Angel Pillows

 These are more of a dessert than a breakfast food and they are fun for the kids to make. My only caution is the baking temperature: bake them high and fast or the marshmallows will ooze everywhere and make caramel candy on your baking sheet.

You are going to need some cinnamon sugar, some melted butter, large marshmallows and a can of cresent dough. Dip the marshmallow into the butter, then the cinnamon sugar, then roll it in the dough. Seal all of the edges and place on a line baking sheet.

Bake at 400* for 6 to 8 minutes. Careful when you remove them, hot marshmallow can burn the fingers!

Eat while warm - Enjoy!

Easy Chocolate Croissants

These are totally kid friendly! 

Take a package of cresent dough and a few handfuls of dark chocolate. 

Roll 'em out, sprinkle the chocolate, roll 'em up and bake.

Enjoy!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I am not sure which I like better: the whole roasted brussel sprout or the crispy leaves that fall off. So, I try to make both in one pan! After trimming the stems, peel off some of the outer leaves to bake into "chips". Wash and toss with some olive oil and seasonings. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes for the leaves to crisp, remove them and place the tray back in until the little cabbages are tender!

Sausage Stew

Easy, easy crockpot dish! Brown a package of sausage - use polish or italian, depending on your taste. I used one red onion, a handful of sliced carrots and a few stalks of celery. Saute them in some olive oil until they are soft (and makes your house smell like Thanksgiving!).

Slice the sausage and place in crock pot with cooked vegetables. Add a drained can of beans and a can of diced tomatoes plus a can of water. Stir and set for 8 hours (or more if needed).

Enjoy!

Easy Burritos

I took some leftover ground turkey and heated it with a packet of taco seasoning. Spread a few spoonfuls on the tortilla (any size will do) and sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. Roll them up, tucking the sides in and place in a medium hot pan.

Brown on each side and top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes or even salsa! Enjoy!

Jacob's One Bowl Brownies

1/2 cup butter
2 oz dark chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Spray an 8x8 pan
In a microwave safe bowl (large enough to mix all ingredients in), melt together butter and dark chocolate. Only heat for 30 seconds at a time, stir and repeat.
Allow butter mixture to cool a little bit so that your eggs don't scramble.
Whisk in sugar and cocoa powder. Then whisk in eggs, one at a time. Finally, whisk in the salt and vanilla.
Put the whisk down...use a spoon and mix in the flour but just until incorporated.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.

We ate ours warm with chocolate gelato!

Danish Coffee Cake with Peaches

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 (or smaller rectangle pan).

In a bowl, mix eggs. oil, yogurt and sugar. Just a spoon...the dough will get too thick for a whisk

Add the vanilla and flour and baking powder and combine.

Press into prepared pan.

 8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 peaches, sliced

Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy.
Add vanilla and egg.
Spoon this cheese mixture into the center and spread, leaving a one inch border of just cake.
Top with slices of peaches.
Bake fr about 55 - 60 minutes. Cool in a pan.

September FOODIE PENPAL REVEAL!

My rockin penpal, Jenny from The Spicy Simmer  sent me the best package! Jenny has some great posts on CSA's and what to do with all of those goodies. Now, on to the package...

Blueberry Jam

Plaid Cat Pancake Mix

Toasted Sesame Ginger Quinoa

Jane's Seasoning

CHOCOLATE!

Such a fun box! The Simple Pleasures chocolates are DIVINE!

The Blueberry Jam is locally made and so good that I wanted to eat it with a spoon straight from the jar!

 I used the Gluten Free Pancake Mix and the Blueberry Jam to make dinner last night for the kiddos. Because of the jam, we didn't need any syrup. I was a little nervous to use a gluten free mix, but you would have never know the difference! Check out their whole line of items here: http://plaidcatbaking.com/index.php

Pumpkin Scones in time for Fall!

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cold, cubed butter
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 milk (or soy milk)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Cut in butter until crumbly.
Mix in wet ingredients until dry are moistened.
Roll onto a cutting/bread board and knead 10 times.
Form into a 10 inch round and cut into wedges.
Lay on cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Top with powder sugar or icing.
Enjoy!

Dried Fruit Snacks

This little puppies take no time to make and are great snacks!

2/3 cups of whole almonds
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 bag of assorted dried fruit
2 tbsp honey

Put the almonds in the food processor first and process them down to a mince.
Take half of the almonds out. Add in the fruit and coconut, process until everything is the same size.
Add honey and process until blended.
Scoop out 1 inch balls, roll in remaining almonds and store in an air tight container.
Enjoy!

