Grilled Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches for a Sixth Anniversary

Today I'm guest posting over at A Taste of Home Cooking. My friend Sarah's blog recently reached the six year milestone, and she's celebrating with a week of guest posts. I could choose any recipe from her blog to make, and I chose these delicious sandwiches. Go check out my post, and be sure to congratulate Sarah on this huge accomplishment!

Guest Post : Amanda's Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Today's post is from Amanda over at Fake Ginger. I'm pretty new to her blog, but as soon as she e-mailed me last weekend, I spent about an hour going through her archives. She makes really beautiful, drool-worthy food, and I'm so honored that she offered to guest post for me! I will be making these muffins myself, and soon. Thanks again, Amanda!

I am so excited and honored to be doing a guest post here at Cassie Craves. I hope you brought your appetites because I've got some delicious cinnamon roll muffins to share today.

If you are familiar with my blog, Fake Ginger, you probably know that I love sweet breakfast rolls. I’ve made cinnamon rolls a billion times and thought it was about time to make them into muffins. These guys aren’t yeasted like the traditional cinnamon roll but they pack just as much flavor and decadence and would be perfect on any breakfast or brunch table.

I will admit that these are a bit more trouble than cinnamon rolls. You have to make sure you add enough flour so your dough won’t stick when you try to roll, but if you add too much you’ll end up with muffins that are way too dense. As long as you can manage that though, they are a good way to have the cinnamon roll taste without a long rise time of the traditional rolls.


Rolled Cinnamon Roll Muffins
from A Dash of Sass

Makes 1 dozen muffins

1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar added to it (or 1 cup buttermilk)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
2 TBL butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk or cream

Directions:

- Pour milk into a measuring cup and add the lemon juice or vinegar. (Skip this step if you are using buttermilk.)
- Measure the brown sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla and egg into a mixing bowl. Add the milk. Add the flour. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two.
- Roll the dough into a 12-inch by 24-inch rectangle. Spread with butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll the dough into a log beginning at the wide side. Stretch the log slightly. Cut into two-inch pieces and put the pieces into greased muffin tins or muffin tins lined with cupcake papers.
- Bake at 375° Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the muffin tins.
- Drizzle with icing (if using) when cool.

Guest Post : Lisa's Fruit Smoothies

Today's post is from my friend Lisa over at Recipe Hunter Lisa. Her blog was one of the first food blogs I discovered and one of my biggest inspirations for starting my own. Thanks for the post, Lisa!

I had a neighbor once who was a nutrition professor at a local university and she told me that the healthiest addition to anyone's diet it to start your day off with a fresh fruit smoothie every morning. I thought about that advice a lot and this year committed to having a smoothie for breakfast most mornings of the week. Not only does it fill me up better than cereal but it's healthier for me and my 2-year-old son loves them! I asked her what she puts in hers and she said she always has yogurt, milk and whatever fruit she has on hand -- fresh or frozen. This has given me a great base to work from and I have enjoyed experimenting with different flavors...which are endless with the variety of yogurts and fruits you can purchase. I'd like to share my top three favorite smoothies that I've created so far this year with Cassie and her fabulous readers.

*All of these recipes are for 2 servings

TROPICAL SUNRISE SMOOTHIE

• 1 orange, peeled and broken into segments
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup strawberries, halved
• 8 ounces of orange or strawberry flavored yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or coconut extract (I strongly encourage coconut for that "tropical" feel)
• 5 ice cubes

Combine in a blender and pulse until smooth.

LEMON BERRY SMOOTHIE

• 8 ounces of blueberry or strawberry flavored yogurt
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup strawberries, halved
• 1 teaspoon powdered lemonade mix
• 5 ice cubes

Combine in a blender and pulse until smooth. (This recipe I was able to get posted on AllRecipes.com and you can check it out here!)

VANILLA BANANA SMOOTHIE

• 1 banana
  
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 8 ounces of vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 5 ice cubes

Combine in a blender and pulse until smooth.