21 DAY FIX BANANA BREAD WAFFLES (WITH SPINACH)

So, I am apparently obsessed with pancakes and waffles.  Maybe because it’s one of the few things I can get my son to eat (autistic kids tend to limit their eating to only a few foods) so I want to make them as healthy as possible.  Also, because I am on the 21 Day Fix, I decided to adapt this recipe just a little to find out the appropriate containers to count per serving without compromising the original recipe too much.    These waffles are super yummy and as a veggie hater, I promise you will NOT taste the spinach.  Even my kids eat them, although when they ask why they are green, I just call them Shrek waffles and move on.  So, here we go.

 

21 DAY FIX BANANA BREAD WAFFLES
(WITH SPINACH)

(Makes 3 waffles)

1 yellow container of Oat Flour (I just grind up oats in the blender and then measure)

1 yellow container of Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp salt

8 oz of milk (I use non-fat buttermilk, but you can use almond or skim milk if you choose)

1 egg

1 ½  green containers of baby spinach

1 ½  very ripe large banana

1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

 

Heat up your waffle iron.  This is a super easy dump it all in and whisk together recipe.  As I said, I grind up oats in the blender.  They do not have to be blended so much that they are as fine as flour.  Just a few seconds is usually enough.  After you blend them, measure 1 yellow container of oats and pour in a large bowl.  Now add your yellow container of whole wheat flour.  Add baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Now, get out your blender again.  Add milk of choice, 1 and ½  containers of spinach and your 1 and ½ bananas.  Blend until smooth.  Add this to dry mixture.  Add egg and Tbsp of coconut oil.  Whisk together until there are no dry spots.  Expect the mixture to be lumpy because of the oats. 

Now, make your waffles.  It does take these a tad bit longer to cook for some reason, but they are worth the wait.  Mine cook in about 85 seconds.  Yes, I am a dork.  I use the timer on my microwave.  I don't trust that little light thingy on my waffle iron. 

Serve with 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup (I also love with a tsp of peanut butter mixed with syrup) or whatever toppings you desire.  Just make sure to count the appropriate containers.

Container Count Per Waffle:

1 Yellow

1/2 Green

1/2 Purple

1 tsp

 

 

*If you want more info on the 21 Day Fix or any Beachbody products, email me at tanyamichelle@beachbodycoach.com. 

Zucchini Corn with Pepper Jack Cheese

Several years ago, a friend of mine, Tim, was getting married.  Okay, so it was almost 20 years ago.  Gracious!  It hurts me to say I did anything 20 years ago.  I'm getting so old.  ugh!  Tim's mom was SUPER creative and a fantastic interior decorator.  She knew all of the beautiful places around Little Rock to have all of their beautiful showers and wedding festivities.  Their engagement party was held at Little Rock's Ten Mile House. 

Also called Stagecoach House, it was once a stop on the Sothwest Trail stagecoach.  It is considered on of the oldest existing houses the Little Rock area.   At this party, we were given a tour by people dressed in historic outfits before dinner was served in the dining room.  The tables were set with fine china, silver and lots of candles.  It was gorgeous.  I had one of the best meals I have ever eaten that night.  We started our meal with Roasted Red Pepper Soup.  It was AMAZING and I'm still looking for a recipe that could hold a candle to what I was served that night.  We also had beef tenderloin and an amazing corn dish served in the corn husk.  It was sooo good!  I finally asked the waiter if he knew what was in it.  He told me to make it and I've been serving it ever since.  It's so easy and so good!

Zuchini Corn with Pepper Jack Cheese

1 zuchini, diced
corn
pepper jack cheese, 4 - 6 oz.
olive oil
salt
pepper

* At Ten Mile House, they used corn on the cob.  They cut the corn off the cob and saved the shuck to serve the final product in.  It was a beautiful presentation for a fancy dinner, but I'm not fancy on an every day basis so I usually just buy can corn. 

Pour 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Toss in your diced zucchini and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Drain on a paper towel.  Cook your corn.  I do it in the microwave.  Combine the zucchini and the corn. 

Finely shred your cheese and top your zucchini corn mixture. 

