Chocolate Mint Zucchini Brownies

Ingredients:
Ingredients
1/2 cup applesauce
2 small or medium bananas mashed
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I prefer to use Hershey's Special Dark)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups finely shredded zucchini (you'll need 2 zucchini, about 8" length)
2 cups all purpose flour1/2 cup walnut pieces

 Cooking Info:
These brownies originally did not have peppermint extract.  The second time I made them, I grabbed the wrong bottle and poured out a tsp of peppermint extract.  I spilled a little of it, into the batter, and realized my mistake.  I estimate about 1/4 of a tsp. got into the batter.  Well, after making them, this is the way I will be making them from now on!  Holy cow.  They were good before, but they were phenomenal after the peppermint extract was added.  YUM!  This will be a regular at our house.  And you can eat two without feeling guilty LOL.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 9x13 inch baking pan. 
In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, mashed bananas and sugar. 

Add vanilla, peppermint, and cocoa and mix together.

Then add baking soda, salt, and zucchini and mix together. 

Add flour and walnuts and mix together. 

Spread evenly into a prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes until brownies spring back when gently touched.

Calorie Info:  Based on 20 servings
Calories:  136
Total Carbs:  21 g
Sugar:  17 g
Fat:  2 g
Protein:  1 g
Sodium:  154 mg

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 pkg. low sodium taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese (I use the low fat)
16 jumbo pasta shells (you could use up to 18 or 20 depending on how full you fill them)
1.5 cups salsa (I didn't have any so used additional taco sauce)
1.5 cups taco sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded monterrey jack (or other cheese you may like)

Optional Toppings:
black olives, sour cream, green onions

 Cooking Info:
Brown ground beef, drain fat, and add taco seasoning per instructions on packet

While ground beef is browning, spread salsa (or in my case taco sauce) on the bottom of a 9X13 pan.  Also, start cooking the shells according to package directions:

Once ground beef has been cooked with the taco seasoning, add the cream cheese, cover, and simmer until melted.  Mix well.  Set the mixture aside to cool.

Once the shells are cooked and drained, set them out, in a single level to cool so you can handle them more easily.

Take a cooled shell, and add about 1 to 2 Tbl of the ground beef mixture to it.  Place in the prepared 9X13 pan, open side up.  Once all are filled, top with the taco sauce.

Cover the dish with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the foil, cover with the cheeses, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Top with desired toppings, and enjoy!

Pesto Chicken

It seems funny to admit this, but I received this recipe from my niece who made it in college all the time.  Its so easy I can't believe I am posting it, but I wanted to share:)

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast or Tenders - as many as you want
Pesto - I use Kroger brand Basil Pesto in a jar
Italian Blend Shredded Cheese

Cooking Info:
Cut breasts into tenders size (or just use chicken tenders) and place in sprayed baking dish:

Spread the pesto over the chicken:

Top with shredded cheese:
















Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes more or until chicken is cooked through:

Serve With:
I love this with Near East brand Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous, but it would be good with almost any type of rice and of course vegetables.

Baked Meatballs

As frozen meatballs become more and more made with fillers, I find I just don't like them anymore.  So, I created my own recipe for frozen meatballs.  This is not a fast recipe (it takes about 2 hours from start to freezer), but I make several batches at once and then have frozen meatballs ready for use during the week.

Ingredients:
4 lbs. lean ground beef
3 eggs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (real shredded cheese, not the stuff in the green can)
1 cup panko bread crumbs (could substitute other bread crumbs)
3 Tbl Worcestershire Sauce
7 to 10 minced garlic cloves (I use more - about 4 Tbl minced garlic)
2 Tbl Cream Style Horseradish
Salt & pepper to taste

 Cooking Info:
Mix ground beef, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, horseradish, and salt and pepper by hand.

Add grated parmesan and panko bread crumbs and mix by hand until well mixed.

Form meatballs by hand.  It's messy and takes a while, but you must really squish the meat.  So much so that it squeezes out of your hands.  Do this a couple of times and then form the meatballs.  If you don't do this, the meatball will fall apart during baking.  I form fairly small meatballs (similar to most frozen meatballs) but you can make them whatever size you'd like.  Once formed, place them in multiple 9X13 pans.  The pans must have sides on them.  I learned that less on the hard way - do NOT use baking sheets or you'll have a huge mess on your hands.

Bake meatballs at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Remove meatballs from the oven.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper and place meatballs on the parchment.  Then place the baking sheets in a freezer until the meatballs are individually frozen.  In our deep freeze, this takes at most 2 hours.

