Chicken and Broccoli Stromboli

I found this recipe in the monthly Rachel Ray magazine. It looked really good so we tried it out shortly after I found it (keep in mind I'm a few months behind in the reading!). 

Chicken and Broccoli Stromboli
1 yellow onion, chopped
4tbsp olive oil
1 small head of broccoli, chopped
1/2 lb ground chicken or turkey
1lb pizza dough, thawed
8oz shredded mozzarella
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. In skillet, cook the onion in 1tbsp oil over medium for 3mins. Transfer 1/3 to a plate.  Add the broccoli and 1/2 cup water and cook for 3mins. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In the same skillet, cook the chicken in 1tbsp oil over medium-high, breaking apart and until browned. Transfer to the bowl with broccoli mixture. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
4. Coat baking sheet with 1tbsp oil. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Stretch each into an oval (roughly 8x4") and sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture down the center of each then top with remaining cheese.
5. Fold one long side over the filling and fold in the ends. Roll into a log. Transfer to the baking sheet seam side down. Brush each with the remaining oil and cut 2 diagonal slits in the top.
6. Bake until golden, about 15mins.
7. While baking, in the skillet, cook tomatoes with the reserved onion about 5mins. Serve over stromboli.

before going in the oven

(Notes: I used frozen pizza dough from Wegmans (the dough balls)-one of those actually is 2lb so it would make a double recipe of this. I used ground chicken for mine. Rolling them up is really challenging-they are pretty full of stuff so it makes it really hard to roll up without ripping the dough!)

These turned out SO yummy! Gabe and I each had one for dinner then ate the other 2 for leftovers later that week. Then we made them again the following week! That's how much we liked them! The last time I made them I did a double batch so I froze half (4) of them. We haven't eaten the frozen ones yet, but I'm sure they'll be fine reheated. Definitely give these a try if you're looking for something new! Delish!

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day!

We had a really busy day!

Cassandra had swimming lessons bright and early so I took her to those. Then we got home and got ready to go to our annual Mother's Day brunch at a local hotel.

We got there around noon and before eating, we took a few pics of everyone!

Owen, Cassandra, Avery, Bianca

My Mom and Aunt Pat made the trip in from Buffalo (like they normally do) to have brunch with us so that was very nice!

Aunt Pat, Mom, Camille, Cassandra, Me, Molly

Gabe, Avery, Cassandra, and I

We were a little disappointed in brunch this year. We've been going to the same place for probably 5-6yrs now and this year they totally changed things. The layout was very different and they cut way back on the variety of foods. For instance, they had NO fruit! How do you have brunch for kids with no fruit?!  That was very disappointing. They also cut down on a lot of side dishes and lots of desserts too. The food was still good and we still all ate plenty, but when you're used to something (and looking forward to it!) and it really changes, it's just not the same. You know what they say...if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Luckily they still kept the kids room with the clowns! That's always a big hit with all of the kids. Avery got a few paintings done on her arms....

and even Cassandra was brave enough to have it done too!

After brunch, we dropped the kids off at my in-laws' and Gabe and I ran some errands. Then we headed back to my in-laws' so he could work on a few computer things for them. By the time we left there, it was way past the kids' bedtimes....so we got home and put them to bed.  It was an absolutely beautiful day outside too and unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy any of it. But...it was still a great day! I got to spend it with both my Mom and kids and our lovely family!

Happy 5th Birthday Noah!

On Saturday we made another trip to Buffalo.

First, we went to my Mom's and had a nice brunch that they made. We hung out a little bit and then headed to my friend Megan's house for her son's 5th birthday.

It's so crazy to think he's 5....because him and Avery are only 8 weeks apart. It's hard for me to think that MY daughter is going to be 5 already.

They did a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme for the party and it was super cute!

One of the games they had was throwing ninja turtle balls into bins to get points. Cassandra wanted nothing to do with it until everyone was done-then she wanted to play!

And Cass had a ball playing in Leigha's toddler bed with her!

We had some food and then it was present time!

Yes Avery is wearing a Rapunzel dress-she came all decked out!

Megan's Dad was an art teacher and made this really cool thing for the kids to put their heads through-it turned out amazing!

Cassandra

Avery

Then it was cake time!

We ended up staying until most everyone was gone-the kids were having so much fun playing together!  We had a great time!

Happy Birthday Noah!!

Countdown

It's May 1st....so, so hard to believe!

The weather here is still so miserable. The longest winter EVER is now spreading into Spring. It's been cool and rainy for the past few days and the forecast for the next week is just as miserable.

But....for us, the countdown is ON!

We leave for Aruba in just a few short weeks.

I'm so excited!

It's our first family trip since Avery was 18 months old....yep, that's over 3 years since our last vacation!  We really need it!

Of course I'm starting to get anxious and have a lot of packing ahead of me. But I can't wait for the kids to go on the plane and for a week of heat and sunshine!

We went to Aruba for our honeymoon and absolutely loved it. Of course it'll be a whole different ballgame with kids, but it'll still be a ton of fun.

So I'm curious-if you've been to Aruba before, what's on your must do list? Places to see, eat, etc. We will have a car the entire time we're there. I'd love a new list of things to do!