Easter Bunny Cake

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Cook's Note: I thought this cake would be difficult, but it really was pretty easy! My family will love this for Easter Sunday and I predict this to be a big hit! This isn't the prettiest cake in the world, but I put a lot of love into it and the kids will love it and think its fun! 

What You Will Need: 

For the Cake: 

(2) 9 Inch Round Cake Pans

1 Box White Cake Mix (Plus ingredients called for on the box) 

For Decorations: 

1/2 Bag of Sweetened Flaked Coconut

Jelly Beans

Directions: 

Divide the cake batter evenly among the 2 cake pans and bake the cake according to box directions. Once cooled, cut 1 of the cake rounds to make ears and bowtie (there is a cool diagram for this here).  Arrange cake pieces on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Ice the entire cake carefully with a thin layer of icing, until smooth, then, sprinkle coconut flakes on entire cake.  Lightly press down on the coconut flakes so that they stick to the icing.
- Decorate with candy.

For the Icing: 

8 Tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4-5 cups confectioner's sugar

 1/3 cup Flavored Coffee Creamer of your choice (I used International Delight Cinnabon Coffee Creamer – OMG!)

Icing Instructions:

 In an electric stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter until fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar until well combined. Add coffee creamer Add more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting and more creamer for a looser frosting.

This "Pinspiration" comes from Sweet Spot Blog (for the cake) and Pizzaazzerie (for the icing)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

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Cook's Note: One of my friends tried this recipe from Pinterest and raved about it, so I decided to try it for my family. My toddler daughter ate every bite on her plate and my husband said it was "interesting" the night I made it, but said it was even better the next day. Opinion here is - this one is a keeper! I have adapted the recipe slightly and substituted peas for broccoli in my recipe, since my daughter loves peas. Thanks to Six Sisters for this recipe! 

What You Will Need: 

1 box of Savory Herb Stuffing Mix

1 (10  oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 tablespoon Dijon pr Brown Spicy mustard

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 cups of peas

2 cups cooked, chopped ham steak

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

6 slices of Swiss cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Prepare stuffing as directed on the box.  Mix together soup and mustard in a medium bowl; stir in chicken, peas, ham steak and shredded Swiss cheese. Spoon the mixture into a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray; Bake 30 minutes, remove from oven and top with Swiss cheese slices, put back in the oven about 10 minutes or until Swiss is melted on top. 

This "Pinspiration" comes from Six Sisters Stuff

Overnight Crock Pot Apple Oatmeal

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Cook's Note: This is the easiest breakfast I have ever cooked. If you like oatmeal, this recipe is for you. And who doesn't like waking up to a hot breakfast that is already made? ENJOY! 

What You Will Need: 

2 large apples, peeled and cubed
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon 
Good Drizzle of Honey
2 cups of Old Fashioned Oats
4 cups of water on top. 

Directions: 

Place Apples in the bottom of the crock pot, add brown sugar, cinnamon and honey, stir well. Next add oatmeal then pour water on top. DO NOT STIR!. Cook overnight for 8 - 9 hours on low.

Skillet Steak with Gorgonzola Butter

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Cooks Note:  So, as you can see from the picture above, I made the previously posted Ranch potatoes with the Skillet Steak, cause what is steak without potatoes right? And let me just say, if it wasn't totally weird to just eat butter with a spoon, I could have just eaten the butter! Don't get me wrong, the steak was delicious, but this butter is A-MAZING. Super simple, just mix the cheese, butter and parsley and you are done. The steaks were good in the skillet (cast iron for me), but they did take a long time to cook through since they were kind of thick. I think doing this on the grill would be great as well, but since Mother Nature decided to dump some snow on us here in Virginia this week, I stuck with the skillet. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 Steaks (your choice of cut)
Salt and Pepper to taste
4T Butter
4T Gorgonzola
1T Fresh Parsley, chopped

Instructions

Season both sides of each steak with salt and fresh ground pepper. Wrap each steak tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for a few hours up to overnight. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to cooking in order for the steaks to reach room temperature before cooking.

Heat large, heavy cast iron skillet over medium heat. You can also use a side burner on a grill or an open flame with a grate if camping. To test if properly heated, sprinkle a drop of water into the bottom of the skillet. If it dances, the skillet is properly heated.

Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of the skillet and make sure it is well-coated.

Place each steak into the skillet and cook over the medium heat for two minutes. Flip and cook the other side of the steak for about two minutes. Test for doneness. Cook longer if needed to reach the level of doneness desired.

Remove from heat and allow to rest for about five minutes in the skillet.

For the Herbed Butter:

Cream together butter, Gorgonzola cheese, and fresh parsley.

Place one tablespoon of herbed butter onto the top of each steak and allow to melt over the sides as serving.

Original Pinspiration from Luscious Food Recipes for the Soul

Roasted Ranch Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese

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Cooks Note: I couldn't resist making these, the description alone had my mouth watering. They are easy to make, but you have to have a lot of time, so advance planning is key. The only thing I would change is to add some more cheese and maybe a little olive oil, (original recipe shown below) since it could have been a little juicier. But aside from that, these were a crowd pleaser and a "Make again" as my family calls it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds potatoes (unpeeled, washed and cut into chunks)
• ½ cup ranch dressing (bottled, not packet)
• ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping (if desired)
• ¼ cup crumbled, cooked bacon
• 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
• 3 scallions, washed and chopped
• Salt, to taste
• Black ground pepper, to taste
• Non-stick cooking spray

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix together, in a large bowl, the ranch dressing, dill, cheese and bacon.

Add in the potatoes.

Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper.

Toss to coat potatoes.

Spoon into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Cover with foil.

Bake for 60 minutes.

Stir gently halfway through to get the bottom potatoes rotated so they don’t become burnt and to

ensure that the middle and top potatoes get a chance to brown.

Remove foil.

Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Gently stir again, as necessary.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes, then sprinkle on a little more cheese, if desired.

Bake a few more minutes or until everything is gooey, browned and bubbly on top.

Serve with scallions sprinkled on top for garnish.

Original Pinspiration from Joyously Domestic

Barefoot Guacamole

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Cook's Note: This recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten (one of my all time favorite cooks, next to my mom & grandma of course!). My lovely cousin has made this recipe for YEARS for family gatherings and get-togethers. As a mater of fact, I never liked avocados until I had this dish at her house one summer and she got me hooked on this. This is a WONDERFUL fresh recipe and is very light, diet friendly. I suggest serving with Black Corn Tortilla Chips. 

 I have made this recipe many times now and my husband just flips for this. Go ahead and make it - this will be a real HIT at your next party!

What You Will Need:

4-6 Haas Avacodos (ripe and chopped)
1 Medium Tomato, seeded and chopped
1 Lemon, Squeezed
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp of Sea Salt
1 tsp of Ground Black Pepper
 8-10 dashes of hot sauce

Directions:

Cut the avocados in half,  remove the pits, take your knife and cut up the avocados inside the shell, then take a large spoon and scoop the avocado out of their shells into a large bowl.

Add the lemon juice, tabasco, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and toss well.   Add the tomato and mix well.

Here's a great tip:   If made in advance, put the avocado pit in the dip, and it will keep it from discoloring.

Serve with some REALLY GOOD Tortilla chips! I prefer BLUE CORN TORTILLA CHIPS for this dish (but I didn't have any for the picture!)

This "Pinspiration" comes from Ina Garten ~ The Barefoot Contessa

Tastes Like Wendy's FROSTY!

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Cook's Note: There is not much to say here except - OMG!!!, this really does taste JUST LIKE WENDY'S FROSTY!! It's a must have recipe for the whole family, THANKS PINTEREST! I used 2 different milks in this recipe - hey - you use what you have on hand! 

What You Will Need: 

1/2 Cup of Skim Milk
1/2 Cup of Whole Milk
2 Tbsp Instant Jello Pudding Mix
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp Cool Whip
About 8-10 Ice Cubes

Directions: 

Put all ingredients in the blender and Blend until smooth and pour in a nice glass.
Place in the freezer for about 3-4 minutes to achieve the "frosty" consistency. 
Top with Whipped Cream for a Real Treat!

This "Pinsipiration" comes from Budget Savy Diva

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Cresent Rolls

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Cook's Note: This was a quick and delicious Saturday morning breakfast that entire family can enjoy. As usual, I saw this on Pinterest and thought it looked amazing and it was another hit. I just can't get enough of Pinterest. Maybe it's the visualization of the food... I don't know. Anyway, this recipe is a keeper! They were all gone in a matter of minutes!

