Garlicky Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil

This is another Cooking Light recipe and I was once again thrilled with the end results. I used Trader Joe's garlic and basil linguine and it really accented the pasta perfectly. This was so good and I highly recommend this recipe! I should also say I used my microplane to crush the garlic and it really worked out well because the crushed garlic coated the pasta- yum!

This is the pasta I used- I thought it was great and would encourage you to pick this up for this recipe or for any pasta recipe really.



Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups chopped plum tomatoes (about 2 pounds)
12 ounces uncooked pasta
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (I used two basil cubes)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds.

Add chopped tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Add pasta, basil, cheese, salt, and pepper, tossing to combine.

** 6 Weight Watchers points per 1 1/3 cup serving

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches

I'm sure most people already are well aware of Cooking Light. It is a magazine that comes monthly and has excellent light recipes. Aside from the magazine there are also cookbooks and recipes online. I have yet to be disappointed by a Cooking Light recipe and therefore decided to give this recipe a try. It was truly delicious. John loved it even more than I did. I did make a couple changes. For starters, I couldn't find focaccia bread that wasn't laden in calories and fat. I decided to use onion flat bread which was a great substitute. Below is my version but the original recipe would be excellent if you were cooking for more than 2 people.



Ingredients:
2 thin sliced chicken breasts
Flatbread (or focaccia as Cooking Light recommends)
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, divided
1 cup red bell pepper strips
Provolone cheese
pepper

Directions:
Heat cooking spray in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon salt over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup vinegar; cook 2 minutes or until chicken is done and vinegar is syrupy. Remove chicken mixture from the pan; cover and keep warm. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.

Return pan to medium-high heat; respray with cooking sprayl. Add bell pepper; sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar (I used 1/8 cup); cook 1 minute or until vinegar is syrupy.

Arrange chicken mixture evenly over bottom halves of bread; top with bell pepper mixture. Arrange cheese over pepper mixture, and sprinkle with black pepper. Top with top halves of bread.

** 9 Weight Watchers points for one long piece of flat bread cut in half, topped with 3 oz. of chicken, 1/2 cup of peppers, 1 slice of cheese ** (Points will vary based on bread/cheese choices)

San Giorgio Baked Ziti

I have mentioned before that I love baked ziti. It is so delicious and I could eat it daily. When John and I first started living together I was so sad to discover he doesn't like ricotta cheese- making it hard to make a really good baked ziti. With time he has learned to enjoy it. I started making my ziti with a few tablespoons of ricotta and gradually increased it. Now I can make any recipe and for the most part he enjoys it! When I saw Brooke's baked ziti recipe I knew I wanted to make it immediately. I made half of this and still yielded a lot of pasta! I am posting the full recipe incase you want to make the whole thing.

I have to say John and I both agreed this was the best baked ziti I have made yet. We loved it. To make it more weight watchers friendly I used part skim cheeses- other than that I made it exactly as posted and it was excellent!

Ingredients:

1 box ziti, uncooked
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese (15 oz)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1 Tbsp parsley
1 egg
1 Tsp oregano
1/2 Tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta according to package directions for 9 minutes; drain. In large bowl, stir together hot pasta, 1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parsley, egg, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In 13×9 x 2-inch baking dish, spoon pasta mixture; top with remaining 1-1/2 cups sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

** 7 Weight Watchers points per 1 cup serving.

Cinnamon Graham Cookies

I decided I wanted to make cookies today and as soon as I made that decision I ran across this recipe and decided to give them a try. YUM! I highly recommend these if you want to try something a little different. John loved them and I am excited to send them to work with him tomorrow.

Ingredients
-2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tablespoons cake flour)
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 2 teaspoons)
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 cup butter
-1/4 cup white sugar
-1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine first five ingredients and set aside.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla and mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and stir until combined. Drop dough two inches apart by rounded spoonful (I used a 1 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon) on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are brown.

Fanned Baked Potato

I am always in search of a new way to make potatoes. This recipe seemed interesting so I decided to give it a shot. They were pretty good. I only made two potatoes and cut the seasonings/butter/cheese back to reflect such. However I am including the original recipe for you.

Ingredients:

4 medium baking potatoes (evenly-sized)
1 1/2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
2-3 tablespoons melted butter
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, thyme, sage) or 2 teaspoon dried herbs
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Peel the potatoes if the skin is too tough, otherwise just scrub and rinse them.
3. Cut the potatoes into thin slices (but not all the way through.
4. Put the potatoes in a baking dish; slightly fan out the slices.
5. Drizzle the potatoes with melted butter and sprinkle with herbs and salt (to taste).
6. Bake the potatoes for about 50 minutes.
7. Remove the potatoes from the oven, sprinkle with parmesan and cheddar cheese.
8. Bake the potatoes for another 10-15 minutes (until they’re lightly browned and soft inside, and the cheeses are melted).

** 4 Weight Watchers points per potato

Greek Orzo Stuffed Peppers

I am one of the least adventurous eaters. Prior to meeting John I seriously ate bread, chicken, and pasta. While he too is picky he is far more adventurous than I am. When I saw this recipe for Greek stuffed peppers I was intrigued. It sounded like something I would enjoy so I decided to go with it. I am so glad I did. These were tasty! John was hesitant because of the feta cheese but we both really like this. I did make several modifications. The recipe below reflects my version. If you are going to make this I highly suggest looking at Elizabeth's blog (linked about) because she provides great step by step pictures.

Ingredients:
2 bell peppers
2/3 cup orzo
1 can chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
6 ounce(s) baby spinach
1 teaspoon dried oregeno
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tomato, finely diced
1 tablespoon(s) red-wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Halve peppers lengthwise through the stems, leaving the stems attached. Remove the seeds and white membrane. Place the peppers cut-side down in a large microwave-safe dish. Add 1/2 inch water, cover with cling wrap, cut slits in wrap to vent,and microwave on high until the peppers are just softened, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool slightly, drain, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of chicken broth with the orzo to a boil. Cook until the orzo absorbs the chicken broth and is tender.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add spinachand oregano and cook, stirring, until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute.

4. Then stir in orzo, diced tomato, 1/2 cup feta, vinegar, and salt; cook until heated though, about 1 minute.

5. Divide the filling among the peppers.

** 8 Weight Watchers points per serving (1 whole peppers stuffed with 1 cup of filling)

Parmesan Risotto

I know this might be shocking to most people but prior to making this I had never tried risotto before. I have seen countless recipes and I love how the rice gets creamy through the use of chicken broth rather than cream or some other fattening additive. I decided to use a modified version of this recipe. I didn't have peas so I omitted them. Also I cut the recipe into thirds. Below is the quantities I used. It yielded about 4 servings when made as a side dish.

John and I both loved this. It was so yummy and creamy without being high in calories/fat. I could easily have halved the parmesan cheese as well because it was so creamy on its own from the broth. I highly recommend this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice
4 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1/2 a small onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
S&P to taste

Directions:

1-In a large, wide pan, heat olive oil over medium. Saute onions until soft. Add garlic and dry rice and cook until the rice is lightly browned all over.

2- At the same time, heat up broth in a saucepan over low flame. When rice is lightly browned, pour 1 C. of broth into the pan, stirring constantly. When liquid is completely absorbed, add in another cup of hot broth. Continue in this manner until all of the broth has been absorbed by the rice.

3- Season with salt and pepper as desired, stir in the parmesan cheese thoroughly, cover, and remove from the heat. Serve warm.

** 5 Weight Watchers points per 2/3 cup serving

Bacon and Cheese Quiche

As I mentioned in my last post I made breakfast for John's team at work and one of the things I made was this quiche. I don't eat quiche but John said he and his whole team loved it. He got many positive comments and several really nice emails about this quiche so I guess it's worth a try! The recipe is pretty simple. I did use a deep dish pie crust thought and I don't see how it would have all fit in a regular crust because it went right up to the brim on the deep dish crust.

