Homemade Ramen

 
This cold weather means one thing...cozy food. What cozier food is there than a hot bowl of ramen!? I put together this meal in under 15 minutes and it was so delicious. I used my favorite al fresco chicken sausage & it made the perfect topping for my ramen. Follow the recipe below for a quick and easy meal.

Ingredients // 

Ramen Noodles (found in the Asian food section)

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth 

Jalapeno al fresco chicken sausage

Shredded Carrots

Sliced Mushrooms

Sliced fresh jalapenos 

Scallions sliced 

Ground Ginger

Garlic Powder 

How to //

1. Heat the chicken stock over high heat until boiling- Add a dash of ground ginger and powdered garlic to taste

2. While the stock is boiling slice up your chicken sausage and sautee over medium heat until browned. Remove from heat and set aside. 

3. Once the stock is boiling drop in your ramen noodles and cook for about 6 minutes until desired tenderness. 

4. Fill your bowl with noodles and broth and top with desired toppings. I chose the al fresco chicken sausage, sliced mushrooms, shredded carrots, sliced jalapenos, and a sprinkle of sliced scallions.

Enjoy! I made this for Kyle and he was raving about how good it was! I also loved how easy it is to put together. 

Let me know if you try it. 

* This post is sponsored by al fresco chicken sausage. Thank you for supporting the companies that support Nicholle Sophia 

#NewYearWithalfresco #Ad  @alfrescochicken

5 Ingredient Quick Meal

 You all know how much I love Al fresco Chicken Sausage so it should be no surprise that I'm back with another recipe featuring them! This time I've created an easy 5 ingredient recipe using items I always have on hand. This came together in under 30 minutes and is perfect for any meal! 

Ingredients //

5-6 eggs 

1/2 package of Al fresco Chicken Sausage- I used the Jalapeno 

1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

1/2  cup fresh spinach 

1/4 cup diced cherry tomatoes 

How To //

1. Dice up your chicken sausage into small pieces

2.  Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl

3. Divide egg mixture evenly into greased muffin pan 

4.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until set 

Enjoy!

What I love about this recipe is that you can adapt it to work with any ingredients you have in your fridge. I love using the Al fresco jalapeno sausage as I find it adds so much flavor. Let me know if you recreate this recipe!

This post is sponsored by Al Fresco. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Nicholle Sophia

#5WithAlFresco #Ad @alfrescochicken 

Spicy Shrimp Bowl

Quick and Easy Weeknight Meal

I'm back with another recipe post! This time it's featuring one of my all-time favorites- al fresco chicken sausage! YUM! 

Growing up, one of my favorite nights was make your own pizza night. I loved getting to create exactly what I wanted, which generally included as many toppings as possible. This recipe is a go-to for my family. It is so quick and easy. I love that the chicken sausage is already cooked which helps with prep time. 

Easy Baja Fish Tacos

Hi All!

I'm so excited to share this easy Baja Fish Taco recipe with you. I made this in under 30 minutes and it was so delicious! For this recipe, I used Gorton's Crispy Battered Fish Fillets. Not only is Gorton's Seafood the perfect addition to any recipe, but it also made this recipe so much easier #SimpleSeafood 

 Taco Ingredients //

Gorton's Crispy Battered Fish Fillets (1 fillet per taco)

 Avocado

Cojita

Cilantro

Red Cabbage or Bagged Cabbage 

Lime  

Small Tortillas

Sriracha Cream Sauce //

1/3 C. Sour Cream

2 Tbs. Sriracha 

How To //

1. Prepare cabbage slaw. Shred the red cabbage, you will need about 2 cups of slaw for 6 tacos. Chop up 1/4 a cup of cilantro. Once the cabbage is shredded and cilantro is mixed in, juice one lime over the top of the cabbage mixture. Add one grind of sea salt. Let the cabbage slaw rest in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. 

2. Prepare Sriracha cream sauce. Mix 1/3 cup of sour cream with 2 tbs. of sriracha. You can add more sriracha for a spicer taco.

2. Bake Gorton's Fish Filets according to the package. I broiled mine for a few minutes at the end to make them crispy. 

3. As the fish is finishing up, place your tortillas into the oven to crisp them up.

4. When your fish is done, split each fillet down the center into two pieces, this will make it easier to assemble the taco.

5. Assemble your taco! Place the cabbage slaw in the bottom, follower by your Gorton's Fish Fillet, add some sliced avocado, cilantro, crumbled cotija, and finally finish it off with a drizzle of the sriracha cream sauce. 

Yum! Let me know if you try this recipe!

* This post is sponsored by Gorton's. Thank you for supporting the companies that support Nicholle Sophia

10 Easy Chicken Recipes

Hi All!

