Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I originally saw this recipe on my favorite food blog, Skinny Taste, and I just had to try it.

Her recipe is a little more in depth, but I just adapted it to make it a little easier…I’m all for as simple as possible

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

• Buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce)
• Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (I used 2 pounds, but use the amount you need)  I also used frozen, but I’m sure you can use thawed
• 1 packet of ranch seasoning
• Lettuce or tortillas (for wraps)
• Ranch or blue cheese dressing (We used my skinny ranch dressing) (Optional)
• Celery (Optional)
• Blue Cheese Crumbles or shredded cheese (optional)
• Shredded carrots (optional)

Throw chicken, sauce, and seasoning packet in a crockpot and cook on high 4-6 hours or low 6-8.  Shred with a fork and serve on lettuce or tortillas, with your choice of dressing, and  toppings

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Lately, I’ve been using my crock pot A LOT.  I hate cooking chicken, and throwing it in the crockpot makes my life SO much easier.

Anyway, I found this super simple recipe (sorry, not sure where, but I know there are a lot out there) for “taco chicken”.  I’ve made it twice because it is so easy and a huge hit with my boys (Alex, little brother, and his friend who lives upstairs).  So here it is (measurements not really important )

Crockpot Chicken Tacos:

Ingredients:

• Frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast – I’ve done it with 1 pound and 2 pounds.  I prefer doing the 2 pounds because it feeds us longer.
• Jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 packet of taco seasoning (your choice of mild, medium, hot, etc)
• Crockpot

Throw all the ingredients in the crockpot (I usually throw my chicken in frozen, but I’m sure you can thaw it out beforehand…just adjust cooking time).  The original recipe I found said a whole jar of salsa, but I just eyeball it and make sure the chicken is covered.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high or 4-6.  (Obviously, just check it to make sure it is cooked through ).

Shred with a fork and serve with your favorite taco ingredients!

Butter Pecan Bars

This recipe is from a local magazine, however I am not sure of the exact reference.  My mom made these a while back and made me a copy of recipe, which of course has no information on it.  I will try and find the magazine next time I'm home and update so I can give credit where credit is due :). I am, however, typing the recipe word for word because I didn't have to make any changes :)

Anyway, these are super rich, and definitely not good for you,  but they are delicious and pretty easy to make!

Ingredients:

• 1 (18 oz) box butter pecan cake mix
• 1 stick of butter melted
• 1 stick of butter softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
• 1 (1 lb) box of powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Mix together cake mix, 1 stick of melted butter and one slightly beaten egg.  Press into a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add softened butter, two eggs, and powdered sugar; mix well.  Pour over cake mix layer.  Top with pecans.  Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 1 hour.  Cool and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few years ago, I bought my first jar of Nutella.  One bite, and I was hooked.  When I needed a chocolate fix, I would just grab a spoon and the jar out of the cabinet and sneak a few bites.

I forgot about it for a while, and then one day I ran across it, and shoveled a spoonful in my mouth only to be disappointed.  It definitely didn’t taste the way I originally remembered it, so I just shoved it back up in the cabinet and forgot about it. 

Turns out, it had gone bad, hence the reason it didn’t taste how I remembered.  I thought it was like peanut butter and could last forever, but apparently it has about a 2 week shelf life after opening.

I was having a Nutella craving the other day, and convinced myself to buy a jar ONLY if I could find a recipe to use the majority of it.  I hit up Google and of course found a million different recipes, but since I already had the ingredients to make this one, I thought this was a good place to start.

Glad I did because they were yummy!

Sorry for the terrible quality, it was taken on my cell phone :) 

Recipe (slightly adapted) from Lovin’ From the Oven

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temp.
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Mix together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.
2. Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in egg.
3. Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
4. Chill for at least 1 hour.  (This is important because I made two batches and the second batch got a little warm before going in the oven and they didn’t turn out as well)
5. Drop tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes until the edges look set. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully remove to cooling racks.

I’m serving them to the fam tonight so I’ll see if they like them, but I know I did.

