Sweet Love and Ginger

Jessica

No Boil Taco Ravioli Casserole (Vegetarian)

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 This is a quick and easy recipe for No Boil Taco Ravioli Casserole that will feed a crowd, with less than 5 minutes of prep time the whole thing comes together easily in 30 minutes. IMAG0068

Sometimes you just need a casserole.

And you guys this was that time.

You know that we have been trying out damndest to eat good, and plan ahead , but sometimes life just happens. We found out on a Monday that we were closing on our house on Friday, and realized that because it had been pushed back so far (sigh) we needed to get started on the floors immediately and work our butts off to get them done in a week.

But people still need to eat.

Leave it to me to constantly be thinking of food first however.

I decided to make a casserole that could get us through the weekend. And it did, in a wonderful fashion. I was able to through it together in one pan, with hardly any prep time and it was delicious, as well as filling and satisfying. I did use all prepackaged ingredients, which kind of goes against my base food philosophy, but desperate times man.

This recipe was a hit! Chuck loved it and said I should make it again sometime. Despite it not having meat! I was totally impressed and probably will make it again, since it was seriously so easy. This recipe is also super filling so we were able to eat it for several lunches and dinners before it was all gone.

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I want to mention that you can totally add cooked ground beef, or turkey to this if you want, just brown the meat with some taco seasoning and add it in with or instead of the beans and corn. I chose not to for this recipe because 1)we are trying to eat less processed meat and 2) that was another step in the process I was not willing to add 3)the recipe without meat is way cheaper. I have made this same recipe with meat before and it was just as well received as this particular time.

Also don’t mind the last minute smart phone photos, and gross 80s counters, this is what the first days of home ownership looks like kids. It’s not as glamorous as you originally thought now is it?

No Boil Taco Ravioli Casserole (Vegetarian)
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 5-6 Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 jar of salsa
  • 1 (20 ounce) package of frozen cheese ravioli
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained & rinced
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained & rinced
  • 1 (15 ounce) can cut corn in water, drained
  • 1 jar of taco sauce
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a 9×13 baking pan spread the jar of salsa, covering the bottom of the pan.
  3. Add about half the package of ravioli in one layer on top of the salsa, do the same with the black beans, pinto beans and corn.
  4. Add another layer of ravioli, and then beans and corn.
  5. Top with an even layer of taco sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.
  6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the ravioli is cooked through and cheese melted.
  7. Serve immediately.

 

Our New House (Photos)

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Ok so I finally got my act together and put together a post with pictures or our lovely new home.

Living Room

First thing you walk into here is the living room. I love the window and the fireplace, those and the closets in this place were enough to pretty much sell me.

Kitchen-Dining
Next up is the kitchen & dining room. Neither are huge, but they are a vast improvement on my current situation, and I have big plans for the spaces, including a nice big door where the dining room window is. There’s too much I want to do in the kitchen to even really talk about here, so we will save that for another day as well.

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Down the hall is the bright bathroom, sans tub. That’s right this one bathroom place has no tub. It’s depressing, but that will be changing hopefully soon, fingers crossed this wedding doesn’t make its way into the tub budget. I’m also not a huge fan of the paint color. It kind of clashes with my hair, so it must go.

Spare Bedrooms

The two smaller bedrooms are just fine. Big closest and I like the paint colors, so those will get set up no problem.

Master

The master on the other hand needs a carpet and some paint. We are putting all this effort into the floors, I’m not letting flying dog bones ruin them. This means we are the quest for a perfectly soft and squishy carpet for our bare feetsies for this room. I’m thinking a nice light grey will brighten up the room, without being too much and it’s super versatile.

And there you have it our little home. There’s also a large basement and a fenced in back yard for the little man that you don’t see here, but I’m sure they will be shared soon enough. We are working hard right now to get these floors done so that we can actually move in sometime this week, so please bear with me over here while I try to keep this blog going in between work, construction and moving.

