Recipe #22 - Football Food: Pumpkin Pie Dip

This past weekend I invited some family & friends over to the house to watch the Bears game. (Go Bears!) It was a great opportunity to try out a few recipes I had been eyeing on Pinterest.The spread included turkey sloppy joe sliders, veggie pizza & buffalo chicken dip, but the star of the show was the pumpkin pie dip for sure.

Recipe inspired by www.sixsistersstuff.com Pumpkin Pie Dip

Ingredients

• 15 oz can pure pumpkin
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 6 oz vanilla greek yogurt (original recipe calls for plain fat-free, but I thought the vanilla flavor would give it more taste)
• 8 oz fat free Cool Whip
• Mini vanilla waffers and sliced apples or any other tasty sweet crackers or fruit of your choice.

Directions
Mix pumpkin with brown sugar, vanilla and spices, blend well. Mix in yogurt. Fold in Cool Whip and chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Results
Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! Very light, not too sweet and absolutely delicious. :) One word of caution, this makes A LOT of the dip. I probably had enough to fill the bowl shown about 2-3 times. I would recommend making half of the recipe.

Recipe #24 - Football Food: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Q: What is the perfect compliment to a Sunday Bears football game?
A: Buffalo Chicken Dip!

Straight from the recipe on the back of the Frank's Original Red Hot Sauce.

Ingredients

• 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing (I used Light Ranch dressing instead)
• 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1/2 cup cumbled blue cheese
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken (I used 1 large can of white chunk chicken)
• Carrot sticks, celery and chips for dipping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese into deep dish.Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bake for 20 min until hot. Stir. Enjoy!

Results
As you can see, I tried to be creative and make the laces of a football using some Frank's Red Hot Sauce drizzled on top of the mix. Doesn't exactly look like a football, but it was worth a shot. "A" for effort. :) The dip was delicious!! I made a double batch and there was hardly any left at the end of the day.

For more football food recipes, check out pumpkin pie dip and veggie pizza.

Recipe #23 - Football Food: Veggie Pizza

My husband's aunt makes a really great veggie pizza when we are up at the lake house. I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try!

Recipe inspired by www.breakfast-and-brunch-recipes.com Veggie Pizza for Brunch

Ingredients

• 2 8oz cans reduced fat crescent rolls
• 8oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 3 TBSP mayonnaise
• 3 cups chopped mixed vegetables (I used pre-chopped tri-color peppers and sliced green and black olives)
• 1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a 10" x 15" baking pan with the crescent roll dough, pressing the edges and perforations together.
• Place in the oven and bake the crust according to the instructions on the package. Cool to room temperature.
• In a medium size bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.Add the sour cream, ranch salad dressing mix and mayonnaise. Mix well.
• Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Sprinkle with chopped vegetables and cheese. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

Results
Yum!! The only thing I would change is I would use less of the ranch salad dressing mix.That flavor was a bit strong, but other than that, delicious!! :)

For more football food recipes, check out pumpkin pie dip & buffalo chicken dip.

Recipe #21 - Sausage & Egg Bake

We love to eat breakfast burritos for dinner (tortillas, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns & cheese), but it takes 3 pans to make and as good as they taste, I hate to clean up afterwards. I decided an egg bake might be a good alternative with relatively the same ingredients/result with less cleanup.

Recipe inspired by www.culinary.net Weekend Brunch Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 8 ounce can refrigerated seamless dough sheet (you can also use 1 8oz can of crescent rolls if you don't have the seamless dough sheet --> you can get reduced fat crescent rolls, but I haven't found a reduced fat seamless sheet yet)
• 1 pound reduced-fat sausage
• 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese (original recipe calls for mozzarella, but I like cheddar better)
• 5 eggs, beaten (org. recipe calls for 4 eggs, but I like more eggs in an egg bake)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cook and crumble sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat according to package instructions. Drain.
• Line bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking dish with the dough.
• Sprinkle dough with sausage & cheese.
• Combine remaining ingredients in mixing bowl until well blended. Pour mixture over the sausage and cheese.
• Bake 15 minutes or until set. (It took mine about 20+ minutes.) Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares.
• Serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers. Enjoy!

Results

• Delicious! I would absolutely make this again. Very easy and less cleanup!!
• If you can see in the picture, the seamless crust was too large for my baking dish. I learned that my new favorite bluish purple large baking dish from Crate & Barrel is in fact NOT a 13x9 inch baking dish. I thought it was -- OOPS! :) Next time I will either just cut the crust to fit the pan or find a bigger dish. The crust on top burned and did not taste good.

Quick&Easy Recipe - Rotisserie Chicken Nachos

My husband and I love the chicken nachos from Miller's Ale House. I make nachos (cheese & chips) all the time for us, so adding chicken was a logical and easy addition. I always pass those rotisserie chickens in the grocery store and thought this might be the perfect time to try one for the meat for our chicken nachos! The plan worked out brilliantly! This recipe was quick, easy & delicious!!

I pulled all the meat off the bones and placed it into a container with a lid. We will have plenty of chicken this week for either more nachos or other chicken dishes. After placing the chicken & cheese on the nachos, I placed them in the microwave for 45 seconds until all the cheese was melted.

