Zucchini Cookies

Actually, Dresden gave me this recipe from one of her old roommates a while back. Here's the blog. They are sooo good and everyone is surprised when you tell them that they're pretty good for you. Just mix everything together (don't ever overmix cookies or they'll get tough). My trick is underbaking cookies so they stay fresh longer. I'll probably be making these tonight because it's been way too long since I've had them!

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. applesauce
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. oatmeal
1 c. grated zucchini
1 c. chocolate chip

Directly from her blog:
Nutrition Facts: per 1 cookie
Calories: 86
Fat: 3 grams
(2 grams saturated, 1 mono-unsaturated)
Carbs: 14 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Protein: 1 gram


Cream together sugar, butter, applesauce and egg. When well blended
add dry ingredients, add zucchini and chocolate chips. When well
blended spoon out onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12
mins. Makes about 3 dozen.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Hey everyone, this is Dresden, hopefully I'll be posting a recipe every week or so to add to Natalie's delicious recipes! Want to know more about me? Visit my blog and feel free to visit often. Today I'm sharing a recipe that happens to be one of my very favorite. I cook this as often as my husband will let me, especially because it's really easy and quick. I hope you enjoy!


Ingredients:
3 cups Rotini, cooked & drained (or any other pasta works, I use penne a lot)
2 Tbl. butter
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced in strips about 1/2" thick
3 glove of garlic (minced)
1 bunch green onion chopped
2 Tbl. Cajun seasoning
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne pepper)
8 ounce heavy cream
1 green bell pepper (cut up)
1 red bell pepper (cut up)
8 oz. fresh mushrooms quartered (optional)
½ cup parmesan cheese grated (fresh really makes a huge difference)


Directions:

Cook rotini (or similar pasta) according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. Melt butter in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook stirring frequently done (10-15 mins). Add garlic, onions, Cajun seasoning, ground black and red pepper. Add bell peppers and mushrooms. Stir to combine. Cover for 5 minutes.

Uncover stir in cream and let it simmer another 2 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese. Stir in cooked pasta and serve immediately.

Side notes: Cajun seasoning can be a little spicy,
I would start with a little less if you do not like spice.
This makes quite a bit, for two people I usually only do 1 large chicken breast and 2 cups of pasta. This recipe can be stretched really far by adding more pasta and whipping cream.



garnish with more parmesan cheese

Stuff that looks good

These two little goodies have been waiting for me to make them for a while.

Danish croissants. With orange marmalade or jam inside?? YUM



Pumpkin steel cut oatmeal. It looks soooo comforting.

BBQ Onion Rings

I've never made onion rings before but I've always liked them. I never order them but I'd eat them if someone made them for me... Well now I think I'm going to be eating a lot of them. I found a recipe for BBQ onion rings here the other day and showed them to my cousin Blake. He's in love with onion rings. He made us make them that night. He couldn't wait. They were AMAZING.

I took the general idea of the recipe and made it a little simpler. I even put some of the rings on my pulled pork sandwich. YUM.
We also didn't dip them in anything- they were good by themselves. Here's what you need, and what i did:

Serves 4 as a side dish.

1 BIG yellow onion
Buttermilk
BBQ sauce
Hot sauce (optional)
Flour
Salt + Pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Cut the onion into thick rings. I like mine a little thinner so I did probably 1/4 inch slices. It's really up to you and how thick of an onion ring you like. Separate all the rings in a bowl. Add 1/4 of bbq sauce and a few dashes of hot sauce on top of the rings and oll them around in it. Cover the onion rings with the buttermilk. The longer you let them set the better they get. Mine sat for only about 15 minutes because we were starving, but up to an hour would be good.



Heat your oil in a pan (I like to use a deep pot so there's less splattering all over my counter) and meanwhile, start dipping your buttermilk covered rings into the flour (season the flour with a little salt and pepper). Shake off the excess flour and fry a few at a time.


Don't crowd the pot too much, otherwise they won't cook well. I cooked mine on medium heat and they took a minute on each side. They should be golden brown when you take them out. Here they are again!

Stuff that looks good!

We've decided Wednesday will be our weekly post dedicated to recipes we've been saving forever that we need to finally make~ and hoping that posting the link on here will help us remember the goals we have!

Kari says:
Now that fall is here I am dying to get my hands on something pumpkin delicious. And how can you go wrong with Paula Deen? These Pumpkin Bars are on my list this year for sure.



And while we're on the subject of not going wrong, Pioneer Woman never dissapoints. That's why I'm drooling over this Pasta w/ Tomato Cream Sauce Recipe. Perfect for a cold fall/winter evening!



Natalie says:
I love all things chocolate- and I've been wanting to make Ina Garten's Brownie Pudding for wayyyy too long. It will happen soon.


Kristine says:
I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter and these look so cute! Although, when I make them, they probably won't look as cute as this!


I love Cafe Rio. I always see copy cat recipes for their salad, but this is one of the first I have seen with the entire burrito.

Green Chili Soup - and a new author!

Hello everyone!  My name is Kristine and I am going to be posting recipes on this blog as well.  I wish that I could say that Natalie invited me to post, but she didn't - I volunteered!  If you want to know more about me, you can blog stalk me here.   

Today, I am sharing a recipe for a delicious soup that I adapted last year from my sister's recipe blog here.  With fall FINALLY making an appearance (maybe?), this is the perfect soup to warm you up on a chilly day.

Green Chili Soup

1 chicken breast

2 c. salsa verde/green salsa--I used medium and it was SPICY (the kind that makes your nose run). If you can't handle the heat, go with a mild salsa

1 4 oz. can fire roasted chilis

5 c. chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c. milk

1/4 heavy cream

2 c. frozen corn

1 can black beans - drained and rinsed

salt + pepper, to taste

1 avocado, diced (optional)

sour cream 

grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breast in a baking dish, cover with a splash of olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast chicken for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. (Or if you have an outdoor grill that you can still use, grill it!)

In the meantime, combine salsa verde, chilis, chicken broth, corn, black beans and cream of chicken soup in a large stockpot. Bring to a soft boil (just heated through and beginning to bubble a little bit--I just let it heat up while I was waiting for the chicken to roast). Once chicken is roasted, dice up and add to the soup mixture. Add cream and milk (only if you want it to be more creamy).  Serve hot with diced avocado, sour cream and your choice of cheese. I also served this with some roasted chips and cheese (aka, chips and cheese that I put under the broiler).

This made enough soup to feed my husband and I for two dinners and I also had the leftovers for lunch a few days. It makes a lot of soup!

Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

above:pizza ready for the oven

I'm so excited to welcome Kari to the blog! She posted the great recipe below and I'm patiently waiting to see what else she will add to this neglected blog! Hopefully things will slow down for us so I can actually remember to take pictures of my dinner before I eat it. :)

Yes, another pizza recipe. But who doesn't like pizza? It's always a good go-to and since the dough is so easy, and there's a million variations that work to mix things up. BBQ chicken is one of my faves. Plus its easy.

Start with my favorite pizza dough recipe.
Last time I made it I used half white flour half whole wheat flour to make it a little healthier.

Let it rise, roll it out- Here's what you can top it with:

-BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is my favorite BBQ sauce right now)
-tons of mozzarella
-grilled chicken
-chopped onion: red onion is good, green onions, or shallots (david's favorite)
-chopped fresh cilantro
-sprinkle of salt and pepper
-sprinkle of red pepper flakes to give it a little spice
For a hawaiian twist you can even add some pineapple.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes- or until the cheese is bubbly and brown and the bottom of the pizza is browned.

Wraps!

Hey all, Kari here. Natalie invited me to start sharing some recipes here on her blog. And well, I'm honored because if you've ever eaten at Natalie's casa, you know she's a super amazing in the kitchen and will tackle just about anything and come out with shining colors.

So for my first post on here I thought I'd share a recipe that is a staple in our humble abode, I kinda developed this when Robert and I were just dating (and I'd impress him with my culinary skills trying to get a ring on my finger). It was inspired by the Sicilian pizza he loves to get from CPK. If you've never gotten it...go.now.

