Some nights a girl just wants to be lazy when it comes to dinner. Usually, this brings to mind the little blue box of mac & cheese that we all know so well. Or maybe slapping a slice of cheese between some bread, toasting it, and calling it a day. I wasn't in the mood for fixing dinner tonight, but I wanted something that was still just a little bit special, so I rummaged the fridge to see what I could come up.  Somehow, I ended up with a counter full of cheese, bacon, cream cheese, tortillas, and some spinach. You can’t go wrong with those ingredients, right?

This is how I ended up with Cheesy Spinach & Bacon Quesadillas. I threw some cream cheese and grated cheddar cheese in a bowl, cooked up some bacon, steamed a little spinach, and threw it all in a tortilla. After grilling both sides, the cheese was the perfect blend of gooey and melty, oozing over the bacon and spinach. This is definitely an easy, quick dinner I’ll make again.  I even got my 5 year old to eat it, after he felt reassured that the “green stuff” in his dinner wasn’t going to poison him.

The measurements are more of an approximation since I just eyed it, but you get the idea.

Cheesy Spinach & Bacon
    Quesadilla

(makes 4 quesadilla’s)    Printable Recipe

4 flour tortillas
2oz cream cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup fresh spinach
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp

1. In a frying pan over medium heat, cook your bacon until crisp, drain on paper towel and set aside.

2. Mix together the cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a small bowl. Microwave on low in 10 second increments until the cheese mixture is smooth.

3. In a small pan, add about a couple teaspoons of water. Place the spinach in the pan and cook over medium heat just until the spinach starts to wilt. Remove spinach and set aside.

4. Take a tortilla and spread half of it with the cream cheese spread. Layer some spinach and a slice of bacon (broken into pieces) over the cheese spread. Sprinkle additional grated cheddar cheese on top, fold the tortilla in half and place in a hot frying pan or on a hot griddle. Cook each side about 10-15 seconds, or until it starts to get crispy and slightly blackened. Be careful, it will burn easily.

5. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or salsa.

Is there anything better than an ice-cold orange creamsicle on a hot, summer day? How about a warm, buttery, orange creamsicle COOKIE on a cold winter day? It truly is the best of both worlds. This cookie is not shy, with a full cup of butter in it, but that just makes it even better. Full of fresh orange zest and white chocolate chips, these beauties are definite comfort food…

…and that’s not extra padding on your rear, it’s extra comfort. That’s what I tell myself anyway. :)



(Yield: 2 dozen)   Printable Recipe

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
Zest of 2 oranges
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with Silpats or parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Stir together and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until well incorporated. Add orange zest and beat to distribute. Stir in chips.

Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop in rounded spoonfuls on cookie sheets, leaving plenty of room between cookies to allow for some spreading. Bake for about 10 minutes until light golden brown. Cool about 1 minute on cookie sheets and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

There is nothing better, in my humble opinion, than a plate full of creamy pasta. Marinara is a great sauce, but there’s something so deliciously sinful about Alfredo that I gleefully shove my guilt down deep. When I eat Alfredo, I tell myself I’ll worry about my hips tomorrow.

While I sit here and wax poetic about Alfredo sauce, I have a confession to make. I never make it at home. Maybe because, until now, I’ve never found a recipe that was as simple and delicious as this one from Tasty Kitchen. When I came across this recipe for Garlic Alfredo Sauce, I was immediately intrigued. With cream cheese, garlic and just a few other simple ingredients, this was definitely my kind of recipe.

This sauce is so creamy and rich, you’ll be eating spoonfuls before you even get to slather your pasta with it. I’m glad to say this Alfredo sauce will be a staple at my house from now on.

For the recipe, see my Tasty Kitchen guest post here.

How are you usually woken up in the morning? Lately, my day starts with the pitiful voice of my 5 year old whispering in my ear, “Mommy, I’m staaarving….I’m about to die.” No, I don’t spend the day lounging in bed while I let my child starve. It just so happens my son has the appetite of a lumber jack lately. My empty cabinets and the quickly growing pile of his too-short pants can attest to that.

This morning, I decided to treat him to something outside his usual oatmeal, scrambled eggs or pancakes. I thought cinnamon rolls sounded good, but when you have a kid hanging on your elbow begging like Oliver Twist for food, you have to act fast.  I found this recipe for Cinnamon Roll Muffins and decided to give it a try. I gambled that it didn’t matter how good they were, my half starved monster would eat just about anything at this point.

The process for making these rolls is just like cinnamon rolls, without the hassle of yeast and rising time. Slathered with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, then drizzled with a vanilla glaze, these are a pretty good substitution when you’re short on time. Don’t expect them to be as light and fluffy as a regular cinnamon roll – that yeast is meant for something – but the little guy liked them enough to eat three!