Ingredients:
8 ounces bacon
1 (9 inch) unbaked 9 inch pie crust (Use a deep dish pie crust)
2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (I used light cream)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained (omitted)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

Place crust in a 9 inch glass pie plate. Sprinkle bacon inside of crust. In a small bowl, combine Cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese and flour. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, cream, onion and green chiles. Add cheese mixture; stir well. Pour mixture into pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat Strawberry Banana Muffins

Today John asked me if I would mind making breakfast for his meeting tomorrow since the person who was supposed to bring breakfast would be out. I had no idea what to make but decided on a quiche and some type of healthy muffins. This muffin recipe was perfect- It comes out to only 212 calories per muffin which is pretty good for muffins! While the title on Allrecipes calls these giant muffins I used my normal muffin tin and it yielded 12.

I tasted one and they were great. My only change would be next time to not add sliced strawberries to the top. While it makes them pretty it made it hard for the batter underneath to cook. I had to bake them 2 extra minutes and I think 2 of them still aren't up to par and won't be making it to the breakfast. However the ones with tiny slices of strawberry on top cooked evenly. I will definitely be making them again because the taste is amazing for such a healthy muffin.

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 bananas, mashed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup frozen sliced strawberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 12 large muffin cups, or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, oil, brown sugar, vanilla and bananas. Combine the flour, baking soda and cinnamon; Stir into the banana mixture until moistened. Stir in the strawberries until evenly distributed. Spoon batter into muffin cups until completely filled.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed lightly. Cool before removing from the muffin tins.

Crispy Herb Baked Chicken

Awhile back I signed up for daily emails from Allrecipes. I often skim them but for the most part I haven't been thrilled with these emails. However when I saw this recipe for crispy herb baked chicken I was interested. I did change the recipe to yield a smaller quantity as well as to use chicken breasts instead of chicken pieces.

John and I both enjoyed this recipe. However it was lacking in the "herb" department considering that is one of the main words in the title of the recipe. The only herb in the recipe is garlic salt. However I have a habit of dramatically changing a recipe without giving the original a shot. I decided to just make this the way it was stated but if I were to make this again I would add a variety of other seasonings to spice it up a bit. Overall a nice, simple chicken dinner!

Below is what I did for boneless skinless chicken, but the original recipe is linked above.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup dry potato flakes
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease or line with foil a baking sheet or a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine potato flakes, Parmesan cheese, and garlic salt. Stir until well mixed.

Dip chicken pieces into melted butter or margarine, and roll in potato flake mixture to coat. Place in prepared pan.

Bake until chicken is cooked through.

Irish Soda Bread

Happy (almost) St. Patrick's Day! I wanted to make Irish soda bread for my students so they could taste it. In past years I have always bought a loaf from the local grocery store but I decided to give it a shot. I had a hard time selecting a recipe and spent a good bit of time searching for one. I wanted a recipe where I could easily replace the egg since one of my students can't have egg, I wanted a recipe with whole wheat flour to make it healthier for the kids, and I wanted a recipe that had some sugar in it but not a lot. I finally settled on this recipe. I did make a few changes. The recipe below reflects what I did, to see the original just click on the link above!

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup of cinnamon apple sauce (this was a substitute for 1 egg, so you can easily replace it with 1 egg)
2 cups low-fat buttermilk (see below for a way to make buttermilk if you don't have any)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Stir flours, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a mixing bowl.

Whisk applesauce (or egg) and buttermilk together in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until just blended. Stir in the raisins.

Turn out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead several times, then place the dough into a 9 inch round greased cake pan.

Cut an X on the top of the dough. Bake 30-50 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Mine took 30 minutes exactly, but the recipe says the bake time can greatly vary.

**My dough was very sticky and I thought it was not going to work. It did- so if your dough is really sticky don't worry.

