Cinnamon bun casserole

This cinnamon bun casserole was among many of the dishes that Tim and I cooked for my family Saturday morning.  This one seemed to be the fan favorite!

Ingredients:

• Baking spray for your 11x7 pan
• 2 cans of cinnamon rolls with icing
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Maple syrup (if you want, it's delicious without it)

Directions:

• Heat your oven to 375 degrees and spray your pan
• Open both cans of rolls and begin pulling the rolls apart to make smaller pieces, place in dish
• In a bowl, mix together eggs, cream, cinnamon and vanilla
• Gently pour this mixture over the pieces so that they are almost covered
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  I took mine out just at the 20 because I found that it cooked very quick, so keep an eye on them so that they do not burn
• Heat the icing in a microwavable bowl for 20 seconds and pour over casserole when you are ready to serve!

Enjoy! 

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone has a very blessed Easter!  Tim and I are with our respective families today but yesterday we cooked brunch for my family (recipe's to follow) and we went to Easter Vigil and had dessert with his!  During mass I got so excited watching the people receive full communion. I can't wait for next Sunday!

Enjoy your day's :)

-Ashley&Tim

Tie-dye Easter eggs!

Growing up I always thought people made their Easter eggs the way my family did.  As I got older, to my surprise, that wasn't the case.  I believe this tradition began with my grandfather along with a few other Easter favorites.  This year we had Tim and Steff (Ryan's girlfriend) over to do eggs and we had a blast.  We always compete to see who has the best egg and this year Ryan won without a doubt (his egg is the last picture.)  

If anyone is looking to change up how they do their Easter eggs, I've listed directions below!

Enjoy and Happy Easter!  I am off to cook Easter Eve brunch!

Directions:

• Purchase Paas Easter Egg Kit and follow the directions for vibrant colors on the back of the package
• Add a tablespoon of oil or more if you feel it is needed
• In between colors, wipe off with a paper towel!

So easy!

Delicious Blueberry Muffins

Is anyone planning on cooking brunch for Easter?  Whether you are or aren't this easy-to-make muffins can be changed to your liking (chocolate, strawberries, bananas, etc...) What I've created is an simple muffin base that can change depending on the day you want to eat them!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 milk (I always add a splash more but you really have to eye this one.  Don't let them get to watery, but don't let them be too dry)
• 1/2 tsp  vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups chopped blueberries (or something else if you'd prefer that)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin pan to set aside.  You can either cook these in cupcake holders or without, it doesn't matter
• Mix butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl.  Add in egg and beat.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and mix.  Add in your milk and then vanilla.
• Gently stir in your choice of fruit (or chocolate)
• Sprinkle some sugar on top!
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!

Enjoy!

Welcome Spring!

While most people are complaining that the first day of spring didn't bring warmer weather (it generally doesn't) I am excited nonetheless.  Just the idea of spring officially being here has me so excited. While I don't think I can pick a favorite season, I do enjoy being able to be outside comfortably, rather than freezing my ass off.

A couple of weeks ago I did a post on spring fashion and I thought today, in honor of the first day of spring, that it might be a nice time to revisit that and tell you all what my spring wishlist is!

1. I don't think I've ever owned a pair of cute wedges before and I would really like to buy a pair these season!  The ones above are from Target!  So cheap, so cute.
2. As much as I love a pretty spring dress, sometimes a skirt works just as best.  While Spring is generally about color I think a nice neutral from Old Navy would work just as well.
3. I have pretty sensitive skin, but I love a good face mask.  I am looking to add this one from Bath and Body Works to the collection.
4. I have owned this perfume from the Body Shop before and everyone loves it!  It's so light and beautiful, I can't wait to buy it again.
5. Lastly, a good trench coat.  We're back to Target for that!

So I think I'll stay indoors

It's gross today in the city.  After the snow/ice last night and what has turned into a misty rain, New York is just wet.  Slush is everywhere you walk, everyone is fighting for space on the sidewalk with their umbrellas (I refer to this as umbrella wars) and you have to stand far from the street in fear of being splashed by a car.  It's one of those days that I'd rather be home in the comfort of my bed than at work, but atleast I don't have to go outside today.  Atleast not until it is time to leave.   I find it so hard to believe that spring starts tomorrow and we are still having the cold temperatures that we are experiencing.  To raise my spirits I decided to paint my nails with one of the new shades off of Essie's spring line.  It is the best damn blue I have ever bought.  So bright and so fun!  It's absolutley raising my spirits on this crappy day.

It's slow in the office today, so there's that.  In other news, I'm still struggling with my weight loss.  I have been feeling extra self concious these days but I promise you all I have been sticking to the diet.  It's just rough and it doesn't help when you are dressing for awful weather.  There's nothing about myself right now that makes me feel pretty. 

Also, as a side note.  Thank you to all of you who are reading.  It makes this blog so enjoyable for me!!

The easiest buffalo chicken dip you'll ever make

When Tim and I started dating I remember asking him what his favorite foods were, just so I'd know and I'll never forget what he said.  Tim's favorite foods are buffalo chicken wings and cinnamon buns.  I thought it was the funniest thing but I never forgot it.  Over the last year I have made him countless dishes but he and I had always talked about finding the perfect buffalo chicken dip to make as a snack. We like to cook together but we also like when it's easy to do so we looked and looked and finally found something worth making!  We got the base of the recipe from my Aunt Rachel and have since just modified it for ourselves since we have made it a million times!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz of low fat cream cheese, soft
• 1/2 cup of blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing (I use low fat or fat free as well)
• 2 cans of canned chicken, drained
• 2 oz of cheese (any kind, I use mozzarella, part skim)
• 1/2-1 cup of hot sauce (start with a half and do this to taste)

You can always play around with how much of each ingredient you put into the dish.  Every dip we make tastes different.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a medium sized dish that can be heated in the oven, add the cream cheese and stir until smooth
• Mix in dressing, hot sauce and cheese
• Mix in the canned chicken
• Top with extra cheese
• Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling