Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Cinnamon Roll Waffles are very easy to make. On Sunday night when I didn't feel like cooking much, I made scrambled eggs to go along with these. All you do is pop open a can of cinnamon rolls (I used Phillsbury Cinnamon Rolls with Cinnabon flavor), spray a waffle iron, place them in, and cook them for a few minutes until golden brown...just like a waffle! When they are still warm, spread on top the icing glaze that comes in the can. If you want a quick dessert or a sweet breakfast side, then these are perfect.

Original Creamy Garlic Layered Pasta Bake

I really wanted to make a simple pasta bake with a creamy sauce and vegetables, so I took the chance to create a recipe. Yes, this is an original. And you know those sauces that ask for heavy ingredients such as butter or half and half? Well this is your lucky day because this hardly has any of that, but it is still very tasty. I'll admit that this is now one of my favorite dishes, not because I made it up, even though I feel proud of coming up with it :)

Rachel Roy's Creamy Garlic Layered Pasta Bake


1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp butter
1 3/4 C milk (I used 1%) (Put away 1/4 cup of it to use for later)
2 1/2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 1/2 C dried bow tie pasta
2 C Fresh Spinach
1 large round tomato
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 C shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 C crumbled Parmesan cheese

8x8 pan
2 sauce pans


Preheat oven to 375.

Bring enough water inside a sauce pan to a boil for the pasta. Add a pinch of salt, then the bow tie pasta.

Cook butter (only 1/2 Tbsp) and minced garlic in another sauce pan over medium-high heat for 2 min, or until golden. Add 1 1/2 C milk. Whisk and cook for 1 minute to warm up.

Add 2 1/2 Tbsp flour. Whisk to get clumps out, and reduce heat to medium.

Add the salt, pepper, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, basil, and lemon juice. When the sauce begins to thicken, add the remaining 1/4 C milk. Bring up heat to Med-high for a minute, then reduce to med-low.

Once the pasta is tender, drain. Once the sauce is thick enough, add it to the pasta mixture and stir to combine.

Roughly chop the spinach and the tomato. Shred the mozzarella if not already.

Coat an 8x8 pan with the 1 tsp olive oil. Layer the creamy pasta, then the tomato pieces, then the spinach. Top with cheeses.

Place into the oven and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Voila!

Maple Walnut Oatmeal

One of my favorite breakfast dishes is this Oatmeal recipe. I originally used a recipe from Cooking for Two, but didn't like how sweet it was, so I adjusted it a bit into my own version. I know that many people don't like nuts, which is why the walnuts are completely crushed to add some Omega 3s, protein, and flavor.

Maple Walnut Oatmeal

(This is for one serving. You can increase each amount for the amount of people you are making this for):

1 cup water
pinch of salt

1/2 dried rolled oats (not instant)

1/4 cup walnuts

1 tbsp maple syrup

up to 1 tbsp brown sugar

Place walnuts inside a large ziploc bag and completely crush them into a powder form. You can do this with a rolling pin.

Bring water to a boil with the salt, then add oatmeal and reduce heat to medium. Cook for two minutes.

Stir in maple syrup, cook for 1 minute, then add walnut powder. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes or until the water is evaporated.

Place into a bowl, serve with milk and top with brown sugar.

Baked Apple Chips

This baked apple chips recipe is easy enough to make, and they can be eaten as a healthy snack or to top on top of a salad. All you need:

2 apples
cinnamon

First cut out the core of the apple. If you can somehow pull it out without ruining the rest of the apple, then go for it! I gave up on that part, so I cut the apple into four pieces around the core.

Peel off remaining peels, but you can leave some for extra nutrients

Preheat oven to 275.
Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lay apples on top, as a single layer.
Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.
Bake for 2 hours, then flip halfway through so they cook evenly. Enjoy!!

Taco Quesadillas

Today I wanted to use up some ingredients, and I couldn't decide between having tacos or quesadillas (oh the problems we face today). So then I had the idea...why not make a taco quesadilla? It worked! I am also picky about my food staying warm, and I get peeved when my tortilla is cold and the filling is hot, and if it's too soft it falls apart. In this case, you don't have to worry. The tortilla is both soft but with a little crisp.

All you need to do for a taco quesadilla is make the taco meat and chop the fillings as you normally would . I used a taco seasoning mix to keep it easy and filled up the quesadilla with tomatoes, cheese, green pepper (which I was unsure about at first, but it tasted great), and the hamburger inside a tortilla (I used whole wheat.)

Taco Quesadillas

Close it up and cook it on a skillet or a mini grill.

Serve it with desired sides, whether it be lettuce and tomato, sour cream, rice, guacamole...you name it. Call it a quick, easy meal (I had 2 because they were that good.)

Clam Chowder and Garlic Cheese Biscuits

This clam chowder was another from a cookbook that I have. It is very delicious! However, I learned the hard way: it makes a lot. I should have taken the note when the writer said it's her favorite to serve around Christmas time. So I suggest that you cut it in half, unless you are feeding over 6 people.

Anyways, here is the recipe. I adjusted it a bit from the book so here it goes:

Clam Chowder 

2 to 3 cans minced clams

1 C onion, chopped

1 C celery, diced

2 C potato, peeled and diced

3/4 C butter

3/4 C flour

1 qt half and half (I used fat-free, which worked completely fine once I added about another 3 Tbsp of butter to keep it creamy)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 1/2 tsp pepper (if you like it a little spicy. If you don't, then you can cut it down. I personally liked this much pepper because I'm usually up for a mild flavor kick.)

Add vegetables to a large stockpot. Open cans of clams and pour in the juice with the vegetables, reserving the clams, then add enough water to barely cover. Bring vegetables to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn down heat and simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook for about 1 minute. Slowly add half and half, constantly stirring with a wire whisk until thick and smooth, making a white sauce. Add white sauce to vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Stir in salt, pepper, and clams. Heat through and serve. Adding clams at the last minute keeps them tender instead of chewy. Serve in bread bowls or with garlic cheese biscuits. I actually used the garlic cheese biscuit recipe from the back of the Bisquick box, but there is also this one, which involves more butter and cheese:

Garlic Cheese Biscuits (from The Girl Who Ate Everything): 

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Biscuits:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

4 Tbsp cold butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes in preheated oven or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.

(The Easiest) Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe is incredible, and it tastes like something you would eat at a nice restaurant. What's better? It only took about 5 minutes to prepare. That's it! On top of that, it wasn't messy. There are other recipes out there that are breaded and can be a pain to make, but you don't' have to worry about that or using a meat pounder with this version. It's different, but simple and delicious. This must be the easiest chicken cordon bleu recipe you will ever see.

Chicken Cordon Bleu


Preheat oven to 400.
Butterfly each chicken breast, meaning cut it lengthwise.

Place a couple of thin slices of ham and a slice of provolone cheese inside each chicken breast.

Fold over each chicken, and you can cut off the excess ham and cheese sticking out so it doesn't get messy or burn

Sprinkle each chicken breast with bread crumbs, salt, pepper, dried minced onion, and parsley, then top with one or two lemon slices. You can add spices on top of the lemons, too.

Place in the oven and bake for 20-45 minutes. It will depend on your oven, because the recipe said 15-20 minutes, but it took me about 40.

Ta da! Tastes great with roasted asparagus on the side.