I found another recipe that used hazelnuts in it, so I may add those next time just for something different.  We’ll see though!

Let me know how they turn out if you try it :)

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

Although my Alex will eat pretty much anything, my family (parents and brother) are EXTREMELY picky.

From my dad not liking tomatoes, my mom eating like a four-year old (macaroni and cheese, burgers, chicken fingers), and my brother who refuses to eat anything that might go in a salad, it is quite difficult to come up with anything that they will all eat.

I was at home for the weekend and needed a recipe that I could try that they all would eat.  I saw this while browsing my favorite cooking blog, and thought it would be a good recipe to try.

It was a hit!

Terrible picture, but it is from my cell phone.  I’ll fix it later though ;)  Visit the original recipe here for a better, more appetizing picture

Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

serves 4-6

• 1 pound pasta (I used shells)
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 ounces grated monterey jack cheese (I used half a brick) + more for topping
• 1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese + more for topping
• 2/3 cup mild buffalo wing sauce (original calls for 1/3, but I added more for more flavor)
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste

for garnish: additional buffalo wing sauce  (She added additional garnishes on the original recipe found here)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Spray a baking dish (9x13) with non-stick spray. Add pasta and chicken, then pour cheese sauce over and mix thoroughly until everything is coated. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.  Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce.

Mocha Coconut Frappucino Cupcakes

Earlier this summer, I found the Mocha Coconut Frappucino on the menu at Starbucks and I tried it.

Bad.idea.  I could seriously drink them every day, all day (which is saying a lot because I never finish an entire Starbuck’s drink and I slurp these down).

Anyway, it got me on a coconut kick and I purchased boxes of Keurig (yes, boxes.  They are a limited edition so I stocked up), coconut creamer, and anything else “coconutty” I could get my hands on.

When this recipe popped up on my favorite cooking blog, I couldn’t get to the store fast enough to buy the ingredients.

They were more amazing than they sounded, and even my non-sweet loving boyfriend couldn’t get enough of these (another item he requested for me to make again for him and/or his parents).

So without further adieu, here is my recipe, slightly adapted from the original here at How Sweet It is (She uses dark chocolate – I used milk - and takes gorgeous pictures so definitely visit her blog and check out the original recipe!)

Mocha Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

• 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth, then stir in sour cream. Fold in chocolate chips and mix. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Frosting (Note:  This makes a lot of frosting.  Since I like light frosted cupcakes, I had a TON left over.  Next time I will play with halving this to see if I can reduce the amount :))

• 2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)
• 3 2/3 cups powdered sugar + more if needed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons of coconut extract
• 1-2 tablespoons of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixture until completely smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly. Gradually increase mixer speed and add vanilla and coconut extracts, then beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue to whip for another 4-5 minutes, continuously scrapping. If frosting is too thick, add coconut milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached If it’s too thin, add powdered sugar gradually until it thickens. Fold in shredded coconut and mix until just combined. Frost cupcakes, then sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

Mocha Coconut Drizzle

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1-2 teaspoons coconut milk

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add in one teaspoon of coconut milk. Really mix to combine, as you want it to be glaze-like and easy to drizzle. If too thick, add a drop of coconut milk and stir again. If it accidentally gets too thin, just add a bit more powdered sugar and mix.

Linguine with Clams Casino

Alex was coming into town and I was determined to try out a new recipe on him while I had him here.  I ran across this recipe and between the bacon, pasta, and clams, I knew it was perfect (and fairly reasonably priced, which made my financial analyst boyfriend love it even more ;))

We actually ended up cooking it together (because Alex can’t stay out of the kitchen), but it was really easy and it tasted AMAZING!  Alex even went as far as to say that I will have to make it again so far, and maybe even for his parents (both requests are a big deal coming from him).

I served it with a store-bought tomato basil focaccia (sorry, only one new recipe a night ;)), and had planned on adding a salad, but forgot to pick up the salad ingredients.  Oh well, just more room for pasta ;)

Recipe from How Sweet It Is (my new favorite cooking blog ;))  I didn’t make any changes to it and wouldn’t change a thing!

