Heart Attack Pasta - Tasty Tuesday's With The Sircus

We call it "Heart Attack Pasta" because it's so good it'll give you a heart attack...its also smothered in cheese and bacon, so there's that. Disclaimer: this is NOT healthy. Like at all. But I'm a firm believer in indulging and everything in moderation. Plus, casserole pasta dishes are my jam. 5 kids...we need easy!

1 thing, you can add ranch to this dish. I did not. I don't like ranch...everyone else in my family does. HA! But, I'm cooking so....my choice! I think I'll make this with the ranch one night for the fam and I'll make myself a salad or something and edit this to let you all know how it was. If you were to add the ranch it would be 1/2 a cup and you would add it in when you put in the Alfredo.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box pasta of your choice (cooked)

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (I use the whole chicken except the drumsticks and wings)

1 jar Alfredo sauce of your choice)

6 slices bacon (cooked and then chopped)

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Let's get cookin'!!!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 13x9 pirex style dish

Mix the pasta, chicken, and Alfredo in a large bowl and mix to combine. (this is where you would add the ranch if you want ranch too)

Pour mixture into pan, spreading evenly

Sprinkle bacon on top, then cheese on top of that

Bake covered with tin foil for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly

I think the rotisserie chicken is what makes this so tasty! And doing a rotisserie chicken is such a nice shortcut that I think when I make even chicken broccoli and ziti I might use this hack. It is SO TASTY!

ENJOY!!

Let me know if you try this with your family...it's sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Front Steps Project

Hey guys! Happy Sunday!!

What a weekend it’s been. On Friday night we surprised the kids and had a “social distanced” outdoor movie night with Uncle Zacky, Coley, Auntie and Ian! We haven’t seen anyone since the beginning of March except for a quick hello in the driveway once. My brother borrowed a blow up screen and projector from family friends and the kids were just ecstatic. So were we!! I honestly did not know how badly I needed this outdoor movie night for my mental health. It was just so great to see them all and just be together! I’ve been trying to talk Mike into us getting our own set up like that. We are super into family fun at home. No matter if we’re quarantined or not. We’re always telling the kids time spent with family is time well spent! I see a lot more outdoor movie nights in our future this summer!

When this whole COVID-19, stay home advisory started I began seeing all these pictures of families pop up on my Facebook page. They were all sitting on their front steps. This became known as the Front Steps Project. Mike and I talk a lot about how blessed we are. Throughout this whole time Mike has still been working full time. He’s worked with smaller crews and they all keep their distance and wear the proper PPE. I was very anxious when he first went to work as the whole world was shutting down but I have to be honest, it’s been nice having some normalcy in our lives during this time. Everyday Mike is at work and the kids and I are home. Life is B.U.S.Y. I don’t think I can explain how exhausted I am. M-F I hit the ground running. I’ve got a 6 month old, one who I’m trying to make sure is fully potty trained (she’s doing fabulous but that’s been a process on its own, we’ve got it now though), one I’m trying to get ready for Kindergarten (Lord please have the schools be open in September), a 2nd grader and a 4th grader who I’m essentially being a teacher to. It’s A LOT. However, I still want to remember this crazy time in our lives. So I was thrilled when I saw my cousin Caitlin had used a local photographer and got these pictures done. We had our session scheduled for the week before Easter Sunday and then EVERYTHING got shut down. So we planned to reschedule when things opened up a bit more. Here we are about to start phase one of opening things up this week and last week Ali came and took some great pictures from 10+ feet away. Ali donated her time and her talent...the only thing she asked was that we make a donation to the South Shore Community Council, who right now is filling 600 bags of food a week for families in need in our area. How amazing is that?! Mike and I talked for awhile with the kids about how lucky we are and how some people are really struggling during this time and how this was a great way to give back to our community. The coolest part is the Front Steps Project as a whole has raised over 1 million dollars to help people across the country!! I’m so happy we could be apart of something like this....and get some great pictures in the process! 

Here are a few of the pictures Ali posted on her Facebook page. 

Man I love my quarantine crew!

Thank you Ali for capturing such great memories for our family!

Until next time....I hope you all have the best Sunday!

Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowls - Tasty Tuesday's With The Sircus

As I mentioned yesterday today I am starting a serious called TASTY TUESDAY'S WITH THE SIRCUS. Every Tuesday I will share a new recipe that is family friendly! Please Please Please send me your family favorites! You can DM me on instagram @kristen_sass and facebook @The Sass Sircus. Yesterday I received some great idea's from you guys so keep them coming please! The Sass crew can't wait to try them! 

Today I will be sharing our Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowls. 

A few things... 

You could always substitute the ground turkey for ground beef and you could also substitute the white rice for brown rice or egg noodles. Whatever your heart desires! I find this recipe to be a great way to "trick" kids into eating vegetables. The carrots and broccoli are cut up so teeny tiny that you can't even tell. They honestly look almost like garnish. 

This recipe was enough to feed Mike, myself and the 4 older kids with some left overs.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 cup diced onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup finely chopped broccoli (I cut the florets off and chopped those up)

2 large carrots peeled and grated

1 bottle of teriyaki sauce of your choice

2 cups white rice

Let's get cookin'!!

DIRECTIONS:

Coat a large skillet with vegetable oil add onions and cook on medium/high heat until onions are soft

Add ground turkey and garlic

When turkey is about half done add the carrots and broccoli

Cook all together until turkey is fully cooked (no more pink)

Pour over desired amount of teriyaki sauce (I used about 1/2 of bottle..you'll know what looks right)

Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally

While you are doing the above make sure to cook your rice separately

To serve, everyone gets a bowl of white rice and simply spoon over the teriyaki turkey

We all like to mix everything up in our bowls as you see in the picture below

ENJOY!!

Let me know if you try this with your family and what they think!

And again, please send me any recipe's you'd for like us to try!

Have the best Tuesday!

Introducing...Tasty Tuesday's with the Sircus!

You may not know it, but all within 2.5 years I moved out on my own, became a mother and got married. I propelled myself into adulthood at the young age of 22. Up until then I lived at home (between my mom and dads) and every night my mom or my step-mom cooked dinner. Of course, I would help but I deemed myself as the girl who "couldn't cook". When Kamryn and Logan were toddlers and Kensington was a baby Mike worked crazy hours. He was never home for dinner and I would just cook up whatever was easiest. Again, claiming I could barely boil water. It wasn't until Tenley was born that Mike was actually home for dinner and I started to try out all sorts of recipes. Quickly I realized cooking wasn't all that hard and actually enjoyable. All too often I hear women proclaiming "I can't cook" and I'm here to assure you, YOU CAN. We as humans tend to over complicate things, it's natural. But it doesn't have to be so complicated. It's all about following directions on recipes at first and then as you get more comfortable you will get more adventurous. Timing is key. I'm always setting timers and looking at the clock to make sure everything finishes up at the same time so it's all hot! Nothing is worse than a hot main dish and cold sides. Some days the best I can do is frozen veggies thrown in the microwave..and that's okay. My Grammy taught me that. You do what you can. Everything doesn't have to be over the top to be tasty. As a busy mom of 5, my Grammy had 6, I know my limits. 

Lucky for me, my kids try everything and eat all fruits and most veggies, but don't worry I have tips to get your kids to do this. Even if we trick them! hehe

I'm going to start "Tasty Tuesday's With The Sircus" where every Tuesday I will share a new recipe we tried and loved. Some will be my own, some will be from friends and family and some will be from cookbooks I have and/or from pinterest. But I will try them all before I share them! I want to make sure they aren't overly complicated. Because of this to start out I may not have a new one every single Tuesday but I am definitely going to try. In doing this I am sure that before you know it you are going to be cooking up some great dinners that you're proud of and that the whole family enjoys! 

When making these recipes I am going to try to story them on instagram so make sure to follow me @kristen_sass.


If you have a recipe you'd love for me to try and share you can DM me on instagram or facebook.



Tomorrow I am going to share Teriyaki Turkey Rice Bowls!
They were a huge hit with all the kids. (They even have broccoli and carrots in them) So be sure to come back and see those!


Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
See you tomorrow!

Mother’s Day 2020

Better late than never, right?

I know for a lot of you Mothers Day looked very different this year than what you usually do, but our Mothers Day’s are typically spent at home. When Kamryn was a baby I told Mike that all I wanted for Mothers Day was to not spend the day in a car driving from house to house. I wanted to relax and let’s be honest, my idea of relaxing isn’t bringing 5 kids out to a crowded restaurant! LOL So we’ve always stayed home. 

Every Mothers Day my day starts with Mike and the kids making me breakfast. This is a fun tradition we started years ago. It’s such a simple thing but I really really enjoy it year after year. 

I have to say I really missed the homemade gifts the kids usually make me at school. I’ve been getting those for quite some time now and it was a bummer to not read those little questioneers. Aren’t they always just the funniest/cutest things? Those and the coupons for massages and car washes (which I never turn in by the way), flower pots, picture frames, etc etc. It was so weird not to wake up to those this year.

This year looks different all around. It’s truly a time to reflect. I’ve been reflecting A LOT. Probably too much. What’s important? What isn’t? Do we really need to be going going going all the time? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss “normal life” and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t long for things to “go back to normal”.  But I’m trying really hard to just go with the flow here. If I concentrate too much on things I can’t control I’ll be miserable. And that added stress isn’t good for my family and it certainly isn’t good for me. I take things day by day, what else can I do?

As for the rest of my Mothers Day, we worked on some house projects. I enjoyed a day of no schoolwork (lord knows that’s worth celebrating) and we ordered take out for dinner! Most of all I enjoyed my 5 blessings who call me Mama!

I hope you all had an amazing Mothers Day!

xoxo 

Kristen