Overnight Caramel French Toast

I'm storing this recipe here until I have time to try it. Looks yummy, right?
Found on Cooking Light

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light-colored corn syrup
• 1/4 cup butter
• Cooking spray
• 10 (1-ounce) slices French bread (soft bread such as Pepperidge Farm)
• 2 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until mixture is bubbly, stirring constantly. Pour mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Arrange bread slices in a single layer over syrup in dish.

Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour egg mixture over bread slices. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over bread.

Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until golden. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

314 (21% from fat)

Fat:

7.2g (sat 3.2g,mono 2.8g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

6.2g

Carbohydrate:

57.4g

Fiber:

1.1g

Cholesterol:

57mg

Iron:

1.6mg

Sodium:

360mg

Calcium:

128mg

Veggie Sandwich

1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 sliced red bell peppers
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt & Pepper
1 French Baguette
1 pkg Sun Dried Tomato Feta (crumbled)

DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix mayo, garlic & lemon juice. Set aside in refrigerator.
Combine all veggies on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Toss to coat.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender.
Turn on broiler. Broil on high for 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Slice baguette in half length-wise.

Spread mayo mixture on both sides of bread & top with feta.

Place in broiler for 2-4 minutes.

Top one side of baguette with grilled veggies.

Place other side of baguette on top.

Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

from Our Best Bites

We had a RS activity about meal planning, and this one has been by far the favorite with my family above all the other recipes I've tried from that night.

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough (or make your own)

Marinara/pizza sauce

2 T grated Parmesan cheese

1 T olive oil or melted butter

1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

Preheat the oven to package directions. Roll out your dough to about 12x8". Cut dough with a pizza slicer to 24 squares. Place desired toppings on each square. (Note that you're not placing the sauce in the dough, it's for dipping afterward.)

Wrap the dough up around the toppings, sealing it so it is all enclosed. Place seam side down in a lightly sprayed pan. Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

These were sooo delicious!

Gooey Caramel Popcorn

1 c. light Karo syrup
5 T. Butter
8 quarts popped popcorn (approx. 4 bags)
2 1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Pop your popcorn and pick out the un-popped kernels. Set aside.

In medium sauce pan combine syrup, butter, brown sugar and condensed milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer a full ten minutes stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour over prepared popcorn.

This makes a lot of popcorn, so I divide the popcorn up into a couple different bowls so that I don't make such a big mess when mixing the caramel in. I also use a silicone spatula to mix.

It's delicious!

Lemon Cream-Sauced Pasta with Asparagus and Squash

from Better Homes and Gardens

8 ounces dried mafalda or rotini (i used wheat noodles in case you're wondering about the picture)

2 cups asparagus cut into 2 inch pieces

8 baby sunburst squash and/or pattypan squash, halved (4 ounces), or one medium zucchini or yellow summer squash cut into pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter or margarine (i used olive oil)

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel

(i also added chicken)

1. cook pasta according to package directions. drain, keep warm.

2 meanwhile, in a large skillet cook asparagus, squash, and garlic in hot butter for 2-3 min or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring frequently. remove vegetables from skillet with a slotted spoon; add to pasta.

3. combine whipping cream and lemon peel in skillet; bring to boiling. boil for 2-3 min. or until reduced to 1/3 cup. to serve, pour cream mixture over pasta mixture; stir gently to coat.

makes 4 servings: 256 calories per serving

Sweet and Sour Salad Dressing

Yum! This dressing is good on green salads with pears, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, pomegranate seed, pecans, blue cheese crumbled on top (or my Grandma and I prefer Feta cheese)

Dressing:
Mix together the following and put in fridge:

2/3 cup oil
6 Tb sugar
2 TB sour cream
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1/4 C. Rice vinegar

This salad has grapes, strawberries, apples and feta cheese with a little bit of dressing.

Grape Jelly Meatballs

These are a really easy, yummy appetizer. The best part is they can feed a lot of people with little effort. The ingredients seem weird but taste good together.

2 12 oz jars Heinz chili sauce
1 32 oz jar grape jelly
1 bag meatballs (about 80 in a bag)- I just buy the Costco frozen meatballs

Heat ingredients in a crockpot on low for 6-8 hours, or simmer in a pot on the stove for 3 hours. Serve warm and enjoy!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

It has to be a year since I last posted... sorry Jenny!



These are so yummy! I couldn't wait to eat them. They have all my favorite things in them!

1/3 C Cream Cheese
1/4 C salsa verde
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken
2 C grated pepper jack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add salsa verde, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 tbsp of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place plan in oven and back for 15- 20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

This recipe is from OurBestBites.com

Oreo Truffle Balls

My friend Sandi gave me one of these the other day to try, and I liked it so much I ran out and bought some Oreos to make my own. We had the missionaries over tonight and they really liked them too. I just made some cake balls a few weeks ago and these were much easier I thought.

