Fruited Turkey (or chicken) Salad Pitas

This recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine.  It turned out so super yummy, my two boys and my hubby gobbled it up and LOVED it!

1/2 cup reduced fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
2 TBS lemon juice (I used lime because that's what I had on hand and forgot to get lemon at the store)
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups cubed, cooked turkey breast (I used 2 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked them in a frying pan with salt, pepper, and a little olive oil)
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped (I left the peel on mine)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped pecans
8 pita breads (6 inches), halved (I used whole wheat tortillas)
16 romaine leaves
8 slices red onion, separated into rings (I chopped mine up and added to the mixture)

--In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice and pepper.  In a large bowl, combine the turkey, celery, apple, spinach, cranberries, and pecans.  Add yogurt mixture and stir to coat.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

--Line pita halves with lettuce and onion; fill each with 1/2 cup turkey mixture

This seriously is going to be a "go to" meal for me when I need something simple and delicious!  It will be great for lunches too!  One of the tips in the recipe book said that using pretzels instead of nuts (due to allergies) was a good substitute.  To use pretzels it says to crumble a handful of pretzels onto a microwave safe plate and toast them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes (be sure to watch carefully to prevent burning).

Gingerbread Cookies! (no molasses required!)

This recipe was super easy, and the cookies turned out delicious!  I did learn however, that you must follow the recipe exact or they will not turn out!  I tried using shortening instead of butter and the dough just crumbled, even after adding a few tablespoons of water! So trust me, USE BUTTER!

1 (3.5 oz) pkg butterscotch pudding mix (I used vanilla)
1/2 cup BUTTER
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon

I add a pinch of nutmeg :)

-In a medium bowl, cream together the dry pudding mix, butter and brown sugar until smooth.  Stir in the egg.  Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon; stir into the pudding mixture.  Cover, and chill dough until firm, about 1 hour

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease baking sheets.  On a floured board, roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness (I did about 1/4 inch thickness and they came out nice and soft), and cut into man shapes using a cookie cutter.  Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

-Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are golden at the edges. (I baked them for 8.  I checked them at 8 and the edges were already browning, the came out perfectly)  Cool on wire racks

*This recipe only resulted in about 18 cookies.

Beef Stew

1 lb stew meat
2-3 carrots-peeled & chopped
1 celery stalk-chopped
4-5 medium russet potatoes-peeled and cubed
1 package beef stew seasoning (follow instructions on back) OR 2 cups beef broth, 1 cup water, garlic powder, thyme, salt & pepper

Brown stew meat on all sides
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, cover, and cook on low 6-8 hours
Serve with rolls
Enjoy!!!

SNICKERDOODLES!

This seasons favorite cookie! (for me this year anyway! aside from delicious pumpkin chocolate chip)

1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
2 tbs white sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets
In a medium bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended.
In a small shallow bowl, stir together the 2 tbs of sugar with the cinnamon. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in the sugar mixture. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be slightly golden at the edges. Remove to cool on wire racks.

YUM!

Spiral Stromboli

I found this recipe in my Taste of Home magazine, made it last week, and it was great! Both my boys and my husband LOVED it! I'm actually making it again this week!

1 loaf Pillsbury Crusty French Bread
4 thin slices deli Ham
4 thin slices deli Turkey
Cheddar Cheese

Unroll french bread onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle cheese (I didn't measure but I think it was probably about a cup and a half) then layer ham and turkey. Roll dough jelly-roll style, press and seal seam, and place on a baking sheet seam side down. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before slicing and serving.

1 loaf was enough for my family of 4, but we definitely didn't have any left overs!

Chicken Alfredo

Sorry, it's been a while! Here's a quick easy recipe!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 box of whole grain penne pasta
1 package frozen broccoli
1 package frozen peas
1 jar Ragu Cheesy Alfredo Sauce
Parmesan cheese (optional)

--Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, season to taste (I use pepper, garlic powder, and little bit of seasoning salt) Cook chicken in skillet, covered, on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
--While chicken is cooking, start boiling the pasta
--7-10 minutes before pasta will be done add frozen veggies to the pasta and let it cook with the noodles
--drain pasta/veggies, combine chicken, pasta & sauce in a casserole dish
--sprinkle parm. cheese on top and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until heated through!

