Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

I don't know what's going on with my skin right now but my face is broken out like a 14 year-old girl. It could be that I've unknowingly been putting conditioner on my face at night instead of my moisturizer. Sometimes when I travel I get creative in finding small bottles to transport my beauty stuff and my Pantene Pro-V was in my moisturizer bottle.

And on my long runs, the tag on my shorts has been rubbing my lower back raw. The same pairs of shorts I've been using to run for the past 100 miles are now giving me problems. I blame the increase in humidity here in Florida. But now I have what looks like a "Tramp Stamp" on my lower back. If you don't know what a "Tramp Stamp" is just pray your daughter never gets one. If you have one, I apologize. That's just what we called them growing up.

Since my lower back looks like someone poured battery acid on it, it looks like I've been getting treatments done to remove my "Tramp Stamp". Every time I bend over or twist...owww.

So...doesn't THAT make you hungry! Bahaha. John and I were home one Saturday night and nothing was on T.V. so we happened to be watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay about french toast. John said you gotta try that recipe! I tried to replicate La Isla's famous french toast but the recipe called for a bunch of hard to find ingredients. So I ended up changing the recipe into something entirely different but still keeping the almond/cornflake crust that the original french toast had. It's sooo good and with Mother's Day coming up I think it would be perfect for the occasion. Cream cheese and strawberries are stuffed into an almond crusted bread, toasted, and topped with powdered sugar.

You want pretty thick slices of bread so that you can make a slice to stuff your bread.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Filling:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and more for cooking the french toast
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 Tablespoons strawberry preserves or jam
1 cup diced strawberries
4 thick slices challah, French, or Italian bread
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Egg Batter:
6 extra-large eggs
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Breading:
1 1/2 cups crushed Cornflakes
1 cup sliced almonds

In a medium bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons of butter and the cream cheese until combined. Add the strawberry preserves and mix until incorporated. Fold in the diced strawberries into the cream cheese mixture.

Cut bread into thick slices. Make an incision on the crust side of the 4 pieces of bread about 3/4 of the way through. You're creating a pocket to stuff the cream cheese mixture into. Gently spoon 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture into each of the 4 slices of bread and gently close the pocket. Refrigerate the stuffed slices while you prepare the batter and breading.

For the egg batter, add the eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla, and milk to a medium shallow bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Prepare the breading by adding the crushed cornflakes and almonds to a sheet pan. Dip the bread slices in the egg batter making sure to let each side soak for about 20 seconds. Next, dip them into the cereal mixture.

Put a large skillet on medium-high heat and add a couple of tablespoons of butter. When the butter has melted add the stuffed bread slices and brown on each side for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from skillet and serve immediately. Top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, fresh sliced strawberries, and syrup if desired. The french toast is pretty sweet on it's own so the toppings are more for visual appeal. Unless you are me, then they are just to add more sweetness...

Source: Inspired from Throwdown with Bobby Flay

Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies

 What are YOU doing with your left over hard boiled eggs?

         A) Your kids are using them as ammunition in their latest pirate battle.
         B) Chopping them up and putting them in your chocolate chip cookies.
         C) What hard boiled eggs? You still haven't found the ones you hid back in 2005.

 Over here it's always a little of A)...

...but today it's B)

A while ago my friend Brittany told me I needed to try this out. Instead of placing raw eggs in cookie you can actually chop up hard boiled eggs really fine and use them in your dough. For some reason the idea of it initially revolted me. But seriously what's the big deal? So you cook the eggs before you put them in the cookies. The result? A super moist and soft cookie. Europeans have been using this method for years.

They may even be in contention for my number one favorite cookie.

If you peek close you can see little pieces of egg whites.
Don't worry - they all disappear when you bake them.

Note - you do need a food processor for this recipe.

Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole and other Easter Ideas

Today I battled the crowds at Target looking for last minute items for my kid's Easter baskets. I didn't end up with much but still felt successful.  Because in a world with a lot of "stuff", I've been trying to simplify. And kids really don't need a lot to be happy. I guess I want to set the expectations low so they are appreciative when they do receive things. I'm trying to teach them what Easter is really about anyway.

AND I treated myself to a few somethings. Mmm...hmm...that's right. Momma went shopping. Okay...maybe I threw a couple of shirts in the cart at Target and hoped they would fit when I got home. And they did! That's Shopping 101 ladies.

