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You will not regret making this! It's easy to make, filling, easily adapted to what you have on hand, and the best part is it tastes like you're eating a bowl of lasagna. It comes together in about 30 minutes, and requires very little prep. An easy weeknight meal that's sure to impress.

Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the month of December so far. It's only day six, and I already feel like it's passing by too quickly. This is the time of year that I look forward to all year long. I'm sad when it ends, and then summer comes and melts us all away with the heat. It's actually warmer today, about 80 degrees, but it should be back to the mid-sixties in a few days which to me is the best weather possible!

I'm lacking on recipes because we've still been eating a lot of random meals. The other night I fixed my spaghetti and meatball recipe (found here) and the night before we had chicken pot pie soup, I also have a recipe for that. I've been working on Christmas decor around the house, so I thought I would share a little home tour with you. I'm not completely finished with the house, but this post will focus on my family room and dining room. Nothing too fancy really! I follow so many talented bloggers on Instagram, and honestly sometimes the beauty of their posts gets me down. I feel inadequate knowing my home will never look as beautiful as theirs. I don't have the money to buy all the decor items, and I don't have the skills of an interior stylist. But I'm here to show you that you can still decorate your home on a budget, and you don't have to go overboard. Comparison can be a horrible thing. Instead I want to focus on how cozy and beautiful I've made my house for my family to enjoy, and I hope it brings you some enjoyment as well!

While placing my online grocery order I saw that packs of imitation crab were buy one get one free. I don't usually buy seafood, but I actually really like imitation crab so I went for it. Mine was a mix of pollock and king crab, although you can certainly use 100% crab meat for this recipe. I love seafood chowders but the recipes can be a bit heavy using large quantities of heavy whipping cream and whole milk. I lightened this up a bit and simplified it using cream of potato soup instead of needing fresh potatoes; I also used canned corn. I hope you enjoy!

Cauliflower has become increasingly popular. I've seen so many recipes ranging from pizza crust to macaroni and cheese that subs cauliflower for noodles. I've had cauliflower gratin before which is super similar to this recipe, and I wanted to switch up the flavor profile from the traditional cheddar. I love Soyrizo. If you don't know what it is, it's a vegan alternative to chorizo. Chorizo has a delicious taste, but the ingredients can be questionable depending on which kind you buy. It's also loaded with fat, and Soyrizo is a great alternative if you aren't vegetarian or vegan but want to cut out all the grease. I personally think when you have it with scrambled eggs and peppers with tortillas and beans on the side, you really won't notice the difference. The flavor is great, and it works really well in this dish since the cheese is already so rich on it's own.

I mentioned on Facebook that I hadn't been posting as much because my husband and I have been very serious about a deep freezer/pantry clean out! I love having about 5 times the amount of storage space for food versus our old apartment, but I didn't want things to become lost or forgotten. I've been coming up with interesting meals lately. Usually something frozen, with a can of something, and some veggies. Nothing blog-worthy. I did however spot canned tomatoes, canned black beans, canned kidney beans, canned corn, and frozen ground beef the other day; these ingredients just scream homemade chili. I'm surprised I've never posted a recipe for basic beef chili, but this one is so easy to follow and completely customizable. You can use beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, shredded chicken, veggie crumbles, or no meat at all. You can use black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, etc. It's up to you, so use whatever you have on hand.

When I think of fall I think of squash and cinnamon, so this recipe was a no brainer for me. It's so simple to put together but I love that the flavors are a little different than what I'm used to which is more of an Italian flavor base. This recipe has cinnamon in it which it such a great addition and really warms the meal up. The best part is it's a one pan recipe, and the ingredients list is simple.

Congratulations to Lauren Sakai! Please email me at: healthyandhomemade.info@gmail.com

Send me your name and mailing address, and I'll be sure the products are sent out to you soon!

We bought our house last year, and moved in right before Thanksgiving. I didn't decorate at all. The most I did was pull out the tiny fake Christmas tree we had and I slapped on some ornaments, nothing fancy. This year I'm definitely having so much fun decorating the house! I kept meaning to post this sooner, but I kept buying more stuff to decorate with. Now that's it's been at least a week since I've changed the decor, I figured it's time to share what I've done. Warning! Lots of pictures to follow!  I won't write a whole lot about everything, it's all pretty self explanatory. My biggest source of fall decor was Michael's craft store and reusing items I've had for years. Hope you enjoy!

I have the Ikea Ektorp sectional in my living room, and end tables would be great except my toddler loves to climb. She loves to climb so much I can't leave the room for long or I'm afraid I'll hear a big thud. She's only 1-1/2, so she's still learning about boundaries. And gravity.

