Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Peanut butter & chocolate is one of Chris's favorite combinations. I came across this recipe in a magazine & thought I'd give it a try. As a Mom of 2, my days of making cupcakes & cookies are few & far between; however, this was super quick & easy! Mix, throw into one pan, & bake! It was a sweet treat for my Hubby to come home to :)

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies
1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted & cooled slightly
2 tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
4 peanut butter cups (1 King Size package), coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour & next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter & next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Scrape the batter (it will be thick!) into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray, & arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. I cooked mine for 22 minutes. Just make sure you don't overcook it. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

*Recipe & photo courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine online.

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Weeknight Bolognese

When we were in Italy for our Honeymoon, I loved ordering Bolognese. It was a simple pasta dish, but so hearty! The same is true about this recipe! I tried it out last night & it was wonderful! It was super easy to make, really didn't take long, & had a nice kick to it due to the red pepper flakes. Of course, it's a Barefoot Contessa recipe... which never seems to disappoint!

At first I was a bit hesitant about using shells for this dish, but it turned out to be an excellent combination with the meat sauce. Some of the meat gets into the shells, which is perfect. I would recommend using a ground beef that you know crumbles well. One place that I recommend for such ground beef is Casey's Foods in Naperville. Whole Foods is always good, too!

*You'll see that I used a couple of substitutions due to wanting to use what I already had at home. In the future (aka not pregnant), I will definitely try this with red wine like the recipe calls for!

Weeknight Bolognese
2 TB good olive oil, plus extra to cook pasta
1 pound lean ground beef/sirloin
4 tsp minced/finely chopped garlic (4 cloves)
1 TB dried oregano
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 ¼ cups dry red wine, divided (*I used chicken broth)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 TB tomato paste
Kosher salt & black pepper
¾ lb dried pasta, such as orecchiette or medium shells (*I used the entire 1 lb box)
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
¼ cup heavy cream (*I used whole milk)
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving *Side note: freshly grated or shaved Parmesan cheese really is worth the extra effort! :)

Start to boil water for pasta.

Heat 2 TB of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef & cook, crumbling the meat until the meat is no longer pink & has started to brown (drain fat). Add the garlic, oregano, & red pepper flakes & cook for 1 more minute. Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet & stir to scrape up any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 TB salt, & 1 ½ tsp pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower heat, & simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.

Finish the sauce while the pasta cooks. Add the nutmeg, basil, heavy cream, & the remaining ¼ cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. When the pasta is cooked, drain & pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce & ½ cup Parmesan & toss well. Serve hot with Parmesan on the side.

*Recipe courtesy of Barefoot Contessa's Cookbook: "How Easy Is That?".

Weeknight Bolognese

Turkey Taco Skillet

Thanks to my friend, Jaime, for this quick & tasty meal! Chris loves "taco salad", so I knew this would be a big hit in our house. Another bonus... you can make the entire dish in one skillet!! Perfect for a weeknight dinner, with lots of leftovers for the next day!

Turkey Taco Skillet
1 lb ground turkey
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
2 cups water
1 jar (16 oz) thick & chunky salsa
1 can Mexican-style corn (I used regular corn)
2 cups instant brown rice (not cooked)
1 cup shredded Mexican or taco cheese blend
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

*Throwing in some canned black beans might be good, too!

Serve with: Tortilla Chips

Directions:
1. Cook turkey in a large nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring to break up meat, 5 minutes or until browned. Stir in seasoning mix, water, salsa & corn; bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover & remove from heat; let stand 12 to 15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese; cover & let stand 1 to 2 minutes to melt cheese.

2. On plates, top rice mixture with lettuce, tomato & sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips.

*Recipe & photo courtesy of Jaime's Dishes.

Turkey Taco Skillet

Ricotta Pancakes

Don't be afraid of using Ricotta in something other than Lasagna! I've made these pancakes many times & they are really good... to the point that they taste like a dessert!

