Breakfast Crescent Rolls

Easy. Quick. Delicious. That's the motto for this recipe!

I must admit, I thought these would be good, but I didn't think they were going to be as great as they actually were. That's a good thing though! I love when I'm pleasantly surprised :)

Just like many of my other recipes, you can do anything to this recipe to make it your own. If you don't like bacon (then you're crazy), you can substitute sausage instead. Or you can add peppers and spinach, maybe a little goat cheese :) Yum! Also, make sure you have some hot sauce to dip it in! That's how my family eats them :)

So here's a simple, cheap, delicious recipe to make for a crowd, or just for your family!

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
8 slices bacon, cooked
3-4 eggs, scrambled and cooked
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten, if desired
Salt & pepper, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll dough and separate into triangles

Top each triangle with egg, one slice of bacon, and cheese. Roll up, starting from the wide end of the triangle.

 Place on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. 

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Enjoy!

Inspired by Pillsbury

Caprese Orzo Salad

If you want to know one thing about me...I LOVE pasta! I could probably eat pasta for every single meal. Especially if we're talking pasta salad.

I must admit, when I was younger I used to boil noodles, throw in some leftover vegetables and other random things from our freezer and voilà, pasta salad. Thankfully as I've grown up I've realized that there are more options than frozen corn, peas, and noodles, drenched in italian dressing (yeah, I know...gross, right?)

And this is one of those recipes. When I came across this I couldn't help but have one of those "why didn't I think of that?!" moments, but I'm not going to complain because this recipe is awesome...and refreshing I might add.

Now if you've never tried orzo, I really encourage you to. It looks like rice, but it's actually a pasta. It's perfect for pasta salad if you want to change it up a little bit, and I think it looks nice too.

So here it is. A light and delicious pasta salad.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup olive oil
1 pound orzo
1 pint small cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 7-ounce container feta cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
salt & pepper to taste

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together vinegar and honey. Slowly add olive oil while whisking vigorously. Set aside. (I added a little bit of balsamic vinegar to my dressing because I thought it needed a little something extra).

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (tip: add olive oil to the boiling water to prevent the noodles from sticking). Follow cooking instructions on the package.

Pour pasta into a strainer and run cold water on it to prevent further cooking. Let strain until all the water has been removed, tossing frequently to prevent sticking.

In a large bowl, combine orzo, tomatoes, green onions, basil and feta cheese. Toss to combine. Add red wine vinegar mixture, toss to coat completely. (You may want to save some of the dressing or make extra to add to the pasta throughout the week as it may dry out a little bit)

Cool in refrigerator for at least one hour to let flavors intermingle. Leftovers can be stored under plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Enjoy!




Inspired by The Baked Life.

Homemade Turtles

This is my favorite treat in the whole world and I can't believe I'm just now learning how to make it. Not only am I disappointed that it took me this long, but to make it even worse, they're so easy to make! What was I waiting for?!

I must say though, now that I know how easy these things are I'm going to be making them all the time Maybe I'll just keep a stash in the freezer and then I can just have one whenever I want! Yeah, I think that's a good idea :)

So, on to the recipe. If you're looking for a last minute treat to make for the holidays (or any occasion for that matter), you've found it!

Ingredients:

1 bag pecan halves

1 bag chocolate chips (I like milk chocolate)

1 bag caramel candies

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Toast the pecans in a pan, watching closely not to burn them.

Cover a cookie sheet in parchment paper. Lay the pecans on the cookie sheet in groups (you can add as many pecans to the group as you want, depending on how big you want your turtles to be)

Pour the caramel candies in a double boiler and add the heavy whipping cream. Once the caramel is melted, spoon it over each group of pecans. 

 Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, and spoon the melted chocolate over each turtle.

Allow the chocolate to harden and enjoy!

Blueberry & Raspberry Pound Cake

Here it is! The perfect thing to satisfy your sweet tooth and you don't have to feel guilty for eating it. A blueberry/raspberry pound cake with a lemon glaze...now that's what I'm talking about!!

It has fresh fruit in it so it's healthy...right? :) According to my standards it is!

