No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Do you need to make a super easy dessert for a New Year's Party? This is one of the easiest and tastiest recipes I've made, and people rave over it. This recipe makes two pies, and is easily doubled or tripled to feed a crowd.

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup milk

1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts **I prefer an oreo crust, or crushing nutterbutter cookies to make the crust**

Directions:
Beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Mix in the peanut butter and milk, beat until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping.Spoon filling over crusts and freeze until firm.

I'll Squash You

Squash is a super popular food during this time of year, and it's packed full of nutrients. I grew up eating acorn squash (served with butter and brown sugar of course!) but I've been looking for some healthier ways of serving squash.

This is a very simple recipe and it's pretty tasty, too. I served it as a side dish to some wild salmon that I baked in the oven.

Roasted Delicata Squash
from summertomato.com

Ingredients:
2-4 delicata squash,
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Clean the delicata squash by running under warm water.

With a sharp knife, cut delicata in half lengthwise. With a spoon scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut each delicata half into 1/2 inch segments, creating moon-shaped pieces that have slight bumps around the curve.

Arrange the pieces in a single layer in a metal baking pan and coat in 2 tbsp olive oil. Too much oil can make the squash soggy. Salt gently.

Place in oven and roast 10 minutes. Using a spatula, turn the squash in the pan so that the light sides are now touching the pan and the brown sides are facing upward.

Continue roasting, turning every 7-10 minutes until both sides of the squash pieces are golden brown and the texture is creamy, about 25-30 minutes. Adjust salt and serve.

Time to get healthy after the holidays

I hope you're enjoying the holiday season, and splurging on delicious foods. I'm trying to make healthy meals when I can, to offset some of the more unhealthy (but so worth it!) holiday options.

This recipe is easy and a wonderful option for a busy weeknight. We enjoyed this served with a little extra rice on the side. It makes wonderful leftovers, and next time I'll use an extra pepper or two as we had a lot of the filling left over!

Stuffed Green Peppers
from Prevention RD

Ingredients:
4 large green peppers (or poblano if you want spicier)
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 15oz can black beans
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup 2% Mexican blend cheese, shredded

Directions:

Cook the rice according to the package instructions.

Slice each pepper in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and ribs.

Place the peppers in a baking dish skin side up. Broil for 3-5 minutes and then flip the peppers and broil 3-5 minutes longer.

Drain and rinse the black beans. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the beans, salsa, corn, a quarter cup of cheese, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat the filling for about 2-3 minutes in the microwave (or until warm), stirring after each 30 second increment. Stir in the rice.

Spoon the filling into each half. Top with the remaining cheese and broil until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

Make this Christmas morning!

If you want a healthy, delicious hot breakfast for Christmas morning you need to give this recipe a try. I've been making this recipe every Sunday morning for the past month and it's incredible. It's pretty healthy (not too much added sugar) and with oats and fruit it's a good start to any day. I've made this with both apples and bananas, and with maple syrup and honey. I think the bananas with honey version is my favorite so far. This makes 6-8 servings, and it reheats wonderfully.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal
from Elly Says Opa

Ingredients:
1 cup old fashioned oats
1.25 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. ginger
a couple grates of whole nutmeg or 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2-4 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp. vanilla
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 cup raisins, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with butter or cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, toss together the oats, spices, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl (or in a large measuring cup), whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla.

Spread the diced apples in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish, and top with about two-thirds of the raisins. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Drizzle the milk mixture over the oats, distributing as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the remaining raisins over the top of the oats.

Bake the oatmeal for 30-40 minutes*, until the top is golden brown and the oats have set. Remove the oatmeal from the oven and serve hot with additional maple syrup, if desired.

Notes: I baked this oatmeal for 30 minutes the first time and it was a little dry. The second attempt was baked for 25 minutes and it was much, much better.

Roasted broccoli is good!

I used to dislike broccoli. I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't go out of my way to eat it. I recently discovered how awesome roasted veggies are, and ever since this discovery I've liked broccoli. This recipe just kicks it up to another level of awesome, and it is a wonderful healthy side to pair with any meal. I served this with the mac and cheese recipe posted earlier this week, and it went really well together.

