Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Creamy Tomatoe & Artichoke Pasta

3-4 Roma tomatoes
4 T. melted butter
2 T. sundried tomatoes
3 fresh leaves basil
1 tsp. garlic Salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 C milk
1 C heavy cream
1 T minced garlic
1/2 onion chopped
2 C sliced mushrooms
1 (14oz) can quartered artichokes, left whole or chopped up.
1/4 C sundried Tomatoes
1/4 C fresh basil chopped
Penne Pasta

Directions

Peel the skin off of the roma tomatoes & combine them with 2 T sundried tomatoes, basil leaves, garlic salt, butter, pepper & milk in a blender until smooth. Once blended smooth, add cream & pulse once or twice to combine. (make sure not to do it more or it will start whipping it & making it thick). Sauté minced garlic, onions & mushrooms in skillet with some olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add artichokes, sundried tomatoes & basil & cover with sauce. Heat through on medium-low heat until sauce & artichokes are just warmed up. Serve over penne pasta.* I created this for dinner last night & I loved it! I actually think that I loved it even more today for lunch. These are all of my favorite ingredients combined into 1 pasta.... Can't go wrong there ;)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Crock Pot Sunday Roast with Gravy

Ingredients

2lb Tip pork loin roast
1 package french onion soup
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2/3 can water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in crock pot & cook for 4 hours. Serve gravy on mashed potatoes.

*Ok, I know this is ridiculously easy, but I wanted to post just in case no one has tried this before. This is SO tender and the flavor of the gravy is awesome. If you have a Costco close by, we purchase our roasts in a 4 pack and they are only like $16 for the the 4. It is an AWESOME deal. Each roast is individually packaged so we just freeze them & pull them out as we need them. These are the only roasts that we eat anymore.

Crunchy Romaine Salad

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, broken
1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
1 small head romaine lettuce, torn
1/2 cup shredded carrots
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Directions

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the sugar, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper; shake well. Discard seasoning packet from noodles or save for another use. In a 350 degree preheated oven, toast ramen noodles & almonds on a cookie sheet for approximately 8-10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine noodles, broccoli, carrots, romaine, almonds, and onions and toss with dressing right before serving.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Combine ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. Pour into pie pan and press down and shape onto sides. Refrigerate 20 minutes before pouring in the filling.

Cheesecake filling
1 (8oz) package softened cream cheese
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

In medium size bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add Eagle Brand milk, stir in lemon juice, sour cream and vanilla; blend ingredients well. Pour into pie crust. Chill 2 hours and garnish with your favorite fruit topping. May be covered and frozen (thaw 45 minutes).

*I am not a big fan of thick cheesecake, so this was the perfect recipe for me! This is a very soft, creamy cheesecake! It is a bit rich so I might try adding some whipped cream to it to tone it down a bit, but I actually loved it as it was also.... my husband thought it was a bit too rich. We topped this off with strawberry glaze, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.... I loved it!

*Second note- I made this again and made it chocolate. I added 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder in with the sour cream and vanilla, then folded in a cup of whipped cream at the end. You probably could add even more whipped cream if you would like. I enjoyed this most after it had sat in the fridge for 3 days, the first day it was a bit rich. I might try cutting down the lemon juice next time just a bit.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (I used 2 large breasts & cut them in half)
1/2 cup honey (I used agave nectar & a little less than half cup)
1/4 cup dijon mustard (I added a couple extra tablespoons)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased pan. Mix honey, dijon mustard, butter and pepper in bowl and pour on top of chicken. Bake for 45 minutes, basting with the sauce about every 15 minutes.

* This is such a simple, quick chicken dish! I was looking for something that wouldn't take much effort for dinner tonight and I got it. The best part, my husband raved about it the whole dinner & said it was a keeper!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Shrimp Asian Salad

Ingredients

2 T honey or agave nectar
2 T soy sauce
1 lime, juiced or 2 1/2 T lime juice
2 tsp sesame oil or peanut oil
1 T vegetable oil
3 T olive oil
1 T toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cucumber, peeled & cut into small pieces
1 lb cooked medium shrimp

Directions

Combine honey (agave nectar), soy sauce, lime juice & oils in a bowl. If shrimp isn't cooked, cook shrimp on medium- low to medium heat with a small amount of olive oil until pink on both sides. Combine cucumber & shrimp with sauce in bowl. Toss with romaine lettuce & top with sesame seeds.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Toasted Coconut Toffee Crunch cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 - 3/4 cup toasted coconut*
1/3 cup Heath toffee bits
1/3 cup crushed corn flakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture. Add toasted coconut, toffee bits and corn flakes and stir with a spoon. Make into about 1" balls and place 3"
apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

*To toast coconut, melt 1 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Add flaked coconut and stir until coconut is evenly browned (make sure not to over cook, it happens quickly once the browning process starts.)

**I found this base recipe, tweaked it a bit & added my twist with the toasted coconut, toffee and cornflakes. I am pretty sure that my husband ate about 10 of these in 1 day the last time I made them! Not to mention that my very picker eater step-dad LOVED them!