THE Healthy Cookie .. No seriously!

I know what your thinking, there is no way - healthy cookie? Okay, but there is my friends! Of course I found the original recipe on Pinterest and gave it a whirl. I felt as if I would be committing a crime by not sharing this ladies. I modified and added a few things to make it my own. Here we go!

MAIN INGREDIENTS:
-3 large old bananas
-2 cups of quick oats

ADD IN'S:

-Cinnamon

-Vanilla Extract

-Handful of Craisin's

-Handful of Chocolate Chips

-Spoonful of Peanut Butter

DIRECTIONS:
Mix the bananas and oatmeal together with a fork

Add in your extras! 

It makes around 20 cookies. Don't forget to spay your pan! Bake for 12 minutes on 350 degrees. 

And that's it! Yes, it's healthy and SO easy! 

Boyfriend Cookies

I really have stepped up in trying new recipes lately. I wanted to find something sweet to make, but nothing too complicated. So after TWO Facebook friends wrote status' about making this Pinterest recipe - I knew it was what I was going to attempt next.

The Boyfriend Cookie is the name of this super delicious cookie and it is literally PACKED with ingredients. Keep in mind this makes literally a million cookies, so cut the recipe in half if you are just baking for a smaller group! Enjoy ;-)

Here is What You'll Need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
• 1/2 cup M&M's
• 1/2 cup Reese's Pieces (I didn't use these, too much PB for me)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. In a mixing bowl - cream butter and sugars.

3. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well.

4. Fold in chocolate chips and remaining candy.

3. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

I love nothing more than cooking in the crock pot. You still get the home cooked meal, but there is hardly any work involved. Let alone how easy it is to clean up! Plus, if you make dinner - your husband should have to clean everything up anyways, right?! Not that all crock pot recipes aren't easy, but this one was SO super easy with a mere FOUR ingredients.

What you'll need:

• 2 lbs of chicken
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 jar of salsa (whatever kind you like!)
• 1 packet of taco seasoning

I laid the raw chicken at the bottom of the crock pot, dumped the taco seasoning on top, poured the soup and salsa on the very top and cranked it up to HIGH for 5 hours. Around hour 3, I took two forks and shredded all the chicken and mixed everything up really well, by that point the chicken was so tender it tore apart very easy!

We ate it with tortillas, but it would be delicious as nachos or even as a dip. It made A TON so we had leftovers galore. Just add your favorite toppings: guacamole, cheese, sour cream ,etc. and there you are!

Enjoy!

Fall is SO Close I Can TASTE it!

Is it just me, or does anyone else check out Pinterest and then feel like a complete failure sometimes because you don't cook half the stuff you pin, your house isn't perfect like others and your outfits are near as cute?

Well friends, we just have to rememeber Pinterest is for ideas and inspiration! So stop feeling bad and get to work. Here are some recipes I WILL attempt in the coming weeks. Who knows, I might end up being one of those people with the hilarious failure pins - we'll see! ;-)

                                                             Pizza Grilled Cheese

                                             Better than Take Out Chicken Fried Rice

                                                    Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Apple Fritter Muffins

Cream Cheese Monkey Bread

                                                          Brownie Mud Hen Bars

Happy Pinning!

EASY recipe alert: Chicken Caprese

So the last 6 weeks, I have been on a pretty strict low sodium diet which can really be expensive and hard to come across good recipes. So, this chicken caprese Clay and I found has definitely been my favorite. It's delicious, healthy, EASY to make and low sodium! I just had to share. Hope you enjoy!

What You Need:

• 2 tbsp. Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic Seasoning
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
• 10-15 cherry tomatoes cut in halves (use as liking)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Toss tomatoes with 1 tbsp of seasoning 
3. Lightly flatten each breast to 1/4 thickness. Place tomatoes and 1 slice of mozzarella on each breast. Roll up and secure with toothpick.
4. Place breasts on baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, vinegar and remaining 1 tsp of seasoning. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Feature: Casserole Queen Recipe

Anyone needing a DELICIOUS breakfast casserole recipe that's different than your traditional eggs, biscuits, sausage, and cheese? Well look no further my sweet friends! I have the most delicious recipe to share with you today!

