Glazed Cinnamon Scones

These were a fun breakfast that I made for the family on a Saturday that we weren't running out the door! These scones didn't take a lot of time, rising and punching the dough... just mix it up and you are ready to roll. Such a delicious treat to start the day and we had a few left over so that we could have a sweet treat for a snack later!

Glazed Cinnamon Scones
(recipe found on pinterest via moneysavingmom.com)

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, separated
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice)

Crumb Topping:
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk (enough to make a glaze)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Separate the egg white and yolk. Set the egg white aside. In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk, honey and buttermilk. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Form dough into a ball on a floured surface. Roll or pat out to half an inch in thickness and eight inches in diameter. Cut into eight equally-sized pieces. Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Whisk the egg white until froth forms and brush over the tops of scones. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over egg white topped scones. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until glaze forms. Drizzle over scones after they bake.

Pink Cinnamon Rolls

I wanted to do something special for the kids for Valentine's Day, especially since they were home from school that day! So, I decided to get up early and make these pink cinnamon rolls!! Oh, they were so heavenly... Loaded with calories, but worth every bite! I definitely will not be making them for breakfast again though since they took FOREVER, with all the rising, punching, rising again - you know the drill! I think that these will be an afternoon snack type of thing from now on - just to save on mom's sanity!

Pink Cinnamon Rolls
(recipe found on pinterest via lovefromtheoven.com)

Cinnamon Rolls
1 box of white or yellow cake mix
2 packages of dry yeast
2 1/2 cups of warm water
pink food coloring, if making them pink
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Filling
2 cups brown sugar (or granulated sugar if you are trying to keep the pink color)
Cinnamon
1/2-1 cup butter, softened

Frosting
1 can Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Frosting Starter
1 packet Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Cinnamon Roll Flavor Mix
(or I used my cream cheese frosting recipe)

Mix yeast and warm water until dissolved. Combine cake mix, salt and flour in a large bowl. Add warm water/yeast mixture and vanilla (and food coloring if you are making it a pink color) to cake mix, salt and flour mixture. Mix well. This may require kneading with your hands a bit to completely combine ingredients. Cover tightly. Let rise for one hour. Punch down and let rise again for another 30-60 minutes. On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle shape, approx 1/4″ thick. Once dough is rolled out, brush with softened butter. I only used about half of a stick of butter for mine. Sprinkle with brown sugar (or granulated sugar if you are making a colored cinnamon roll). Sprinkle with cinnamon, as much as you want. Starting at end opposite from you, roll the dough towards you until all dough is rolled into one long piece. Slice dough into 24 equal sized pieces. Place rolls in two greased 9×13 pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Prepare your Frosting Creations Cinnamon Roll frosting. If you prefer your frosting to melt into your rolls, frost after rolls have cooled for 10-15 minutes. If you prefer your frosting to stay on top of your rolls, wait until rolls have cooled until frosting.

French Toast Muffins

I think that I have said it before, probably every time that I make a breakfast meal, but I love breakfast!! It is so nice to be able to just get up in the morning, have a leisurely time with the family, drink some coffee and just enjoy the start of the day. I don't get to do it often enough with our crazy schedule but when I do I love it! Before my father in law left for the airport, I wanted to send him off with a delicious breakfast to fill him up and I chose to make french toast muffins, mainly because I love french toast and I was able to prepare this the night before!! It turned out so good!! I loved the crunchy top layer and I cooked it a little longer then the directions called for because I'm not a fan of soggy bread! These were amazing...

French Toast Muffins
(recipe found on pinterest via twopeasandtheirpod.com)

1 loaf French bread, cut or torn into 1/2" cubes (about 12 cups of bread)
2 1/2 cups milk
6 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Cinnamon Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Butter and Maple Syrup, for serving, optional


In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin. Add about 1 cup of bread cubes to each muffin cup. Carefully pour egg and milk mixture evenly over each muffin tin. You may need to press down on the bread cubes after you pour a little mixture and then pour more. Pour slowly or you will have a mess. Cover the muffins with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. To make the cinnamon streusel, in a small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix together with your hands, until you have a crumbly mixture. Remove the muffins from the refrigerator and sprinkle the muffins evenly with the streusel topping. Bake for 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and serve with butter and maple syrup, if desired.