Microwave until it melts and stir it up.  Sal and pepper to taste.  If you want to get fancy, serve it in the shuck.  Luckily, my kiddos aren't fancy people so I usually just put it in a bowl.

So easy and so tasty! 

Have a great day!

Copycat Applebee's Maple Butter Blondie

When Hubby and I met and started dating, we lived in a small town with very few restaurants.  We often traveled to a nearby town on Friday nights to eat at Applebee's.  I liked their Club Croissant and I loved their Maple Butter Blondie.  Now, I usually don't go for desserts that aren't chocolate, but this was the exception.  I loved it and I've been searching for a similar recipe for bout ten years now.  I think I've finally found one that is pretty close.  I found the recipe here. 

Copycat Applebee's Maple Butter Blondie



Serves: 4 (or 1 if your really hungry!)
Ready In: Under 60 minutes
Ingredients:

Dough

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour, sifted
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or more if desired)
1/3 cup butter or margarine (melted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Maple Butter Sauce
3/4 cup maple syrup (REAL maple syrup )
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Dough
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Add baking powder, baking soda and salt to the already sifted flour. Then sift dry ingredients again.
Add chopped nuts and mix well. Set aside.
Add brown sugar to melted butter and mix well. Then add egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.
Add flour mixture, a little at a time, until mixed well.
Stir in white chocolate chips. Spread out dough in a 9-inch pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Use a toothpick or fork to test if it is cooked in the center.
Serve warm with ice cream and Maple Butter Sauce.

Maple Butter Sauce
In a pan, add real maple syrup and butter, cook over low heat until butter is melted. Next, stir in brown sugar until completely dissolved. If you desire, add walnuts.

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

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By Lockerz

So, the diet is going pretty well.  Now, by well I don't mean that I've lost tons of weight.  What I mean is that it's been over three weeks and I'm actually sticking to my diet with the exception of an occasional cheat weekend meal.  I've been able to stick to it by searching out some pretty decent low calorie meals that my whole family will eat. 

One of my favorite meals growing up was spaghetti.  My mom made spaghetti ALL THE TIME growing up and I always loved it....until recently.  It's one of the few meals that my kids will all eat without fussing so we were eating spaghetti A LOT, like once a week a lot.  I got so sick of eating it that I would make it for the kids and I would eat a ham sandwich.  But, then I found this recipe and once again, I love me some spaghetti.  Funny how just a little tweak makes everything old new again.  I know if I had a little tweak, I would feel new again.  But that's another post for another day.  Back to the spaghetti.   

I got this recipe from Recipe Diaries.  Jenna has tons of awesome recipes on her sight with calorie counts and Weight Watcher points.  Jenna got this recipe from Plain Chicken, another favorite recipe blog of mine (I know you've seen her Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull Apart Bread/Crack stuff on Pinterest).  Check them both out.  You will not be disappointed! 

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

12 oz. spaghetti (I used wheat spaghetti)
1 (28 oz) jars prepared spaghetti sauce
      1 lb lean ground beef lean ground turkey
      1 tsp Italian seasoning
      1 clove garlic, minced
      8 oz. fat free cream cheese
      1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.
Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet. Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl. Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.
Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan. Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Calories 405 | Fat 13.12g | Carbohydrate 44.07g | Fiber 2.7g | Protein 27.89g
Servings 8
Points Plus 10

Doesn't that look yummy?  The best part is that one serving is 1/8th of a 9x13 pan.  Isn't that exciting?  That means you won't be starving again in 20 minutes.  That's quite a big helping of spaghetti.  Like I've said before, I could out eat my Hubby any day of the week.  I am all about some decent size portions.  WOO HOO!  I can almost feel my butt shrinking when I eat this.  Your welcome.

Quick Chicken Spaghetti

So, you know those days where everything goes wrong and you can't stand the thought of slaving over dinner?  I sure do!  This is one of those dishes that you can throw together really quickly on a busy night.  You ready for the recipe? 