Once the meatballs are frozen, remove from the freezer, place in bags, and vacuum seal.  This recipe makes 3 batches of meatballs for my family (and we'll have leftovers for the kids for lunch the next day).  This makes approximately 108 to 110 meatballs.

We usually make these in the crock pot with either BBQ sauce and grape jelly, or cream of mushroom soup.  We server over rice.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Ingredients:
2T olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
red pepper flakes
Chicken breasts - as many as you need
1 jar pasta sauce of your choice
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese
Shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package of croutons

Cooking Info:
No exact measurements required for this recipe!

In a casserole dish, drizzle some olive oil in the bottom. Spread the minced garlic & red pepper flakes over oil.

Layer chicken breasts over oil.

Top with the jar of pasta sauce.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of sauce.

Sprinkle half of your parmesan over the sauce and top with half of your shredded mozzarella.

Cover with croutons. Make sure all croutons are laying in some sauce. (Sorry, forgot to get any more pics.)

Bake 350 for 30 minutes or so, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. In the last 5-10 minutes, sprinkle remaining cheese on top of croutons and allow to melt.

 Serve With: Spaghetti and a green salad

Cream Cheese Chicken

Ingredients: 

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used about 1 lb of thin cutlets)
4 ounces softened cream cheese (I had extra left over)

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

1 tablespoon of onion, minced

2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup flour

1/2 teapoon garlic salt (I used 1/2 tsp of minced garlic)

1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs (I used just under 1 cup before crushing)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Place chicken breasts between sheets of wax paper. Use a rolling pin, flatten to around 1/4 inch thick (or just be lazy and buy thin cutlets like I did.  Worked great)

In a bowl, beat cream cheese, parsley, onion, garlic salt and pepper and lemon juice until blended. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture on each piece of chicken (You would have enough for probably 5 to 6 rolls - I only had 4 and had leftover). Roll chicken. 

Coat rolls with flour, dip in egg mixture, then roll in corn flakes. Drizzle some olive oil in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat. Make sure to brown on all sides. I did this, but questioned if it was necessary.  I think it probably gives the final result a better crunch than if you skipped it.

After browning:

Place chicken rolls in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear.  I baked for 30 minutes, but think I'll cut that back by 5 minutes next time.  I think you would only need 30 minutes if you didn't pre-brown it.

Final result...delicious!  Calorie count with the 1/3 fat cream cheese (taking into account leftovers) was 210 calories for each roll (I had 4 rolls).  Kids loved it.  I served it with cheese tortellini, but I would probably make with sweet potato fries next time.

Garlic & Brown Sugar Chicken

Ingredients:

1 to 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tbl Dried minced onion (or fresh if you prefer)
4 Tbl Brown Sugar
1 Tbl Olive Oil
About 1 Tbl. Soy Sauce (I just estimated)
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, onion powder to taste

 Cooking Info:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (yes, 500!)

Line a casserole dish with tinfoil to aid in clean up.  Arrange chicken breasts in pan, than add salt, pepper, and onion powder on top of them.

Add oil, soy sauce, worcestershire, garlic, and onion into a pan.  Saute until garlic is tender.

Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar until dissolved.

Pour over prepared chicken.

Cook at 500 degrees until done.  This will take 15 to 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts (mine were thick and took 30 minutes).  Let stand 5 minutes for the chicken to reabsorb some of the liquid.

 Serve With: Rice, mashed potatoes, or Parmesan Orzo and a vegetable.

Beef Barley Soup

This soup/stew is hit or miss at our house...I love it, Owen usually eats it pretty well, and the other two won't touch it with a 10-foot pole.  But it's easy and quick.  So I make it 1-2 times each fall/winter.

Ingredients:
2-3 pounds stew beef
32 oz beef broth OR 1 packet Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix dissolved in 4 c. water
4 medium-large carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
3/4 c. medium pearl barley
1/4 onion, chopped (I skip this if I use the Lipton soup)
1 c. water (in addition to liquid above)
thyme
rosemary
fresh parsley (I just use a bit of dried)
salt & pepper to taste

Process:
Brown stew beef and onions (if using them).  Dissolve soup mix in 4 cups water (if using).  Add all ingredients to crock pot.  Cook on low for 9-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

You can also cook it on the stove - brown the beef in a stock pot, drain, add in spices, barley, liquids and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer slowly 1 hour.  Add in carrots and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes.  Add in parsley just before serving.

Easy Broiled Chicken Drumsticks

I found this on myrecipes.com and the kids will love this (I can post a review after today!)