*** How to make buttermilk:
Measure one tablespoon of lemon juice and pour it into a 1 cup measuring cup. Fill the cup with milk. Allow to stand for 5 minutes and then you have 1 cup of buttermilk! Just double it for this recipe.

Penne All'Amatriciana

I am obsessed with collecting recipes. At any given time I have 100-200 recipes bookmarked on my computer. With that said I sometimes have a recipe bookmarked for a long time before I get around to making it. This recipe is an example of that. I found it on Milk and Honey but it originates from Rachel Ray.

I seriously regret not making this sooner. John and I both loved it and I can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch. The bacon gives it such a smokey flavor. I let it simmer for 2 hours which is a lot longer than is recommended but I really wanted the bacon taste to penetrate the tomato. It was perfect and I will without a doubt make it again. My only qualm was the texture of the bacon after it cooked in the sauce... it was mushy rather than crisp. Next time I would finely chop the bacon so it isn't as noticeable. A real winner and must try!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound pasta
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan in a slow stream
1/4 pound, 4 or 5 slices, pancetta*, chopped (I used 7 slices of bacon)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parm cheese to pass at the table

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water.

Heat a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and pancetta. Cook pancetta 2 or 3 minutes then add onions and garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 7 or 8 minutes more, until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and parsley.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Simmer sauce over low heat until ready to serve.

Cook pasta to al dente or, with a bite to it. Drain pasta well. Do not rinse. Starchy pasta holds more sauce. Toss hot pasta with sauce and serve. Pass grated cheese at the table to top pasta.

* Pancetta is Italian rolled, cured pork, similar to bacon, but not smoked. Look for it at your deli counter. Bacon may be substituted resulting in a smoky tomato sauce.

Hawaiian Rolls

I fear yeast. When I come across a recipe that calls for yeast I skip over it. I don't know why, I know it's just another ingredient, but it adds a lot of steps to a recipe and tends to intimidate me. I decided it's time to get over my irrational fear and decided to make Hawaiian rolls.

The process was not as intimidating as I thought it would be! It is time consuming and it does take some effort, but it is not scary. I did make one error though that resulted in the rolls being a little bit denser than they should be. Since I know what I did wrong I am going to definitely make them again because I can tell they would be even more awesome when made correctly. So if you are reading this and you too fear yeast, I promise you there is nothing to fear- give it a shot!



Ingredients
1 1/4 cups pineapple juice
2 packages instant dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour

Directions
1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and butter. Beat in the yeast packages and the pineapple juice. Beat in 3 of the eggs, the vanilla, salt and ginger until well combined. Add 3 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour (about 2 1/2 cups) to make the dough easy to handle.
2. Using the hook attachment on your stand mixer, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes, using up to 1/2 cup more if necessary. Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn greased side up. Loosely cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (Dough is ready if you poke it and the indentation remains.)
3. Punch down the dough and divide in half. Divide one half of the dough into nine equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and pull the surface taut by tucking the dough in at the bottom of the ball. Place in a greased 9-inch round cake pan, tucked side down. Continue until the pan is filled. Repeat with the other dough half. Cover the rolls and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, lightly bat the remaining egg. Brush over the rolls and sprinkle with a couple of pinches of sugar. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

This recipe has been starred in my google reader for a long time now. I decided to make it today since we would be in and out all day and the crockpot is ideal for such occasions. It came out really good. It was sweet, which is something I'm not used to on chicken. However the chicken was so tender it was falling apart when I took it out of the crockpot. Definitely worth a try!



Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt to taste
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple slices, juice reserved
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup cornstarch

Directions:
Place chicken in slow cooker sprayed with non-stick spray and sprinkle with a little salt. Place pineapple slices over chicken. In a small bowl, combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger and cornstarch and stgir until combined. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or hight for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Serve over rice.

