Happy Halloween

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I'm still a lover of Halloween even though I'm long past an acceptable age for trick or treating! Now that I'm a Mamma, I have an all new love of Halloween! I can't wait to get my little cutie into her costume when Daddy gets home later. We are taking her to a car show in town to go "trunk or treating". We are making some serious memories, can't wait to take pics. It should be a good time. 

Speaking of making memories...how much do you love our classy pumpkin? He needed a sophisticated name so we call him Claude. Bow ties are the coolest, I've got to agree with the Hubs!

What's everyone's plans for today? 

I hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween!

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Lemon Shrimp Stir Fry

This simple dish is just SO GOOD! I'm loving the fact that it is dairy free too. Sugar snap peas are my latest obsession. I've also been cooking a lot lately with artichoke hearts. Isn't it weird how sometimes it seems like you go through phases? I made this for the first time over the summer, and meant to share it with you all back then...oopsie! Better late than never. I hope you love it!

Ingredients:

2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil 

12 oz of medium shrimp- peeled and deveined (I used frozen)
1 shallot- thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic - minced
1 red pepper- thinly sliced
Sugar Snap peas - 8 oz bag - steamed
Can of quarter artichoke hearts - drain and rinse
1/4 cup wine
1/4 cup of chicken broth
Juice of one lemon

1 tbsp lemon zest
Brown rice

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a pan over medium- high heat and cook peppers and shallots for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften. Lower heat to medium, add garlic and cook until fragrant (about a minute). Add steamed sugar snap peas, aritchoke hearts, and lemon zest.
2. Remove veggies from the pan, and set aside. 

3. Heat wine, chicken broth and lemon juice (still medium-high) - add shrimp. Cook for about 7-8 minutes until shrimp are fully cooked and the sauce reduces a bit.
4. Add veggies back into the pan, stir so everything is coated evenly with the sauce.
5. Serve over brown rice.

It's a beautiful thing!

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Chloe's Birthday $125 CASH Giveaway!

Happy 21st Birthday to Chloe from Rainbows & Honeysuckle! Whoa, 21...that's a big one! I'm happy to be teaming up with a great group of ladies for such a special giveaway! Make sure you enter to win $125 CASH! Pretty awesome, huh!?!

                 Chloe from Rainbows & Honeysuckle                  Hayley from A Beautiful Exchange                       Rebecca from Caravan Sonnet

                         Noor from Noor's Place                             Kate from Kate the (Almost) Great              Stephanie from Never the Same Spice Twice

              Krystle from Life Revolves Around Them              Mandi from All My Happy Endings                   Tiffany from The Dwelling Tree

                         Jackie from Jade and Oak                                 Ashley from Mrs. Mama                           Sarah from Oh The Things I Think

                    Samantha from Life Style Love                         Areeba from I Have a Messy Bun                        Aleshea from Glitz & Grits

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Kitchenspiration {Link-up}

It's time for another round of Kitchenspiration!
Chelsea and I are SO excited to bring you this weekly link-up! Kitchenspiration is all about ANYTHING that inspires you in the kitchen. 

This can be:

-Recipes you've tried or want to try

-Weekly meal plans

-Pinterest recipe ideas

-Food related tips

-Your favorite kitchen essentials

The possibilities are endless!

You can link-up a brand new post OR link-up anything food/meal/recipe related from your blog that you posted within the previous week.

Before you scroll down to link up:

***Check out some Kitchenspiration from this past week on NTSST:
Jess's Baked Ziti {Guest Post}
Sausage with Kale and Cannellini Beans
My Weekly Meal Plan

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What's cooking this week?

Hey, hey! Is everyone having a great weekend? We met up last night with some friends for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. I love that we can sit outside at this time of year, it's been GORGEOUS out! I've been enjoying seeing everyone's Halloween costumes! Hubs and I aren't dressing up this year  but we are taking the babes to a local Halloween event on Thursday. I can't wait to show you all her costume (I hope it fits)!

