Holiday Baking with Nestlé Toll House and Three Core Trends that will Influence How you Bake this Holiday Season!

Disclosure: I was given Nestlé Toll House products to create some holiday yumminess and for this post--no money exchanged hands.

With the holidays in full swing, there's a lot of baking going on in our home and while the chocolate chip cookie will always be a favorite in our home, I like baking a few different kinds of cookies during the holidays.

I like simple recipes and I have always relied on Nestlé Toll House cookie dough to help me make a variety of cookies. Nestlé makes it easy for me (and you) to bake up a batch of yummy cookies. With the dough already made, I just pull out a few other ingredients like: flavorings, food colors, nuts, candies, fruits, etc and add what I want to the dough, bake and serve them up to my family and friends for a scrumptious snack!

Nestlé, a leader in baking for more than 75 years now, wants to inspire you to bake, so warm up your ovens and join in. Nestlé Toll House and leading pastry chefs from around the country looked at how baking is evolving and identified three core trends that will influence how Americans will bake this holiday season.

Speed Scratch
Beautiful baking creations aren’t just for trained pastry chefs. Today’s bakers can tap into pastry chef creativity and ensure success by leveraging proven baking shortcuts. Premade dough simplifies preparation, lets bakers explore ingredient variety and minimizes inconsistencies.

Farmers Market Inspired Baking
Modern bakers are eager to use ingredients that are in season to bring out the best flavor in their baked treats. With access to farmers markets year round, there are plenty of options for creating desserts with a distinct seasonal flavor.

Whoever came up with "Hot Cocoa" for a cookie flavor is a genius! Oh my word, cannot wait to try these!

Tradition Reinvented
Multicultural families are on the rise and with this demographic makeover in the U.S., home bakers are connecting with their heritage by updating treasured desserts. The memories behind classic recipes are timeless but today’s baker is looking to create new traditions.

Whatever cookies you decide to bake, Nestlé Toll House has you covered! So, go ahead, bring fun back into your kitchen and create a few masterpieces!

You can find Nestlé Toll House products at your local grocery store and Supermarkets across the nation!

Red Bull Cranberry Mocktail for your Holiday Drink

Red Bull Cranberry Mocktail

For my long time readers, you know that we are a family of six and that I love to cook. I love trying new recipes, it doesn't matter if I am using the oven, stove top, or crock pot-it's all fun! I hardly ever experiment with drinks, but here's one I think I will give a try this holiday season--and it's made with Red Bull.

Recipe for Red Bull Cranberry Mocktail:
Ingredients:
1 oz fresh lemon juice
2 ounces non-alcoholic ginger beer*
2 oz apple cider
6 ounces Red Bull Red Edition
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 sprig of Rosemary
1 lemon wheel

Directions:
In a small glass add lemon juice (aren't these cute!)
Ginger non-alcoholic beer, apple cider, Red Bull Red Edition, and cinnamon
Add ice
Garnish with a rosemary sprig pulled through a lemon wheel

*For a lower sugar option, sub non-alcoholic ginger beer with ginger flavored Kombucha

Disclosure: I was sent Red Bull products in exchange for sharing these recipes with my awesome readers!

Turkey Leftover Sliders made with Red Bull

Red Bull BBQ Turkey Leftover Sliders

Looking for recipes to use all that left over turkey in? Look no further, these turkey sliders made with using Red Bull Yellow Edition will definitely be a hit with all your company!

Red Bull Slaw Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Red Bull Yellow Edition
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
3 cups prepared bagged cabbage and carrot classic coleslaw

BBQ Turkey Sliders Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup leftover whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Red Bull Yellow Edition
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups shredded leftover turkey
12 slider buns or soft dinner rolls

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, Red Bull Yellow Edition, cider vinegar, and celery seeds. Toss with coleslaw. Cover and refrigerate while preparing the sliders.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the cranberry sauce, ketchup, Red Bull Yellow Edition, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, chili powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and stir to coat. Continue stirring until turkey is warm.

To serve, spoon turkey onto the bottom half of the buns, top with slaw, and finish with the top half of the bun.

Makes 12 sliders.

Disclosure: I was given product in exchange for this post--no money exchanged hands.

Turkey Pops and Caramel Apple Shooters for your Thanksgiving Meal

Make life sweeter this Thanksgiving with delicious, turkey day themed treats from Mrs. Freshley’s. These desserts would be a perfect addition to your holiday family feast.

Creating semi-homemade desserts to impress holiday guests doesn't require a day of slaving away in the kitchen. Mrs. Freshley's has created two Thanksgiving-inspired treats that are sure to WOW guests without all the added stress.