I've gotten a lot of questions about what I make using either a rotisserie chicken or an oven-baked chicken. I mentioned over on my Instagram that I usually buy a whole roasting chicken when they're on sale and cook it at the beginning of the week, then I use the chicken in my meals throughout the rest of the week. Below are 10 meals using cooked chicken. Some of these recipes are ones I've found on Pinterest and made numerous times and some are my own recipes. They're all delicious and fairly easy! Enjoy

1 // Oven Baked Chicken Tacos

I have made these more times than I can count! They're absolutely delicious and pretty foolproof to make. I will say these are on the spicier side so if you don't care for spicy foods use the normal taco seasoning vs. the hot and spicy kind! Click HERE for the recipe. 

2 // Chicken Salad Wraps

Chicken salad is one of the best uses of cooked chicken. It's great to prepare it to have for lunches for the week! I like to serve it either on a wrap or large lettuce leaves. Adjust the amounts of ingredients based on the amount of chicken you use. Here is what I put in my Chicken Salad:

Chicken Salad:

Diced Chicken

Mayo - use enough to coat the chicken

Sliced Green Grapes

Ground Pepper

Garlic Powder

3 // Mushroom Risotto With Chicken 

This dish is insanely delicious! Everyone I've made it for has loved it. This is great for a "fancier" at home meal as it is a little time consuming- but so worth it! I start with base Mushroom Rissoto recipe and then add about a cup of cooked diced chicken! Click HERE for the risotto recipe.  

4 // Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Kyle loved this recipe so its man approved! It was a nice change from the typical tacos! I will say it is a very rich recipe & I could only eat one taco. Click HERE for the recipe.

5 // Chicken Avocado Burritos

These are one of my favorites! I love the blend of the creamy cheese & sour cream with the salsa! I serve these generally with my favorite cauliflower tots as a replacement for fries. Click HERE for the recipe. 

6 // Chicken Caesar Salad

Pretty self-explanatory but I love chicken caesar salad. I'll either make up a large salad with fresh romaine hearts, parmesan, chicken, and caesar dressing or I'll make up the salad and put it into a wrap for a more filling meal. Either way, it's delicious and so easy!

7 // Chicken With Gravy

No recipe needed for this! I like to slice up some chicken, heat it, and serve it up with gravy, mashed potatoes and a veggie like green beans. Super easy and so delicious.

8 // Chicken Fried Rice

For this, you can cook up some white rice and then in a frying pan add a package of frozen veggies, 1 egg and then toss in some chicken & your rice and season with soy sauce, it's that easy! I usually use low sodium soy sauce as the normal is too salty for me. 

9 // BBQ Chicken Pizza

 This pizza is one of my favorites! I start by rolling out my pizza dough and then add BBQ sauce, fresh mozzarella, diced chicken, and sauteed red onions. 

 10 // Chicken Cobb Salad 

Cobb salads are a great use of chicken! I love this salad because it's so filling! You can pretty much add any ingredients you'd like but I love to add chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato, egg, and blue cheese crumbles. Yum!

What are your favorite uses for chicken?

XO,

Nicholle 

Easy Lemon Cream Pie

Ingredients //

1 pie shell 

2-3 lemons

1 pk. 8oz softened cream cheese 

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk 

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice ( 2 juiced lemons) 

1 tablespoon lemon zest

yellow food coloring 

How to //

* Start by beating the cream cheese until it is completely smooth, once smooth add in the can of milk, lemon juice & zest and a few drops of yellow food coloring. Blend all of this until smooth and then pour into your pie crust- Smooth out filling and let set in fridge at minimum 2 hours. 

* To serve top the pie with fresh lemon slices & whipped cream or cool whip

This recipe is so easy & so delicious! Let me know if you make it!

XO,

Nicholle 

Healthy Snack Ideas

Happy Tuesday! 

If you follow me over on Instagram you know I love to share what I'm cooking and eating, I get so many questions regarding my meals that I thought it would be helpful to share some healthy snack ideas. I don't like to take too much time to food prep so these are all extremely easy and time effective snack ideas.

What are your favorite Healthy Snacks?

XO,

Nicholle 

Weekly Grocery List

Hi All & Happy Sunday!

Today I wanted to share with you a highly requested post of my weekly grocery list / my tips for saving money on your groceries. I've been sharing recipes over on my Instagram so I thought it would be helpful to share how I shop for those recipes.

The first thing I do every week is to plan my meals. I cook dinner 5 days a week and then one day we go out for dinner and on Sundays, we have dinner with my parents. 

To plan my meals I figure out what protein I have at home that I can use. So right now I know that I have chicken breasts, ground beef, and black bean burgers in my freezer. I will then plan my meals around those proteins I already have.