This is definitely better in the summer when you can get fresh fruit from the farmer's market, but it's still amazing in any season. Want to know why? Two words...Cream Cheese. Yes, I know, that kind of cancels out the healthiness of the fruit. But it doesn't matter because it makes this pound cake so rich and moist and delicious.

This recipe makes two loaves (or four mini ones) and they'll be gone before you know it. Especially if you eat them right when they come out of the oven..YUM!!

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, but not quite room temperature

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened slightly

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

6 ounces of fresh raspberries

6 ounces of fresh blueberries

lemon glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two loaf pans (or four mini loaf pans) with non-stick cooking spray. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese. Pour in sugar and mix until smooth.

 Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well until each is incorporated. Mix in vanilla.

While ingredients are mixing, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

Fold raspberries and blueberries into the batter 

(I folded in the blueberries first and then the raspberries since the raspberries are fragile)

Distribute batter evenly among the pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes (if you're making 4 loaves, the time will be less).

 Remove the loaves from the pans and drizzle with the lemon glaze. Let cool completely. 

Enjoy!

Lemon Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

juice of 1 lemon

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Add more juice or cream as necessary to achieve desired consistency.

Inspired by Jamie Richardson

Snowman Jar

I love crafts, and when I saw this on a magazine I was so excited to make it! Seriously, they're so cute! They're a perfect Christmas gift for friends and neighbors, or for your small group (that's what I used mine for =]) And you can fill them with whatever you want; hot cocoa mix, candy, puppy chow...get creative!

Materials:

Jar

Black felt (I used felt pads)

Orange felt

Sock

Hot glue gun

String

Cut circles out of the black felt for eyes (or just use the felt pads like I did), and a triangle shape out of the orange felt for the nose. Glue them to the front of the jar. 

Take the sock and cut it to form a tube (you should be able to get two tubes/hats per sock). 

Tie one end of the tube with the string so that it looks like a hat.

Glue the hat on the lid of the jar using the hot glue gun.

Fill with candy or other treats!

How to Make a Chain Scarf

It's time to get crafty! I'm not a huge fan of the winter season, but one thing I do look forward to is scarf season :) I own too many scarves to count and I never get sick of them. They're comfortable to wear and they can dress up even the simplest outfit.

If you're anything like me, you wear one almost every day. But buying them can get expensive. I mean, who wants to spend $15 on a piece of fabric? If you're thinking the same thing, you've come to the right place. In this video, you'll learn how to make a chain scarf (I am by no means a videographer, so my video isn't the best quality, but it works). You can make your scarf as thick or thin as you want. If you want it thicker, you just add more strands of yarn to your chain, and less for a thin scarf. I've posted pictures of some that I've made so far. You can see that they're different sizes and choose the one you prefer.

This is the simplest and cheapest scarf you'll ever make. It cost me a grand total of $2.99 to make this. And better yet, you don't need to have any extra tools. All you need to use is your fingers! Really, it doesn't get easier than this.

Here's what you need:
One skein of yarn (I used super bulky, 4 or 5 oz.)

If you're going to make your scarf thicker than one strand, I suggest unrolling the hole skein and putting the two ends together and keep folding the yarn until you get as many strands together as you want. It might seem a little overwhelming at first. but if you have someone hold one end it makes it easier. 

Oreo Parfait

Ok, I know I say this a lot, but this is most definitely the easiest recipe ever!

If you're looking for an incredibly simple and absolutely delicious dessert, this one is for you! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good these are. Honestly, this took me less than 10 minutes to make. It's so easy that I didn't even take pictures of the process :)

Ingredients:

1 box of Oreo Pudding (I used Jell-O brand)

2 cups milk (or whatever is listed on the back of the pudding box)

5 Oreo cookies

1/2 cup cool whip

(Ingredient measurements are subject to change depending on how large you are making each serving. These measurements are for the size I used in the picture)

Prepare the pudding according to the back of the package. While the pudding is setting, crumble 4 of the Oreos (I just chopped mine up with a knife). After the pudding is set up, begin assembling. Start with the pudding in the bottom, followed by a sprinkle of the crumbled cookies, and then some cool whip. Continue this pattern until you reach the top of the cup. Top with more cool whip and an Oreo. Enjoy!

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