This is just the base. You can add whatever toppings/veggies/sauces you would like to make it the perfect snack or meal. On Saturday, I made some guacamole to have with the nachos. My guac is simple: 1 avocado mashed up, about 1/4 tsp each of salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder. Add more or less to taste. I also make easy guac by mashing up 1 avocado and adding about 1-2 TBSP of salsa. Good stuff!

Quick&Easy Recipe - York Peppermint Brownies

I saw something on Pinterest too incredible not to try...York Peppermint Brownies from www.sugardishme.com. I made them this morning for a Sunday Football treat. So easy & so delicious!!

All you have to do is take 1 box of brownie mix and add to it whatever it calls for (eggs, oil, water, etc.). I used Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix. It is amazing on its own but when you add York Peppermint Patties - it somehow makes it even better!! You pour half of the brownie mix in a 8x8 or 9x9 dish. Then, place the patties side by side until they cover the 1st layer of brownie mix. Finally, poor the remaining brownie batter over the peppermint patties. Bake the brownies according to the directions on the box. Enjoy!!

My husband doesn't like the mint/chocolate combo, so I can't give you a second opinion, but I believe these are absolutely amazing!

One variation I might try for the future would be to use Junior Mints instead of the York Peppermint Patties so that you get smaller bites of peppermint throughout the brownies.

Recipe #20 - French bread pizza

I debated on whether or not this is a "Quick&Easy" recipe or just a regular new recipe. I am counting it as a new recipe as I have not made it before and I feel like someone once said if it takes more than 3 ingredients, then you are cooking vs. putting something together, so I am going to go with that.


This picture shows half of a half loaf. Left side = plain cheese. Right side = sausage & cheese.

Ingredients
1 large French bread loaf
Pizza sauce
Mozzerella cheese
Sausage
Pepperoni
Italian Seasoning

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut bread loaf in half and then cut it to split it open (as if you were going to make a sandwich).
3. Spread pizza sauce on top of the bread. Then you can put the toppings on the bottom and the cheese on top or cheese on bottom and toppings on top.
4. Place the French bread pizzas in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
5. When the cheese has melted all of the way, pull the pizza out of the oven and sprinkle Italian seasoning over the entire thing. Enjoy!

Half of the loaf. Sausage & Pepperoni.

Results
WOW! This was incredible! I am not sure if we were just hungry or if it was really this good, but this was amazing, and I will absolutely make this again!

Recipe #19 - Blue Cheese Turkey Burger

My husband went to the meat shop (is there another word for that?) a couple of weeks ago and brought home some AMAZING blue cheese burgers. Given our desire to try to eat a little bit healthier, I decided I would try to make some blue cheese TURKEY burgers and see how they taste. :)

Ingredients
1 lb Jennie-O Ground Turkey
1-2 ounces blue cheese crumbles
1 tsp Worchestire sauce
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions
1. Mix all of the ingredients together by hand.
2. Divide the meat mixture into 4 even sections. Form each section with your hands into patties. I like to make mine as this as thin and uniform as possible to help decrease the cook time and so that they cook evenly.
2. I used the stove to cook our burgers, but you can use the grill as well of course. On the stove, I pre-heated the pan over medium-high heat. Place the patties in the pan.
3. Cook the patties until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees (about 10 minutes). Flip the patties over once or twice during cooking. Enjoy!

Results
Really flavorful! I used to make turkey burgers more, but they had NO taste. I would just load them up with cheese and toppings, which negated the healthy reason I was trying to make turkey burgers in the first place. I literally just placed one of the patties on a bun and ate it with just the bread, no toppings. So good! I will definitely make these again!

Recipe #18 - Chicken Taco Bake

Since neither my husband nor I had a taste for anything for dinner yesterday, I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from work, hoping to find something good to make. When I got to the store, I had the overwhelming craving for my mom's chicken tacos, but I didn't really have time to cook/shred the chicken, so I improvised - canned chicken. I know some people are not big fans of canned chicken (it's not my favorite either) but I have found when you mix it with salsa, for some reason I am ok with it. 

Ingredients
2 cans (the big ones) of Swansons premium chunk chicken
1/2 cup salsa
8 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Kraft Mexican blend cheese
Salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Drain the cans of chicken and put the chicken in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. The chicken is already cooked, but I like to mix everything together over heat before putting it in the tortillas.
3. Add the half cup of salsa to the chicken and stir. You can use whatever kind of salsa you would like. I used Old El Paso medium. You can also use as much or as little salsa as you would like to taste.
4. Add your seasonings. I added salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dried cilantro. I think the chiken in a can doesn't have a whole lot of flavor, so I tried to add some flavor with these spices and seasonings. I would say I added no more than 1 tsp of each but it was really just a pinch of this and that.
5. Once the chicken mixture is mixed together and heated through, place a decent amount of mixture in the middle of a corn tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the mixture and place the "open" side of the tortilla down to keep it together. Repeat this until you have used all of the tortillas and mixture placing each rolled tortilla side by side. You can use more or less tortillas depending on how much mixture you want in each taco.
6. Pour all 2 cups of cheese over the top of the tacos and place the dish in the oven.
7. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted nicely on top. Enjoy!

