Sweet quick bread is topped with rich brown sugar cinnamon swirl & drizzled with sweet powdered sugar icing; classic cinnamon roll flavors without the work. 
It’s no secret that I love an easy take on a classic cinnamon roll. My cinnamon roll bars with cream cheese frosting are one of my favorite treats. They’re dense and chewy and smothered in a decadent amount of fluffy frosting. Sometimes, though, I want something a little lighter, both in calories and in texture. When I do, I make this cinnamon roll bread. It’s a light bread with a touch of cinnamon and a rich brown sugar cinnamon swirl. Instead of traditional cream cheese frosting, it’s topped with a powdered sugar glaze. While I wouldn’t try to classify this bread as healthy, it is much lighter than most alternatives. The bread itself contains no butter or oil; it uses plain Greek yogurt and just a half cup of sugar. The ribbon of rich cinnamon and brown sugar adds just the right level of sweetness without overpowering the subtle flavor of the bread. And then- because, let’s be real, we can’t call it cinnamon roll anything without frosting- the whole thing is drizzled with a powdered sugar glaze. 
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10 Simple & Tasty Mother’s Day Brunch Recipes + a Blog Hop
Welcome to our April Blog Hop!
This month we are focusing on all things Mother’s Day…it’s only a couple of weeks away! Get ready for some great ideas, inspiration and how -tos as you move along through the blog hop.
You may just be starting, or may have come from Anna International on our Living with Style Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.
freezer-friendly oven-fried chicken chimichangas
I think I went to one of the only high schools in the country that still has an off-campus lunch period.
Every day, my friends and I had 35 glorious minutes of freedom. No cafeteria food for us. Sometimes we’d head to someone’s house, or to McDonald’s (hello, dollar menu), or to DQ.
Or sometimes, if we were feeling particularly gastronomically-courageous, we would walk to the little cinder block convenience store on Main Street. They served everything from chimichangas and burritos to pizza sticks and sausage pockets. Their smorgasbord of fried food was the type only teenagers can eat and live to tell about; remembering the way the smell would cling to my clothes still makes me cringe.
Hungry?
These oven-fried chimichangas are everything you wish you could get from your local hole-in-the-wall, but without the lingering smell and the quadruple-digit calorie count.
They’re baked instead of fried, so they’re much healthier than the version you might be used to. Before baking, the tops are brushed with butter and sprinkled with salt to achieve a delightfully crisp and crunchy outer shell while maintaining a melty inside.
(Notice anything different about these photos? Like maybe that they’re a million times better than any that I’ve ever taken? That’s because they were taken by my oh-so-talented sister-in-law, Ashley.)
oven-fried chicken chimichangas
adapted from Big Oven
2/3 cup salsa (green or red both taste great; sometimes I use a combination of both)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on the heat of your salsa, or your personal preference, you might want to omit this)
1/4 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
1 cup shredded cheese (I usually use cheddar because that’s what I have; use your favorite)
6 medium flour tortillas
1 tbs butter, melted
kosher salt
garnish(es) of choice: sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, etc.
3 easy, tasty breakfasts under 300 calories
It’s three months into the new year. Maybe your weight loss resolutions aren’t going as well as planned. Or maybe they are, but you’re growing tired of the same boring, low-calorie options. Here are three winstead wandering-approved recipes to break you out of your breakfast rut without busting your resolutions.
egg sandwich from a cup of jo
This recipe is touted as “the best egg sandwich you’ll ever have. While I have to disagree (the breakfast sandwiches J. and I make, my mom’s recipe, are hands-down the best ever) this is likely the best for under 300 calories. The recipe is actually written by Deb of Smitten Kitchen, so you know right off that it’s a winner.
The recipe basically has you beat an egg and and pour it into a pan. You cook the egg a little, like a crepe, pile cheese in the middle, and wrap the egg up around the cheese. When you put the egg-wrapped cheese on a toasted English muffin, you have a delicious treasure chest of hot egg and gooey cheese, all wrapped up in a 270 calorie* package.
*calories are based on using a whole wheat English muffin and a slice of American cheese
homemade strawberry sauce
The days are longer, the temperature is warmer, and the local Piggly Wiggly has some beautiful produce.
Because it’s Spring, y’all.
What better way to welcome the season than with a batch- or four- of this sweet homemade strawberry sauce?
My favorite way to enjoy this sauce is in a glass of cold lemonade. The strawberry and lemonade combo? Red Robin has nothing on me.
In addition to the lemonade, strawberry sauce adds a sweet freshness to cheesecake, ice cream, or waffles or pancakes.
Or you can just enjoy it right off the spoon.
homemade strawberry sauce
2 cups sliced or diced strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
march’s most popular posts
Um, where did March go?