Quick Chicken Spaghetti

3 cooked chicken breasts OR 2 cans cooked chicken
12 oz. spaghetti
1/4 of a large Velveeta
1 can of Rotel
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
4 oz. can mushrooms
small jar of pimentos
1 cup shredded Cheddar

Boil water and cook spaghetti.  In a saucepan, put both cans of soup and can of Rotel.  Add Velveeta - okay I honeslty don't really measure, but about 1/4th of a large Velveeta.  Stir until Velveeta melts.  Add, pimentos and mushrooms. 

Drain spaghetti and add to soup mixture.  Add cooked chicken to mixture and stir well.  Dump the spaghetti mixture into a 9 x 13 greased pan.  Sprinkle with cheddar and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Soooo easy, right? 

As usual, the pictures could be better if only I had an awesome camera.  Maybe I'll get one by the time I have grandkids. 

Buffalo Chip Cookies

So, last weekend we went to a family reunion with the "favorite cousins".  We traveled to the small town where my mother grew up, where I used to visit my cousins and dig for taters and slam the screen door.  There is something wonderful about walking into a room full of family members that you've known your entire life.  There is something soothing about the smell of the same recipes you eat year after year - dumplins, Myrtle's homemade yeast rolls, coconut cake, Sock-It-To-Me cake, fried chicken, the list goes on and on.  This year was no different.  The food was fantastic as always.  I always bring some kind of dessert.  This year I brought two.  One of them is an old favorite, one of them is a new favorite.  Today, I'll share the new favorite - Buffalo Chip Cookies. 

When I was trying to decide which dessert to bring, Hubby suggested Buffalo Chip Cookies from his family cookbook.   He insisted that we had made them before and I, of course, argued that I had NO IDEA what he was talking about and that I had never had them.  He found the recipe, which verified to me that I had NEVER had these cookies and that he must be thinking of some other girl who had tried these cookies before.  It wasn't me.  BUT, he insisted that they were AWESOME and I had to make them.  So, reluctantly, I agreed.  You ready for the recipe?

Buffalo Chip Cookies

Blend:

2 cups melted butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar

Stir in:

4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Add:

4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Mix well and then add:

2 cups oatmeal (I used quick oats)
2 cups Post Toasties (I used Corn Flakes)
1 large pkg. chocolate chips (24 oz)
1 cups pecans, chopped
1 cup coconut

Using an ice cream scoop, put 6 cookies on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees on lightly greased sheet for 12 to 15 minutes. 

Okay, thanks to my Hubby for talking me into making these cookies.  They are my new favorite.  YUM!  In fact, they have Corn Flakes in them so, I'm thinking they make for a healthy breakfast.  Right?  Okay, so maybe I'm justifying just a little bit, but they are soooo gooood!  YUM!  Thanks to Hubby's cousin Sandra for the recipe!!! 

Now, doesn't that look like a healthy breakfast to you?  No?  Well, I tried.  By the way, in case you didn't get it by the "ice cream scoop", these cookies are HUGE!  I have one more cookie left in my tupperware container so I better go eat it before someone else realizes it's there.  Wink!

Pasta Milano

So, y'all know I have a slight addiction to Pinerest.  I actually need Pinerest rehab.  One day when I was looking at yummy stuff to cook on Pinerest, I came across the blog of Joelen.  Her blog is called What's Cookin, Chicago.  The picture on Pinterest that caught my eye was a shot of her freezer and freezer-friendly recipes.  One of those recipes was for Pasta Milano.  Okay, here's the deal, yes I love Mexican food and I am crazy about a good ole American cheeseburger, but my other love is Italian.  I love Macaroni Grill.  In fact, the day my oldest son, J, was born, my family said they would go get me anything I wanted to eat, so I chose Pasta Milano from Macaroni Grill.  MMMM!  It just doesn't get any better.  So, you ready for the recipe? 



Pasta Milano

3 slices bacon, diced
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chicken broth, divided
1 cup heavy cream (or half & half for a lower fat version - um, yeah right!)
salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces dry farfalle (bowtie) pasta
water for boiling pasta
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

In a large skillet over high heat, brown the diced bacon. Season the cut up chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and saute until lightly browned. Once the chicken is cooked, add the sliced mushrooms and saute until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes and chicken broth to the hot skillet. Allow it come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the cream and bring to a boil; stirring.Take off heat and add the bacon, chicken and mushroom to the sauce and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add dry pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, transfer to a bowl.

