BBQ Pot Roast

I've had this recipe pinned for a long time.  What was I waiting for?  This was delicious!  I really loved the BBQ sauce.  Perfectly sweet and tangy.  This came from one of my fave food blogs - Plain Chicken.  She served this with cheddar ranch grits.  That sounds pretty fantastic to me, but Aaron isn't a fan of grits, so I opted for cheddar ranch mashed potatoes instead.  I don't have a recipe for that.  I just mashed potatoes with butter (duh!), sour cream, ranch dressing mix and grated cheddar.

BBQ Pot Roast
From Plain Chicken

garlic powder
salt
pepper
1 4-5 lb. roast
1 12 oz. can of Coke
1 12 oz. bottle of chili sauce
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons hot sauce (I used chipotle flavored)
3 tablespoons cornstarch    
1/4 cup milk

Place roast in slow cooker and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Combine Coke, chili sauce, worcestershire sauce and hot sauce in a bowl.  Pour sauce over roast.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8-9 hours.

Remove roast from slow cooker, reserving juices in slow cooker.  Cover roast with foil to keep warm.

Dissolve corn starch in milk.  Stir mixture into reserved juices in slow cooker.  Cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.  Serve sauce over roast.   

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

My first ever Pioneer Woman recipe!  Probably not as good as her famous cinnamon rolls, but probably not near as bad for you either.  This recipe looked delicious in her pics and it looked easy to make.  Win, win!  It made for a quick supper and was pretty tasty to boot.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake
Adapted very slightly from The Pioneer Woman

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomato (I used fire roasted)
8 oz. egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)
1 1/4 cups cottage cheese (I use light)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Brown beef with the onion.  Drain off the fat.  Add tomato sauce and diced tomato to the beef.  Add salt, pepper and whatever other spices you like as well.  Stir well.  Simmer while you prepare the noodles.  Cook the noodles according to package directions.  Combine sour cream and cottage cheese.  Mix sour cream mixture into the noodles once cooked and drained.  Layer 1/2 of the noodles in a greased casserole dish.  Top with 1/2 the meat mixture and 1/2 the cheese.  Repeat layers.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Breakfast Cookies

Here's another Pinterest success story!  Ezra has decided to go on strike against oatmeal.  Well, he never ate real oatmeal, just baby oatmeal.  I tried stirring a few spoonfuls of my regular oatmeal into his, hoping that the idea would catch on.  Instead he decided he wouldn't have any of it.  So I decided to go ahead and try this recipe that I pinned a while back.  Thankfully he loved these and can't get enough! 

Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from Watching What I Eat

2 ripe bananas, mashed (or pureed in the food processor - easier!)
1/3 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups quick oatmeal, uncooked
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Mix the banana and peanut butter until completely combined.  Add the applesauce and vanilla and mix again.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Let dough rest for 10 minutes.  Drop dough by spoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.  Flatten cookies a little bit.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, give or take depending on how done you'd like them.  Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing.  Store in an air-tight container.

Note: One of the comments on the original recipe said you could use a can of pure pumpkin instead of banana.  You may need to add a little more oats.  Also, try adding some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.    

Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought I would try it out with my lunch today.  I was hopeful that Ezra would like them since they look very similar to sweet potato fries, which he loves, but he wouldn't try them.  Boo.  I'll try again later.

Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots

I'm not going to give measurements because it's really all to your own taste and depends on how much you want to make.

carrots
olive oil
salt
balsamic vinegar
honey

Toss carrots in oil and salt.  Place on baking sheet.  Roast at 400 for 20 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice so they don't stick and all sides roast evenly.  Remove from oven and drizzle with vinegar and honey.  Stir to coat evenly.  Return to the oven for about 5 minutes.

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Cookies and Cream Frosting

I made these cookies for Ezra's 2nd birthday last Friday!  I can't believe my tiny baby is already 2!  The way he eats cupcakes really hasn't changed much since his first birthday.  He looks at it for a minute, deciding if it's ok to eat, and then he stuffs it all in his face and slowly works it into his mouth.  Funny kid!  There was no doubt he enjoyed these, and his daddy and I did too!

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes with Cookies and Cream Frosting
From Baked Perfection

For the cupcakes:
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream (I used 2% Greek yogurt instead)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups chopped Oreo cookies

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream/yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and water. Gently stir in the Oreos and divide batter into 24 lined muffin cups.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

For the frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
12 Oreo cookies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Beat butter and cream cheese with until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add salt and vanilla; mix until smooth. Gently stir Oreos into the frosting. Frost cupcakes as desired. Store any remaining frosting in the fridge.   

Breakfast Pizza

This is a nice little recipe because you can change it to suit your own taste and it works for breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

Breakfast Pizza
Adapted from Cooking Light

1 package reduced-fat crescent roll dough
1 cup chopped ham
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded frozen hash browns, thawed
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup egg substitute

Open crescent rolls.  Press all seams together to form a large rectangle.  Fold up the edges to form a crust.  Top with ham, pepper, hash browns and cheese.  Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Pour egg mixture over pizza.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Is it any surprise that I would try this recipe?  No.  And is it any surprise that the next time I make these I will definitely be adding more peanut butter?  No.  What is surprising is that there is still dough left in my refrigerator to bake later and that I haven't eaten it all yet.  (I only made half a batch!)

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
From The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (I would add more, maybe cut back a smidge on the butter)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips     

In a small bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

Cream butter, sugar and peanut butter until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.  Slowly add flour mixture and mix until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips. 

Roll cookie dough into balls.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. 
 

Sesame Chicken

Happy New Year!  Yes, I realize I'm a week late.  I don't really do resolutions, but I hope to get back to trying more new recipes.  Here's one that I tore out of my Food Network Magazine ages ago and finally got around to trying.  I don't cook Asian food very often at all, so this was a nice change!

Sesame Chicken
Adapted from Food Network Magazine

5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 1/4 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
3 teaspoons canola oil
1 green onion, thinly sliced (original recipe calls for more)
1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons sugar
3-4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili paste (all I could find was chili sauce in the Asian food section - don't know if this is the same or not, it could have used more to be a little spicier)
cooked brown rice, for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (I left these out because I didn't want to spend $5 for a huge container just to get 2 tablespoons)

Whisk 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil the honey in a bowl. Toss in the chicken and marinate 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the marinade using a slotted spoon. Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in 2 batches, turning once or twice, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Heat the remaining teaspoon canola oil in the skillet. Add the green onion and the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk the broth, sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, chili paste and the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a bowl; add to the skillet and cook, stirring, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons sesame oil.

Return the chicken to the skillet with the sauce and heat through. Serve the chicken over brown rice, if desired. Top with the sesame seeds.