In our house we just call them wraps, or deliciousness wrapped in a tortilla, if you will.

This recipe serves 2

Ingredients:
- 2 Tortillas (right now we are flat-out addicted to these tortillas from Costco)

- Grated/Shredded Cheese of your choice (we love sharp cheddar)

- Lettuce (Romaine, Green Leaf is what I'd recommend)

- Caesar dressing (I prefer the creamy fatty stuff)

- 1/3 8 oz. package of Pepperoni

- 4-6 Ham, Turkey or Chicken thin cut slices (like lunch meat size)

- Any veggies you'd like to add to give it some extra nutrients I've been known to add: Hothouse Cucumbers, Tomatoes, grated carrots, scallions, corn, peas, cabbage and jicama.

Start cooking your tortillas, that is if you bought the doughy ones, on a griddle.

Shred lettuce and toss with Caesar dressing in a bowl, include any additional veggies you'd like, set aside.

Meanwhile, slice pepperoni and meat slices into thin short strips, toss these strips into a small frying pan on medium heat. Saute slices in their natural juices, or you can add Pam to the pan for extra protection, until Pepperoni is almost crisp and the meat slices turn a nice golden version of their original selves.

Once your tortillas are cooked turn on your oven broiler to high. Place tortillas on a baking sheet and sprinkle with grated/shredded cheese of your choice. Place the tortillas in the broiler for 1-2 minutes just until cheese is melted.

Top cheesey tortillas with tossed lettuce mixture and top that with your sauteed pepperoni and meat slices.

Here's the final product (excuse the cruddy photos, I am not blessed with Natalie's photog skills)

It's quick, it's delicious and it's one of my husband's favorites. Not to mention a great way to get veggies in him...yes, I married a 5 year old when it comes to veggies. Love you Roberto!

Toasted Ravioli

I was craving pasta last night and found some frozen ravioli from Costco in my freezer. (the chicken, mozzarella, rosemary flavor). I was going to boil them and serve them with marinara when I remembered a little dish I made more than 3 years ago inspired by this Rachael Ray recipe. This is what I did last night, though, since I was in a rush and only had a few ingredients:

Box of frozen ravioli
Store bought breadcrumbs
1 egg
olive oil
jarred marinara sauce

Boil water
Put in ravioli (I cooked what I had, but it was probably about 15 pieces)
Heat olive oil in a different skillet(enough to cover bottom of pan)
Put a cup of store bought bread crumbs in a bowl
Break an egg into another bowl and beat it with a fork
Once ravioli floats and looks puffy, take them out to drain on a plate
Let the ravioli cool a little
Shake off excess water from a ravioli, dip it in the egg and dip it in the crumbs
Put the breaded ravioli into the oil
Cook on each side at like medium heat for 2-3 minutes
I like them really brown so I left them in a little longer
Heat jarred marinara sauce in a bowl in the microwave (i put a paper towel on the top of the bowl to prevent a sauce explosion from getting everywhere)

Serve with the sauce and dip with your hands. It's a nice little change from normal pasta, and it took...MAYBE 15 minutes. Don't worry, I served it with a salad so it wasn't completely unhealthy!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Whenever I make homemade lasagna, I always have leftover ricotta cheese. These are the best way to use it up. They are so soft and cake-like. Perfectly lemony...Giada is a genius.

Image via Food Network

Stuff that looks good

It's pizza day at our house. My dough rising as I type. I even made homemade sauce for the pizza this time! I was browsing through tastespotting.com and found 3 new takes on pizza dough I need to try SOON.

Pizza bites look fun and easy, just to mix things up from the normal pizza pie.

David loves homemade breadsticks so I'll need to give these a try as well.

And last but not least, I NEED to make this stromboli. Instead of the feta I'd use mozarella, since I'm quite picky about my cheese selections.

On a note completely unrelated to pizza, here's an image of a dinner I made last week. I barbecued chicken legs and vegetable kebabs. I'm so excited to get back into grilling now that it's finally warm.