Resurrection Rolls

I made these rolls a few years ago for Easter and decided that I needed to make this a yearly tradition for our kids. Although my husband doesn't think that kids need "props" to help them understand the stories in the bible, my teacher training kicks in and I say "hey, if it is yet another way for them to understand what they are hearing about, I am all for it"!! I love the hands on technique, plus anything that gets us in the kitchen is a bonus for me!! I thought that I had blogged about this in the past, but when searching for the recipe came to realize that it was on my family blog instead of my foodie blog, so here I am - passing it along to you and helping me be able to find it next year when I am looking for the recipe again!! :)

Resurrection Rolls
(Recipe found on pinterest)

crescent rolls (to symbolize the tomb)
white marshmallows (to symbolize Jesus and his purity)
melted butter (to symbolize the oils used)
cinnamon and sugar mixture (to symbolize the incense used)

Set out the crescent rolls.

Roll the marshmallow in the melted butter.

Cover it with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Lay the marshmallow on the crescent roll.

Roll the crescent roll up tightly, making sure to seal up all edges otherwise your marshmallow will ooze out everywhere. For that same reason, use a baking sheet with edges or you may have marshmallow all over the bottom of your oven like I did...

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 375 or until crescent rolls are browned. When opened, the marshmallow is "gone" and the "tomb" is empty...

Peeps!

I had to share these, even if I am a little late!! I wanted to get them posted last weekend, but the time just flew by and I never hopped onto my computer to do it... I saw this idea on pinterest and love, love, loved it! How simple!! I always have some kind of skewers at my house and peeps are available for every holiday, so it doesn't even have to be saved for next Easter... I threw these together for my daycare kids for an Easter treat to take home. If I had been more on top of it, these babies would have been made up for my kids' teachers and helpers - cheap, cute and easy!!

In case you are wondering - my note says "You are one of my favorite peeps!"

Weekly Line Up - 4/25-5/2

So excited for this week! I have a few things going on that I am trying a ton of new recipes for but I am also making a lot of old favorites of ours... It's been raining a lot this week and we are supposed to get more at the start of next week, so that means a lot of time stuck in the house. Guess I will be doing some baking to fill the time!! Josh's niece and nephew are going to be around next weekend and I always bring treats when we go to visit them and I can't disappoint!! Monday I have bunco at my house (on my oldest son's birthday!!) so not only am I making a bunch of goodies for that I have to make an actual supper for the kids since Brody gets to pick his meal for the night. The oven is going to be smoking this week, no need to worry about loading the wood stove, all my cooking will be heating up our house... Can't wait!

Friday - Spaghetti and Meatballs
Saturday - Bobby Flay Steak Marinade/Asparagus Supreme
Sunday - *Best Banana Cake/Pick Your Own Night
Monday - Chicken Bacon Alfredo Pizza using this recipe for the crust...
Tuesday - Picnic Lunch at the School (Kindergarten Round Up for my third baby!!)
Wednesday - Teriyaki Chicken
Thursday - Asian Burgers

Bunco Recipes - *Smores Ice Cream Cake/*Cranberry Feta Pinwheels/*Cheesy Artichoke Bread/*Brownie Batter Dip/*Caramel Could Be Crack Snack Mix/*Neiman Marcus Dip/*Chocolate Mint Popcorn

Extras: Hershey Kiss Gingerbread Cookies/*Reese's Popcorn/Chocolate Chip Cookies/Ham and Cheese Pockets/Pizza Pockets

* = New Recipes

Breakfast Enchiladas

This was a breakfast recipe that I made when my father in law was in town and we loved it! I threw it together the night before, popped it in the fridge and then threw it in the oven the next morning when everyone was starting to get up. You can mix and match ingredients as much as you want and even take out the ham completely if you don't want any meat involved! I added mushrooms to ours and beefed up the other veggies a bit and made it a double batch. Super good!

Breakfast Enchiladas
(recipe found on pinterest via www.inspiredtaste.net)

2 cups diced cooked ham
1 bell pepper, diced
8 green onions, finely sliced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
10 eight" flour tortillas
6 eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Lightly spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir together ham, bell pepper, green onions and 1 cup of the cheese. Place 1/3 cup of the ham mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Stir together eggs, half and half, flour and salt and then pour over enchiladas. Heat oven to 350. If made ahead of time, uncover baking dish. Scatter the remaining cup of cheese over enchiladas. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover, and then bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until set and cheese melted.

