Weekend Wrap Up & Something New for Your Family Table Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

 Happy Monday friends! We are riding high after a big win from our Buffalo Bills last night! It was a great way to end the weekend. Sharing a few bits from the weekend, including a great new Fall recipe I made yesterday. 

Let's get to it! On Friday, Ella was off to the Cross Country State Championship for the last time. Unfortunately she injured her leg in her last race, so was not able to race but was there to support her team. As a senior and captain, she wanted to get her team a little something to celebrate the special weekend. 

We got them all matching Pajama pants from Old Navy. We tied them with a ribbon,  a little liquid IV packet, and she wrote a personal note to each girl. Such a cute little gift if you’re doing an exchange with teen girls or your girlfriends!

Saturday I had a great walk catching up with a friend. We have been spoiled with really good Fall weather this year. I think we are on our track to see the latest snowfall here in Buffalo. We usually have had at least one snowfall by now. Ill take this snow-free Fall!

I spent Saturday running all of the errands. And I think everyone else did too. The shopping centers and the roads were so busy! Definitely feeling like the holiday season. I wore this new fleece that is total \Free People dupe at a fraction of the price. It is so cozy and cute for running around. I got in the black-and-white, but it comes in several other colors.

All that shopping had me in the holiday spirit and I began to decorate the inside of the house for Christmas.

Sunday was a low key day of working out, laundry, and getting some stuff ready for dinners for the week. The Bills were playing in the later game, so I made a Game Day dinner of barbecued pulled pork, coleslaw, and this butternut squash mac & cheese. I was looking for a mac and cheese recipe that was a little bit healthier. This would be a great addition to a Fall or Thanksgiving dinner. 

This is not a weeknight meal, as it takes a couple of extra steps. I followed this recipe, making a couple of changes as I went along. 

You cook and puree the squash to add to the cheese sauce. 

The recipe called for a couple of different cheeses to be blended together. While I was grocery shopping, I saw this bag and just went with this blend.

The recipe called for skim milk and I used almond milk. Now the sauce didn’t thicken as much as I think a traditional mac & cheese sauce thickens. Not sure if that’s just this recipe or if it’s because I used almond milk. Either way, I thought the taste & texture of the finished product was great. 

I added about an extra 1/2 cup of cheese over what the recipe called for. 

The recipe called for 10oz of pasta, but I did a full package which was 16oz. I also only used about 3/4 of the sauce. Just seemed like there was too much sauce for the amount of pasta. I topped it with a bread crumb topping and it was ready to go in the oven! 

It turned out nice and golden and had really great flavor. You could taste a hint  of squash, but it was very mild. A great Fall dish! I think you could add a few cups of broccoli to this dish too and it would be great.

Wishing you a great week! See you back here later in the week, there is always room for one more at our family table.

Xoxo

Genevieve  

p.s. I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog. 

Friday Favorites November 15th

 Happy Friday friends! It is November 15th! Like what? We are halfway through this month already? A friend shared this meme this week and gosh I really felt it!

As always, I am linking up with Andrea & Erika for a little Friday Favorites. A peek into a few of my favorite things from the week. 

one 

Well now that we are halfway through November, let's talks fun holiday wear! Ella came home on Wednesday night for a trip to target with this sweater. I immediately added to cart and ordered for pick up. How cute is this for the holiday. $25 and so many options.

She got this pink striped one that I immediately ordered for myself.

Love this grey version. 

I also ordered this one, how cute for the holidays?

I have a very similar one to this from last year. 

two

 I had a quick overnight work trip this week. I took along few of my favorite things. These bracelets I wear every day I mix them with silver and gold and I don’t take them off. You can grab them here & here.

I have shared these two travel bags before, but I will share them again. They are great gift ideas. The one on the right is my make up bag. It opens up wide and you can fill it with so much stuff. The other one is my toiletry bag. It hangs on the back of the door and you can fit full-size products in there.

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And speaking of full-size products, these covers for your products are genius- totally leak proof!

three

We had the family over for dinner on Sunday. We watched the football game and played some games after dinner.

Love this little crew! 

I made these chicken roll ups. They are pretty simple to make, and you can easily double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd. I ended up making 18 roll ups and they received two thumbs up from everybody at the table. I shared the details on how to make them here.

I also made these cookies from the Magnolia cookbook. They are probably my most favorite chocolate chip cookies.

four

I know I might be alone in this, but prepping vegetables at the beginning of the week and having them ready to go in the fridge is one of my favorite things. Something about cutting vegetables and fruit is cathartic to me. It’s so relaxing. And I love seeing this goodness in my fridge.

I like these glass containers. I have been trying to phase out plastic over the last year.

five

Three of my favorite things and one picture. Christmas blend coffee and a red cup, Lincoln Park after dark nail polish, and my Buffalo Bills getting a win.

six

This guy and I had a date night last weekend & ended up on a late night taco run!  And speaking of this guy... I shared some gift ideas for guys on the blog this week. You can check it out here.

Wishing you a great weekend! I am decorating the house for Christmas this weekend!!! YAY!  See you back here on Monday, there is always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve

p.s. I get commission for purchases or clicks made through links in this post. Thank you for supporting my blog. 

Let's Look Gift Ideas for Men

 Hey friends!  Today I am linking up with Shay & Erika for this month's edition of Let's Look. A fun monthly post where we take a peek at some random little things in our lives. Today's topic, Little Things we do Everyday. 

Today's post... Gift Ideas for Men!

