creamy zuppa toscana soup.

You are probably wondering why I am posting a soup recipe in the middle of spring. And I know winter is finally over (well, hopefully it's over) but this recipe is too good not to share. I know I will be making this in the summer (we have fans and AC, we'll be just fine!)

I've never had Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup so I'm not even sure if this is what it tastes like. It's awesome nonetheless so you should definitely try this stellar recipe!

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INGREDIENTS:

3 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream, milk, or half&half would probably work too)
1 lb Italian Sausage
½ pound bacon
4 russet potatoes
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2½ cups chopped spinach or kale (I used some of each)
salt and pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook and crumble the bacon. Set aside.
2. Cook the sausage in a pot. Once it is cooked through, add broth and spinach/kale.
3. Put lid on the pot and bring sausage, broth, spinch/kale to a boil.
4. Slice potatoes in half and make about ¼ inch slices. You can slice these into fourths making the potatoes more bite sized.
5. In a skillet over medium heat, sautee potatoes, diced onion, and garlic. Sautee until potatoes are tender.
6. Once potatoes are tender/cooked, add potatoes/garlic/onion to the pot of sausage/broth/spinch/kale. Also add the crumbled bacon.
7. Reduce heat and add heavy cream. Don't let mixture boil so it doesn't curdle.
8. Cook until heated through and add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe Source: http://centslessdeals.com/2013/10/zuppa-toscana-soup.html/

any season m&m cookies.

Before I start, I am so sorry I have been M.I.A. since...late March. I've been busy training for my mini marathon and work in general. BUT- I am back now :) And I hope I can use this awesome cookie recipe to convince you to forgive me.

M&Ms are definitely NOT my favorite candy. I think they are slightly boring as far as candy is concerned. I DO, however,  love them in baked goods, snack mix, trail mix, etc. My favorite M&Ms are the seasonal ones, like the Easter/Spring pastel ones. 

I found this M&M cookie recipe from Averie Cooks. She described these cookies as soft and chewy. Naturally, I was ALL over that. Best of all, that statement was more than true. These cookies were soft, chewy, and just plain delightful. They are perfect for any season (or holiday)- hence my name for them ;)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional/to taste
1 1/2 cups plain M&Ms

Directions:

1. Beat butter and sugars together with stand mixer or hand mixer. Add egg and vanilla. Beat again, until everything is light and fluffy.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined.
3. Fold in M&Ms by hand.
4. Form dough balls with scoop or with your spoon/hands. Flatten dough balls slightly.  Place on a plate and freeze for 10 minutes.   Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread.
5. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place them on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart; I bake 9ish cookies per sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than ten minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
6. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cookie dough can be frozen up to 3 months and baked later, OR refrigerated 5-7 days and baked later.

Recipe Source: Averie Cooks

potato-omelette casserole.

Breakfast for breakfast. Breakfast for lunch. Breakfast for dinner. 

I don't really care when I eat it, I just love BREAKFAST!  I found a breakfast dish I could eat all day long. 

So if you love breakfast as much as I do, you have to try this all-star one course meal. 

This breakfast dish is loaded with good-for-you

 veggies and tasty breakfast meat. 

The first time I made it, I used bacon, bell peppers, fresh spinach, and onions- it was incredible. The second time, I made it with sausage, bell peppers, and onions and it was equally amazing.  Try out this dish- you won't be disappointed!

Potato-Omelette Casserole

Ingredients

• 36 (roughly) crispy crown tater-tots 
• 8 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheese
Omelet Fillings (suggestions):
• Meat (sausage, bacon, ham)
• Veggies (onion, red and/or green peppers, spinach, mushrooms, etc.)

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8" or a 9" baking dish. 
2. Heat your tater tots in the microwave for a minute or two to thaw. Cover the bottom of baking dish with the tater tots.
3. Bake your tater-tots for 10 minutes. 
4. While baking tater tots, prepare other ingredients (i.e. cook meat, cut veggies).
5. After removing your tots from the oven, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Sprinkle your toppings over tater tots.
6. Whisk together 8 eggs and 1/4 cup milk with a fork or whisk. Pour your egg mixture on the toppings. Then, sprinkle cheese on top of the egg mixture.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-25 minutes, or until the egg is cooked through.
8. Slice into servings and devour!

Recipe Source: Finger Prickin Good - Thank you for this double delicious recipe!!

cake batter chocolate chip cookies.

Happy baking...err...spring break to me!

In honor of these wonderful 2 weeks I get off from work, I went to the store and got all the essentials for the week which includes but is not limited to, sprinkles, chocolate chips, birthday cake Oreos, brown sugar, and butter. You cannot forget the butter. 

I made up a list of recipes I wanted to bake and got started right away! 

These colorful, cake batter-y, chocolate-y gems were first on my list. Thank you Sally's Baking Addiction :)

They were super easy to whip up and unbelievably delicious. 

The recipe yielded about 38 cookies for me. 

With this, each cookie has roughly 18 grams of carbohydrates :)

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 and 1/4 cup  yellow or vanilla boxed cake mix
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup sprinkles

What to do:

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cake mix, and baking soda. Set aside.
2. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and beat on high until combined. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low-medium speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles. Mix on low until the add-ins are evenly disbursed.
3. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. This step is mandatory. The dough is fairly sticky, so chilling the dough is required in order to avoid the cookies from spreading too much. If you chill longer than 2 hours, make sure you roll the cookie dough into balls after the 2 hour mark. Place dough balls on a plate, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
4. Once dough has been chilled, preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
5. Scoop rounded balls of the cold dough onto baking sheet, use about 1-1.5 Tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie. 
6. Bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Mine took about 9-10 minutes. The centers will still appear very soft, but the cookies will set as they cool. 
7. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 4 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
8. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

Recipe Credit: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/12/09/recipe-round-2-cake-batter-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Stay tuned for more of my spring break recipes!

healthy peanut butter, chocolate chip, banana muffins.

I just love muffins, especially banana chocolate chips ones. 

Then they got even better...banana, chocolate chips, AND peanut butter!

SAY WHAT!? 

It's true and totally possible.

And they are even kinda healthy. They are made with honey instead of granulated sugar. They contain no butter or oil.  And they include high protein greek yogurt!

Those ripe bananas are totally calling your name. (I can hear them!) 

Get baking!

ingredients:

2 ripe large bananas, mashed with no chunks
1/4 cup honey 
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
1/2 cup yogurt (I used vanilla greek yogurt)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (non-oily natural works)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or an even mix of whole wheat + all-purpose)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2-1 cup chocolate chips (you decide)

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F degrees. Spray 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with muffin cups. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, honey, brown sugar, yogurt, egg, and milk together until combined.  Whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until smooth and thick. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips together.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and lightly whisk until combined.  Try not to overstir the muffin batter or your muffins will have a tough (not soft) texture. Stir as little as possible until no flour pockets remain.
4. Fill the muffin cups practically all the way to the top. Between 3/4 full and all the way full. Bake for 5 minutes at 425F degrees. 
5. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350F and continue to bake for 12 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  

**Thank you Sallys Baking Addiction for yet another addicting recipe :) **