Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders, Maple Carrots, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

I have most of this week off from work, so I'll be cooking quite a bit!  Tonight I tried three new recipes and all came out great!  This first recipe came from Martha Stewart.  Everyone loved them, but Jared said that these were the best thing he'd ever tasted!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders

• 2 pkgs. raw chicken tenders
• 1 pkg. bacon
• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut each strip of bacon in half.  Wrap each chicken tender in a half strip of bacon.
2. Put a splash of olive oil in your skillet and place as many of the tenders in the skillet as possible.  Let them cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the bacon looks done and crispy.  Flip and allow the other side to cook.
3. Remove and place on a wire cooling rack over a cookie sheet to drain the grease.
4. Serve.
5. This next recipe was one that no one anticipated liking.  I was given quite a bit of grief for even thinking of making these carrots, but after tasting them, they were eating their words!

Maple Carrots

• 1 bag of baby carrots
• 2 T butter
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1/2 t ground black pepper
• 1/2 t salt

Directions:

1. Spread baby carrots across bottom of a skillet.  Put just enough water in the skillet to cover the carrots.  Bring the water to a boil and then allow them to simmer until the carrots are tender and the water has evaporated.
2. Mix in the butter, brown sugar, pepper, and salt.
3. Serve.
4. The last recipe was also one that no one wanted me to make.  I will admit that none of us at my house are cake people, but I love making cakes and cupcakes.  There is something so fun about the precision of baking along with the creativity that goes into decorating cupcakes.  These were absolutely fantastic!  

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes
Cupcake Batter:

• 1 French Vanilla cake mix
• 1/2 c melted butter
• 3 t vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c water
• 1 T cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put cupcake batter into cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.  Bake 20 minutes.
2. Allow to cool while making the frosting.

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 c. butter
• 1 3/4 c. Cinnamon Toast Crunch crumbs
• 5 t. vanilla
• 1 t. Wilson butter flavoring
• 4 c. confectioners sugar
• 2 T. sweetened condensed milk
• 4 T. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1. Mix ingredients together to desired consistency.  Frost cupcakes.
2. Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over the cupcakes and garnish with a piece of Cinnamon Toast Crunch  Cereal.