Looking for an easy idea for a princess party?  Try these princess hats on for size!

So adorable to look at but super tasty to eat! And because they only take a few moments to whip up, you won’t really need a special occasion to make the princesses in your life feel special.

I have never heard so many “mmmm” that came from my daughter when I told her I needed a “taste tester”.

Me: Are they good?

Her: mmmmm

Me: Does that mean they are good?

Her: mmmm, hmmmm

I know that I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my cotton candy machine (yes, I really bought a cotton candy machine) so for now I had to use bagged cotton candy. You can pick some up at a Dollar General store usually.

Tips:

• These are a serve and eat treat.
• If the ice cream is melted when you add it or starts to melt during the process, your icing wont stick to the cone. It starts to slide.
• Make sure you do not overfill or at least use a larger cookie at the base to avoid ice cream leakage affecting your decorating.
• Don’t be afraid to get creative and theme your Princess Party Hats! Maybe strawberry ice cream, strawberry frosting, and strawberry cotton candy! Or blue ice cream, purple frosting, and white cotton candy! Do not be afraid to experiment for different flavors and themes.
• It’s fun to use all sorts of candies for decor from chocolate chips, to nerd candies, or even coconut shreds. I am still pushing around the Easter candy around here, so I like to dig through that bucket for some inspiration.

 

 

If you are looking for a simple recipe, this isn’t it. However, this recipe embraces the food I love the most…Italian. And even better, this recipe is the Copy cat recipe for Carrabba’s Lasagne. Carrabba’s is my absolute, all time favorite, best place ever, restaurant.If you have been there, I am sure you agree and if you haven’t, you really should go.

The first thing you will need to do is make the Marinara sauce. If you didn’t know, Marinara comes from Fishermen (mariner) and they would make this sauce to go with seafood while out on the boat! You will need a double batch of the recipe below.

 

Please note that this lasagne is a very simple recipe but a long process to set up. You can use pasta sheets or pasta noodles, depending on what you have.

What you need to complete your lasagne:

• olive oil for pan and lasagne sheets/noodles
• 1 1/2 pounds of sweet sausage or hot Italian sausage, casings removed. You can substitute for 85% lean beef
• 5 fresh lasagne sheets or 3 lasagne noodles for each layer (15)
• 7 cups of your marinara sauce
• 2 cups Parmesan ( I only use fresh)
• 1 pound of mozzarella
• 1 1/2 pounds of ricotta
• parsley for garnish

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 and oil a 13×9 inch pan

2) Cook sausage or meat breaking up. Drain any fat and set aside.

3) Boil water and add lasagne sheets or noodles till al dente. Approx 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Toss the sheets with 2 tbls of olive oil to prevent sticking.

4) Spread 3/4 of your sauce on bottom of baking dish, add your noodle sheet, sprinkle with 1/4 of the mozzarella, Parm, sausage, and dot place your ricotta. Top with another 3/4 cup marinara sauce. Repeat 3 times. Top final sheet with 1 cup marinara and the rest of your Parmesan.

5) Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 30 minutes. Let stand for 15 min before serving.

6) There should be left over marinara. You can reheat and add before serving with a little parsley.

There is not much more in life that I love more than a cupcake. There is something amazing about having a little perfectly proportioned cake that belongs just to you. And there are so many ways to create a cupcake…sweet, salty, decorative, colorful…they truly never get old to me.

The other day my family and I were out at Target and one of those little stands that had recipe ideas and cards in it and I started flipping through. It all seemed standard stuff until I came across an “adult” recipe for “Maple Cupcakes”.

Maple cupcakes? Ok, I could totally buy that…till I saw that the recipe included bacon.

Now I love bacon. I am not harping on the magical meat. Pretty much anything that has bacon in it taste awesome. But I could not wrap my mind around a cupcake, the very thing I have come to know as my own personal sanctuary, being tainted by something smothered in grease.

In any case, I was intrigued enough to try it.

And I will never doubt you again Bacon.

Of course I also added a few improvements which I will include in this recipe listed, but you must, and I mean must, try these for your family. I am not sure if these are breakfast or brunch or simply a completely different take on dessert, but they will make your mouth water in the worst way.

Psst….Trisha? This recipe says EIGHT slices of bacon but your batter barely has any in it…

Well. I may or may not have eaten some of my slices and only left enough for four cupcakes to have it.

*cough*

 Of course if you are looking for something not so guilty…(considering it is Women’s National Health week may 13-19th) you could add some Florida Orange Juice on the side. As a Gulf Coast blogger I must insist on the “Florida” part!

Or, even better, you could add an Orange Cinnamon Breakfast Smoothie and make it a full breakfast.

I mean, something has to wash down the bacon.

~trisha

I have heard a lot of people say they don’t like peas.

I suspect that it’s because they go back to some deep rooted child memory where they had to eat like 5000 peas before they left the table.

I dont have that hangup.

I love peas. All kinds of peas in fact.

I am “Pea Discriminatory Free”.

I especially love the snap pea because it isn’t mushy and round. It’s unique. That long thin stalk that holds the little peas inside is just a little crunchy and just a little soft.

It’s Special.

And the snap pea deserves it’s own sweet little side dish…so here you go.

I originally found  this in the Every Day Food magazine…and here are my results!

Seriously…there is no lemon in this dish.

I just thought it made the serving tray look prettier.

See?

My results?

Fantastic!

I could also see this as a really great meal (not just a side dish!) if you wanted… just add some poached chicken and pretends its Olive Garden.

Without the waiter.

And bread sticks.

~Trisha

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Your turn:

 

Btw, I love this recipe magazine.

Its chock full of great ideas, tips, and family friendly meals:

You must settle an argument between my spouse and I.

He thinks this sandwich is “OK” and I think its fantastic. Light, nearly guilt free, and just the right amount of crunch to do a dance on your palette, I really enjoy a sandwich that isn’t just some sad turkey slapped on a bun every now and then.

He told me that he had the impression based on the ingredients that it would be sweet.

I suppose the green apple could fool you…..

Or maybe it was this red one I had sitting on the counter but decided not to add…

While a traditional Waldorf Salad is sweeter, and this recipe is absolutely inspired by the Waldorf ingredients, the chili and red onion give it more of a kick than a salivating sweet. Both have their place in my kitchen for sure, but when I am prepping for dinner, I tend to shy away from anything that could also be considered a dessert or side dish.

Not that this isn’t as pretty as dessert…

 

In any case, I personally loved it…. (and fully planned to have some more today but left it out on the counter overnight and the fruit flies attacked!) and want to know what you think…..

 

Btw, what is your favorite sandwich to eat? I would love to know!

~Trisha

This recipe was inspired by the Waldorf Curry Salad in the Flat Belly Diet cookbook:

Last night I wanted to do something to clear out left over sprinkles in the cupboard. You know how you go through the pantry and have  jars of spices and sprinkles and they all have about a half an inch of leftovers?

That’s me…but I have about 14 jars like that.

So last night, while my spouse ran up to get us a Redbox, I did a really quick little dessert to clear up some room for new stuff (no doubt that I can leave in the cabinets for the next year).

This recipe is super kid friendly to help make and to eat.

Chocolate Banana Pops

• A few yellow bananas, more on the stiff than ripe side
• Bakers dipping chocolate OR 1 cup of semi sweet melting chocolate
• Left over sprinkles
• Toothpick or Popsicle sticks or cake pop sticks

(note my Christmas sprinkles)

1) Cut up your bananas in about 2 inch sections so they stand up. Insert a stick ( I use cake pop sticks and just cut them shorter) like a Popsicle stick or toothpick. Sit on a piece of wax paper and put in freezer for 2 hours.

2) When your bananas are ready, melt your chocolate according to instructions. Remember, chocolate can be burned very easily, so make sure you are using the correct kind and don’t get all overzealous nuking it for 3 minutes and go walking off. It’s generally 30 seconds in the micro, stir, 15 seconds, stir, etc till its ready. Because I do not have a ton of luck with chocolate, I just buy the Bakers Dipping Chocolate. It’s all set up for that and very easy to use.

3) Dip your bananas into the chocolate and then quickly add your sprinkles. The chocolate should harden up pretty quickly on your frozen nanners, but you can always throw right back into the freezer for a bit.

I froze mine overnight and this morning took one out and in about 10 minutes, it was perfect to eat.

You can also freeze your leftovers for a tasty treat for about  1-3 days.

 

~trisha