1 package Oreo cookies

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

Chocolate chips or melting chocolate

Crush up Oreos in a food processor (or crush them up in a plastic bag with a rolling pin). Mix with cream cheese until its mixed through evenly. Roll into little balls and refrigerate for an hour.

Melt chocolate chips and dip. The way I do it is put chocolate chips in a microwave safe mug (that way it's deep enough for dipping), and microwave on 30% power for 1 1/2 minutes, stir, and repeat until melted. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of shortening to thin out the chocolate some.

To dip I used toothpicks and that worked pretty well.

Place dipped Oreo balls on wax paper and refrigerate. They taste great right out of the fridge.

Oven Fries

I found this recipe from my friend's cooking blog. I looove this recipe because I love french fries (don't most people?) but I hate buying them and eating so much grease and junk. These are a great alternative!

(I'm posting her recipe, with a couple of my modifications.)

3 russet potatoes (8 oz each), peeled, each potato cut lengthwise into 10-12 evenly sized wedges (I always cut more than 3 potatoes. We really like to eat in my house! :) And I never worry too much about getting them the same size.)
5 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil (don’t substitute olive oil)
Salt and ground black pepper

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat to 475. Place potatoes in large bowl and cover with hot tap water; soak 10 minutes. (Don't be tempted to skip soaking, as this is what will give you the crisp crust and soft innards.) (I usually soak them longer, like 20 minutes, and find them to be even softer this way.) Meanwhile, coat 18 x 12 heavy-duty baking sheet with 4 T oil and sprinkle evening with ¾ t. salt and ¼ t. pepper.

Drain potatoes and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Toss potatoes in dry bowl with 1 T oil. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet, cover tightly with foil (I just use a cookie sheet) and bake 5 minutes.

Remove foil and continue to bake until bottoms of potatoes are spotty golden brown (15-20 min), rotating the pan in the oven after 10 minutes. Using metal spatula and tongs, flip potatoes to other side, keeping in single layer. Continue baking another 5-15 minutes until fries are golden and crisp, rotating pan as needed for even browning.


Yum yum!

Spinach-Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken

I volunteered to make dinner again tonight. I love cooking for my family, although sometimes we end up calling for take out! I guess that's part of the wonderful life of experimental cooking!
(I didn't take this picture but it gives you an idea of the final product. Except, my chicken was swimming in bright, delicious tomato sauce.)

Spinach-Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken
Servings: 8

Serve with rice, noodles, or, my personal favorite, sourdough bread!

Ingredients:
18 ounces packaged prewashed fresh spinach
2 1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Ground nutmeg
8 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 family-sized can garlic and herb spaghetti sauce
1 14-15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450°.

To prepare chicken, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add spinach to pan; cook 5 minutes or until spinach begins to wilt, stirring frequently. Drain any excess liquid and finely chop spinach. Place spinach, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and a dash nutmeg; stir well to combine.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Place 1/4 cup mozzarella mixture in the center of each chicken breast, fold over, and secure with 1-2 toothpicks. Place rolls in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish (I used a slightly larger dish). Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over rolls. Combine spaghetti sause, diced tomatoes, and onion. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 25-30 minutes, or until chicken is done (gage with meat thermometer. Poultry is thoroughly cooked once the meat reaches 180° F).

Don't forget to remove toothpicks before you dig in! That would be a nasty surprise..

Fresher Fish Tacos

What to do when there is a sale on tilapia and you buy 10 pounds of fish? Have a FIESTA!

Fresher Fish Tacos:
4 servings (serving size: 2 tacos)

Fish:
1 1/2 pounds white fish (I prefer tilapia)
Cooking spray
ground cumin
smoked paprika
ground red pepper
chili powder
cajun seasoning
dash of salt and garlic powder

Lime-Cilantro Crema:
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped FRESH cilantro
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

(If you're looking for a little bit lighter version, use reduced-fat sour cream and mayonnaise!)

Additional Fix-ins!:
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 bag pre-shredded cabbage
Lime wedges
Avocado
Your favorite tomatoe salsa (My favorite can be found at Ridley's. Their fresh made salsa is absolutely devine!!)

Preperation:

To prepare crema, combine ingredients in a small bowl and store in fridge.

To prepare tortillas, heat a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat, toast tortillas one at a time until crisp and slightly charred on each side. Wrap in a cloth napkin to keep warm.

To prepare fish, preheat large skillet. Sprinkle both sides of fish with seasonings. (I never pre-measure the seasoning for my meat or protein, just go with my instinct. If you don't want super spicy fish, ease up on the chili powder, red pepper, and cajun seasoning. Or, make your own mixture!) Coat skillet with cooking spray. Cook fish about 4 minutes on each side until it flakes easily with a fork. Break fish into chunks and place in a bowl. Keep warm.

