Lemon Pie Energy Bites

                                     

-1 cup chopped pitted dates

-1 1/3 cup old fashioned oats

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-4 tablespoons lemon juice 

Add all ingredients in food processor

Pulse until well combined

 Form into balls

 Eat right away or throw them in the fridge for later

Ollie ate 4 of these right away when I made these. Kid approved.

 You can't beat a tasty and healthy snack with 4 ingredients. Cheers!

                                                      

Spaghetti and Meatbowls

Meatbowls:

- 1 pound ground beef

- 1/4 pound ground pork

- 1 egg

- 1/3 cup bread crumbs

- salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning to taste

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Spray a muffin tin with non stick spray. 

Form meat into "bowls" in muffin tin. 

Bake at 350 for about 25- 30 minutes until edges start getting brown and crispy.

Remove meatbowls from tin and place upside down on a paper towel lined plate to drain the grease. Blot with paper towels on the inside if necessary. 

Cook spaghetti, drain and add your favorite sauce. Toss to coat pasta. 

Take a fork full of spaghetti, twirl and place on top of each meatbowl.

Top with more sauce and cheese if desired!

This is a fun meal to make with the kiddos. They really loved the idea of "meatbowls".

 Of course they're on the small side, so it might not be a bad idea to make a bigger batch

 of meatballs for the adults. Cheers!

Strawberry Jello Poke Cake

- 1 box white cake mix

- 1 3oz box strawberry jello 

- 1 cup boiling water 

- 8oz Cool Whip 

- fresh sliced strawberries 

Prepare a 9x13 baking dish

Make cake according to box directions

Allow cake to cool, then take the end of a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the cake 

Mix jello powder with 1 cup boiling water (allow to dissolve)

Evenly pour jello mix all over the cake

Allow cake to cool in the fridge for a few hours

Top with Cool Whip and fresh strawberries before serving

Seriously the easiest and most yummy cake you can make with 4 ingredients. 

Great to bring to parties or serve at holidays! Cheers!

Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

Dry ingredients-

- 3/4 cup flour

- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour 

- 1/3 cup sugar

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients- 

- 1 cup buttermilk 

- zest of 2 lemons 

- juice of 2 lemons

- 1 egg 

- 3 tablespoons melted butter

- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

- 1/4- 1/3 cup poppy seeds 

In a mixing bowl mix together dry ingredients

In a separate bowl whisk together wet ingredients then fold in poppy seeds 

Fold wet ingredients into the dry, mix until combined - do not over mix, lumps are fine 

Cook on lightly greased griddle until golden brown on both sides 

Serve with real maple syrup and butter 

These were the best pancakes I have ever made!! So good!! 

The fresh lemon juice and zest really makes it. Cheers!

BBQ Chicken Sliders

- 2 cups cooked chicken 

- BBQ sauce 

- sliced red onion

- pepper jack cheese 

- fresh cilantro 

- melted butter 

- 12 slider buns 

Preheat oven to 350

Arrange the bottoms of slider buns in 9x13 baking dish 

Spread cooked chicken evenly over slider bottoms

Drizzle BBQ sauce on chicken 

Top with sliced red onions

Place pepper jack cheese over chicken

Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top of cheese 

Place tops of buns back onto sliders 

Brush melted butter on the tops of sliders 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Cut and serve

I can't say enough about these sliders. Easy. Scrumptious. Use cheddar if the pepper cheese is to spicy for the kiddos. You can make things even easier and use an already roasted chicken from the store! Cheers!