Cheesy Potato Soup

I love a good potato soup and what made this one even better was that it was made in the crockpot!! I love that I can just pop a meal into the crockpot and not have to worry about it for the rest of the day... Makes my life so much easier, even when I do work from home. The hubs loved this one, even heated up since he ended up getting home a little bit later then he thought! The bacon always makes everything better though...

Cheesy Potato Soup
(recipe found at pillsbury.com)

4 slices bacon
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
5 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 medium stalk celery, chopped
1 carton (32 ounces) chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 bag (8 ounces) shredded American and Cheddar cheese blend (2 cups)

In 12" skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned and crispy. Remove from skillet, reserving fat in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towel, then refrigerate. In same skillet, cook onion in bacon fat over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Spray 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, mix onion, potatoes, celery, broth, salt and pepper. Cover; cook on low heat 6 to 7 hours. In small bowl, beat flour and half-and-half with wire whisk until well blended; stir into soup. Increase heat setting to high. Cover; cook about 30 minutes longer or until thickened. Stir in cheese until well melted. Crumble bacon; sprinkle over soup.

Crepes

The plan was to have these crepes for dessert after a meal when my father in law was in town, but it just never worked out. Either we were running the door after a meal so we didn't have time or we were just getting in the door and had eaten like crazy so no one was in the mood for more food! So, the kids and I had them for snack the week after he left and they were a big hit!! The batter made about 10 crepes, so next time I might need to wait until we have company to make them again... I think that my boys had 3 or 4 a piece - maybe not the healthiest choice! :) Oh well, it was a treat for that day!

See my happy camper? Dirty face and all? Seriously - they were licking the filling off the plates, it was hilarious!

Crepes
(recipe found on justapinch.com)

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 cans comstock strawberry pie filling or flavor of your choice.
powdered sugar, ice cream, whip cream, yogurt, the choice is all yours on what kind of toppings you would like

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, eggs and butter together. Let set in fridge over night or no less than 4 hours. To Cook Crepes; season a small egg pan or skillet, with melted butter. Pour 1/4 cup mix into a medium high heated skillet and cook until brown on both sides. As they cook, place on a platter and separate with wax paper, until ready to fill them. Keep warm. To fill crepes, heat filling to hot, (I skipped this step) and add warm filling and roll in jelly roll style. Place on your serving plate. Top with sprinkled powdered Sugar, whip cream, or your choice of toppings.

Asian Meatball and Rice Toss

I don't normally make up my own meatballs, so when I could just buy a bag from the store to make this recipe, I was sold. It sounded delish, but I wasn't sure if it would be filling enough for my family with just a single batch. So, I doubled the recipe and we had the extras the next day for leftovers! I like that idea!! It was pretty easy to throw together and the whole family enjoyed it, in fact one of my boys even took it to school for lunch the next day... Thank God he got a wide mouth thermos for Christmas this year, that thing has come in handy! :)

Asian Meatball and Rice Toss
(recipe found on bettycrocker.com)

2 tablespoons butter
1 (6.8 ounces) package beef-flavor rice and vermicelli mix
3 cups water
1/3 cup asian sesame marinade and salad dressing
1 (16 ounces) package frozen cooked meatballs, thawed
1 cup julienne cut carrots
1/2 cup halved fresh snow pea pods
3 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped green onions

Directions
Melt butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in rice and vermicelli from mix; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until rice is lightly browned. Add water, asian marinade and contents of seasoning packet from mix; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Add meatballs and carrots; cover and cook 15 to 18 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in pea pods. Cook, uncovered an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until pea pods are crisp-tender. Garnish individual servings with peanuts and onions.

Weekly Line Up - 4/18-4/24

Happy Easter!! It's a 5 day weekend for my kiddos and I'm hoping that the weather shapes up so that we can enjoy it... Doing a lot of easy cooking this week so that we enjoy our time together!