Crock Pot Chicken

Ok. This is seriously one of the easiest dishes I've ever made, especially when you taste how good it is! I'm writing it from memory, but I found it in a family cookbook. I will say that it's far from healthy. But sometimes you need something quick and easy and delicious. Serve a big salad next to it to make yourself feel better about the butter! :)

Here's what you need:

1 brick cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 ranch packet
1 can cream of chicken soup (you could use cream of anything probably)
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
3-4 chicken breasts

Let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature, then mix everything together (I mix it all in the crock pot, then add in the chicken on top.) Cook for about 4 hours and serve over cooked rice. It's so good!

Easter Cake

I love colorful things! This is a little remake on the rainbow cake, I guess. I recreated it from this blog

The only change i made to the recipe is that I added vanilla to the frosting. I don't think the actual flavor of the cake was anything super special, but it was really moist which is always a plus. Here are some shots of my cake:

Herbs

I have been wanting to plant an herb garden for SO long. I always ended up not because of some random excuse, but this summer I was planning on going all out. We stopped at Trader Joes in Vegas on our way out a few weeks ago and I saw this:




There were a few combinations, and I really wanted basil, but I opted for this combo of rosemary, thyme and oregano. I had never used fresh thyme or oregano before so I figured it was about time to try it out.

I have never liked dried thyme and usually leave it out of recipes if they call for it because it's so strong and hay-ish. I had heard Rachael Ray describe fresh thyme as lemony and fresh- and trying it out, she is right! It has a completely different smell and taste than dried thyme. It was a pleasant surprise!

I fully recommend purchasing some herbs- basil is a good starter because it's in so much, and rosemary is great on chicken and in marinades for meat. Let me know how it goes!

Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken Burgers

Something about a big piece of pineapple on top of a hamburger just sounds so refreshing- After a recent trip to the Trolley, one of my favorite little places to eat in Utah, I decided to recreate it on my own.

What you need:

Grill a chicken breast that's been marinated in teriyaki
Pineapple slices (I used canned rings because the fresh ones didn't look good)
lettuce
some kind of roll or hoagie

I sliced the chicken breast (after letting it rest, of course) and loaded it on a warmed roll with the pineapple slice and lettuce. It was so juicy + refreshing. It's the perfect meal for the warmer weather.

Stuff that looks good

There are so many recipes out there, I figure I can't make them all. Once a week I think I'll post links to what looks good to me. Maybe I'll make some of them, maybe I won't- But for those who are looking for ideas, maybe it will inspire YOU!

Someone showed me these Strawberry Lemonade Bars. A nice twist on the original!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to to have to fit this in one day this week. David LOVES gyros!

Wanna make your own girl scout cookies? I might have to since I haven't seen any little girls at wal-mart...

The Pioneer Woman's recipes always look heavenly. Especially these rosemary dinner rolls.

My new favorite pancakes

I found the best pancake recipe I've ever tried! The best part is that it lets you make a big batch that you can store in your pantry, that way when you want pancakes you just grab a cupful and add the wet ingredients. It's like making your own Bisquick, but these taste a million times better that store bought. Try them! Nigella Lawson knows whats up. All of the recipes I've tried of hers are winners- especially desserts + baked items.

I haven't tried the blueberry syrup that is part of the recipe but I'm sure it's good. We stick to the traditional as much as possible if David has anything to do with it :)

Cilantro chicken quesadillas

I love Guru's but it's a bit expensive. One night Christiana and I decided to recreate their Cilantro Lime Quesadilla so we could enjoy it at home. It was a success! You can mix and match the ingredients but I think the chili powder on the outside of the tortilla really makes it. Here's how to assemble:

Ingredients for 2 large quesadillas (serves 4-ish)

1 bunch cilantro
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 limes
flour tortillas (we prefer the uncooked ones)
1 chicken breast, cooked zn the oven and shredded
2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella and white or yellow cheddar (you can shred as much as you like and combine)
canned corn
black beans

To make the paste that you'll spread on the tortilla, combine cilantro (just the leaves), zest and juice of both limes and garlic cloves in a food processor or blender and blend until it's a paste. I also add a little salt and pepper to this mixture.