But I digress, the point of this post is to show you how we've turned our sofa table into functional storage. Because the Ektorp is fairly tall, a standard size sofa table would have been pretty short. My husband and I wanted a table that would come up as high as the back of the sectional, and fit the length as well. Looking at furniture on Ikea's website, with the sectionals measurements in mind, I realized the Kallax (formerly Expedit, which we have three of) are nice and tall but also thin. It would be the perfect "table" for behind our couch, the only downside was the 8-unit Kallax wasn't long enough. But if we took the 8-unit piece and combined it with the 4-unit Kallax the length fit the couch perfectly. We did this months ago, and it's worked great since. I don't know why it took me a few months to realize that we had 12 cubbies of storage, completely empty, sitting behind the couch. We have hardwood floor, and the bottom of the Kallax units have felt pads which makes them easy to slide in and out from behind the couch.

I was contacted recently by Maple Holistics, who I hadn't really heard of before, so I did a quick Internet search to see what they were about. I checked out their website and noticed they also sold their products on Amazon, which is a total win in my book because we have prime and I love when things come to my front door. To give you a quick overview of what they sell, it's all beauty products for your hair, body, and skin. I appreciate anything that's natural nowadays, especially when it comes to what I'm putting on my skin. Turning 30 means aging skin and I have really gotten into skin care lately since I still suffer from occasional acne and I have acne scarring on my cheeks. I also make sure I use natural cleaning products around the house, we absorb so much through our skin! So I like to make sure my family isn't walking around absorbing chemicals through their skin or putting chemicals on their skin and into their bodies by using skincare products with bad ingredients. Maple Holistics is currently sponsored for giveaways thanks to EduMuch!

Maple Holistics uses high quality ingredients in their products, and I especially like the use of essential oils which on their own can be rather pricey. I tried out two products, a vitamin c facial serum and a mud mask. Just to give you an idea of my skin type it's normal, with the occasional monthly breakout, and I have acne scarring on my cheeks. I'm starting to get more and more lines as I get older. I definitely notice little crows feet, smile lines, and a line between my eyes probably from being a stressed out mom!

I could go on and on about the mud mask. It's the Dead Sea Mud Mask, and it sounded great and reading about it got me excited to try it. The first time I put it on I seriously felt like I was at a spa or something. Actually I've never been to a spa, haha, but I would think that's what it's like. It looks cool going on because it's dark greenish-gray, you look a little scary and will totally freak out your kids. The essential oils smell amazing, it's just a very relaxing treatment. When you go to wash it off after it's dried, which takes about 10 minutes, it's mildly abrasive so you get an exfoliating treatment in too. I've noticed each time I use it my makeup goes on better.
I'm so exhausted at the end of the day that I usually wash my face right before bed and go to sleep. Since I'm home with my daughter most days, I try to do a beauty treatment in the mornings after breakfast. Whenever I use this mask my skin feels softer and smoother. I don't find it to be irritating at all. When I got it in the mail I used it that night, the next morning, and the next night. Seriously three times in 24 hours. My skin didn't react negatively, and I didn't notice any burning or stinging. I don't have particularly sensitive skin though, and I'm not sensitive to essential oils. So that's something to consider if you have sensitive skin or don't like the smell of lavender. This is actually a product I plan on purchasing the mask once my tub runs out. I've used it a lot and I haven't made much of a dent. It's not a high price point (under $14) and you need a very small amount each time you use it. The price for the products was another reason I wanted to give them a try. There's nothing worse than trying out a product you could never actually afford to purchase yourself. That was always a bummer with beauty subscription boxes. I would find products I love, then find out they were super pricey. This is an affordable line of products.

What's in it:

• German chamomile to reduce inflammation in the skin, also stress reducing
• lavender essential oil, relaxing and also helps the skin absorb more of the minerals from the mud
• green myrtle, helps reduce oiliness in the skin
• Clary sage to help you relax
• mud from the Dead Sea in Israel, contains salts and minerals that are supposedly good for the skin and body

The second product I tried was the Vitamin C Serum for Face with Superior Anti-Aging Benefits. This was a nice serum to apply. I have another vitamin C serum and it's watery, the Maple Holistics serum feels thicker more like a serum mixed with an oil. I don't love the smell, but it only lasts as long as the serum is wet then dissipates. I can't say I noticed anything different in my skin while using this, but I never really notice much of a difference with other serums either. I will say it makes your skin feel more hydrated, especially after using the mud mask my skin feels a little tight and this serum puts the moisture back in. The way I use it is on it's own in the morning, followed by a BB cream. At night I apply the serum, then I apply a moisturizer over it. My skin hasn't broken out from using it, and it doesn't sting or burn my skin in any way. I definitely think this is a gentle serum, versus some I've used that can sting around the nose or where your skin might be extra dry. I'm not sure if I will purchase this serum, but I do know it costs half of what the one I've purchased multiple times costs. Since I'm not sure I notice much of a difference with either, I would rather spend less money. I'll have to see how I feel when I finish the bottle, so far I've used about half of the 1-ounce bottle.