My shopping list/ meal plan will look like this : 

* As I put in my meals I add the ingredients to my list and determine what ingredients I already have for that meal. For example for the cobb salad I know I have chicken and bacon in my freezer so I won't add that to the list- additionally I have the ingredients to make a soup. 

Produce Head of Lettuce Tomato Avocado (2)  Spaghetti Squash Mushrooms Green Pepper (2) Carrots Celery  Asparagus  Yellow Onion  Clementines	Meat
Dairy   Eggs (small) Blue Cheese Crumbles 5 Yogurt	Dry/Canned Canned Cream Corn  Brown Rice
Frozen Cauliflower Tots	Extra Hummus  Granola Bars

MONDAY: Corn Chowder & Cobb Salad
TUESDAY: Black Bean Burgers & Cauliflower Tots
WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti Squash w/ Meatballs
THURSDAY: Shrimp w/ Rice & Asparagus
SATURDAY: Chicken Sausage w/ Onions & Peppers
WAYS TO SAVE MONEY //

* If you notice on my list there is no meat to purchase- this is because I have it all in my freezer and have bought it in past weeks when it's on sale therefor I don't need to buy it weekly. If I am at the store and see that chicken is on sale and know I am low I will grab a pack and freeze it in 1lb bags- then I will defrost as needed. This will save you so much money! To get into the swing of doing this you might spend a little upfront to stock your freezer but it will save you so much in the end. This also helps to meal plan as you know what your main ingredient of your meals will be.
*Always have chicken, beef, sausage, black bean burgers, and a fish like shrimp or salmon in your freezer.* Do not buy junk! When you are walking through the store and see a new kind of chips do not buy them! This is where so many people waste money- on things that are not on your list. Only buy what is on your list and what you need.
*Plan what snacking foods you want to have at home/work. This will help so you're not spending extra money outside of your normal groceries on snacks. I usually buy clementines which are 3.99 for about 20 or so in a box, trail mix, carrots and celery with hummus, and granola bars. These snacks last kyle & I all week and help to cut down on extra food costs.
* You are probably thinking okay but what do you eat for lunch??? I like to have a yogurt, orange, and a fig bar for lunch and sometimes some deli meat for protein. As a teacher, I eat lunch pretty early in the day so I don't eat too much. I prefer to bring a few small things versus one big item like a sandwich.
I hope this post gives a little insight into how I save with groceries. Let me know if you have any tips or tricks!

XO,
Nicholle

Holiday Cheese Board

The Holidays are here & with that comes lots of little get-togethers & parties. I'm the type who loves to entertain so I enjoy putting together little spreads of snacks for gatherings. This cheese board is one I'd put together for any of my get-togethers this season with family or friends. I've made this exact one before & it was a hit- I had to refill a few of the items before drinks were even finished! If you have picky eaters or allergies it's easy to tweak these boards to fit everyone's needs. 

I will generally make sure everyone has their drinks prior to setting the board out. I always have wine, a few different local beers, and of course liquor for mixed drinks. For non-alcoholic beverages, I have on hand seltzer, a fruit juice, and a few sodas in the small cans. 

What to include // 

- Hard cheese (manchego, parmesan, aged cheddar) 

- Soft cheese (brie, cheese spread, gorgonzola) 

- Nut or seed (almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds)

- Cracker or chip ( pick a higher end cracker- no ritz!) 

- Meat (salami, prosciutto, sausage) 

-Olives (kalamata, black, castelvetrano) 

-Dip (salsa, chipotle dip, bacon horseradish) 

-Garnish-( fresh fruits like blackberries or herbs like rosemary) 

I'd love to know what you put out for appetizers!
XO,
Nicholle 

Easy Weeknight Dinner

I'm back with another dinner recipe! This one is perfect for weeknights when you're a little crunched for time but still want a warm meal. This takes under 20 minutes to put together & is so delicious!

I paired this meal with a light salad- it would also be great with garlic bread! 

Ingredients // 

1 Pk. Chicken Sausage (I used garlic) 

1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce

2 Handfulls Fresh Spinach (torn into smaller pieces)

1 Pk. Ravioli or Tortellini 

2 Tablespoons Softened Cream Cheese 

Instructions // 

1. Cook your pasta & set aside- You can use frozen or fresh pasta as it will be cooked prior

2. Dice up your chicken sausage and cook in a skillet over medium heat unit warm

3. Add in your jar of spaghetti sauce & any spices you like- I added some Italian seasoning & garlic

4. Once sauce is hot stir in cream cheese until blended- this will create a creamier sauce

5. Toss in your pasta & mix until coated with sauce

6. Finally toss in your spinach and remove from heat

All Done!

Hope You Enjoy!

XO,

Nicholle