Everyday Cori By Corine Ingrassia

Look, Feel and Live Your Most Well-Lived Life

Quick Bites

Forgot to take something out for dinner? These meal ideas will save the day.

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(Sponsored by Cadence Kitchen)

It’s late afternoon and you’re looking forward to wrapping up your day… and then it hits you–– you forgot to take something out of the freezer to cook for dinner! We’ve all been there.

Personally, I’ve been there more times that I’d like to admit– so much so that I’ve become a bit of a pro when it comes to coming up with quick last minute dinners (without resorting to dialing up the local pizza place).

Below are 5 easy ways you can whip up dinner in under 30 minutes (with many ingredients you likely already have in your refrigerator).

Meal Inspo For When You’ve Forgotten To Plan Dinner… (again… whoops!)

Breakfast For Dinner

For some reason this one feels like it switches the story from being the “forgetful mom” to the “fun mom”. There are many ways you can do this too– bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, omelettes, potatoes and eggs, egg fritta, waffles, pancakes, french toast (maybe a little of all of the above– ha! )The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to breakfast for dinner night.

Upgrade Your Frozen Meals

All frozen meals are not created equal, my friends. Cadence Kitchen is stepping up the frozen food industry by using clean, quality ingredients and a flash freezing technique, so when you heat up their meals, they are full of fresh flavor.

They have a variety of meals to choose from, like – chicken jambalaya , vegan latin bowl and chicken tortilla soup!

And while the meals are delicious on their own, I especially love using them as my sous chef when I’m looking to whip up a hearty meal for the whole family.

Sous chef? What do you mean?

Using whatever ingredients I have in the house, I will sometimes add in additional veggies like fresh spinach and peppers, rice or quinoa to stretch the meal (anyone with teenage boys in their homes know how key this is for dinner time!) .

Here I cooked up some whole wheat pasta and topped it with 2 bags of Cadence Kitchen’s Shrimp Scampi (each bag is 3 servings). In total this whole meal took less than 10 minutes to whip up and felt like a restaurant quality meal!

Also, if you area seafood lover, I highly recommend pairing their lobster tortellini with your favorite red wine for an at home date night.

BLT’S

This was always a favorite of mine when I was a kid. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo= all the yum!

Pasta Night!

Speaking of pasta, pasta is always a good fall back option on nights you’ve forgotten to defrost something, From red sauce to butter sauce, whole wheat ziti to zucchini noodles, pasta is always a quick and easy option.

English Muffin Pizzas

English muffins, jarred sauce and shredded mozzarella are things I feel like should always be kept on hand– especially for english muffin pizzas! I love that these are quick to make and you can easily make them to order– so nothing goes to waste!

Perhaps the best part about all of these options, is that you can easily feed a family of 5 any of these meals for under $20– Quick, easy and frugal! – Win. Win. Win!!!

My Favorite Holiday Punch With Cranberries!

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Resharing the recipe for my favorite holiday punch with cranberries a little earlier this year because let’s be honest, breaking out delicious holiday punch a little early is never a bad idea and this one is perfect for Thanksgiving straight through Christmas!

Be sure to check out the Facebook video to see the recipe come to life in under 60 seconds.

*clink, clink*

To making the most of our socially distant celebrations!

Cheers!

xo Cori

(originally posted Dec.20,2016)

We are all friends here, yes? YES!

So I must confess to you all that I write this blog post amongst a house that looks like it may or may not have been looted.

Clean laundry baskets waiting to be folded (who has time to fold?), ribbons and gift bags–in total random places for gifts I started to wrap and a full counter of baking supply for cookies the 2,425 cookies I attempted to bake twice this past weekend.

Every year without fail, my holiday prep/shopping game starts off STRONG– and then something happens around Dec. 19th-ish….Panic sets in and the hours vanish like a thief in the night, as I make my “last minute to-do/shopping list” …. Do I have an even amount of gifts for each of the kids???…..Wait, that’s all I got my MOM!?!?…. Have to prep those appetizers too!”  

In short, my friends… it’s time for a drink!

And you’re in luck because I have THE PERFECT one! Call it a holiday punch with cranberries, or a holiday spiced up Sangria… I call it, delicious!

If you are searching for new holiday drink this year, I highly recommend this one.

It has all the things a great holiday drink should have–a little sweetness, a little cinnamon spice and a great blend of fruits– I mean it’s basically grown-up  fruit salad in a glass 😉

Want to see this recipe come to life in under 60 seconds? Check out the Facebook video !

Holiday Spiced Sangria

Holiday Spiced Sangria Punch

Ingredients:

  • 1 750 ml bottle of red wine
  • 2 Cups of Apple Cider
  • 2 apples, chopped
  • 1 orange, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup of cranberries
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1/2 Cup of brandy
  • Club Soda
  • Maple Syrup (optional, to make the sangria a littles sweeter)
Holiday Spiced Sangria Punch

Instructions:

  • Place the chopped apple, orange slices, cranberries, cinnamon stick in pitcher, bowl with ladle (how cute is this one?) or jar.
  • Add the wine, apple cider, brandy, maple syrup (if using) to the pitcher.
  • Chill in the refrigerator for several hours (up to 24 hours).
  • Serve mixed with a little bit of seltzer or club soda.

The Perfect, Crave-worthy, Sweet & Salty Snack For The Holidays (+ Enter to win $1,000!!)

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This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of
popchips

This weekend we put up our Christmas tree and the kids made their wish lists– and I am just staring blankly into space in total disbelief that the holiday season is really here!

I feel like it goes without saying that the holiday season can be… well, kind of crazy!

We’re shopping, and wrapping, baking and card-sending. The calendar is jam-packed, and in some cases double booked… (Sorry! No free weekends til 2019, my friends).

Having healthy snacks on hand to grab and go are key during this hustle and bustle because in addition to working up an appetite ourselves, when you’re traveling with kids in tow, you are also on round-the-clock snack duty.

No joke. My 5 year old asks for a snack every 5 minutes. 

{{ …Enter popchips nutter puffs }}

Have you tried these little bites of deliciousness??

My favorite is the chocolate peanut butter– they are salty-sweet perfection.

If you and/or your kids are peanut butter fans I highly recommend grabbing a bag of these kid friendly snacks next time you’re at the store!

These snacks are certified GMO and gluten-free, made with real peanut butter, have 5 grams of protein in every serving, aaannnddd (…drum roll please….) each serving is only 130 calories!– making them not only a great daily snack option but perfect for serving at your next soirée! (Move over holiday chips and dip–– there’s a new party snack in town)

This holiday season popchips partnered with The Art Of The Elysium to create fun and festive packaging and spread some holiday cheer.

Spread the Cheer Sweepstakes

Could you use some extra cash to finish your holiday shopping?

Umm… of course you could!!!

In the spirit of the holiday season, popchips nutter puffs will be giving away $1k to 5 winners to use towards their holiday shopping– and donate $1k to The Art of Elysium on behalf of each winner.

Entry is super, super easy– just hop over to the Sweepstakes entry page!

To learn more about this must have snack and their amazing holiday giveaway, follow @nutterpuffs on Instagram.

Feed Your Addiction: Super Easy Coconut Banana French Toast

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We are all still in the midst of our turkey-hangover, I know. I’m sitting here pondering how I will work off the Thanksgiving pounds before the holiday celebrations begin…um, next week (totally do-able. Plenty of time! ha!)

But no matter how stuffed we are, there’s always room for a lil rise and shine french toast, yeah? ….For the kids 😉

When it comes to all-day-breakfast foods, pancakes often reigns king, but, this house? French Toast is where it’s at– breakfast, dinner and ALWAYS brunch.

So with National French Toast day coming up (Nov.28), I thought I would share a yummy coconut banana french toast recipe hat landed in my inbox recently because–

1. It’s a quick and easy breakfast– just the way cooking should be because… time. Am I right?

and

2. It includes all of my personal faves– french toast, bananas and coconut

And well, let’s be honest, we are so over our turkey leftovers.

So go on with your bad self and feed that french toast addiction, my friends!

Enjoy!

easy-banana-french-toast-10

Easy-Peasy Coconut Banana French Toast

Servings: 6

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 12+ slices bread
  • 2 T Carrington Farms Coconut Oil

Directions:

  • Heat griddle and brush with coconut oil.
  • Blend all ingredients except bread in a blender until smooth.
  • Pour into a shallow dish.
  • Submerge each bread slice in mixture and place on griddle.
  • Cook till golden brown, then flip over to cook other side.
  • Serve with maple syrup & optional shredded coconut.

Easy Holiday Appetizer Idea: Sweet And Savory Cranberry Bruschetta

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Cranberry Bruschetta

Every year it seems the holidays creep up out of nowhere– it’s almost cliché, I know– but this year feels like an outright sneak attack– just me?

As we all finalize our turkey day menu, one of the things that is surely on everyone’s list is appetizers – because is there anything more crowd pleasing than munchie hors d’oeuvre goodness? I think not.

Apps are hands down my favorite course of every holiday get together.

Seriously.

