Roasted Brussels Sprout and Bacon Carbonara

Whoa Nelly!

I REALLY REALLY liked this. 

I recently discovered brussels sprouts back when I made this One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetable in an Hour recipe and I have been eating them non-stop ever since.  They are SO GOOD and I don't know why they get such a bad wrap.  

Believe it or not, this pasta dish did not leave me feeling weighed down and I ate a big serving.  I thought it was perfect for a weeknight, yet yummy enough for a Sunday night and I think it is a great Summer dish.  Although, brussels sprouts might be a Winter vegetable?  I'm going to have to look into that - anyone know?  I guess you could always throw in another vegetable like asparagus or broccoli.  Maybe even artichokes?

Roasted Brussels Sprout & Bacon Carbonara

adapted from: Closet Cooking
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1 Lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered

1 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 Lb. bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 c. finely chopped onion

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbl. whipping cream

2 egg yolks

1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 Lb. pasta

1-2 Tbl. fresh parsley, chopped

Toss the brussels sprouts in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread onto a baking sheet, in a single layer, and roast in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.  Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta.  Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Remove bacon to a paper-towel lined plate; set aside.  Discard all but 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease.  Add the chopped bell pepper and onion to the hot skillet and saute until tender, about 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for 30 more seconds.  Mix the whipping cream, egg yolks and grated Parmesan together in a bowl.  

Drain the cooked pasta, reserving some of the hot water.  Add the pasta, whipping cream mixture and brussels sprouts to the red pepper mixture in the pan, adding reserved pasta water, as needed, to reach desired creamy consistency.  Stir in the cooked bacon and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Garnish with chopped parsley.  Serves: 2-3   

Note: The heat from the hot pasta and water will cook the egg yolks. 

Jenn's Notes:  This pasta tasted great.  I made it exactly as I typed it above and I will be making this again! 

Award Winning Cookies . . . Monster Marshmallow Cookies

These cookies WON Food Network's Marshmallow-themed contest.  The story behind them is, the creator has five sons who all had different favorite cookies.  She finally invented these cookies that would satisfy them all.

I think they turned out fabulous.  They are crunchy from the crispy rice cereal, chewy from the oats and gooey from the melted marshmallows and chocolate chips.

They taste great without the chocolate drizzle, but who's going to complain about a little extra chocolate?

I must warn you that the marshmallows ooze out everywhere during baking and you might think your cookies are ruined, but they aren't.  I used the back of a butter knife and formed the cookies back into a round shape while they were still hot, straight out of the oven.

"The Mr." loved the flavor of these, but he thought they could have done without the crispy rice cereal. I thought they were great and they still taste good several days later. 

Monster Marshmallow Cookies 

adapted from: Paula Marchesi
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbl. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. quick-cooking oats
1 1/4 c. crispy rice cereal
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. mini marshmallows

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until very light and fluffy.  Mix in the vanilla.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.  Add the oats, rice cereal, chocolate chips and marshmallows and stir together using a wooden spoon.  Refrigerate dough for at least one hour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Drop heaping Tablespoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 3-inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.  Yield: 4 - 4 1/2 dozen cookies.   

Chocolate Drizzle
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
1/2 c. mini marshmallows
1 Tbl. half-and-half (I used whipping cream)
1/3 c. finely chopped pecans, for garnish

Combine chocolate chips, marshmallows and half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Heat until melted and smooth.  Very quickly, drizzle over cookies using a fork and sprinkle with chopped pecans.  

Jenn's Notes:  I only baked 9 per cookie sheet, because they spread a lot.  Mine were perfect at 10 minutes.  They will look slightly underdone, but set up perfectly. The marshmallows will ooze out during baking.  I used the back of a butter knife and formed the cookie back into shape while they were still hot.  

Six Sisters' Stuff Cookbook WINNER Announced

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to enter my giveaway.  I had fun reading all of your comments.  

BTW - If anyone wants to send me their recipes, I would love to try them!

Here are a few that caught my attention:

Cream Cheese Pound cake with Boiled Fudge Icing 

The Contessa's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lion House Banana Bread

Crumb Cake

Garlic Parmesan Crusted Chicken (thanks for the link)!

