Parmesan Zucchini Crisps

My friend and neighbor gave me a huge zucchini so I made these and I could not get enough. In fact, I pretty much ignored the chicken I made and ate a big plate of these instead. I only wish I had a garden full of zucchini so I could easily make this for dinner several times a week.

Parmesan Zucchini Crisps

Zucchini
olive oil
kosher salt
pepper
fresh grated parmesan cheese

Slice zucchini and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Lightly drizzle or brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with cheese. Put under broiler for about 5 minutes or until it begins to get crispy.

Source: Mindika Moments

Bloomin' Onion Bread

This bread is SO good! Everyone absolutely loved it. It is such a fun and different appetizer. I found it over at The Changeable Table, everything I have tried from her blog has been wonderful.

Bloomin' Onion Bread

1 unsliced loaf (round is preferable) sourdough bread.

1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup finely diced green onion, with tops

2-3 tsp poppy seeds

Directions:

Cut the bread lengthwise and widthwise - without cutting through the bottom crust. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Insert cheese between cuts. Combine butter, onion, and poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap. Bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

source: The Changeable Table

Not fried Fried Ice Cream

Don't be fooled by my title, just because I call it not fried fried ice cream does not in any way mean it is healthy! I came across this recipe a week ago and I am currently obsessed. It is good just as a topping on ice cream, sprinkled on top, or you assemble it in a 9x13 pan with the crumb topping on the top and bottom. I decided to make ice cream balls and roll them in the topping. It is really sweet, with a hint of cinammon and the perfect amount of crunch. I love rice krispies on my vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce, this takes it a whole step (or several) further.

Fried Ice Cream Topping
adapted from Clouse Cousins

3 C. Rice Krispies
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 C. chopped pecans
1 1/4 C. coconut
1/2 C. butter
1/2 teaspoon cinammon

Preheat oven to 300. Melt butter and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes on a cookie sheet, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool and prepare in either a cake pan, as fried ice cream balls or just put it in a sealed container and do what I did : put ridiculous amounts on my vanilla ice cream with it and caramel when my kids were in bed and indulge! Go ahead, you deserve it!

Quick Bean and Beef Burritos

Does this count as a recipe? Maybe more of a dinner idea. This can be thrown together in no time at all. My kids love it as well as my husband. I made too much so I wrapped and froze them indivudually and we had dinner for the next week all ready.

Bean / Beef Burritos

beans, I made my own pinto beans or you could use a can of refried
1 pound ground beef
taco seasoning
onion
tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
shredded cheese

Cook or warm up beans and cook meat with onion and seasoning. Spread a small amount of beans and meat on each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and roll up. Place in a 9x13 pan. When you are done rolling the burritos, top them with enchilada sauce and some shredded cheese. Place in 350 degree oven just until cheese melts. You could also jsut put each individual burrito in the microwave. Top with sour cream, cilantro and/or salsa. Also yummy with avacado.

No Bake Rocky Road Cookies

I wanted to whip up a quick treat to greet my son when he came home from his first day of 4th grade. I found them on the Mrs. Fields blog and thought they looked yummy. I never think to make no bake cookies, I loved them when I was little. They remind me of going to my best friend, Laura's house to play. Her mom always had the yummiest cookies for us to eat. This is a fun twist on the no bake cookies we have all had.

No Bake Rocky Road Cookies

adapted from Mrs. Fields blog

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (one stick) butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, bring the sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil. Allow it to boil for one minute, then add peanut butter and vanilla and stir until combined. Remove from heat. Stir in the oatmeal, marshmallows, nuts, and chocolate chips. With an ice cream scoop, form balls of dough and set on wax or parchment paper until cool.

Chile Rellenos

Oh, how I love this! I think it is even better the next day as leftovers. What is better than a good, easy, fast chile relleno? My mom used to make this and I don't know if I appreciated it as a kid as I do now. If you like egg dishes, cheese and green chiles this is for you. Top it with this salsa, you won't be dissapointed!

Chile Relleno

1 pound jack cheese, shredded

1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded

2 large cans whole chiles

3 eggs

1 pint sour cream

Combine cheeses. Line botom of a 9x13 pan with half the green chiles. Top with half of the cheese, then the other half of the green chiles, then top with the remainder of the cheese. Mix together the eggs and sour cream and pour over the top. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Restaurant Salsa

This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman and let me tell you, it is as good as every recipe I have tried from her website. I could not get enough. I thought it was even better the next day and when mixed with a little sour cream, I could have snacked on it all day long. I don't really want to buy bottled salsa ever again, I could make this once a week for the rest of my life and be very happy.

