Caprese Lasagna Roll Ups

  Sometimes you just need a little Italian food in your life. Like these Caprese Lasagna Roll Ups! They are undeniably delicious. Meatless lasagna rolls packed with tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese. One of the greatest food combinations everrrr. The flavor is so good, and only leaves you wanting more.

 I already have a recipe for Lasagna Roll Ups, and although they are very delicious, I think this Caprese version is my new favorite. I also made some amazing cheesy garlic rolls to go with it. I'll be posting the recipes for those soon!



Caprese Lasagna Roll Ups

8 lasagna noodles
3 cups shredded, low-moisture Mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1 large egg white
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 Roma Tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Basil
1 cup prepared Marina Sauce, recipe below

Marina Sauce:
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can crushed Tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

 
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Boil lasagna noodles in large pot of water, according to package directions. Drain the water and place the noodles in a single layer on a large sheet of wax/parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the Ricotta cheese and egg white. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and 2 cups of shredded Mozzarella cheese. Season with black pepper. (Don't add any salt, the cheese already has plenty in it)

Spread 1/4 cup of cheese mixture onto each lasagna noodle. Then add 3 slices of tomato on top of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with a little fresh basil over the top. Tightly roll lasagna noodles to the opposite end. Repeat process with all the lasagna noodles.

Spread 1/2 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Align the lasagna roll ups, seam side down in the dish. Top each roll up with 2-3 tablespoons of mariana sauce, making sure to cover all of the edges. Sprinkle with remaining shredded Mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve roll ups with more chopped basil. Serve warm.

Marina Sauce: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat. Add onions to oil and saute until soft. About 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, stir and cook for another minute. Pour in crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let sauce simmer for 25-30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from: Cooking Classy

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

  I've added a new recipe to my beloved Mexican food favorites and these lovely Chicken Tacos are it! They are so good and only require 4 ingredients. 5 if you use the black beans, which I highly recommend, and that's including the chicken. It really doesn't get any easier than this, my friends.

  I have two other 'Mexican' chicken recipes already on the blog, that are made in the crock pot. Like this Cafe Rio Chicken  and Bajio Chicken. We love them both and make them all the time, especially when we have guests over, because they make a lot and are so yummy!

 


Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

4-5 boneless skinless, chicken breasts
1 (16 ounce) jar of Salsa
1 (1 ounce) packet of Taco Seasoning
1 (15 ounce) can Black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
the juice of 1 Lime


Directions: Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Pour the salsa over the top of the chicken and then sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Squeeze the lime juice all over the seasoning. Stir mixture together, making sure to cover all of the chicken. Cover with lid. Cook on Low heat for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken before serving.

Serve shredded chicken inside warmed flour or corn tortillas, then top with all your favorite taco toppings.

Enjoy ♥

Mexican "Fried" Ice Cream Dessert

  Summer has officially begun in my book. We were soaring high in 106 degree temperatures over the weekend, so I thought I was going to die of heat stroke.... or sweat to death. Looks like we'll be spending a lot more time at the lake this year :)

  With all the heat, I thought an ice cream treat was in order. Luckily, I had all the ingredients to make this amazing Fried Ice Cream Dessert. It mimicks the regular deep-fried ice cream that is served at Mexican restaurants. It is one of my favorite desserts ever!

  There's no deep-frying involved with this version, just a quick pan-fry to make the amazing crust that coats a dreamy, cinnamon ice cream combo! Gah! SO. GOOD! Serve it with drizzles of chocolate syrup and caramel sauce, and you'll be transported to heaven ;)

Mexican "Fried" Ice Cream Dessert

3 cups crushed Corn Flakes cereal
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 (1.75 quart) container Vanilla ice cream
1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
Chocolate syrup
Caramel sauce


Directions: Take the vanilla ice cream out of your freezer and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so, to soften.

Melt butter in a medium skillet, over medium heat. Add the crushed corn flakes and sugar. Stir to combine. Fry mixture for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until cereal is golden-brown. *Be careful not to burn. It may take less than 5 minutes*

Take a 9x13 baking dish and spread 1/3 of the corn flakes mixture into the bottom of pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the softened vanilla ice cream and cool whip. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Using a spatula, stir and mix well to combine. Spread ice cream mixture over the top of the corn flake mixture in the bottom of the pan.

Spread the remaining corn flake mixture evenly over the ice cream. Drizzle the honey over the top. Cover pan, and place in freezer. Freeze ice cream for at least 5 hours, or overnight.

Cut into squares and serve with drizzles of chocolate syrup and caramel sauce (and if you're feelin' frisky add some whipped cream and a cherry on top) Enjoy! ♥


Serves 12

Adapted from: The Imperfect Housewife

Menu Plan Monday #32

  My husband and I have decided to sell our home (we just bought last Summer) and build a new one. We just haven't been happy with the size of home we bought. We love everything about it, except that it's just too small for our family. We need a lot more room, and Momma needs a bigger kitchen :) I am really excited to get it all started!

  Okay, so back to the Menu Plan. I have kind of gotten into a cooking rut. Seriously. Even with all my cookbooks, stacks of printed recipes AND food pins on Pinterest, I just haven't felt like cooking lately. Not sure what it is, but I need to snap out of it. My husband and kids are getting sick of PB&J's and Mac and Cheese for dinner....

  Here's my plan to get back in the kitchen this week:

Monday

Taco Cupcakes

beans, rice

Tuesday

Stuffing-Topped Pork Chops

green beans

Wednesday

Ham & Cheese Sliders

baked chips

fruit

Thursday

~easy night~

(Sandwiches, leftovers)

Friday

~Kitchen's Closed~

Celebrating my Mom's birthday!

Saturday

Spicy Honey Chicken

Strawberry side salads with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Sunday

Happy Father's Day ♥

Making my Hubby's favorite sandwich...

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

 
 

Funfetti Cheesecake Cookies

  My hubby and I just got back from a much needed mini vacation. We hit up Las Vegas with some of our closest friends. We had a great time eating at delicious restaurants, swimming at the pool and partying it up! It was nice to have some time without the kids, even though we missed and talked about them the whole time :/

 Speaking of kids, I don't know one that isn't mesmerized by sprinkles! Colorful, yummy, awesome sprinkles! Last weekend, before our trip, I surprised my kiddo's with some FUNFETTI Cheesecake Cookies for dessert. These cookies are soft, chewy and sprinkle-packed, with a hint of cheesecake flavor. So good!

 I whipped up a batch for them while they were playing outside, having their water war in our front yard. They were super happy to come inside to some freshly made cookies. Actually, I don't think I could've got them to come inside if it wasn't for the cookies...

FUNFETTI Cheesecake Cookies

1 (15 ounce) box Funfetti Cake mix
1 small (3.4 ounce) Instant Cheesecake Pudding mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon sprinkles
3/4 cup white chocolate chips, divided


Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or wax paper.

In a large bowl, add the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs and vanilla. Stir until combined and dough forms. Stir in the 1 Tablespoon sprinkles and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Use the remaining white chocolate chips to press into the tops of each cookie. About 3-4 chips per cookie.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. The centers will still be very soft. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.


Makes 20 cookies.

Recipe adapted from: Kitchen Meets Girl

Twice Baked Potatoes

  We have now reached 100 degrees where I live, and with all honesty, I am lovin' it! I have been looking forward to Summer and it's finally here! We have already been spending a lot of time outside, enjoying the hot weather. We went to the lake with our friends last weekend, and then yesterday the kids spent most of the day having a water fight in our front yard. Good times!

  I am excited for the Summer barbecues to start, so I can make these yummy Twice Baked Potatoes again. I love these things. They are so good, and really go perfect with any kind of meat you'll be grilling up. I'm sure most of you already know how to make these, they are ridiculously easy, but also ridiculously delicious, so I had to share the way I make them!


Twice Baked Potatoes

8 medium baking potatoes
1 cup butter (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sour cream
4-5 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 sliced green onion (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper


Directions: Clean potatoes with water, then pat dry with paper towels. Poke a few holes in the potatoes with a fork. Place potatoes on a cookie sheet and Bake at 400 degrees F. for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, add the cup of butter, sour cream and about 1/2 cup of the chopped bacon. Stir mixture to combine. Set aside.

Carefully cut potatoes in half lengthwise. (Use a dish towel while handling the hot potatoes, so you dont burn your hands!) After potatoes are cut in half, using a large spoon, scrape out the insides and place into the bowl of the butter/bacon mixture. Keep scraping the potatoes as close as you can to the shell. You want to get most of the insides out, but still want enough left in the shell to support it.

Take a potato masher and smash all of the potatoes into the butter mixture. You can smash them as much or as little as you want, depending on how lumpy or smooth you like the filling. Once combined, take 1 cup of the cheese and the sliced green onion and stir it into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the cut potato halves back onto the cookie sheet. Fill the empty shells with the potato mixture. Filling them so they have plenty of filling. (You may have one or two shells that don't get filled, so the others have plenty of filling) Once filled, sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheddar cheese and chopped bacon. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are warmed through.

Homemade Corn Dogs

   There is a litte town about 20 minutes from where I live called Veyo. They have a popular pool there that is nestled and surrounded by trees and rocks. I have so many fun memories playing and swimming there as a kid. We would catch crawdads that crawl around outside the pool, play at the arcade and have a blast swimming. They also serve amazing food! They are known for their to-die-for corn dogs!

   I crave their corn dogs every now and then, so I decided it was time to try making some at home. They turned out unbelievably delicious! I don't own a deep fryer, so I just used a medium pot to deep-fry the corn dogs in. Although it seems a little intimidating, they were really easy to make.

My kids loved them and my Hubby inhaled three! I ate one, but dreamed about eating five... 

  I will be making these again soon, without a doubt.

Homemade Corn Dogs
Makes 10 Corn Dogs

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (regular milk works too)
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon honey
1 (10 count) package Hot Dogs
10 wooden skewers or chopsticks

2 Quarts Vegetable Oil, for frying


Directions: In a medium or large pot, add the oil. Turn heat to medium and heat oil to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir together. Then add the beaten egg, buttermilk, oil and honey. Stir until combined. (Batter should be a little thicker than pancake batter)

Remove hot dogs from package. Wipe them all dry with a paper towel (this will help the batter stick to them better) Insert one skewer or wooden stick into each hot dog.

Pour the batter into a tall drinking glass. Holding by the skewer, take one hot dog and dunk it into the batter, coating all of the hot dog. Slowly remove from batter and let a little excess batter drip back into the cup. Immediately place it into the hot oil, while still holding the stick. Turn as necessary to brown all sides. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until all sides are a deep golden brown. Remove from hot oil and place on paper towels to drain grease. Repeat with all hot dogs.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcake Cake

   My oldest daughter, Kelsey, turned the big 10 last week, and my brain is still trying to process it. It's hard to believe the tiny 2-year old I fell in-love with, when I met my hubby, is 10! The years have flown by raising her. She is the funnest, sweetest girl, and she has truly been a blessing in my life.

   I decided to surprise her again this year with a cupcake cake. Have you seen all the amazing cupcake cakes that are out there? I totally love them! Not only because they're so cute and fun ( and way easier to make than the Neapolitan Cake I made her last year) but because the clean-up after serving cupcakes for cake, is a breeze! ha! I stalked Google and Pinterest and found so many cute ideas. I decided to go with this darling Ice Cream Cone version.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcake Cake

10 chocolate cupcakes, frosted with chocolate frosting
9 vanilla cupcakes, frosted with cherry frosting (or some type of pink frosting)
1 vanilla cupcake, frosted with red-tinted cherry frosting
1 green gummy straw (for the cherry 'stem')
jelly beans
1 large cake board


Place the 10 chocolate cupcakes onto the cake board. Form them into an upside down triangle, to form the 'cone'. Take the 9 pink frosted cupcakes and place them above the chocolate cupcakes to form the 'ice cream'. Top each pink cupcake with 3-4 jelly beans. Place the red frosted cupcake at the top, to act as the 'cherry'. Cut one green gummy straw in half, and then place it into the red cupcake, to form the 'cherry stem'.

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Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Frosting

  I haven't been cooking or baking as much as I'd like to. My job can get so stressful and busy sometimes, that by the time I get home, all I want to do is lay on the couch and kick my feet up. That means PB&J's or Ramen for dinner.

  Last weekend my kiddo's had a sleepover at their Grandma's house, so I had some time on my hands to get baking. I was a happy girl. Being in my kitchen baking, and not having 3 kids around (to ask me for a snack, or drink, or if they can help) was a little piece of heaven. It doesn't happen that often, so I took full advantage.

  I whipped up these AMAZING Cookies and Cream Cupcakes, and topped them off with creamy, dreamy Milk Chocolate Frosting. When the kids got home later that day, I let them each have one, and of course the Hubs too, and then took the rest of them to work on Monday. They got rave reviews. Everyone loved them!


Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
with Milk Chocolate Frosting

Cupcakes:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups milk ( I used 2%)
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chopped Oreo cookies ( about 20 Oreo cookies)

Milk Chocolate Frosting:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons heavy cream


Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 3 standard-size muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large, microwavable bowl, add the 2 sticks of butter. Melt butter in the microwave (about 1 minute or so) Then, stir in sugar until combined. Add egg whites, sour cream, milk and vanilla. Beat on medium speed, with a hand mixer, until combined. Slowly add in the flour mixture, mix on low speed until no lumps remain. Fold in the crushed oreo cookies. Batter will be thick.

Divide batter evenly into the cupcake liners, only filling liners 2/3 full of batter.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

For Frosting: Cream the butter in a stand mixer, on medium speed for 3 minutes. You want it very creamy. Then on low speed, slowly add in powdered sugar, cocoa and salt. Mix until they are absorbed into the butter. Then add in vanilla and heavy cream. Beat frosting for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until very creamy and combined. Spread frosting on the cooled cupcakes, topping with extra oreo crumbs, if desired.


Recipe makes 36 cupcakes.

 

 

Recipe slightly adapted from: Sally's Baking Addiction