Results
I loved this. My husband did not think it was as great. He ate it, but probably not his favorite meal. I did mash up an avocado and made some guacamole to enjoy with my tacos. That probably made a HUGE difference as I LOVE avocado and all meals that I can have with avocado. My husband does not like avocado. I will put this meal on the list of foods to make when my husband is traveling for work and won't be home. :)

Quick&Easy Recipe - Kraft Fresh Take

It occurred to me today while making dinner that while I have not made a new "homemade/made from scratch type" recipe every week, I have tried a few new quick and easy, semi-homemade recipes that I could share in case anyone else dreads the question as much as I do, "what are we having for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack/brunch/linner/etc." :)

On the menu tonight - Kraft Fresh Take

We tried the Southwest Three Cheese flavor a couple of months ago and LOVED it, so I decided to try another flavor (and by "decided" I mean they were out of the Southwest flavor, so I was forced to try a new one). :) Maybe the secret is already out around here that this stuff is AWESOME!

This is SO easy! I purchased one package of the thin chicken breasts (about 1lb). You open the Kraft package and mix the cheese/crumbs together. Then wet the chicken (I used one egg as suggested to dip the chicken in). Finally dip the wet chicken in the pouch and place it in a greased pan and stick it in the oven! 30 minutes later I prayed that the chicken had reached the recommended internal temperature (165 degrees). When the meat thermometer read 170, I cut one piece open just to make sure it wasn't pink. (I don't have the best history with meat cooking to the right temperature in the oven in the recommended time for some reason.) No pink on the inside, good to go!

Kraft Fresh Take chicken and Skinnygirl Pina Colada w/pineapple juice

You may notice an adult beverage in the picture. For those of you that know me well, you know I drink socially at events and while I am traveling for work but I RARELY drink at home. My husband is the same way. However, recently, we heard one alcoholic drink a night is "good" for you. It doesn't even have to be red wine now according to the new research. Sold! We are trying to have one adult beverage in the evening. This is night #1 of this experiment. :) My beverage of choice this evening - a Skinnygirl cocktail. I love Bethenny Frankel! I tried the Skinnygirl Margarita a long time ago and thought it was rather strong for me (again, reference above, I am a lightweight) but thought I would give some of her new drinks a try. Knowing I might think it was strong for me, I thought mixing the Pina Colada with pineapple juice would be tasty....and I was RIGHT! Yum! :) My formula - 1 part Skinnygirl Pina Colada to 2 parts pineapple juice.

Results:  D E L I C I O U S!! My husband and I both loved this chicken. This Kraft Fresh Take makes me look like a gourmet chef (or at least better than a novice). :) We will definitely be trying the other flavors.

Recipe #15-17 Labor Day Weekend

So...it's been awhile (a few months actually) but I finally had some free time to try out some new recipes this Labor Day weekend! I made homemade taco seasoning, haystacks and one of my favorites -- Queso Fundido!!

First the good stuff...Recipe #15 Queso Fundido a la Nelson :)

It is something I was first introduced to while studying abroad in Monterrey, Mexico! I could not get enough of this stuff (served with homemade flour tortillas.) Yum! The "authentic" queso fundido is made with queso chihuahua and chorizo. Queso Fundido a la Nelson is made with the cheese I could find in my predominately non-Hispanic western suburb of Chicago grocery store and Jimmy Dean sausage. This Midwest Mexican (as I refer to my half white/half Mexican self) is happy to try whatever is available to me if it will come even remotely close to tasting like one of my favorite foods.

Ingredients
Batch #1
1/2 package Reduced Fat Jimmy Dean Sausage
1 package (10oz I believe) Cacique Queso Quesadilla (it was the only "Mexican melting cheese" the lady assisting me could find)

Batch #2
1/2 package Reduced Fat Jimmy Dean Sausage
2 cups shredded Queso Chihuahua with seasonings (I checked one other part of the store and found Queso Chihuahua but it was shredded instead of in a cube and had seasonsings, but given what I was making, I figured it was ok.)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cook the sausage according to the package.
3. If your cheese is in a solid cube/circle/square, cut it into 1 inch pieces. Line the bottom of a 7x11 baking dish with the cheese. If it is shredded, you can just spread it out evenly in the dish.
4. Place the cooked sausage on top of the cheese and spread evenly throughout the dish. (I only used half and then refridgerated the remaining for the second batch.)
5. Place the dish in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted and bubbly.
6. Enjoy with tortilla chips, fritos or corn or flour tortillas!

Results
Delicious!!! I personally liked the second batch better, but my husband liked the first batch. So, the conclusion is you can make great queso fundido with various "Mexican melting cheeses" and sausages whether it be chorizo or Jimmy Dean. :) I will definitely be making this again. It will probably become a regular during football season!

Recipe #16 - Haystacks
This is one of my husband's favorite desserts. Given his birthday was last week, I figured I should make him a batch. There are SEVERAL recipes out on the internet. I checked out a few and then simplified it to 3 ingredients.

Ingredients
1 package chow mein noodles (about 6 cups)
1 11oz package of butterscotch chips
1 cup of peanuts

Directions
1. Melt the butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl. I put them in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each time until they were all the way melted.
2. I then threw all of the noodles and nuts into the bowl of melted butterscotch and mixed until everything was well coated.
3. Spoon the mixture in little clumps (heaping TBSP size) onto cookie sheets. It took me two cookie sheets to use all of the mixture.
4. Place the cookie sheets with the haystacks into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Enjoy!
5. Store the leftover haystacks in the refrigerator.

