Twice Baked Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Yield: 4 servings as a main dish, 8 servings as a side dish Ingredients 4 sweet potatoes (9-10 oz each) 1 1/4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, divided 1/2 cup ranch dressing 4 oz blue cheese, divided 1/4 cup Franks Red Hot 2 oz cream cheese, cut into pieces 1 tablespoon butter, melted 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken Sliced green onions Instructions Preheat oven to 400°F. Clean and pierce the potatoes with a fork several times. Bake until soft, about 45 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and remove the flesh to a bowl, leaving a thin layer around the outside of the potato to keep the shape. Mash the sweet potato flesh. Add in 1/2 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, the ranch dressing, 2 oz of the blue cheese, the Frank’s red hot, cream cheese and butter. Mix to combine. Stir in the shredded chicken. Add the filling back into the potato skins. Top with the remaining Monterey Jack and blue cheese. Return to the oven until heated through and the cheese is melted, 10-15 minutes. Serve topped with sliced green onions.

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 1/4 cup fat free milk 2 oz cream cheese 1 pound ground turkey 1 medium onion, chopped 1 cup chopped carrots 1 cup frozen corn 1/4 cup water 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper shredded cheese Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, cover sweet potatoes with water and cook, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender; drain. Gradually add milk and cream cheese, mashing with a potato masher to make potato mixture light and fluffy; cover and keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook turkey and onion over medium heat until meat is brown, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up turkey as it cooks; drain, if needed. Stir in carrots, corn, and water; bring to a boil and reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper to turkey mixture and heat through. Divide turkey mixture among 4 ungreased, 10-ounce ramekins; spoon mashed sweet potato mixture over turkey mixture. Top with shredded cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until heated through. Serve immediately.

Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Brown and drain 1 lb of ground turkey (or ground beef) and set aside.

In a sauce pan, cook about 3/4 of one large onion, chopped.
Add to onion and stir:
        2 cloves fresh garlic
        1 T soy sauce
        1/4 cup Hoisin sauce
        2 tsp pickled ginger (I used dry)
        1 T rice wine vinegar
        8oz can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
        2 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil

Mix with ground turkey

Serve with rinsed and dried lettuce leaves and extra Hoisin sauce.       

Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter + Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe and Photo from Ambitious Kitchen: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com

Click HERE to be taken directly to the recipe...

 

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

2 hours 10 mins 

Nutella is stuffed between a hazelnut brown butter flavor enhanced chocolate chip cookie then sprinkled with sea salt.

Author: Monique

Recipe type: Dessert, Cookie

Serves: 2 dozen cookies (It only made 18 cookies for me)

Ingredients

·       2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

·       1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

·       1/4 teaspoon of salt

·       2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

·       1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

·       1/4 cup granulated sugar

·       1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

·       1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·       1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt (I just used Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt)

·       3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I didn't have semi-sweet or dark choc chips, I used 1 full bag of milk chocolate chips instead)

·       1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

·       1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

·       1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator

·       Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

1.    Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. (Don't give up!  Wait until it turns brown and smells delicious!) Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

2.    With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.

3.    Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager, although I cannot promise the same results if you do this.

4.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball — it doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand VERY gently. (Really only the tops need to be flattened a bit!)

5.    Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Healthy Macaroni Salad

2 Cups Dry Whole Wheat elbow macaroni 1 medium stalk celery, diced 1 small red pepper, chopped 1/2 cup cooked frozen peas and carrots 2 medium scallions, chopped 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 cup light mayo 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt 1/4 cup dill pickle, sliced 1/4 tsp onion powder Cook Macaroni according to the package. Drain. In a bowl add macaroni, celery, red pepper, peas, carrots, scallion and cheese. To make the dressing add the mayo, yogurt, pickle and onion powder. Mix together. Pour over the salad and mix. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Twice-baked potato casserole

• 2-3 pounds red potatoes (about 9 medium), baked
• 1/4 teaspoon salt,
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 cups (24 ounces) sour cream (I used light sour cream)
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 green onions, sliced (I used chives)

Directions

• Cut baked potatoes into 1-in. cubes. Place half in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the salt, pepper and bacon. Top with half of the sour cream and cheeses. Repeat layers.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until cheeses are melted. Sprinkle with onions. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Bites

1 (17.5 oz) package Pillsbury Chocolate Cookie Mix
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
Chocolate Frosting

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine cookie mix, flour, butter, and egg in large bowl.  Mix with a spoon until soft dough is formed.  Shape into 3/4 inch balls.  Place on baking sheet.

Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until edges are set. Remove immediately from baking sheet to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes.

Fill frosting bag with chocolate frosting.  (I just used a jar of Pillsbury premade) Insert nozzle of frosting tip into top of warm cookie. Apply additional frosting on top in a spiral pattern.  Sprinkle with peppermint candy pieces.

