Baked Ziti

My Aunt Kathy brought us this recipe and we have loved it for MANY years! It is easy to put together and the kids LOVE it! A great lasagna alternative. I've altered a few things to make this point-friendly!

12 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste rigatoni noodles
8 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
2 C spaghetti sauce
4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles. In a separate bowl, mix all remaining ingredients. Once noodles are cooked, mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9x13 pan . Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serves 8
7 pts+

Mini Root Beer Float cupcakes

I randomly came across this recipe on Gourmet mom on the go a while back--and it's been starred on my toolbar waiting to be made...until today. :)

We had homemade pizza for dinner, and I thought this would be a fun dessert to go with! :)

I love several things about this recipe.
1. It's rootbeer. And while I don't drink pop much at all, I do love a good rootbeer now and then.
2. It's INCREDIBLY easy. Like, really, really easy.

Ingredients: CUPCAKES

1 pkg.  Vanilla Cake Mix

1 Tbsp. Root Beer Extract  (in the spice aisle w/ the other extracts)

  (I used McCormicks root beer concentrate and it was just right!)

1 can Root Beer (I used diet root beer to cut back on the sugar)

Pirouettes or Creme Roulee wafer cookies 

Red Mini Gumballs (or other small red candy)

Clean votive candle holders or shot glasses (I used votive holders I picked up for .25 each at my local craft store. Just be sure to wash them well first!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1 Tbsp. root beer extract in 2 C. measuring cup. Fill cup with Root Beer until it reaches 1 1/2 C. Be sure to let the foam fizzle down first so you can gauge accurately! (you'll have just a little bit of root beer left in your can when you're done). Add to cake mix and stir well. No eggs, no oil, easy!!

Place shot glasses/votive holders on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Fill 1/2 full with cake batter and bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes until done. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Cut round wafers in half. Put frosting in canvas bag w/ star tip (or you can just put it in a ziploc baggie and snip off one end). Pipe a dollop of icing onto each cupcake, top with a gumball and half of a wafer cookie. Serve or refrigerate until needed.

***The original recipe suggests using your favorite homemade or canned frosting, so I want to share my own recipe.  I loved the light texture--felt it was perfect for root beer floats! 

FROSTING:

1 small box vanilla or white chocolate pudding (I used fat free/sugar free white chocolate)

1 C milk

1 8 oz. container of Cool Whip free

In a bowl, mix milk and pudding together till thickened. Gently fold in cool whip till thoroughly combined. Put frosting in canvas bag w/ star tip (or you can just put it in a ziploc baggie and snip off one end). Pipe a dollop of icing onto each cupcake, top with a gumball and half of a wafer cookie. Serve or refrigerate until needed.

SERVING: 

The original recipe called for 36 mini cupcakes. I only bought 10 votive holders, and did the rest in cupcake liners. (got 12 cupcakes and 10 mini cupcakes.) I am figuring the cupcakes were about double what I put in the votive holders, and am assuming that I got 34 cupcakes out of mine.

So for my WW friends who are counting...

 34 mini cupcakes, it would be only 2 pt+ each!

or

18 regular cupcakes in wrappers would be 3 pt+ each.

The frosting is really low points as well...

I frosted all my cupcakes and still had quite a bit leftover! If you frost more than 27 cupcakes with it, it's ZERO pt+!!

Anything less comes to 1 pt+ 

(which I think it still fantastic considering what most frosting comes to!)

And 1/2 a Pirouette is 1 pt+

SO, total points for a mini cupcake with frosting and yummy round wafer: 3 pt+

Bacon cheeseburger rollup

I like to think of this as our wintertime burger--it's fast, easy, no grill needed...and it fits the bill when you're wanting the burger taste, but not the burger calories!

1 pillsbury classic pizza crust

8 oz uncooked lean ground beef (7% fat)

1/2 C hormel bacon pieces (or 7 pieces of turkey bacon cooked crisp and crumbled)

1 C reduced fat cheddar cheese

1/2 small onion, diced

In nonstick pan, cook ground beef with onion--let cool.

