Thee BEST Gourmet Salted Peanuts! 

Tonight I cooked Roasted Chicken Breasts with Turkey Stuffing and Gravy with cranberry sauce! 

Can you say mini-Thanksgiving dinner mouthwatering explosion of flavors! Especially in the middle of February. I want to thank my Grandma Narva for the fixins’! Tonight’s dinner was devine!

Tonight I tried a new meatloaf recipe. One word. BACON! 

I should have known that anything with bacon on it is good. If not better…

Here’s the recipe: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/classic_meatloaf.aspx  …it was quite simple and added a different flare to the typical meatloaf I cook. Bacon and the sweet tomato sauce gave way to a delicious palette pleasing experience! 

I’m always excited to try new things…and it’s that exact moment after you say the Grace and take the very first bite when you realize…”Oohh la la this is good!” How have I gone 25 years without eating meatloaf with bacon?! 

So the next time you have some beef and bacon laying around, give this recipe a shot instead of grilling bacon cheeseburgers or whatnot…live a little!

{Part 1 of 2}
*See my next post for the meal pics :)*

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Decided to break in the crockpot I got for Christmas with homemade chili :) Rainy days are perfect for crockpot meals!!

My chili recipe is so simple: just add two cans of kidney beans, browned beef, diced tomatoes, diced onions, can of tomato sauce, chili seasoning mix, tbsp minced garlic, hot sauce, onion powder and basil! Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours and Viola!! :)

I also decided to make my own saltine crackers! Thank heavens for the good ole world wide web…you can search for anything these days and find something special. This recipe truly did make me feel like a real Oregon trail woman! It was so simple and can be revised with extraordinary ingredients! For my trial, I stuck with plain iodized salt..in the future I will try sea salt or kosher salt for the coarseness! Overall they were a huge success :) I highly recommend trying them, you don’t have to be a professional cook to make them, just follow the directions! Easy!

Here’s the recipe I used: http://stresscake.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/something-easy-and-unlikely-homemade-saltines/

Meaty Chili and homemade Saltines…now this is one hearty meal :) xo

Homemade 12-layer Chocolate Cake for Christmas! It killed me to cut it….

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, I sure did!! I can’t begin to count my blessings…

This year has been beyond amazing! I am so thankful to have the most loving and supporting family and friends everrr…they truly are my foundation.

I want to thank everyone of my followers as you have continuously given me joy and inspiration! The Full Belly Diaries has come a long way…it all started with taking one picture of my dinner and has blossomed into a mouthwatering food blog!

Every day I give thanks for the blessings I receive…this Christmas was no different! We truly have soOo much to be thankful for. Family, fun and good food is just a start…

http://thefullbellydiaries.wordpress.com

Chicken stir-fry with sweet Thai peanut sauce!

Preparing the chicken stir fry :)

Homemade Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake and a Cookies & Cream milkshake!! So delish ;)