Pour the chicken and sauce over the hot pasta and toss. Place in a baking dish and top with shredded Parmesan cheese and bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until cheese melts.

Garnish with fresh basil and serve hot.

* To make ahead/freezer meals - Prepare as directed, however cook pasta to barely al dente. There should be a bite to the pasta where it's not completely cooked. Place pasta, chicken and sauce in an ovenproof container and allow to cool. Cover and freezer. When ready to prepare, defrost and bake in preheated oven as directed above.

Okay, so I didn't follow all of Joelen's directions.  I actually finished the sauce and poured it over the pasta and ate it right away instead of baking it.  It smelled so good that I just couldn't wait for it to bake.  People, it was GOOD! 

Okay, so I ate about three of these servings, but in my defense I was not doing calories on Livestrong at the time.  That makes it okay, right? 

Jimmy Crack Corn

So, ya know when your watching Food Network and they do those little 90 second spots during the commercial breaks that feature one of their on-air chefs and just a quick recipe or cooking tip?  It was one of those snippets where I discovered one of my new favorite recipes.  The snippet featured Claire Robinson from 5 Ingredient Fix.  Have y'all seen that show?  Well, here's the new recipe.  Claire calls it Grandma Moore's Creamed Corn but I renamed it "Jimmy Crack Corn".  Why?  Well, the first ingredient is corn AND y'all know that all the recipes I love have to have "crack" in the title.  Y'all ready for this? 

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 8 large cobs fresh corn, preferably white, shucked and cleaned
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Turn off the heat and transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Reserve the drippings in the pan.

On a cutting board, cut the stalk ends of the corn cobs to make a flat surface; stand them up and shave the corn from the cobs with a sharp chef's knife. Return the skillet to medium-low heat, and add the corn kernels.

With the back of the knife, firmly scrape the cobs over a shallow plate to extract as much liquid (milk) as possible (I just scraped it against the bowl).

Add the "milk" to the corn pan. 

Season corn lightly with salt and pepper and cook until broken down and creamy, about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often; add water if the pan gets too dry.  Crumble bacon in and stir. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.  It's even good warmed up the next day! 


***I would like to point out that the hand featured in the above photos are the hands of Hubby.  I promise that I am not that hairy.***

White Chocolate Popcorn

I mentioned last week that we made a trip to Texas for Hubby's family reunion.  My SIL and I always plan our snacks when we go on family trips.  I was supposed to make Caramel Brownies, that is until my A/C died and Hubby refused to let me turn on the oven in an already 80 degree house.  So, my poor SIL was left to make snacks for all of us.  Boy, did she come through.  White chocolate popcorn.  I've had it before, but forgot how addictive it can be.  It's got that wonderful salty-sweet thing going on that I loooove!  So, you ready for the recipe?

White Chocolate Popcorn

3 bags microwave popcorn

1/2 bag of toffee bits (Heath bits of brickle)

1 tray/package of Almond Bark

Pop popcorn and empty bags into a large roaster pan, being careful to keep out unpopped kernals. Melt almond bark in microwave, add toffee bits, and stir. Pour over popcorn and stir till coated. Pour out (spreading out) onto wax paper to harden. Break apart into pieces and store in tuperware.

My SIL sent home two large ziploc bags with us.  Seems like everytime I turned around after we got hom, this is what I saw.

My baby girl in my chair with my White Chocolate Popcorn!  MMMMM!

Can you see the toffee bits?  MMMMMMM!  Thanks SIL!

Cheese Pie

So, I mentioned yesterday that my SIL was in for a visit this weekend.  We, as always, had tons of food, including one of my favorites....Cheese Pie.  My SIL made it and I couldn't wait to share the recipe with y'all.  It's soooooo gooooood!   