Meanwhile, spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and roll out pizza crust. Gently flatten dough with your fingers (the goal is to make it a little thinner, but not TOO thin). 

Once the meat has cooled, sprinkle it over the dough, leaving approx 1/2-1 inch around the edges. Sprinkle bacon and cheese over meat. 

Starting from one edge, roll up horizontally like you would when making cinnamon rolls (you want to have a long roll, not a shorter one), Pinch the seam together and place underneath the rollup on the cookie sheet.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for a few minutes, and then slice to serve! We usually cut into 9 slices--1 slice per serving. Dip in whatever sauce you like. Perfect for little fingers! :)

SERVING: 1 slice  5 pt+

Pizza Dough

• 2 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (or 5 tsp. if you are using bagged yeast)
• 2 teaspoon white sugar
• 2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 5-6 cups bread flour (though I used All purpose and had no problems)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, mix oil with italian seasonings and garlic powder (this will aid in equal distribution)
3. Stir in flour, salt and oil mixture (a mixer works great for this, but you can do by hand if you don't have one. Just be sure to knead your dough long enough). Beat until smooth (I let mine knead for about 4-5 minutes in the mixer). Let rest for 10-15 minutes--the original recipe stated you could just let it sit for 5...I left mine a few minutes longer, and loved it. (flour amounts will vary---start with 5 and keep adding small amounts until it's smooth and not too sticky.)
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round ball. Divide into equal parts (you can make 2-3 medium pizzas with this recipe, so divide according to how many you would like) Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or a wooden paddle dusted with cornmeal (and then transfer to your pizza stone). Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

***substitution for italian seasonings...1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, and 1/2 tsp onion powder.

Be sure to cook long enough. The first pizza I made I cooked a little longer than the 2nd pizza, yet the first was PERFECT. Slightly crisp on the outside, and chewy (NOT DOUGHY...) on the inside.

Resurrection Rolls

This is one of our favorite Easter recipes--and also is a great teaching method for helping kids understand the religious side to Easter...HOWEVER, these are also SUPER tasty and would be great any time of the year.

But for the sake of Easter and teaching, here's how we do it in our house.

INGREDIENTS:

-cinnamon/sugar mixture

- 1/2 c melted butter

- refrigerator rolls (or crescents) or homemade dough

-large marshmallows

(the amount of the marshmallows and dough will depend on how many you are making--)

We always let the kids help with this part...

Dip your marshmallows in the butter and then in the cinn/sug mix. This represents Christ's body after he died, and when his disciples put oil and spices on his body.

If you are using refrig rolls, make sure they are flattened out to 4-5 inches wide--and then place your marshmallow in the center and pull the dough all the way around it, sealing tightly. If using crescents, roll up your marshmallow and tuck in the sides tightly. This represents Christ being placed in the tomb.

Bake as directed on the package (we talk about the 3 days during this time). Remove from oven and let cool briefly, then open. Your marshmallow will be melted, or as kids see it--GONE. This is where we talk about how the tomb was empty, and how Christ had risen!

Yogurt sundaes

I don't know that I can really call this a "RECIPE", but I put it here because it's something my kids LOVE. :)

Yogurt for breakfast is okay...but yogurt sundaes are gobbled right up. I have to admit, I think they are pretty tasty too. You could add any kind of toppings you like, but for us we use:

-About half a cup of Danon Light and Fit yogurt (you could choose any you want, but this is pretty much the only kind I can get at my grocery store)

-banana (cut how you like)

-Cool Whip

-fun sprinkles

-cherry on top

Tasty, tasty...the kids go wild!

Turkey Sandwiches - just an idea...

I use this blog to give me ideas when I can't quite figure out what I want for dinner. So, I figured it fitting to put my picture of my tasty turkey sandwich, baked lays, and fresh fruit. Yes, we ate this for dinner. And it was DELICIOUS!

Nothing groundbreaking about my sandwich...just the basics--turkey, lettuce, cheese, bacon. But I definitely crave this kind of fresh food many times!

