Ingredients (I have left out amounts because I am more of a throw it all together kind of cook.  The amounts you need depend on how large a pan you are using, and how much of each ingredient meets your particular taste.)

• Frozen cheese ravioli (I found some nice big ones at Sam’s Club)
• Your favorite pasta sauce (we like Prego)
• Shredded mozzerela cheese (lots and lots of yummy cheese)
• Ground beef

Boil the ravioli until they float

Cover the bottom of the pan with pasta sauce then form single layer of ravioli

Sprinkle a layer of browned and drained ground meat over the ravioli

Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese over the ground meat

Spread a layer of sauce over the cheese

Repeat layers until pan is full ending with a layer of cheese on top (my pan took 2 layers to fill)

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and it is heated through (about 30 min)

Serve and enjoy!

I don’t know about your household but mine is a bit over scheduled at the moment, some nights we run from one thing to another and back again.  This schedule doesn’t allow much time for meal preparation and drive thru gets old really fast (and its expensive not to mention not so good for us.)

I was recently introduced to Tyson Grilled and Ready Frozen Chicken and I have to say I am very pleased.  This chicken is frozen and already cooked; it comes diced, cut into strips or in fillets.  Normally when I want to cook chicken for dinner I have to defrost it, trim it, cut it up and then cook it, this takes about 45 minutes that I don’t have.  With the Tyson product I have chicken ready to go into my favorite recipe in 10 – 15 minutes.   The other thing I really like about this product is that it is easy for my husband or my 13 year old daughter to prepare when I am away from home.  I can goto a conference and be assured that my family is eating a good meal while I am gone.

My husband and daughter usually keep it simple and make chicken tacos or fajitas, when I was asked to prepare a meal with Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken I decided to make something a little more involved but still very simple.  I created a Whrrl story to show you the steps of my Cheesy Chicken Pasta recipe.  Stove to table it can be ready in less than 30 minutes, it uses simple ingredients and it only costs about $14 to make, all keys to a great recipe in my book, not to mention the whole family likes it.

Disclosure ~ I was given a gift card in return for preparing this recipe with Tyson products.

I found this out 20+ years ago when I went to my first Easter dinner with my husband’s family.   I was used to ham, lasagna, lots of meatballs and wedding soup but, there in front of me was sausage, pirogies, paska bread, hrutka and (thank goodness) ham.  In my family we ate kielbasa and sausage but not for Easter dinner, we ate pirogies, but the were out of a box and they had potato filling, not homemade ones filled with lekvar, sauerkraut or cottage cheese.  And what the heck was that hrutka stuff?  I have to admit I didn’t eat much more than the ham that first Easter.  Grandma  kept asking me if I wanted something else and I respectfully declined and couldn’t wait to get to my aunts house and have pasta.

It was so interesting to me at age 16 how ethnicity could so drastically change a holiday meal.  I can’t remember how long it took her to catch on, but after awhile God bless her soul she started making potato pirogies just for me.  Over the years I grew accustomed to (and even learned how to make some parts of) that Slovak Easter dinner (as well as Christmas dinner) and miss it now that Grandma is gone. I always teased that someday I would show his family a real holiday dinner (Italian style) and I never did

I love that my children experienced different food traditions and will hopefully continue those traditions with their families some day.  What does your traditional Easter dinner consist of?  I’d love to hear about it.  I think it would be fun to celebrate a different ethnic tradition each year to teach the kids (and learn myself) about other cultures and their food traditions.

Whether you traditionally have kielbasa and sausage at Easter or are thinking of trying something new and different, I have a few recipes from Hillshire Farm that will help get you started.

Crustless Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage (or any other Hillshire Farm sausage of your choice)
• 8 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
• 1½ teaspoons dry mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1½ cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• ½ cup chopped green bell pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.  Cut sausage into ½“ cubes; set aside.  Place eggs, cream, dry mustard, salt and black pepper in a large bowl; whisk until smooth.
• Stir in sausage, 1 cup of cheese and green pepper.  Pour egg mixture into a greased 13×9-inch baking dish.
• Bake 40-45 minutes or until eggs are set.  Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cheese.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Penne with Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage
• 8 ounces (about 2½ cups) uncooked penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 small jar (14 ounces) prepared pasta sauce

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut sausage into ½” slices; set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.
• Cook sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove sausage from pan; keep warm.
• Add butter to drippings in pan. When butter melts, add flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Add milk; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Add sausage, pasta, and both cheeses; toss gently to combine.
• Pour mixture into lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Carefully spread sauce over pasta. Cover and bake 25-30 minutes or until edges are bubbling and center is hot.