Pie crust
3 eggs
Shredded Colby, Jack and Cheddar cheese blend
jalapeno rings

Put a handful of cheese in the bottom of your frozen crust.  Top with a few rings of jalapenos (6-8 or more of you like a lot of heat).  Mix 3 eggs (and maybe a dash of salt and pepper) and pour on top of jalapeno.  Top with another handful of cheese.  Bake at  350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until set.

Doesn't that look DIVINE?  YUM!  In fact, I think I'll go have a slice.  It warms up really well too.  MMMMM!  Thanks SIL!!!

Easter, Trying New Recipes and Randomness

So, did y'all have a good Easter?  I did!  We had a weekend full of family togetherness.  Mom, C and I had a wonderful afternoon of shopping Saturday, which is saying something when you're trying to dress a teenager.  The kids had a great time dyeing eggs.  Church was wonderful, as usual.  The only bad thing about the weekend was that my camera DIED on me.  I only managed to get a few pictures.  Here is one of the kids.

The kids had a great time hunting eggs and then playing in the sprinkler.  Durn camera! 

In other FFB news, I am still roughly the size of the side of a barn.  In other words, I'm HUGE!  I've been soooo busy the last few weeks that my workouts have been minimal and I've been eating whatever I want, which is sooooo not good for my backside.  So, I've been on the outlook for some recipes that are low in fat, but don't taste like cardboard (not an easy task).  The first place I looked was Gina's Skinny Taste.  I love Gina's blog!  My sister brought a couple of Gina's recipes to lunch on Easter and they were excellent.  Last night I made Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken.  It was wonderful!  It was kind of a mexican chicken stew, served over rice.  Even Hubby liked it.  I would definitely recommend it.  Wanna see a picture?

Now doesn't that look good?  Of course, this is NOT my picture.  I had to steal borrow it from Gina's blog.  While my camera did finally start working again (for now), I spent the evening last night in the bathroom with the kids (more tornados) so I didn't have time to snap a picture of my bowl.  I feel sure that the picture I would've taken of my dinner in my orange plastic bowl wouldn't have been quite as pretty anyway.  We totally used plastic last night because I didn't want to hand wash my nice bowls during the tornado warning.  I'm lazy like that. 

I've been doing quite a bit of sewing the past few weeks.  I've had lots of bib and burpie orders.  There must be something in the water around here.  I better stick to bottled water. 

Isn't this fabric cute? 

I've been doing some other sewing too.  I'll share that project with y'all later this week.  Y'all have a great Tuesday!

The BEST Cinammon Rolls EVER!

So, yesterday I promised to share my new absolute favorite awesome, wonderful, recipe.  BEFORE I share with you, I just want to give you a little warning.  You see, I have never taken drugs in my life.  I was not the experimenting type.  HOWEVER, apparently when you put these ingredients together, they form some kind of addictive substance because I could NOT quit eating them.  COULD.  NOT.  **I gained two pounds eating these, but they were totally worth it!  I apologize ahead of time if you make these and go from looking like this...

to looking like....well, me, at this moment.  Anyway, let's move on to the recipe, shall we? 

Okay.  I LOVE cinammon rolls.  They are just about my favorite thing to eat.  I love them even more than chocolate.  Wow, that's a lot of love!  Anyway, I've been searching for the perfect cinammon roll recipe FOREVER.  Friends, I think I have found it!!!  Have you been to Cinnabon?  I've only been one time, but I swear this recipe comes really close.  You ready??? Here we go.  I found this recipe at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, but I did change the original recipe up just a teeny tiny bit to fit my taste and I am soooo happy with how it turned out.

BEST CINAMMON ROLLS EVER!!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tbls. ground cinnamon

(2) .25 oz. pks. active dry yeast (I use 2 TB instant yeast)

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1 cup 110 degree water (approximately)

1 cup warm milk

2/3 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup melted butter

2 tsp. salt

2 eggs – slightly beaten

Up to 8 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup melted butter OR margarine

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans – optional

3/4 cup raisins - optional

1/2 cup melted butter OR margarine

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Set aside for later.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in warm water; set aside (if using instant yeast, you can skip this step)

In a large bowl, mix together milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup melted butter, salt, and eggs; add yeast mixture and 4 cups of flour to mixture; beat until smooth; stir in enough flour to form a slightly stiff dough.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8 minutes.

