Bacon Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls

So I know what you're thinking, because I'm thinking the exact same thing. How on earth could you make 2 things that are already delicious, and make them even more delicious? Simple answer: Pinterest, haha. I made these once before last winter with jumbo cinnamon rolls and actual pork bacon, and it turned out alright. But this weekend Man-Hands wanted cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and I wanted bacon, so I suggested this recipe that I'd made one time, and good God it was one of the best decisions we've ever made. If it weren't for the blogging process, it would have taken an extra 10 minutes over normal break apart cinnamon rolls. Of course you can make the cinnamon rolls from scratch and use real bacon, but you'll have to wait another few weeks for a good scratch recipe :)

Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Hellloo comfort food! If there's one thing I can never get enough of, it's making a nice warm meal and then proceeding to devour it on the couch with Man-Hands while we watch Star Wars or he watches Winnie the Pooh with me (for the millionth time like an angel). This was an absolutely perfect Monday night meal for us! Mondays are my school days when I do all of the initial work I have for the week for school: the reading material, the quizzes, and the discussion board posts. I usually take 3-5 hours every night doing homework and studying, but I usually tend to be around 5 on Mondays. So, Mondays tend to be the time where I need something quick and yummy that allows me to take breaks from my work periodically to cook it. This is absolutely perfect. Now I now last week we did a video to go with the recipe. I did a video, and I hated it, so we're skipping the videos for now. Once we have more time, I may get back into doing the video thing and seeing how I can make it work. For the time being, just the regular blog posts, sorry guys!

Simple Meatloaf

Hello again my cooking class heroes! There's lots of time to update you on where I've been over on my personal blog, but for the time being, how about this weather? In the morning it's freezing, and in the afternoon I'm shedding layers right down to my yoga shorts and t-shirt! We've been keeping busy here in Bloomington, and let me tell you, busy doesn't even begin to cover it! It's nights like these that I want to get dinner in the oven, pull my computer out from under the school books, and browse the endless expanse of FoodGawker until it's time to snuggle up to a warm meal and a comfy boyfriend! This meatloaf is just the answer for that. Perfect for any time of year, this meatloaf is moist, delicious, and best of all simple! The ingredient list is so short it'll blow your mind, and honestly you probably have all of these things on hand! (Coming from a person who never has any of the things that "should be in your pantry already", this is huge!)

Freedom Jars

"Is it fireworks season yet?"

I've been asking Man-Hands this question for literally a month and a half. I love fireworks. And unfortunately I don't really get fireworks down here in Central Illinois. I found this out the hard way - fireworks only come on (and the days surrounding) 4th of July. What an awful thought! When I lived in the suburbs of Chicago, I used to watch fireworks from the edge of my townhome complex every Friday night when they would burst in vibrant color over the baseball stadium. Loud pops of color would shoot through the night sky in blues, reds, purples, and the shimmery ones that crackled as they came down were my favorite! This week on Cooking Class Hero, we decided that we would be remiss if we didn't do something patriotic. I decided to make something reminiscent of those fireworks that remind me of home. The brilliant colors bring to life everything I miss about summers back home and bring promises of all the wonderful memories I plan to make in the firework-less town I now call home :)

Walking Tacos

Portable food has always been the coolest form of food for me. I mean seriously, why would I have pizza in actual pizza form when I can grab a bag of little mini pizza rolls and pop them in my mouth while I walk to the park? Or why would I have a slice of cake when I can grab a little cup full of the same stuff maybe even with a fun surprise filling in the middle? Portable food is my favorite kind of food, so the only surprise here is how long it's taken me to make these!

S'mores Cookie Cups

Hi guys! This week I'm coming at you with a recipe from... 9 hours ago! It's true, this week I was so awful in procrastinating I didn't pick a recipe until 11 am. I must say though, I picked an awesome one! It was a toss up between these and a trial recipe that someone suggested a few days ago. Unfortunately I was a little slow to start this morning and sat on Reddit for entirely way too long, so my time constraint decided on these amazing S'mores Cookie Cups! I promise they are every bit as delicious as they sound ;)

Black Bean Burgers

Do these look amazing, or do they look amazing? Because I think they look amazing :) These black bean burgers were seriously good, and I'll be honest, I was really surprised! I've always heard that black bean burgers are fantastic, but the thought of a burger without any meat was honestly just a huge turnoff. But, I had a can of black beans that I just had no clue what to do with, so I figured now was as good a time as any! Being that it's super low calorie while still being tasty and super easy on my wallet, I think we'll be going vegetarian Saturday nights from now on!

No Bake Birthday Cake Truffles

I made these Saturday night, and by the time I left work on Monday, they were mostly gone. Keeping in mind that this batch made 34 truffles, and my department is only 4 people, that can only mean that word spread quickly around the building and goodness gracious do people love their birthday cake! Needless to say, by the end of the day I was one popular lady at work ;)

Homemade Greek Pita Bread

Doesn't that look delicious? I assure you it was every bit as chewy and tasty as this picture makes it look. I didn't have it in a very traditional way, but if ever I had a sudden hankering for pita, this is the recipe I'm going to from now on! It's so quick and easy, it tastes like you spent hours over it!

Eggplant Parmesan

I'm finding more and more that my meatless options turn out to be my best meals. They're easier to make, take less time, and they're much easier on my wallet! Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorite meals because after a long day of work I don't have to worry about defrosting any meat, there's no worrying about shoving any extra veggies into dinner, and it's on the table in under an hour. What's not to love? :)

Double Chocolate Fudge Chocolate Chip Cookies

Are you ready for the most amazing end to your week? Today I'm going to share the most amazing cookie recipe I think I've ever made! It may be super time consuming and definitely an arm workout, but in the end they're so worth it! The chocolate cookie base makes this dense and fudgy, the added brownie chunks and melted chocolate chips make these absolutely to die for! I made mine small because honestly if I had made them any bigger, I wouldn't be able to eat a whole one; they're are incredibly rich!

Spaghetti with Clam Sauce For One (Family Size Recipe Included)

Hi all, Happy Thursday! It's warming up around here, and I for one am loving it. Warmer weather for me means bright colors in nature and food, outdoor dinners, and it means I ditch my jeans for a dress. We're not totally there yet, but spring and summer mean refreshing flavors in food, and I've got the perfect in between dish for this time of year. The zesty lime and bright tomatoes make this a great welcoming spring dish, while the thick sauce and clams bring the flavors of winter together in one awesome bowl!

Easy Chocolate Brownies

This week I'm sharing with you a recipe that I'd like you to put in your back pocket for a recipe I'll be sharing with you sometime later this month. Sometimes the urge just hits you for a thick, chocolatey, fudgey, gooey brownie. And let me tell you, it hit me hard a few days ago! Brownies are not something S and I usually keep in the house; we try to eat healthy and honestly if I make a pan of brownies Monday, between the two of us, the pan will be demolished by Wednesday morning. Especially with how easy this recipe is, it's a real challenge to not whip up a batch every time a little craving hits! It's not something I'm proud of, but if you leave me around chocolate for too long, you better not have had any sentimental attachment to it! So this week I'm squashing a craving and sending the rest out into the world to co-workers and friends in the hopes that they'll gain the pounds meant for me ;)

Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta

Happy Friday folks! It's the middle of my work week and as everyone around me knows, I'm dead tired and want a meal with little to no clean up, that's healthy and nutritious so S and I don't fall off our healthy wagon. Now, pasta is a super easy and relatively healthy option for nights like these, but honestly there's only so many times I can have spaghetti and sauce with garlic bread for dinner. We need something more packed with flavor and more bursting with color (even if it's just a different color than red). Sometimes the easiest solutions are the most fun! Being that I have little to no imagination when it comes to thinking of dinners on the fly, I took to the cabinets and freezer trying to find something to add to our boring pasta routine. What came out of the kitchen took 20 minutes, was super filling, packed with flavors, and pretty darn healthy!

Dinner for two!

An Update To My Hiatus and Red Velvet Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies To Celebrate

Hello again, strangers! I know it's been over 3 months since I've done any blogging, and I'm sorry that it happened without any warning. Some personal issues came up and I started working 45 hours a week and never taking a break, and of course it affected me more than I wanted to admit to. However! This weekend I was encouraged to take a much needed break and spend the weekend with my parents in Chicago. It was an absolutely lovely weekend, and I spent it doing absolutely nothing that I hated and everything that I loved. I wrote, I watched movies with my parents, I ate (finally), and most of all I got back in touch with who I am and who I want to be. It's been an eye opening weekend, and I'm hoping that my plan to take one of these a month is going to seriously help me relax and take a breather sometimes.

This is how I spent my entire weekend (with movies in the background)