I would trade in my heaping plate of sliced turkey and stuffing to sit down to a dinner table filled with dips and a variety of bite size noshables –(totally ™-ing that, btw!)

But the struggle to switch it up and find new, easy, make-and-take appetizers that will be a crowd pleaser– is REAL!

So because I know the nightmare of the last minute panic that ends in fighting crowds at the grocery store– just to grab the ingredients to your go-to spinach dip… again… I wanted to share this recipe for a great holiday twist on a classic fave.

If you and your peeps love yummy sweet and savory bites, they will gobble this right up (pun totally intended).

I think we can all agree the perfect app should be 4 things: Easy to make, easy to transport, mess free and delish.

This Cranberry Bruschetta is all of those things!

cranberry bruschetta for holidayIngredients:

  • 1 loaf of baguette, cut into ½ inch slices
  • 8oz cream cheese, softened
  • ¾ cup of orange juice, pulp free
  • ¼ cup of water
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 12oz package of fresh cranberries, rinsed and stems removed
  • Pint of fresh raspberries
  • Fresh basil, torn to garnish

  ( Makes approx. 24-30 crostini bites ) dsc_0655

Instructions:

  1. In a large pan, bring water, orange juice and sugar to a boil. Add in cranberries and cinnamon, continue to boil for 5-7 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Once cranberries have all opened, remove from heat and chill covered for three hours. (Sauce will thicken.
  2. On each slice of baguette, spread ½ to 1 teaspoon of cream cheese. Layer with ½ teaspoon of cranberry. Top with a raspberry and basil.cranberry bruschetta for holiday appetizer

Pin it and try it out later!cranberry-bruschetta-crostini

Quick + Easy Sausage Wonton Bites On The Go

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If you, like me, moonlight as your kid’s chauffeur– you are probably all too familiar with what, I lovingly and often refer to as the “After-school/camp Hustle”.

Filled with pick ups and drop offs (sports, friends, shopping, oh my!)… the after-school hustle –always full of surprises– devours hours of your day.

And every day mid-hustle we are faced with the question, “What’s for dinner?”

Gahh!! 

I cannot tell you how many times I don’t even think about dinner until one of the kids reminds me that it is indeed time to feed them… again.

But with dwindling hours, we need quick, we need easy– we need more options– beyond dialing in pizza.

And when we find these quick, easy, and delicious options? We need to go forth and share!

Because, it takes a village my friend, it takes a sometimes virtual, …online… village.

So today, I am teaming up with Hillshire Farm to share one of our favorite quick and easy sausage meals.

First, let me share my biggest “life-on-the-go” meal prep secrets.

(come closer)

Ok. Are you ready?

The key is to find ways to make your favorite meals, bite size.

For me, this means breaking out the muffin pan and wonton wrappers–and let me tell you– you’ll be AMAZED at how many of your favorites you can make this way.

 Wonton wrappers hold all the things, my friends.

All the things.

One of our favorite wrapped-up dinners on the go, is sausage and pepper bites.

– Oh! The yum that is jam packed into these little bites of heaven– that only take under 30 minutes to make –*AND* can be made ahead and stored for the week!

This weekend we are taking a 3+ hour road trip for a weekend away at an NBA camp for my son.

The plan is to leave straight from camp, and we are all sure to be starving– so I headed to my local Stop and Shop for all of the staples I need to whip up these sausage and pepper bites for the road…. But then found Hillshire Farm Polska Kielbasa & decided to try a new twist!  
Here is a quick video snap shot of how easy it was to prep this before our trip today!

One of the things I love about the Hillshire Farm smoked sausage is that is pre-seasoned– which means one less step! Holla!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Package sauerkraut
  • Spicy mustard
  • 1 Hillshire Farm Polska Kielbsa
  • Wonton wraps
  • Salt and Pepper

In addition to my usual wonton cups, I made these like traditional wontons as well. The cups were definitely easier make, but the wontons were neater to eat… both equally delicious.

 Some other Hillshire Farm sausage flavors you can choose from are:

  • Smoked Sausage
  • Polska Kielbasa
  • Chicken Hardwood Smoked Sausage
  • Lite Polska Kielbasa
  • Beef Polska Kielbasa
  • Beef Smoked Sausage

Visit the Sausage So Simple website for more quick and delicious meal inspiration.

Whether you are trying out this recipe, one from the Sausage So Simple site, or creating one of your own– let me know– share them with me by tagging me @ComplicatedMama and using the hashtag #SausageSoSimple.

Bon Appetit!

Disclosure: Hillshire Farm is a paid sponsor of Complicated Mama. As always, this site only partners with brands we already love. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

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