Turkey Pops would be a fun recipe for your children to help you with on Thanksgiving!

Ingredients:
3-4 packs of Mrs. Freshley’s Chocolate Icers
Chocolate icing
Piping bag with orange and red icing
Chocolate melts
Candy eyes
Candy Corn
Cake Pop Sticks

Directions:
Tear Mrs. Freshley’s Chocolate Icers cakes and roll to form into a ball shape for the cake pop.
Use chocolate icing to help form cake pops if needed
Place on cake pop sticks
Melt candy melts, according to package directions
Dip cake pops into melted candy melts
Place in freezer until cool and dry
Using chocolate icing as glue, stick candy corn into the top of the cake pop to create feathers
Place on the candy eyes
Use the piping bag to draw the beak and gobbler

Caramel Apple Shooters is a recipe that will make your taste buds dance and quite possibly do a few back flips!

Here's the recipe for Caramel Apple Shooters:
Ingredients:
3 packs of Mrs. Freshley’s Vanilla Icers
3 medium Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Whipped cream
Caramel topping

Directions:
Peel and dice the apples into bite sized pieces
Add the apples, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a medium skillet and cook, stirring often to coat the apples in the sauce, for 5 minutes over medium low heat
Remove from heat and cool a bit before assembling the dessert.
Add a generous layer of the bite sized vanilla Icers to the bottom of the bowl and top with cinnamon apples
Layer with whipped cream and caramel sauce

Disclosure: These recipes are provided to you from Mrs. Freshley’s. I was sent product in exchange for this post--no money exchanged hands.

Yummy Recipes for your Holidays Using Cereal: Banana Bubble Loaf, Crunchy Monkey Bread, Bombay Party Mix, and Pebbles Confetti Cookies

Every year, it always seems like I start my baking earlier and earlier and this year is no exception. I'm including a few new recipes this year and a some of those recipes call for cereal! Below find a few of the recipes that I will trying over this holiday season.

Banana Bubble Loaf
Ingredients:
2 cups Great Grains Banana Nut Crunch cereal
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
2 cans (12 oz. each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly crush cereal in resealable plastic bag. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar; close bag and shake to mix well. Set aside. Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the butter in small bowl.

Cut each biscuit into quarters. Dip, a few at a time, in butter mixture. Add to cereal mixture; close bag and shake to coat well. Place in greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with any remaining cereal mixture. Drizzle with any remaining butter mixture.

Bake 40 to 45 min. or until golden brown. Cool in pan 10 min.; invert onto serving plate. Cut into 16 slices. Serve warm.

Crunchy Monkey Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz each) refrigerated biscuits
1/3 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Honey Roasted cereal
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup raisins
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup bundt pan.

In a large plastic food storage bag, combine sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. Place in the food storage bag and shake the bag to coat.

In a small bowl combine cereal, pecans and raisins. Arrange in biscuit pieces in pan, layering the cereal mixture among the biscuits.

In small bowl, mix brown sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Pour over biscuit pieces.

Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes.

Turn upside down onto serving plate and place in the center of table. Allow guests to pull apart the pieces of monkey bread to serve. Enjoy warm.

Bombay Party Mix
Ingredients
2 cups Honey Bunches of Oats Honey Roasted cereal
1/2 cup whole cashews
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup wasabi peas
1/2 cup sesame sticks
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions
In a large dry skillet over medium high heat, combine Honey Bunches of Oats cereal and cashews and toast until golden brown and fragrant; about 5 minutes.

Remove from pan and place in a large bowl. Return pan to heat. Add vegetable oil, curry powder, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and cayenne pepper. Stir and cook for 30 seconds. Turn off heat.

Pour curry mixture over toasted cereal and nuts in the large bowl. Add the wasabi peas, sesame sticks, raisins and salt. Toss to combine.

Pebbles Confetti Cookies
Ingredients:
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1 large egg
3 cups Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles Cereal

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat cake mix, oil, water and egg in large bowl with wooden spoon until well blended. Add cereal; mix well.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 11 minutes or just until cookies begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.


Disclosure: I received product in exchange for sharing these recipes using Post cereal---no money exchanged hands.

Recipes for the Holidays--Using Ice Cream!

We love ice cream here, and even better in recipes! Here are two that you will absolutely want to make this holiday season! Get your taste buds ready!

BERRY COBBLER A LA MODE

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 bags (12 oz. ea.) frozen mixed berries, thawed
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® All Purpose Sticks, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup 2% milk
3 cups Breyers® Natural Vanilla Ice Cream


Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375°. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in large bowl. Add berries and toss to coat. Transfer to 2-quart baking dish or 9-inch cast iron skillet; set aside.

