French Toast Bake

Cinnamon Sugar Churros Keeping with the Mexican theme going on here, I’ve decided to share with you one of my proudest recent accomplishments: CHURROS! I conquered my fear of frying in hot oil, and feel quite silly for not trying this sooner. Sure it was slightly terrifying at times, but with Ryan’s help and just a little screaming, we made it out with no injuries and with some really freakin’ delicious churros. Ryan doesn’t crave sweet things quite like I do, but he practically begged me the entire summer to make churros. I know a lot of people that are scared to use hot oil, like I was, but please, please, give this a try! Cinnamon Sugar ChurrosAdapted from Cooking Mexican 1 cup water 2 tbsp brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup unsalted butter 1 cup all purpose flour 2 eggs 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp cinnamon - In a small dish, mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Recipes yields about 20 churros

Portobello Pesto Pizza One of my favorite things about playing around in the kitchen is trying to recreate favorite meals or desserts that I’ve had at a restaurant. It’s great to enjoy food out, sure, but it’s even better when you can duplicate it (or maybe even improve on it) from the comfort of home. This pizza is one of my latest projects in recreation. (You might remember previous projects: Fig and Almond Cheesecake, Cosi Signature Salad, and White Sicilian Pizza.) Here in Pittsburgh there is an establishment called Church Brew Works. In the Lawrenceville neighborhood of the city, St. Their pizza is a basic crust, topped with pesto, portobello mushrooms, red onion, kalamata olives, and provolone and Parmesan cheeses. First, shape your pizza dough and put it on your pizza peel (or whatever pan you will be baking it on): Next, spread your pesto over the dough: Then, pile on the mushrooms and onions: Finally, top it off with loads of provolone and Parmesan cheese: P.S. One year ago: Barbecued Beans

A day in my pouch Yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating... Breakfast: Well I woke up to a busted water heater. We thankfully caught it before too much damage was done, water was confined to the garage but uggggh grrrr #&$%ity, #&$% #&$% #&$%! I spent a good part of the morning making phone calls and then waiting for call backs so I had time to make a batch of my Pancake Bites. I couldn't make up my mind what kind I wanted the original sausage, the bacon, or the fruity version. Shelly's Pancake Bites 1/2 cup Multigrain Pancake Mix, dry1/3 cup Soy Milk (any milk would do)1/4 cup Torani Sugar Free Caramel SyrupAssorted Toppings: Cooked Sausage, Crumbled Cooked Bacon, Fruit (I used frozen blueberries but banana slices or apples are yum too) Mix pancake mix, milk, syrup together till thoroughly combined. Top each muffin with sausage, bacon or fruit. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Lunch: One of my easy go-to favs: Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce. Shelly's Chinese New Year Meatloaf

Butterbeer Cupcakes As promised last week, here is another post dedicated to my jaunt to sunny Florida. But instead of featuring their famous fruit, this time I’m focusing one of their famous attractions — The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Last spring we spent our entire trip at Disney World (as evidenced by my Mickey Cupcakes), but since then Universal has opened Harry Potter land, and so Ryan, my brother Scott, and I had a reason to go back in 2011. We really enjoyed their rendition of Diagon Alley and Hogwart’s — the buildings were kind of tilted in towards the walkway so you really felt like you were there. Universal won’t release their official recipe for butterbeer, but HP fanatics have suggested it is made with a combination of cream soda, butter, and butterscotch. If you know a Harry Potter enthusiast, these are the perfect treats for them. Butterbeer Cupcakes Recipe adapted from Amy Bites For the cupcakes: For the butterscotch ganache: 1 11-oz package butterscotch chips 3/4 cup heavy cream

3 Weeks of Cheap Dinners, ready in under 15 minutes Thanks to an insanely busy schedule, my husband and I had some really poor eating habits. We know that fast food barely qualifies as food, but ended up in the drive thru more often then is humanly acceptable. When we started making better life decisions, this became a glaringly obvious problem that needed to be corrected. We get up at 6:30am, and don't get home at night until 6pm. After a few phases of trial and error, trying to eat healthier and save time, we made it simple. We also buy a huge pack of mixed greens and a bottle of dressing from Wegmans each week and serve salad every night. ($5.99 for the club pack of mixed greens, and $1.29 for Wegmans salad dressing). The totals are what it will cost you to buy all of the ingredients... Take 2 breasts of Tyson's frozen grilled chicken and microwave them, boil a box of rotini, chop up onions, peppers, and a fleshy tomato, add sliced olives and a bottle of Wegmans Italian dressing. 4. If you have a grill- this is a great option! 18.

Who likes saving money? Ok, so I'm all about saving money. I mean who isn't right? Anyhow, in the interest of saving money here is my first money saving post! Here's what you need: Take a big thing of oatmeal (make sure to use the quick oats, mine was 42 oz I went and checked, haha) $3.78 at my local Wal-mart in Texas a box of snack-sized Ziplocks (or whichever brand you prefer) a 1/4 c or 1/2 c measuring cup (I did mine 1/2 c but my kids are 8 & 11 and then there is my hubs, the pre-made packets are only about 1/4 c so if you have itty bittys you can just do the 1/4 c)a few spare minutes (probably took less than 10 minutes) And here's how I put mine together, feel free to add in what you and your family like: I put 1/2 c oats in the baggie (could do 1/4 c if you have itty bittys, that's how much are in the name brand guys pre-made packets)Approximately 2 TBSP of brown sugar in the baggieZip it up! For the water or milk part you add 3/4 c - 1 c of water or milk (for the 1/2 c oatmeal size), however you prefer.

