Pizza Bisquick Bake {Annah}

This is a twist on pizza that I make at least once a month. It is easy to make and we think it tastes good. (I wouldn't say great, and this is not something I would make if we are having company.) The hardest part of this recipe is making sure that your drops of dough are even in size otherwise it does not always cook evenly throughout. 

If you have Bisquick on hand I would say make this when you are in a pinch. It taste like pizza, but with more of a biscuit like bread. This was made one side just cheese the other side with pepperoni.

On a side note; Yikes! I am holding down this blog on my own. I will admit I am scared, this is not top priority in my life. However, I enjoy reading blogs and get very annoyed when the blogger drops of the face of the earth. With that being said if you would like to guest post on our blog I would love the help. Also I am always up for easy delicious new recipes. Lets being this journey together....

Pizza Bisquick Bake                  

 8 servings

3 1/3 cups Bisquick mix

1 cup milk

2 cans (8 oz) each pizza sauce

1 package (8oz) sliced pepperoni

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8oz)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 inch (3quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and milk until soft dough forms.

Drop half of dough by spoonfuls evenly over bottom of baking dish (dough will not completely cover bottom of dish). Drizzle 1 can pizza sauce over dough. Scatter half of the pepperoni over sauce. Top with 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining dough, pizza sauce, pepperoni and cheese.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

I ask for patience!

For the next few months this momma of two (soon to be 3!! we are 12 weeks along) is going to be moving!! Annah is going to have to take a hold of these reigns tight, because I am going to be sparsely updating, so sorry!! Please feel free to send me hate mail!!

~Colleen

Easy Homemade Applesauce {Annah}

My friend brought me over some produce, and I decided to make applesauce! I have never done this before so I was very excited to try it!

It could not have been easier, throw everything in to a pot let it cook, mash, and cool. I am not completely sure what kind of apples I used, but they were large and a light pink color. This is a chunkier applesauce then what you would buy at the store. It was more like apple pie filing, but let me tell you it taste just like pie filling. It is delightful, the cinnamon and sugar mixture is perfect. Tyler thought that I should make a pie out of it, but why make a good thing more unhealthy! 

If you have a few apples to spare I would make a batch of this. Be careful not to cook it too long. I left mine on the stove for about 35 minutes and it burned the bottom of my pan, because all the liquid had evaporated.

Easy Homemade Applesauce
 

Ingredients
4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions
In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Refrigerate until ready to serve

Buckeye Brownies {Annah}

 Well these looked absolute delicious. I decided I would take these to a work picnic. This was a Huge Fail!!! I could not get the brownies to cook through all the way. After letting them cool for a few hours I cut into them and the were really mushy throughout, except for the edges. We had to go to the store and pick up something else to take with us. Grr!

I came home and I put them back in the oven and I tried to cook them through and it Never happened. I would say that I am a decent baker, but brownies are sometimes tough for me. Please make these and let me sample them if they come out for you!

Buckeye Brownies

makes 30 bars

Ingredients

• 1 box (18-19 oz) Brownie Mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Lightly grease 9x13 pan
3. With your mixer combine brownie mix, oil and eggs until incorporated and smooth.
4. Stir in chopped peanuts
5. Divide batter in half.
6. Press half batter into bottom of prepared pan (it will be a thin layer) and set the other half to the side.
7. In a large bowl combine peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk with whisk.
8. Pour mixture over the bottom layer of brownie.
9. Drop the remaining brownie mix on top of peanut butter mixture, pressing each spoonful lightly into peanut butter.
10. Bake for 25 minutes until just set.
11. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Recipe from www.cookiesandcups.com

Pineapple and Banana Smoothie {Annah}

Everything taste better in a wine glass, right?

Alright I am back! I will try to post at least twice a week.

I was missing my vacation and my awesome friend gave me a pineapple, so I made a smoothie. It was delicious and it made me feel like I was right back on the beach in Costa Rica. If you want a sweet drink that is not terribly unhealthy try this!

Pineapple and Banana Smoothie

Serving for one

 

Ingredients

• 4 ice cubes
• 1/4 fresh pineapple - peeled, cored and cubed
• 1 large banana, cut into chunks
• 1 cup pineapple or apple juice

Directions 

Place ice cubes, pineapple, banana, and pineapple juice into the bowl of a blender. Puree on high until smooth.

Pea & Pasta Soup

Colleen: "I really really enjoyed this dish, for some reason I have been craving soup which makes no sense since it's 100 degrees down here in the South. But non the less this was a wonderful addition to my cooking 'regulars'. To make this dish more budget friendly I would consider using bacon or ham, if you don't want to keep marjoram in your spice cabinet I would add oregano and it would be absolutely perfect. The only failure of this recipe is when I dumped the parmesan in the soup it clumped together, next time I will just use the cheap stuff from the 'green' can."

4 SERVINGS PREP: 10 MINS COOK: 30 MINS

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or thyme
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups ditalini pasta
• 1 1/2 cups thawed frozen peas
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup grated parmesan

Directions

1. In a large dutch oven or soup pot, heat the EVOO over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it begins to brown and render its fat, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and lower the heat if necessary to prevent it from burning. Add the marjoram and cook until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes.
2. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the ditalini and peas; season lightly with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup parmesan. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan.

Recipe sourced from rachael ray magazine

Easy Peasy Skillet Lasagna

Colleen: "This dish was excellent, I did make one mistake I didn't break apart the lasagna noodles like it asked, but it didn't take away from the taste one bit. Everyone loved it, especially my husband! I loved it because it had the flavors of lasagna without all the tedious work & it's  a ton less calories too,Weight Watchers gives it 7 points. I added sausage to it because I was craving it!" 

Easy Skillet Lasagna Recipe

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: >10 minutes

Recipe adapted from Weight Watchers One Pot cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 3 basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• About 6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into thirds & fully cooked
• 2 tablespoons parsley (dried or fresh)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until garlic is fragrant, about one minute. Add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, salt and pepper. Cook mixture until it thickens up a bit, around 5 minutes.
2. Add noodles to skillet and stir into the mixture well. Add scoops of ricotta cheese over the noodles; add in mozzarella and Parmesan. Stir in parsley.  Cook about 2 more minutes, or until mixture is thick.
3. Serve immediately with additional basil or parsley.

Nutritional information per 1 cup: 

Calories: 275
Fat: 3 grams
Carbohydrates: 42 grams
Fiber: 9 grams
Protein: 15 grams
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 7

Recipe found at nutritionfor.us

Costa Rican Breakfast {Annah}

    Hello Blog Friends! Sorry I have been absent, I was on vacation to Costa Rica last week. Tyler and I went to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. Until I get my butt in gear and start writing post I will leave you with photos of food we had on our trip. We stayed at a bed and breakfast and had 4 mornings of deliciously prepared meals.

Costa Rican coffee with milk already added.

Pancake with fresh slice of pineapple, watermelon, and papaya.

Fresh fruit served before our eggs.

Oops, I started eating before a photo was taken. Fried egg with toast and guava marmalade , tomato, and queso.

Toast with butter and marmalade, and an omelet with cheese, tomato, onion, and red pepper. Tyler had ham in his

Finally a true Costa Rican breakfast! Toast, fried eggs, rice and beans, tomato, and queso.

Pineapple Dessert Squares

"This dish was yummy! I made it last night and refrigerated it so it would be ready for my party today at noon, it hit the spot! I did have to cook it a little longer, i'd say 15 minutes extra. The only annoy thing about this recipe is that I had to use my mixer 3 different times, meaning I kept having to wash the bowl. But I'd consider it worth it, my husband asked for it for his birthday cake next month!" 

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk
• FILLING:
• 1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Whole milk
• Ground cinnamon

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Combine flour and baking powder; add to butter mixture. Add egg; mix until well blended and crumbly. Add milk and blend until dough forms a soft ball.
• Pat dough onto bottom and 1-1/2 in. up sides of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place pineapple in a sieve over a 4-cup glass measure; press with the back of a spoon to squeeze dry. Spread pineapple evenly over bottom crust, reserving juice in glass measure; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Add enough milk to reserved pineapple juice to measure 2-1/2 cups. Stir milk mixture into cream cheese mixture until well combined.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff. Fold filling mixture into egg whites. Gently pour into crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely on wire rack. Chill until serving. Yield: 12-15 servings.

 Recipe sourced from tasteofhome.com