Cinnamon Roll Muffins
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
5 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla and egg. Add the buttermilk, then the flour. Stir until thoroughly combined. Note: the recipe calls for 3 to 3.5 cups of flour, I only needed to use 3 cups.)


Roll the dough into a log beginning with the wide side. Stretch the log slightly as you roll to keep a tight seam. Cut the log in half, then each half in half again.



At this point I scored each quarter with three cuts, to make sure my rolls would be even. Continue slicing until you have 12 rolls. Place them in a greased muffin pan, or muffin tins lined with cupcake papers.



Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the muffins to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove them from pans to a cooling rack. If you’re feeling extra naughty, you can drizzle some more melted butter over the rolls before the icing (I won’t tell.) Combine ingredients for glaze and drizzle over the top
.

If you had told me a year ago, that I would be posting a recipe for Brussels sprouts, I would have taken you by the arm and whisked you to the nearest nut farm. Now, I like my vegetables. Green beans, corn, broccoli, root vegetables, asparagus, kale, spinach…the list could go on and on.

There were however, until now, two vegetables that were most definitely NOT on my veggie love list. Brussels sprouts, and pickled beets.  As a kid, I remember them being bitter and soggy, not two adjectives of something you want to put in your mouth.  I guess I’ve never been brave enough to venture out and try them again…until now.  I had some left over from the winter vegetable soup I made, so I wanted to use them up.

This simple way of fixing the little b-sprouts (sorry, I don’t know where that came from), has raised the yum factor of these round little guys in my opinion.  All you’ll need is a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Oh yeah, and a nice hot oven. Got to get ‘em nice and caramelized.

Crispy Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Printable Recipe

1 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, stems removed and quartered
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 c. water

Move oven rack to the upper third and preheat to 425 degrees.

Put the Brussels sprouts, minced garlic, olive oil, water, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Toss to combine. You can add more salt and pepper to taste, as needed.

Empty the bowl onto a shallow baking pan or oven-proof skillet, and roast until tender and Brussels sprouts begin to turn crispy and caramelized, about 25-35 minutes. Every oven is different, so check your sprouts and adjust time as needed.

Remove from oven and toss Brussels sprouts in the pan, scraping up the good crispy bits. Enjoy!

I’ve been in a soup mood lately. Besides loving a warm bowl of soupy goodness on a cold day, I love anything that involves only dirtying one pot.

Did I mention leftovers? Having premade lunches or a light dinner is another plus in my book. Yep, soup is the lazy cook’s lifeboat.

My sis-in-law passed this recipe along to me, and I’m glad she did! This soup is packed full of veggie goodness, and is so satisfying. I have to admit, when I saw brussell sprouts in the ingredient list, I was slightly worried.

My last encounter with said vegetable was as a child, and I distinctly remember the experience was not impressive.

I don’t know if my taste buds have matured, or I just had a bad batch of brussell sprouts, but this time around I really enjoyed them.



Swirl a little sour cream into your bowl right before eating, it really adds to the flavor. Don’t forget the crusty bread!

Winter Vegetable Soup
Printable Recipe

• 2 tbsp vegetable stock or olive oil
• 1 1/2 C. chopped leek
• 1 1/2 C. quartered brussel sprouts
• 1 C. acorn squash (or butternut squash, pumpkin or sweet potato, peeled and diced.)
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 C. vegetable stock
• 1 C. swiss chard or collard greens,(chopped and packed.)
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 tsp marjoram or oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp dill weed
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• sour cream

Directions: In a Dutch oven cook the first seven ingredients over medium heat, covered for 10-15 minutes. Now add the vegetable sock, bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Cover & let cook slowly until everything is tender. Add swiss chard or collard greens, tomato and bell pepper. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Add herbs, soy sauce and lemon juice. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with a few tablespoons of sour cream stirred into each bowl. Enjoy!

I am a texture girl. I love texture in my clothes, my hair, and most importantly my food. I had the pleasure to come across a great recipe over at Tasty Kitchen, Spinach Lemon Orzo Soup, and I knew right away I had to make it. Namely because it had Orzo in it. Orzo falls into my “Food textures That I Love” category, and any recipe that calls for it has me game to try it.

If you’ve never tried orzo, you need to take your crazy self to the store and buy some right now.  What is orzo like you may say?  For me, it’s as if pasta and rice came together and had a delicious baby.  I can’t really say any more than that.

This soup was so good, with the bright flavor from the lemons and the comforting goodness of a (slightly spicy) chicken broth. You can find the recipe and my guest post for this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen Blog here.