NAILED IT!
OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP (IN A CROCKPOT)Actually VERY EASY, healthy, delicious, makes a ton, saves well! What else could you want??
Ingredients
| 2 | lbs ground beef |
| 1 | onion, chopped |
| 3 | carrots, chopped |
| 4 | stalks celery, chopped |
| 2 | (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained |
| 1 | (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained |
| 1 | (16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained |
| 3 | (10 ounce) cans beef stock |
| 3 | teaspoons oregano |
| 2 | teaspoons pepper |
| 5 | teaspoons parsley |
| 1 | teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional) |
| 1 | (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce |
| 8 | ounces pasta |
Directions
Directions:
1 Brown beef in a skillet.
2 Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything except pasta.
3 Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
4 During last 30 min on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.
MEDITERRANEAN 'QUINOA' SALAD
This recipe is fabulous. Great/light/summer meal!
2 cups cooked white quinoa; (I used couscous)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved;
½ cup diced cucumber;
½ cup black olives, pitted and chopped;
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional);
half of an avocado, cubed
1/2 cup of chicken, chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil;
½ teaspoon sea salt;
Pinch fresh ground black pepper;
1 teaspoon dried oregano;
Juice of ¼ lemon
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Enjoy your healthy salad!
Makes plenty for a meal AND leftovers. Plus, the longer it sits- the better it tastes. :)
LOVE IT!
Being preggers, I'm always on the lookout for new good drinks since caffeine-free and artificial sweetener free is very difficult to find. I just get really sick of drinking water, Sprite, & Root Beer! WELL...I just made a discovery at SONIC! Go figure- love that place! They have a sweet GREEN Iced Tea, and I'm telling ya- it is just as good as their regular sweet tea. They also have a Diet version that is sweetened with Splenda and multiple flavors- score! Peach and Mango are next on my list!Diet Green Iced TeaFreshly brewed Diet Green Iced Tea sweetened with Splenda® has joined our famous tea lineup to create your Ultimate Iced Tea Stop℠. Also joining the flavor line up are five new flavor mix-ins, all sugar free and sweetened with Splenda®: peach, mango, raspberry, blackberry and mint. SONIC
Recent recipe success!
Mike and I recently attended a crawfish boil for his cousin's graduation, so I got to try a new dessert recipe I came across:NO BAKE STRAWBERRY ICEBOX CAKE (with my own little spin on it)
- Graham crackers
- Strawberries (sliced)
- Chocolate chips/ chocolate syrup
- 1 can Eagle Brand
- 1 tub of Cool Whip
- 1 (6 oz) package of Instant Vanilla Pudding
- 3 cups milk
Stir the milk and pudding together. Add in the Eagle Brand and Cool Whip. Stir in about cup of chocolate chips. (I like the mini chips) This makes the yummy filling.
In a dish, make a layer of graham crackers and pour a generous amount of filling to create a layer. Spread strawberries over filling and continue until you are all out of filling. (About three layers) On the top layer, drizzle chocolate syrup for a finishing touch and chill in the fridge for few hours!
GOTTA TRY!
So, I just read on therealhousewife.com and very easy recipe for Red Lobster Biscuits and I have GOT to try to make these. They look de-ish!Recipe for Red Lobster’s Biscuits
Ingredients:- 2 Cups Bisquick
- 2/3 Cup Milk
- 1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
- 2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
- 1/4 Cup Butter (1/2 Stick)
- 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Combine the Bisquick, milk, shredded cheddar cheese, and minced garlic. Mix well. If dough appears too dry, add a Tablespoon of milk. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet or stone.
Melt butter. Combine butter and Italian Seasoning. Use basting brush to coat each raw biscuit with butter/seasoning mixture, until you have used all the butter mixture. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until done.
SOME RECENT SUCCESS STORIES!
Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti! Super easy and crazy delicious! Check out this girl's blog for full recipe...she has some really great-healthy- recipes!http://livingachangedlife.blogspot.com/2011/03/recipe-review-crockpot-cheesy-chicken.html
I am a huge fan of egg salad and this was a 'piece of cake' recipe. I love to throw this together on a Sunday to take to work with me. Since I am usually running around like crazy during my 23 minute lunch break, it's an easy thing to eat with crackers or pita chips! Yum Yum!
The Master's Egg Salad 6 hard-cooked eggs, diced 1/2 c diced celery 2 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise 1 Tbsp vinegar 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce 1/8 tsp pepper
NEXT UP ON THE LIST...
PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE
Talk about a delicous treat for summer! I have been wanting me some serious pineapple action, and this just looks mouth-watering. This will be one of my next recipes to try!
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely crushed NILLA Wafers
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 envelope KNOX Unflavored Gelatine
- 1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained, liquid reserved
- 3 packages (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
Preparation
- MIX wafer crumbs, butter and cinnamon; press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
SPRINKLE gelatine over reserved pineapple liquid in small saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Cook on low heat 5 minutes until gelatine is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add gelatine mixture, mixing until blended. Refrigerate until slightly thickened.
ADD pineapple and whipped topping to gelatine mixture; stir gently until well blended. Pour over crust. Refrigerate several hours or until firm. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 380
Total fat: 28 g
Saturated fat: 18 g
Cholesterol: 70 mg
Sodium: 290 mg
Carbohydrate: 28 g
Brown Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake!
(thehungrymouse.com)
Make the pumpkin cheesecake filling
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. (If you left your oven on, don’t forgot to drop the heat. The cheesecake itself bakes at 25 degrees cooler than the crust.)
Put the cream cheese in the bowl of your mixer. Beat it to break it up.
Add the Brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy! Toss in the eggs. (I like to break them into a separate bowl before adding them to the mixing bowl. It’s easier to fish out any little bits of shell that wind up in there by accident.) Beat well to incorporate the eggs. The mixture will be a thick, soupy light brown, kind of like melted chocolate ice cream. Toss in the pumpkin. And the cognac. (I keep a bottle of cognac in the house for baking, but if you don’t want to bother with it, you can totally substitute vanilla extract.) Beat to combine. The filling will be thick and creamy. Toss in the flour and pumpkin pie spice. Beat gently to combine.
Bake the cheesecake!
Pour the filling into your cooled crust. Pour it just until it fills the crust. Depending on how high up the sides of the pan your crust comes, you may wind up with a little extra filling. If that’s the case, grease a few ramekins and bake the leftover filling by itself, as a pudding. It’ll be just delicious. (Serve garnished with a couple of shortbread cookies.)Pop the pan into your pre-heated 325-degree oven. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, until it *looks* set (i.e. firm and opaque) but the center jiggles a little when you move the pan.
Turn the heat off, crack the oven door about 4 or 5 inches. Leave the cheesecake in there (with the door cracked open) for an additional 3o minutes. Yank the cheesecake out of the oven when that last 30 minutes is up. Then, cool it in the pan on a rack for another 30 minutes. Then, pop in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.
A dessert I had recently was at the restaurant, Whiskey Cake. It was, of course, their fabulous WHISKEY CAKE...wow! I don't know how they make it, but it has:
Toffee Torte
Bookers Bourbon Anglaise
Spiced Pecan
Homemade Whipped Cream
If you are looking for a restaurant with some delicious dessert, you gotta try this place out!
Coming from a pregnant lady...this is the BEST ice cream of the summer! I kept seeing commercials for it, and tried it out- fabulous! My only complaint is that I want to eat the whole tub! Just listen to this:
'A triple treat of your most favorite desserts combined with our ice cream. Smooth vanilla ice cream loaded with chocolate chip cookie pieces, luscious pecan brownies, and chocolate-coated cake pieces all surrounded by a swirl of rich, chocolate sauce.'
In the summer, one of my favorite desserts (well, besides ice cream!) is banana pudding! AND I love my simple, easy banana pudding recipe! Even Mike made it once, and might I say it looked and tasted fabulous!
*6 ounces of instant vanilla pudding
*3 cups milk
*1 can Eagle Brand
*8 ounces of Cool Whip
*1 box Nilla Wafers
*3-5 bananas
*Whisk together pudding mix and milk; add Eagle Brand and
Cool Whip.
*Layer pudding mix, bananas, and wafers repetitively.
Another good summer dessert I love it cold cheesecake. A simple recipe my mom always followed was a great treat on a summer day growing up!
SOUR CREAM CHEESECAKE
*2 packages Cream Cheese
*1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
*1/2 cup Sugar
*2 Eggs
*1 graham cracker pie crust
TOPPING:
*8 ounces Sour Cream
*1/4 cup Sugar
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix Cream Cheese and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Pour into pie crust. Bake for 30 minutes. Take out of oven and let set for about 10 minutes, or until pie settles.
*Mix sour cream and 1/4 cup sugar together. Pour on top of pie after it settles. Put back into oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool for about 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.
