Sausage Enchiladas

 This meal is a good meal for Cinco de Mayo or for any night when you need an easy dinner. These enchiladas were really good and easy to make. My husband really liked this meal and said that he liked them better than other enchiladas he has had.  I really liked that they were made with sausage, it is a good alternative to beef or chicken enchiladas. We both recommend that you try them!

Sausage Enchiladas

(Recipe adapted from Hillshire Farm)

1 lb. smoked sausage, cubed

1 can (19 ounces) mild enchilada sauce, divided

12 tortillas

2 cups shredded Mexican Cheese blend

Sour cream (optional topping)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until it is lightly browned.  Stir in 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, then remove from heat.  

3.  Lightly spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  Spread 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds.  

4.  Place about 1/4 cup of the sausage mixture on a tortilla.  Top with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese.  Roll up the enchilada and place seam side down in the pan. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas, then sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top.

5.  Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.  If desired, top with sour cream.  

*Alyssa*

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Strawberry Margarita Frozen Pie

When I made this pie, we took to my in-laws house for dessert.  My mother-in-law loved it.  She said that this was one of the best desserts that she has ever had and that she wanted me to make this for her next birthday.  Since her birthday is almost a year away, I thought this was a pretty big compliment.  

This delicious pie was certainly worthy of such praise. It is frozen and tastes like ice cream.  It has a great combination of strawberry, orange, and lime flavor with a salty pretzel crust.  It is perfect for Cinco de Mayo or any hot summer day.  This was so good and really easy to make. I liked how you can make it earlier in the day and store it in the freezer until it is ready to serve for dessert.  I will definitely be making this again (It was so good, that I think everyone would be mad if I didn't make it again!).

Strawberry Margarita Pie

(Recipe adapted from Kraft)

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 block cream cheese (8 ounces)

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/3 cups orange juice

1 tablespoon limeade concentrate

1 cup crushed strawberries

1 tub whipped topping (8 ounces)

1.  Mix the butter and pretzels together and press firmly into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate.

2.  Beat the cream cheese and the sugar in a large bowl on medium speed until well blended.  Gradually add the orange juice and beat after each addition.  Then add the limeade concentrate and beat again until combined.  Stir in the crushed strawberries.  Gently add the whipped topping and stir with a wire whisk until blended.  Pour over the pretzel crust.

3.  Freeze for several hours or until firm.  Remove from the freezer and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.  

*Alyssa*

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Showcase Your Talent Thursday #4

Welcome to 

Showcase Your Talent Thursday!!

Thank you to to everyone that linked up last week! I keep having a harder time picking features, there are so many creative things posted every week.  Make sure you check out all the great projects every one links up!  I can't wait to see what everyone has to share this week!!

The most viewed link: 

Brownie Cups with Salted Caramel and Nutella Crunch by The Pastry Chef's Baking.  These look so good, I love the brownie cup with the caramel and nutella filling.  The crunchy topping looks amazing!

Here are some of my favorites from last week:

Stained Glass Vase by Serendipty and Spice.  This vase looks so pretty.  I really like how you color it with Modge Podge and food coloring.  It looks like she bought it that way at the store!

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Donuts by Crazy for Crust.  These donuts, oh wow.  Chocolate and peanut butter are weaknesses of mine.  I really wish I had one of these donuts now. I'm drooling just thinking about it!

Toddler Pudding Finger Paints by Homespun with Love.  This is such a good idea, I really like how kids can have fun without worrying about eating the paint.

Slow Cooker Parmesan Tomato Basil Soup by Baking with Blondie.  This soup looks really good.  I also like how it can be made in the slow cooker.

Teacher Appreciation - Smart Cookies by Crazy Little Projects.  This is a great idea for teacher gifts.  My mom is a teacher and she always liked getting gifts she can eat.  She also includes a free printable to use!

Thanks for linking up and feel free to grab a button if you were featured.

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Link up as many of your recipes, crafts, tutorials, ideas, projects, or fun posts as you would like to share.

Please do not link up any etsy shops, giveaways, or advertisements.

Link up to your post and not your main blog.

Make sure to visit some of the other links and most of all HAVE FUN!!!

Please feel free to take a button and post it somewhere on your blog

*Alyssa*

Margarita Chicken

I can't believe that May is next week, this year has gone really fast.  Next week is Cinco de Mayo.  This chicken is a perfect meal for Cinco de Mayo.  It has a really good mix of saltiness and sweetness.  Make sure that you add the salt because otherwise the chicken will be really sweet.  

This is easy to make, it is a simple marinade and then the chicken is grilled.  This meal is also perfect for this time of year, since it is grilled.  We love to grill outside as much as we can once the weather starts to get warm.  This chicken was really good and make a really good meal.

Margarita Chicken

(Recipe adapted from Real Mom Kitchen)

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can (10 ounces) frozen non-alcoholic margarita mix, thawed

1 tablespoon lime juice concentrate

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.  In a small bowl, combine the margarita mix, lime juice, lemon juice, and garlic.  Pour 1 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Save the remaining marinade and refrigerate until grilling.  Add the chicken into the bag and make sure to coat the chicken with the marinade.  Refrigerate for at least one hour.  Rotate halfway through marinading.

2.  Discard the marinade from the bag.  Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper.  Using long-handled tongs, dip a paper towel in cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack.  Grill the chicken, covered, over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 160 degrees.  Baste frequently with the reserved marinade.

*Alyssa*

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Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

I was a little frustrated tonight because this was the first blog post I did without using Picnik.  I had been holding out until it closed.  I didn't really like the auto fix feature on Picmonkey, but I like the text features it has.  I decided for now to use the Picnik features that were transferred to Google Plus for editing and Picmonkey for text.  Hopefully that works okay.  What is everyone else using now that Picnik is closed?

These taquitos are fantastic! I love making quesadillas, including Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas.  When I saw these on Pinterest, I had to try them.  These are very similar to quesadillas, but they are baked in the oven.  These were really good and made a tasty and easy dinner.  These would be perfect for Cinco de Mayo.  These would also be a good appetizer, cut into pieces.  These are so good, I hope that you try them!

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

{Recipe adapted from Taste and Tell} 

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/8 cup buffalo sauce

1 cup precooked chicken, cubed

1/8 cup blue cheese dressing

8-inch flour tortillas

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and buffalo sauce, until mixed.  Stir in both shredded cheeses, the blue cheese dressing, and chicken, and mix until combined.

3.  Place 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture into the center of each tortilla and roll the tortilla up.  If needed, microwave the tortillas for 30 seconds to soften them.  Place on a baking sheet and then spray the taquitos with cooking spray.  

4.  Bake for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown, flipping the taquitos half way through. Serve with blue cheese dressing for dipping.

*Alyssa*

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Guest Posting at Project Queen

I am guest posting today at  The Project Queen.  

I love Mandy's blog and I like to party at her Turning the Daunting into the Doable Link Party on Tuesdays!

I am posting about a Cheddar Chicken and Rice Skillet.  This meal is a quick and easy one-dish meal that is perfect for weeknights and busy nights.  

Please head on over to The Project Queen to check it out!!

*Alyssa*

Peanut Butter and Jelly Swirled Fudge

Click HERE if you are looking for Showcase Your Talent Thursday

This month the theme for the Improve Challenge hosted by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, is Peanut Butter and Jelly.  I really like peanut butter and jelly, with strawberry jam, and still eat it for lunch a lot.  I knew I wanted to make some sort of dessert with peanut butter and jelly and I had so many ideas swirling through my mind.  I finally settled on Peanut Butter and Jelly Fudge.

This fudge was so good.  When I make fudge we usually give a good bit of it away to friends and family.  This time though we hoarded most of this for ourselves.  The swirls of strawberry jelly really added to the peanut butter flavor.  This fudge was AWESOME!!!

I can't wait to see what everyone else has made!

Other Fudge Recipes:

  *  Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

   *  Chocolate Strawberry Fudge

   *  Chocolate Mint Oreo Fudge

Peanut Butter and Jelly Swirled Fudge

1 bag peanut butter chips 
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 (7 ounce) jar of marshmallow cream
1 cup evaporated milk 
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/4 cup strawberry jam

1.  Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil.

2.  Place the peanut butter chips in a large-sized heat safe bowl and set aside.

3.  In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine the sugar, marshmallow cream, evaporated milk, and butter.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils.  Boil and stir for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and quickly stir in the vanilla.

4.  Working quickly, stir the mixture into the peanut butter chips chips. Once the chips are melted, quickly pour into the 8 x 8 pan.  Then add the strawberry jam in small dollops across the fudge.  Swirl the jelly with a knife throughout the fudge.  Make sure you swirl it so there are not any big spots of jelly.  The jelly will probably sink to the middle as you swirl.  

5.  Refrigerate until completely cool.  To cut flip the fudge over and unpeel the foil.

*Alyssa*

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Showcase Your Talent Thursday #3

Welcome to 

Showcase Your Talent Thursday!!

Thank you so much to everyone that linked up last week! Everyone is so creative, its really hard to only pick a few features!  I can't wait to see what everyone has to share this week!!

The most viewed link: 

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies by Izzy in the Kitchen.  These brownies look so good, I love anything that is peanut butter and chocolate flavored.  Yum!

Here are some of my favorites from last week:

Chicken Enchilada Soup by The Farm Girl.  This was one of my husband's favorites.  This looks really good!!

Baby Stats Subway Art by The Winthrop Chronicles.  This is a great idea and it looks easy to do. I will be making something like this for my son Aaron.

Funfetti Cake Batter Blondies by Sally's Baking Addiction.  These look amazing.  Blondies and cake batter, I don't think I need to say anything more!

Tie and Suspenders Wedding Onesie by Pretty Providence.  This onesie is so cute as is the baby wearing it!! I need to make one of these for Aaron!

Thanks for linking up and feel free to grab a button if you were featured.

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Link up as many of your recipes, crafts, tutorials, ideas, projects, or fun posts as you would like to share.

Please do not link up any etsy shops, giveaways, or advertisements.

Link up to your post and not your main blog.

Make sure to visit some of the other links and most of all HAVE FUN!!!

Please feel free to take a button and post it somewhere on your blog

*Alyssa*

Whet Your Appetite Wednesday {20 Fruit Muffin Recipes}

It has been feeling like summer here lately.  During the summer I love to make recipes using fresh fruit.  Here are a few delicious looking muffin recipes using fruit.  I hope that you enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Muffins

{Cosmo Cookie}

Caramel Apple Muffins 

{From Scratch}

Strawberry Muffins

{Robby Gurl's Creations}

Raspberry Apple Muffins

{Rock Recipes}

Peach Oatmeal Muffins
{Scaling Back}

Banana Muffins

{Cook with Sara}

Easy Morning Muffins with Raspberries

{Baking Epiphanies} 

Single Serving Blueberry Muffin

{What's Cooking, Love?}

Blackberry Pie Muffins

{The Hazel Bloom}

Spiced Peach Muffins

{From Glitter to Gumdrops}

Pear Muffins

{A Whisk and a Prayer}

Concord Grape Muffins

{In Jennie's Kitchen}

Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin

{Sugar Plum}

Apple Pie Muffins

{Cook with Sara}

Banana Jam Muffins

{Cooking with My Kid}

Apple Fritter Muffins

{Chasing Some Blue Sky}

Banana Crunch Muffins

{Dandee}

Strawberry Lemon Muffins

{Jamie Cooks It Up}

Apple Banana Muffins

{Creations by Kara}

Blackberry Peach Crunch Muffins

{A Whisk and a Prayer}

If you have been featured, feel free to grab a button on my sidebar.  I have pinned all of these recipes.  Enjoy!!

*Alyssa*

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Copycat Cinnasticks

When my husband and I were in college, there was a Pizza Hut buffet.  We loved going to eat there, because it was all you can eat Pizza Hut pizza, breadsticks, and CINNASTICKS!!  The cinnasticks were our favorite part of the buffet!

When I found a recipe for these copycat cinnasticks on Pinterest, I knew I had to try making them.  We cut some of them into bigger squares and some of them into sticks. These are a great alternative to buying cinnasticks from a pizza place.   These were so easy to make, we used refrigerated pizza dough, and they tasted really good.  

Copycat Cinnasticks

(Recipe adapted from Jam Hands)

Pre-made pizza dough

Butter flavored oil (I used butter flavored popcorn oil)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon melted butter

Splash of milk (I used soy milk, but you can use regular milk)

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  

2.  Spread the dough out onto the cookie sheet and brush with the butter flavored oil.  Bake for about 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir together.  Then combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, melted butter, and splash of milk into a medium sized bowl and combine to make the icing.  Use the amount of milk necessary to make a thicker icing or a thinner icing.  

4.  Once the dough is out of the oven, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture, then pour the icing on top.  Then cut the dough into squares or sticks.  

*Alyssa*
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Crab Pretzel

A lot of the bars near us serve Crab Pretzels as appetizers.  I am not sure if it is just an East Coast thing, but these pretzels have crab on top and then are covered with cheese.  They are so good! We saw them at Wegman's, but they were $10 for one pretzel, so we decided to make our own for dinner one night.  

These pretzels were so good, we will be making them again. We used larger soft pretzels that we found at the grocery store, but you can use any size soft pretzel.  The combination of the pretzel, crab on top, and the cheese was so good.  This was just as good as we have had in any restaurant.  I recommend that you try to make these at home and if you have never had them before, I definitely recommend that you try them! These are so delicious, I hope you enjoy them!

Crab Pretzel

(Recipe adapted from Kitchen Exhibitionist)

2 large unsalted soft pretzels, or 4 regular sized pretzels

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon mayonnaise 

1/2 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

2 cans lump crab meat

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayo, Old Bay, garlic powder, and Worcestershire Sauce until well blended.  Gently fold in the crab meat.  Spoon the mixture evenly on top of the pretzels.

3.  Top the pretzels with the shredded cheeses.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and it is golden brown.

*Alyssa*

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