Friday - *Walnut Crusted Salmon
Saturday - Red Velvet Cake - (Dad's Birthday dinner - I get to bring dessert!)
Sunday - *Weekend Brunch Casserole (Breakfast)/Easter Dinner (Lunch)/Pick Your Own Night (Supper)
Monday - *Garlicky Chicken Pizza
Tuesday - Mac-N-Cheese/Corn Dogs
Wednesday - *Easy Asian Chicken Slaw
Thursday - Fruit Salad (Cub Scouts Potluck)

Extras: *Resurrection Rolls

* = New Recipe

Skinny 3 Cheese Penne

Pasta is always a favorite around here, but I hate that the calories add up super quick in order to get a filling meal out of it. That's when these "skinny" pasta meals come in super handy! This dish was pretty easy to throw together and was hearty enough, with a salad and some bread, to satisfy our family!

Skinny 3 Cheese Penne
(recipe found on skinnymom.com)

1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (23.25 ounces) jar pasta sauce
1 (12 ounces) penne pasta
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook penne according to the package instructions for al dente, about 10 minutes. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the onion and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes. Turn down heat to medium low. Add pasta sauce to the onion and garlic, stir. Drain pasta and add to pasta sauce. In a medium size bowl combine cottage cheese, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella and spices. In a 9x13 pan, add 1/2 pasta mixture. Then spread all of the cheese mixture evenly on top. Next, layer the remaining pasta. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the shredded mozzarella. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Simply Sinful Dip

This recipe that I found on pinterest was called Simply Sinful and oh it was... It was so tasty and yummy, warm or cold! This was my contribution to the super bowl party that we went to and there wasn't a bit left to bring home. I guess the score of the game made us all huddle around the food a little more then usual! :) I served mine in the bread, with a couple kinds of crackers on the side to go with it. I also doubled the recipe and it still all fit in the bread bowl that I made. It went fast, so I would definitely recommend doubling it!

Simply Sinful Dip
(recipe found on pinterest via anniebakes.net)

1 (8 ounces) sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 cup ham, diced
1 green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
french bread

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, except french bread; stir until well blended. Cut a thin slice from the top of the bread, then scoop out the rest of the inner bread, leaving about 1/2 inch of bread around the inside of the bowl. Fill the bread loaf with the dip. Wrap with foil, set on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour. Serve with the reserved bread from the middle, crackers, chips, fritos or on cocktail rye.

Banana Cake

My birthday this year fell on a Tuesday. This meant that I got to celebrate my day by working all day and then heading to ECFE that night. At least I didn't have to make my own supper - they were serving hot dogs for supper that night! :) Anyhow, so of course I felt that I needed a cake for my birthday, so I whipped up this cake that I thought looked super good. Wow, it WAS!! The frosting put it over the top of course and I like a thicker layer of frosting so I doubled the recipe for the frosting... Hey, it's my birthday! :) This cake was super moist and since I always have bananas in the freezer, it was an easy cake to throw together!

Banana Cake
(recipe found on justapinch.com)

CAKE
3 over ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup milk

FROSTING
4 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Beat together bananas and eggs with mixer on medium til bananas are mashed, about 1 minute. On low speed pour in melted butter, add in cake mix and milk, beat on medium for 2 minutes Pour into pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes until cake is firm in middle. Let cool in pan. For the frosting: in small saucepan combine the sugar, milk and butter. Cook on medium high until a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, whisk until no trace of sugar remains. Pour over cooled cake and spread. Let cool. This makes a thin layer of frosting - DOUBLE frosting recipe if you like to have more!!!

Slow Cooker Pepperoni Chicken

Chicken and pepperonis are something that is always on hand at our house.. The kids love the taste of both of them and of course the chicken is always a healthy meal to serve up. I love that this recipe combines both of them AND throws it all into a crock pot to boot! Awesome! The family really liked this recipe and there wasn't any left over to send with the hubs the next day...

Slow Cooker Pepperoni Chicken
(recipe found on pinterest via www.skinnymom.com)

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 3/4 ounces turkey pepperoni (about 40 slices), sliced in half
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
3/4 cup shredded, mozzarella cheese

Place chicken in a slow cooker. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Cut pepperoni slices in half. Add pepperoni and olives to cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, tomato paste and Italian seasoning. Pour mixture in cooker. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Five minutes before you serve, sprinkle cheese on top of chicken. Cover with lid and allow cheese to melt.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, pepperoni and olives to plates. Discard cooking liquid.