Frosted Animal Cookies

This recipe is one that I am very excited to post. When I received my March issue of Every Day with Rachel Ray I instantly bookmarked this recipe. I knew I wanted to make it ASAP but I didn't have the cookie cutters. I turned to my trusty friend (eBay) and within a week I had a set of 12 farm animal cookie cutters.

Now let me say... this recipe claims to take 50 minutes, not including chilling and cooking time, and unless you are a professional or have help I think that is a gross underestimate. This took me awhile but it was well worth it and highly recommend these. They are really tasty and make a great treat.



Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
One 11.5-ounce bag white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons multicolored nonpareil sprinkles

Directions:

1- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping the bowl as necessary. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients on low speed.

2. Shape the dough into 2 balls. Place each ball between 2 sheets of wax paper and roll out to a 10-inch round. Slide onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

3- Preheat the oven to 350. Using animal cookie cutters, cut the dough into cookies, gathering the scraps and rerolling until all the dough has been cut. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined sheets. Bake until edges are golden-brown, 15-20 minutes. Mine took 15 and they were perfect. Let cool.

4- In a small saucepan, melt the white chocolate over low heat, stirring, until glossy. Using a small offset spatula, spread the chocolate on the cookies and transfer to a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet. Top with the sprinkles. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

**Tip- roll the dough thin. When the dough is rolled too thick the animals puff and are hard to recognize!

London Broil Marinade

I have mentioned before that beef is not my fave. However, I really do like london broil. Growing up my family had london broil regularly and it was the only form of beef I would eat. To this day it is still something I really enjoy. To spruce it up a little I looked for a marinade recipe. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. I am glad I did- it was awesome! I let it marinade over night and the taste was incredible. I used a 1 pound cut of meat but the recipe calls for a 4-7 pound cut, so obviously you can use any size within that range and have plenty of marinade.

The above picture is the marinade prior to flipping the steak. Here is how it looked after 14 minutes in the broiler:


Ingredients:

1/3 cup of olive oil
1 clove of garlic smashed
3 T ketchup
2 T soy sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix marinade ingredients together, pour into zip lock bag. Put London broil into bag and marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours (I let it sit overnight).

Cook london broil with preferred method. I broiled mine in the oven, 7 minutes on each side, 14 minutes in all. It was medium-well after 14 minutes.

Let is sit about 10 minutes prior to slicing.

Apple Peanut Butter Cookies

I mentioned in an older post that I never bake... HA! How times have changed. I used to never bake. Now that I found a place to send all of my goodies (aka John's work) I love to bake. Especially since John works such long hours, baking gives me something to do that doesn't involve spending money. When this recipe popped up in my google reader this week I starred it and knew I'd make it. I did have some trouble finding some of the ingredients, namely vanilla granola clusters and tubinado sugar. I found a substitute for the granola and decided to skip rolling the cookies in sugar. If you want to roll them in sugar, go for it, but they were awesome without it!

After tasting one of these I was so tempted to not send them to work with John! They are THAT good. If you love the combo of peanut butter and apple these are a must try. I can't recommend these highly enough.

Ingredients:

1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
3/4 Cup vanilla flavored granola clusters (I used oats and honey granola)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup diced apples, about 1/4 inch, I used Granny Smith

1/2 Cup turbinado sugar, or other sugar of choice to roll cookies in (Omitted)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until light mixed well. Beat in peanut butter until combined then add the egg and vanilla until well combined.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, granola, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients following the apples until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough, roll into sugar then place onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. With tines of a fork, press down slightly making an X on top of each cookie. Bake for 8-9 minutes, cookies should look somewhat soft inside when you take them out. Let cool/finish baking out of oven for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Onion Baked Orzo

I love orzo so much. My recipe for parmesan orzo is one of my favorite side dishes. I saw this recipe for onion baked orzo and knew I would have to try it. I did make several modifications. Below is my version.