Clams Casino Linguine

serves 3-4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped red peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans minced clams in clam juice, 13 ounces total
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• 1/2 pound whole wheat linguine
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese + more for garnish
• freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Boil a pot of water for pasta and cook according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat a skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add chopped onions and peppers with a pinch of salt and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add in both cans of clams + juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Add white wine and let mixture simmer for about 5 full minutes. Stir in butter.

Turn heat down to low and add cooked linguine. Toss to allow the noodles to soak up the sauce. Add in parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon and parsley.

Serve with additional parmesan and crusty bread.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

In honor of St. Patrick’s day today, I thought I’d share my recipe for my Irish Car Bomb cupcakes (I made them for Alex’s b’day and they were a huge hit!) :)  I’ve never had an Irish Car Bomb so I don’t know if they taste the same, but they were inspired by the Irish Car Bomb ingredients :)

Time (Including Prep and Cook Time):  Approximately 1 hour

Yields:  24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 stick, plus 1 tbsp, unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet cocoa
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Icing

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup Irish cream (the original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of milk, so you can do that if you prefer :))

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350; butter a muffin tin if not using cupcake liners.

• Combine the Guinness and the butter, chopped into 1-inch chunks, in a large sauce pan, and heat to melt the butter.
• Remove from heat, and whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
• In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture. Sift together the flour and baking soda, and fold into the batter. Pour into muffin molds and bake for 25 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from muffin tin, and cool completely on a rack.

Using a mixer, whip cream cheese until smooth, sift in sugar, and beat. Add irish cream, and beat until smooth. Spread icing over cooled cupcakes.

PS:  Let the icing soak into the cupcake a little while before serving…it makes the cupcake much more moist :)

ENJOY! :)

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

Alex has been dying for me to cook for him, so while I was in Arkansas…I thought I would do just that.  I found this recipe on the Kraft Foods website and with chicken, pasta, spaghetti sauce, and cheese I didn’t see how you could go wrong!  The original recipe was semi-healthy and with my changes, it definitely took that aspect away, but it was so good!  I’m sure it is delicious without the additions as well…we were just about to go out of town for the weekend and didn’t want a lot of leftover ingredients :)

I hope you enjoy as much as we did! :)

*Note:  As always, my additions/substitutions are in bold italics

From:  kraftfoods.com (It has a video if you need extra help, but honestly, if I can handle it, I’m sure you can too! ;))

What You Need

1-1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked (I used regular penne and I used the entire box)

1 pkg.  (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves (I coarsely chopped it to make it easier to eat – this could be easily left out without compromising the dish)

1 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (I used 2 pounds)

1 tsp.  Dried basil leaves

1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 can  (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained (I didn’t drain them)

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed (I used 4 oz.)

1 cup  KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided (I used the whole package)

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese (just tasted it and added as I saw fit)

 

Make It

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in Neufchatel.

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish (Because I upped the ingredients, I used a 9 x 13 baking dish)

BAKE 20 min.; top with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted.

Like I said, it definitely wasn’t healthy, but it was definitely yummy!  It made a lot (with my alterations of course) and it was just as yummy as leftovers :)

As always, if you try it, let me know how it works for you!

Oreo Truffles

I LOVE Oreos and my cousin used to make Oreo truffles for me every Christmas.  For Thanksgiving, I wanted to see if I could find a recipe and try them out myself!  This recipe was from kraftfoods.com although it doesn’t seem to be there anymore :(.  Anyway, although I changed my recipe some (which I’ll note at the bottom), here is the original recipe.

Prep Time: 30 min            Total Time: 1 hr 30 min  

Makes: 3-1/2 doz. or 42 servings, one truffle each

What You Need!

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Make It!

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

How to Easily Dip Truffles

To easily coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Then use two forks to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove the truffles with forks and allow excess chocolate to drip back into bowl before placing truffles on prepared baking sheet.