Sweet Tooth Copy Cat Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe Make sure to PIN This Recipe or Repin My whole family loves Panera bread … For some reason especially the coffee. This recipe “warms your soul” as my husband puts it. Look!!! Everyday at 1 pm PST/ 4pm EST Budget Savvy Diva posts a NEW RECIPE I might miss this time every now or then – but I know you understand Make sure to follow Budget Savvy Diva on Facebook Find Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes HERE Find Crock Pot Recipes HERE Find Gluten Free Recipes HERE Find more Recipes HERE What You Need 1/2 medium onion, chopped 1/4 cup melted butter 1/4 cup flour 2 cups half-and-half ( or skim milk) 2 cups chicken stock 1/2 pound fresh broccoli ( florets only) 1 cup carrots, julienne 1/4 teaspoon of salt 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon pepper 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese What To Do Saute onions in a little butter in a small pan – set aside. In a large stockpot ( I accidentally used a medium-size pan) – melt butter. Slowly add half- half – mixing the entire time. Let simmer on low for 20 minutes. Source – HERE

Zucchini Tots Getting your family to eat their veggies can often be difficult. Well these kid-friendly zucchini tots are the perfect solution! Make them in mini muffin tins for the perfect little side for breakfast or dinner! I found this recipe on the Two Bite Club which I slightly adapted and they turned out great. I know what you're thinking, another zucchini recipe? A few of my favorites are Zucchini Enchiladas (perfect for meatless Mondays), Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini and Mozzarella, Zucchini Pizza Bites and last week's Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats. For breakfast try this Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread, even the pickiest of kids will enjoy them! Ingredients: 1 cup zucchini, grated 1 large egg1/4 medium onion, diced1/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, grated1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbssalt and pepper to tastecooking spray Directions: Preheat oven to 400°. Grate the zucchini into a clean dish towel. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden.

S'mores Cookies I LOVE pot-luck dinner parties — especially when the instructions from the hostess ask that each attendee bring their own bottle of wine. This was the case last weekend when I was in NYC with a group of my best friends from college. Three out of the five of us at the party have food blogs (T and M), so you can imagine how excited we all were to get together to cook and above all, eat! Obviously I grabbed the dessert course, and turned to this cookie recipe I had been drooling over from Lovin from the Oven. Since I was traveling from CT, I prepared the dry mix ahead of time to bring with me, and was able to whip up the dough while Tyla and Marissa were making dinner. By the time we had finished the delicious dinner course, my dough had rested in the fridge for just the right amount of time, and within 10 minutes we had warm, gooey crack/cookies. To say these cookies were delicious does not do them justice – they were AMAZING. S’mores CookiesAdapted from Lovin’ From the Oven

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce People are always asking us how we come up with recipes, and also what we cook when we don’t really have a plan, or we’re short on time. We’ll be the first to admit that we’re not above drive-throughs, cold cereal, and frozen meals. But sometimes you just want a good, hearty, home-cooked meal. This is a great example of a really good dinner, that was created by simple ingredients I already had around my kitchen. I’ve said over and over that the trick to being able to whip up quick, yet delicious meals in a pinch is keeping a well-stocked pantry. This is an awesome little pasta bake and the great thing is that it looks fancy and tastes decadent, but it’s super simple to throw together (shhh…no one has to know!) Let’s cook. Obviously you’ll need tortellini! You don’t need to have any jarred sauce on hand for this dish- the sauce is SO good and you’ll be amazed how quick and easy it is. In the little bit of bacon grease in the pan, toss in some minced garlic. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Snacking in the Kitchen: Mother's Day 2010 Brunch Happy Mother’s Day! (Want more ideas of what to do with your cupcake pan? Check out my recipe for Sour Cherry Crustless Cheesecake Cupcakes with Sour Cherry Glaze) Back to Mother’s Day though! On the menu:Broccoli and Italian Sausage Egg MuffinsGrilled Lemon & Garlic AsparagusOrange Juice Broccoli and Italian Sausage Egg Muffins Ingredients1 pound Italian Sausage (sweet, mild, hot variety depending on your preference)1 cup broccoli florets8 large eggs1/4 cup milk (or half and half depending on how you’re feeling that day)1/2 tbsp vegetable oil1/2 tsp baking powdersalt & pepper to tasteFreshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed Directions1. Here’s Mother’s Day Brunch 2011: Roasted Salmon with Dill and Lemon and Mushroom and Dill Risotto. Back to the blog Like this: Like Loading...

Monkey Bread Muffins This Northeastern blizzard might have ruined some of our holiday travel plans, but I’ve enjoyed the time stuck inside in our apartment, winding down from the holidays and getting my life organized again. Of course that also means facing the work I’ll have to do during my 2 weeks off from school, but we’re going to continue to ignore that for now. Nothing beats being snuggled up inside while it snows, watching movies, and munching on warm homemade muffins. If you’re in a similar situation, I highly suggest making these Monkey Bread Muffins. Granted I have a hard time calling these muffins, they’re really more like buttery baked donuts piled inside a muffin liner, but tis the season to be indulgent. Actually these are mini-brioche liners that I got from fancy flours, but you can really use them for whatever you’d like. This would also be a great project to do with kids — plus you could use a few extra hands rolling all the little balls of dough. Recipe yields 12 muffins