Ingredients: 

6-8 chicken drumsticks
1/4-1/2 cup of BBQ sauce
Salt and pepper

1. Cooking Info:

1. Position oven rack about 8 inches from heat source. Preheat broiler; line a broiling pan with foil. Pat drumsticks dry and trim off fat. Arrange in a single layer on prepared pan.
2. Pour about half the BBQ sauce into a small bowl.  Season drumsticks with salt and pepper. Brush each lightly with sauce.
3. Broil, turning often and brushing with reserved sauce, until chicken is browned and crisp and has no traces of pink juices when pierced, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve drumsticks with extra sauce.
4. Original recipe called for a melted butter/lemon sauce that looked yummy, but my kids prefer BBQ chicken.
5. 
   

6. 1. Serve With:

   Rice, veggies, salad...we love the parmesan orzo that Holly posted.

Veggie Rice

We've had this as a side dish quite a bit lately, and it's super easy to halve/double as needed. I prefer this to a flavored, packaged rice.

For the four of us, I make 2 cups of Minute rice according to pkg directions. I throw a couple of teaspoons of chicken bouillon in for flavor.

Chop veggies to bite sized - I use whatever is in season or throw in what I have left from the week - great way to use the rest of the tomatoes, leftover broccoli, etc. My favorite is a small zucchini, a small summer squash, and a red pepper. But you can use anything.

Sauté veggies in a little olive oil. Add salt, pepper, minced garlic, or whatever spices go with your main dish When the rice is ready, dump it into the frying pan and mix with the veggies.

This makes enough for six side dish sized servings.

Chicken Explosion!

Parmesan Basil Orzo

We love this recipe!  It's now a staple in our rotation.  Easy to make while something is baking in the oven.  I'm posting the original recipe, but I halved the butter and cheese to make it healthier and it's delicious.  I've never made the version with the full amounts!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Butter (I used only 1.5 Tbs)
• 1-½ cup Orzo
• 3 cups Chicken Or Vegetable Stock
• 6 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Basil (I used 2 Tbs. dried)
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese (I used 1/2 a cup)
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Pepper

 Cooking Info:

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the orzo and saute for a few minutes (if using the dried basil, add it now and saute it with the orzo), until the orzo starts to get golden brown. 

Add the broth and cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until all the broth has been absorbed. 

Remove from the heat, add the basil and Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste.

 Serve With:  Greek Yogurt Chicken

Nutrition Info:

This is calculated using 1.5 Tbs butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  This makes about 3.5 cups of orzo so it's calculated as 7 one half cup servings!

Calories:  238
Fat:  6.2 g
Cholesterol:  14.4 mg
Sodium:  512.5 mg
Total Carbs: 36.8 g
Fiber:  1.7 g
Sugars: 2.1 g
Protein:  10.6 g

Greek Yogurt Chicken

It doesn't get easier than this.  Seriously.  3 minutes to prep, 45 minutes to cook.  Zero work.  I initially made this with only 1 lb. of chicken.  I used half the mix, put the rest in the fridge, and made it again a few days later with the other half!

Ingredients:

1/2 c parmesan cheese
1 c Greek yogurt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (any kind you like)
1/2 tsp pepper
2 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

 Cooking Info: spread mix over chicken breasts, bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes


I forgot to take pictures, and mine wasn't nicely browned like this, but it was really good and SUPER juicy chicken.  I've tried this recipe with mayo instead of greek yogurt and I like the yogurt better.  Maybe next time I'll try a few minutes under the broiler to get it darker.

 Serve With: a veggie, and parmesan orzo.  Yum!

Mexican stuffed shells

Heather gave this recipe to me and I tried it last night.  It was UH-mazing!!!!

Ingredients:

1 box jumbo shells

1 lb hamburger

1 jar picante sauce

¾ c taco sauce

½ pk taco seasoning

Shredded Mexican 4 cheese – I go extra cheesy so I get the 1 lb bag and use ¾ of it at least.

French fried onions

Cooking Info:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook shells

Put half the jar of picante sauce and ¼ cup of taco sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.     

Brown hamburger. Add the remaining picante sauce, ½ cup taco sauce, taco seasoning and probably 4-6 oz of cheese into the meat.  Mix well.

Stuff the shells with the meat mixture and lay in casserole dish.

Cover stuffed shells with cheese.

Top with French fried onions (I use the whole container J)

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  

Serve With: Sour cream on top, spanish rice and salad on the side.

BBQ Drumsticks

I have to give a shout-out to our friend, Mike, for these delicious BBQ Drumsticks - I've made them several times and they're always a hit!

