Super Easy Pizza Pasta

I am lazy. Although I desire to make and eat yummy food for dinner, since I have been pregnant I seem to lack the motivation to do anything that requires above minimal effort. As a result, we eat cereal a lot for dinner these days.

Luckily for my husband, I felt bad for him and decided to make him some pasta for dinner. We had some spaghetti sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni left over from making pizza a few nights before. Then it came to me: pizza pasta. It didn't sound very good but it did seem easy and so that is what won me over.

The beauty of this story is: it tasted really, really good! I am definitely going to make it again and often! My husband enjoyed it as well, or so he says. The yummy spicy flavor or pepperoni was nice to have in a pasta dish for once, it was a nice change. See below for what I did.

Ingrediants:

Noodle of your choice

Tomato Sauce

Pepperoni (Cut in halves)

Green Peppers

Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

1) Boil those noodles baby

2) Heat up your sauce, green peppers, and pepperoni

3) Add cooked noodles to sauce. Add lots of mozzarella cheese and mix in so it melts.

4) Eat it up!

Zucchini Muffins

• 3 c. fresh grated Zucchini
• 2/3 c. melted, unsalted Butter
• 1 1/3 c. Sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• pinch of salt
• 3 c. Flour
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture.

Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with cooking spray and fill them to the top with muffin batter. Bake on the middle baking rack until muffins are brown, about 25-30 minutes. Test the middle with a toothpick. Set on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from baking tin and let them cool for another 20 minutes.

*My kids loved these! They didn't know they were eating zucchini!

Banana/Peanut Butter/Chocolate/Streusel Muffins

There were a couple bananas that needed to be thrown out or baked with so of course I took advantage of the opportunity. I wanted something a little more than plain banana bread and this recipe was the perfect solution. These muffins are moist and delish! Additionally, they have a little less fat and sugar than most muffin recipes I have seen. If you ever have bananas that are too soft to eat plain, utilize them! 

Banana/Peanut Butter/Chocolate/Streusel Muffins

makes 12

Muffin Ingredients:

1 cup flour

2 Tbs unsalted butter (I used only 1 Tbs)

3 Tbs Peanut butter (obviously I used 4... its peanut butter!)

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

1/2 Cup milk

1 Egg

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup ripe mashed bananas (2 bananas)

Streusel:

1/4 Cup Flour

1/4 Cup Rolled oats

1/4 Cup Packed brown sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 Tbs Peanut butter

1 Tbs Unsalted butter

1/4 Cup Chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter together. Add milk and egg, then slowly mix in the dry ingredients (you can use a separate bowl with the dry ingredients mixed, or just add half of the flour and sugar at a time). Stir in banana and chocolate chips. 

Now for the streusel topping! Combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Fold in the peanut butter and butter until it is crumbly. Add the chocolate chips. 

Fill greased muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle Streusel topping over batter (I completely covered each one). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until you get a clean toothpick test! These are better fresh and still warm!

Zucchini Brownies

• 1/2 c. Butter, softened
• 1/2 c. to 3/4 c. Sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 1/2 c. Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 6 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 c. Corn Oil
• 2 XL Eggs
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 c. Sour Cream
• 4 Tbsp. Cocoa
• 2 c. grated Zucchini (DO NOT peel, wash clean)

Cream butter, oil, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Beat until smooth. Sift dry ingredients into mixture, add the 2 cups of zuchinni. Blend ingredients together with a mixing spoon. Pour into greased, 9 x 13 pan. Top with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cool before cutting.

*These are so good! My kids didn't even know they were eating a vegetable!

French Toast Bake

My family has brunch on Conference Sunday at my parents' house. I made this for everyone for Spring Conference and was reminded of it last week and I decided to share.

The meal was a hit with the adults and the kids! It is a cross between French Toast and German Pancakes (some people call them Dutch Babies or something). Note: if you do not like the texture of German Pancakes, you probably wont like this! However, I LOVE French Toast bake now!

***I got the recipe from one of the thousand food blogs I stalk, and I also used the picture from the blog because I lack the ability to take good pictures.

My changes: I did not add the heavy whipping cream or the granulated sugar. The streusel has enough sugar to compensate the sweetness and whipping cream is really not necessary. I also tripled the amount of cinnamon in the streusel because I love me some cinnamon :)

Cinnamon Baked French Toast
Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman
1 loaf French Bread
8 large eggs
2 cups milk
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Streusel Topping:
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Tear or cut French bread into 1 - 2 inch cubes, and evenly place in the pan.
2. Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour evenly over bread. Cover pan with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter pieces and cut into the mixture using a fork or your hands. Combine until the mixture resembles sand with a few pea sized chunks. Cover and store mixture in the refrigerator.
4. When you’re ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle crumb mixture over the top of casserole. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the French toast is set and golden brown. *** Mine was done at 40 mins so make sure to check on it!
5. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Sprucing Up Cup Cakes With Little Effort

Ah, the cup cake craze. I have to admit that I love it. However, some of the adorable cup cakes you see people making for birthdays and holidays literally take HOURS and let's face it: it is not always worth the effort. So what do you do when you want to make cup cakes that makes it seem like they are "fancy" with out actually being fancy? Answer: small additions.

The other night my husband's best friend came over, and right before he got there my husband casually mentions that it was his birthday. I had no time to go to the store for supplies, or spend hours making a fancy cake. So I whipped up some cup cakes and searches the depths of my cupboards and fridge. I had some german chocolate cake frosting and peanut butter frosting left over (that sounds really pathetic). So for variety, I decided to use both. But I couldn't just slop frosting on cupcakes and serve that, I mean, that is just rude! I had to show him that I made a big effort in honor of his coming into the world!

Solution 1: Ya know what is REALLY good with german chocolate cake? Maraschino cherries. And They look really cute on top of the cup cakes.

Solution 2: I melted some chocolate in a plastic bag, cut a small hole in the corner, and then I spelled out a happy birthday salutation.

Check it out peeps, and please don't judge the hideous display. I really was rushing and we hadn't unpacked our platters yet so I had to use a cookie sheet.

Seriously, just add a piece of candy or shredded chocolate a top any cup cake and you will find that the presentation value increases exponentially.

Amazing Meatballs

• 1 Large Bag of Frozen Italian Meatballs


• 12 oz. Grape Jelly


• 12.oz. Brown Sugar


• 12 oz. Homemade Brand Chili Sauce


• 1 1/2 T. Lemon Juice

Heat Chili Sauce, Jelly, Brown Sugar, and Lemon Juice in a saucepan. The Jelly will turn to liquid. Add frozen meatballs. Heat on Low 20-30 minutes. Trasnfer to crock pot and slow cook for at least 1 hour.

*this makes a great appetizer*