Special Extra

Sprinkle truffles with colored sugar or sprinkles in addition to or in place of the cookie crumbs.

How to Soften Cream Cheese

Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 sec. or just until softened. Add 15 sec. for each additional package of cream cheese.

Notes:  Here are my changes to the recipe:

• I didn’t have the recipe with me so I ended up using the entire package of Oreos in the mixture.  It wasn’t bad, just really rich.
• I made the truffles way too big (as in two bite truffles) so I’m definitely going to make them smaller next time.
• Instead of semi-sweet chocolate, I used Almond Bark and White Chocolate.  I started out with the bark and although it had a really good taste, it wasn’t very smooth.  I then moved to the white chocolate and it looked better, but added even more richness to the truffle.
• Conclusion:  Although everyone loved them, I’m going to have to play with this recipe a little more to perfect it :)

My truffles.  The really white ones on the bottom are made with the bark, and the others are made with white chocolate.  Mom packed them on top of each other so you can see they are missing chocolate in some places! :)

Sunday Brunch Bake

I made this this morning for my boyfriend and I and it was a huge hit!! Although it is not super healthy…it was definitely yummy!

From:  Kraft Foods

Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 50 min

Makes: 12 servings

What You Need!

12 large eggs

1/3 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

1 lb. pork sausage

1 cup  sliced fresh mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

2   tomatoes, chopped

1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Finely Shredded Triple Cheddar Cheese

Make It!

HEAT oven to 400°F.

BEAT eggs and sour cream with whisk until well blended. Pour into greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake 10 min. or until egg mixture is softly set. Meanwhile, cook sausage, mushrooms and onions in large skillet on medium heat 6 to 8 min. or until sausage is done, stirring occasionally. Drain.

REDUCE oven temperature to 325°F. Spoon tomatoes over egg layer; cover with sausage mixture and cheese.

BAKE 30 min. or until center is set.

Brie en Croute

I grew up in a very Southern family.  We never really had fancy dinners so I wasn’t exposed to a lot of “fancy” foods growing up.  In elementary school, my best friend always took me out to eat with her family so I got a chance to try lots of different types of cuisines that we never had at home (Chinese, Italian, etc.)  I not only learned to try new things, but I also learned that I liked a lot of different types of food.
Specialty cheeses were something I never knew anything about until I worked at Creative Campus.  We had a lot of wine and cheese receptions and I was constantly having to order “fancy” cheeses.  One cheese that I fell in love with (thanks to not only Creative Campus, but Alex as well) was brie.  Last summer, while browsing the discount section at Barnes and Noble, I ran across this Campbell’s Cookbook.  I knew that I had eaten a ton of recipes that mom got off the soup labels and they were always good, so I thought this might be a good purchase and boy was it worth more than the $2.99 I paid for it! :)
I’ve tried several recipes out of it, but the first one I tried was the Brie en croute.  I made it as an appetizer one night as part of the dinner I made for Alex last year (I made a 3 course dinner…I was so proud)  Anyway, here is the recipe

Click on the picture to go to the website and see a video on how to make it! :) (By the way, mine was not near this pretty, but tasted good!)

Brie en Croute

From: Campbell's Kitchen
Thaw: 40 minutes
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 20 minutes
Stand: 1 hour
Serves: 12

Ingredients:

1/2 package of a 17.5 ounce Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cups toasted sliced almonds (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 (1 pound) Brie cheese round
1 package Pepperidge Farm® Entertaining Quartet Distinctive Crackers

Directions:

Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature for 40 minutes or until it's easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Cut off the corners to make a circle. Sprinkle with the almonds and parsley in the center of the circle. Top with the cheese. Brush the edge of the circle with the egg mixture. Fold the sides of the pastry over the cheese. Trim the remaining two sides to 2 inches  from the edge of the cheese. Fold the two sides up onto the cheese. Press the edges to seal. Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Decorate the top with pastry scraps, if desired. Brush with the egg mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes or the pastry is until golden brown. Let stand for 1 hour. Serve with the crackers.
My notes:

