Fajita style Quesadillas

     If you're anything like me dinner rolls around and you have no clue what you're going to eat. All you do know is, "I'm hungry!" Well, I can't give you a long term solution, but I can tell you about what I ate tonight and how I put it together in 10 mins with only 5 ingredients.

See doesn't that look amazing! I can assure you it is sooo good!

Here is what you need:

Coconut Oil (or olive oil or butter)

1 green pepper 

1 red onion 

2 soft tortillas

3/4 cup cheddar cheese (or more if you need it :))

1. Cut up you onion and pepper.

2. In a small pan sauté the onion and pepper in coconut oil on medium high (add any spices to taste, I added salt, pepper, and Emery's seasoning). Cook until desired texture, I like mine slightly crunchy.

3. Place sautéed onion and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Place one tortilla in the bottom of your pan and cover with half the cheese. Top with the onion and pepper you set aside, then top with the remaining cheese and cover with the second tortilla.

5. Once the cheese starts to melt flip the quesadilla over to cook the other side (I do this by putting a plate over the pan, flipping the quesadilla onto the plate and then sliding it back into the pan).

6. Once toasty, transfer to a plate, cut and enjoy with sour cream (although not necessary it does do the quesadilla some good)!

Super easy and super tasty! You can do so many things with a quesadilla. Let me know if you like it!

More sugar please!

     I've been in a serious baking mood lately. I attribute it to the fact that on Tuesday morning I had my gestational diabetes test and after fasting from sugar for the weekend and watching my carb intake, I was so ready for the good stuff! So on Tuesday I had ice cream for lunch and then made sugar cookies for dinner. On Wednesday I made old fashioned pancakes for breakfast. On Friday I made these delicious cake pancakes and had several chocolate chip cookies for dinner. Then yesterday evening I made this scrumptious Streusel Coffee Cake for this morning. If you aren't grossed out from all that sugary goodness, then you must be pregnant too, welcome to the party!! :) In all seriousness, I should probably reign it in this next week. . . probably. But before I do I will be finishing the rest of this crumbly yumminess!
     The recipe is quite simple and will not take much time which always scores in my book! Please try this recipe and tell me if you liked it just as much as me and if your crust sinks to the bottom let me know that too. Mine definitely did and I'm not sure why. I tried to read the reviews but came away thinking two things, 1) "phew, there seems to be a group of us who had the same issue (strength in numbers people)" and 2) "wow, I must be an idiot! I must have made some sort of mistake because so many of these people are saying (with gumption I might add) they did EXACTLY what the recipe said and everything turned out perfect!" Well if your crust sinks or it doesn't, know that it's not a big deal because regardless, this cake is still super good! I mean who doesn't love sweet, moist coffee cake with a brown sugar cinnamon crumble on top, it's a classic!

Fourth of July with the Cato's!

     I have such contrasting memories of July 4th that at times it can be baffling. Some memories include the anticipation of getting together with a large group of friends and playing games and eating watermelon while waiting to watch the fireworks display out at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. While other memories seem less climatic and include grilling out with just the family and sometimes missing the fireworks altogether. I loved hanging out with my family, but there is something special to gathering with a big group of friends to celebrate and make memories and I hope that Gray and I can make it a tradition when this little one arrives!
     Unfortunately, this year will be one of those less climatic years. Grayson just started a new job at Applebee's, a job we are very thankful for, but as the new low man on the totem pole, he doesn't have much say over his hours. So today he works from 11am to close. But in my disappointment at not being able to "rightly" celebrate the holiday, I can find comfort in the fact that this is just a phase of life and that this is just one 4th in the midst of many. But before I depress you all with too much disappointment, let me say that the two of us did get to pay proper tribute this morning before he left! I'm hoping that these scrumptious strawberry banana pancakes become a part of our tradition because they were so so yummy and festive!
     I had a box of strawberry cake mix just hiding out in my pantry and I figured someone had to have made a pancake recipe using cake mix so I went searching and found this POST on the blog Tastes of Lizzy T. After a quick trip to the store for some eggs (one of my go to meals during this pregnancy has been eggs over hard so eggs don't keep very long in our fridge) and heavy whipping cream, I went to work! I started with THIS whipped cream recipe first and then set it in the fridge to keep cool. After mixing the ingredients for the pancakes I started the long process of cooking them, oh the woes of not owning a griddle! :) I used coconut oil to keep the pancakes from not sticking and it worked great! After creating a decent stack I started the layering process. Pancake then whipped cream then banana slices and repeat as many times as you like. Once I got to the top I used a star cookie cutter to create a little topper. These pancakes were so good! Good enough that you can definitely eat them without syrup if you choose, but being sweet lovers Gray and I decided a side of syrup never hurt anyone and it was just the right addition!
Go ahead try these out, you won't be disappointed!

Friday's with Francesca- Spunky Spaghetti

So this year is the first time I have lived in my own place, a cute little apartment that does the trick for my last year of school (can I get an amen?) :) And one of the things I love the most about living off campus is being able to choose my own food! I love reading books and searching for creative ways to eat the foods I love without all the calories. On a recent trip to the library I found a recipe book called Hungry Girl to the Max!- The Ultimate Guilt Free Cookbook and let me tell you it is pretty much my new favorite thing.

The author of the book takes all of the food you love and makes them into low-calorie treats. And we all know those low-calorie recipes where the serving sizes are literally fit for a baby but these are filling and delicious! I have tried 4 recipes at this point and have plans to try many, many more (or as many as I can before I can't renew the book anymore hehe)

So without further ado here is the recipe, along with the things I learned along the way!

Pepperoni Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash (about 4 1/2 pounds)
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
One 14.5-ounce can creamy tomato soup with 4 grams fat or less per serving
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
30 slices turkey pepperoni, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Optional: salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Second, microwave the spaghetti squash until it is soft enough to cut through-This the first time I have ever cooked or eaten spaghetti squash and found it pretty easy to cut through the middle after about 4 minutes on high. After cutting them in half, scoop out and discard all the seeds. Fill large baking pan with 1/2 inch of water and place squash halves in the pan with cut side down. Bake until tender, about 40 minutes!-I watched them and mine ended up being soft enough around 30 minutes so just keep an eye on them when you're nearing the end.

Use a fork and scrape out the squash in strands. Place them in a strainer to drain the excess water and set aside in a large bowl with a lid to keep them warm.

Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic, and cook and stir until softened, about 8 minutes- make sure they are softened because I found out the hard way what its like when they're not ;) Then, stir in the soup, sour cream, pepperoni, and basil. Cook and stir until well mixed, about 2 minutes. 

Add the mixture to the squash and there you go- A delicious, filling meal for half the calories! 1 3/4 cups is only 212 calories, yes- 212 calories!! Eat and enjoy! 

What recipe books have you all found to be healthy but delicious? I would love suggestions-I'm always up for trying new things and finding different takes on foods!