When your dough is ready, it will be very elastic.

Place dough into a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours.

Before rising (I didn't have any plastic wrap so I used a ziploc storage bag).

After rising.

Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes.

Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a 15″ X 20″ rectangle.

Brush 1/2 cup melted butter over dough.

Sprinkle cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar mixture evenly over dough; sprinkle nuts and/or raisins evenly over dough, if desired (I did not use nuts or raisins).

Tightly roll up the long side of dough and pinch edges together to seal; cut the roll into 12 – 15 slices using dental floss or thread (I used a knife and got 19 cinammon rolls in a 13 x 9 and an 8 x 8).

Coat the bottom of a 13″ X 9″ X 2″ baking pan with 1/2 cup melted butter; sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar evenly in the bottom of the pan ( I only brushed the bottom of the pan with a little melted butter to keep them from sticking.  If you choose to do the butter and sugar on the bottom, invert the rolls onto another surface so all the buttery sugary goodness will drip onto the rolls).

Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the prepared pan.

 Cover pan and allow to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or just eye ball them (I forgot to cover them, but they turned out fine).

Looking good, baby!

Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Oh my gracious!!!  Don't they look amazing?  BUT, we're not done yet.  Now for the icing.  Now, you can use whatever icing you prefer, but I love a good cream cheese icing. 

3 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, softened, room temperature
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla 

I just whisked together my butter and cream cheese until smooth, added the powdered sugar and whisked together until all the lumps are out.  Stir in vanilla.  Now, taste the icing and see if it's as good as it looks.  It's good, right?  MMMM!  Okay, take your finger out of the icing and spread it on the rolls while they're still slightly warm.  So, I usually reserve about 1/2 cup of icing in case you want to warm the rolls up a little and some of the icing melts off a little and you need some reserve.  I'm weird like that.  It also comes in handy when your kids are fighting because "he or she got more icing on his/hers than I did".  UGH!

Here's the small 8 x 8 pan.  Okay, so it's the small  8 x 8 pan minus two cinammon rolls. 

I couldn't help myself.

Seriously, it doesn't get any better than that.  I would like to close this post with a prayer. 

Dear Lord, thank you for cinnamon rolls.  They rock!  Amen. 

 **  I did finally lose that two pounds, but my Hubby made me promise not to make these again until Teacher Appreciation Day next month.  He couldn't stop eating them either. 

Happy Wednesday!

I'm linking this post to: 

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Y'all know I love me some mexican food, right?  Looove it!  It's my absolute favorite!  So, while I was searching for recipes the other day,  I came across this recipe at Our Best Bites, I was dying to try it.  My sister had seen it too and said her family loved it.  I made them the other night and I loved them so I thought I'd share it with y'all today.  After all, Cinco de Mayo is a little over a month away, right? 

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese

1/4 C green salsa (I used regular salsa)

1T fresh lime juice

1/2 t cumin

1 t chili powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t granulated garlic

3 T chopped cilantro

2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken

1 C grated pepperjack cheese



small corn tortillas or flour (I used both)

kosher salt

cooking spray





Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.



Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.  You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking (I heated mine up in a frying pan - about 10 seconds on each side). It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

You can see by looking at the first few I made (on the left), that I forgot to heat up the corn tortilla before I rolled it.  Therefore, they all cracked while baking.  Be sure and heat up your corn tortillas before you roll. 

Hubby and I really enjoyed this healthier version of taquitos.  I liked both the corn and flour tortillas, but I think the flour ones were the best.  Very yummy, even though I cooked them a little too long.  Of course, I served with my favorite guacamole.  MMMM! 

Don't these look good all plated up with the side of guac sour cream?  Nice, huh?  Yes, I totally stole borrowed Sara's (from Our Best Bites) pretty picture of her taquitos, served on her pretty painted plate.  Truth be told, my version was served on Bounty Paper Towel with a ginormous reasonable side of guac while sitting on the couch watching a movie with Hubby.  I didn't think that would make a pretty picture. 

Have a good day!