Best Ever Roasted Broccoli
from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:

2 heads broccoli, cut into large florets

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

salt & pepper

1 teaspoon lemon zest

squeeze of fresh lemon juice

parmesan cheese to taste

5-6 leaves fresh basil, sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay broccoli and garlic slices out on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. Toss to coat and roast for 15-18 minutes, or until garlic and tips of broccoli are golden brown (don’t over-cook as garlic will taste bad if burnt.)

2. After removing the pan out of the oven, sprinkle on lemon zest, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and basil.

A new twist on a classic

Is there anyone who doesn't love mac and cheese? It brings back memories of childhood, with that lovely little blue box sitting next to the stove. I've grown up and no longer enjoy the boxed classic, but this recipe caught my eye. It's a lot healthier with butternut squash providing a wonderful base, and it's incredibly tasty, too! We absolutely loved this recipe, and aside from the blender explosion this recipe went off without a hitch!Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
from Prevention RD

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (I used a frozen diced version)
1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt
1 1/4 cups (5 oz) Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 cup (4 oz) pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/4 cup (1 oz) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 lb uncooked whole wheat pasta

Directions:

Combine squash, broth, garlic, and milk in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well.

Place the hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Blend until smooth.

Place blended squash mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyere, parmesan, and Parmesan cheese. Add pasta to the squash-cheese mixture, stir to combine and serve immediately.Notes: I didn't have the listed cheeses, so I just used cheddar, a little cream cheese and parmesan instead. It still tasted awesome, and was creamy and gooey.

1 Year Blogiversary

I started this blog one year ago today, can you believe it?? It's been a crazy fast year, and I hope you've enjoyed reading these posts as much as I've enjoyed writing them.

I thought for this anniversary I would give you a top ten list of my favorite recipes from the past year.

1. Fair Scones (these are so good, I frequently get requests to make these)
2. Black Bean Burrito Bake
3. Chocolate Fudge Swirl Peanut Butter Ice Cream (I think the title says it all!)
4. Hoisin Chicken with Green Beans (Easy and tasty!)
5. Homemade Pizza (only a dough recipe but this started my obsession with making pizza at home)
6. Bolognese Sauce (my fave red sauce ever!)
7. Braised Pork Chops with onions
8. Lemony Tuna Pasta (I had to include this recipe as I make this at least 1-2x a month!)
9. Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine (one of the best crockpot recipes ever)
10. Nutella Cinnamon Rolls (OMG sooooo indulgent!)

Thanks for reading my blog, and here's hoping for another year full of tasty eats!

Brownie Cookie Dough Sandwich? Yes, please!

When I saw this recipe come up on my RSS feed, I knew I had to make it. Immediately. I actually went to the store that same day to buy the ingredients (this was my first time using marshmallow creme), and as soon as I got home I set to work creating these sandwiches.

The cookies are rich and incredible all by themselves. The filling mixture is a lot stickier than I would have expected, and to be quite honest I had a stomachache after eating just one of these cookie sandwiches. Oh well, it was worth it to try this recipe! I only made a half-batch of the filling, as I did expect it to be too rich for me. I would love to repeat this recipe using ice cream as the filling next time.

The husband enjoyed these sandwiches, and they kept for several days in the fridge.

Brownie Cookie Dough Sandwiches
from Heat Oven to 350

Ingredients:

Brownie Cookie:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup white sugar

3/4 packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Directions for cookies:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and then the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Combine the salt, cocoa, flour, baking powder and baking soda and gradually stir into the creamed mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1 1/2 T sized balls and place on a baking sheet. Flatten cookies slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass or your palm.

4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are puffy and the tops are cracked, but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients for filling:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 T brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 13 oz container marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. With an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat well. Add flour and beat until all the flour is incorporated. Add remaining ingredients and beat until mixture is smooth. (It will be fairly thick).

Assembling:

1. Scoop about 3T of filling onto to bottom of a cooled cookie. Top with another cookie and eat.