Amanda is one of my sisters' friends that I met last summer when she invited us over for brunch at her house. She had the most delicious spread ready for us, but her famous spicy breakfast casserole was TO DIE FOR!! Im talking, better than you can even imagine, yummy! She has a blog with recipes she posts regularly. You must check it out!

She graciously agreed to let me share the recipe with you all. So here it is! Be sure to sign up for her blog to get her new recipe posts.

....and trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

(2) Bags of 26oz Shredded Hash Browns
(1) Tablespoon of Butter
½ Yellow Onion
(1) Teaspoon of Salt
(2) lbs. of Spicy Ground Sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Hot.)
(1) Red Bell Pepper
(1) Green Bell Pepper
(1) Cup of Mayonnaise
(1) Cup of Sour Cream
(8) Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
(1) Tablespoon of Black Pepper
Directions:

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350. Place both bags of frozen Hash Browns into a large roasting pan and spread them out evenly. Put in the oven for 30-45 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until thawed. The texture of the hash browns should be slightly sticky to the touch.

STEP 2: While you are waiting for the hash browns to thaw, start on your onion. Place 1 Tablespoon of Butter in a pan on medium heat. Take ½ a Yellow Onion, dice it, and add it into the pan with 1 Teaspoon of Salt. Cook the onion until it is translucent in color.

STEP 3: When your onions are cooked, add your 2 lbs of Ground Sausage to the same pan and turn heat on medium high heat.

STEP 4: While you are waiting for your meat to brown, get started on chopping your Red and Green Bell Peppers. Remember to remove the stem and seeds, and dice them into small pieces.

STEP 5: When the Hash Browns are thawed and the Sausage is browned, it’s time to combine all the elements. Add the Sausage and Onion mixture, diced Red and Green Bell Peppers, 1 cup of Mayonnaise, 1 cup of Sour Cream, 5 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese, and 1 tablespoon of Black Pepper to the Hash Browns and mix together well.

STEP 6: Transfer the mixture into a 9x13x2 casserole dish. Top with remaining 3 cups of Cheddar Cheese and sprinkle with a pinch of Black Pepper.

STEP 7: Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then switch to broil or 500 degrees for around 5-10 minutes to crisp and brown the cheese. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Serve, enjoy, and eat like ROYALTY!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!! xoxo

Fun Fall Recipes

Okay friends, it is NOVEMBER! What?! 2011 is flying by! I must admit, I'm not too sad about that. Every month marked off the calendar is one month closer to our BIG day! =) Now that we are knee deep in Fall, it would only be appropriate to post ALL about Fall inspired EASY recipes I've tried, or hope to try soon. So here it is people....

Speedy Lasagna via BHG

Southwest Chicken Chili via Picky Palate

Stuffed Bell Peppers via Kalyn's Kitchen

Hot Corn Dip via Our Best Bites

Twice Baked Potato Casserole via SippitySup

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars via The Girl Who Ate Everything

Banana Nut Bread via Brown Eyed Baker

Cinnamon Rolls via Ounces and Grams

Get to cooking sweet friends!! Yummmm....

A Must-Try EASY Dinner Recipe

Every other Wednesday I have off which is fabulous because I get lots of "me" errands done. Yesterday, was my off Wednesday and boy was it great! I got my hair cut and colored, treated myself to a pedicure and headed to Franklin to cook dinner for Clay and Mindy before church.

The recipe of choice was Pizza Casserole that I came across on the wonderful Pinterest. It was fairly inexpensive to cook, incredibly easy to prepare and most importantly-- it was delicious! So I just have to share this yum-o Italian dish with my sweet friends.

Ingredients:

1 lb Bow Tie Pasta

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Large Onion, Chopped

2 (26 oz) Jars Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 lb Sliced Pepperoni

2 (8 oz) bags of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons Chopped Garlic

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

Directions:

1. Cook Pasta

2. Cook sausage, ground beef, garlic and oregano with onions

3. Pour a small amount of sauce covering the bottom of a 9x13x13 pan.

4. Layer ingredients as followed: pasta, sauce, mozzarella cheese, remaining pasta, remaining sauce, sausage/beef mix, remaining mozzarella cheese, and top with pepperoni

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

TA-DA!

Next Recipe on the list? Creamy Artichoke Lasagna!