Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I handed this new found recipe over to my husband last Saturday morning and asked if he would try his hand at making them while I tried to pre-burn calories with a friend of mine on a 5 mile trail walk.

He said he would.

That sweet man.

And this is what he was makin' while I was walkin'


Don't they look fun?

They even had a home-made buttermilk syrup recipe that was part of the deal and we made that too.

We actually didn't love this stuff. Most people online have raved about it, so I am wondering if we did something wrong. I think we both would've preferred just regular maple syrup.

Plus - these were not overly sweet (which surprised us) and it needed a little more sweetness in the syrup department.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes (adapted from The Idea Room Blog).

Parent Review: They were labor intensive. David looked tired when I got home. :-) We thought they would be sweeter, but we did really enjoy them and they were fun to try.

Kids Review: Little Girl loved them. Baby boy still wasn't feeling great, so he didn't eat much to tell.

Added: I just landed on THIS RECIPE for cinnamon roll pancakes and HELLO - it calls for adding a cream cheese glaze over the top. Wow!! Plus- the cinnamon swirl looked all crispy and carmelized, so this is a different take. You guys could try either one! Let me know what you think!!

Enjoy!!

CPK Barbecue Chicken Pizza

I found this recipe for California Pizza Kitchen's (knock off) barbecue chicken pizza from The Pioneer Woman's blog. I was excited to do a home-made crust and try my hand at something new. I don't think I make the greatest pizza dough in the world, but I didn't think this was too bad. I used half whole wheat flour and it gave it a nutty flavor.

Here's the recipe

Here it is with the grown-up side and the kids side. You can imagine that the kids weren't interested in the fresh green cilantro from the garden, but WE WERE!! Yum!


Parents Review: I thought it was pretty good, but I didn't love the BBQ sauce I purchased. David said he really liked it.
Kids Review: They picked it all a part as usual and then ate all the separated items. :-)

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

I hate to even call these little treats "brownies", because to me they resemble a cookie bar more than anything. I made these guys for my friend Julie last week and she thinks that they tasted just like a brownie, but sometimes I think she's crazy and can only say nice things and it's like an illness or something. :-)

But.......David and I both concur that these guys taste like a really soft, thick cookie. I would've added waaaay more chocolate chips and mini reeses-peanut butter cups than they called for, but other than that - they were great! If you like peanut butter and you like chocolate - you'll be set!!



After I pulled these guys out of the oven - I stuck several rows of the mini reese's in there to melt and get all happy.

Here's the recipe I found off of a blog called "Buns in my oven". Her pictures suck you in and make you HAVE to try her recipes. Or, um, maybe that's just me. :-)

Parents Review: It needed more chocolate inside, otherwise we really liked these.
Kids Review: More please.

Creamy Caprese Pasta

In my searching through the internet and my recipe books for something new to cook in the kitchen - I came across this recipe for Creamy Caprese Pasta on a fun blog called How Sweet It is. I've posted a few from here before.

I started out by mixing all of the yummy ingredients together.

Then I poured it in the dish and added more cubed fresh mozzarella on top.


Then I baked it all warm and bubbly. I even threw it under the broiler at the end of baking to give it the brown crunchy top.


I baked some chicken separately and then made up my kids plates. They don't like things all mixed together like me and the hubby.


I served this dish up with more fresh chopped basil on top and then I put some garlic butter all over some leftover french bread I had on hand. I threw them under the broiler for 1 minute per side. So good.


Here's the recipe - again with WAY better pics and details.

Parents Review: We liked it for sure, but it lacked a little "kick" that screamed "CAPRESE" like we are used to with tomatoes, mozzarella and loads of basil. We would definitely add a lot more fresh basil in this recipe and even a little spice or balsamic twist would be fun too.

Kids Review: They liked the way we sectioned everything out. We just marinated the chicken in a balsamic dressing and broiled it on the side for all of us.

Blackberry Crumble

We were comparing a "Crumble" to a "Cobbler" this weekend and this is the Crumble recipe we decided to give a whirl.

The Crumble definitely focuses more on the fruit in this dish and the topping was just an accent piece. I prefer it with a little more "bread-i-ness" or topping-to-fruit-ratio, but the flavor was awesome.

Here it is a-la-mode after the ice cream got all melty from the heat of the crumble.


Parents Review: David loved this. I loved the flavor - needed more crumble or more texture for me.
Kids Review: Both of them loved it even though LG declared she wouldn't like it before trying it. Typical girl.

And, for Julie, my dear friend who was searching for a great cobbler recipe. I think both of these 2 variations are really, really good, but that doesn't mean I won't keep searching. :-) Thanks for giving me a reason to bake!

Blackberry Cobbler

I made 2 Blackberry recipes this weekend. This is the first one. I wanted to compare "Cobbler" to a "Crumble" in the whole fruity dessert department.


Here's the recipe I tried for the cobbler. I actually had a different planned out to make and then I realized that it involved rolling out dough and many other things that I knew I wasn't in the mood for this weekend, so I went with this one because it looked both yummy and easy. 2 great things. :-)

We, of course, served it with cold vanilla ice cream on top of the hot cobbler. So good.


Parents Review: I liked the texture of the cobbler, but the fresh blackberries were a little bitter maybe?? I'm not sure. I've never tried frozen blackerries or even ones from the can, but I've heard that's a whole different flavor. What do you guys think? We really enjoyed it, but thought it could've been a little sweeter.

Kids Review: Baby Boy gobbled it up. Little Girl was all about the Crumble. She wouldn't touch this one.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Wow. I saw this recipe on one of my favorite recipe blogs and since my hubby LOVES all things spicy, I thought this would be a winner in our house.

It did not fail.

Here's the recipe from How Sweet it Is, with very detailed instructions and way prettier pictures than I can offer if you want to give this one a try. I think you'll love it!

I used lowfat milk in mine, so I'm sure it wasn't as thick as hers, but we still loved it. I didn't have gorgonzola either, so I threw some feta on top at the end and it gave it a fun kick. I also was running a little short on my Frank's hot sauce, so I barely made the 1/3 cup called for in the recipe. I would have loved it with even a little more than it called for. I loved the zing in this souped-up Mac-n-cheese dish. I baked the chicken in the oven for about 25 minutes (threw a little olive oil, s&p and garlic powder on it too). I then just shredded it up with my hands and threw it in the bottom of the dish.

I used fresh cilantro and green onions from my garden to throw on top and we LOVED what this added to the dish.


David even added a little extra Sirache sauce on top of his for more heat.


Parents Review: David said this is his new favorite dish. I am making it again very soon with more hot sauce next time. Perfect!
Kids Review: They don't do spicy, so I just gave them some plain pasta and baked chicken before I dolled it all up, then added a veggie on the side for them. They were happy. :-)


Let me know if you try it!