Facts about vitamin C:

• it's anti-aging
• provides light protection from the sun
• reverses sun damage by reducing free radicals 
• good for fine lines and age spots

Now here is the best part . . . I am giving away both of these products! That's right, both the serum and the mud mask can be yours! I'm going to include all of the details below for entering the giveaway. Unfortunately this giveaway is only open to US residents.

How to Enter:

• You must be a follower either on Bloglovin, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (all of my social media links are in the upper left side bar on my blog). I will be checking if you're actually a follower, if you aren't I will choose a different winner
• Leave a comment below on this post to enter and please say how you're following me. For example "I would love to win! I'm following on Facebook" or something along those lines
• US residents only please

It's still in the 80's and 90's here in Southern California, so the other day I decided to really force fall upon us. We had the AC on so the house wasn't too hot, a pumpkin apple candle was burning, and fall decor was everywhere. It really did feel like fall, unless you ventured outside. The best part of the day was dinner, it was so incredibly delicious and satisfying. I roasted a couple of chicken breasts for us, steamed some frozen veggies, and the star of the show was these sage brown butter sweet potatoes. I used my spiralizer to make them into noodles. It was an enormous waste of time in the end. I was flipping them very gently while they cooked but I still ended up with more of a sweet potato hash, still tasty though. I would recommend a small dice if you make these. Unless you want a killer arm workout from turning sweet potatoes into noodles! 

I really wasn't sure about sharing the recipe for these because they are so decadent and indulgent, but I had a request for the recipe on Instagram so I decided to go ahead and share it with everyone. I try to keep my recipes around 400 calories or less per serving because I really find it easier to fit delicious food into your daily diet when it isn't taking up half of the calories you should be eating. These lava cakes are extremely high calorie, but I will say I shared one with my daughter and my husband ate the other one. It was incredibly chocolaty and satisfying, and if we had ordered it in a restaurant my husband and I would have shared one with coffee for dessert. I apologize for the poor lighting, the sun is setting early here so unless I make dessert at lunchtime I lose the natural light. 

I love these lava cakes because they only require a handful of basic ingredients, you don't need to whip egg whites, make a water bath while baking them, or fuss with sifting flour and cocoa powder. I topped mine with extra powdered sugar for presentation. These would be absolutely lovely with fresh raspberries, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream. Hope you enjoy!

With the salted caramel sauce I had in the fridge and a craving for chocolate, I decided to make a little mug of hot chocolate for me and my baby girl to share. I gave her some in a bottle mixed with milk, and she chugged that sucker down. Probably a bad idea but she's a great taste tester! This is easy to put together if you're in the mood for something better than the powdered packets, but you don't want to make a whole pot on the stove.

These are easy peasy to make but pretty impressive to look at. Definitely an indulgent treat, but perfect for this time of year. If you aren't making your own caramel sauce you're missing out! Especially since it's so easy to make. In case you missed it, here's my recipe for homemade salted caramel sauce.

This is the easiest recipe to follow and it doesn't require heavy cream or corn syrup. This caramel sauce is great for dipping, stirred into coffee, in pies, on top of ice cream, eaten with a spoon right out of the bowl, or you can even bathe in it. I'm not here to judge. It's delicious and versatile. You can cut the salt in half and it will just be regular old caramel sauce. This is seriously good; buttery and rich, sweet and slightly salty. It's easy and can be doubled, tripled, etc. I love how many ways you can use this. Enjoy!

It's decorative gourd season, and you know what that means . . . soup! At the store the other day I picked up sweet potatoes, a couple cans of pumpkin puree, carrots, onion, and some other staples. All of those earthy veggies make the best soup, and the whole meal comes together fast. Hope you enjoy!

I don't know about you, but I love Salisbury steak! When I was in college and working I didn't have a lot of money, so I would buy those frozen dinners that would always go on sale, 10 for $10. I loved getting the Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes or with macaroni and cheese. It was great for lunch breaks. This is just as hearty and delicious, but it's healthier to make it at home. Especially since it's so easy! From start to finish, with photographing it, it took 40 minutes. Hope you enjoy!