Check out what's cooking! I thought it would be fun to use my crock pot ALL WEEK LONG! I'm also looking forward to trying out some tasty new recipes!

Sunday: Sausage and Peppers
Monday: Bean and Bacon Soup (Crock pot)
Tuesday: Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin (Crock pot)
Wednesday: Cantonese Sweet and  Sour Chicken (Crock pot)
Thursday: Happy Halloween!
Friday: Buffalo Chicken Wraps (Crock pot)

Sounds like a good week don't you think? I find that with the baby it's been easier to prep dinner in the morning. Things sometimes get a little rough in the evening.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday, I'm heading out in a bit to Kohl's! I've got a 30% off coupon and I need a dress for the Christening!

She wasn't too happy right when we left, but she cheered up and was SUCH a good girl last night!

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Yo Friday! Wuddup?

Hello Friends! 

Another week has gone by! I've officially extended my maternity leave...I go back on December 2nd. For reals this time. I am sure the next few weeks are going to just wiz on by, and it's weird to think that Christmas is just around the corner. Cray. 

Things are going well with my little lady. She is responding well to the dairy free diet. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I'm going to keep it up for a bit because she is SO much happier, and that means I am so much happier. It's been wonderful seeing her sweet little smile not just once, but multiple times a day! Unfortunately she had her shots on Wednesday so we had a little set back, but we are feeling much better today. I'm not sure what is in store for the weekend, but Ella and I are just looking forward to some quality time with our favorite guy! 

Here are some pics from the week...

1. I'm obsessed with those chubby cheeks!

2. I love how she always has to hold the bottle along with me. I keep calling her Miss Independent!

3. How pretty is our view...gotta love the spooky ghosts@

4. So Delicious....they really are!

5. My big girl no longer fits in her giraffe jammies...she has graduated to the owls! That went fast! She broke 9 lbs this week!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! XO

Linking up:

High Five for Friday & Five on Friday

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Sausage with Kale & Cannellini Beans

It's funny, I've been referring to this dish as "The Sausage Kale Bean Thing" for months now! This is a meal that I made B.E. (Before Ella) and stashed in my freezer. I'm pretty sure when I made it I was just throwing random ingredients together. Don't you just love when your concoctions turn out delicious,
or as I call it..."post-worthy"?! It was such a yummy comfort meal, I think you will love it! Ingredients 1 Package of Sausage (I used regular pork Italian sausage, but I suggest turkey or chicken to lighten this dish up) 2 Cans of Cannellini Beans 4 medium gold potatoes - peeled, cut into 1 inch chunks and boiled until fork tender 2 cloves of garlic 1/2 cup of white wine 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth 3 tbsp of tomato paste 4 packed cups of chopped kale salt and pepper (to taste)
Directions 1.  Brown sausage, slice and cook over medium-high heat in large dutch oven 2.  Lower the heat to medium and cook garlic for a minute until fragrant, add white wine and cook until alcohol cooks off, add chicken broth, tomato paste, salt and pepper, bring to a bubble 3.  Add kale cook until wilted, add beans and cook for 15 minutes on low 4.  Add potatoes, stir in gently so they do not fall apart
I hope you all enjoy "The Sausage Kale Bean Thing"!  Check out my lovely 'Savory' Sponsor:

Jess @ Being Mrs. Beer {Guest Post}

Hi Never the Same Spice Twice readers!  My name is Jess, and I blog over at Being Mrs. Beer.  I'm so excited to be guest posting for Stephanie while she's soaking up baby cuddles - Ella is too cute and that newborn phase goes by way too fast!  One of the best things my friends and family did for me when my daughter Abbie was born was bring me food...so I like to do the same for other moms.  My favorite thing to bring?  Baked ziti.  It travels and freezes well, and reheats beautifully - plus it's delicious and so easy!  I wish I could mail some to Stephanie, but I doubt it would mail well, so we'll have to settle for the recipe.  Enjoy!

