Diet Coke Brownies **

These were... interesting.  That's the best description I can come up with.  The top gets really crusty, and the inside is really mushy, even after an hour.  My 6-year-old said he thought it was kind of like pudding on the inside, and that's a pretty decent description.  It comes off too sweet too.  I didn't think about it, but the artificial sweeteners in there just add to the sugar that's already in the mix.  It's a cute idea, but I honestly don't see why you wouldn't just sub applesauce.  That would be a much healthier alternative. 

Photo from Eat Yourself Skinny

DIET COKE BROWNIES
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Eat Yourself Skinny)

1 box Betty Crocker Low-Fat Fudge Brownie mix
1 (12 oz) can Diet Coke

Pour brownie mix into a medium-sized bowl and pour in your 12 oz. can of diet coke. Using a hand held mixer or whisk, combine ingredients until you see no more lumps. Pour mixture into a 9 x 9-inch pan coated with cooking spray and bake according to the package directions, adding an additional 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time. Your brownies should bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

Quick Spanish Rice ***

Man, we love this stuff!  Dh and I agree that we really like it much better than the Rice-a-Roni and Lipton kind of stuff.  The best part, though, is that it's so low in sodium and doesn't hardly have a kick to it at all.  The kids can eat it with no problems.  It's not their favorite side dish, but they'll eat it.  I again subbed the fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and I just used regular chicken broth this time. 

QUICK SPANISH RICE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 ¼ cups rice
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 teaspoons chili powder
¾ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon cumin

In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients (I usually mash tomatoes with potato masher or give them a quick spin in food processor).
Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.
Cover and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is done. (Unless you like sticky, gooey rice, don't take off the lid and stir at all until it is done).
Garnish with green onions and/or cheddar cheese.
* Amy's notes: I subbed brown rice, fire-roasted tomatoes, and garlic powder with salt.

PREVIOUS REVIEWS:
6/28/10
Normally, when I make Spanish Rice, I use the Lipton packages. I decided I wanted to try a healthier homemade version, so that I could sub brown rice and cut down on some of the sodium. This was so easy and so good! I actually preferred it over the Lipton ones, because those are normally too spicy for the kids. This one only had the chili powder and cumin, so it there was no heat to it. Factor in what a cumin fan I am, and I was one happy chica. The boys loved it too. I did end up smashing the tomatoes a little, but not a whole lot. I subbed fire-roasted diced tomatoes, because that's our preference. I didn't have any garlic salt (no clue where it's hiding in my spice cabinet), so I just used about ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp garlic powder. It was still good. I just noticed that it says you can garnish with cheese. I'm sure that would be great, but it really doesn't need it, in my opinion. I served it with White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce.

Chili Dog Crockpot Casserole ***

Yet another Pinterest hit at our house.  Totally took me by surprise, since I don't even like hot dogs, lol.  I really enjoyed it, though.  My 8-year-old said the tortillas were too "doughy" for him, but that was actually my favorite part.  I used white flour tortillas this time, but I think I'll try some kind of multigran next time, to make them hold up a little better.  We all definitely enjoyed it, though.  The only changes I made was to use turkey hot dogs and three cans of Hormel chili with turkey and beans.  The turkey chili was on accident, but it was still good.  I will definitely do the three cans again next time, but I'll use just the chili with beans.

CHILI DOG CROCKPOT CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Moms with Crockpots)

2 (15 ounce) cans chili with beans
1 (16 ounce) package beef hot dogs
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded

Spread 1 can of chili and beans in the bottom of a large crockpot
Roll up hot dogs inside tortillas and place in crockpot, seam side down, on top of chili and beans.
Top with remaining can of chili and beans, and sprinkle with cheese.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
**Gluten Free** Can be made gluten free by substituting gluten free corn tortillas. Please check the labels on the other ingredients to make sure they are also gluten free!

Bacon Cinnamon Rolls ***

I know I've been slacking on posting again, and I'm sorry.  With 4-5 nights of baseball and Cub Scouts every week, it doesn't leave much time for internet fun.  I have been cooking, I just haven't had time to catch up on my reviews.  I'll see what I can do about that in the next few days.  :)This recipe is so very simple, but it's really good.  All of us loved it.  The boys love the canned cinnamon rolls anyway, and this way, at least they get a little protein in there to soak up some of the sugar.  It's a good theory anyway, lol.  I'm normally against adding bacon to all that sweet stuff, like the current rage is.  I understand that it may be good, but I just can't bring myself to add bacon to something like chocolate chip cookies.  I only made an exception with this one because they were both breakfast foods. Hehehe.  I made these Easter morning, but I didn't have time to take a picture of my own.  I'm using the one from the original website, but both the picture and the recipe have links to that post.  I'll definitely be making this one often.

Picture courtesy of RainyDayGal.com

BACON CINNAMON ROLLS

(The-Skipper-Bunch ~ via RainyDayGal.com)

1 package "Grands" cinnamon rolls
10 strips bacon

Fry bacon for a few minutes on each side, until slightly crisp but still flexible.  Drain on paper towels. 
Unroll cinnamon rolls, and place two strips of bacon on each.  Roll back up.  Place in a greased pan, and bake according to package directions.

Asparagus Gratin ****

Can I just say that I love Pinterest?  Yet another winner for us from there.  My 6-year-old loves asparagus, so when I saw this one, I knew I had to make it for him.  It doesn't hurt that I'm pretty crazy about it too.  ;)  It turned out great.  I stuck to the recipe pretty much, except that I had to use regular I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light, since that's all I had on hand.  I also used a Colby/Jack blend for the same reason.  I used a little more cheese than it called for, so I added a little milk to thin it up a bit.  My asparagus spears were HUGE, and they still came out perfect.  Big winner for us!

ASPARAGUS GRATIN
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Apron Appeal)

2 pounds thin asparagus
3 cups water
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and divided
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Line broiler safe baking dish with paper towels or a lint free kitchen cloth. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and set both stalks and ends aside.
Bring water to a boil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus ends and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook covered, for 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove asparagus ends and discard. Add asparagus stalks to skillet, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly tender, 2-4 minutes. Transfer asparagus to paper/cloth-lined baking dish. Pour asparagus water into liquid measuring cup. If liquid does not read 1-cup mark, add water until it does.
Melt butter in now empty skillet over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly until golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in reserved asparagus water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in 1/2 cup Parmesan and Monterey jack until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
Remove paper towels from baking dish. Drizzle sauce over center of asparagus and top with remaining Parmesan. Broil until cheese is golden and asparagus is tender, 4-8 minutes. Serve.

Sausage and Corn Casserole ***

This was pretty good.  Nothing spectacular, but the kids and the hubby all liked it.  That makes me happy, lol.  I couldn't find my cream of chicken, so I used cream of mushroom.  I sprinkled shredded cheddar on top for the last 5 minutes of cooking.  She didn't give a size for the bag of hashbrowns, but mine were 26 oz.

SAUSAGE AND CORN CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Chaotic with a Side of Delicious)

1 bag of frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole corn
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg of polish sausage sliced into small round bite size pieces (I use turkey sausage)
8 oz. sour cream
cheddar cheese if desired

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine all ingredients in large 13x9 baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Cover if potatoes start to get brown before cooking time is up.

Low Fat Crockpot Apple Cake ****

Another Pinterest recipe, but this was delicious.  We all loved it.  The website lists it as being fat-free, but thanks to the addition of the eggs, it's not actually fat-free.  It's still pretty low fat, though.  We all loved it.  I used all white flour, since I had less whole wheat than I thought, and I think she must have used a smaller crockpot.  Mine only took a little over an hour in my big crock, so I think I'm going to double it next time.  Besides that, when it tastes that good, it tends not to last very long, lol.  I'll definitely be making this one a lot in the future!

LOW FAT CROCKPOT APPLE CAKE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via FindingJoyInMyKitchen)

1 C flour (1/2 C wheat, 1/2 C white)
3/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large apples, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Peel and slice your apples (I diced mine fairly small), and then coat with the flour mixture.
Mix the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.
Pour the egg mixture over the floured apples. Pour/spoon into a greased crockpot (Batter will be thick).
Cover, and cook on high for about 2 hours.
Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.