Mini Deep Dish Pizza

Can you believe it? I'm back! I make no guarantees as to how long I'll be back posting recipes, but the scare I just had about losing everything jump started me to get blogging again!

So, this is a recipe I found on Pinterest a while back (from the website Dashing Dish) and I loved it. It was so quick and easy and I really liked it. I have to admit that my husband thought they were a good snack, so I guess they weren't very filling to him, but I thought they were delicious!

So here's what you'll need:

• 3-4 whole wheat wraps- I found mine on clearance at Wal-Mart!
• 1 (15oz) can pizza sauce (you may have some left over, depending on how much sauce you like)
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 48 mini pepperonis (I used regular sized pepperoni but just cut them up into 4 pieces each)
• 1 tsp basil/oregano mix OR Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of sweetener, (sugar/stevia/splenda)
• pinch of black pepper

 So take a whole wheat wrap and your round cookie cutter and cut out circles that will press down into your muffin tins... (See the pictures below)

 Spray your muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray before pressing the wrap down into each one!

 Next, take your pizza sauce, spices and parmesan cheese and mix it all together.

 Spoon a little sauce into each wrap, and then top with cheeses and pepperoni.

 Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes. When they come out let them sit for a few minutes just to cool a little. Then take a knife and cut around each one. They just need a little help releasing from the pan where the cheese has cooked onto it. Pop out and serve them up!! Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

You know how you have a recipe bookmarked FOREVER on your computer and you just don't try it... and then you finally do try it and it is easy and delicious? Seriously. Why have I not tried this meal before now? I have had it printed and sitting on my counter for probably 6 months and just tried it a few weeks ago. I don't even know where this recipe came from anymore... its just been that long. (So if anyone knows where this recipe came from, let me know and I'll give them credit!)

Unfortunately... I was having company over when I made this, so I was trying to hurry and all the pictures I got were the ingredient shot and then the final product... Whoops!

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts

Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 (8-ounce can) tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/2-1 tsp salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. parsley

Rinse chicken breasts in cold water. Layer between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness. Season both sides with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Preheat grill and grill chicken breasts for 6-8 minutes per side. In a large pot, boil water with 1 Tbsp. salt. Add 1/2 lb. penne pasta noodles and boil according to package directions

Heat 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over med. heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but don't let the garlic turn brown. Add the chicken broth and let the broth reduce down by half. Once the broth has reduced, stir in the tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add the parsley and basil to the sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Slice the chicken. Serve pasta with sliced chicken on top.This was so delicious... creamy, flavorful. So yummy. Try it. Its very easy and so absolutely delicious... How could it not be delicious... Did you look at the ingredient list? Heavy cream, butter, olive oil... hello...YUM!

Lasagna Soup

I got this recipe from one of my co-workers at my new job (see last post). I had a feeling my husband would love it, since he loves Lasagna, and he absolutely did. It was pretty fast and easy too! My kind of recipe!1 lb. ground beef
1 onion
3 tsp. garlic, minced (I used less...)
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 small can tomato paste (I didn't have any paste, so I used tomato sauce)
3 cans diced tomatoes
3 cans chicken broth
12 oz. corkscrew pasta (I used penne because I didn't have corkscrew)
3 tsp. basil
6 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
6 oz. Cottage cheese blended until smooth
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or any other kind of cheese for the top)

In a large pot over med. heat, saute the onions and gr. beef, breaking it up into small pieces, about 5-7 minutes. Drain excess grease from the pot. Add the garlic, pepper, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes and saute for another minute. Add the tomato paste (or sauce) and saute until the paste turns a rusty brown-- about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes with their juices and the broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the pasta, increase the heat to medium and boil until the pasta is tender. Depending on the type of pasta you use, this time will vary greatly. Penne takes considerably longer to soften than other kinds of pasta. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Add the blended cottage cheese and parmesan and stir. Serve with extra mozzarella or some other kind of cheese on top. YUM!

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

This is a recipe I have had bookmarked FOREVER and I finally got around to making it...

And it did NOT disappoint. YUM!

2 cans evaporated milk
1 packet (1 oz.) dry Ranch dressing mix
1/8 tsp pepper
enough lasagna noodles for a 9x13 pan (this is usually 6 for me)
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

Boil noodles according to package directions and set aside.

Mix together evaporated milk (don't use the fat free kind) and the ranch dressing packet in a 3 qt. saucepan over medium heat stirring frequently. Let simmer 25 minutes and then add chicken and pepper. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Grease your 9x13 well before layering your ingredients. Layer your pan like this: Noodles, sauce then cheese- then repeat. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

The last time I made this, I had tons of squash from my garden, so I added in some cut up squash to my layers. I just added it after the sauce and put the cheese on top. It was a yummy addition to the meal and made it more hearty and filling (and healthy!)

Moroccan Carrot Soup

Once again, another delicious soup recipe from my oldest sister.
(That pumpkin one was hers too)
Ingredients:
2 T butter
1 cup chopped white onion
1 pound large carrots, peeled, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 1/2 cups veggie or chicken broth
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 T honey
1 t lemon juice
1/8 t ground allspice
1/2 cup plain yogurt or milk

Directions:
Saute onion in butter or oil until translucent. Mix in carrots and broth and bring to boil. Simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove soup from heat and puree in blender until smooth. Return to pan and whisk in honey, lemon juice, allspice, cumin, and yogurt or milk. Sean with salt and pepper to taste. Can serve over rice.

Crock Pot Version: Saute onion in butter over stove. When translucent, transfer to crock pot with carrots and broth and leave on low for 5-6 hours or on high 3-4 hours. When ready puree in blender and return to crock pot to add honey, lemon juice, allspice, cumin and yogurt/milk. Season with salt and pepper and serve!
I served it with bread from our breadmaker this time... YUM!