So, consider this just an idea...maybe browsing through the recipes and seeing their pics will help you decide what to make for dinner too! :)

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is SO easy and SO impressive. Who ever would have thought that marrying canned cinnamon rolls and apple pie filling would be SO GOOD???

-2 cans of refrigerator cinnamon rolls (whatever brand you like) The ones that come in a tube

- 1 can of apple pie filling

Spray muffin tins and put one slice of cinnamon roll dough in each muffin spot. Press gently up the sides of the tin, forming a little cup. Fill with apple pie filling. Continue until your tin is full. Bake as per directions on roll dough. Remove from tin to cool and drizzle the frosting from the cinnamon rolls package on your apple cinnamon rolls.

EASY Chicken Rice Soup

Got this recipe from a gal over at Apron Girl's. I am going to post her original recipe and then the variations I made. :)

Chicken Rice Soup

1 boneless skinless chicken breast,cut into cubes
1 large can of chicken broth
1/2 a box of Uncle Ben's Long grain wild rice (Use half the rice mixture and half the seasonings mixture and save the rest for another time)
cut up some carrots

Put it all in a pot and cook on medium heat for 1 hour.


OKAY, My variation:
-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (already cooked--I cook them ahead and freeze them) Cut into cubes.
-1 large can of Chicken broth (plus a little more water added at the end of cooking--you can decide how much to add as per how much rice you decide to use.
-1 whole box of uncooked Uncle Ben's long grain wild rice, using all seasonings as well.
-half a bag of frozen cut carrots.

This was seriously 20 minutes. Hardly any prep. Done. :) And it was SO delicious. Because I used the whole box of rice, I did add a little bit of water with a bullion cube at the end and let it dissolve before serving, just so my soup wasn't too thick with the rice. But I thought it was PERFECT.

Pizzadillas

I was totally unhappy with how the picture of this meal turned out, so I will add it later. I am sure we will eat it again VERY soon!

Perhaps someone out there has heard of this, read the recipe somewhere, or even made it. But I sure hadn't...it was my little stroke of genius *that probably wasn't genius after all) in the middle of dinner one night when my 3 small children were trying to eat pizza.

I realized it would be SO much easier to eat if the sauce were Off the pizza instead of ON the pizza. And so, pizzadillas were created. A perfect blend between pizza and quesadillas.

SO SIMPLE...perfect lunch in a hurry. All you need are:

-tortillas
-cheese
-pizza toppings
-pizza sauce for dipping (I like to buy this in the squirt bottle so I am not wasting anything)

Preheat pan to low-medium heat. Take one tortilla and put cheese and toppings on on half. Fold over and place in pan. Because cooking heat varies so much, just keep an eye until your tortilla is golden brown, then flip it over and cook the other side.

Remove from pan and let cool, for a minute. Cut into wedges with pizza cutter. Serve your tasty pizzadillas with a little mound of pizza sauce for dipping.

DELICIOUS! :)

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
1 (12 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (8 oz) package whipped topping
2 (9 inch) prepared oreo crusts

Chopped Reeces Peanut butter cups--as many as desired

DIRECTIONS
Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in 12 oz. whipped topping.
Spoon into two 9 inch crusts; cover, top with additional whipped topping and chopped peanut butter cups and freeze until firm.

***side note: This is DELICIOUS. Sigh....I could eat this daily, no joke. And the best part is that you can substitute ALL the ingredients for a lower fat/calorie/sugar substitute and it STILL turns out so good. I LOVE that this dessert makes two in one shot. We always eat one the same night and save another for a different night or when we need a last minute dessert. And as untraditional as this may sound, one of these ALWAYS makes it's way to our Thanksgiving feast. :)

Berry Muffins

PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 25 Min
READY IN 40 Min

Original recipe yield 8 large muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries (or other berries) I used fresh raspberries for this pic.
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

***I TRIPLED this recipe and ended up with about 16 BIG muffins and a large pan on mini muffins--I wish I could say we froze them all, but they were so good we gobbled several up right there on the spot, fresh out of the oven. However, the remainder of them went in ziplock baggies and were stored for future breakfasts. These are super easy to heat and eat--15-30 seconds in the micro and they are ready to go!