Weekly Line Up - 4/11-4/17

Party night tonight! I'm attempting a Wii Remote Cake for my son and his friends... hopefully it turns out! :) Then we are off to go roller skating at the local roller rink. I'm hoping that my 3rd grader isn't the only one that has ever skated before or it might be a long night... A few old favorites on the menu this week along with a few new recipes. I made a bunch of refrigerator oatmeal last week and the kids LOVED it! So, I need to make a few more batches this week, maybe try a few new flavors along with some that they really enjoyed. Don't worry, recipes will be coming soon!

Friday - *Wii Remote Cake using vanilla cream cheese frosting/personal pizzas for supper!
Saturday - omelots
Sunday - birthday supper out with dad
Monday - *Crockpot Pear, Apple and Pork
Tuesday - Mexican Ranch Burgers
Wednesday - *Southwest Chicken Wraps
Thursday - Chili Rubbed Pork Chops

Extras: *Refrigerator Oatmeal - blueberry banana, apple cinnamon, banana cocoa and chunky monkey

* = new recipes

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Seriously, we have soup about once a week here, whether it is hot or cold. I love soup for supper, it is comfort food to me. The kids are not super excited about this tradition, but they get to pick their own meals a few times a week, so they have to put up with the other night! :) I liked the fact that this soup was low in calories and was a meatless meal for once. I don't do a lot of them since Josh is not a big fan, but I like to throw them in here and there to lower the grocery bill a bit! I doubled this recipe, thinking that everyone was going to love it and that was not such a great idea. Although I loved it a lot and they tolerated it... it meant that all the leftovers were mine to eat. That does not work so well! I would definitely make it again, but not double it the next time.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
(recipe found on pinterest via luluthebaker.blogspot.ca)

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup milk
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup

The hubs is away on business a lot and lately he has been staying at a hotel that gives its priority club members bags of wild rice as a welcome gift. So, that means that we have wild rice stacking up in my cupboard and it needs to be used up! So, I decided to make up this soup, both to use up the rice and to have yet another healthy, hearty meal for the week!

Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup
(recipe found on pinterest via skinnyms.com)

1/2 cup dry black rice, (I used wild rice), rinse well
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large potato, cut into 1" pieces
1 stalk celery, diced
1 yellow or sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, more to taste
salt to taste
2 fresh sprigs thyme, stems removed
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast....about two breast, cut into 1" pieces
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 tablespoons cornstarch

Add all ingredients, except milk and cornstarch, to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or until chicken is cooked and carrots are tender. Before turning off the slow cooker, whisk together milk and cornstarch in a small mixing bowl, add to slow cooker and stir. Cover, and continue cooking until soup has thickened, about 10 minutes.

Pizza Buns

I am always on the look out for something new and exciting to send with the kids in their lunches for school. All of a sudden my boys have decided that they want to take lunches to school a lot... I don't mind making them lunches, but I don't want to send them the same thing day after day. These turned out super yummy and the kids liked them hot or cold, which is definitely a bonus when you send a lunch box to school 3 hours before lunch!

Pizza Buns
(recipe found on pinterest via simpleasthatblog.com)

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 1/2 cups flour
preferred pizza toppings

In a mixer combine water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Add salt. Stir. Add half of flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour until dough pulls away from edges of the bowl when mixing and it isn't sticky. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until double in size. Remove dough from bowl. Separate into three equal parts. Prepare your pizza ingredients. This is going to be just like making cinnamon rolls, only with pizza toppings!

Take one portion of the dough and roll out on a lightly greased or floured surface. Roll dough into a long skinny rectangle as you would for cinnamon rolls. Once your dough is rolled, you can begin layering your pizza ingredients starting with the sauce. Spread sauce over the dough leaving the very edge of one of the long sides of the rectangle free from sauce so the edge will seal when rolled up. Layer meat, cheese and any other pizza toppings you would like. After all your pizza toppings have been added, begin rolling up the dough starting at the long side of the rectangle where the sauce is all the way to the edge - you want to leave that sauce free edge to be rolled up last. Roll all the way up and then pinch the edges to seal. Cut into equal sized rolls. Place rolls in a greased baking dish. Cover and allow buns to rise 30 minutes. Bake in the oven at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Zesty Corn Chowder

This was such an easy soup recipe to throw together at that last minute and still be ready in time for supper! It was super tasty and I just love a good soup that is healthy and easy to make...