Nothing beats a no bake treat that uses up extra ingredients. We buy Cheerios from Costco, which means two giant family size boxes. After a while Isla loses interest in eating them as a snack, and the majority of the Cheerios get stomped on and then vacuumed up. I wanted to use up some Cheerios and I had marshmallows in the pantry, and figured a Rice Krispie Treat inspired snack would be a hit!

These are so delicious and filling! Best part is you can have two enchiladas and a side of beans (or salad? anyone?) and it can be a meal for under 400 calories! Which leaves room for dessert, you're welcome. If you have a bunch of bell peppers on hand and no tortillas, then you could easily turn this recipe into enchilada stuffed peppers. Which would be so delicious, cut calories, and definitely cut carbs. 

I made this years ago, six years ago actually, when I was eating a vegan diet. It's easy to make, fast, delicious, and full of nutrients! What's not to love? Now that it's football season it's good to have a few dip recipes on hand. This is great alternative for those of us who love spinach and artichoke dip, but have no self control. 

I have a lovely and easy recipe to share with you, now you can treat yourself to homemade donuts this weekend. I enjoy watching YouTube because there are some really amazing cooks/chefs/bakers that share wonderful recipes. Two of my favorites are Laura Vitale from Laura in the Kitchen and Gemma Stafford from Bigger Bolder Baking. I recently tried Gemma's no fry donuts and I was inspired! Laura has shared her custard filling multiple times on her channel whether making a fruit tart or filled cupcakes, and I've always wanted to try it. I figured since I was trying out a new donut recipe, I would make some Boston cream donuts. They have definitely become my favorite. After I filled the donuts with the custard, I seriously licked the bowl clean. It's the most heavenly custard I have tried.

My variation for the recipes was using the Truvia baking blend to help cut down on some of the sugar. Unfortunately for the glaze you do need to use powdered sugar. On a brighter note, using a chocolate glaze instead of a chocolate ganache does help cut down on fat and calories. But hey, it's up to you! You cook for you, and do whatever makes you happy. If you aren't making donuts very often, you can definitely go all out. And that also means you can fry these donuts.

Keep reading for the recipe, and a recipe for two other donuts too!

Something I've always ordered when we get Chinese takeout is either lo mein or chow mein, I will always choose noodles over fried rice! Here on the west coast chow mein has fried noodles, but they are not super crunchy or crispy. At least not anything I've had here in California. The chow mein here has the same noodles as lo mein, but they are stir fried separately instead of tossed in at the end. The noodles do have a slight crunch and more chew to them, but I would still consider the noodles to be soft. Especially since they soften over time and when you get takeout there's some time between when it's cooked and when you get it home. The main difference other than the crunchier noodles is chow mein tends to only have a couple of vegetables like celery and cabbage. Lo mein generally has a plethora of vegetables, which is why I prefer to make lo mein at home.


This recipe was a bit of an ordeal, it took over a week to perfect and six attempts total to get the right sauce. The short story is I started with a stir fry sauce recipe from another blog, combined that with a yakisoba sauce recipe to make a sort of hybrid sauce since I love that spice that yakisoba has. It was all wrong. So I started to try other recipes I saw online, and come to find out I don't really love hoisin in my sauce because of the five spice, white pepper isn't as good to me as black pepper, and I don't really like using sherry in the recipe either (most recipes call for Chinese cooking wine but say sherry can be substituted). I also found that while I love a bit of light colored soy sauce, having more than the amount of dark soy is just too salty to me. So when it comes down to it, this is a very basic sauce. I can't believe how many attempts it took, but there you have it. The flavor and type of lo mein I had been wanting to achieve. I will include my little list of tips at the bottom of the page if you're interested, but otherwise enjoy the recipe!

Recently I painted my daughters nursery and I've been working on the decor since then. When we bought the house her room was a bright blue, and I tried for seven months to like it but ended up painting it a dark gray. With the darker walls they felt a little bare, especially above her crib. I loved the name banner I put above her crib, but the walls still needed something special! When I was a little girl I had a canopy above my bed, just the kind you get on a hoop and it's called mosquito netting and meant to drape around the bed. It wasn't fancy, but it was really cool when I was little. I wanted to do a canopy for Isla so naturally I went on Pinterest. I started seeing that people were using bed crowns and shelves to make theirs, so I decided to give it a shot. This project cost $35 and took about an hour to complete. For not a lot of time or money I think it makes a major statement in her room.