Number Of Servings:4 lg servings (155 cals/bowl) or 6 small ones

Once again.. Orange soup is really hard to make appealing- looking in pictures... but trust me... Its delicious!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

As the season is changing **sigh** it seems that I am feeling like making more and more soups and breads. That is just what sounds good at the end of a cold Fall day(or is it already Winter here in Idaho?) .

This is a delicious, smooth, creamy soup. I got this recipe from my oldest sister and even her kids love it!

4-5 cups pumpkin
(see this post on baking your pumpkin from Halloween!)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1/2 large onion, chopped into large pieces (Don't waste your time chopping these up teeny... They will be blended at the end)
5 cups chicken broth
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces (helps to cook faster!)
2 tsp. grated orange zest (if you don't have this, don't worry... I didn't!)
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 cup cream or milk (I just used milk)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In large pot heat olive oil and butter. Then add onion and fry until translucent. Add the broth, pumpkin and potato, and orange zest and raise the heat to high. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, (25-30 minutes).

Working in batches, transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Place over low heat and stir in milk and curry powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat to serving temperature and enjoy. My sister says she likes to eat this in bowls over hot rice, but we just ate it like regular soup with yummy homemade rolls.P.S. Is there a way to make orange soup look attractive in food pictures? I'm pretty sure orange is the hardest color to photograph for food!

Grilled cheese revamped

I don't even want to call this a recipe, but I just have to share my latest quick lunch. I was looking in the refrigerator for something quick to make for lunch the other day and saw some leftover spaghetti sauce and I had a memory from my teenage years. My mom used to make grilled cheese sandwiches in our sandwich maker (This is a sandwich maker... Looks like a waffle maker)

I love our sandwich maker because I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but hate getting a pan out and waiting for it to brown perfectly... because, I can never get it to brown perfectly and I always end up with one side burned... or both sides not really done and the cheese not even melted.. I can never find the happy medium. But... with the sandwich maker, it grills it perfectly for you and seals the edges nicely.

So... back to the memory I had. I saw the spaghetti sauce and remembered my older brother adding spaghetti sauce to his grilled cheese sandwich before putting it in the sandwich maker. The other day I added pepperoni and made it a pepperoni pizza sandwich. My husband likes to add some deli sliced ham and olives. You can really put in anything you want! And it makes for such a really quick lunch.

I've recently fallen in love with the Bountiful Baskets bread. It is so delicious. The only problem is... Its a little too small for the sandwich maker and my cheese always runs all over...Here's my sandwich that I had for lunch. I ended up having to eat it with a fork because the cheese was EVERYWHERE!

But it was delicious!

Spanish Rice Wraps

This is a recipe I got from a cookbook from my sister. Her Relief Society put together a cookbook and this was in it. It was delicious, but made WAY too much for our little family. I ended up making up many more wraps and freezing them for future use.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter
1 pkg. Spanish Rice (Rice a Roni)
2 cups water
1 16 oz jar salsa (or to taste)
12 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup black beans
1 cup corn
1 pkg. flour tortillas

Melt butter in pan and brown Spanish Rice mixture until golden brown. Add 2 cups water, salsa, chicken and Spanish Rice seasoning packet. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, simmering 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is cooked through. Stir in beans & corn. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm in tortillas with grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole and anything else you want! Also good with corn chips as a dip.

Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken Recipe

This was such a super easy and absolutely delicious meal! I highly recommend it to MOST of you... I wouldn't recommend nursing mothers eat this. It was a little spicy and my little one was VERY upset the day after I ate this. But it was absolutely delicious and I can't wait to make it again... in 9 months when I'm done nursing... **sigh**
Okay.. onto the recipe:

1 small bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
3 cloves minced garlic
2 lbs. chicken breast

Place chicken breast in crockpot covered with water and sprinkle with onion (I always use dried onion). Cook on low for 5-6 hours until cooked. Drain the water, shred the chicken with a fork and add the dressing and spices about 1 hour before you want to eat it.

Serve on tortillas with cheese and mexican rice and any other toppings you want. YUM! We ate this without the rice because I didn't have time to make it before heading to work and it was still absolutely delicious. But... if you want it to be more like Cafe Rio, then make some rice to add to your burrito. Serious deliciousness!

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

Is that recipe title long enough for you?

I got this recipe from the Kraft Foods magazine that I used to receive in the mail... until I moved and I couldn't get the subscription changed over for some reason...Sad.

This recipe makes 4 servings and each serving is only 460 calories! This was delicious- especially for being under 500 calories!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups multigrain penne pasta, uncooked
9 oz. fresh spinach leaves
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp dried basil
1 jar (14 1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. Neufchatel cheese, cubed (you could use cream cheese if you aren't worried about the calorie content)
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese

Right after I took the picture of my ingredients, my little cheese-monger stole a whole bunch of cheese and I had to grate more.
Heat oven to 375. Cook and stir chicken and basil in large skillet. Add sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Stir in Neufchatel cheese.
Cook pasta according to package directions
Add the spinach to the boiling water for last 1 minute. Remember that spinach will boil down to almost nothing when you put it in the water, so put in WAY more spinach than you think you should... TRUST ME!

Drain pasta mixture and add to skillet of chicken, tomatoes and sauce. Add 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and stir until mixed well.
Transfer to a baking dish. I used an 8x8 pan. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese. Bake 3 more minutes.
You could easily make this vegetarian by just leaving out the chicken and it would still be delicious! Enjoy!

(Picture from Kraft Foods magazine, pg. 22 Holiday '08/Winter '09 Magazine)