Broccoli Ham Bake Recipe

I've noticed that I haven't added a recipe on here in a LONG time...partly because I never think of it.  But last night I tried out this very easy dish that I came across in a Taste Of Home magazine and it was a big hit in my family (yes even my almost 1 year old LOVED it!), so I decided I'd share it with you.

Ingredients:
4 Servings

3 cups frozen chopped broccoli
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used 1/2 cup for more flavor)
4 tablespoons butter (divided)
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used 3/4 cup)
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1 1/2 cups seasoned stuffing cubes (divided)

• Cook broccoli according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute onion in 3 tablespoons of butter until tender.  Stir in flour until blended; gradually add milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted.
• Drain the broccoli.  Add broccoli, ham, and 1 cup of stuffing mix to the cheese sauce.  Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish.  Melt remaining butter; toss with remaining stuffing mix.  Sprinkle around edge of casserole.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown
• Serve immediately or before baking, cover and freeze casserole for up to 3 months.

To Use Frozen Casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover and bake according to directions above.

It was very yummy!  Next time I will definitely be making a double batch to freeze some to have a quick meal on hand!

Enjoy! :)

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One Good Thing - Anniversary

You may have realized by now that Justin and I, we don't just have an "Anniversary day", we celebrate the whole week!  "Anniversa-week!"  So this week's One Good Thing Thursday link up is in honor of my two year wedding anniversary - I know...you're surprised.  :)

This past Tuesday was Justin and I's first wedding anniversary when it wasn't just the two of us.

Last year was our official 1st anniversary.  It was the only anniversary we spent just us two before having a family.  We didn't exchange gifts, only cards, because we were going away for the weekend and that was our gift to each other.  We spent the Saturday down at the Inner Harbor, walked around a lot and went to the Baltimore Aquarium.  It was a beautiful day despite the summer heat.

The view from our room

  We had plans to go out to a nice fancy dinner but because I was 7 months pregnant and we had just walked around all day in the blazing sun, my feet were beyond killing me and I could barely finish the walk back to our hotel room.  We decided to improvise and order room service, which was exceptionally delicious and stayed in for the evening and watched Bridesmaids.  That movie isn't for everyone, but Justin and I thought it was hilarious to the point where we thought we were disturbing other guests in other rooms!  We never got any complaints, so that was nice.  :)

I had an east coast favorite Maryland crab cakes and Justin had yummy steak.  And yes both desserts of ice cream and cheesecake were mine...and I ate them both.  Don't judge, I was pregnant ;) hehe

The next morning (On the actual date of our anniversary) we had an appointment outside of Baltimore to have a non-medial ultrasound done.  We did this so we could get a video of our baby moving in the womb and boy was it amazing.  We have the video on a DVD and it's about 30 mins long so I'll just share with you a couple pictures.

Her beautiful face with daddy's nose.  

An arm over a foot.

It was a great way to spend the 1 year celebration of our wedding day.  We got to see our unborn daughter and say a quick "hello"!  ...And emotional mommy got to shed a few happy tears on the way home too!  :)

Fast forward a year and Justin and I happily got to share our two year anniversary with our daughter present again!  This time in our arms!  I have to admit, the day felt just like any other ordinary day.  Justin came home from work, I made dinner ok, that's not so ordinary, and Annaliese fought sleep until midnight.  Luckily she did sleep through the night for 8 1/ hours that night, so I count my blessings, but it was rough getting her there!
Justin and I exchanged gifts this year.  I got him a nice card, a pair of white sneakers that he wanted, an iTunes gift card to purchase the new Jim Gaffigan album coming out next week, book 3 of The Game Of Thrones series and a special edition of Rolling Stones Magazine.  He came home with a dozen beautiful red roses for me, a really sweet card, book 2 of Fifty Shades of Grey, the movie The Vow, and the promise of a personalized with photos iPhone case (which still needs ordered) from Erin Condren!  I am so excited to get this case, but I might wait until we get our family pictures taken on Sept 24 to order it.  We don't have many pictures together as a family and I would want my case to have my little family. :)

My mom was nice enough to watch Annaliese last night so Justin and I could go out to eat and have some alone time together for our Anniversary.  It was very nice.  Candlelight.  Frank Sinatra.  Yummy food!  I had crab cakes again...I'm starting to see a trend here...and Justin got a famous Greek dish called Pastitsio.

It was a great "Anniversa-week" we shared together.  It was different this year, but we wouldn't trade it for the world.  We hope that possibly on our next Anniversary we will be in our OWN home and perhaps baking a little sibling for Annaliese ;)

Hope you all have a great evening!  Happy Friday tomorrow!

Day 6- Dinner (and recipe)

Today's photo of the day topic is: Dinner.  This is a picture of a picture of a Three-Bean Turkey Chili that I usually make. It would've been a picture of the actual bowl of chili I ate, but I forgot to take the picture before I ate it all.  Oops!  I made this chili for everyone to enjoy yesterday for Superbowl Sunday and I have to say it was a hit!  Here is a picture of the recipe I used to make it.

Go ahead and try it!  You won't regret it!  :)  

Recipe Worth Trying- Banana Banana Bread

YUM!  Just the thought of this makes me hungry!  

I've made this banana bread quite a few times and enjoyed it every time!  I've even managed to not be stingy and give some away to family too!  Haha!  I was told that they enjoyed it just as much!  It's very moist and sweet and somehow it turns out perfect every time!  I wish I could take credit and call this recipe my own but I couldn't do that.  I give credit where credit is due!  I got this recipe from one of my favorite websites www.allrecipes.com.  Take a gander at some of their recipes if you want, but I definitely suggest making this banana bread.  And it's very simple to make too!  My dad even used this recipe, added walnuts and made Banana Nut Bread Muffins!  

Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
1 Hr 5 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 20 Min

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Tis the season for baking! :) Bon Appetit!