Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites

Ok, so, I have to admit that I can be some what of an addict when it comes to pretty much any thing cinnamon sugar flavored, especially pretzels!! So of course I was beyond ecstatic when I was wasting my day away on Pinterest and found this recipe for, what else, pretzel bites.

Get off Your Butt and Bake! has great pictures and step by step directions for how she makes her bites. I had to make a little adjustment to her recipe and I unfortunately don't have great lighting and a nice camera. Nevertheless here is what I did to make my very own cinnamon sugar pretzel bites.

Cooking Ingredients:
1 small can refrigerated biscuits
butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Cooking Directions:
1. Boil a large pot of water to a slow boil. Cut biscuits into quarters. Toss biscuits into water for about 1 minute. Remove pieces with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel for a few seconds to cool.

2. Place cooled pieces on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in oven at 375 for 15 minutes until they are golden brown. In a small dish mix together sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

3. Remove pieces from oven and coat in melted butter. Roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture until completely coated. And you're ready to eat, nice and warm!

I also made the vanilla glaze which was super easy - just mix 1 cup powder sugar with 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
But, next time I'll leave out the vanilla extract or at least use a lot less because its flavor was too overwhelming.

So there you have it, your very own home made cinnamon sugar pretzel bites! The first couple of bites I could taste the biscuit flavor a little but I was probably just thinking too much about what I was eating. They may not win a taste test against Auntie Annie's, but they'll definitely satisfy my cinnamon sugar appetite. Plus they're easy to make and would be a great party snack!

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

It's official, I have had my first fiasco!

I was so excited when I saw this recipe for Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti on Pinterest. I couldn't wait to try it. The pictures looked yummy. The recipe sounded yummy. All roads looked like they headed to yummy. And then I tried it.

It was the most bland thing that I have ever made! And talk about cheese overload. Now I am one that loves cheese, and trust me when I say that this was way too much cheese.

The hubs was a darling and said it wasn't "that bad" and ate his entire plate. Talk about grin and bear it. He's the greatest :).

So, if you see the below picture for cheesy chicken spaghetti floating around Pinterest, don't say I didn't warn ya. Better luck next time.

Chicken n Dumplins

My grandmother loves to cook. I remember when I was growing up, whenever we went over to her house for a visit she always had something boiling on the stove or baking in the oven. She had some interesting concoctions at times, but one of my favorites was always her chicken and dumplings. Thick and creamy, the kind that cooked on the stove for hours before it was finally ready. I can almost taste it just thinking about it!

However, as delectable as it was, it also scarred me for life (ok, so that may be a little dramatic, but it has left a serious impression). Because in spite of what I am sure were her best efforts, there were always chicken bones in it. And for those of you that know me well know that I have a problem dealing with bones. I just can't handle them. Chicken, human, any kind of bone just freaks me out.

That being said, I have always been afraid to try chicken and dumplings and restaurants and other people's homes for fear of finding those nasty little chicken bones that are a result of cooking a whole chicken to put into the chicken and dumplings.

Well, thank you Pinterest and BubbleCrumb for showing me the obvious. Boneless chicken breasts for chicken and dumplings! Plus it uses a crockpot. Yippie!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:
4-6 BONELESS skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 diced onion
1 tablespoon dried paisley
4 grands flaky refrigerator biscuits

Cooking Directions:
1. Place chicken, butter, soup, broth, onion and paisley in crockpot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours.

2.Break chicken into pieces (the chicken should just fall apart). Chop biscuits into pieces and add to crockpot and continue cooking 30 minutes or until done.

(photo credit: BubbleCrumb)

The results? Perfecto! Let's just say the hubs and I ate almost the entire crock pot full. I did, as usual, make a couple of minor changes. I used 6 chicken tenders and only had 1 can of cream of chicken soup on hand. Also instead of 4 flaky biscuits I used a small tube of 6 biscuits and flattened them out to get 9 pieces out of each biscuit. But it still worked out perfectly well. Thank you Pinterest!