Snickers Salad

I know, I know...risen from the dead. I am sorry to have gone M.I.A. for most of the summer...we haven't done a whole lotta cookin'. That's a real confession right there. :) A true confession.

But I am back on track--my meals are planned for the month and I have some exciting things to post here in the next few weeks.

I thought I would start with a barbecue favorite...snickers salad. The perfect blend of the good stuff (fruit) and the good stuff (chocolate). I don't know if this is classified as a fruit salad (side dish) or a tasty dessert...so, we eat it as a side salad (gives us a reason to eat something different for dessert...are we horrible or what?!)

EASY, EASY, EASY...Kind of reminds us of carmel apples because as the snickers sit and soften in the creamy mixture, the carmel starts to "melt" and mix with the apples...yummm...

1 small box of vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cup milk
12 oz. whipped cream
1 bag of snickers miniatures (unwrapped and chopped)
2 granny smith apples and 2 red delicious apples (I know some people only use the granny smith, but I love red delicious...so that's my variation)

In a bowl, mix the pudding mix and milk together beating until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream. Add the chopped snickers and chopped apples pieces and mix together. Let sit in fridge for about 2 hours.

Serve...if you are really okay to share. :)

oh, and side note...make sure to clarify with people that this is not potato salad. It kind of looks like it if you are just glancing at the dishes. :) That's why I add shaved chocolate on top!

Flank Steak with Corn and Red Pepper Quesadillas

I originally got this recipe from the Good Housekeeping magazine. You can check it out here. We've made a few changes here and there...and we love this on a Spring/Summer night. It makes a great alternative to the normal barbecue!

1 lime
4 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoonbrown sugar
Salt
1 (about 1 1/4 pounds) beef flank steak
3 ears corn, husks and silks removed (or we use a few small frozen ones sometimes)
1 large red pepper, seeded and cut into quarters
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 cup(s)(3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat (2%) Mexican-style cheese (and yes, the Mexican style DOES make a difference)
2 green onions, thinly sliced (we omit these)
Plain fat-free Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream (optional)

Prepare outdoor grill for covered direct grilling over medium heat.

From lime, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 teaspoon juice. In small bowl, combine lime peel and juice, chili powder, cumin, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Rub steak with chili powder mixture to season both sides.

Place steak, corn, and pepper on hot grill rack. Cover grill and cook steak and vegetables 12 to 15 minutes or until corn is browned in spots, pepper is lightly charred and tender (turning vegetables occasionally), and steak is medium-rare or desired doneness (turning steak over once).

As vegetables are done, transfer to cutting board. Transfer steak to another cutting board; let stand 10 minutes to allow juices to set for easier slicing.

When vegetables are cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cobs and coarsely chop pepper. Place tortillas on work surface. Evenly divide cheese, green onions, corn, and peppers on half of each tortilla. Fold each tortilla over filling to make 4 quesadillas. Grill quesadillas about 2 minutes or until browned on both sides, carefully turning over once. Return quesadillas to same cutting board; cut each in half.

Thinly slice steak and serve with quesadillas and yogurt if using.


Serves 4

***My kids love these quesadillas. They are full of good stuff and are easy to handle!

Chewy Popcorn Balls

3/4 C brown sugar

1 stick of butter or margarine

10 Large marshmallows

1-2 bags unbuttered popcorn (though, I just used 9 cups of regular popper-popped corn)

Melt brown sugar, butter, and marshmallows in a saucepan until all blended and melted. Pour of popped corn. Still well. Then shape into ball and let sit on wax paper. I would say we got about 12 medium sized popcorn balls--though your amount could vary depending on how big or small you make them.

ENJOY! These are soft and chewy but no super sticky. YUM!

Mini Fruit Pizzas

The following recipe is to make one large round pizza. You can make mini ones by using a large cookie cutter to make individual sized ones.

