Classic Tinfoil Dinner

You know, tinfoil dinners are one of my favorites. There are a few reasons why I absolutely love them
1- EASY
2- No dishes to clean up
3- scrumptious!
These are my favorite thing to make when we are camping but they are also one of my favorite things to just have at home. You don't have to have a big fire or a tent pitched to eat these babies. I love that these dinners are so versatile. Not only can you throw whatever sounds good in a packet and it will almost always come out amazing, but you can cook it so many different ways as well.
Here is how I did my basic basic classic tinfoil dinner last night!
(Oh and I apologize for the REALLY bad photo. I forgot to snap a couple pictures last night since I wasn't here to eat it when it came out of the oven so I took a photo of what the leftovers looked like lol...sorry!)

Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup

Today I woke up with what seems to be the beginning of a wonderful cold. So I found it fitting to post about this wonderful creamy soup.
This soup comes together in under 30 minutes and is full of so much flavor you won't even miss the fact that there isn't any meat. This to me is pure comfort food.
Im usually not much of a soup maker, for some reason, but I have decided that this year I am going to branch out a little more and dive more into soups. Why? Because they don't create many dishes to clean up afterwards and they can usually come together pretty quick!
Later this week I was planning to make some baked potatoes with broccoli cheesy sauce so I saw it fitting to post this today, to show another way you could use the exact same ingredients!

Mashed Cauliflower

I have seen mashed cauliflower pop up all over pinterest lately and have been putting it off to try because it sounded a little bit to weird to me. How can cauliflower taste like a mashed potato....yep that is the question ladies and gents but I will tell you what...for some strange reason it really does taste extremely close! I was shocked at how much it really did taste like a heap of mashed potatoes. Mashing cauliflower is lower in carbs and makes for a great alternative if you struggle with potatoes. In fact I know some people will even mix half and half (potatoes and cauliflower) and then you really can't tell a difference at all!

Overnight Apple Pie Oatmeal

Growing up I used to eat a packet of oatmeal or cream of wheat almost every morning with my dad. In fact my breakfast consisted of a bowl of processed oatmeal, 2 pieces of white toast loaded with butter, and a nice tall glass of milk. Now, Im not saying that eating that way is bad but you do get a lot of processed sugar and miscellaneous ingredients thrown into the pack so I have opted to start making it from scratch.
Ive never really been a huge fan of homemade oatmeal. To me it just never had very good flavor compared to the premade ones. BUT this recipe is fantastic. It tastes like an apple pie in your bowl. The great thing about it is that you put it in your crockpot before you go to bed and its ready for you in the morning when you get up. Can't get much better then that. And since it cooks low and slow the flavors get into the oatmeal a little bit better! I like that you use steel cut oats in this recipe because for the most part you can find them to be gluten free! (although always make sure you double check)

Russian Tea

I used to drink this stuff all the time growing up. It is amazing on a cold winters day.  I have been enjoying the fact that it is cooling down a bit at night so when we go to open the windows in the morning it feels nice and cold. Its mornings like this that I wish I had some of this made already sitting in my pantry.
I like the fact that you can make a nice big batch of this and leave it sitting in your pantry all winter long and have it whenever you feel like.

Cranberry Almond Bread

For some reason I can't seem to get Christmas goodie cooking out of my head. Maybe it's because the weather is finally starting to cool down (90's).
I was putting up my Halloween decorations a couple days ago and the whole time I couldn't stop thinking about this bread. I make this bread every Christmas to pass out as neighbor gifts. I have been asked for this recipe quite a few times so here it is finally.
I originally had this bread at a Christmas get together with all my aunts and uncles on my dad's side of the family. I have this aunt who is the most creative and fantastic sweets maker ever. In fact most of my holiday sweets ideas have come from her. Anyway, its been a family tradition ever since to make this at Christmas time. And its a great way to use up those leftover bags of cranberries you bought to make cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.
I think my favorite part about this bread is the icing that goes on top. The almond flavoring pairs so perfectly with the orange and cranberry flavors. MMM MMM MMM I can't wait till the Christmas season so I can make some!

Olive Garden Breadsticks

Anybody who knows me knows that I love bread. If there is any kind of bread being served as an appetizer at a restaurant then I will usually eat a couple of baskets by myself.
Olive Garden's breadsticks are so heavenly to me. So when I had my Olive Garden themed dinner a while ago I couldn't resist trying out a recipe that I have had sitting in my binder for years.
This recipe is great. Fairly simple to follow and the flavor really does taste a lot like the Olive Garden ones.