1-Hour Homemade Wheat Bread

Homemade Banana Pudding From Scratch

The WINNER is . . . . . . .  
Robin who said "Spaghetti is my go to or mac and cheese"
Please contact me within 72 hours to claim your prize or a new winner will be selected.

Banana Chia Seed Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting

I don't feel guilty one bit eating a piece of this cake.

Not only does it taste INCREDIBLE, but it is loaded with healthy ingredients too.

 The entire cake (not counting the frosting) only has 2 Tablespoons of butter, not too bad.
Non-Fat Greek yogurt is loaded with protein.
Bananas are loaded with potassium.

Then, there are the Chia seeds!  From what I have read about Chia seeds, they are the new "super food."  What do you think?  Some of the benefits I have read online include:  They are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber and a few vitamins and minerals.  I picked mine up in the bulk section and Winco.  It's a hit and miss though, sometimes they are all out. 

Wow - that sounds like a "health food" cake, huh?  Well, it sure doesn't taste like a "health food" cake.

After every bite, I found myself saying "OMG, this is so good."  It was amazing at room temperature and it was amazing straight out of the fridge.

It tastes great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Make it, love it!

Banana Chia Seed Cake

(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

2 Tbl. unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbl. chia seeds

Vanilla Bean Frosting
From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
4 Tbl. unsalted butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese
pinch of salt
1 Tbl. vanilla bean paste
   or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
milk, enough to reach desired consistency

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  For the cake: Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the egg, yogurt and vanilla and mix well.  Mix in the mashed banana.  Add the flour, salt, baking soda and chia seeds and stir together just until combined.  Pour into a greased 8x8 baking dish.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely and frost.  Store leftover cake in the refrigerator. 

For the frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add a pinch of salt and vanilla bean paste and mix until blended.  Add one cup of powdered sugar and mix until combined.  Add remaining powdered sugar and enough milk, as needed, to reach desired spreading consistency.  Beat until smooth and fluffy and spread over cooled cake.  

Jenn's Notes: This cake is divine.  If you don't want to top it with a thick frosting, a drizzle of my cream cheese icing would be amazing too.  

Banana Cake adapted from: Butteryum

Lighter French Toast Casserole

I finally got a new iPhone.  

Remember in this post, when I told you I still had the First Generation iPhone?  I have had it for the past 5 1/2 years or so and it still worked like a charm, but we had to revamp our plan, so I upgraded. 

I can FINALLY send and receive picture text messages and that Face-Time thing is way cool.  The internet is so much faster and I love that the camera has a flash.  What about how you can "say" your text message and it will type it for you.  Love it.  I no longer have to get the message "This iPhone is not compatible with this app" when I try to download an app.

I even surprised "The Mr." with one too.  He just had a really old regular phone and couldn't even get on the internet or anything, so he's loving it.

Does anyone have any favorite "food related" apps?

Since I was up all night playing with my new phone, I needed something amazing for breakfast.

This baked french toast turned out INCREDIBLE.  I didn't even miss all of the cream and butter that is usually in this type of thing.  Of course, I had to add a little streusel topping, but I kept the butter to a minimum.  It gave this creamy casserole a perfect crunchy topping and I thought it was perfect.  I made half a batch and divided it between two mini casserole dishes.  Both of us ended up having a little leftover, so I think you could get three servings from half a batch.  

Lighter French Toast Casserole

(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

12 oz. low-calorie bread, cut into cubes
3 c. skim milk (I used 1%)
6 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
maple syrup, for serving

Streusel Topping (Opt.)
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
1 1/2 Tbl. butter, cold

Place cubed bread into a lightly greased 9x13-inch casserole dish.  In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, egg whites, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.  Make sure every last piece of bread gets coated in the liquid.  For the streusel: combine flour, brown sugar and chopped pecans in a small bowl.  Add the butter and using your clean fingers, work the butter into the ingredients until crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly over casserole.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove plastic wrap and bake casserole for 45-60 minutes.  It will be puffed up and golden and barely jiggly in the middle.  Slice and serve with warmed maple syrup.  Serves: 6-8

Note: This casserole puffs up a lot while baking, but it shrinks once removed from the oven.  

Jenn's Notes:  I made 1/2 a batch and used leftover ciabatta rolls (I know they probably aren't low-fat).  Three of my sandwich-size ciabatta rolls weighed 6 ounces. Bobby adds pecans to his casserole, but does not add a streusel topping.  I love streusel topping and I think it made this casserole amazing, but it will obviously add more calories, so it's up to you if you want to add it.   

slightly adapted from: Bobby Deen

Six Sisters' Stuff Cookbook Review and GIVEAWAY

Giveaway is now closed.  Click HERE to see the winner!


I'm sure you guys have all heard of Six Sister's Stuff by now, which means you do not need an introduction, but did you know The Sisters recently released a book?

This book is full of recipes, crafts and all kinds of great ideas!
There is something for everyone.

I browsed through all the RECIPES and I could not find one strange ingredient and most of the items are pantry staples.
Some of the yummy recipes I can't wait to try are:
  Chubby Hubby Buckeye Truffles
Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes
Cheesy Garlic Sticks
Grilled Chicken Bow Tie Pasta Salad
Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

I am so not a crafty person, but I really feel like I could handle the CRAFTS in this book.  They seem pretty easy, but look like they cost "big bucks".
Some of the crafts that I would love to try are:

Do-It-Yourself Ruffles and Yarn Wreath (The cover wreath) 

Do-It-Yourself Stacked Frames

Pallet Bookshelves 

Some of the OTHER GREAT IDEAS are:

40 Road Trip Ideas For Kids

Build Your 72-Hour Kit in 52 Weeks

50 Fun Date Ideas

Here are a few recipes I have tried from The Sisters that I think are fabulous!
Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

**TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY**

MANDATORY ENTRY:  You MUST be a follower of Eat Cake For Dinner via Google Friend Connect, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Bloglovin' OR E-mail.  All of which can be found on the right hand side of my blog.  Leave me a comment on this blog post and let me know which way you follow.  If your name does not link me to a blog, be sure to leave me your E-mail address, so I can contact you if you win!

FOR A 2ND ENTRY (optional):  Leave me a separate comment on this blog post and tell me what your favorite recipe is.  It can be anything you want. 

Giveaway will end on Sunday April 7th and I will announce the winner on April 8th.  Winner must contact me within 72 hours or a new winner will be selected.

I was provided a copy of this cookbook for the purpose of this review, but the opinions expressed herein are my own.  Giveaway copy will be shipped by the Publisher.

Easy Overnight Dinner Rolls

I obviously eat A LOT of bread.  

I am a CARB LOVER.

By now, you are probably thinking I should have named my blog "Eat Bread for Dinner."  

I have loved bread since I was a little girl.  The rolls were always the first thing I would pick at any dinner table.  I love bread in every which way, shape and form. 

I frequently get asked if any of my roll recipes can be made the night before and placed in the refrigerator to rise overnight.  I have never tried that with any of my previous rolls, but I did try it with this new recipe.

You don't even need a mixer to make these.    

I thought these rolls were delicious.  They are so extremely soft and tender and the butter gives them an amazing flavor.

I am horrible at cutting the circles into 16 even pieces, but in the end, it didn't even matter.  Once the rolls rise, you can't tell if some are slightly larger than others.  

Easy Overnight Dinner Rolls

adapted from: Six Sister's Stuff
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1 Tbl. active dry yeast

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. warm water

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. butter, melted, plus 2 Tbl.

1/2 tsp. salt

4 c. all-purpose flour, more or less

Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a large bowl.  Allow to sit for five minutes.  It should be bubbly and frothy.  If it does not get bubbly and frothy, start over.  Add the beaten eggs, 1/2 cup melted butter and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in three cups of flour.  Gradually stir in the remaining one cup of flour.  You might not need the full cup or you might need slightly more.  The dough should be soft and slightly sticky to the touch and will pull away from the side of the bowl as you stir it.  Do not knead the dough.  

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise 4-6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.  Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Roll each half of dough into a circle.  Brush each half with 1 Tablespoon of melted butter and cut into 16 pieces, like a pizza.  Roll up each piece from the large end to the point and pinch tip to seal.  Place rolls on a cookie sheet and allow to rise for 30-60 minutes or until doubled in size.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.  Makes 3 dozen rolls.

Jenn's Notes: I mixed together the dough and refrigerated it overnight.  I removed it from the fridge about an hour before I rolled it out and the dough was still cold which made rolling very easy.  I thought these were delicious.