Tasty Thursday #99: Crockpot Baked Beans

Welcome back to Tasty Thursday!!

When I was in middle school and high school, I would eat the strangest things for snacks. Baked beans was one of those things. The Bush's Baked Beans were always my absolute favorite (I was in no way paid to say that...pretty sure Bush's doesn't know I exist haha). I still on occasion get a can for a late night snack. But I am also pretty hooked on making my favorite store-bought or restaurant foods at home. I loved these beans...they were flavorful and so good. I used the bacon bits that are actual pieces of bacon. I am going to try to make a sauce to go with these beans next time I make them - because they were not like traditional super saucy baked beans.

11 Bomb-Dot-Com Beverages

Clearly not all the 11 are pictured up there, but I decided to do a smaller collage :)

Most of these are cold, but there are a few warm drinks.

Copycat Wendy's Frosty
This is one of my olllllld recipes on the blog - it's a great little 3-ingredient copycat.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest
  Milky Way Mocha This is my favorite of all the homemade fancy (hot) coffees I've made.  Caramel, chocolatey coffee goodness.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  S'mores Frappuccino I went on a frappe kick in 2012 and made 80 billion frappes.  Couldn't say no to a s'mores frappe!

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Blueberry Cheesecake Milkshake I was inspired by a strawberry cheesecake milkshake I found and Ben & Jerry's Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream - and made this delicious milkshake for the Crazy Cooking Challenge.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  McDonald's Caramel Frappe Copycat I am not sure if I've had McDonald's, but I've had BK's..in fact, I had one last week. They are my weakness...soo caramely and mmm.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Chocolate Chip Cookie Milkshake Oh yes, this is every bit as delicious as it looks. There are cookie bits blended up in it. Yum!

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest
  Pumpkin Pie Milkshake If you're a pumpkin fanatic like me, you'll love this milkshake.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Cupcake Milkshakes In this glorious recipe is frosting and sprinkles...lots and lots of sprinkles!

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest
  Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappe That popular sinful Starbucks frappuccino...at home...way cheaper...way better!

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Butterbeer All you Potterheads say hey!! Okay, maybe don't do that because it's super 90s, but definitely check out this recipe for homemade Butterbeer from Hogsmeade!

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Copycat Shamrock Shake Four ingredients - you probably have most of them in your kitchen right now! No more waiting until March, folks!

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

What are your favorite beverages? 

Please feel free to share links!

Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage

For the longest time, I made one type of stuffed pepper - with rice, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and beef. It's a great recipe and I didn't feel the need to make a new recipe until I discovered this one. I've opened up to sausage a little bit. As a child, I never ate it - I didn't like it, didn't want anything to do with it...but now I'm okay with Italian sausage. I'm starting to be okay with breakfast sausage, especially the sage flavored ones.

Unfortunately at the time of me making these peppers, my husband had the flu and wasn't able to eat one of these. So they will be made again sometime soon. The sausage and parmesan go very well together and they are a welcome change from the previous stuffed pepper recipe.

Secret Recipe Club: Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Another reveal day for Group D! This month, I was happy to find that my assignment was one of my newbies, Rebekah from Making Miracles. She has been blogging since 2006 about her life as a surrogate, mom, and recipe tester! I have always admired anyone who could carry a life for someone else. It's such a selfless act - incredibly respectable.

I went to Rebekah's blog with a mission. I have been slacking on making breakfast recipes and posting breakfast recipes for the last few months. I needed a breakfast recipe. When I saw Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls, I knew my search was over.

The thing I really like about these rolls is that it is ONE rise...instead of two. I love cinnamon rolls, but I hate making them because they take hours. These gorgeous, delicious babies do not. I absolutely adored the cream cheese frosting too! AND these are the first thing I got to photograph in my new light box!