Between the whirlwind of the end of one term and the start of another, a week out of state for spring break, and all of the final decision-making before construction of our house is complete in a couple weeks, I feel like I barely blinked and the month is gone.
I did manage to write some posts in the midst of the craziness, though. Here are the most-viewed posts of March:
This is a recipe I posted a couple months back. The fact that it’s still getting a lot of hits is a testament to how ridiculously tasty it is.
4. how to maximize your wardrobe on a budget
Have a budget? Want to be clothed? Check out this post.
10 best crescent roll dinner recipes + 3 desserts
I try my best to create meals for my family that include more whole ingredients and fewer canned and processed foods. A lot of nights, I’m successful.
There are plenty of nights, though, that I’m mostly concerned with just getting something on the table. For the nights when I don’t have anything to pull from the freezer, I try to keep a tube of crescent roll dough in the fridge.
While crescent rolls may not be the most nutritious choice, they’re a super convenient way to pull a meal together quickly. Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite crescent roll recipes.
1. sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake from Winstead Wandering
2. Ranch Chicken Club Roll-Ups from Life With the Crust Cut Off
3. Pepperoni Pizza Crescents by Mess for Less
jalapeño popper pizza
I don’t pass up an opportunity to eat anything with the name “jalapeño popper”.
I also don’t say no to pizza. Ever.
So you can imagine my glee when, while scanning Pinterest, I saw a recipe for jalapeño popper pizza. I spent days drooling over the thought of this recipe. It took a couple weeks before I had the chance to make it.
And it was so worth the wait.
Jalapeño Popper Pizza
adapted from here
-1 ball of my never-need-delivery-again pizza dough
-4 ounces cream cheese, softened
-2 jalapeños, seeded and thinly sliced
-1/4 to 1/2 onion, finely diced
-4 slices of bacon, cooked and diced (the first time I made the recipe, I didn’t use bacon and it was still unbelievable)
-1 to 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (pepperjack, cheddar, or any blend will work fine)
-olive oil
-kosher salt
Preheat oven to 475 degrees with pizza stone inside and rack in second lowest position. Roll out the pizza dough to a 10 to 12 inch circle and transfer it to parchment paper. Use a fork to poke holes across the entire crust, leaving a one inch border. Bake crust on parchment paper for 5-7 minutes or until it loses its shine. Note: for full details on this pizza crust recipe, including baking instructions, see the original post.
Remove from the oven and brush olive oil over the outside rim. Spread with cream cheese. It’ll seem like you have too much cream cheese, but trust me, use it all. Next, add your shredded cheese, jalapeños, bacon, and onion. Return to oven and bake 6-8 minutes, until crust is a deep golden and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven again and brush olive oil over the outside crust. Sprinkle the whole thing with kosher salt, paying careful attention to the olive oiled rim.
I want to know: what flavor combinations are you powerless to resist?
mexican pizza {a taco bell copycat recipe}
Confession: I’ve never had a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza. Now that I make this fresh version at home, I’ll never need to.
The recipe calls for refried beans- I make mine using this recipe– and taco meat, but I often make mine with just beans and my husband’s with meat only.
Just as with regular tacos, this recipe can be adapted to fit the preferences or dietary needs of just about anybody; in fact, it practically begs for it.
Mexican Pizzas
adapted from here
(recipe makes 4 pizzas; quantities as needed)
8 6-inch tortillas
1 – 1 1/2 cups (1 can) refried beans (you may want more if you’re omitting the meat)
1/2 pound taco meat (prepare your ground beef or turkey as you normally do for tacos)
1/2 cup taco sauce (salsa works, too)
1 cup shredded cheese
cooking spray or 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Additional optional toppings:
-diced tomato
-shredded lettuce
-sour cream
-diced avocado
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown your tortillas on both sides in a saucepan, either in hot oil or by spraying both sides with cooking spray. Spray a cookie sheet lined with foil.
On the foil, layer beans and meat on top of a browned tortilla. Cover with a second tortilla and spread that one with taco sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until you’ve built four pizzas.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes.
What fast food favorite do you make at home?
mug brownie
There are so many mug brownie recipes on Pinterest, so I was hesitant to add my own to the mix.
But here’s the thing about those other recipes. They suck. To be fair, I haven’t tried all the mug recipes. I’ve tried a lot, though. If I had a dollar for every failed mug brownie recipe I’ve tried…well, I could buy a few boxes of brownie mix.
If you, too, have been disappointed by the recipes you’ve tried, I urge you to try just one more. Trust me, it’s the last one you’ll ever need.
mug brownie
adapted from Creating & Co.
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water (optional: substitute 2 teaspoons of your favorite flavored coffee syrup; I prefer Torani salted caramel)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt