Overnight Oats

Breakfast is not something I typically put a lot of time and thought into. My weekday breakfast usually consists of a cereal bar and then peanut butter toast on the weekends. I don't have time in the morning to make an omelet and honestly I am way too lazy to do that before going into work. That being said I have been on a search for something natural and easy for breakfast. I wasn't sure how oatmeal would be cold but it is fantastic! This is such an easy and healthy breakfast that I could seriously eat every day. The combinations of fresh fruit, dried fruit, and nuts are endless. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup oats (old fashioned or quick oats)

1 1/4 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons of honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Desired Fruit and Nuts

Directions:

Mix oats, milk, honey, and cinnamon together in a medium size bowl. Refrigerate overnight. Top each serving with fruit and nuts.

*Serves 4, recipe can be doubled.

Bangin' Grilled Shrimp Skewers

I love when summer arrives and we can start using the grill outside. It makes for so much more options when it comes to dinner options. I wasn't too sure if my husband would enjoy these because I thought they would be too spicy for him but they are not spicy at all. In fact if you like spice you may want to increase the sriracha. If you have never used sriracha, you are missing out and need to buy some ASAP. You can buy the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce at your normal grocery store but I really like the one at Trader Joe's. The creamy chili sauce is delicious and healthy! I can't wait to see what else this sauce will work with.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

2 1/2 tbsp light mayonnaise

2 tbsp scallions, chopped fine

1 1/2 tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

1/2 tsp Sriracha (or to taste)

For the Shrimp:

1 pound raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

Fresh cracked pepper

Oil spray


Directions:

Combine the mayo, scallions, sweet chili sauce and sriracha sauce in a small bowl.Set aside.

Place shrimp on metal skewers (if using wooden, make sure you soak the skewers in water for 20 minutes). Season the shrimp lightly with cracked pepper.

Heat lightly oiled grill to medium heat, when the grill is hot add the shrimp. Grill on both sides for about 6 - 8 minutes total cooking time or until the shrimp is opaque and cooked through.

Set shrimp aside on a platter and quickly brush sauce onto the shrimp; serve immediately.

Source: Skinny Taste

Easy Queso Dip

Two ingredients is all it takes to whip together a fabulous queso dip for your next get together. Velveeta Cheese and Rotel Diced Tomatoes, that's it! When you make this for your next party everyone will thank you for feeding them this cheesy goodness but you can leave out  the fact that it only took you five minutes to make ;)

Ingredients:

1 lb (16 oz) Velveeta block, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 can (10 oz) Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

Directions:

Mix ingredients on stove top until melted. You can place in crock pot after to keep warm

Serve with Tortilla Chips

Tres Leches Cake

Happy Cinco De Mayo! If you are ever having a Mexican themed party and struggling what to have for dessert, this is it! Tres Leches Cake is unbelievably moist and has the perfect amount of sweetness. When I made this for my husband's work Cinco De Mayo party I planned to make a 100% homemade version of this cake but this Betty Crocker recipe was much more weekday baking friendly. The original recipe called for a tub of Betty Crocker white frosting but I decided on cool whip because I thought the frosting would make the cake too sweet. When you pour the three different milks over the cake you are going to think, there is no way the cake will soak up all this moisture in an hour, but trust me when I say it does.

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tub of Cool Whip

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and flour or spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.

Bake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Poke top of hot cake every 1/2 inch with  fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking. 

In large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and whipping cream. Carefully pour evenly over top of cake. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until mixture is absorbed into cake. Frost with Cool Whip. Store covered in refrigerator. 

Source: Betty Crocker 

Southwestern Breakfast Casserole

For a few years before I got married I would stay the night at my Grandma's house Christmas Eve and she would always make the best breakfast Christmas morning. She would make this breakfast casserole and an amazing cream cheese crescent bake (recipe to come soon). I would look forward to Christmas breakfast every year because it was the only time of year I had either of these dishes which are two of my favorites. I now like to make this breakfast casserole not only for breakfast on the holidays but it is a great "breakfast for dinner" meal. I used turkey bacon this past time to make a little "healthier" and it tasted great! You can use the left over cooked bacon for BLT's the next day :)

Ingredients:
 
1 pkg (12 oz)  frozen hashbrowns, thawed
5 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup picante sauce
1 cup (4 oz) shredded monterey jack or swiss cheese
1/2 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions including tops sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 crisply cooked bacon strips crumbled

Directions:
 
Combine all except bacon; mix well.  Pour into lightly greased w/butter 9" pie plate or quiche pan.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until set and golden brown.  Remove from oven; sprinkle with bacon.

Continue baking 5 minutes.  Serve with additional picante sauce.  Makes 4-6 servings.

You can double and use an oblong baking dish or 2 pie plates. 

Chocolate Cake Cookies

Warning: These cookies are seriously addicting and they are the easiest cookies to make next to the already prepared nestle cookie squares.  It is the perfect combination of a moist chocolate cake and a chewy chocolaty cookie. The only problem is they are so light and fluffy they are hard to stop eating :)

Ingredients:

1 box Devils Food Cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl manually stir cake mix, oil, eggs, and vanilla  together until dough forms.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Put powdered sugar in shallow dish. Roll the balls in powdered sugar until covered and place on non-greased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes.

Pretzel Jello

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly. It's the perfect combination of salty and sweet. If you have never had this before bring it to your next gathering and I promise it will be a hit. I personally prefer my pretzel jello with raspberries but if you are not a fan you can use frozen strawberries and strawberry jello instead. The key to this dish is making sure you crush the pretzel's well enough. I have found that using a food processor works best, you just don't want big chunks of pretzels in the crust. While writing this post I really wish I had a piece of pretzel jello mmmm.

Ingredients:

2 cups of well crushed pretzels
3/4 cups melted butter
3 tbsp granulated sugar
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 cup confectioners sugar
8 oz cool whip
1 large box of raspberry jello
2 cups boiling water
2 packages (10 oz each) frozen raspberries

Directions:

Combine pretzels , butter, and sugar and spread over the bottom of a greased 9x13 dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. Let cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and confectioners sugar until fluffy. Fold in cool whip and spread over cooled crust. Make sure the crust is completely cooled because if it is warm it will lift as you spread the cream cheese mixture. Place in refrigerator (this is important, it needs to set)

Boil 2 cups of water and stir in jello until dissolved. Stir in frozen raspberries. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the jello and raspberry mixture on top of cream cheese layer. Do not try and pour the jello on top it will sink to the bottom and you will have red jello mess. Refrigerate overnight.

**If the top layer doesn't look pretty after refrigerating overnight, you can spread cool whip on top. I had to do this my first couple times making it.