Ingredients: 

Chicken drumsticks - enough for your family
BBQ sauce - cheap is better, 1-3 bottles
Garlic Powder

Cooking Info:

Heat oven to 275

Fill deep baking dish with drumsticks - use a pan only big enough for your drumsticks and really pack them in.  Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder.  Cover with sauce - enough so the drumsticks are at least covered halfway.  Cover with foil and bake 2 1/2 hours.  Remove foil and bake another hour.

These will be saucy and messy and fall off the bone.  Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan.

Serve With:

Corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, salad...anything!

Stove Top Macaroni & Cheese

I do love macaroni and cheese!  I haven't found an oven recipe that I just love, so I tried this stove top recipe.  I really like it!  It's in our regular rotation now.

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups large elbow Macaroni, uncooked (about 1/2 lb)
• 2 cups low fat Milk (about 16 oz) , or more if needed
• **if more milk is needed, additional 1/4 cup milk at a time for final cooking. **Macaroni pasta varies so much! have additional milk on hand, or be ready to increase the heat if your macaroni doesn't absorb fast enough.  I generally need to use 3 cups milk to 2 cups macaroni
• 1 tablespoon Butter, for flavor ( I tried this recipe once without the butter and I didn't notice any difference with the recipe. More heart healthy!)
• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt, plus additional for final season later
• generous dash of Nutmeg
• 1 cup Grated Cheese, any one or combination of  ( jack, cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, gouda, parmesan*, asiago*, pecorino*) *Hard cheeses are best combined with a secondary,  softer, better melting cheese. Cheese varies in flavor and salt level too! My favorite so far has been a mix of mozzarella and sharp cheddar, but I use about 1.25 cups total
• black pepper to taste (optional)

 Cooking Info: 

1. Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.

2. In medium sauce pan (about 3.5 qt), add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and nutmeg.

3. On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mixture to a simmer, stirring the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop.

4. Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in the milk. Having your heat too high will evaporate the milk too quickly!

5. Continue to stir the mixture frequently so that macaroni will cook evenly and absorb milk evenly. If you don't stir your mixture frequently, you will get a big clump of macaroni in the end! Stir, stir stir!

6. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed.

**If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water  to mixture ( in small amounts) until macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 minutes.

7. When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the  cheese evenly into the macaroni.

8. Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes. This rest period will allow macaroni to plump up and absorb any excess milk.

9. Take a final taste and add additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together.


 Serve With: Usually salad and grilled chicken!


Nutritional Info (Estimated with 2% sharp cheddar and 3 cups milk, based on 5 servings, no butter, 1.25 cups cheese)
Calories:  299
Carbs: 41
Protein: 14
Fat: 4

Banana Split Muffins

Anyone familiar with our PDAC days remembers that I love muffins.  Lemon Poppyseed are my favorite, but I've really never met a muffin that I didn't like.  I had two very ripe bananas staring at me today, and I went searching for recipes.  I love ChickInTheKitchen, so when I found her recipe for banana chocolate chip muffins, I had to try it.  But...it called for three or four bananas, and I only had two.  After a quick Facebook shout-out, I decided to add mashed strawberries and mini chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas
1 cup chopped ripe strawberries (mine were pretty ripe)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups flour (I used All Purpose, will try with whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Cooking Info:

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 12 regular sized muffin cups with cooking spray.
Mash bananas, strawberries, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Add in other ingredients, except chips.  Stir well.  Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop into 12 muffin cups (the PC scoop is AWESOME for this!)  Bake 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve With:

They're fine just plain!

Nutrition Info:

Serves:  12
Calories:  135
Carbs:  20
Fat:  5
Protein:  3

Spicy Garlic Chicken with Orzo

We eat a lot of chicken...chicken on the grill, Chicken Divan, etc.  I'm always looking for new and exciting ways...I found a winner with this dish on All Recipes that I adapted just a bit reading the comments and based on what I had on hand.  The nice thing is, it's really something that you could throw anything into!

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
salt to taste
2 cups fresh spinach (you could use whatever veggies - tomatoes, peppers, broccoli)
chicken broth (I used a full box, could use less)

Cooking Info:

Bring a pot of the chicken broth to boil (you could use half water, half broth, or all water if you wish).  Add in whatever spices you prefer - Italian seasoning, oregano, salt/pepper, etc.  Add orzo and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Drain
While orzo is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook until garlic begins to brown.  Stir in chicken, season with salt if desired.  Cook until juices run clear.  Do not drain oil - you need the extra moisture.  Stir in the cooked orzo.  Add in spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt.  You can serve this topped with grated Parmesan cheese if you like.

Serve With:

Good with a salad and corn.

Nutrition Info:

Serves:  4
Calories:  351
Fat: 10.6
Carbs:  40.4
Protein: 22.3