Green Bean Casserole with Homemade Cream of Mushroom Sauce

Who doesn't love green bean casserole? Delicious green beans mixed with delicious cream of mushroom sauce and of course topped with crunch onion pieces. It's one of my favorite side dishes and whenever I make it, the entire dish goes, every time. It's just that good. In the past I've always made it by popping open a can of cream of mushroom soup, but one night while watching Food Network with the hubs we watched a chef on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives make their own homemade cream of mushroom sauce. I sat there watching and thinking to myself "why can't I do that?" Well I could and I did and I have been ever since. Don't be intimidated, it's very easy, sure not as easy as popping open a can but the difference in taste it brings is well worth it. Trust me.

Mushroom & Black Olive Pizza

Today's pizza incorporates two of my favorite things to eat...black olives and mushrooms. Of the four pizzas I am making this week this one really had my name written all over it. I could eat mushrooms every day I love them so much and black olives are awesome on top of pizza. Back in our dating days whenever my husband and I went to get pizza after school we'd always get a pie with pepperoni and black olives, we even make it sometimes and it definitely brings me back.

This pizza is a perfect example of how pizza doesn't have to follow any rules or even any rhyme or reason. Take whatever it is you love and put it on top of a pizza. Have fun and be creative. That's the best part of pizza. It's day 3 of my giveaway so don't forget to enter for a chance to win my cookbook. There's over 50 recipes for pizzas, including a breakfast and a dessert pizza, sauce recipes and much more! All you have to do is become a fan on Facebook, leave a comment here or subscribe via email, do one or all three!

Mushroom Stuffed Peppers

Let me preface this post by saying I'm not a huge pepper fan, I enjoy the taste of them but they have a tendency to repeat on me so I usually just stay away from the. Fortunately I have discovered that the mini peppers don't have as much of an effect on me and I can eat one or two without paying for it later. One of my favorite foods is mushrooms, especially stuffed mushrooms so I decided to try and combine the two.

The recipe is super easy and makes for a great side dish to steak or chicken or you can make a whole bunch and use them for an appetizer for a party, they're the perfect size. Sometimes the mini peppers are difficult to find, Trader Joe's always carries them and I've been noticing that they are showing up in bigger supermarkets more and more lately.