Results
Yum!! They were so good that we ate them all during the weekend before I remembered to take any pictures! This will also be a recipe that will be repeated several times in our house.

Recipe #17 - Homemade Taco Seasoning

Going back to the roots of this blog, I learned on Pinterest that the store bought taco seasoning I have been using almost every single week is probably not the healthiest thing I could be serving my family. I decided to try one of the homemade taco seasoning recipes posted on Pinterest.

Recipe inspired by Homemade Taco Seasoning - Do It Yourself from www.wholenewmom.com.

Ingredients
2 TBSP chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 TBSP cumin
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Original recipe also calls for 1tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp oregano, but I didn't have those in my cupboard, so I omitted them.

Directions
1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Cook meat (I used Jennie-O ground turkey) per package instructions.
3. For every 1lb of meat, use 2 TBSP of seasoning mix and 3/4 cup of water. Once the meat is cooked, add the seasoning mix & water to the pan with the meat.
4. Let the meat mixture simmer until some of the water evaporates and it is the saucy consistency that you desire.
5. Enjoy the meat mixture with taco shells or on nachos (as my husband did) or in a taco salad (like I did)!

Results
It didn't taste exactly like the stuff I buy from the store, but it was definitely a good alternative. It was a little bit spicy for my taste, so I would play around with the ratio of the spices next time. There are several other recipes for homemade taco seasoning out on Pinterest and the web in general. I will keep trying combinations until I find my favorite one!

Recipe #14 - Fruity Pebble Treats

Ever since I realized how easy Rice Krispie Treats are to make, I have made them a few times! Recently I saw a recipe on Pinterest for a Fruity Pebbles variation, and you know I had to try it!

Recipe inspired by Evan's Kitchen Ramblings Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treats

Ingredients
3 tbsp Butter
1 10 oz bag mini marshmallows
6 cups Fruity Pebbles

Directions
1. Grease a 13x9 inch pan.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot.
3. Add all of the marshmallows and stir continuously until the marshmallows have just about melted.
4. Add the Fruity Pebbles and stir well until they are coated with the marshmallow mixture.
5. Pour the mixture into the pre-greased pan and spread it out as best as possible to cover the entire pan.
6. Let the treats cool. Cut the treats into squares once the mixture is completley cool. Enjoy!

Results
SWEET!!! No, really, these taste very, very sweet. :) I am partial to the regular Rice Krispie Treats, but these are a good colorful alternative if you need something other than the regular recipe. I am sure this is not my last variation on Rice Krispie Treats. So many other fun cereals to try!

Recipe #13 - Egg Salad

I have been traveling a lot and seen egg salad sandwiches on menus everywhere lately, but didn't want to try one at a restaurant. I figured I could make one at home! It has been FOREVER since I have boiled an egg. Given my year long experience of new recipes, I figured a good egg salad could be added to my list.

I searched the internet and basically all recipes were about the same with a few variations. Below is what I ended up making.

Ingredients
4 hard boiled eggs
3 to 1 ratio of light mayo to dijon mustard (add more or less to taste)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Directions
1. Hard boil the eggs. Put the raw eggs in a pot filled with just enough cold water to cover the eggs. Bring the water to boil. Once the water boils for 1-2 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and place a lid on the pot. Let the eggs steam for 10-12 minutes. Remove the eggs from the hot water with a slotted spoon and place them into a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes or until you can safely handle the eggs.
2. Peel the shells off the eggs and discard. Slice the eggs into small pieces. Mix the egg, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add mayo/mustard/salt/pepper to taste.
3. Serve with crackers or on toasted bread! Enjoy!

Results
So simple. So delicious. I could definitely see myself making this again and trying some of the variations I saw online. I can check off one more thing from my list - successfully boiled an egg!

Recipe #12 - Cream Cheese Monkey Bread

Every time we visit my in-laws, my husband asks his mom to make him pinch bread (which I have found out is most commonly referred to as "Monkey Bread"). Last Christmas, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law taught me how to make the famous pinch bread for my husband. Up to this point I hadn't made it because it takes time for the yeast to rise in the dough, and I just hadn't found the time to make it yet.

At Easter, my best friend brought monkey bread to brunch and shared with me the secret that you can subsitute canned biscuits for the dough so you don't have to wait on the yeast! Genious!

There are several monkey bread recipes using canned biscuits on Pinterest but the one that peaked my interest the most was Cream Cheese Monkey Bread from www.PipandEbby.com. Yummmm!!!