Top tortillas with golden fish, crunchy cabbage, a dash of crema, zesty salsa, a slice of avocado, and a spritz of lime!

Frosted Banana Cookies

Yum. These turned out great. Gotta sway from the traditional chocolate chip cookie every once in a while. Recipe from the Land O Lakes website.

Preparation time: 30 min Baking time: 8 min

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Cookie Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 medium (1 cup) ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest (I just used 1 T OJ, but couldn't even taste it)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons half & half or milk
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Grated orange zest, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add bananas, egg, orange zest and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat until well mixed.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool completely.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and half & half. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil (1 to 2 minutes). Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; beat until well mixed; cool slightly.
Frost cooled cookies. Garnish with grated orange zest, if desired.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have been looking for a really good staple cinn roll recipe for a while - I think I've found it. So far I've had success each time!

3 ½ cups warm water

1 cup oil

¾ cup sugar

5 TBSP yeast

Combine above in large bowl and let rest 15 minutes.

10 ½ cups flour

3 eggs

1 TBSP salt

Mix into yeast mixture 5 cups flour, eggs, and salt with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in by hand the remaining flour. Pour out onto floured board and knead till smooth. Let rest about 15 minutes.

Divide dough in half and roll each half out approximately to 12x30 inches. Melt ½ cup butter and evenly spread out onto rolled out dough (1/4 cup each).

Sprinkle each with a generous amount of cinnamon and about ½ cup sugar. Roll up each half and slice into 20 rolls (40 rolls total).

Place on large cookie sheet (a little larger than a jelly roll pan). Let rise about 20 minutes.

Bake for 10 minutes (or until desired doneness) at 400. Cool for about 5 minutes, then frost with buttercream frosting.

For orange rolls, omit cinnamon and use some grated orange rind instead. When making the frosting, use orange juice instead of milk and add a little orange rind.

Buttercream Frosting:

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 TSP vanilla

3-4 TBSP milk  (enough to make it spreading consistency)

Beat together with electric mixer until smooth.

Cranberry Chicken

This is really similar to the Apricot Chicken recipe I posted before, but worth a try if you feel like mixing it up a bit. There are lots of variations to this recipe, but here's the one I used from Favorite Family Recipes:

3-4 chicken breasts
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 pkg. chopped pecans
1 bottle Catalina dressing
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

Place chicken in baking pan. Generously spread cranberry sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle pecans and onion soup mix over chicken. Pour catalina dressing over top. Bake lightly covered with foil at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes.

I couldn't find whole berry cranberry sauce, so i just used the jellied kind and it was fine. I've seen variations that use French dressing instead of Catalina, and raisins instead of chopped pecans.

S'more Brownies

from the Food Network.

I went the lazy route and used a brownie mix but they still turned out fine. Just make sure you don't overcook them.

Crust:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine salt

Brownie:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
4 large cold eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Topping:
4 cups large marshmallows
Directions
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

Layered Mexican Bake

from Kraft

I found this recipe in their 500 calories or less dinners. I tried a few of them and this was the only one good enough to share.

3/4 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/4 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen corn
3 high-fiber whole wheat tortillas (8 inch)
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream
3/4 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided
make it!
HEAT oven to 375ºF.

BROWN meat with onions and peppers in large skillet on medium-high heat. Stir in chili powder; cook 1 min. Add salsa and corn; mix well. Simmer 5 min.

SPREAD 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 8- or 9-inch square baking dish; top with layers of 1 tortilla, 1/2 cup meat sauce, sour cream and 1/4 cup cheese. Cover with 1 tortilla, 1 cup of remaining meat sauce and 1/4 cup of remaining cheese; top with remaining tortilla and meat sauce. Cover with foil.

BAKE 25 min. or until casserole is heated through. Top with remaining cheese; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or melted.

Pear Walnut Salad

1 medium bunch arugula or spinach

1 Bosc pear

1/4 c sherry or white wine vinegar

1/3 c olive oil

2 heaping tsp whole grain Dijon mustard

1 shallot, minced

pepper

3/4 c walnuts, halved and toasted

Toss all together and enjoy!!

Mango Chicken

Wish I had a photo, but trust me that this was delish. If you like mango salsa, then you'll love this!

2-3 T oil

3 mangoes

1 large red bell pepper (or 2 small ones)

1 garlic clove

1" ginger root (or use ground ginger)

1/2 c apple cider vinegar

1/4 c white cooking wine or water

bunch of cilantro, chopped

Saute garlic in oil till lightly browned. Add ginger and cook a little longer. Add mangoes, saute till mashable. Add red pepper. Saute till soft. Reduce heat. Add vinegar and cooking wine/water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cilantro at end. Serve over grilled chicken and rice.