2) Combine flour, 3 tablespoons of the remaining sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Add I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® All Purpose Sticks and toss to coat with flour mixture. Combine by cutting with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk until blended. Spoon tablespoonfuls over berries. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

3)Bake 50 to 60 minutes until bubbling in the center and topping is golden. Serve warm with Breyers® Natural Vanilla Ice Cream.

Mint Chocolate Mocktinis

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. Breyers™ Hot Fudge Ice Cream Sauce
1/2 cup Breyers™ Chocolate Sprinkles
1 cup Breyers® Natural Vanilla Ice Cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. green gel food coloring
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Directions:
1)Squeeze 2 tablespoons Ice Cream Sauce onto plate. Pour Chocolate Sprinkles onto another plate. Dip rim of 2 martini glasses into Ice Cream Sauce, then Chocolate Sprinkles. Squeeze 3 tablespoons Ice Cream Sauce into plastic zip-top bag and snip off small piece from 1 corner. Pipe sauce into glasses starting at bottoms and working up to tops to create swirl patterns; set aside.

2) Process Breyers® Natural Vanilla Ice Cream, milk, food coloring and extract in blender until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.


Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Unilever, I was sent product coupons-no mney exchanged hands. -Read my disclosure policy here.

Frozen Peppermint Cookie "Hot Chocolate"

I love semi-homemade, no-bake desserts!

Here's the recipe for Frozen Peppermint Cookie "Hot Chocolate."

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Breyers® Peppermint Cookie
1/4 cup mini marshmallows
2 Tbsp. sweetened whipped cream

INSTRUCTIONS:
Scoop Breyers® Peppermint Cookie into mug. Top with marshmallows and whipped cream.
Garnish, if desired, with candy cane and/or pirouline cookie.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Unilever Ice Cream

Mac & Cheese Soup Recipe

As the days grow colder, I tend to make more soups. Here's another favorite in our home, Mac and Cheese Soup. It's fun and inexpensive to make too!

Ingredients:
1 package (14 ounces) deluxe - type macaroni & cheese(including cheese sauce ouch)
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups milk
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 cup cubed cooked ham

Directions:
Cook macaroni according to the package; drain and set aside
Meanwhile, chop broccoli and Onion
Combine broccoli, onion and water : bring to a boil: cook 2 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN.
Stir in macaroni, cheese sauce from pouch, milk, cheese soup and ham.
Return to boil, stirring occasionally. Serve..... and top with bacon! YUM!

For us, a family of six, I double the recipe. There are usually NO left overs.

*You can also cook this in the crockpot, but it requires a lot more milk---I never measure it, I just always add more when the cheese starts to gets thick, stir good, and usually add more milk!

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SWEET POTATO SPICED LATTE RECIPE

I have made pumpkin lattes before, but never a sweet potato latte, but here is one recipe that I will be hopefully trying in the near future.

Here's what you will need
Ingredients:
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons sweet potato puree
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 shot of espresso
Dash of cinnamon

Instructions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm milk gently, watching carefully to try to create some foam.
Add sweet potato puree and stir until the frothed milk turns orange.
Whisk in maple syrup. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking.
Make the espresso. Pour the milk and the espresso into a mug; spoon foam onto the top.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and other fall spices of your choice!

Thanks, NC Sweet Potatoes!  

My Favorite Banana Bread Recipe

This Banana Bread Recipe is our favorite bread recipe ever! It goes great with coffee too!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, soften
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup mashed rip bananas (about 2)
1/2 cup sour cream (I am convinced that this is what makes this bread so yummy!!!!)
2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup walnuts...optional!

Directions:
*In large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
*Stir in bananas and sour cream. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir in banana mixture just until moistened. Fold in nuts if using them.
* Transfer to a greased bread pan, reg. 8 x 4
*Bake at 350 degrees F for one hour or until that faithful tooth pick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before cutting with a knife.
*Enjoy!

7-Can Soup Recipe

7-Can Soup is just that, seven cans of food all thrown into one pot to make soup. It is the weirdest recipe I have ever made, because of the directions---I even snarled my nose at it at first and thought, that's going to be gross-I'm not making it!

It turned out very yummy--regardless of what the directions say, just make it---you will love it!

Ingredients:
1 can Meat-only Chili
1 can 15-ounce Kidney Beans
1 can (15 Ounce) Pinto Beans
1 can (15 Oz. Size) Black Beans
1 can 15-ounce Diced Tomatoes
1 can (15-ounce) Corn
1 can (10 Ounce) Rotel
Salt And Pepper, to taste
8 ounces of Velveeta -- any kind of cheese that you have on hand will work!