Zesty Corn Chowder
(recipe found on pinterest via readyseteat.com)

2 tablespoons olive oil spread, olive oil or butter
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (10-3/4 ounces each) reduced sodium condensed cream of chicken soup or cream of everything soup mix
1 can (10 oz each) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup water


Melt olive oil spread in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and onion; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender, stirring frequently. Add cumin; cook and stir 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients. Increase heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 minutes.

Weekly Line Up - 4/4-4/10

April is a CRAZY month for our family with birthdays, so pretty much every weekend ends up with some kind of celebration... Lots of fun, but not so great on the diet! :) Spring is finally in the air and even though we got a few inches of snow this week I'm keeping my eyes forward and on the forecast of 40's next week - eventually we will have spring REALLY here and we will be able to be outside all the time! I had to switch some things up last week with my menu, so some of my meals are hold overs from last week. I'm also feeling a little like doing some baking this week - so there's a few things on the list this week that I can't wait to try!

Friday - *Slow Cooker Sausage, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
Saturday - Pizza Ranch (birthday party)/Firemen's Pancake Supper
Sunday - Brunch (nephew's 1st communion)/Tacos and refried beans
Monday - Easy Linguine Casserole
Tuesday - *Parmesan Baked Pork Chops
Wednesday - *Spinach Artichoke Rigatoni
Thursday - *Crockpot Sausage Stuffed Shells

Extras: *Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas, *Breakfast Bites, *Cranberry and Chocolate Chip Scones

* = new recipes

No Boil 3 Cheese Manicotti

I love when people think of easier ways to make delicious meals! I love it even more when they share those ideas and I can take advantage of it! :) This manicotti was so easy to put together and I usually have a lot of troubles squeezing my filling into my manicotti, but it was so much easier when you didn't have to cook the manicotti first! Yay!! This was a super yummy meal and the whole family definitely enjoyed some tasty pasta! This is a great recipe to freeze and keep for later...

No Boil 3 Cheese Manicotti
(recipe found on pinterest via momonamission.me)

24 ounces cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, reserving 1/2 cup for top
1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepp
1 (8 ounces) package manicotti
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Jar or can of favorite marinara sauce

Combine filling ingredients (first 5) and gently knead until thoroughly mixed. Clip a small corner, about 1/2", of the bag and proceed to fill manicotti according to desired tray size. In a 9x13 pan spread about 1/2 cup sauce in pan. Pipe all cheese into both trays. Pour remaining sauce on top. Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover shells completely with sauce. If freezing label and spray with foil to prevent cheese from sticking. Cover completely. Baking Day: Thaw 24 hours. Bake covered at 375 for one hour until shells are tender. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Chili Con Queso

This is the last of the new recipes that I made for my bunco night at my house. I have been wanting to try this queso recipe for a while, but as much as I love cheese I knew that I would probably eat way too much of it! :) This is a healthier version of a dip that I love to eat when we go out to restaurants and although it is a bit of work to make at home, it is totally worth it! I made mine up and threw it in a small crockpot to keep warm when everyone got to my house.

Chili Con Queso
(recipe found on pinterest via eatingwell.com)

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup pale ale, or other light-colored beer
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 3/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 (10 ounces) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup sliced scallions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add beer and cook until reduced slightly, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup milk and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the pan and cook, stirring vigorously, until bubbling and thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add cheese and cook, stirring, until melted. Stir in drained tomatoes, lime juice, salt, chili powder and cayenne (if using). Serve warm, garnished with scallions and cilantro.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

We have actually made this recipe a couple of times already because it is so good and my family is a bunch of pizza fanatics! I would double the topping recipe if you are going to use the homemade dough so that it is a little heartier - it definitely makes a bigger crust then just 12"! :)

Barbecue Chicken Pizza
(recipe found in Good Housekeeping)

1 pound ground chicken (I used diced chicken)
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1 package (14 ounces) Italian pizza crust (12") or you can use this recipe for homemade pizza dough, like I did!
1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425. In nonstick 10" skillet, cook chicken over medium high heat until no longer pink. Stir in frozen corn, green onions and barbecue sauce; heat through. Place pizza crust on large cookie sheet. Spoon chicken mixture onto rust and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake pizza until cheese is melted and crust is browned. If you are using a prebaked pizza crust, it will be about 10 minutes. If you are using the homemade recipe it will take about 15-20 minutes.