(Print)
What you need:
For the Rolls:

• 1 cup milk, heated to 100*
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast, at room temp
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup finely grated carrots
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (plus some)
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Proof yeast in warm milk for about 10 minutes.
2. In your stand mixer, stir together flours, baking powder, sugar, spices, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, mix together filling ingredients. Set aside.
4. After yeast is frothy, add applesauce and carrots to it and stir.
5. Add into dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
6. Knead for about 2 to 3 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough in a 12x9" rectangle. Sprinkle filling on top and roll up tightly. Cut into 8 even pieces.
8. Place in a lightly greased 9-inch cake or pie pan. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about an hour.

9. Brush tops with 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter and bake in a preheated 350* oven for 20 minutes or so.
10. Meanwhile combine the frosting ingredients and beat until smooth.

11. Allow baked rolls to cool slightly before frosting so your cream cheese frosting doesn't melt completely :)

Recipe from Making Miracles

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Tasty Treasures

Time to show off the most clicked from last week's Tasty Thursday.

These recipes will be pinned to my Tasty Treasures board.

I'm blown away by the features - I could not stop drooling. Y'all outdid yourselves :)

#1 Most Clicked: Cranberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze

from The Redhead Riter
 

#2: Easy Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels

from What's Cooking, Love?


#3: Buffalo Chicken Balls with Blue Cheese

from Real Housemoms


The Eye-Catcher: Skinny Oreo Milkshake

from Pink Recipebox

You can grab a feature button over on the sidebar to the right :)

This week's Tasty Thursday is still open (and will be until Tuesday), so feel free to stop by and add a few recipes! :) Make sure to check out the other recipes linked up too! Thank you all for linking up.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Ever since making snickerdoodle cookies for the first time, I am determined to try out all kinds of snickerdoodle recipes. I am a huge fan of muffins for breakfast because they are typically a fast breakfast. You just whip up the batter and bake them for 20 or so minutes. The kids loved these. My resident raccoon (he scavenges at night)...and by raccoon, I mean my 5 year old, ate the tops off of about five or six of the muffins in the middle of the night.

Tasty Thursday #98: Basil Pesto

Welcome back to Tasty Thursday!!

I finally found that pesto isn't a bunch of weird ingredients, but a bunch of my favorite ingredients: basil, garlic, Parmesan! Yummy! I needed it for Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Veggies that I guest posted over on Girls Gone Food, which is a fabulous recipe by the way.

It's almost tax time and I am hoping to invest in a food processor - is anyone else getting something for their kitchen this year with tax money?

Jalapeno Kettle Chip Crusted Chicken

I once was super sensitive to spicy foods. Even "hot" taco seasoning was way too much for me to handle. I met my husband and started to adapt very quickly to buffalo sauce and jalapeno everything. Over the last few years I have worked on stockpiling more and more foods with buffalo and/or jalapeno involved. I was excited to try this recipe because it uses kettle chips for a crust. The chips were very interesting - the heat was there, but it was like a short bite and then it was gone. So it wasn't an overwhelming heat, it was a brief bite and it didn't compromise the flavor. The original recipe also had a jalapeno ranch dip, but we don't like ranch, so I didn't make it.

Beer Battered Fried Pickles

I have had fried pickles before, but was intrigued when I saw beer battered. I paired the fried pickles with burgers, however, I think these would be perfect for game day. I really liked the fact that there was no egg mixture, flour mixture, and coating mixture. It was just a batter. Simple dunk and fry. I could not stop eating them - they were addictive.

Easy Calzones

I cannot get over how good these calzones were. My 5 year old out-ate my husband and I ended up making more the second time we had these. Plus we made them for family during the holidays and everyone loved them. We've made them four times since the first time and that is extremely rare in my house!

Oh and they came from none other than PDub - so you know they're good!

Tasty Treasures

Time to show off the most clicked from last week's Tasty Thursday.

These recipes will be pinned to my Tasty Thursday board.

#1 Most Clicked: Creamy Lemon Oaty Bars

from Pink Recipe Box


#2: Pork & Egg Breakfast Sandwich

from The Jazzy Gourmet


#3: Red Velvet Muddy Buddies

from What's Cooking, Love?