Ricotta Pancakes
1 and 2/3 cups water
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups pancake/waffle mix (recommended: Krusteaz)
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
2/3 cup frozen blueberries *Or you can add mini-chocolate chips instead!

-Using a rubber spatula, stir the water & vanilla in a large bowl. Add the pancake mix & stir just until moistened but still lumpy. Add the ricotta into the pancake mixture, & then stir gently to incorporate the ricotta but maintain a lumpy batter. Fold in the blueberries (or chocolate chips).

-Heat a griddle over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Working in batches, spoon ¼ cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

*Serve with butter & syrup! Sprinkle with powdered sugar :)

*Recipe Courtesy Of: Everyday Italian - Giada De Laurentiis

Ricotta Pancakes

Kelly's Potatoes

My friend, Kelly, often makes these potatoes for parties & they are always a major crowd-pleaser! I tried making them for the 1st time last week, when we had our neighbors over for dinner... keeping my fingers crossed that they turned out as good as Kelly's! They were SO easy to make! I made half the recipe, but here is the full recipe:

"Kelly's Potatoes"
1-2 bags of frozen Southern Style Hash Browns
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 - 8oz. bags of sharp cheddar cheese
16 oz. sour cream
1 cup or so of milk
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
Salt & pepper
1 stick of butter
Corn flakes

-About 1 hour before making, take potatoes out of the freezer to soften.
-Mix together... onion, 1½ bags of the cheddar cheese, sour cream, milk, soup, salt, & pepper
-After all ingredients are mixed add the potatoes. Spread into a large greased baking dish
-Add remaining ½ bag of cheddar cheese to the top. Then add crushed corn flakes on top of the cheese.
-Melt 1 stick of butter & pour over the top right before placing in a 375 degree oven for about 1 hour+ (check middle to see if potatoes are warm enough).

*Recipe courtesy of Kelly Neary.

Kelly's Potatoes

Spinach with Meat Sauce Lasagna

Can you believe it?? I actually made a nice dinner tonight (and added it to my Cooking Blog)!! I've been in such a cooking rut these past few months. I found this recipe several years ago & have made it a bunch of times. It is super easy, & I like that it includes carrots & spinach. The original recipe calls for Italian Sausage, but tonight I substituted ground beef & it was still great! Ben gobbled it up :)


Spinach with Meat Sauce Lasagna
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
(*Or you can use no-boil lasagna noodles…probably need more than 6… and then skip step #2)
8 oz. hot or mild Italian Sausage, casings removed (or 1/2 lb of ground beef)
24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded carrots *(I like to use pre-shredded carrots from the produce section & chop them up a little)
15 oz. carton ricotta cheese
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup hot water
10 oz. bag of frozen chopped spinach. (Thawed, drained, & squeezed of excess liquid)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil (or just sprinkle in some dried basil)
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain, but do not rinse. Arrange noodles in a single layer on wax paper to prevent sticking.
3. Remove casing from sausage. Cook sausage (or ground beef) in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well, return to pan. Add spaghetti sauce & carrot; simmer, uncovered 10 minutes.
4. In mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, salt, ½ cup hot water, spinach, & basil.
5. Spoon ¾ cup of the sauce mixture in bottom on 13x9 inch baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles over sauce.
6. Spoon half of ricotta mixture over noodles.
7. Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese & 1 cup sauce mixture.
8. Repeat layers with remaining ricotta mixture, 3 noodles, & sauce mixture.
9. Cover dish with foil. Bake @ 375 for 35 minutes.
10. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese, & bake for 30 more minutes.
11. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting & serving.

Spinach with Meat Sauce Lasagna

Winner!

My 1st Giveaway ended tonight. Thanks to those of you who entered! I may do something like this again soon. I had some people suggest some really neat ideas for Giveaways! And now, the winner...

JAIME

I assigned each entry a number & then used random.org to select a winner! Congratulations, Jaime!! A copy of "Let's Eat: Just Desserts" is coming your way this week :)

Winner!