Cheesy Potatoes and Sausage

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage (or other Hillshire Farm sausage of your choice)
• 1 bag (20 ounces) refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut sausage into ½” cubes. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy and have a blessed Easter.

Disclosure ~ Hillshire Farm sent me sausage to test out and try these recipes.

My daughter and I ventured into the kitchen the other day and this is what we came up with.  I need your help deciding which one to submit so if you could take a minute and leave a comment about which you like the best I would really appreciate it!

Stuffed Rice Krispie Treat Eggs

Supplies

• 1 batch Rice Krispie Treats
• Canned/tubed decorating icing
• Wilton Gel Colors (found in cake decorating isle of your favorite store.  I like these better than food coloring because their is a wider variety of colors and the color is very vivid)
• Wilton Silicone Egg Pan (purchased at Joann Fabrics w/coupon only $6.99 great for cupcakes too!)

Directions

Prepare the Rice Krispie Treat Recipe, add the desired gel color to the melted marshmallows before you mix in the Rice Krispies

Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray and press the mixture into the form making sure you fill the mold completely.  Make a thumb print impression in the center of the egg

Fill the thumb print with your choice of icing (we used Betty Crocker Whipped Buttercream, yummy!)

Place two egg halves together and press to seal the edges

Decorate with icing as desired and enjoy!

Rice Krispie Treat Spring Bouquet

Supplies

• 1 batch Rice Krispie Treats
• Canned/tubed decorating icing
• Wilton Gel Colors (found in cake decorating isle of your favorite store.  I like these better than food coloring because their is a wider variety of colors and the color is very vivid)
• Wilton Blossom Cookie Treat Pan (purchased at Joann Fabrics w/coupon only $6.99 great for cookies too!)
• Lollipop sticks (found in candy making isle)

Directions

Prepare the Rice Krispie Treat Recipe, add the desired gel color to the melted marshmallows before you mix in the Rice Krispies

Spray the pan with non stick cooking spray and press mixture into mold, place stick into mixture and cover with mixture so it stays in place.

Remove flowers from mold and decorate as desired

Put a piece of foam into a basket and push the flower pops into the foam to make flower basket

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Pops

Supplies

• One batch of Peaunt Butter Rice Krispie Treats (this would be good made with Cocoa Krispies!)
• candy making wafers in your choice of color or Hershey’s chocolate bars
• Sprinkles
• lollipop sticks

Directions

Form Rice Krispie Mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball, insert lollipop stick into ball

Melt candy in microwave 30 seconds at a time on half power until smooth and melted
Dip the lollipop into the chocolate covering the entire ball, shake off excess chocolate

Sprinkle with colored sugars and let dry on waxed paper

Our Finished Rice Krispies Easter Teats

Make sure you check out everyone else’s recipes too!

Don’t forget to let me know which one you think I should submit!  Thanks for you help! Make sure you come back tomorrow to find out about our “Easter Egg” Hunt and be eligible to win some great prizes from Rice Krispies!

Disclosure ~ I was given basic supplies and a stipend for my participation in this campaign.

I am excited to announce that I have been chosen to be a Brand Ambassador for Rice Krispies! Myself along with 9 other bloggers have been chosen to participate in a spring campaign through The Motherhood.  We have been challenged to come up with new and exciting Rice Krispie Treat recipes for spring and Easter!  One of our recipes will be chosen to be posted on the RiceKrispies.com.  We will also be hosting a Blog “Easter Egg” Hunt with some great prizes from Rice Krispies, the hunt will begin on March 29th, so make sure you stop back for the details.

Here are the other fantastic  bloggers I will be working with: You can follow our progress on Twitter with the hashtag #ricekrispies

• Tricia Callahan, Once a Month Mom
• Kathy Sykes, A Wife, A Mother, A First Lady
• Amanda White, Oh Amanda
• Shannon Steen-Larsen, The Mommy-Files
• Vanessa Druckman, Chef Druck
• Amy McGuire, The Finer Things in Life
• Robyn Wright, Robyn’s Online World
• Shannon Snow, Coupon Princess
• Kelly Whalen, Centsible Life

My daughter and I will be venturing into the kitchen tomorrow to start creating our treats.  I will be posting them here and I need your help deciding which one I should submit for the recipe challenge.  I think you will like what I have come up with!

Disclosure ~ I was given the basic ingredients and a stipend to buy additional supplies as part of my participation in this campaign

One of our favorite party snacks is Lil’ Smokies baked in Pillsbury Crescent rolls, they are really yummy and highly addicting! The downside, they are really fattening.  As part of my new commitment to my health I am always looking for healthier alternatives to some of my favorite food items.