Mushroom and Spinach Tortellini

- 1 package frozen tortellini

- 1 1/2 cup baby Bella mushrooms 

- 1/2 cup diced onion 

- 1 cup baby spinach 

- 1/2 cup diced tomato 

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1/3 cup anisette 

- 1/3 cup veggie stock

- salt and pepper to taste

- basil to taste 

- fresh parm cheese 

In a skillet over medium high heat melt butter

Add onions and mushrooms a little salt/ pepper and basil, sauté until soft about 5 minutes

Toss tortellini into boiling water and boil about 3 minutes then drain 

Add anisette to mushrooms and onions, cook 3 minutes 

Add veggie stock and bring to simmer

Toss partially cooked tortellini into sauce 

Add spinach, tomato, parm, salt and pepper

Cover and simmer 3-4 minutes until spinach is wilted and tortellini is cooked

Stir- salt and pepper to taste

Serve with more parm if desired

Apricot Chicken with Sesame Veggies

For Chicken:

- 3 cups cubed chicken breasts 

- 1/2 cup Russian dressing (red kind)

- 1/2 cup apricot preserves 

- 1 package Lipton onion soup mix 

For Veggies:

- 1/2 cup diced onion

- 1/2 cup diced zucchini

-1/2 cup sliced mushrooms 

- 1 teaspoon minced garlic

- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 

- 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil 

- 1 teaspoon olive oil 

- 1 teaspoon soy sauce 

- 1/3 cup diced tomatoes 

In a baking dish combine Russian dressing, apricot preserves and onion soup mix -stir with fork until smooth. 

Add chicken to apricot sauce and stir to coat.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through. 

While chicken is cooking- add olive oil and half sesame oil in a skillet on medium high heat. 

Add in onion and zucchini and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened. 

Add in garlic. Sauté a minute or two just until fragrant. Add sesame and sauté about a minute then Add in mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add Soy sauce and remainder of sesame oil stir to combine. Remove from heat, add diced tomatoes and cover until chicken is done.

Serve chicken with sauce and veggies over rice. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

This Apricot Chicken recipe itself Ive been making for years! My friends mom taught us when we had our first apartment together and we just started cooking for ourselves  Its really the best. Im always trying new ways to use it though, and these rice bowls were awesome!

Thai Peanut Chicken Wraps (with Stonewall Kitchen Garlic Peanut Sauce)

                                                

- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts 

- 1/3 cup sliced red onion

- 1 teaspoon minced garlic

- 2 tablespoons butter 

- 1 teaspoon olive oil 

- 1 bottle Stonewall Kitchen Garlic Peanut Sauce 

- 1 package broccoli slaw 

- flour tortillas 10"

- fresh cilantro 

- crushed peanuts 

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. 

In a medium sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add in broccoli slaw and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes. 

Reduce heat to medium low- cover and steam about 3-4 minutes until tender. 

Set aside cooked broccoli slaw in a bowl.

In the same pan over medium high heat - melt remaining butter and olive oil. 

Add in sliced onions. Sauté 1-2 minutes. Add minced garlic sauté 1 minute until fragrant.

Add in chicken. 

Sauté with onions and garlic for 3 minutes. 

Add in garlic peanut sauce. Stir and reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer chicken for 15 minutes (or until cooked through) - stirring occasionally. 

Assemble wraps with broccoli slaw, peanut chicken, fresh cilantro and crushed peanuts.

                                                             

Made these for Taco Tuesday yesterday. So delicious. Stonewall Kitchen really has the best sauces, and it made this recipe so much easier! 

BBQ Pulled Pork and Coleslaw Wonton Tacos

- 1/2 pound boneless pork sirloin

- 1 cup BBQ sauce 

- 2 cups prepared coleslaw 

- wonton wrappers 

Cook pork w BBQ sauce in crockpot on low for 8 hours.

Shred pork with fork. 

Preheat oven to 400.

Spray edges baking dish with non stick spray. 

Place wonton wrappers along edge of baking dish and bake for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.

Fill wonton tacos with pulled pork right when they come out of the oven while they're still pliable. 

Top tacos with coleslaw.

Stuffed and Baked Chicken Tacos

                                             

-1/2 pound cooked shredded chicken 

- Taco seasoning packet

- 1/2 diced onion  

- 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes drained 

- 4 oz canned diced chilis

- 16 oz can refried beans 

- 10 stand and stuff taco shells 

- 1/2 cup shredded cheese

- your choice of toppings 

Heat olive oil in skillet, add onions and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, diced tomatoes, chilis and seasoning packet, combine and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and line up taco shells. 

Add a teaspoon of refried beans to the bottom of each shell.

Full each taco to the top with chicken mixture.