Spread the paste on two tortillas. Cover one of the tortillas in chicken, cheese, corn and black beans. Put the two tortillas together and top one side with a little chili powder. Spray your pan and heat. Cook each side of the quesadilla for a few minutes, or until very brown and the cheese is melted. I like to cut mine with my pizza cutter. I served it with the salsa (see below) and sour cream.



We served the quesadillas with Cafe Rio's cilantro lime rice:

1 1/2 cups rice (I like jasmine)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 bullion cubes
3 cups of water


Melt butter in a pot and add onion, celery and rice and the 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro, zest in the lime zest and add the juice of both limes as well. Add the water and bullion cubes. Bring to a boil and cover. Lower heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes.




I also made Kelsey Nixon's guacamole-tomatillo salsa. It was really good with the quesadillas and with chips.

Apple Turnovers

Based on Ina Garten's recipe.


1 1/2 apples, diced into little chunks
2 tablespoons sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
sprinkle in about teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch kosher salt
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed (leave it out on your counter for a little bit before making the filling)
egg for brushing on top of the dough

Combine the apples, juice, zest, cinnamon, flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and let them sit for a bit. Slice the puff pastry into two triangles by cutting a diagonal line from one corner to the other. Fill each side with the apple mixture and fold the dough over to make a triangle. Use a fork to crimp all unsealed edges together. Do the same until you run out of apples. Brush the top of each with the water or egg and a little sugar if you want. Bake them on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. You want them to be very golden brown all over. I like to serve them with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Bacon Basil Chicken

This meal is one of the first meals I made after getting married. It was inspired by David's LOVE of bacon. It's so easy and really really good. I'm always looking for ways to spruce up chicken, because it is my favorite meat!

Ingredients:

3-4 pieces of bacon, cooked
a handful of fresh basil
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt + pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts


Cook the bacon and let it drain and cool. In a blender or food processor combine the bacon (break it up a bit), basil leaves, a few tablespoons of olive oil and a teeny bit of salt and pepper. Blend until everything is about the same size, maybe 45 seconds. You don't want the mixture to be mushy or soggy looking, just broken up into small pieces. Set aside.

Take the chicken and slice a hole in the center. Don't cut all the way through the chicken. Put as much of the bacon basil mixture as you can into the hole. You don't want it coming out, just nice and full. Put the chicken breasts on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish thats been greased. Rub a little olive oil and salt and pepper on top. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, you want the internal temperature to be at 165 in the fattest part of each breast. Don't let it go above 165 because it will continue cooking a tiny bit after you take it out of the oven. Once it's done, take it out and cover them breasts with foil- then let them sit for about 10-15 minutes. This will ensure juicy chicken! I would serve it with broccoli and mashed potatoes. It's a nice flavor change from normal chicken! Plus if you slice it on an angle, the green peeking through the slices of chicken looks really pretty and almost fancy.

Asian Chicken Pizza

Kristine showed me this recipe at a girl's night last year. At first I thought it sounded so strange- asian flavors on pizza with mozzarella. Well, I was wrong. It is delicious! We also have been using a new dough recipe I found on tastespotting.com. I recommend this dough recipe because it's the best one we've found and we've probably tried about 8 different ones in the past few years.


Topping:

2 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or olive oil)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon corn starch

2-3 cups grated mozzarella

Make your dough and let it rise. In a bowl combine the oil, vinegar, soy, garlic and green onions. Chop the chicken breasts into bite size pieces and let them sit in the marinade for 30 minutes. Saute the chicken and sauce together in a pan after it's marinated. Cook the mixture for about 5-7 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink anywhere. Stir in the corn starch and turn the heat off.
Once the dough is risen, roll it out. I made two large-ish pizzas and topped them with the sauce, chicken + mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese has started to brown and the bottom of the pizza is golden. You won't be disappointed!