Hillshire Farm recently sent me samples of their new Turkey Lil’ Smokies and Turkey Smoked Sausage for my family to try out and I was pleasantly surprised!  There was practically no grease when I cooked up the sausage and the kids devoured the Lil’ Smokies.  Not only do they taste really great but the fat and calorie content is MUCH lower than the traditional products.

Here is the breakdown for a 5 link serving of Lil’ Smokies

Turkey Lil’ Smokies     fat     4g     calories     80

Regular Lil’ Smokies    fat     14g   calories     160

Big difference huh?  I love food, I love to eat and that has been the hardest part of my Your Shape Challenge, however finding great products like this make it much easier to enjoy my favorite foods without all of the guilt.

Want to try them for yourself? Try one of these great recipes.

Turkey Lil’ Smokies in Peach BBQ Sauce

Turkey Lil' Smokies in Peach BBQ Sauce

Makes 16 Servings

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Ingredients

• 2 packages Hillshire Farm Turkey Lil’ Smokies
• 1 15 oz can of peaches in juice
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger

Directions

1. Place undrained peaches, vinegar, brown sugar,mustard, garlic, cinnamon, and ginger in blender and blend until smooth
2. Open Lil’ Smokies and drain any liquid, place Lil’ Smokies and peach sauce in pan and bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes
3. Pour mixture into a slow cooker, cover and heat on low for 30 – 40 minutes

Turkey Lil’ Smokies Bagel Dogs

Turkey Lil' Smokies Bagel Dogs

Makes 18 servings (2 bagel dogs each serving)

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 11 min

Ingredients

• 1 package Hillshire Farm Turkey Lil’ Smokies
• 1 can refrigerated bread sticks
• 1 tablespoon poppy or sesame seeds
• Optional mustard or ketchup for dipping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Unroll dough, separate at perforations creating 12 strips, cut each strip into 3 pieces
3. Wrap one piece of dough around each Turkey Lil’ Smokie pressing the edge to seal
4. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle with seeds
5. Bake for 11 – 13 minutes until lightly browned
6. Serve with ketchup or mustard

Enjoy!

Rainbow Cake

Rainbow Cake from Twist Entertaining

Directions for this yummy cake can be found at Twist Entertaining

Rainbow Jello

Rainbow Jello from The Mommy Playbook

Directions for rainbow Jello treat at The Mommy Playbook

Lucky Charm Cupcakes

Lucky Charm Cupcakes from Easy Cupcakes

Directions for these cute cupcakes can be found at Easy Cupcakes

Leprechaun Mix

St. Patrick's Day Trail Mix from Perfect Entertaining

Recipe can be found at Perfect Entertaining

Shamrock Krispie Treats

Krispie Treats from Teaching Tiny Tots

Directions can be found at Teaching Tiny Tots

Cake Pops

Cute Cake Pops from Make A Whisk

Directions for these Cake Pops can be found at Make A Whisk

Most people will agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yet many people skip this meal.  To raise awareness of the importance of starting your day off right, February was named National Hot Breakfast Month.

The literal meaning of breakfast is “a break from the fast.”  Your body is fasting while you sleep and the first meal of the day breaks that fast.  Breakfast is the first chance your body has to refuel its blood glucose levels. Glucose is the main energy source of the body and helps fuel the muscles needed for physical activity throughout the day.

Here are a few recipes from the Jimmy Dean site sure to make a hot breakfast a hit in your house. (I have tried each of the recipes I am recommending)

Low Fat Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Jimmy Dean® Reduced Fat Pork Sausage (browned, drained, and chopped)
• 1 whole wheat flour tortilla (10–12 in.)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 whole egg
• 1/8 cup low-fat cheddar or part-skim mozzarella, shredded
• 3 tablespoons pico de gallo
• 4 slices fresh avocado
• 2 tablespoons black bean purée (optional)
• Shredded lettuce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Non-stick cooking spray

Directions

Warm tortilla in microwave for approximately 15 seconds.  Whisk together egg and egg whites in a small bowl.  In an 8-inch skillet that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, pour egg mixture and scramble. Season with salt and pepper and put aside .  On first third of tortilla, spread a thick layer of black bean purée.  Next, layer on the scrambled eggs.  Place the sausage on top of the scrambled eggs.  Then layer on the pico de gallo, lettuce, and avocado.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Fold together.  Top with sour cream.  Makes on burrito.

Breakfast Boat

Ingredients

• 1/2 Lb Jimmy Dean® Roll Sausage
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sliced sautéed mushrooms
• 3 cups cooked tater tots
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Sauté sausage in a large skillet, add salt and pepper to taste. Beat eggs, adding cheese and mushrooms. Combine cooked sausage with egg mixture. Line baking dish with tater tots and pour egg and sausage mixture over the tater tots. Bake at 350ºF for 35 to 40 minutes in a 13 x 9 pan or until egg mixture is firm.  Sprinkle with extra cheese if desired. Makes 4 servings.

6 Layer Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• 6 each Whole Eggs
• 1/4 c. Heavy Cream
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper, ground
• 1 package Jimmy Dean® Hot Roll Sausage, cooked, crumbled, drained
• 1/4 c. Jalapeno Pepper, 1/4 dice
• 1/2 c. Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 2 Tbsp. Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Cumin, ground
• 4 each Bread, 1/2 slice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Begin by mixing the eggs and heavy cream in a bowl with the salt & pepper. In a separate bowl place the sausage, jalapeno pepper, cheese, garlic and cumin. Now place a third of the amount of egg mixture in the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Next, place a slice of bread into the dish. Place 1/3 of the amount of sausage mixture from step 2 onto the slice of bread. Repeat steps 3 to 4 until last slice of bread is on top. Add the remaining 1/3 of sausage ingredients evenly across the top slice of bread. Bake the breakfast casserole in oven for 15 minutes.  Makes 4 servings.

Don’t have a whole lot of time to make breakfast? Don’t really like to cook? Then you should try Jimmy Dean’s D-lights. Jimmy Dean recently introduced 2 new products to their D-light line.

Turkey Bacon Breakfast Bowl

D-lights Turkey Bacon Breakfast Bowl

Turkey Sausage Bagel

D-lights Turkey Sausage Whole Grain Bagel

What is your favorite breakfast? How often do you have a hot breakfast? Let me know in the comments, I look forward to hearing from you.

In case you need a reason to have a brownie, today is your day.  December 8th is National Brownie day.

Here are some fun facts I dug up about brownies:

• The first know recipe published for brownies was in the 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog
• It is believed brownies were “invented” by a careless cook who forgot to add baking powder to her homemade chocolate cake.
• Okmulgee, Oklahoma holds the world record for the largest pecan brownie
• A brownie topped with hot fudge and vanilla ice cream is the most popular dessert menu item on American restaurant menus.

Here is my favorite way to make brownies

~ One package of boxed brownie mix

~1/2 cup raspberry jam

~4 oz package of slivered almonds

1/4 cup white chocolate for melting (candy wafers or baking chips)

Bake brownies as desired according to box directions (I like my fudgey).  Let cool for 15 minutes, spread jam over top of brownies.  Sprinkle almonds on top of  jam.  Melt white chocolate in microwave on 50% power at 15 second increments until smooth. Drizzle melted white chocolate over brownies. Cut and serve. YUM!

So is your mouth watering yet? If not let me sweeten the deal, I have a delicious Brownie Sampler from Cheryl & Co. to give away in celebration of National Brownie Day!

How to enter

Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite kind of brownie is.

Bonus entries

1. Tweet about this giveaway “Celebrate National Brownie Day with @craftymamaof4 and Cheryl & Co. click here to win a yummy brownie sampler http://bit.ly/8KPJgS #brownieday” Leave a comment with your tweet link.

2.  Subscribe to my blog and leave a comment

3.  Put my button on your blog and leave a comment

This contest will end on Friday December 18th at 11 :59 EST.  The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified via email.

~Kim

Disclosure ~ I received my own brownie sampler to try with my family.

In this day of trying to get more good things into my children’s bodies without them knowing, I’m open to whatever comes along.  Granted my children probably shouldn’t be eating sugar cereal at all, but I am not gonna ban sugar from my house.  If they are gonna eat sugar foods, I would much rather them eat cereal than cookies or candy.

Kellogg’s recently came out with a new formula for Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks with added fiber.  Better for you = yucky right?  Wrong, I did a taste test with my kids and they could not tell the difference between the regular Fruit Loops and the Fruit Loops with the added fiber.  Personally I think the ones with the added fiber were a little crunchier but the taste was the same.

So if you are looking for a way to add some more fiber to your diet without giving up the great taste that you love then give these a try.  Kellogg’s has some great information on their nutrition site if you would like to learn more about food and nutrition.

~Kim

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kellogg’s and received boxes of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks and a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate