Arnold Bread Company makes the absolute best bread on the market today. This bread is also very unique and special. What makes it so special? With their new line of breads called Grains & More you get a special blend of both 100% whole wheat plus added benefits like Double Protein or Double Fiber giving you that extra added nutritional boost many of us lack in our diets today.

So how does it taste? Surprisingly good. I don’t know anyone that wants to eat cardboard and that is what most of us think of when we think of whole wheat breads but what makes Arnold stand out against the pack is that it is wholesome and good for you yet still remains incredibly light and soft to taste. Arnold Bread is great alone, in a sandwich, or in a recipe. We ate ours one morning as French Toast and the family loved it. The boys didn’t complain one bit that they were “eating something healthy”.

Here is my recipe for French Toast with Arnold Grains & More Bread….

Ingredients
6 slices Arnold Grains & More Bread
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp organic brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp butter
powder sugar for dusting
maple syrup

Directions
Preheat oven to 450°F. In a skillet melt 1 tsp butter on medium heat. In a bowl whisk together egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and vanilla. Coat each side of bread in wet mixture before placing in hot skillet. Brown on either side and place on a cooking sheet. Once all pieces of bread have been browned on either side. Place cooking sheet in oven for approximately 5-10 minutes until middle of toast is firm and no longer squishy to the touch. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a side of syrup.

I Want That!

Arnold Grains & More Breads should be hitting supermarket shelves very soon so keep your eyes peeled. You can check out their website to find out where you can expect to see Arnold Breads in your area.

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I love those mini burgers from Krystal or White Castle. The little size. The yumminess. They are just so gosh darn good, well except the price. Getting a “sack-full” of these things can really add up to feed a family of four or more so I decided to come up with my own recipe for a fraction of the cost. Let me tell you these little mini burgers are just as good if not better than the real thing. Try them out for yourself and see.

Ingredients
1 lb. hamburger meat (thawed)
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
6 slices of american cheese, halved
1 package 12 count dinner rolls (mine were by Sara Lee)

Directions
Mix hamburger meat with onions. Form 12 small balls. In a preheated grill pan, place twelve balls and flatten. Cook until they no longer stick to the pan then flip and cook on the other side until well-done. Place fully cooked mini burgers in the middle of each dinner roll, top with half of an american cheese slice and other condiments you desire. Eat and enjoy!

Tip: These burgers really taste like the fast food equivalent after you let them sit in the refrigerator for a day. Best eaten on the second day for sure, so you can make these a day ahead of serving time.

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Remember me telling you that I was one of the three chosen judges to judge a Twist n’ Crunch Recipe Contest? Well the contest is over and the winner has been chosen.

Peter Halferty from Texas for his Pow Wow Bordertown Breakfast Squares with a Twist!

You can check out the winner and the winning recipe on the finalist page.

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You all remember my first smoothie video with all of the fruit, well here is another recipe for you that only has three ingredients in it.

Also, I have started using my youtube account again and would really appreciate it if you would go and subscribe to my videos over there as well. The youtube account is going to be a vital part of this website in about a month or so you will definitely want to stay up to date over there.

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It has become a tradition in my house to always make the “Hamburger Cake” around 4th of July when the craze hits us all to go outside and BBQ. Here is how to make the cutest, yet simplest cake you will ever make…

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 box brownie mix with walnuts
Almond Slivers

Directions:
Make yellow cake mix and brownie mix according to directions on the box. Instead of putting the brownie mix in a square pan place in a round cake pan. Do the same with the yellow mix by putting it into 2 seperate round cake pans. Bake cakes and brownie according to package directions. Cool completely. Carefully remove from pans. Assemble with one yellow cake on the bottom, brownie in the middle, and the remaining yellow cake on top. Top with slivers of almonds to resemble sesame seeds. To add more flair you can place dollops of raspberry preserves, apricote or peach preserves, and green jello on top of the brownie to resemble ketchup, mustard, and pickles which is typically found on top of a hamburger.

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One of my favorite cakes to date is an angel food cake. I can eat it plain or dressed up! It is so yummy! I love the sponge texture which is a great break from tradition cakes feel. Here is a recipe that I make in my home that pleases everyone in the family.

Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury Angel Food Cake Mix
10 frozen strawberries
1 tbsp organic sugar

Directions:

Make the Angel Food Cake Mix according to the package directions. It only requires water and a minute of beating time before putting in the oven to bake.
While the Angel Food Cake is baking in the oven, make the topping. In a bowl thaw frozen strawberries and organic sugar together. Once thawed with a stick mixer mix the strawberries and sugar together. You can make it as smooth or as chunky as you would like. We like ours chunky.

When the Angel food cake is done and cooled. Cut a slice and top with the strawberry mixture. You can use whole fruits such as blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries as garnish.

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One of my favorite indulgences, well favorite dessert for that matter is “Dirt Dessert”. I have been making this special treat since I was a kid. It really brings back tons of memories for me. I have a fetish for oreos. Me and Oreos go way back! We are happy together. I have at least one oreo oriented thing a day whether it be in dessert form like this, in a pie, a bowl of ice cream, or just with a glass of milk. Its my thing. Oreos keep me calm. They are my reward for a long day of parenting. They are always eaten just after the kidlets have been put to sleep. My mommy time is best shared with oreos. And now I am sharing my secret recipe with YOU!

Ingredients:
1 pkg Oreos, crushed
1 box of vanilla instant pudding
1 tub of Cool Whip
6 oz. fat free cream cheese
3 tbsp softened non-hydrogenated butter
1 cup Organic Fat Free Milk

Directions:
Whip together vanilla pudding, cream cheese, milk, and butter with an electric hand mixer. Once smooth, fold in Cool Whip.

In a glass bowl or serving dishes, layer cookies and pudding mixture ending with cookies on the top. Cover and chill for two hours before enjoying!

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I wanted an all veg spaghetti sauce to use whenever I make spaghetti so this is what I have come up with…

Ingredients:
1 purple onion diced
1/2 yellow pepper diced
1/2 green pepper diced
1/2 red pepper diced
4 vine ripened tomatoes diced
2 tbsp olivia (olive oil butter)
1 can of organic diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp organic brown sugar

Directions:
Combine vine ripened tomatoes, onion, peppers, and olivia in a sauce pot. Cook until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours on low-medium heat.

If you do not like chunky sauces you can puree the sauce in a blender or with a stick blender once cooking is complete.

I typically pair this sauce with Ronzoni Smart Taste Thin Spaghetti Noodles.

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We often times get frozen pizzas and make them at home on a Friday night. We make them ourselves because it is cheaper than delivery. So this is what we do to your typical frozen pizza to make it “more better”.

Spinach Pizza
1 Frozen Cheese Pizza
1 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp butter
1 Tbsp Minced Organic Garlic
1/2 cup Frozen Spinach
2 Tbsp Feta Cheese

In a small pan, cook spinach, garlic, olive oil, and butter together until spinach is thaw. Spread spinach mixture on top of frozen cheese pizza. Top with Feta Cheese and back according to package directions.

Basically the idea of this recipe is that you can take an ordinary frozen cheese pizza and turn it into something that you will totally love with fresh ingredients that you have on hand at your house.

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Pancakes are a favorite breakfast food in the Diva household but for me personally I hate the taste of a boxed mix. It is just so plain and boring so here are a few tips to turn the boring box pancake mix into fluffy, delicious circles of pancake heaven that your family can’t resist.

Here is the recipe I made for the pancakes you see in the photo

1 cup Aunt Jemima pancake mix
3/4 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp organic sugar

Whip it up and cook pancakes like you normally would. You can adapt this recipe to any of your favorite boxed pancake mixes. Follow the directions on any box of pancake mix and add the last 3 ingredients (egg, vanilla extract, and sugar) to make your pancakes awesome!

Let me know what you think if you make this recipe. What do you do to make your pancakes special? Do you add fresh fruit or chocolate chips? Do you make funny shapes, like mickey mouse? Do you make HUGE pancakes or little silver dollar pancakes? What is your flap jack preference?

One fun fact about the way that I eat my pancakes: I don’t eat pancakes with butter and my syrup has to be on the side for dipping. A soggy pancake is not a good pancake, in my opinion anyway.

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