The Eye-Catcher: Tuna, Brown & Wild Rice Casserole

from Hot Eats & Cool Reads

There is a nifty new button over on the sidebar that you can grab if your recipe was featured!

This week's Tasty Thursday is still open (and will be until Tuesday), so feel free to stop by and add a few recipes! :) Make sure to check out the other recipes linked up too! Thank you all for linking up.

Creamy Taco Mac

I thoroughly enjoy when "creamy" in a recipe's title means cream cheese and sour cream. Those two ingredients are just plain magical. They also didn't bland the seasoning down, but rather paired perfectly and brought out those flavors! It's also made with turkey instead of beef.

Bacon Chicken Avocado Club Sandwich with Garlic-Basil Mayo

When I saw this recipe, I didn't realize how incredible it would end up being. I was thinking it would be a run-of-the-mill, basic club sandwich. I was so wrong. The garlic-basil mayonnaise is the best mayonnaise I've ever had and it was a great addition to the sandwich and all its different flavors - like the salty bacon, juicy tomato, crunchy lettuce, and the bite of the onion. I also seasoned my chicken with lemon pepper. I only wish that my avocado hadn't gone bad by the time I made the sandwich because I know the creamy avocado would have been amazing on this club sandwich.

Tasty Thursday #97: Chicken Scampi

Welcome back to Tasty Thursday!!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I've always wanted to try scampi. I link up over at My Favorite Finds for Must Try Monday - and was so excited to see a recipe for chicken instead of shrimp that Carrie (the host) was sharing. I actually was not aware that there was a chicken version. I am a big fan of garlic, so I was happy to see that it was one of the main ingredients in this dish.

All-the-Best Brownies & Bars

I pretend that cake and cookies are my favorite, but sometimes you just can't beat a good brownie, blondie, or bar. And today's collection is about all-the-best ones!! :)

Ghirardelli Sea Salt Brownies

This is what happens when you try a Ghirardelli chocolate bar and think of how perfect it would be in a batch of Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme brownies. Oh so divine!

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  M&M Oatmeal Bars I may or may not be classifying these as breakfast from now on...they have oatmeal, milk, eggs, and pancake mix in them. Those are all breakfast essentials! I love these bars. Don't let me or the name fool you. They are totally a dessert :P

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Twix Caramel Brownies This is what happens when you have a bag of Twix candy leftover from Halloween.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest
  Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars This is a layer of shortbread, then caramel, then cookie dough, then dark chocolate topping. Totally sinful and insanely rich, but worth it in the end.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Cosmic Brownies A childhood favorite made at home with your own ingredients and it tastes the same, but better, if that makes any sense whatsoever.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Peanut Butter Cup Blondies This was a recipe that had been going crazy viral on Pinterest and I had to see what the hype was about! Let me just say that the hype was totally justified. Best. Blondie. Ever.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Caramel-Filled Brownies This was the first homemade brownie recipe that I had made and I was really nervous about it. They turned out perfectly though and they were a huge hit with everyone that tried them.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Funfetti Blondies These little critters are just too good. I love the fact that it's funfetti,  but also has the chunks of white chocolate.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

  Andes Creamy Mint Brownies These are the most highly requested brownies that I have made and I think it's because of the mints and because of the minty delicious whipped cream topping.

Source: fantasticalsharingofrecipes.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest     Because I love brownies & bars too much for my own good... Share a link to your favorite brownie & bar recipes!!

Mexican Chicken

Once upon a time, I was not a fan of cornmeal or cornmeal-crusted anything. I've become much more open to cornmeal, especially in Mexican dishes. This one is just fabulous. I have also quickly become a fan of cilantro. We paired our chicken with Spanish rice and corn.

Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese

I love to try new macaroni and cheese recipes - my kids are, thankfully, very easy going with all the variations. What I love about this particular recipe is that it includes yogurt and sweet peas. It is reminiscent of tuna noodle casserole a bit :) And there are only 5 ingredients!