, be sure to check out the rest of the May Menu.

Deep Dish Portabello {Pizza}

Pizza is a favorite at our house.  I try to only order pizza delivery when I am really in a pinch.  Traditional deep dish pizza is loaded with fat and calories.  By using a mushroom as the crust you eliminate a lot of the calories but still get your pizza fix.  To keep this even healthier I suggest only filling it with veggies, but you could also add in turkey pepperoni or sausage.  I like to cook mine on the grill but this can easily be cooked in the oven.  My favorite part of the pizza is the toppings so eating this makes me very happy!

Ingredients:

• Large Portabello Mushrooms
• Pizza Sauce (I use my homemade marinara sauce)
• Tomatoes
• Sauteed Onions
• Fresh Spinach
• Mozzarella
• Peppers
• Any of you favorite pizza toppings

Make sure all veggies are clean.  To fit more toppings in your mushroom you can remove the stem or just leave it there.  Put a layer of sauce on mushroom and then pile on the toppings saving the cheese for last or next to last.  Grill for 10-15 minutes

Overnight- Baked French Toast

Mornings are always chaotic around here so breakfast often consists of cereal, fruit, or some other quick option.  When I know that everyone is going to be home I like to make a tasty breakfast for my family.  The hardest thing that this French Toast requires is that you have to prepare it ahead of time.  This is the perfect dish for Easter, Christmas, or Mother's Day morning because all you have to do it throw it in the oven.  Add the Oven Baked Bacon and you are all set!
Ingredients:

• 1 Stick of Butter
• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/2 Cups Milk
• 1 Loaf of Bread (I cut off the top crust but leave on the other three sides)
• 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla
• Powdered Sugar to sprinkle on top

This recipe will serve about 6 

Night Before

Melt butter in the microwave then stir in 1 cup of brown sugar.  Pour mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and spread evenly.  Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla in a bowl and set aside.  Mix together 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and set aside.  Layer bread on top of the butter/brown sugar mixture.  Ladle half of egg mixture evenly over bread.  

Sprinkle half of brown sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg mixture over the bread slices.  Add another layer of bread.  Cover with remaining egg mixture and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Cover and place in refrigerator over night.  

Baking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake covered for 30 minutes then uncover and bake additional 15 minutes.  Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top (I sometimes skip this step because I think it is fine without it, it just looks prettier with it).  The gooey stuff on the bottom is AWESOME and no syrup is needed!

I am sorry that I don't have a finished picture to post, I was too busy taking pictures of the Easter Egg hunt that was going on at the same time.  But don't worry I am sure that we will make it again soon!

Baked Bacon WHAT!?! No way!

So I know that you have all seen something on Pinterest and thought WHAT!?!  Well one of those things for me was baking bacon in the oven.  I thought that it would make a huge mess and would taste different.  I was wrong.  We had some family in town for the weekend and she told me that her mom has always made bacon in the oven.  So I decided to give it a try and it was a success!  I was so happy that I didn't have to clean the grease from my stove or microwave.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet (with sides) and lay bacon on top of the rack.  Bake in oven 22-28 minutes.  Time varies because of thickness of bacon and desired crispiness.  I know that bacon is never healthy, but the bacon seemed to be less greasy as well.

I served this with Oven Baked French Toast and it was the perfect addition to our Easter morning.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Whenever we have asparagus for dinner I always think about the fact that when I first met Scott he didn't eat anything green other than green beans.  Now I can get him to try almost anything and he LOVES asparagus!

Ingredients:

• Asparagus
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Preheat oven to 400.  Place asparagus on baking sheet, lightly brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu, Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus.

Crispy Crunchy Oven Baked Tacos

Tacos are a Lewis family favorite so I am always looking for a way to change them up a bit.  We generally have soft tacos so the crunchy taco variation is always my favorite!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
• 1/2  cup diced onion
• 1 small can of diced green chilies 
• 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning
• 4 oz of tomato sauce
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Refried Beans- its hard for me to gauge this one because we are not huge refried bean fans.  I would say that I used about 1/3 of a 16-ounce can
• 8-10 Crunchy Taco shells- I like the Old El Paso "stand and stuff" because they stand up on their own.

Taco Stuffers:

• More Cheddar Cheese
• Diced Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Sour Cream
• Black Olives
• Salsa

In skillet brown ground beef and onion and drain.  Next, add in green chilies, tomato sauce, refried beans, and taco seasoning.  Mix well and heat through.

Preheat oven to 400.  Fill taco shells with meat mixture, top with cheddar cheese, and place in oven safe baking dish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  

Top with your favorite taco stuffers and ENJOY!  My personal favorite combination is lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and black olives!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This is something that can be thrown together very quickly with ingredients that you probably have on hand. The blend of the sweet and spicy gives perfect flavor. This recipe is extremely easy to adjust based on the number of people that you need to serve. I can make a small amount for just our immediate family or for a large group. Either way, everyone LOVES it!

Ingredients:

• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Breasts
• Bacon
• Brown Sugar

First, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Then sprinkle each side with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

After that, spiral wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and roll in brown sugar. Place chicken in baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with your fave side dish. I am sure that there won't be ANY left over!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Follow the Magical Moms on Facebook and Pinterest for weekly menu ideas, crafts, and Disney Magic.

Connie's Caramel Corn

My Mother-in-law is a HUGE popcorn fan. My kids got her an air popcorn popper for Christmas so together they decided to make some caramel corn.

We normally just make popcorn in the microwave, so this was a huge treat for them!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 cups of brown sugar (firmly packed)
• 1/2 cup Karo Syrup
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups unpopped popcorn

First, pop (in air-popper) 1.5 cups of popcorn. After popped, pour popcorn into shallow baking dishes.

Melt 1 cup of butter on medium heat in sauce pan. Stir in 2 cups of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of Karo Syrup and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.

Once it comes to a rolling boil, let boil for five minutes WITHOUT stirring. Then remove caramel from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of Vanilla. Mix well. Gradually pour caramel over popcorn and gently mix.

Bake at 250 for one hour stirring every 15 minutes. Let popcorn cool completely before breaking it apart. Store popcorn in air tight container. This recipe made 3 gallon size bags full.

This recipe was featured on the Magical Moms' July Menu.  Be sure to check out all of our monthly menus


Lots of AMAZING recipes on the Magical Moms' June Menu, Marvelous May Menu, Appetizing April Menu, and March Madness Menu.

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

This is hands down the best way I've learned to make roasted potatoes. As with most of my recipes, you can change around the ingredients, but the prep stage is what makes these potatoes.

Ingredients:

• - 3 large potatoes (you can easily double this recipe to feed more)
• - 4 Tbsp. Crisco shortening
• - Parmesan Cheese
• - Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place your baking sheet in the oven to heat it up.
2. Cut potatoes into half then quarter the halves.
3. Place potatoes in pan with cold water and salt. Bring water to boil and immediately drain the potatoes. The trick is not to cook the potatoes just get them warm.
4. Return potatoes to the pan and cook over medium heat just to get them dry.
5. Add crisco and heat and stir until the potatoes are evenly covered in the oil.
6. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet and top with Parmesan and salt to desired amount.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, turning potatoes halfway.