1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
2 squares (1 ounce each) white chocolate baking squares
2 Tbsp. milk
1 package cream cheese (8 oz)
1/4 C powdered sugar
1 C thawed, whipped topping
1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape cookie dough into a ball and place in the center of a large pizza stone or baking sheet. Use lightly floured rolling pin and roll dough to a 12-inch circle (about 1/4 inch). Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are set. (cookie will be soft--don't overbake) Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Carefully loosen cookie from baking stone using serrated knife. Cool completely on pan.

Place white chocolate and milk in small bowl. Microwave on high 1 minute; stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Microwave an additional 10-20 seconds if necessary. Combine with cream cheese and powdered sugar; mix well. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture evenly over cookie.

Arrange fruits over cream cheese mixture. We love to put mandarine oranges, strawberries, kiwi, and bananas. Place chocolate morsels and vegetable oil in small bowl in microwave, uncovered, on high for 30 seconds or until chocolate is smooth. Drizzle over chocolate and fruit. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

***originally from Pampered Chef cookbook--altered to our liking.

Chicken & Bows

I was trying to think of a more exciting name than Chicken and Bows...but I just couldn't. So, straight from the Simple & Delicious magazine, I present to you Chicken and bows...

I love this recipe for a variety of reasons. While my kids love peppers, most kids don't. This recipe presents a great way to put a veggie they might not normally eat in without it being overpowering. The second reason I love it it because it makes a TON of food and is VERY FREEZER FRIENDLY! So, without planning to or making special arrangements, you have another night's meal ready to freeze and reheat for a quick dinner another night. The meal on a whole was not very expensive at all--and divided by 12 would make it a very budget friendly meal. VERY tasty, very easy--the kids gobbled it right up!

1 package (16 ounces) bow tie pasta
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips (I used pre-cubed chicken that I got as a manager special at the store, so mine is cubed)

1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cups frozen peas
1-1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a seperate pan, cook chicken and red pepper in butter over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Stir in the soup, peas, milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Drain pasta; add to chicken mixture and toss to coat. Serve half of the mixture immediately.

Cool remaining mixture; transfer to a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to an ungreased shallow 3-qt. microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until heated through, stirring once. Yield: 2 casseroles (6 servings each).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Parfait

Here is the recipe, in all it's glory. Sorry it took me a few days to get this done! I have been running!! :) This is a super easy recipe, especially to make with the kids! We had so much fun making it for a family night treat!

3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

ADD milk gradually to peanut butter in medium bowl, stirring with wire whisk until well blended. Add whipped topping; stir until well blended. Set aside.

PREPARE pudding as directed on package. Spoon half of the pudding evenly into six parfait glasses; top with peanut butter mixture. Cover with remaining pudding.

REFRIGERATE at least 30 min. or until ready to serve. Store any leftover desserts in refrigerator.

We topped ours with whipped cream and toffee bits, because that was what we had on hand. It was delicious! Next time I am going to have some crumbled peanut butter cup to put on top though!! :)

Wrapped Meatballs

16 precooked meatballs

1 package of refrig. crescents

Marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Thaw meatballs in microwave--set aside. Cut each crescent in half and place one meatball on each half. Roll the crescent around each meatball and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and dip in marinara sauce.

This makes a great appetizer or party food, but we also eat it for a kid-friendly dinner. They are the perfect size for little hands! :)

Chicken Green Bean Casserole

No, this isn't a side dish--a delicious combo of wild rice, chicken, and the good ol' Thanksgiving favorite sidedish, this is a true family favorite in our house!

Chicken Green Bean Casserole

1/2 C Miracle Whip (or Mayo)
1 can chicken
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 pkg Uncle Ben's Long grain & Wild rice
1 Can of Durkee french fried onions
1 Can french cut green beans

Cook Rice according to package directions. In a large bowl mix green beans with half of the juice, soup, miracle whip, and chicken. Blend well. Once the rice is finished, add it to the bowl mix. Put in an 8x8 pan and sprinkle fried onions all over the top (we LOVE these!) Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.(this is great for turkey leftovers and also freezes well--just don't freeze with onions!)

If you are questioning my math skills because this technically has 6 ingredients but I put it in the less than 5 category, it is SOOOO easy that it might as well have 5-- :) And WORTH IT! Yum! The kids gobble this up every time!