Restaurant Style Salsa

The Pioneer Woman

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice

2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)

¼ cups Chopped Onion

1 clove Garlic, Minced

1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin

¼ teaspoons Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin

½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)

½ whole Lime Juice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse 10 to 15 times, until desired consistency. Taste and season more if needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour.

Smores Bars

The best part of this recipe is that it made an 8x8 square pan and not a 9x13, because then I really would have been sick! These are in my top 5 favorite bar dessert. They are so hard to stay out of and are absolutely, positively delicious!! I can't wait to make these for other people or to bring to some sort of function, I am sure they will be the biggest hit. A new favorite in this house. I found them via The Girl Who Ate Everything, a fabulous blog.

Smores Bars

1/2 cup butter, soft

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized Hershey's milk chocolate bars
1 small jar marshmallow cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is tricky, I made balls as if I was making cookies and flattened with a rolling pin then arranged them on top.

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Cari's donuts

My friend introduced me to these donuts, she makes them for Halloween and I make a fool of myself ever year, eating up a storm. Everyone knows that she makes the best donuts and looks forward to them. I love them because they not only taste good and the kids go crazy over them, but they are SIMPLE. Thanks Cari (for making my hips grow every October!) ! Love you!

Cari's Famous Donuts

refrigerated biscuit dough

oil

powdered sugar

milk

Heat oil to 350 degrees shape each biscuit into a donut shape by poking a hole in the center and stretching it out in a circle. Fry on each side, it cooks very, very fast. Place on cooling rack then dip in a mixture of powdered sugar and milk. That is it! I told you it was easy.

Sloppy Joes

I decided to try the Pioneer Woman's sloppy Joe recipe and it was so good! They are a little on the hot and spicy side, I thought my kids would complain but they all ate them all gone. I will absolutely make these again, my husband really loved them.

Sloppy Joe's

2 Tablespoons Butter

2-½ pounds Ground Beef

½ whole Large Onion, Diced

1 whole Large Green Bell Pepper, Diced

5 cloves Garlic, Minced

1-½ cup Ketchup

1 cup Water

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)

1 teaspoon Dry Mustard

½ teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)

Worcestershire Sauce To Taste

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (optional)

Tabasco Sauce (optional; To Taste)

Salt To Taste

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

Kaiser Rolls

Butter

Add butter to a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat.

Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are a little soft.

Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and Tabasco if desired. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Spread rolls with butter and brown on griddle or under the broiler.

Carmelitas

My sister in law brought these to us on Sunday, I was served two but said I just wanted one and put one back but they were so heavenly that I ended up eating the second one anyway. I love these!!! I made these a couple of days ago and used a mix of white chocolate chips, butterscotch, semi sweet and milk chocolate instead of all semi sweet since I didn't have enough. I love how they turned out with the mix of chocolates.

Guittard Carmelitas

14 oz. (50 pcs.) light candy caramels (I bought 1 bag of caramel bits, they are easier)
1/2 c. evaporated milk
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups (12 oz) Guittard semisweet chocolate chips, divided (or you can try to add white chocolate, buttersccotch and or milk chocolate too like I did)
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13x2" pan.
Melt caramels and evaporated milk in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and melted butter. Press half of crumbs into bottom of prepared 9x13x2" pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. Remove from oven and evenly sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and all the pecans over the crust. Pour and spread caramel mixture to cover the chips and pecans. Mix remaining 1/2 cup chips with crumbs and sprinkle over top. Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into 48 bars.
Microwave instructions: Melt caramels and milk in small glass bowl on high for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 minutes, stirring after each minute until smooth. Proceed as directed above.

Skillet no meat Lasagna

This is absolutely delicious, so easy, has no meat and is pretty low fat! What more could you ask for? I will definitely be making this again and again. It is too easy and yummy not to. It is a Martha Stewart recipe that I found adapted at Remodelaholic.

Skillet no meat Lasagna

(approx. 6 servings, 8 Weight Watchers points per serving)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a skillet over med-high heat, add:

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2+ tsp of Basil, oregano and fennel seeds (each)

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 12 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in another boil mix together:

1 18 oz small curd low fat cottage cheese

2/3 c Parmesan (the powder kind, not fresh grated

3 T dried parsley

2 beaten eggs

3/4 c Mozzarella

salt and pepper

No cook Lasagna Noodles

When red sauce is done, scrape 2/3 out into another bowl. Then layer with noodles and cottage cheese mixture, and repeat. Top with one cup Mozzarella.

Place back on the burner, medium high heat for five minutes covered. Remove the lid and place the whole skillet into preheated 400 degree oven (make sure your skillet is oven safe!) and bake for 15 more minutes.

Let stand a few minutes before serving!

Source: Remodelaholic