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup light brown sugar (original recipe calls for dark brown, but light brown is what I had in my pantry and it worked just fine)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 8oz cream cheese block
• 2 cans 16oz flaky biscuits (original recipe calls for 12 oz cans, but I grabbed the wrong ones and they worked perfectly)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl. Set aside.
• Cut 16 cubes into the cream cheese block. (Depending on how many biscuits you have, cut the same amount of cubes.)
• Pull apart the biscuits dough and lay the discs on a flat surface.
• Place one cube of cream cheese on each disc. Wrap the biscuit around the cream cheese.
• Place 8 of the dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese side UP, into the prepared bundt pan.
• Cover with half of the sugar mixture and half of the butter.
• Top with the remaining 8 dough-wrapped cream cheese cubes, cheese side DOWN, and leftover sugar mixture and butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
• Invert onto a platter and serve warm.
• Cover and refridgerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

Results

• One word: WOW!
• This was delicious. I would absolutley make it again, however, my husband and I both agreed that the cream cheese was too much for us. The biscuits, sugar mixutre and butter taste amazing together. The cream cheese is delicious, but not necessary.
• CAUTION: The cream cheese is HOT if you serve this right out of the oven.

Recipe #11 - Easter Puppy Chow

So...this once a week thing has gotten pretty tough with my travel schedule lately. I think my goal will be 52 new recipes by the end of the year which means I will have a new recipe for each week, but might have to double up on a few weeks to make up for the weeks when it is physically impossible to make a new recipe.

This week is Easter! I am headed to my mom's house with about 20 relatives and friends. I saw a bunch of posts for Bunny Bait. I decided to make my own, but with a base of puppy chow (muddy buddy or any other name you know it by) instead of popcorn and some of the other ingredients I have seen.

The thought was to make puppy chow, add some peanuts and pretzels for that salty sweet combination and then add some Easter m&m's for color. At Target, all I could find was some funny colored splattered m&m's that were huge. With no luck finding the regular Easter m&m's, I found some purple, yellow, pink and green sprinkles to add some color. Read the results for how well that went...

These are the bags I made to put the Easter Puppy Chow in to transport them to my mom's house.

Recipe adapted from www.cooks.com - Chex Mix Puppy Chow

Ingredients
8 cups Chex cereal (I used 4 cups of Rice Chex and 4 cups of Corn Chex)
1 cup lightly salted cocktail peanuts
1 cup pretzel pieces
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Add m&m's, sprinkles, etc as desired.

Directions
1. Place the Chex cereal, peanuts and pretzels into a large bowl.
2. Place the powdered sugar in a 1 Quart Ziploc bag
3. Place chocolate chips, peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 40 seconds. Stir. Microwave for additional 20 second increments until all ingredients are smooth and mixed together.
4. Pour chocolate mixture over Chex mixture and make sure everything is fairly well coated with the chocolate mixture.
5. Place the chocolate/Chex mixture into the Ziploc bag with the powdered sugar. Make sure everything gets coated evenly.
6. Add m&m's, sprinkles or whatever else you would like add color to the mixture.
7. Lay final mixture out on wax paper to dry completely.

Results

• It did not matter how many sprinkles I added to the powdered sugar mixture, you could not see the color. I would highly recommend you use something like m&m's so that the color doesn't get lost in the powdered sugar.
• I did not have the Ziploc bags with a zip closure. I only had the ones you manually close. I made two batches and broke open the bags, twice! Given I didn't have the "good" bag, the powdered sugar did not coat the Chex mixture evenly which resulted in either really chocolately pieces or really powdery pieces. Lesson learned - make sure I have the gallon Ziploc bags with the zip closure.

Overall, great recipe! I would make it again in a heartbeat!

Weeks 9 & 10 - Ranch Dip & Devil's Food Cupcakes

Still catching up on recipes and still on my world tour. Given time constraints, I figured it would be a good opportunity to try some of these "two ingredient" recipes that are out on pinterest right now.

Recipe: Ranch Dip
Ingredients: 1 plain Greek Yogurt Cup + half packet of ranch dressing seasoning.
Directions: Mix them both together.
Results: Terrible! To be fair, I haven't ever made ranch dip or dressing using the seasoning packet, I don't knwo if I like that version either. I have used the seasoning packets to make other dishes. This was terrible. I would not make it again. Go for the full flavor version!

Recipe: Devil's Food Cupcakes adapted from http://www.hungry-girl.com/
Ingredients: 1 box Devil's Food cake mix + 1 15oz can pure pumpkin
Directions: Mix both together. Put the mixture into lined muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 minutes.
Results: Pretty good actually. I like the consistency. The chocolately taste is good. The pumpkin taste is a little weird, but I could get used to that.

Week 7 & 8 Recipes - Banana Bread & PB Choc Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Yes, the last post I had was for week 6. Yes, this is technically week 9, but I am a bit behind due to travel for work & vacation. I will make two extra recipes this week and next week to make up for the missed weeks.

Banana Bread

Having just come off a vacation with very delicious (and very caloric) food, I wanted to make something on the lighter side. Pinterest to the rescue! A popular recipe being pinned by several friends is Banana Bread made with honey and applesauce instead of sugar. Sounds good to me!

Recipe adapted from http://www.8weekstoabetteryourecipes.blogspot.com/ for Banana Bread, 8 Weeks Friendly!

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup applesauce (I used no sugar added)
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, beaten (I used egg beaters)
• 3 mashed overripe bananas

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl mix together applesauce and honey.Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.
5. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture. Stir just to moisten.
6. Pour mixture into greased 9x5 loaf pan.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.
8. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Results
It's good! You can tell that it is not the full fat/sugar/etc. version, but it does taste good. I would definitely make this again!