Directions:
Without draining the cans, empty the corn, chili, kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, tomatoes and tomatoes with green chilies into a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes to bring all the flavors together. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Dice the cheese and stir it into the soup until melted. Serve immediately.

Thanks to the Pioneer Woman

Spidery Nacho Dip

Put a fright on your Halloween festivities with this Spidery Nacho Dip.

INGREDIENTS:

2 (15-ounce) cans HORMEL® Vegetarian Chili
1 (12-ounce) package HORMEL® Taco Meats Beef Crumbles
1 1/2 cups thick and chunky salsa
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup guacamole
½ cup sour cream

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat chili and beef crumbles according to package instructions. Layer chili and then beef crumbles onto a 12- to 14-inch round serving plate.
2. Drain salsa in a strainer to get rid of excess juice. Spread salsa over warm chili and beef mixture, leaving some of the bottom layer showing.
3. Repeat layering with lettuce and then cheese with layers in between showing. Spoon guacamole on top.
4. Place sour cream in a sealable plastic sandwich bag; seal bag and snip a small tip off one corner. Pipe a spiderweb design over guacamole and onto the plate. Decorate with toy spider and serve with tortilla chips.

Thanks to Hormel for this recipe!

Happy National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day!

Did you know that Saturday, February 7th is National Eat Ice Cream for breakfast day? We, parents, are going to be so cool when we tell our children that they can ice cream for breakfast!

Here are two tasty recipes incorporating ice cream and some of your favorite breakfast cereals to help you celebrate the holiday!

Traditional 'New England' Grape Nuts Ice Cream

Ingredients
1/2 cup Grape-Nuts Cereal
1 pt. (2 cups) frozen vanilla low-fat yogurt, softened

Directions
Mix cereal and yogurt in freezer proof bowl; cover.
Freeze until firm.
Store leftovers in freezer.

Serve in ice cream cones or waffle bowls for an extra special treat.
As an added bonus, Grape-Nuts Cereal adds great flavor, crunch and an excellent source of iron to this frozen yogurt treat.



This next one is a little more involved, but they look oh, so good!

Cocoa Pebbles Chocolate Toffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup Cocoa Pebbles cereal
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Filling and Garnish:
3/4 cup toffee bits
3/4 cup Cocoa Pebbles Cereal
6 cups (1 1/2 pints) salted caramel ice cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a food processor, grind cereal into a fine powder.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, ground cereal, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Scrape down side of bowl.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine.

With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.
*Chill dough for 1-2 hours.
Divide dough and roll into 48 1-inch balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
Press down lightly with a glass and sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake until cookies are set about 8-10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

When ready to prepare the sandwiches, combine the toffee bits and 3/4 cup cereal in a small bowl. Scoop 1/4 cup of ice cream and spread on the underside of one side of the cookies. Top with another cookie and roll the edges in toffee-cereal mixture. Continue with remaining cookies, placing each completed ice cream sandwich in the freezer immediately. Freeze ice cream sandwiches for at least 2 hours until firm

Disclosure: I was given product in exchange for this post.

Mrs. Renfro’s Salsas Review + 3 Recipes!

There's salsa and then there's good salsa; good salsa never lasts long in our home. Mrs. Renfro's salsa ranks as a good salsa!  Our family got to try Mrs. Renfro's Medium Salsa and their Mango Habanero Salsa. Both salsas were chunky with fresh tasting veggies and had the right amount of liquid in each jar. Both were very yummy!

For the medium salsa, I put some in my eggs and scrambled them---had them for lunch a couple of days!

The Mango Habanero Salsa is delicious with fish tacos! We have had fish tacos three times in the last couple of weeks, and I have used two different 'white' fish and each time the Mango Habanero Salsa has been a perfect pairing with the fish!

Yummy fish taco!

1 white corn tortilla

Enough fish for your taco

Shredded cabbage, cheese and Mrs. Renfro's Mango Habanero Salsa

Here are two more recipes using Mrs. Renfro's Salsas:
Mrs Renfro's Divine Vegetarian Breakfast Burrito, click HERE to watch video.

Black Bean Salsa Soup

Disclosure: I was given product to facilitate this review; read my disclosure policy here.
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Jazz up that Ice Cream with Fruit

When we buy ice cream, we normally buy vanilla. With vanilla ice cream you can jazz it up nicely with fruit (strawberries and bananas are my husband's favorites!), chocolate or caramel syrups; what ever your like!

If you add fruit, that makes the ice cream healthy, right? LOL!