*I have also just combined the chicken, pasta and sauce in the pasta pot, covered and let it heat through that way :)

Blueberry Streusel Muffin

You'll never bake from the box again!!!

1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries

::Heat oven to 400
::Prepare struesel topping (listed below)
::Grease the bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups, or insert paper muffin cups
::Beat milk, oil, vanilla, and egg
::Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and mix just until four is moist. Batter will be lumpy
::Fold in blueberries
::Divide evenly among muffin cups.
::Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the streusel topping and bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown


Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons firm butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

::Mix all ingredients until crumbly

Minestrone Soup (or something like it)

I Googled minestrone soup recipes, got a basic idea of how to make it, and kind of made my own recipe and I LOVE IT! I've actually got some cooking in the crock pot right now, and tonight I'm adding sausage! It smells so good! We'll see how it turns out!!! Here's my recipe!

1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Black Beans
1 can Great Northern Beans
1 can Cut Green Beans
1 can Corn
1 can Tomato Sauce
2 cans Vegatable Broth (they didn't have cans when I went grocery shopping last week, so I bought a 32 oz box, I dumped it all in today)
1 - 1 1/2 cups water
1 can Diced Tomato's (the first time I diced my own fresh and it was really good)
2-3 Carrots-chopped
1 Celery Stalk-chopped
1 Small Onion-chopped
1 small zucchini squash-peeled & sliced
Bay Leaves (I used dried, and just sprinkle maybe 1/2 tsp in)
Thyme (again I just sprinkle it in, I don't measure)
Minced Garlic (I use dried)
Salt & Pepper
Small Shell Pasta (I used half of a 16 oz package)
Parmesan Cheese

-Combine Beans, Corn, Tomato Sauce, Broth, Water, Carrots, Celery, Onion and Seasonings in crock pot.
-Cover, cook on low 6-8 hours
-30 minutes before serving, add zucchini
-I cook the pasta right at the end of the cooking time, and then add it into the soup. But a lot of the recipes I saw, said you can put the pasta in with everything else and let it cook with the soup, however, a lot of the reviews said the pasta soaked up a lot of the moisture and they added more water or it ended up like a stew.
-Tonight I'm browning 1/2 lb of Italian Sausage about 30 minutes before serving and adding it to the soup, we'll see how it turns out, but it sounds super yummy!!!
-Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese on top and serve with bread sticks, french bread, or garlic bread! Enjoy!!!

Crock Pot Lasagna

This seemed so much easier, and tasted so much better than regular oven baked lasagna! I made a big 6 quart crock pot full of this, and it didn't last long enough for left overs the next night. My husband and 4 year old both had seconds the night I made it, and gobbled the rest up for lunch the next day!

::1 lb ground beef
::1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use Ragu, homemade would be GREAT in this!)
::1 small onion-chopped
::1 can tomato sauce
::1 container cottage cheese (16 oz I think?)
::Mozzerella Cheese (I used probably 3 cups?)
::Parmesan Cheese (I used probably 1 cup?)
::Lasagna Noodles (uncooked!)

-Brown beef & onion
-combine beef, spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce in small bowl
-put a small amount of sauce mixture on bottom of crock pot, just enough to cover the bottom
-Layer Noodles (break to fit), sauce, & cheeses. I did 3 layers and used up all ingredients except noodles.
-Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours

I love this recipe because you don't have to boil the noodles, they soak up all the moisture in the crock pot and it turns out perfectly every time! It's not messy like an oven baked lasagna, you can cut it into perfect serving sizes and it's not a mess! This is a recipe I'll be using often!!!

Beef & Bean Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 can black beans
1 package enchilada sauce (prepared)
6-8 corn tortillas
2-3 green onions-chopped
1/2 red pepper-chopped
shredded Mexican style blend cheese

:::Brown Beef

:::Spray casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, and line with tortilla's

:::In small bowl combine black beans, beef, and 1 cup enchilada sauce

:::Put beef/bean mixture on top of tortilla's and top with cheese, onions & peppers

:::Warm in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted

*This recipe was super easy and super yummy! The plan was to make enchilada's for dinner, but I got a late start and didn't feel like rolling them.