These potatoes were sent to me by friend Wendy who found them on an old cut out recipe from Gooseberry Patch in her files. They were so good and a different alternative to Gooey Potatoes. They are creamy, savory, and just like eating a loaded baked potato. Or in this case 7 loaded baked potatoes.

My friends coming over for Easter are bringing a couple of dishes but here's what I'm making:

The Ham (thank you Honey Baked)....

Lion House Rolls

Baked Beans

Carrot Cake

And I might make these Stuffed Mushrooms as an appetizer just because I'm craving them.

Good Luck and Happy Easter!

Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
Source: slightly adapted from Wendy and Gooseberry Patch

5 1/2 cups mashed potatoes (around 6-7 large baking potatoes)
1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon crispy cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Peel, quarter, and boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Drain potatoes and and beat with a mixer until smooth. Add milk, cream cheese, sour cream, parsley, garlic salt, and nutmeg. Beat at a medium-high speed until nice and creamy. Add salt to taste keeping in mind that the cheese and bacon will add a little salt later.

Spoon into a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with cheddar cheese and bacon. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serves 12 people.

Two Easter Cupcakes: Bunny and Flower Cupcakes

My son's 4th birthday was yesterday. I remember being in the hospital for a routine ultrasound and going into labor with him. I called my husband who was in a golf tournament and told him I was in labor but to keep playing because I probably wouldn't have the baby for a while. And that's when being a people pleaser makes you say crazy things.

My husband, knowing better, came to the hospital anyway.

For my son's birthday I needed easy cupcakes for both his preschool and swimming class. I used two easy Betty Crocker recipes but added milk and sour cream to the batter for an extra soft and fluffy cupcake.

For his preschool class I brought these pretty cupcakes. So pretty...until they tipped over, even thought I had them in one of those cupcake carriers, on the way to school.

These ending up being more work than I was planning on but still cute.

Easter Bunny Cupcakes

Source: adapted slightly from Betty Crocker

1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs

Pink food color
2 containers Betty Crocker Whipped fluffy white frosting
5 large marshmallows
Pink sugar
Candy decorations and sprinkles, as desired

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.

2. Mix cake mix, sour cream, milk, oil, and eggs on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat for 2 minutes on high.

3. Fill each liner 2/3 of the way full and bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.

4. Stir a few drops pink food color into 1 container of frosting. Frost cupcakes with pink frosting.

5. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoonful white frosting on center of each cupcake. To make ears, cut each large marshmallow crosswise into 5 pieces with kitchen scissors. Using scissors, cut through center of each marshmallow piece to within 1/4 inch of edge. Separate to look like bunny ears; press 1 side of cut edges into pink sugar, flattening slightly. Arrange on each of the white frosting mounds as shown. Use candy decorations and sprinkles to make eyes, nose and whiskers as shown. Store loosely covered.

I made these for swim lessons.

These were much easier and equally cute.

Flower Cupcakes

Source: adapted slightly from Betty Crocker

1 box Betty Crocker white cake mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 container white frosting

30 large marshmallows

colored sprinkles or colored sugar

jumbo sprinkles or gumdrops

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.

2. Mix cake mix, sour cream, milk, oil, and eggs on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat for 2 minutes on high.

3. Fill each liner 2/3 of the way full and bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.

4. Frost cupcakes with frosting.

5. Using kitchen scissors, cut each marshmallow crosswise into 4 slices (5 petals total). Sprinkle slices with colored sugar. Arrange 5 slices on each cupcakes in flower shape. Place jumbo sprinkle or gumdrop in the middle.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Tip: To make your own colored sugar just put a 1/2 cup of white sugar in a Ziploc baggy with a couple drops of food coloring. Shake around until color disperses. If there are any clumps remove. Now you have colored sugar!

Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake

You know a dessert is good when you literally have to take the fork out of your husband’s hand to stop him from eating the entire cake. Not that he couldn't. He has the metabolism of a 5-year-old.

“This is dangerously good,” he mumbled through a mouth full of warm cake.

This Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake has a layer of bananas and coconut with a brown sugar sauce infusing every bite.