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ziti noodles
• 1 lb ground beef/turkey/chicken (you can leave this out if you are a vegetarian)
• Jar of your favorite marinara sauce
• 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 package shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4-1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (to taste)
• 1 Tbsp onion powder (or more, to taste)
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder (or more, to taste)
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley (or more, to taste)
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Cook ziti according to package directions. In a separate frying pan, brown ground beef in pan and drain off grease.
2. Combine ziti, cooked ground beef, 2/3 can tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, 2/3 package mozzarella cheese, a handful of parmesan cheese, some onion and garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
3. Pour mixture into 13x9 in. baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and spread evenly. Top with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

When I make this for new moms, I like to divide it into smaller portions.  I made this for my friend Erin last week.  Since it's just her and her husband (and their new baby Henry), I decided to divide it into three smaller disposable oblong containers.  It was enough for each of them to have for dinner, plus stick two in the freezer for later.  I wrote the directions on top so they'd be ready to go.

Make this for the new moms in your life...or just yourself.  You'll be glad you did.

********************************************************************

It's a special day!

Make sure you stop by Jess's page and wish her a VERY Happy Birthday today!!!!!

Thanks so much for guest posting lady!

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$125 Fall Footwear Giveaway

Happy Fall! The brisk Autumn weather is the perfect excuse for new fall footwear! Mal, 11 other ladies, and I are giving away a $125 Zappos gift card to one lucky winner so she can buy a new pair of boots, flats, or other shoes.

Giveaways are a great way to discover new bloggers, make friends, and possibly win a prize! Be sure to stop by and check out these pretty ladies who helped make this giveaway possible!

Mal// Mackenzie// Hannah

Stephanie// Tamara// Jane// Ashley

Erin// Samantha// Raewyn// Kaylin

Stephanie// Danae

The giveaway will run Monday, October 21st, 2013 through Monday, October 28th, 2013.

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter giveaway tool below. The winning entry will be verified so please be honest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out my lovely 'Savory' Sponsor:

Kitchenspiration {Link-up}

It's time for another round of Kitchenspiration!
Chelsea and I are SO excited to bring you this weekly link-up! Kitchenspiration is all about ANYTHING that inspires you in the kitchen. 

This can be:

-Recipes you've tried or want to try

-Weekly meal plans

-Pinterest recipe ideas

-Food related tips

-Your favorite kitchen essentials

The possibilities are endless!

You can link-up a brand new post OR link-up anything food/meal/recipe related from your blog that you posted within the previous week.

Before you scroll down to link up:

***Check out some Kitchenspiration from this past week on NTSST:
Lindsay's Roasted Balsamic Cauliflower 
My Weekly Meal Plan

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<a href="http://www.neverthesamespicetwice.com/p/how-i-plan.html" title="Never The Same Spice Twice"><img src="http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac236/sascoma/KitchenspirationButton_zpsf7734949.jpg" alt="Never The Same Spice Twice" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

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What's cooking this week?

Good Morning! This is my first attempt at planning a dairy free week. Now I know I don't have meals loaded with dairy every night, but I'm having a serious mental block. The only things that keep coming to mind have loads of cheese in them! You always want what you can't have! I'm not ready to try any cheese substitutes (not yet anyway), so I'm just going to avoid it for now. 

Sunday: Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Monday: Butternut Squash Soup and Rotisserie Chicken
Tuesday:  Pasta with Grandpa's Marinara
Wednesday: Shredded Chicken Chili
Thursday: Sausage and Peppers

There isn't too much happening over here. I hope to get some naps in today, the little lady has had me up since 4:30. Fingers crossed....I'm exhausted!!!!
She sure is cute though, totally worth it!

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Pumpkins With Our Pumpkin

One thing about me is that I LOVE getting into the holiday spirit, and I don't just mean for Christmas! In October I like doing all things "Halloween-ey" (oh yes)! That means ALL things pumpkin, and marathons of Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters! I insisted that we bring Ella pumpkin picking. Naturally, I wasn't going to let the fact that my newborn would sleep during the whole experience (and never remember it) stop us! It was a quick little outing. We went, grabbed a few pumpkins and of course took advantage of the perfect photo-op! That's how I roll!

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