Lots of recipes, including one of my own

There's been a whole lot of cooking but not a whole lot of picture-taking lately. First I'll share my own recipe from a few nights ago that was super easy and super delicious. To be filed under meals to make after the baby comes! Below that you'll find recipes from various sources with which I have found success. Check them out!

My very own recipe!
Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Chicken
Ingredients:

• 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Neuman's Own sausage and peppers)
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup cream cheese
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 4 chicken breasts

Method:
Put everything in the crock pot and set on low for 6-7 hours. Stir at some point to combine the ingredients into the sauce.

The spaghetti sauce and homemade chicken broth brought enough flavoring that I didn't need to add any spices, but make sure you taste it to see if you need any. I'd recommend basil, thyme, oregano, and anything else you think might taste good. Serve with rice to soak up the delicious creamy sauce! I ate the leftovers with pasta and that was also good, so I don't think you can go wrong here.

Recipes from around the web...
Chicken Parmesan Bundles from allrecipes.com - delicious and versatile. Also surprisingly easy. I used half the cream cheese, way less cheese, bread crumbs instead of crackers, and added sun-dried tomatoes.

Cheesy Baked Pumpkin Pasta from skinnytaste.com - definitely does not taste like a lighter recipe. Again, I made some adjustments based on what we had: ham instead of bacon and regular pasta instead of whole wheat. I did take a picture of the final product:

Sweet Potato Basil Soup from paleomg.com - perfect way to use up the remaining leaves of my basil plant and yet another crock pot recipe. This is a simple recipe and it was delicious. No changes needed.

Creamy Lentil Soup from skinnytaste.com - hearty and very tasty. I made a few little changes to this recipe based on what we had in stock and my taste preferences: no scallions, cumin, or cilantro but instead, lots of thyme and oregano.

Keep in mind that you can always see the recipes I have tried along with my comments on Pinterest. For savory recipes, go to this board: http://www.pinterest.com/francocaro/food-savory-tried-and-tasted-recipes/. My comments are after the double slashes (//).

missing in action

Yes, I've been MIA. I was in Orlando last week and had absolutely no time to blog. However, I did have plenty of time to eat. One fine dining experience included eating Greek food at Cat Cora's restaurant, Kouzzina, and sitting near Morimoto.

The delicious dessert - warm molten chocolate cake with sweet cream - it was clearly quality chocolate: (A+ for presentation, too)

Others had the doughnuts, which I didn't try, but were supposedly delicious:

Fun open kitchen:

Just before I left and just after I came home, I also made myself some healthy and satisfying meals, see for yourself.

Chicken and spinach with strong Maille mustard:

Egg (+ paprika) with pearled couscous and broccoli:

I hope to be back with more regularity now. Just stay tuned to see if it happens!

PS: I'm on a quest for a new blender. Now that I don't have one, I see smoothie opportunities everywhere!!