Top with cheese and bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until cheese is melted and shells are browned. 

Serve with your favorite toppings!

                                                         

Green Bean Almandine

                                                  

One of our favorite side dishes to make, regardless of holidays or not. This did make it's way onto my Thanksgiving menu. There was a little dismay of my not making the typical green bean casserole, but all was well. Fresh buttery green beans, and toasty nutty almonds make this side amazing. Under 5 ingredients. Under 15 minutes. Yes. 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 pounds fresh green beans, ends snapped off
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• salt and pepper to taste

                                               Throw snapped green beans in a 

                                                 medium pot with 1/2 cup water. 

                                      Cover and steam on medium high heat for

                                                10-15 minutes until fork tender.

                                  Strain green beans and place in a casserole dish.

                                                   While the beans are steaming, 

                               add butter to a small sauté pan. Melt over medium heat.

                                                            Add in sliced almonds, 

                                   and sauté in butter until golden brown. 3-5 minutes.

                                   Pour the almonds and butter over the green beans. 

                                                           Toss lightly to coat. 

                                          Season to taste with salt and pepper.

If you've never made, or even tried green bean almandine before I suggest you do. We also love making this side with roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy. Now that is a great dinner. You should totally make that. I think I might make that next week now that I'm thinking of it. Cheers!

Bundt Pan Stuffing

                                              

Since I was only cooking for 6 this Thanksgiving, I was extremely excited to do quality over quantity with my menu. I came across this recipe on Pinterest- and I so pumped to try this. I was a bit intimidated at first, but everything came together nicely. This was one of the most flavorful and moist stuffings I've ever had. The flavors of the fresh herbs really made this stuffing shine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 loaf of day old french bread, cubed (I used a long french baguette) 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 stalks of celery, finely diced
• 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 4 eggs beaten
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooking spray 

                                                     Preheat oven to 250.

               Spread your cubed bread on 2 baking trays and bake for about 30 minutes,

                          stirring half way through until firm. Don't over bake them. 

                                 Remove bread from oven, increase temp to 400.

                                In a large skillet heat butter over medium high heat. 

                      Stir in onions and celery sauté until softened about 3-5 minutes.

              Add in sage, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix to combine herbs and veggies. 

                                                         Remove from heat. 

                             In a medium bowl combine chicken broth and eggs.

                 In a large bowl combine bread cubes, sautéed veggies and egg mixture.

                           Gently mix until well combined (I used a rubber spatula).

                                      Add more chicken broth if it seems to dry.

                                                 Spray pan with cooking spray.

                           Add in the stuffing mixture, spreading evenly around pan.

Press stuffing down with fingers to pack it down into pan. 

Bake 30-40 minutes, until edges start to get firm. 

Let cool 25 minutes in pan.

Then with a long thin spatula loosen edges, 

and carefully flip stuffing over onto a serving platter.

Look at that! That really is just beautiful to look at. I was rather impressed with myself. I think I was mainly afraid of sticking in the pan, but the stuffing came right out. Don't forget the cooking spray! Delicious scratch made stuffing recipe. This will be a regular fixture in my holiday menus from now on. Cheers!

                                                                          Adapted from:
                                                                   Stuffing in a bundt pan

Roasted Butternut Squash

                                                    

This is my go to recipe for roasting squash. Wether I'm making it for a side dish, or part of my butternut squash alfredo stuffed shells- roasted butternut squash is yummo.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large or 2 medium butternut squashs 
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Place squash flesh side up in broiler pan.

Brush with olive oil.

Rub in brown sugar.

Season with salt and pepper.

Flip squash over so skin side is up.

Add 1/4-1/3 cup water to pan. 

Roast for 40-45 minutes, until skin can be pierced with fork.

Check occasionally to make sure squash isn't burning,

 add more water if necessary. 

Water should eventually evaporate to 

allow the squash to caramelize. 

When fully cooked remove from oven, allow to cool a

 bit before scraping the flesh from the skin into a bowl. 

To make a side dish, mash squash a little with a fork. 

Add in a little maple syrup and butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Cheers!

                                                           

Adapted from:

oven roasted butternut squash