Technically this is a dessert but for some reason, probably because bananas are involved, I think I can find a way to serve it up for breakfast or brunch. I mean if a cupcake can disguise itself as a muffin, I can surely get away with serving this.

Start off with layering sliced bananas on the bottom of a two cake pans.

 Pour on the brown sugar sauce....

 Spread the coconut and cake batter on top and bake!

Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake Recipe

Carrot Cake for Easter

Sometimes it surprises me that I have a food blog. But not because of the reasons you think.  The thing is, I am a people pleaser to a fault. I've always said I couldn't be a hairdresser because I'm too worried that people wouldn't like their hair. BUT recipes are the same way. Everyone has different taste buds and some things people either love or hate.

Sometimes I make a recipe that I've made a zillion times and it doesn't turn out. There are so many variables: the butter is too cold, your oven temperature is off, your baking soda is old, you added too much of something. You learn as you go. So I always worry that if it doesn't turn out for someone else, I feel responsible and I hate that.

But I finally came to the resolution that when it comes down to it, I'm posting recipes that me and my family love. Some people will love them but not everyone will. That's life.

Carrot cake is definitely one of those recipes that will NOT please everyone. Everyone likes it different - nuts or no nuts, pineapple or no pineapple, raisins or no raisins.  And that is why everyone should make it the WAY they like it. I happen to be a pineapple, nuts, no raisins girl. 

I have tried my fair share of carrot cake recipes and  Camden emailed me this recipe that she claims is the best so I had to try it. It is supposedly from a famous bakery called Jen's Place Bakery in Dallas. This carrot cake is super moist, has the texture I love, and the cream cheese frosting is divine. I followed Camden's tip of using partial whole wheat flour to give it a nuttier flavor but I'm sure it would taste great without it as well. Carrot cake is a great thing to make the day before Easter because it's almost better the second day.

And how ghetto is it that I took this to a party with a piece of cake already cut out. I had to taste it first!

Carrot Cake

Source: Camden LeeMaster  

1 cup oil

2 cups white sugar

3 eggs, beaten well

2 cups carrots, peeled and grated finely

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour (replace one cup with whole wheat flour for a denser, nuttier taste)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix oil, sugar, eggs, carrots, pineapple and vanilla until combined.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and add slowly to the wet ingredients.

To make a 9x13 cake, pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish for 45 minutes.

To make a 2 layer cake use 2 round pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If using 2 round pans make sure to really grease or use parchment cut in circles so that your cake comes out clean. Invert cakes into a cooling rack.

When cake has cooled frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1lb (4 cups) powdered sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and then powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping the bowl often. Frost the carrot cake.

Note - If you are using 2 round cake pans you may want to do 1.5x of this frosting recipe. I like a LOT of frosting in the middle and on top.

How to make Hard Boiled Eggs...

If a friend happens to stop by my house unexpectedly, 90% of the time I start of with the sentence, "Come on in! Sorry, it might smell a little funny because we just cooked eggs."

We eat a LOT of eggs in our house. My current favorite lunch is an egg white omelet. My husband is always boiling eggs to have hard boiled eggs on hand for healthy muscle building protein snacks. Right now we have over three dozen eggs in our fridge and that's after I came out of the shower yesterday to find my 20-month old egg washing our leather couches and wood floors with a dozen. So I guess you could say we are pros and hard boiling eggs now.

My husband asked, "So you can really do a whole post on boiling eggs?"

Uh, yeah.

I reminded him that very year around Easter we end up googling how to make the perfect hard boiled egg. Over time we learned the tricks to perfectly boiled eggs.

1) Start off with placing your eggs in a pot in a single layer and covering them with cold water about an inch above the eggs.

2) Turn the heat up to medium high and once water starts to bubble add some salt to the pot.

3) Bring water to a rolling boil. If your heat is too high, you will get some violent boiling and end up with egg casualties like this.

Bad egg...



This is a good rolling boil.

5) Once water comes to a rolling boil, place the lid on and turn off the heat.                                                                  

6) Let eggs sit for 12-13 minutes making sure to not open the lid or all of the heat will escape. Make sure not to start your timer until right when you turn off the heat.

7) When the time is up remove eggs from pot and rinse in cold water or place in an ice bath to stop the eggs from continuing to cook.

