Glazed Pigs in a Blanket Recipe

 

Did you know National Pigs in a Blanket Day is a thing? It's April 24th, by the way ;)  I sometimes like to cook recipes based off silly National Holidays and found this one, so I just had to try it. I made it to bring in to work for lunch and it was a big hit! The glaze is so yummy! I found the original recipe Here

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

For the Pigs in Blankets:

• 1 (12 oz.) package Hillshire Farm Lit'l Smokies or other mini hot dogs
• 2 tubes crescent rolls

For the Glaze:

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 2 T. yellow mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Unroll crescent roll dough and separate the triangles. Cut each triangle (through the point) into two pieces, creating two long triangles from each.
2. Place a Lit'l Smokie toward the wide end of each crescent dough piece. Beginning at the wide end, roll each Lit'l Smokie up in the crescent dough, ending at the dough's tip. Each Lit'l Smokie should peek out a bit on both sides of the roll.
3. Place rolls in a 9x13-inch baking dish greased with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; remove from heat as soon as glaze comes to a boil.
5. Brush tops of pigs in a blanket rolls with glaze to coat each one. Then pour remaining glaze over rolls.
6. Bake uncovered at 375℉ for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Spinach Artichoke Bubble Bake

After my work day, I wanted to make something for dinner that was quick to put together so I could simply relax. 

So I skipped quite a few steps by simply using a tub of spinach artichoke dip from Costco, mixed in a cup of mozzarella cheese and a can of chicken (drained), two tubes of biscuits, cut each biscuit into 4ths and mixed in with the mixture, top with another cup of Mozzarella and then baked at 350 degrees in a 9x13 dish for 50 minutes, covering at 30 minutes for the last 20. 

It was SO good! Everyone approved and there’s none left, so I’d call that a success!

1 tub spinach artichoke dip from Costco

1 can chicken, drained

2 cups mozzarella cheese 

2 tubes biscuits

• Mix dip, chicken, and 1 cup of cheese.

• Cut up each biscuit into 4ths. Place in 9x13 baking dish with the mixture and mix up, make sure to coat them all.

• Sprinkle remaining cheese on top

• Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, cover for remaining 20 minutes.

That’s it! Tell me what you think of you try it! Enjoy!

Copy Cat Hibachi Ginger Peanut Dressing - YUM!

I absolutley love the dressing they put on the salad at our local hibachi spot. I found this copycat recipe on Pinterest and I am so happy I did! So delicious!

Ingredients:

• 6T rice vinegar

• 1T fresh ginger, peeled

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 3T vegetable or canola oil

• 1tsp toasted sesame oil (Asian sesame oil) 

• 1/4 C creamy peanut butter

• 3T soy sauce

• 3T honey

Put all Ingredients in your food processor and mix until smooth. 

That’s it! So easy!! I store mine in a mason jar, it didn’t last long so I can’t say for sure how long it’s good for, it was gone by day 3 and still tasted great! This was a hit with my entire family!

Delicious Baked Mayo Parmesan Chicken

I found several variations of this low-carb, Keto friendly recipe with rave reviews and had to try it myself!  It did not disappoint.

This chicken was moist and flavorful, it's one that I will for sure be making more regularly!  And best of all, it is super easy to make!

Ingredients:

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup full fat mayo

6 Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

3/4 tsp garlic powder

ground black pepper to taste 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray baking dish with non stick cooking spray.

Put each breast inside a small ziploc bag and pound with a meat mallet until the chicken is an even thickness.  Then cut small, shallow crosswise slits going down each chicken breast, being careful not to cut through.

Mix the mayo and seasonings, then stir in the parmesan.  Put chicken breasts into the baking dish and spread the mixture over the top of each chicken breast, covering the entire surface.  I used a spatula to spread.

Bake the chicken for 35 minutes, or until the juices run clear and the top is nicely browned.   

I only used two breasts, because they were gigantic!  The two made four servings, we ended up just cutting them in half.

I know a lot of Keto-ers will say Best Foods Mayo is NOT Keto.  But, it was all I had.    

 I think next time I will try putting some real bacon crumbles on top, or mixed in with the mayo and Parmesan.  Because, bacon.

I found the original recipe on www.kalynskitchen.com 

On MyFitnessPal, I figured this recipe to be 

350 calories per serving

2.5g carbs

21g fat

42g protein

Taco Pasta Salad

Looking for a side dish perfect for all of this summer's BBQ's?  This one is it.  Perfect for large groups since it makes a lot, and it's a unique change from the typical potato and macaroni salads.  Everyone always asks for the recipe once they've tried it!

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) package tri-color rotini pasta

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (11 oz) can mexican style corn, drained

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies

1/2 cup italian style salad dressing, or more to taste

1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 tbsp taco seasoning mix

1/2 lime, juiced

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the rotini at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.  Drain, and rinse with cold water, place in fridge to cool.

2.  Mix black beans, corn, green chilies, italian dressing, mexican cheese, cilantro, taco seasoning and lime juice together in a bowl.  Add rotini and lightly stir to combine.

3.  All done!  This tastes best freshly mixed, so it is ideal to wait until right before serving to mix the rotini with the sauce mixture.  To refresh leftovers, just add a little bit of italian dressing and stir to combine!

Enjoy! Take a picture and share how yours turned out!  Or share any yummy extras you added!  

Baked Pears

This is such a delicious recipe, I found it on Pinterest and OMG! So good. Perfect fix for that sweet tooth and best part, it's good for you!

Ingredients:

4-5 Bosc Pears

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Cut pears in half and remove core

2. Place on 8x11 baking dish cut part facing down

3. Mix together honey, coconut oil, vanilla and cinnamon in sauce pan. Cool at med/high setting, bring just to a boil stirring occasionally, and remove from heat.

4. Drizzle sauce over pears and cook for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees.

5. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon any extra sauce over pears and serve :)

Yum!

Grilled corn & Poblano Guacamole

I. Love. Guacamole.

Let me repeat.

I. LOVE. Guacamole.

Ok, now that I have confessed my love, let me tell you I have recently found a delicious recipe for... You guessed it. Guacamole! 💃 

It's hard to get a good pic of guacamole I decided... Just trust me. It's good.

Ok, so here is what you'll need:

3 has avocados

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lime, juiced

1 tbsp cilantro 

1 poblano pepper, grilled and diced 

1 corn on cob, grilled until slightly charred and kernels removed

Combine all ingredients into medium bowl. I like my avocado with chunks so I used a potato masher and then mixed it all up with a spoon. 

Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Fire Roasted Corn Salsa

Charred corn and poblanos from the grill give this salsa great roasted flavors! You can control the level of heat you want with the amount of jalepenos you use, or none at all for a sweet corn salsa! This salsa goes perfect with chips or in shrimp tacos!

Ingredients:

3 poblano peppers, sliced in half and seeds removed

2 ears of corn

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 of 4oz can jalepenos, or less depending on how much fire you like! 

(I used half, it was very spicy and I like spicy. I think 1/4 of the can might be the perfect amount so I will try that next time)

Instructions:

1. Heat grill.

2. Once ready, spray corn with olive oil spray and season with salt & pepper.

3. Place corn and poblanos on grill. Cook on all sides until slightly charred.

4. Meanwhile, add red pepper and cilantro into a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper

5. Remove from grill. Allow corn to cool. Dice peppers and cut kernels off cob.

6. Add corn and poblanos into bowl with other ingredients. Mix well. Add lime juice and taste for season. Adjust with salt and pepper if needed. 

7. Serve immediately or chill in fridge. 

Crock Pot Spinach & Tortellini

This meal is delicious, doesn't require a laundry list of ingredients and doesn't take long to prepare.  Did I mention it's delicious?

All you need is:

1 package 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 package Buitoni three cheese tortellini

1 bag frozen chopped spinach

1 can vegetable broth

1 can roasted garlic tomatoes

Combine in crock pot.

Cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 4-5

And that's it!  My kids even like this & my husband loves it!

And the calorie count is 487 calories for 1 cup

Chocolatey Pretzel Treats

These are so easy to make!  My kids had fun helping with them and we all loved them, they make a great snack!  We did these over Christmas so we used the Christmas color M&Ms but you can use the regular kind or whatever holiday colors are out at the moment!

All you need is:
1 Bag of small pretzels
1 bag M&Ms (I used peanut ones, I accidentally grabbed those instead of plain but they worked great)
1 bag hershey kisses, or hugs (I also tried the cookies & cream kind and they didn't work out as well as the plain chocolate)

Heat the oven to 170 degrees.  Place pretzels in a single layer and place kisses on top of each pretzel.  Bake 4-6 minutes until the chocolate feels soft.  Do not over do it though, you don't want a chocolate puddle!  Press M&Ms into the center of each treat.  Allow to cool and then place in the fridge for about 10 minutes to set.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken

This is delish!  I served this wrapped in tortilla, you could also put it over rice.

For this delicious meal you will need:
3 lbs chicken breast
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained!)
1 package cream cheese (do not use fat free)
1 can rotel original
1 can corn (drained)

It is so easy, just put the chicken in then put everything else on top, cook on low for 6 hours, shred with a fork and dinner is ready!

This makes a LOT!  My family of four each had one stuffed burrito and we all could have easily had another if we wanted.  But we were full after the first lol, it is very filling :)

I know, the crock pot liner doesn't make for very pretty pictures, but it sure does make clean up so easy!