Nutrition via My Fitness Pal recipe calculator
Per serving = 200 calories*48 carbs*1 g fat*5 g protein
Recipe makes about 10 servings

PB Choc Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This is one of those weeks where my hubby and I aren't going to see each other because on the day he flys home, I fly out before he lands and on the day I fly home, he flys out before I land. So, I have decided to leave PB Choc Chip Oatmeal Cookies (hubby's favorite) waiting for him. :)

Recipe from http://www.browneyedbaker.com/ for Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg (I used 1/4 cup egg beaters)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. On medium speed, cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. (About 3 minutes)
4. Add the egg and beat to combine.
5. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined.
6. Stir in the oats and the chocolate chips.
7. Drop dough onto cookie sheets about two inches apart.
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden.
9. Cool completely on baking sheet and then store in airtight container.

Results
So, confession time, I only used half a stick of butter instead of the whole stick. Not sure where I got confused, but I just noticed my mistake while writing this entry. That explains why the mixture was a little bit dry. The good news is...they still taste good! Bonus=they are slightly healthier with less butter. haha :)

Enjoy!

Week 6 Recipe - ***Super Bowl Edition***

In the spirit of cooking more this year instead of ordering out, we are having a homemade Super Bowl spread! We are mixing a few old recipes with a few new or revamped ones.

The Spread

Jr. Pub Burgers

Healthier 7-Layer Dip with Baked Scoops

Pepperoni Pizza Roll-Ups New

Pita Chips/Pretzel Chips with Hummus Dip

Carrots, Celery & Cherry Tomatoes with Salad Dressing Dips

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

Yes, I know the Bears aren't in the Super Bowl this year, but I am still using my plates today!

Jr. Pub Burgers

A few months ago my husband and I found these great pre-cut pub burgers at our local Jewel. We season them with a little bit of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and Omaha Steaks Seasoning. I cook them in a pan until they reach the safe internal temperature of 160 degrees (as recommended by the USDA). If you are in the mood for a great hamburger, these are wonderful!

They were so good we ate them so fast I didn't even get a finished product picture!

Healthier 7-Layer Dip with Baked Scoops

I LOVE 7-layer dip. I made a few adjustments to my regular recipe to make it a little bit healthier and accomodate my husband's preferences.

I used an 8x8 glass pan for this recipe. You can use whatever container you would like and adjust the recipe to fit the container and accommodate your taste preferences. Personally, I am not a huge fan of beans, but I LOVE the sour cream portion and I would add guacamole between the bean and sour cream layer (but my husband hates guacamole, so it is left out this time).

Ingredients

3/4 can fat free refried beans

3/4 container of 8oz light sour cream

3/4 package 40% less sodium Old El Paso taco seasoning

2 cups salsa

2% sharp cheddar cheese

sliced black olives

Directions

Spread a thin layer of refried beans on the bottom of the pan. Next, combine the sour cream & the taco seasoning. Then spread the sour cream mixture over the refried bean mixture. I like to put this in the fridge a this point to let the bottom layers gel together. When I am ready to serve the dip, I spread the salsa on top, then the cheese and finally the olives. Serve with Baked Scoops or any other tortilla chip or cracker you prefer. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza Roll-Ups

If you have read my blog at all, you can guess where I found this recipe...Pinterest! :)This recipe appears several times on the site but I tried the one on www.plainchicken.com.

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls (I use the reduced fat version)

40 slices of pepperoni (You can use the turkey pepperoni, but I don't like it)

4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese cut in half (Huge fan of 2% Sargento)

garlic powder

pizza sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles. Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll. Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up. Sprinkle crescent rolls with garlic powder. Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce (or cool Ranch!).

Pita Chips/Pretzel Chips with Hummus Dip

Store bought hummus dip, pita chips (for the hubs) & pretzel chips (for me). Simple as that!

Carrots, Celery & Cherry Tomatoes with Salad Dressing Dips

I have spent all the $$$ in the past to buy the pre-made veggie trays from the grocery store. Typically, we only like 1-2 veggies in mix and the dip is high fat so I made my own this year! Carrots, celery & cherry tomatoes with fat free basalmic vinagrette or light ranch. Yum!!!

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

Leftover from my Week 5 Recipe - Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats. SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!

Week 5 Recipe - Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

This week I have a sweet tooth. My husband and I are trying to eat a little bit healthier so I wanted something that wouldn't totally derail our good eating this week. Rice Krispie Treats are the perfect solution! Not just regular ones though....CAKE BATTER Rice Krispie Treats. :)

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats from www.gimmesomeoven.com

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 1/4 cup yellow cake mix (the dry cake mix, not prepared into a batter!)
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles

Method:
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in (dry) cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting. I find spraying a knife with nonstick spray helps to cut them.

Ali from www.gimmesomeoven.com Tips:
I actually increased the cake batter to 1/3 cup for my recipe to give it a little extra cake batter kick (the 1/4 cup seemed just a little too subtle to me), but add as much in as you like!

***Note: Many readers have asked what to do with the remaining cake mix. If you would like to use it to whip up a batch of cake mix cookies, just measure out 6 oz. of the remaining cake mix, and combine it with 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil, and 1 egg. Stir until mixed. Then form into cookie dough balls, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.***

THE RESULTS
These were absolutely AMAZING! I would make them again in a heartbeat. So delicious and about 140 calories a serving (if you cut them into 20 squares). Yummm!!!

Week 4 Recipe - Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups

I liked a little bit of three different recipes so I decided to combine them with a DELICIOUS outcome!

My recipe was created by combining the following recipes:

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken from www.mykitchenapron.blogspot.com

Buffalo Chicken Ring from http://jayesel.net

Chicken Roll Ups from www.jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com

First, I made the Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken with a few changes.

Ingredients

3lb bag of frozen chicken breasts

3/4 cup Franks Original Red Hot Sauce

1/4 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 packet Ranch dip mix

The original recipe calls for the whole bottle of Franks sauce. She mentioned in her blog that the recipe was a little bit dry. Given that information and the fact that the last time I had a crockpot buffalo chicken recipe I thought it was a bit hot, I reduced the amount of hot sauce and added some chicken broth. I also omitted the butter. It worked out great!

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in the crockpot.

2. Cook on low for 6-7 hours (or until chicken easily pulls apart).

3. Shred chicken with two forks then return to the crockpot.

4. Let the chicken cook for 1 additional hour to soak up the buffalo sauce.

I made the buffalo chicken on Friday and put in the fridge until I was ready for the rest of the recipe on Sunday.

Next step, I made the roll up filling using the mixture recipe from the buffalo chicken ring as a guideline.

Ingredients

2/3 of the mixture from the crock pot buffalo chicken

1 8 oz package of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/2 Ranch dip package

Directions

Finally, I put the mixture I made on top of 2 packages of reduced fat crescent rolls and baked them at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes per the instructions on the crescent roll package (similar to the directions from the chicken roll up recipe).

The Results

• This recipe is delicious! My husband and I enjoyed it for lunch on Sunday with a side of lite blue cheese dressing. I would absolutely make this recipe again!
• I ended up with WAY too much filling for the crescents that I had. I would either need to add another package of crescents or reduce the amount of filling that I made. Bonus: I have leftover crockpot buffalo chicken for sandwiches later this week and I have leftover filling to use a dip! My freezer is getting full with all of these leftovers!
• I tried wrapping the mixture with the crescent rolls two different ways: one loosely with lots of filling and the filling exposed and one with less filling and all wrapped up with little to no filling showing. Both ways were great! For the ones with extra filling, the crescent browned quicker. The opposite was true for the ones with less filling, I had to cook them 2 minutes extra. It just depends on whether you want to taste more crescent roll or more filling.

Left side: Less filling. Right side: More filling.

Another great week! Looking forward to another delicious recipe next week!

Week 3 Recipe - Spinach, Onion & Garlic Turkey Burgers

My best friend was telling me this past weekend how she was adding spinach to her morning smoothies to get additional vegetable servings in her diet. I had heard that "hiding" veggies in foods you love is a good trick, but I wasn't sure if I would like a fruit smoothie that was green in color.

A popular spinach recipe I keep coming across is spinach burgers. While at the store this weekend I didn't have a specific recipe in mind so I kind of made one up as I went along. (I am getting brave!)

This week's recipe was pretty uneventful. I mixed everything up, cooked it, and it was delicious!

Ingredients
1 lb Jennie-O 93/7 Groud Turkey
5 oz baby Spinach leaves, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove
1 raw egg, slightly beaten

Trust me - they taste better than they look!

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Form 6 burger patties. Cook them on med to med-high heat until well done, about 6 minutes on each side. Enjoy! (I ate mine bunless with a small amount of dijon mustard, yum!)

Final Thoughts

• I knew this would not be a recipe that my husband would eat (he's not big on spinach, onion nor garlic) so I figured this would be a good recipe to try while he is out of town. :) I only ate 1 of the 6 burgers. I put the uncooked leftovers in the freezer in plastic baggies. My thought is I can heat them up in the future as burgers or add them to marinara sauce for a nice twist on traditional spaghetti.

• This recipe was a success! I would definitely make it again (maybe adding a pinch of salt).

For week 4 I have a request from my husband - Buffalo Chicken Bites that we can eat while we watch the football games on Sunday!

Week 2 Recipe - Mimosa Jello Shots

I love Mimosas. I love Jello Shots. What could be better than a...

Mimosa Jello Shot?!?!

Picture from www.jelly-shot-test-kitchen.blogspot.com

I know I can pick whatever I want as my recipe for the week, but I feel the need to justify jello shots on my 2nd week. :)

I was going to do buffalo chicken bites, but I realized my husband will be gone Monday-Friday, and I am gone Friday-Sunday. Since the recipe makes too much for one person, I decided I needed to try a different recipe.

So...Jello Shots! They nearly ended me one Halloween a few years ago, but they were my best friend at my bachelorette party and wedding (thanks to a certain bridesmaid -- you know who you are!) Honestly I don't think I have ever made any kind of recipe with gelatin so I figured this one would be good for me to try.

I found this recipe on Pinterest (yup still addicted) from jelly-shot-test-kitchen.blogspot.com.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups orange juice (fresh squeezed, if possible) [I used Tropicana No Pulp]
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 envelopes plain gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups champagne, prosecco or other sparkling wine [I used Verdi Spumante - what they served at our wedding reception!]
• 1 drop orange flower water (if desired) [I did not add this]

With the leftover OJ & champagne my hubby and I enjoyed a mid-morning mimosa!

 Directions

1. Pour juice and sugar into a small saucepan and sprinkle with the gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for a minute or two.
2. Heat over very low heat  (medium - see note below) until gelatin is dissolved, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the champagne. (Mixture will be foamy - don't worry, this will dissipate as the mixture sets.)
4. Add the drop of orange flower water if desired.
5. Pour mixture into a 9" x 9" glass or non-reactive metal cake pan. [I used 7x11 glass pan]  Refrigerate until fully set (3 to 4 hours).
6. To serve, cut into desired shapes with a knife or small cookie cutter. Garnish with edible flower petals, if desired.
   

 Makes 24 to 32 jelly shots.

The Results

Sunday Morning - Attempt # 1 = FAIL

I followed the recipe EXACTLY. 3-4 hours later...I had Jello soup. I thought "maybe if I move it to the top shelf in the fridge where it is colder, it will gel." The next morning...I had FROZEN...jello...soup. Ugh! I guess it is good I tried a recipe with gelatin to figure out the right way to make it! I Googled "why my gelatin won't gel" and surprisingly enough there were several articles, blogs, comments and posts that spoke about the subject. Variables for not gelling seem to include but are not limited too...

• temp of liquids too hot OR too cold
• too much sugar OR too little sugar
• too much gelatin OR not enough gelatin
• etc....

Basically, I could have screwed it up 100 different ways and there was no way to tell how or why it didn't work.

Tuesday Night - Attempt # 2= SUCCESS!
I followed the recipe again and it looked exactly the same as the first time. I decided if I was going to go down, I was going down swinging so I thought back to the Googled articles. Most of the recipes called for Hot and Cold liquids. This recipe said to heat over very low heat. I decided to crank up the heat to medium high and that seemed to help! The liquid became more clear (signaling to me that maybe the gelatin dissolved this time).

3 hours later...I had solid Mimosa Jello Shots!! THANK GOODNESS!!

Final Thoughts

• After waiting through two attempts, I was really looking forward to trying these. When I got home from work, I cut a small square and tried one. Unfortunately, I thought it taste like old champagne. :( I would probably not make these again but I would try a different gelatin recipe now that I know how to make it.
• While the original recipe said the foam would go away after the liquid set, mine didn't. I ended up with gelled foam. Oh well...

Hopefully Week 3's Recipe goes better!

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Week 1 Recipe - Tortilla Soup

The recipe I chose for this week is...Option #1 Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup from Miller Musings jonandjenmiller.blogspot.com!

After a false start on Thursday (I forgot the onion at the store), I tried my first recipe yesterday! It's a GREAT recipe! It took me 10 minutes to throw everything in the crockpot. 6 hours later I pulled the chicken out to shred it. I could NOT believe how tender the chicken was! An hour later my husband walked in the door from work and TA DA! Dinner was served. :)

Two personal cooking issues I had to deal with for this recipe:

1. Chopping onions - I feel like if I even look at an onion my eyes start watering instantly. To try to avoid this, I pulled out our new food processor that we received for our wedding to chop the onions. It worked like a charm! So excited to never have to chop onions again!!
2. Using the crockpot - I am terrified to leave the crockpot on while I leave the house. Anyone else feel the same way? I did not overcome this fear while making this recipe. I worked from home yesterday to take care of my recently nuetered puppy. I threw everything in at lunch and by dinner it was ready. Maybe I will try to leave the house for the next crockpot recipe I try.

The Recipe from jonandjenmiller.blogspot.com
2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Ro-Tel [I used the cilantro & lime flavor just like Jen]
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water [I used 1 cup of water. I would probably use 2 next time. The soup had a bit of a kick and it would have been just fine had it had more liquid.]
1 Tbsp garlic powder*
1 Tbsp chile powder*
1 Tbsp ground cumin*
1 Tbsp dried cilantro*

tortilla chips [We used Fritos instead.]
sour cream [No sour cream for us. I forgot it at the store...twice! Ugh]
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese [2% Kraft 4 cheese mexican blend worked great!]

*Instead of these spices, you could include a packet of Taco seasoning if you prefer.* [The soup was delicious, but I might try taco seasoning packet next time just to see which one we like better.]

Put chopped onion, cans of beans, rotel, corn, chicken broth, water, and spices in CrockPot and stir to mix. Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving remove the chicken breasts from soup and shred, if needed, (sometimes they'll just fall apart on their own, but sometimes they need some help). Return chicken to CrockPot, stir to combine.

To serve put a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream, serve with more chips if you like. Enjoy!

Final Thoughts

• Two thumbs up for this soup! I would absolutely make it again!
• I fell more in love with the crockpot. It was SO easy! My husband was flying in last night. I realized had his flight been late/early it was good we had crockpot dinner because it was ready about an hour before he was home but still warm and delicious when we were ready to eat.
• This was a healthy meal! I plugged it into a calorie calculator and it is about 266 calories for a 1 cup serving. (Soup only -- chips, sour cream & cheese = extra calories)

Week 1 Recipe = huge success! Now on to find a new recipe for week #2!