8) Label your eggs so that your family knows which ones are hard boiled and which ones are not. OR you can use my husband's trick of spinning the egg really hard on a flat surface. If the egg is hard boiled it will spin standing up like this one below and if it's not hard boiled it will spin horizontally.

 

Have a hard time peeling your eggs?  Over time we have learned that the fresher the egg the harder it is to peel. If you can, don't make your hard boiled eggs the same day you buy them. You would think that the fresher the egg the better, but that's not actually the case. Eggs that are a week old work best but of course make sure they are not past the expiration date. Some people say that if you add baking soda to the water it makes them peel easier...we have that baking soda does not affect it at all. The only factor in easy peeling eggs is the freshness of the eggs. If you are using the hard boiled eggs right away, it also is easier to peel them under cold running water right after they have boiled.

Lemon Drop Cookies

Spring has Sprung.

Backyard baseball games...

Limitless popsicles to combat the heat...

Neighbor friends staying for dinner...

And hoses attacking small children for no reason at all...

 For one of my favorite times of the year, I've found a cookie that pretty much

squeezes all of that fun and sunshine into a mouthful.

Just like this...

Marco Isaland - March 2011

I've had these bookmarked forever. I saw them over at See Jane Cook and something about the texture of the cookies had me hooked. They are a chewy lemon cookie with crushed lemon drops in the cookie!  Don't try to substitute butter in this recipe. Trust me. I tried. They still tasted great but were flat as could be. I've made these three times in the last week so I guess that tells you how much I liked them.

Lemon Drop Cookies
Source: See Jane Cook; recipe from 5 Star Recipes from Latter Day Saints

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter flavored shortening
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Finely chopped zest of one lemon
1 (6-oz) package lemon drops
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
juice of two lemons, about 4-5 Tablespoons (I use less because I like my glaze a little thicker)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixing bowl, cream sugar, shortening, and eggs; add vanilla and lemon extract. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Crush lemon drops in blender or food processor. Add lemon zest and crushed lemon drops. Roll into balls, flatten slightly with your hand, and bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet (You must use parchment here to avoid sticking).

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly on pan for a couple of minutes. Make the  glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice to desired consistency. Brush glaze over cookie tops after cookies have cooled slightly. If the cookies are too hot the glaze will just melt off. Let cookies cool completely.

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies.

Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls

The Donut Effect. There's a little something I like to call the "Donut Effect". I eat pretty healthy most of the time. I feel like I'm always trying to convince you guys of that since you've seen what I post on here, but I really do. Don't get me wrong...I treat myself everyday to a little something.

But when I've been really watching it for a while I inevitably break down and indulge in something sweet...like a donut. So good! So I think "Wow that was so good and I didn't even gain any weight. I actually lost 2 pounds." So the next day, I eat four cookies. That probably won't affect me at all either since the donut didn't so I won't even bother weighing myself today. And even if I did gain weight, I lost weight yesterday so it's all good. The next day it's brownies...but just half a pan...

From there, it's pretty much a downward spiral.

I fell victim to the "Donut Effect" this weekend. Pizza, Doritos, muffins, cookies (coming soon), 3 Cadbury Eggs, and one Birthday Cake Remix later, I'm feeling the need to eat a little healthier this week.

These Spinach Lasagna Rolls come from Gina at Skinny Taste and honestly everything I've tried of hers is good and healthy. They are perfectly portioned and have all the flavors of lasagna I love. These are 6 WW points plus and 224 calories per roll. I added one some garlic and Italian seasonings to the mix which shouldn't change the points. I used some spaghetti sauce I had on hand also added one diced chicken breast to add a little protein so if you add that you will need to adjust your points according to those.

I was amazed that my boys ate the spinach part without even flinching. Of course my husband had just taken them for a round of golf so they were starving!

Roll 'em up.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Source: adapted slightly from Skinny Taste
1 Roll = 224 calories and 6 WW Points Plus (adjust if you add chicken)

9 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
1 (15 ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings
salt and fresh pepper
(optional) 1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
32 oz tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
9 Tablespoons part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Make sure you drain the spinach well. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, Italian seasonings, chicken, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry by patting them with a paper towel. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over a noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 Tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.
To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

Easter Bunny Cake

Make sure to check the Giveaway page for the Big Book of Cupcake winners.

Thanks for all that entered. I think we need to have giveaways more often...

"Do Easter Bunny's bleed purple?"

I had so much fun reading through all of your favorite Easter foods. I literally read every single comment drooling over all of the foods listed. Most of you said you love a good savory ham but there were a couple of Easter foods that were new to me like Butter Lamb and ZOPF (a German bread).

For me, my favorite's definitely gotta be Cadbury eggs. I've been eating them since January :)

I was really surprised that the majority of you said you loved:

#1) The Reeses' Peanut Butter Eggs - and YES, they are so much better than the regular peanut butter cups! Maybe more peanut butter to chocolate ratio?
#2) Deviled Eggs - These came in a close second. I thought I was the only person that popped these like popcorn but apparently a lot of you are fighting over the deviled egg platter at Easter. It's almost a sure sign that I'm pregnant when I start craving these. I'm craving these now but NO I'm not pregnant. You all just reminded me how good they are.

Many of you said your mom or grandma makes an Easter Bunny cake with coconut. Sounds just like the one I make too. But say your grandma doesn't make this cake...don't you think you should start the tradition? It sounds intimidating to make but it really is easy and I am not a cake expert by any means.

Betty Crocker asked me for a Bunny Cake recipe and I told them I had one but I was sure they already had it on their site because it's a common one that everyone makes. Surprisingly they didn't.

You can make this Bunny Cake with the Easter colors inside or just plain. It's really simple, easy, and good. But the best part is the look on your kid's faces when they see it. Trust me, you should have seen my kid's faces when I cut into the cake. They said, "Mom...do Easter Bunnies bleed purple?" I'm sure they thought momma was a little off her rocker making a Bunny Cake in mid-February!

Easter Bunny Cake Recipe

I think you have to be a BettyCrocker member to view the

recipe but all you have to do is give them your email address and your a member!

 



Giveaway - The Big Book of Cupcakes

*************This giveaway is now closed***************

The winners are:
Thanks everyone for entering!

Natalie - "It's a toss-up between deviled eggs and ham. Love 'em both!"

              Allison - "My favorite Easter food was always this bunny cake that my mom would make topped with icing and colored coconut flakes. Unfortunately she stopped making it when we were too old for the easter bunny, but now that my nephews really into the Easter Bunny we get it again. Yay!"

       Lindsay - "I would love this!!! Me and my daughter are all about cupcakes! ...My favorite Easter food is Cadbury eggs, SO GOOD... And coconut cake!"


Please email me at girlwhoateeverything@yahoo.com with your addresses or I will track you down somehow!!!!

*********************************************************

Last fall Betty Crocker was compiling their Big Book of Cupcakes and wanted to include some recipes from bloggers. They asked for recipe submissions so I submitted two and then I kind of forgot about it. Earlier this year I was thrilled when I found out that not one, but two of my recipes were chosen for the book! I've been thumbing through Betty Crocker's books since I can remember so it was really exciting for me. They just released it a couple of weeks ago and here's what it looks like.

Here are the bloggers that were chosen:

 I actually gave all my copies away so Deborah from Taste and Tell was nice enough to lend me a picture from her book below (she's on the top left). I'm on the top right next to Bakerella.

A sneak peek...

 I would love to give away three copies of The Big Book of Cupcakes away...

To enter just leave a comment telling me what your favorite Easter food is before Saturday 8:00 AM EST.

Chicken Pillows

I'm the youngest of ten kids who are all extremely unique in their strengths and talents. My brother Lance, for example, has always been the adventurer and inventor in our family. Growing up when he wasn't fixing up cars, he was busy inventing anything from solar powered lawn mowers to his successful Lizard Skins bike protection gear. He's also a real life treasure hunter.  When we were little he buried my mom's wedding ring in our backyard in hopes to have a treasure hunt later (it's still back there somewhere). Whether he's digging 100 foot hole in the jungles of Costa Rica to find gold or following war veterans to Europe to find their buried treasures, he's always got a story to tell. He even made an award winning documentary, LOOT, documenting some of his adventures.

Lance drinks straight from the faucet and is infamous for coming over to my mom's house and going straight to the fridge to see what's to eat before acknowledging anyone in the room. He's a very loud and expressive eater. Do you remember Bill Murray in the movie What About Bob? That's him. He might love food almost as much as I do.

The other night I felt like we had my brother Lance at our dinner table. My son Austin was going on and on about the meal I had made. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh this is so good. This is the best thing I've ever eaten. Oh my gosh this is tasty. Brock you gotta eat it, it's going to be the best thing you ever ate. Oh my gosh!"

Another score for a mom trying to find something her kids will actually eat. If you live in Utah, you've probably made these a million times over. If you haven't heard of these, they are a great fast and easy staple meal that everyone will eat. They are crescent rolls filled with a chicken cream cheese mixture and topped with gravy. My friend Heather gave me this recipe a couple of years ago. She has four boys so I knew I could trust her judgement. Thanks Heather.

Christy's Tip: When I'm planning my meals for the week, if I notice I have a couple recipes that need cubed or shredded chicken, then at the beginning of the week I cook enough chicken for the week. I usually boil it with some large chunks of onion and salt and pepper. Then you can just shred or dice it, and throw it in the fridge or freezer as needed. It makes those crazy nights a little easier.

Chicken Pillows
Source: my friend Heather Mueller

Mix together with mixer (or by hand if your cream cheese is soft enough):
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream

Stir in:
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ Tablespoons dried chives
1 ½ Tablespoons fresh onion minced
3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (around 3 cups)

Assemble Pillows:
2 (8 ounce) cans Pillsbury crescent rolls
1/4 cup melted butter
Italian bread crumbs (around 2 cups)

Gravy:
1 (14.5 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (0.87) package chicken gravy mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese and sour cream until well combined. You can do this by hand if your cream cheese is soft enough. Stir in salt, pepper, onion, chives, and diced chicken.

Using Pillsbury crescent rolls, take 2 triangular rolls and push together at perforated seam to make into a square. Make sure you seal the perforations well so your filling doesn't come out. Put about 3 tablespoons of chicken mixture in the center of each square. Fold the dough corners to the center over the chicken mixture forming a pillow.

Dip each pillow in melted butter on both sides. Roll in bread crumbs on both sides. Shake excess crumbs off. Place chicken pillow on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Make gravy by mixing one package of chicken gravy mix, one can of cream of chicken soup and 3/4 can of water in a small pot. Mix together and heat until warm. Serve chicken pillows with gravy poured over top.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

I was in the checkout line at Costco and as the guy scanned my huge box of Uncrustable peanut butter and jelly sandwiches he said, "So these are premade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Are you really that lazy?"

I first scanned his face to see if he was cracking a smile. My life is well peppered with men with a dry sense of humor so I get it and can take my share of teasing.

Nothing. No smile. Straight faced. This guy really wanted me to answer him.

I had my two boys with me and was 9 months pregnant with my 3rd boy in the middle of the summer. I wanted to tell him that the only time I had sat down that day was when I had starting having contractions and that was...hmm...I don't know...only growing another human inside of me. So if I bought premade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to throw in the diaper bag to take to the pool last second...I thought I was entitled to that.

But I didn't tell him all that. I knew it would be wasted on him.

So I smiled really big and said, "Yep. Pretty lazy."

Well I think Costco man would be really impressed with these cupcakes. In fact, maybe I should swing by and give him one. Today is National Peanut Butter and Jelly day AND my niece Kyle's 8th birthday. Happy Birthday Kyle!

These cupcakes are dense and peanut buttery. Strawberry jelly is squeezed inside of them then they are topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting and an extra dab of jelly. If you love penaut butter and jelly, you will love these.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

Source: How to Eat A Cupcake

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

strawberry or grape jelly

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Insert 24 liners into a medium cupcake pan.

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. Mix in the vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix well.

5. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake! Cool cupcakes in the pan. Once cupcakes are cooled you can either pipe the jelly into the center using a decorating tip or just use an apple corer to take out the center of the cupcake and fill with 1-2 teaspoons of jelly. Decorate with frosting below.

Peanut Butter Frosting
3/4 cup smooth
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons milk
mini NutterButter cookies for garnish

Combine the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer beat until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the confectioners sugar along with the milk, and beat until well combined. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes using a decorating tip or a ziploc baggie filled with frosting with the corner cut off. Top with a teaspoon of jelly and garnish with NutterButter mini cookies.