#501: Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake

Doesn't this look yummy?  Anything with chocolate, chocolate chips and walnuts are a win for me.  Sneak in a vegetable and it makes it even yummier!  I decided to make this to eat for my breakfasts this week and hoped I could get the girls to want to eat it too.  The girls liked the cake and didn't even know there was zucchini in it...believe it or not, it was the walnuts that they objected too.  So I made this again and left out the walnuts.  Yum. 

1/2 box German chocolate cake mix (about 1 2/3 cups)
1 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini (about 1 medium)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom and side of 9- or 8-inch round or square cake pan with baking spray with flour.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, zucchini, cinnamon, cloves, buttermilk, oil and egg with electric mixer on low speed until moistened, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan. Sprinkle evenly with nuts and chocolate chips.

Bake 9-inch pan 27 to 35 minutes, 8-inch pan 32 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

#500: Taco-Corn Chili

I can't believe it, but I'm actually trying/reviewing/posting my 500th recipe!  I don't know if this makes my family happy or not because that means I've put them through a lot of new dinners, lunches, snacks, etc.  Fortunately, MOST of the 500 I've tried, we've at least liked if not liked a lot. 

This recipe was no exception.  I threw it together very, very quickly for lunches for this week and I topped it with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream and cheese on top.  Mmm...I love chili!  This isn't a super spectacular chili, but I am really, really enjoying it for lunches.  Definitely making this easy dish again!

1 lb extra-lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 envelope (1 oz) taco seasoning mix
10 oz diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained (I used petite diced)
9 oz frozen corn, thawed, drained (I threw mine in frozen)
2 cups water
2 teaspoons sugar

Spray 4-quart Dutch oven with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook beef in Dutch oven 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 18 minutes, stirring occasionally.

#499: Easy Baked Cheese Manicotti

The title is right for this meal...it is easy.  I found this recipe years ago in a magazine and ripped it out.  I have NO idea where I found the original recipe from. It probably would have looked (and tasted) a little better with melted shredded mozzarella on top, but I was too lazy to add it to it. 

This was super easy to make and we all really enjoyed this meal.  Definitely plan to make it again in the near future.  It was so easy.

2 c spaghetti sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 c ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
12 manicotti shells, cooked, rinsed in cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread 3/4 c of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. 

Mix egg and cheeses until well blended.  Spoon cheese mixture into large resealable plastic bag.  Using scissors, cut off a small hole from one of the bottom corners of the bag.

Fill manicotti shells, squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell.  Place manicotti over sauce in dish; pour remaining spaghetti sauce over manicotti.  Cover with foil.  Bake 40 minutes or until heated through.

#498: Salsa Guacamole

I'm never going to get a good picture of this, so this photo is courtesy of Betty Crocker.

Recently I came across this recipe on Betty Crocker's website.  I love any sort of dip, so I knew it would be the perfect recipe to try for book club this month.  My only concern with this recipe is that is uses canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes.  I'm sure fresh would taste so much better, but I loved the convenience of this one. 

First of all, this makes a TINY bowl.  No way is this going to serve all of book club!  Fortunately there are 12 of us coming so there should be PLENTY of food...just not from this side dish.  :(  It was easy to make though. 

Update after book club: This was a hit with book club...and with me personally too.  I definitely enjoyed this although I do think I put too much red onion in it.  Next time I would buy 6 avocados so there is more guacamole than salsa. 

Salsa                               
1 can (14.5 oz) plain diced tomatoes, well drained
1/4 cup chopped onion (I used red onion)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small fresh jalapeno chili, seeded, finely chopped (I forgot to buy some so I omitted)

Guacamole                               
3  ripe large avocados (about 1 1/2 lb) pitted, peeled

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce (I used a couple drops of hot sauce)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

In a medium bowl mix salsa ingredients.  Set aside.

In another medium bowl place avocados, and coarsely mash. Stir in remaining guacamole ingredients. 

Spoon guacamole into a shallow bowl and top with salsa.  Serve with tortilla chips.   

#497: Burger Sliders

I love burgers.  We don't eat them often though because the girls really aren't fans and I'm not good at making them (they always turn out dry and tasteless).  I came across this recipe which got great reviews, and when I asked the family what they wanted for dinner this week, Brian said "hamburgers" so it was the perfect time to try this one out!

It was supposed to have crumbled bacon in the mixture but I figured that might be pushing my luck with my gang so I omitted it.  (I would have loved it though!)  I also cooked my onions in a little olive oil before adding it to the mixture so it would blend in more and not be so noticeable. 