• It was quite yummy and I was super proud of how it turned out :)  It was a great start to our dinner that evening :) 
• It did not say to take the casing off, but I might do that next time.  It was a little hard to cut into and I like the melted cheese running out :)

Easy Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

My brother’s football coach used to invite the team over every once in a while for dinner.  Since the coach’s wife had a big group to feed, she made spaghetti quite often.  Not just any spaghetti though…it was chicken spaghetti.  My brother would come home raving about it and finally asked what was in it.  My mom just happened to run across a recipe that was very similar, if not identical, to the one his coach’s wife made for them. 
Mom actually made it this weekend and it has definitely become one of my favorite meals (I’ve even made it for Alex and he liked it too!)
So here is the yummy recipe (from Neighbors magazine October 2008)

EASY CHEESY CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
1 pound spaghetti
2 (13-ounce) cans chicken, drained and flaked
2 (10-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 (10-ounce) can cheddar cheese soup
1 (10-ounce) can mild Rotel tomatoes
2 cups shredded three-cheese blend
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain. In a large bowl, stir together spaghetti and remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 9- by 13-inch casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

I will say, it is super easy to make (like I said, even I’ve made it!) and super yummy!
As always, if you try it, let me know what you think! :)

Steak Salad with Avocado Dressing

Picture from kraftfoods.com
It was super easy to make and although the salad part was nothing impressive, Alex is a huge fan of avocados so that’s what drew us to the recipe.  Anyway, here it is!  (Recipe from kraftfoods.com)
Prep Time: 15 min    Total Time: 29 min
Makes: 4 servings, about 3 cups salad

What You Need!

1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak
Dash  of chili powder
8 cups torn mixed salad greens
1 cup  cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup sliced red onions
1/4 cup  sliced black olives
1/4 cup KRAFT Light House Italian Dressing
1/2   of a medium ripe avocado, peeled, pitted

Make It!

PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle steak with chili powder. Grill 5 to 7 min. on each side or until medium doneness (160ºF). Remove from grill; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 min.
MEANWHILE, toss greens with tomatoes, onions and olives; place on serving platter. Place dressing and avocados in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.
CUT steak across the grain into thin slices; place over salad. Drizzle with dressing mixture.
My tips (We had to tweak the recipe a little):

• We cooked the steak on the stove instead of on the grill just to save some time.  It was fine, but I think it could use a little more flavor (so you may want to marinate it however you’d like) and of course grilling will add flavor as well.
• We doubled the ingredients for the dressing and we barely had enough!  I highly suggest you do that because it is a thicker dressing, it did not go very far.
• You could easily substitute chicken instead of the steak to make it a healthier (and equally yummy) option :)

Our favorite part was the dressing and we decided it would be yummy just pouring it over meat or chicken so we might try that next time.
This salad was super easy to make, perfect for a summer dinner, and surprisingly very filling :)

Simply Lasagna

I’m a huge fan of Italian food, and almost every Italian restaurant Alex and I go to, he orders lasagna.  My grandmother has always made an excellent lasagna, but it always looks so hard to make.  Well, one night I was determined to find something to make Alex for dinner and I ran across a recipe in my Kraft Food & Family called “Simply Lasagna”.  The best part about this recipe is that you don’t have to boil the noodles before putting it together (which makes it much easier and quicker!) and still tastes really good!  To make things even easier for you, Kraft even has a “how-to” video here.


Picture from Kraft Foods.com
Here’s the recipe:
Prep Time: 20 min      Total Time: 1 hr 35 min
Makes: 12 servings

What You Need!

1 lb. ground beef
2-1/2 cups  KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1   egg, lightly beaten
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup  water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups mozzarella, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.
DRAIN meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add water to empty sauce jar; cover with lid and shake well. Add to meat mixture; stir until well blended. Spread 1 cup sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and cheeses. Cover with greased foil.
BAKE 1 hour or until heated through, removing foil after 45 min. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.

My Notes:

• I’m not sure why, but mine didn’t turn out quite as pretty as the picture.  It was still yummy though!