This recipe is really yummy- if you are looking for a new side dish give it a try:

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked orzo
1 can of chicken broth
1 packet of onion soup mix
Cooking spray
1 small can of sliced mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375. In a small saucepan combine the uncooked orzo and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, allowing the orzo to absorb the broth.

Stir in the onion soup mix and mushrooms. Bake for about 20 minutes uncovered.

Ranch Chicken Pasta

One word... yum! I had come across this recipe and knew I needed to make it. John is obsessed with bacon and I knew we would both like it. I am so glad I made this- it was awesome. It is a fattening recipe but I did do some things to lighten it up. First, I used center cut bacon which is lighter than traditional bacon. Second, I didn't cook the chicken in bacon grease, rather just cooked it in a skillet with cooking spray. Also I used 1% milk. Still not a light meal, but it is really tasty and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces (I used 2)
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ranch dry salad dressing mix
1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups dried medium noodles
1 tablespoon finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Start your water for your pasta. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Cut bacon into narrow strips. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels; discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings. (I discarded all of it)
3. In the same skillet, cook chicken in reserved drippings until no longer pink (I just cooked it with cooking spray), turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle flour and salad dressing mix over chicken; stir well to coat the chicken. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in bacon.
4. Serve the chicken over the noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bliss Bars

Ok so I made up the name for these things.. and it is kind of a lame name... but they are awesome and truly blissful haha! I first tried these back in college when my roommate Tiff's mom made them for us. They are the most addictive and delicious treats. They kind of taste like a Reese's peanut butter cup only better. However they are extremely heavy and you can't eat more than a small piece. The pieces pictured above are even borderline too much. Don't believe me? Try it. I made these for my coworkers and I am so thankfully they won't be hanging out in our house because they are also quite sinful.

The recipe originated from Allrecipes.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1- In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter and melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Take a sheet of wax paper and tightly press it over the peanut butter mixture, pressing down to even out the mixture. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or more. Remove wax paper.

2-Melt chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Spread melted chocolate over the crumb crust. Allow to chill completely, then slice into pieces.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders

I have a weakness for boneless buffalo chicken wings. However after I learned the nutritional statistics on those things I was shocked and rarely eat them now. I have been really craving them lately so I decided to make a lighter version at home. I had bookmarked this recipe some time ago and decided to make it tonight. I lightened it up a bit more by omitting the butter. Honestly I don't think you need the butter at all- it wasn't missing a thing. John and I both loved these and I am already planning on using this recipe to make buffalo chicken sandwiches, salads, etc.!

Ingredients:
1 package chicken tenders (I used 4 thin sliced chicken breasts sliced in half vertically)
about 1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup panko
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
A pinch of garlic powder
A pinch of paprika
S&P
(you could add cayenne pepper here if you want them extra spicy)
1-2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp butter, melted (omitted)
Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce, or any wing sauce you like

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 450. In a ziploc bag, add bisquick, panko, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Shake up to mix thoroughly.

2- Dip the chicken tenders into the egg, then in the bisquick mixture. Shake to thoroughly coat.

3- Lay chicken tenders in an even layer on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.

4-Bake for 7-8 minutes, then flip and bake for an additional 7-8. (Mine didn't take this long because I used the really thin breasts.)

5- Place tenders in a large bowl, douse with wing sauce, and toss until evenly coated. Return to the baking sheet and bake for an additional 3 minutes.

Italian Baked Shrimp

Tonight I knew I was making shrimp but I had no idea how. After talking with my friend Tiff (HI TIFF!) I decided to do something with shrimp and Italian salad dressing. I was thinking of grilling them but that seemed a little boring so I threw together this meal with what I had on hand. Let me tell you... these were great. They far surpassed my expectations and I really enjoyed this. Lightly dusting the shrimp with panko added some texture to the sauce and the shrimp. I wouldn't skip the butter on top of the panko because it does help to make the panko crunchy and golden. I really loved this, as did John, so all around a crowd pleaser.



Ingredients:
20-25 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup of Italian salad dressing (any variety would work)
1 tablespoon of butter, sliced into thin slivers
Panko
Parsley
Onion powder
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 375.
2- In a baking dish, lay the shrimp in a single layer.
3- Sprinkle with the onion powder, salt, and pepper.
4- Pour the Italian dressing evenly on top, covering all of the shrimp.
5- Sprinkle with Panko until the shrimp have a very light coating over top.
6- Evenly place the butter slivers over top of the panko.
7- Top with chopped parsley.
8- Bake until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Spinach and cheese calzone

Calzones remind me of my dad. Growing up he and I would always get a cheese calzone to share and I loved it. I decided to try and make them at home so I could modify the fillings. John doesn't love ricotta cheese so typical calzones from Italian restaurants are out of the question. I made up this recipe to use what I had on hand. I didn't measure anything so I'm not including quantities, you can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like. Also feel free to substitute and add other ingredients, calzones are very versatile.

I did have a little trouble sealing them. They sealed beautifully but opened a little bit in the cooking process. They still tasted excellent though and I would definitely try them again with other toppings.



Ingredients:
Pizza dough (I used frozen pre-made dough)
Frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess liquid
Mozzarella cheese
Ricotta cheese
Italian seasonings
Tomato sauce

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 400.
2- Take the pizza dough and divide it in half. Roll each half into a ball.
3- Using a rolling pin roll each ball out until it forms a large circle.
4- Layer the spinach and cheeses on top of one half of the circle. Sprinkle with Italian seasonings.
5- Fold the circle in half so the dough is completely covering the toppings. Squeeze the edges sealed.
6- Place on a baking sheet or preheated pizza stone and cook until the top is browned and inside is heated through.
7- Serve with warm tomato sauce.

Vodka Sauce

One of my favorite foods to order when we go out is pasta with vodka sauce. I could eat it regularly if it wasn't horrible for you. I had seen this recipe on Lauren's blog a long time ago and kept meaning to make it. I finally made it and WOW- it's awesome. This yields a ton of sauce so if you make it for two people be prepared to freeze some!

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
2/3 cup vodka
1 onion, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 quart light cream (I used slightly less than a pint)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
Melt butter in sauce pan. Add vodka and cook until alcohol evaporates.

Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, and then add seasoning and pepper flakes.

Add both cans of tomatoes and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Slowly add the cream while stirring, and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the cheese and stir well.

Wheat crackers

I looooooove Wheat Thins. For some reason they bring me back to going on vacation with my family as a kid. To this day anytime I go away I bring a box of Wheat Thins because they represent vacation to me, especially beach vacations. With that said I was so excited when I saw this recipe for wheat crackers. I am trying to be more competent in the kitchen and learn new techniques and new types of food. I had never made crackers before so I figured I might as well try.

I had a lot of trouble with this recipe. My dough was too sticky and in turn I couldn't roll them out thin enough. It kept sticking to the rolling pin even though I generously floured the pin and the surface. I wasn't sure how much 6 ounces of water equated to but online it said 3/4 of a cup. I think this was too much because the dough was really runny. I will be making these again because I am determined to get the recipe right. A few of the crackers were thin enough and they tasted great so I know the recipe is good, I just need to work on my technique. If anyone has any suggestions PLEASE let me know!!

Baked Wheat Crackers
(adapted from Alton Brown's seedy crisps recipe)

1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
6 oz water (Next time I will use 3 oz and add more if needed)

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in small bowl, then stir in oil and water by hand until a small ball of dough forms. Knead by hand 4-5 times on a well floured surface, then let the dough rest under a towel for 15 minutes.

Separate dough into 4 parts and roll out each section until the thickness is about the size of a sheet of paper. Place on parchment covered cookie sheet, poking holes in the top to let air escape. (Here's where I cut the dough with a pizza cutter into squares, so they'd be easier to separate after baking.)

Bake at 425 for 5 minutes each side, flipping partway through to ensure both sides are evenly browned.