What You Will Need: 

2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
8 Slices of Turkey Bacon
1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs, scrambled
1 egg beaten 
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions: 

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Unroll crescent dough on work surface; separate into triangles.

Top each triangle with bacon, scrambled egg and cheese. Roll up loosely as directed on can. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve into crescent shape. Brush with beaten egg; sprinkle with pepper.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

This "Pinspiration" comes from All Recipes

Slow Cooker Chicken-N-Dumplins

Cook's Note: This recipe is not only incredibly easy, but DELICIOUS and is now part of our monthly dinner rotation. My daughter can't get enough of it. This is true comfort food at it's best. All I can say is this: Try It, I promise you will love it! I have tweaked the original recipe and I find that mine ours is MUCH better - trust me ...ok?

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UPDATE: We've updated this recipe to accommodate some of the common questions that we are asked. Hope this will help everyone! :) 
This recipe is just our version and you can always play with it to make it your own. 

*If your crockpot is not oven safe & you can't brown the biscuits - leave them off OR bake the topping biscuits separately & then add one cooked biscuit to the top of the dumplins on your plate as you serve it. Again, this is just our take on the recipe. If you don't like our exact version, play with it and make it your own. 

What You Will Need: 

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen is OK)
2 Tablespoons of Butter
2 cans of Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Onion, finely diced
2 Packages of refrigerated biscuit dough
Sea Salt and Ground Pepper to Taste
1/2 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (optional)
Water

Directions: 

Place the chicken in the slow cooker and top each breast with butter, then sprinkle sea salt and ground pepper on each breast. In a separate bowl, mix together well the cream of chicken soup and onion and frozen mixed vegetables (optional), then pour this mixture over top of the chicken, spreading to cover each. Next add just enough water to cover the chicken. 

Cover and cook for 4-5 hours on high.

During the last hour of cooking: Take one can of the biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 pieces and place in the mixture and stir well to distribute the biscuit pieces (these are the dumplings)



(OPTIONAL if using second can of biscuits) 
During the last 30 minutes of cooking: Top the mixture with the second can of biscuits (as seen in the bottom photo) and place the lid back on the crock pot. The biscuits will rise, but the tops will not brown. Therefore, after 30 minutes have past, turn off your crock pot and heat your oven to 425 degrees and if your crock pot bowl is oven safe - lift the bowl out of the crock pot (use oven mitts!!!) and place into the oven for about 10 minutes so that the biscuits can brown. Please note that this is an optional step and should not be used if the crock pot bowl is not oven safe. 

Remove crock pot bowl from oven (using your oven safe mits of course!)  and place back in the crock pot and serve!  

This "Pinspiration" Comes from All Recipes

Mini Pizza Muffins

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Cook's Note: As you can see one got eaten before I could even take the picture! That is how good these are! Seriously, this is so quick and easy and the kids will go crazy over it .... even the big kids (adults!) I can't say enough good things about this SUPER SIMPLE RECIPE - ENJOY!

What You Need:

1 Roll of Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Dough

Pizza Sauce

Shredded Cheese (Italian Blend)

Mini Pepperonis

Muffin Tin

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (as the package directed) and grease the cupcake pan.

I rolled out the dough with a rolling pin to make the dough stretch and thinner and then placed the dough into each muffin mold.

Next I topped each with Pizza Sauce, Cheese and I put the mini pepperonis on half of the pizza muffins and left the other half just cheese.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

 Here is what they will look like BEFORE ~ see the after picture above! 

This Pinspiration comes from Really From Pinterest

Healthy Turkey Meatloaf

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Cook's Note: This is one of my GO-TO Recipes and I make this often in my dinner rotation. It's a huge hit in my house, even toddler's love it! I like using Ground Turkey Breast rather than Ground Beef in meatloaf because it gives this classic dish a light and healthy spin. I typically change something about most recipes, but this one is wonderful without much changes. My only tweak is to add Cavander's Greek Seasoning. I highly suggest trying this dish because I think you will add this to your list of favs too! ENJOY!

 

What You Will Need:

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic minced

1 pound Ground Turkey Breast (all white meat)

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs

¼ cup egg substitute or 1 egg

¾ cup ketchup, divided

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

dash of Sea Salt & a little ground pepper 

1 tbsp Cavander's Greek Seasoning

Directions:

Heat oven to 350ºF. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; cool 5 minutes.

Add ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, ¼ cup ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt and Cavander's Greek Seasoning,  to turkey mixture; mix well. Press into 8 x 4-inch loaf pan. Spread remaining ½ cup ketchup over top.

Bake 1 hour or until the internal temperature of meatloaf is well-done, 165ºF. as measured by a meat thermometer. Let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before slicing.

This Pinspiation comes from Jennie-O

Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas

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Cook's Note: A good friend of mine recommended this recipe to me because she saw it on Pinterest and cooked it for her family. I trust her instincts, so I tried it myself - boy was it a hit in my household too! It's pretty easy to make and tastes delicious! I have modified this recipe to suit my own tastes, as I usually do. This makes enough to serve 4-6 people, so if you have less people to serve, it makes good leftovers too!

What you Will Need:

• 6-8 flour tortillas (enchilada size)

• 1 Perdue Chicken Short Cuts

• 1 cup Salsa

• 1 Avocado Sliced

•4 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided in half

•3 tablespoons butter

•3 tablespoons all purpose flour

•1-1/4 cups chicken broth

•1 – 10oz can cream of chicken soup

•1 cup sour cream
•¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

•¼ teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill the center of each tortilla with a handful of chicken, a tablespoon or so of the corn and the salsa, a few pieces of avocado, and a pinch of the shredded cheese.

Roll and place in the bottom of a baking dish with the seam side down.

In a pot over medium heat melt the better. Add flour and whisk into a thick paste.

Add chicken broth, cream of chicken, sour cream, salt and pepper.

Whisk gently for about 5 minutes until warm and smooth.

Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining shredded cheese.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and serve warm.

This PINSPIRATION comes from Food Family & Friends

Chicken Cheese & Avacado Quesadillas

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Cook's Note: I made tihs for my toddler who absolutely loved it ~ plus it was a healthy alternative and fun Friday night dish! ENJOY!

What you Will Need:

• 4 9 - 10 inches flour tortillas

• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz.)

• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken

• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and cut into 12 slices

• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

 Lay the tortillas on a clean work surface. Put 1/4 of the cheese, 1/4 of the chicken, and 3 slices of avocado on one side of each tortilla. Fold the tortillas in half and press gently to close.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat in a 12-inch skillet or large griddle. Add two of the quesadillas and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the cheese begins to melt and the tortilla starts to brown (use a spatula to peek underneath). Turn and cook the other side for 2 or 3 minutes or until golden brown. Put the quesadillas on a baking sheet and keep them in the warm oven while you cook the remaining quesadillas in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.

This Pinspiration comes from: Parents Magazine

Kings Hawaiian Baked Ham and Swiss Sandwiches

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Cooks Note: These were DELISH! I would do one thing differently, the recipe calls for poppy seeds (3tsp) to be exact and next time I would only do about 1 1/2 tsp. The rolls really make this, they are super soft and sweet and perfect for this recipe. I recommend these for parties, lunch or even for dinner. Enjoy!

 

 

Ingredients

1 lb. Deli ham shaved

1 lb. Swiss cheese thinly sliced

1 1/2 sticks Butter

3 Tbsps. Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Onion, chopped

 

1 1/2 tsp. Poppy Seeds               

1 12-pack KING'S HAWAIIAN Original Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls

 

Directions:

 

1. Heat oven to 350. Melt butter and mix in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion and poppy seed. Simmer for several minutes.
2. Cut the entire pack of rolls in half, horizontally (keeping all top and bottom halves in tact).
3. In a greased 9×13 pan, place bottom half of rolls and spread 1/3 of the onion mixture over the bottom of the rolls followed by the ham and cheese.
4. Replace the tops of the rolls and spread the remaining onion mixture over top.
5. Cover and bake for 15-20 minutes and, once finished, separate for serving.

 

Original Pinspiration 

 

Maryland Style Crab Cakes

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Cook's Note: This recipe was actually made by my husband because he was craving Crab Cakes and we were snowed in during this awful snow storm - so he asked me to go on Pinterest and he made this himself. It was a hit, he loved it and he says he'll definitely make this again! This is a great light recipe for anyone looking for lighter fare!

What you Will Need:

1 can  CRAB MEAT (drained)

2 tbsp. each onion powder, celery powder and crushed red peppers 

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Dash Worcestershire sauce

1 egg (beaten)

Dash cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (plus EXTRA bread crumbs to coat crab cakes before cooking)

1 tbsp. each unsalted butter and cooking oil

Makes 4 crab cakes or 8 mini appetizer crab cakes.

Directions:

Sauté diced onion, celery and red pepper until soft (2–3 min.) Mix mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, egg, cayenne, and parsley in a bowl. Add slightly cooled sautéed vegetables. Gently fold in breadcrumbs and crab meat. Form into 4 crab cake patties or 8 mini-crab cakes. Note: allow patties to chill if time allows, for better handling. Melt butter with oil in sauté pan. Lightly coat crab cakes with bread crumbs. Cook crab cakes over medium heat, turning only once when first side is nicely browned. Remove from pan. Serve with lemon wedges or seafood sauce.

This Pinspiration comes from: Sea Fare Foods

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus with Olive Oil and Balsamic Glaze

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Cooks Note: Don't you hate it when you click on a Pin, so excited to get cookin' and there is no recipe. Just a picture?! Well, that is what happened here. So again, I had to wing it. I did speak to a friend who had experience with Asparagus (thanks Robyn) so they turned out great. This looks fancy and complicated, but took about 10 min of prep time and 15-20 in the oven. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 24 Asparagus spears
• 24 very thin slices of prosciutto
• Olive Oil to drizzle
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Parmesan to sprinkle (optional)

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray the foil lightly to prevent sticking.

2. Trim the bottom of your spears so each spear is even, about 6 inches long.

3. Take one slice of prosciutto per spear and wrap it around.

4. Lay the spears straight across the cookie sheet (they can be close together)

5. Drizzle all of the spears with olive oil, just enough to give them a little crispiness.

6. Place in a 425 degree oven for 20 min.

7. Remove from sheet onto serving platter and drizzle with balsamic, a little more olive oil and parmesan cheese if desired.



Fruity Red Wine Spritzer

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Cooks Note: There was not a recipe linked to this Pin. It said red wine, sprite and strawberries. Another one I saw mentioned pears as well. So I took it upon myself to do whatever I wanted. As you can see, I didn't use pears, I used an orange instead and I used red wine sangria instead of plain red wine, so mine was really fruity, which was great. I had 6 ladies over for dinner and we drained it, it was awesome, but warning, you don't FEEL like you are drinking alcohol because it is that tasty. Enjoy!

Ingredients (my version):

• Large  1.5 liter bottle of Red Wine Sangria (I used Cruz Garcia Real Sangria)
• Approximately 8 strawberries diced
• 1 medium navel orange in small slices
• 1 Liter of Sprite (or less for more alcohol flavor)

Directions:

1. Diced strawberries and slice orange, place in your pitcher

2. Pour bottle of wine or sangria into pitcher over the fruit

3. Add Sprite and mix

4. cover top and refrigerate until ready to serve. ( I would not do this more then a few hours before you need it or your fruit will start to fall apart.)

Garnish each glass with mint, or an orange slice on the rim to make it extra pretty!



Dessert Nachos

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Cooks Note: Let me start off by saying, these taste as good as they look! But before you begin, I did not make my own cinnamon chips, I bought them. I found them at Wegman's in the health food section, they are Stacey's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips. So doing that cut off about 20 min of prep. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly and they were AWESOME. I made them for my Girls Dinner Group and I thought my friend Danielle was going to lick the plate clean! Perfect for any occasion. Enjoy!

 Ingredients

• 1 c. strawberries, chopped
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 c. ice cream
• 2 Tbsps. chocolate syrup
• 2 Tbsps. caramel ice cream topping
• Whipped Cream

Instructions

1. Arrange cooled cinnamon chips on a plate. Top with ice cream, strawberries, banana, chocolate syrup and caramel ice cream topping and Whipped cream.

 Find the original Pinspiration here