Makes about 3 dozen.

**This recipe claims to make 6 dozen, but even making small balls, I barely got about 3.  I'll be impressed if you can get 6!  :) 

7 Layer Greek Dip

Ingredients: 1 8-oz. pkg.cream cheese, softened 1 Tbsp.lemon juice 1 tsp.dried Italian seasoning 3 cloves garlic, minced 1-1/2 cups prepared hummus 1 cup chopped cucumber 1 cup chopped tomato 1/2 cupchopped pitted Kalamata olives 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/3 cup sliced green onions 1. In medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and garlic with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and combined. 2. Spread cream cheese mixture into a deep 9-inch pie plate, or shallow serving dish. Evenly spread hummus on cream cheese layer. Top with cucumber, tomato, olives, feta cheese, and green onions. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 24 hours. Serve with pita chips and/or multigrain tortilla chips. Makes about 2-1/2 cups dip (16 servings).

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado and Cumin-Lime Dressing

serves 4-6 Ingredients • 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed • 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil • 1 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed • 1 avocado, chopped into chunks • handful cherry tomatoes, quartered • 1/2 red onion, diced • 1 small clove garlic, minced • 1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks (I omitted this because I’m not a big pepper fan!) • 1 c. spinach • small handful cilantro, diced • 1 limes, juiced • 1/2 tsp cumin • 1/2 tbsp olive oil • salt, to taste Directions 1. Warm the olive/coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s hot add the rinsed quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes until it starts smelling nutty and lovely. Add broth, stir once, cover, and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes. 2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all other ingredients. Prepare the dressing by combining the lime juice, oil, cumin, and salt. Whisk it aggressively. Adjust seasoning as necessary. 3. When the quinoa has finished cooking, remove it from heat and fluff with a fork. Add black beans and toss to warm them through. 4. Let the quinoa cool for about five minutes and then add all the remaining ingredients, including the dressing, and mix. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips and a refreshing, cold beer (I omitted this too =) ).

Pumpkin Bars

2 c. flour                          2 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder             1 c. vegetable oil

¼ tsp. salt                        4 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda                 2 c. pumpkin (one can)

2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325º.  Beat all ingredients together until fluffy.  Pour into greased cookie sheet (jelly roll pan).  Bake at 325º for 25-35 minutes.  If the top bounces back, it’s done.

Cool and frost.

FROSTING:

6 oz. softened cream cheese

2 Tbl. milk                           4½ c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla                       dash of salt

Mix everything together except the powdered sugar; then add powdered sugar very slowly.  Beat it until it’s smooth.  Add more milk if it’s too thick. 

Home made Twix Bars

Ingredients: 1 cup salted butter, softened 1 cup powdered sugar 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2-1/2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks 3 Tbsp. heavy cream 3 cups chocolate chips 1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (Optional) Directions: For the crust: Preheat oven to 300 degree Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x13 in pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the flour - at first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together quickly. Take the dough and press it evenly into the pan. (Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.) Prick the crust all over with a fork - this allows steam to escape so the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles. Bake until lightly golden brown on top and edges - about 30-35 minuts. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set aside to cool completely. For the caramel layer: Melt the caramel and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up. For the chocolate layer: Melt the chocolate in the microwave using ten second increments - stirring every time. If the chocolate seems too thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it. (Just know that this will leave your end-resulting chocolate a little softer than normal. I don't use it for this very reason. ) Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread until it covers the entire surface. Return to the refrigerator (or freezer) until the chocolate is well set. Cut and serve.

Lemon bars

Lemon bars

1 box Angel Food cake mix
1 can lemon pie filling

Mix together and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Not really a recipe, but mix some butter, garlic salt and parmesean cheese.  Spread on slices of french bread (or whatever kind). Sprinkle a little mozarella cheese over butter and brown in a skillet. MmmMmmmmmmmmm.  Buttery, cheesy goodness!

Easy Veggie Dip

Equal Parts:  (so you can do more or less if you want)
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese

and 1 ranch dressing packet.  (I just have a can of the ranch dressing mix, and I add it to taste).

Mix together and serve with your favorite veggies.

Baked Potato Mashed potatoes

6-8 large potatoes (your favorite kind amount also depends on how much you want..... this will feed about 6 people)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 chopped green onions
3-4 strips of bacon, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and chop up your potatoes. Put them in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Drain water and add milk and sour cream. Mash the potatoes. Mix in the cheese, onion and bacon. Serve warm.

Pork Chops 'n Cream :)

8 boneless pork chops (or however many you need-just make sure you cover them all with the cream)

1 pt. heavy whipping cream

1 pkg. onion soup mix

Put pork chops in 9x13 pan. Add onion soup to cream. Pour over pork chops. Bake @ 350º for hour.

I like to make potatoes with these to put the extra cream over like gravy.