We loved this!  We are going to make more and freeze them so we have them on hand after the baby comes.  SO yummy!

4 slices of bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
3 lb ground beef
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
24 small dinner rolls

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.  Discard all but 2 Tbsp. bacon fat.  Cook onion in bacon fat until translucent, about 3 minutes, then add garlic and cook 30 seconds longer.  Remove mixture from pan and let cool.  Crumble bacon when cool enough to handle.
In a large bowl combine beef, bacon, onion mixture, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper, and mix well.  Form into 24 small patties and chill.
Preheat grill to medium; oil when hot.  Cook burgers for about 7 minutes for medium rare, turning once halfway through.  Serve burgers on rolls.

#496: Picnic Coleslaw

This was a super, super easy coleslaw to throw together.  Of course the bacon in it makes it appealing, and personally I enjoyed this, but it wasn't anything super special and I prefer my mom's Oriental coleslaw more.  (I did eat this for lunch for three days though so obviously I enjoyed it). 

6 cups shredded cabbage

2 cups shredded carrots

8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I used real bacon bits)

12 green onions with tips, thinly sliced

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, bacon and onions. In a jar with tight-fitting lid, mix vinegar, oil, sugar and salt; shake well. Just before serving, pour dressing over cabbage mixture and toss.

#495: Make-ahead Ground Beef Sandwiches

I really wish I could have made these just as the recipe calls for, but it calls for quite a bit of pickle relish and a certain person in our house would have picked out every little green speck he saw.  So I put about 1 tbsp in this recipe instead of the 3/4 c it actually called for.  (Personally it would have been better with more!)

Regardless, I made these before baby brother arrives and the recipe says to put them together completely and freeze on the buns.  Well, we've made recipes that way before and personally we think it really dries the bread out.  So I froze the meat mixture into 2 separate portion sizes and plan to put these together the day we eat the rest of them. 

We really enjoyed these and I cannot wait to eat the rest after baby arrives.

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

3/4 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup ketchup

3/4 cup chopped dill or sweet pickles

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

12 hot dog buns, split (I used small rolls)

In a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the ketchup, pickles, salt, pepper, garlic powder and pepper sauce; heat through. Stir in cheese.

Place about 1/3 cupful on six buns; serve immediately. Cover and refrigerate remaining meat mixture until cool. 

Fill the remaining buns; wrap individually in heavy-duty foil and seal tightly. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To use frozen sandwiches: Bake in foil at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
Yield: 1 dozen.

#494: Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Somehow I came across this recipe and wanted to make it as a meal to have in the freezer for a quick dinner after baby brother arrived.  I was a little leary about making this from frozen state so I figured we would try this recipe out before baby brother arrives and if we like it, I'll make another one to freeze. 

This was SO easy to prepare.  I changed up the recipe a little bit to make it easier though.  Not that it wasn't easy in the first place.  After making this, I think I'll make the meat filling and then just assemble the day we plan to eat it.  I don't know if the crust would thoroughly cook through (without getting too brown first) if it was totally frozen).

1 lb. ground round
1 (15 oz) can chunky Italian-style tomato sauce (I used a can of pizza sauce)
1 (10 oz) can refrigerated pizza crust dough (mine was about 13 oz)
6 (1 oz) slices part skim mozzarella cheese (I used shredded cheese)

Spray 9x13 pan with PAM. Spread pizza crust on bottom. Mix the pizza sauce with the meat and stir to combine.  Spread on top of pizza crust.  Finally, top with mozzarella cheese.  Top with foil and freeze. Bake from frozen uncovered for about 25 minutes. Check the crust and make sure it is cooked thoroughly. (This did not say what temp. too cook it at, so I guessed at 375 degrees).

#493: Creamy Vegetable Orzo

I've had this recipe bookmarked for a little while, and it looked like an easy recipe to make ahead and take for lunches this week. This was really easy to make, and is some creamy goodness.  It's a little bland, so I added some salt and pepper but regardless, I'm enjoying this...for breakfast right now actually.  :)  Yes I will eat it reheated for lunches too, but I figured it was made and hot, and I might as well take advantage of having one less meal to make at this point.  I hope it's as good reheated as it is fresh!

1Tbsp. oil

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup each chopped green and red peppers (I used 1 greenish-yellow pepper...should have used more)

1 cup frozen corn
3/4 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup (1/2 of 8-oz. tub) Chive and Onion Reduced Fat than Cream Cheese

Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add onions; cook 4 min., stirring frequently. Stir in peppers and corn; cook and stir 2 min. Add orzo; cook and stir 1 min.

Stir in broth; bring to boil on high heat. Simmer on medium-low heat 10 to 12 min. or until orzo and vegetables are tender and most the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Add reduced-fat cream cheese; cook 1 to 2 min. or until cream cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly

#492: No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I purposely didn't buy any snacks/cookies this week at the grocery store.  Then I couldn't stop thinking about cookies after dinner.  So I googled no bake peanut butter cookies because I knew I didn't want to be standing in the kitchen for very long.  I came across this recipe and quickly got started on making them for dessert.  Fortunately for me, no one else (except for Allison) likes these cookies and Allison doesn't like them enough to keep asking for them.  :)

3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (sometimes takes more oatmeal)

5 tablespoons peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup milk

¼ cup butter

 

Pour oatmeal into a bowl and set aside. 

Stir together brown sugar, milk, and butter in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally.  When it comes to a full boil stir constantly for two minutes.  Add in vanilla and peanut butter.  Stir to combine.

Immediately pour over oatmeal and stir thoroughly but rapidly.

Spoon cookie size scoops (a heaping tablespoon) onto waxed paper or plastic wrap and let set until firm.

#491: Asian Slaw with Ginger-Peanut Dressing

Our theme for recipe swap this month was Sushi and Saki.  Everyone was supposed to bring an Asian-themed side dish, so I decided to bring this coleslaw.  Yummy, yummy, yummy.  I loved it!  I plan to eat it as leftover for breakfast today.  :)  Definitely making this one again, except next time I'm going to add those little fried crunchy Asian rice noodles for even more crunch.  Mmmmm!

For the Dressing
¼ cup honey
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce (Thai hot sauce…optional) (I omitted)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I omitted, only because I thought I had some but didn't)
1 large garlic clove, minced

For the Slaw
4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw
2 cups prepared shredded carrots
1 red pepper, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
1 cup pre-cooked, shelled edamame
2 medium scallions, finely chopped
½ cup chopped salted peanuts
½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in medium bowl. Stir until peanut butter is dissolved. Set aside.

Combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss well. Let sit at least 10 minutes so vegetables have a chance to soak up the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Serve cold.

#490: Salad in a Jar

My friend Kim (and Lindsay) had this posted on her Pinterest board and it immediately caught my eye.  This looked like the perfect make ahead lunch!  And I had a jar in our cupboard that I was more than happy to use for this "experimental" lunch/recipe.  I cannot wait to eat this for lunch tomorrow!  (PS...that looks like a lot of salad dressing, but most of the carrots and tomatoes are sitting in it.)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp water (more or less depending on the consistency you want)
2 tbsp honey (can be replaced with agave or brown sugar)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions
Place all ingredients into a small blender and blend for about 30 seconds, then store in a jar for 1-2 weeks.

This is the original salad recipe:
Makes 2 salads (stored in 32 oz mason jars)
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 big handfuls spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion, diced
4 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

Layer the ingredients in the jar as follows:
dressing
onion
mushrooms
tomatoes
quinoa
spinach
The most important part of the layering is making sure the dressing and the spinach (or whatever ‘leaf’ you choose) don’t touch. As long as they stay separate, these salads can be made up to 4 days in advance and will stay fresh in the fridge with a lid on. This is one of my tricks to eating salad everyday for lunch at work. I make a few jars on Sunday night and just grab one to bring to work everyday. When you’re ready to eat, just shake it up.

I used what I had on hand and my salad contained:
dressing (recipe above)
carrots
peppers
pinto beans
dry roasted peanuts
bacon bits
edamame
spinach

#489: Ultimate Chicken Fingers

I was very excited to try these chicken tenders because it got such great reviews and it looked like fried chicken tenders, but it was baked.  The picture is apparently VERY deceiving.  It looked NOTHING like the picture.  With that said, my family really, really enjoyed it.  For me personally, it wasn't my favorite, but Brian and the girls liked this. 

3/4 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt or garlic salt
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted (I omitted)

Heat oven to 450°F. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.
Stir Bisquick mix, cheese, paprika and salt in shallow baking dish. Dip chicken strips into eggs, then coat with Bisquick mixture; repeat dipping in eggs and Bisquick mixture. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Drizzle butter over chicken.
Bake 12 to14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes, until no longer pink in center.

#488: Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites

After Allison's birthday party, we had some left over melted chocolate so I decided to try this recipe for frozen peanut butter banana bites.  Mine do not look nearly as pretty as the original picture, but they were definitely easier to make than I thought they might be.  The hardest part was getting the peanut butter to actually stick to the banana slices. 

