Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

If I knew just how good these were going to turn out, I would have taken pictures. Lots of pictures. Although, with just a couple of ingredients, I don't know what these pictures would have been of. But since I didn't, you'll have to be satisfied with this one picture. (which should be enough to make you drool)

Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches

Since our October Unprocessed experiment, we haven't been eating as much cereal. Actually, we eat very little cereal now, if any. I've settled into a nice pattern of making breakfasts for us on Sunday evenings that we will have for the following week, and it's working out very well for us. This week, I made breakfasts sandwiches and they were a big hit all around!

Easy Peach Cobbler, to go please!

Most of us have that recipe we always use for pitch ins and cookouts. Mine is my super easy cobbler. So last time I made it, I thought I would change it up a little bit. But there's not really much you can do with my cobbler recipe, so I figured I would change how it was served.

Start off with a jar of peaches, a stick of butter, and a box of Jiffy cake mix. You'll also need small jelly jars.

Using a slotted spoon, fill the jelly jars about 1/2 to 2/3 full of peaches. Some of the peach juice/syrup is fine, but not too much. Top each jar off with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Next, divide the cake mix evenly among the jars. Top each off with a pat of butter. (not margarine!)

Bake at 350 until the tops brown. When the cobblers have cooled, add lids for easy transport. Tip: to make baking easier, I set the jars inside a baking dish for easy transport to and from the oven. To carry them into work, I put the full jars back into the Ball box the jars came in!

Sorry there's not a picture; I forgot to take one before I brought them into work. And well, once they got to the office, they didn't stay around too long! These little jars were perfect individual servings during our all day meeting. Those who wanted to heat theirs up could just pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds and have hot cobbler!

Oven Fried Chicken

Is there really anything better than fried chicken? No, not really. Well, that is unless you have mashed potatoes with it. But that's another post. Unfortunately, fried foods usually don't sit too well with my stomach, so I tend to bake more than fry. My mom used to make oven fried chicken, but I didn't bother to call her and ask her recipe, so I figured I'd just wing it.

In a small bowl, mix together one egg and some milk. In a second bowl, mix together flour, salt, pepper, season  salt, oregano, and rosemary. Dredge chicken tenders in the wet mix, then the dry mix and lay on baking sheet.

I like to spray them down with a bit of ICBINB (I can't believe it's not butter) so they get a nice browning in the oven.  Bake at 375 until cooked through.

The kids loved these! Unfortunately, now they don't want to eat the frozen chicken tenders. I can't really say I blame them, but those were my go-to lunch staple when I was busy!

Peanut Butter Cereal Treats

So other day, when the kids pulled the "I'm huuuunnngggry" for the 12,039,856th time, I finally gave in and told them they could pick any snack they wanted me to make, but it had to be able to last them a few days. What did they come up with? Cheerios treats. I was secretly relieved because they are so easy to make!

What you'll need:

Almost Homemade Dinner #2

Remember the post a did not too long ago with that awesome tortellini? Well, I have another! This time I used the spinach and ricotta filled tortellini. And you're going to love how easy it is!

 What you'll need:

Spinach and Ricotta tortellini dinner for 2
2 Roma Tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
parsley and feta cheese to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in tortellini. In a large pan, saute onion and garlic.

Add salt and pepper. When onions are sauteed, remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, parsley, and cheese. Cover, but do not return to heat.

When tortellini is fully cooked, drain and add to pan. Toss and serve! How easy is that? And wonderfully delicious!


Make sure to visit the fantastic blog parties on my sidebar, and of course, link up all your made from scratch recipes on my Tuesday linky-Made From Scratch Tuesday!

Cupcake Kabobs

This is my first time participating in "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday" and I'm super excited!

Ingredients

1 box cake mix and corresponding ingredients
Fresh Fruit washed and prepared
Icing
Mint Leaves (optional)
Kabob skewers
Foam cone or other element to put kabobs in

I used Angel Food cake for this because of its light, fluffy texture, but you can use any other kind depending on the fruits you use.

Mix cake as directed and pour into lined mini-muffin pans and bake as directed. Remove mini cupcakes to cool. When cupcakes are cool, create kabobs by alternating cupcakes and fruit. For the ones I made, here's the pattern I followed:

Blueberry
Mint Leaf
Cupcake
Dab of icing inside raspberry, then raspberry on top of cupcake
Cupcake
Dab of icing inside of strawberry, then strawberry on top of cupcake







Next time I'm going to try chocolate cupakes with strawberries!

Fixes and Shortcuts for your Wednesday

Here are some quick fixes for cooking "uh-ohs" and those nights you just don't want to take the time to make a fancy meal:

Burned your brownies?

Other items needed:
2 flavors of pudding
Cool Whip (optional)

Cube the brownies. Make a thin layer in the bottom of a bowl and press the brownies down to form a "crust". Add a layer of pudding. On top of the pudding, put another layer of brownies, then add another layer of the other flavor pudding. Repeat until all the brownies are gone. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. Top with cool whip just before serving.
Note: THIS WILL NOT WORK IF THE BROWNIES ARE NOT BURNT! IT WILL TURN INTO A BIG BOWL OF MUSH!


Love Chicken Parmesan but don't have the time?

Ingredients:
Pasta (angel hair, rotini, whatever you have around)
Chicken Patties
Spaghetti Sauce
Mozzarella (or your favorite) cheese

Turn the oven to 350 and put chicken patties in (don't wait for the oven to preheat. You want the chicken patties to be warm but not fully heated). Boil the pasta and drain. Lightly butter a glass baking dish and pour the pasta in the bottom. Put the chicken patties on top of the pasta, pour spaghetti sauce over chicken and pasta, and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Bake until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is light brown.

Want Breadsticks with the Chicken Parmesan?

Split hot dog buns in half, then cut lengthwise. Butter each piece and sprinkle with garlic salt. Broil until toasted.


Pancakes a bit too boring?

Add cinnamon/sugar and vanilla to the batter; about a teaspoon of each for every 10 pancakes. It's just enough to give them a "pop" of unexpected flavor!


Ready to make a (box mix) cake but don't have eggs?

Normally, I don't believe in box mixes, but this is a great "cheat"!

Ingredients:

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix
1 can cola

Mix the cake mix and one can soda (coke, pepsi, whatever you have). Bake as directed on the box. Yes, you read that right. Just the mix and one can soda! I think Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke work the best, but that's just my opinion!

Chocolate Lava Cake

Super yum! I made the mistake of making this for Shannon, then had to make it several more times. The best part about this is you can make it start to finish in 15 minutes!



Preheat oven to 450











Ingredients
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 c dark chocolate baking chips
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons flour
pinch of salt





In small saucepan over low heat, melt together butter and chocolate, stirring intermittently. In small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. When butter and chocolate are all melted, stir into bowl of egg/sugar/flour/salt.
Pour into two small ramekins and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cake will be done when edges are set. The middle of the cake will not be set! Let cool a few minutes and enjoy!

Optional: Try different toppings like strawberries or raspberries rolled in sugar.