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

My aunt makes “Strawberry Pretzel Salad” every year for the holidays and my mom absolutely loves it!  When she saw this recipe in one of my recipes books, she requested I make it, so I did.  It was a hit :)

From:  Kraft Foods
Prep Time: 25 min  Total Time: 4 hr 55 min     Makes: 20 servings

 

What You Need!

2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup  sugar, divided
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup  thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 cups boiling water
1 pkg.  (6 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 qt.  (4 cups) strawberries, sliced

 

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F.
MIX pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 min. Cool.
BEAT cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over crust. Refrigerate.
ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.
My Notes:

• I didn’t crush up the pretzels as finely as it directed, but it still tasted good (although it was not near as pretty as the picture)
• I used as much lowfat stuff as possible:
• Skim Milk
• Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
• Lite Cool Whip
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Cooking Butter

 

Peach Mug Pie

I made this as a dessert to go along with my penne with sausage meal and it was equally as yummy.

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except that I bought whipped cream instead of making it (hence the marked out ingredients and directions:))

From:  Sandra Lee, Food Network

Prep:  5 min    Cook: 15 min.   Yields: 4 Servings

• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 (15-ounce) can peach halves, juice reserved and peaches chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 4 graham crackers, crumbled
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 container whipped cream

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons water with the cornstarch. In a small pot over medium heat reserved peach juice, cornstarch mixture, brown sugar and salt. Once the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, stir in the chopped peaches.

In a chilled mixing bowl whip heavy cream with confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Use 1 cup for mug pies, and reserve the rest for the Caramel Cocktail recipe.

Begin assembling peach pies by in clear glass mugs. Place a layer of graham crackers at the bottom, then a big spoonful of the peach pie filling. Sprinkle with another layer of graham crackers. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then another layer of graham crackers followed by a dollop of whipped cream.

Notes: 

• I put a lot of peaches in the glasses, so mine didn’t quite yield 4 servings.  It was very good that way so I might just double that part of the recipe instead of decreasing the amount of peaches.
• I’m also thinking about trying this same sort of method with banana pudding.  I’ll let you know how it turns out :)

Penne pasta with Sausage & Homemade Garlic Bread

I made this dinner tonight for Alex and I on Thursday and Alex ate three helpings and asked if he could keep some of the leftovers.

When my parents came down this weekend, my dad tried it and ate almost all of the leftovers so I can definitely say this was one of my best dishes yet!

The original recipe was from Sandra Lee’s show, "Money-Saving Meals”, but I adapted it to fit my tastes (which makes it even more exciting that it actually turned out :))  I’m listing her recipe and my alterations are listed in bold.  Enjoy!

From:  Sandra Lee, Food Network

Prep: 10 min       Total:  35 min       Serves: 4 (huge servings!)

* 1 pound penne pasta
* 2 tablespoons olive oil (used vegetable oil instead)
* 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced (left this out)
* 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped (used garlic salt instead and added some more as I cooked - whatever I thought it needed)
* 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning mix (I also added some more after it started cooking)
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake, optional (left this out)
* 4 Italian-style hot pork sausages, cut into 1/2-inch slices (got mild Italian ground sausage instead...it was much easier to deal with :))
* 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (I wanted more sauce so I left the juice in)
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* Basil leaves, for garnish (I left this off)

I followed the directions accordingly, just left out or substituted as listed above :)

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a large deep skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add onion, garlic, Italian seasoning mix and red pepper flakes, if using. Sir frequently and cook until the onions are soft and fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add sausage and cook for 1 minute. Add can of crushed tomatoes, stirring all the ingredients together to combine. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste and let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and mix well.
Drain the pasta and add directly to the skillet with the sauce Toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with basil leaves.

As for the garlic bread, Sandra Lee just took store-bought garlic bread and added cheese.  Our grocery store was out of fresh garlic bread, so I just got a french loaf, put a slice of “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter” and some garlic salt on each one and baked them at 400 until cheese was melted :)