FYI, these are delicious!  So, so yummy.  I'd definitely make these again with leftover bananas.  Mmmm....

2 large bananas
1/4 cup nat­ural peanut but­ter
1/2 cup choco­late chips (I used the store bought microwavable melted chocolate instead of the chocolate chips and milk)
1/4–1/3 cup milk of choice

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parch­ment. Slice bananas into coins about 1/2–3/4 inch thick. Spread a lit­tle dol­lop of peanut but­ter on top of each one. In a small bowl, com­bine the choco­late chips and milk. Microwave in 15 sec­ond incre­ments until you can whisk them together. You want it to be a dip-able con­sis­tency, not spread­able. Add a splash more milk if nec­es­sary.

Dip the banana chunks using a fork as a lit­tle choco­late coat­ing fork­lift, dip­ping them into the melted choco­late. Place choco­late coated bananas on the pre­pared sheet and place in freezer until com­pletely frozen (3–5 hours). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container.

 

 

#487: Heart Attack Dip

I knew this dip wouldn't be the prettiest of pictures, so I put a model in the picture with it. 

My friend Jaime shared this recipe as one of her favorites, so I decided to make it for Allison's birthday to go with our chips instead of our regular (or store-bought) chip dip.  Although we enjoyed this immensely, I would rather have eaten this with something sturdier like Ritz crackers.  It just didn't seem to be rightly matched with ruffled potato chips.

1 pint of low fat sour cream

1/2 bag of shredded cheddar

1 pkg of dry ranch dip mix

1 jar of real bacon pieces

Dump sour cream into mixing bowl. Mix in ranch dip mix. Add cheese and bacon. Serve with ruffled potato chips.

#486: Penguin Cupcakes

I made these penguin cupcakes to go along with Allison's "Happy Feet" Themed birthday party and her non-happy feet cake. :)  Mine definitely didn't turn out as cute as the original photo but I thought they were cute non-the-less. 

Vanilla or chocolate cupcakes
Vanilla frosting
Chocolate cookies (Girl Scout Thin Mints or Keebler Fudge Shoppe Grasshopper Cookies -- 3 halves per penguin)
Dried apricots, cut into triangles for the beak and feet (I used dried mangoes)
Brown M and M Minis

Make a batch of vanilla cupcakes according to package directions.  Make or purchase 2-3 cups of vanilla frosting. Save some for decorating glue.

Decorate as shown, cutting the cookies in half with a very sharp, non-serrated knife and using extra frosting to attach the apricot beak and the M and M's eyes.

#485: Vanilla Frosting

Sorry, no photo of this one!

Since I was making cupcakes for Allison's birthday, and using a box mix (of course!), I figured I'd try to make her cupcakes a little more special by not using store bought, canned frosting. I found this recipe and figured I'd give it a try. And I had all of the ingredients on hand...even better!  I thought these were really good, and it was so fast to prepare.  I would definitely make this again instead of using store-bought stuff. 

2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine the sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Spread over bread. Yield: 1 cups.

#484: Dry Jello Fruit Salad

My grandma was known for always bringing her "green jello" to parties.  It was the jello you could count on being at every (and I mean EVERY) event.  I'm turning into my grandma!  Now, I don't bring the same one over and over again, but jello salads go well with just about any meal, you can make it ahead of time, and it's a nice sweet (but not too sweet) addition to a meal.  AND they are easy to make!  Of course for Allison's birthday I had to have a Jello Side Dish to add to our meal.  (Can you tell yet that I don't care if I'm the only who eats it!?)
I loved it.  I know not everyone was even willing to try it, but I liked it and plan to enjoy the leftovers!

1 lb small curd cottage cheese
1 (3 ounce) box any flavor jell-o gelatin powder (I used sugar free cherry)
1 cup whipped topping
1 (4 ounce) can crushed pineapple , well drained

Combine jello powder and whipped topping until powder is dissolved.  Add in cottage cheese and crushed pineapple.  Chill for 2 hours.

#483: Parmesan and Lemon Peas

I have this little piece of a recipe cut out of a magazine posted to my fridge.  I'm not sure which magazine it came from but it's most likely from Parents, Family Circle or Taste of Home (sorry I can't give credit to the appropriate source!).  The recipe is for Parmesan and Lemon Peas...doesn't that sound yummy?  AND EASY?  It was!  Definitely add real bacon bits or chopped bacon pieces.  It adds so much flavor and yummi-ness to it!

16 oz frozen peas
3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook peas according to package directions.  Mix in rest of remaining ingredients.