Ice cream is great for a hot summer day (however it might melt) or as a right before you go to bed snack!

What toppings do you put on your ice cream?
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#Recipe | Cinnamon Breakfast Squares with Yogurt and Berries

Over the years, I have seen recipes that have used cereal in them. I have only ever made one of those recipes. I just do not consider cereal as an ingredient for recipes. My concept on this is slowly changing, this morning I made Cinnamon Breakfast Squares with Yogurt and Berries; using the New Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy Cinnamon Crunch cereal.

It's an easy recipe to follow and I had most of the ingredients already in my pantry. I can see this becoming a favorite in our home. You could have these for breakfast, brunch, afternoon or late night snack. Just because the word "Breakfast" is in the recipe name doesn't mean you can't eat it at other times of the day!

With it being the peak of berry season, you have so many options. I chose to top mine with blueberries and raspberries, but blackberries would be good too or strawberries, my husband loves strawberries, so that is what I topped his with!

For the non-berry lover in your family ( I have one!), you can top theirs with just some Greek yogurt, drizzle some honey across the top and a dash of nutmeg!

Here's the recipe: 
Cinnamon Breakfast Squares with Yogurt and Berries
*Prep Time: 15 minutes
*Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Energy Cinnamon Crunch cereal
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter, cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 container (6 ounces) Greek yogurt
• 3 cups fresh berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) or favorite fruit of choice
• Honey, for drizzling
• Nutmeg or Cinnamon, for sprinkling

Directions

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly butter and flour an 8-inch square pan, or coat lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together the cereal, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon. While stirring, slightly crush the cereal using the back of the spoon or rubber scraper; set aside.
  
• In another bowl, beat eggs until well blended. Add milk, melted butter and vanilla, and mix well. Combine egg mixture with flour mixture. Pour batter (it will be thin) into prepared baking pan. 
  
•  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until it is set when lightly touched in the middle. Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
• To serve, cut into 6 equal-sized bars and place on serving plates. Top each square with a dollop of Greek yogurt, surround with fruit, and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon and serve immediately. Serves 6.

 Try the recipe and let me know what you think!

Disclosure: I was given product for this recipe, but all opinions and pictures are mine. Read my disclosure policy here.

Zucchini Boats with Parmesan and Tomatoes

If you are looking for a healthy side dish, you should try Zucchini Boats with Parmesan and Tomatoes. I made these over the weekend and and will be making them again soon. I only sprinkled a few bread crumbs on each (no where near the 2 Tablespoons!) and the boats were pretty watery, so if you don't mind the extra Carbs, add the breadcrumbs and that should take care of the excess water!

Here is what you will need:

::4 large zucchini's, washed

::about 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

::about 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs (omit these if choosing the healthier option)

::8 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

::olive oil

::salt

::pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make about a 1/2 inch slice vertically down the side of each zucchini, use a spoon to scoop out the insides of the zucchini until you've created about a 1/4 inch trough. 
3. Brush the zucchini inside and out with a little olive oil, then place 4 tomato halves inside each zucchini boat, sprinkle with cheese, top with the breadcrumbs, and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Bake for roughly 25 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.

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~Baked Ziti Recipe~

This is always a hit in our home. When I make this, I always make a couple extra pans and stick in the freezer to pull out later in the month or so. It freezes great, just make sure you use heavy duty foil.

~Baked Ziti Recipe~
1 lb. dry ziti pasta
1 onion chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 (24 oz) jars spaghetti sauce
8 oz. Provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 c. sour cream
8 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 T. Parmesan cheese, grated

*Bring a large pot of lightly salted to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes: drain.
*In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. DRAIN; add Spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
*Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
Then layer as follows:
1/2 of ziti, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted.
Then eat :)

Baked Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Tired of the same ol' chicken dishes, then try this Baked Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken. It will leave your family members licking their lips wanting more!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450°F and cover a cookie sheet with foil---just trust me, you will want to use foil and not scrape this mixture off your cookie sheet!
• In small pan, saute garlic with the oil until tender. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.
• Place chicken breasts in the sauce mixture, coat both side (don't burn yourself!) after coating both sides lay chicken breast on the foil.
• Pour any of the left over garlic and brown sugar mixture over breasts
• Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with veggies or mac and cheese.

Overstuffed Pizza Rolls

I  am all for easy recipes and this one falls into the "easiest" of easy recipes!

Ingredients and directions:
Chop up a whole bag of pepperonis 
Add an eight ounce bag of mozzarella cheese
Mix all together
Tear 1 can of crescent rolls in half, add mixture, and seal really good. 
Bake at 350 degrees until they are golden brown.

ENJOY!!!

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