Any moving or floor advice? We could use it all right now.

 

Weekend Links 7.3.15

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A round up of awesome stuff I found on the internet this week.

It’s July 4th weekend!!! Thank God for 3 day weekends!

I’m finally starting to plan our Italy Honeymoon/trip for 2016 and I can’t stop day dreaming about it and travel in general. This post did not help…the pictures!

Interesting thoughts on Millenials and investing.

However, will we even be able to make money to invest it in the future?

7 Things You Should Have in the Kitchen by Age 30. I can get behind most of these, and in fact own all but 2 already, they are on the list to get now that I have a real kitchen.

The FDA is banning trans fats. This is huge, and a giant step for our nations health, but it makes you think since it takes so much to get the FDA to do anything, just how bad are trans fats?

Avril Lavigne talks Lyme Disease. I’ve seen what this disease can do, and in some cases its not as simple as one treatment to cure it. It is a big deal and we need to start treating it that way.

I really liked this video that I saw on Brooke’s Blog last week. I just love how all the women in it are different ages, shapes, and into different sports. It’s super motivating.

Also This new trailer for a Walking Dead spin off has me all excited

And lastly because this cracked me up and clearly there aren’t enough videos in this post already. The whole Rachel Dolezal thing is hilarious to me.

Recently

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So the big news of this month was closing on our first house, but there was a number of other things that happened this month.

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Got to meet up with my favorite Philly Blogger Chrystina when she passed through town.

…and subsequently got my first sunburn of the season. Lunch on the patio, I should have seen it coming. sigh. If you need tips on dealing with a sunburn naturally check out this post.

My bridal shower & bachellorette party were held and they both turned out great!

Started working on some baby blanket projects for upcoming bundles.

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I went to Laconia Bike Week for the first time this year. It was a blast, despite some logistics issues. I will definitely try to go again next year.

I was also reminded how much I really do enjoy long car rides with Chuck. We get to talk about so much, and with the hectic few months we’ve had, it was really nice.

We also got to work right away on getting the house move in ready. Floor sanding and garden work galore!!! It’s been a task but we are getting through it!

Filed Under: Recently

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

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This is a simple recipe for a chopped chicken salad with Thai style dressing.

As you can probably assume things are a little crazy  around these parts since we just closed on our house last week, so getting together a recipe post for this week has been a bit difficult. I decided instead today to resurrect an old post that I wrote for The Charming Blog (which is now defunct) almost a year ago. This Thai Grilled Chicken Salad has been a big favorite of both me and Chuck, so I think you guys will enjoy it here too. 

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad

Salad is one of those things that people consider rabbit food, you know not real food. This however is one of those life changer type of salads that can turn a real meat and potatoes types into actual salad lovers.

It’s loaded down with veggies and chicken, and a super amazing deliciously sweet salad dressing.

There are a million textures going on and with each of the textures comes a super bright fresh flavor, and it is all brought together with that sweet zingy dressing.

I’m gushing, I know, but seriously, its salad. It’s a delicious wonderful, nourishing salad. It’s also hearty, and satisfying, and filling salad, that can feed the whole family without trouble.

I just grilled the chicken with salt and pepper, but don’t be afraid to use leftover or premade chicken. It will blend into the flavors just fine.

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad-2

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 Servings
Ingredients
  • Dressing
  • 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp raw honey
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • Salad
  • 16 ounces frozen shelled edamame
  • 4 cups mixed greens, chopped
  • 2 cups chopped Napa cabbage
  • 1 cucumber, diced
  • 1 cup shredded carrot
  • ½ red bell pepper, sliced
  • ½ yellow bell pepper, sliced
  • 4 chopped green onions
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro
  • 1 lb cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients and set aside. Cook the edamame according to package instructions and set aside to cool. Meanwhile chop the rest of your vegetables, and toss them together in a large bowl. Top with chicken and serve with the dressing at the side.