Panzanella Salad

Cut up a loaf  of hearty, day old bread into cubes. Dice up four tomatoes, the same size dice as the bread. Slice a half of red onion, thinly. Toss all the ingredients with olive oil and balsamic vinegar until wet.

 Let the salad sit for better flavor, but feel free to eat it right away!

Taco Pie

1 lb of ground turkey
1 can of corn
1 jar of picante sauce
1 box of Jiffy corn bread mix

Brown the turkey
Add a drained can of corn, the jar of sauce and mix
Pour into casserole dish and topped with prepared corn bread batter
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until browned
Enjoy!

Coupon: Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust

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Whether your family loves pepperoni, veggies, or the works, the possibilities are endless! You can visit http://bit.ly/PCwWG to download a printable coupon for $1.25 off one package of New Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain. Grab a coupon and let the good times un-roll with Pillsbury! 

This awesome opportunity has been brought to you by MyBlogSpark!

Crockpot Lasagna

Oh so easy!
1 lb of ground beef or turkey
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 cup of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 cup mozz cheese
a package of lasagna noodles

Brown the meat, drain the fat and mix in the sauce and canned tomatoes. Place a small amount of sauce on the bottom of the crock pot. Break noodles to fit in the pot, layer a double layer of noodles. Mix ricotta and egg together. Top noodles with sauce then a third of the ricotta mixture and a sprinkle of mozz. Top with double layer of noodles, then sauce then ricotta mixture and mozz. Layer one more time until you are out of ingredients. Set crock pot for 6 hours and cover with lid.

Chewy Banana Chips

These are just too addictive! 

Take your over ripe bananas ( I used 5) and slice them thin.

Squeeze about 2 tsp of fresh orange juice over them and toss to evenly coat.

Bake in an oven at 225* for about a hour or until golden, carmely brown.

Store in an air tight container....Enjoy!

Bacon Jam

Yep...it is as awesome as it sounds!
This recipe is crazy easy and make the house smell great.
Get out your crockpot but leave the lid in the cabinet.

Start with a pound of bacon, sliced into inch pieces. Brown them all and save about a tbsp of fat to saute the onions. Dice up two red onions and saute in the fat. Add 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup and 3/4 cup brewed coffee and bring to a simmer. Add the bacon back in, stir and transfer to the crockpot. I like the crockpot better than a pot on the stove because I am a champ at scorching stuff!

Let it all cook down in the crock pot for 4 hours, uncovered. Put the mixture in the food processor and pulse  until just chunky enough but spreadable. Put in airtight containers and store in the fridge up to 4 weeks...if it lasts that long!

Baked Egg Avocado

Preheat the oven to 375 and follow the pics below.

Bake to the egg dippiness you like :)

August Foodie Penpal REVEAL!!

Stephanie sent me my Foodie Penpal package for August...and she rocked that box! First, how pretty is this card? I love it! The design and the colors are just too fabulous :)

And now, on to the food...Stephanie sent me an awesome array of goodies! The sun dried tomatoes have already found themselves in a sauce with whole wheat ziti pasta.

The muesli mix is going to go great in my overnight crock pot recipe. It looks like there are raisins and nuts in the mix :)  Almond butter is always a favorite of mine, so these little packets are going to work with me for some afternoon snacks. The naked peak trail mix...sadly to say, I have already demolished this bag. Gone.

The mushroom risotto looks like it's gonna be rich and awesome. And if you have read my Black Bean Brownie post, you know that black beans make me nervous...I'm never sure if I will like the dish that they are in. These black bean chips? Wonderful! They would make a great taco salad chip. Thanks Stephanie!

I sent my package to Jillian over at Good Morning Sweetums.
She has recipes AND crafty stuff :) Check it out!

Are you interested in getting a cool foodie package? Check out The Lean Green Bean to sign up!

Avocados: The better fat choice

While avocados do have fat in them, the fat is a good fat. 

Mayo has fat but is the bad kind of fat. 

Choose the avocado instead of mayo!

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

This is such an easy recipe, especially if you have some blueberries that you need to use up. I took the cresent roll dough in a sheet, spread out some brown sugar and white sugar, blueberries and some butter. Roll it all up tightly and slice. Bake based on the instructions on the package. Drizzle some icing (1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tsp water) on top and enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Ice Box Pickles