Now I am not 100% certain, but I assume many people might feel their husbands can be "tough to buy for".  I do not have that issue. I think Paul starts his wish list in the Summer. He keeps some ideas in his notes app on his phone and others on his Amazon wish list. He loves to share his list with me of what he is wishing for. It's part hilarious and part adorable & he does it every year. If my Mom asks him for a gift idea, he happily texts her a link to something he wants. Last year it was a boating stethescope that measured something on the boat. She had no idea what she was buying him, but was happy to click the link and get him what we was wishing for! LOL

Anyway I have rounded up a few things that Paul has gotten for gifts, and yes most of these were at his request. They are some of his most used items.

Paul is always struggling with dry skin on his face in the Winter. He’s not one to use products per se, so he’ll take some of mine but say that they smell too feminine or floraly.  I’ve gotten this one and he seems to like it and it helps with dry skin.

Paul is often watching YouTube videos on his phone. Whether it is to learn how to fix something in the house or a podcast on Health, he’s often holding his phone to watch a video. I thought this would be a cool idea for him to watch without having to hold his phone. 

So we don’t have this bag, but I was traveling with a peer for work and he had this backpack. He literally had all he needed for a couple of days travel in this backpack. It opens up to hold so much!

Now, maybe not the most glamorous gift, but definitely a practical one. Paul has this and uses it often!

Paul skis in the Winter. He’s the only skiier in the family, none of us really enjoy skiing. His issue has been his feet being cold. He got these electric warming socks a couple of years ago and he’s been a much happier skier. These are perfect, if you have a guy in your life that is an avid winter sportsman, or even hunting, definitely helps to keep things warm.

Paul has a Helly Hansen winter jacket that he loves. Last year for his birthday I got him the rain jacket version.  I don’t think you realize how much you need a good rain jacket until you don’t have one. He loved it so much, he got one for his dad this year as well. This one is pricier, but a great investment piece and super great quality.

Paul loves wearing slippers in the house. He was an avid Ugg fan for years until he found this brand. He got a couple Summer shoes from this brand a few years ago and has been sold ever since. 

We got him these slippers last year for Christmas (courtesy of his list of course!) and he loves them!

While these gifts are all material things, I really think one of the best gifts you can give yourself or encourage someone to give to themselves is the gift of health. Last summer, Paul had a heart attack. He is a typically healthy, young male and it really rocked our world when it happened. 

 He has been doing a ton of research on how to live the healthiest lifestyle and these are two books he would strongly recommend.

The one on the left is of simpler, easy read.  Just talks about general lifestyle, diet, and other things to live your best and youngest life. That was one of the first ones he read.  There’s also a version for women that I have read. The book Outlive is a little bit deeper. This takes you through some more complex medical terms, but if you stick with it, there’s a lot of really good information about the science of longevity. 

And there is my list. Any great ideas you have for men? Share them in the comments below. 

Have a great Wednesday! See you back here later this week for Friday Favorites. There is always room for one more at our family table. 

xoxo

Genevieve

Something New for Your Family Table Chicken Roll -Ups

 Happy Monday, friends! Coming off of a great weekend at home, before traveling for work today, and then again at the end of the week, as Ella heads to Saratoga to race in the cross-country state championship!

Paul and I had a fun night out with some friends on Saturday, talking all things college. 

And I guess I felt like my old college self, because we ended up going out for tacos at the end of the night! 

Sunday morning, I dressed up in my Bills gear and went out to the grocery store to grab a few things, as we were hosting our parents and my sister for the game and dinner.

My mother-in-law brought her Mah-Jong game. I think there’s a more formal game to play, but we play sort of a made up game.  It’s a game she taught me like 25 years ago, and we would play it every time we went to Florida. We call it Turtle  and it’s kind of like a matching game with the Mahjong titles. My mom and sister loved it!

I made Chicken Roll-ups for a crowd. I kind of took a blend of a few recipes to make them. 

I started out with some very thin sliced chicken cutlets, that I seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I got the stuffing pieces ready. Sliced ham & Swiss cheese for the cordon bleu roll ups. And then I did a bruschetta, chopped spinach and fresh mozzarella filling for the others.

I went ahead and assembled them, laying a slice of ham and thinly sliced Swiss cheese on some, and then the bruschetta, spinach and mozzarella on others.

I rolled them up tightly and then secured them with two toothpicks. Not the most appetizing picture, but this is how it looked.

I lightly sprayed a baking dish with avocado oil. I actually used two baking dishes, since I was making about 18 roll ups.

I did three egg whites with about 2 tablespoons of water and mixed  that well. I dipped each roll up in the egg wash and then into some seasoned breadcrumbs to coat.

Once they were all nestled in my pan, I gave them another spray with some avocado oil. I popped them in a 425° oven for about 30 to 35 minutes.  Cooking time really depends on the thickness of your chicken cutlets. You just want to make sure the chicken is cut through. 

I drizzled the bruschetta ones with a balsamic glaze once I pulled them out of the oven. 

They received rave reviews from everybody at the table ranging in age from 15 to 89! 

I made them all in the morning and then just had to put them in the oven. A great make ahead dish that looks fancy and can be hands off if you are having people for dinner!

I also made the chocolate chip cookies from one of my Magnolia cookbooks. I got this cookbook sometime around Covid, and during that time I made these cookies 1 million times. It’s been a while since I made them. It’s one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes 

I made the dough earlier in the morning and just kept it chilled. While dinner was cooking. I took the dough out to take some of the chill off. Then I scooped them onto some baking sheets and baked them while we were eating dinner. I mean a warm chocolate cookie was  the perfect and to our weekend! 

Wishing you a great week ahead! 

I’ll see you back here later in the week. There is always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve