Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

I can't take the credit for this one!  I found this recipe here via Pinterest.  I made it for lunch one day and then again the following week to accompany grilled chicken.  It's such a great change from boring old mayo based potato salad. I do recommend doubling the recipe since it only serves 2.  I guess I am yearning for backyard BBQs and picnics and that's the reason I am making this is the dead of winter ;)

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 half of a red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• half of 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• a few tbs. chopped red onion
• zest of 1 lemon or lime
• 1 cup black beans
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put sweet potatoes, jalapenos, red peppers and garlic on a large baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat and spread out in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, turning occasionally, until potatoes begin to brown on corners and are just tender inside, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; keep on pan until ready to mix with other ingredients.
2. Combine red onion, lemon/lime zest, black beans, and cilantro in a small bowl. Add sweet potato mixture and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and maybe a drop of honey. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day.

Crock Pot Lasagna

First off, I stole the recipe and pictures from Meagan's family blog. It looked so delicious when she posted this a week or so ago that I also tried it. It came out great, everyone loved it and Isabella has even asked for the leftovers (this is a big deal!). Thanks friend!!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or turkey

1/2 cup white diced onion

1 tsp minced garlic

1 (24 oz) jar of marinara/spaghetti sauce of your choice

1/2 cup water

1 (15 oz) container of ricotta cheese

2 cups of mozzarella

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 whole egg

2 TBS fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried parsley

6 uncooked lasagna noodles (I bought the oven-ready kind)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet brown the beef and onion, add garlic and cook one minute more. Drain.

2. Add spaghetti sauce and water and simmer for 5 minutes

3. Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 TBS parm (aka: Farmer John Cheese), egg and parsley.

4. Pour 1 cup of spaghetti meat sauce into a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Place 1/2 of the noodles and 1/2 of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce. Cover w/ 2 cups of meat sauce. Top the remaining noodles (If the noodles don't fit exactly break them to fit) and cheese mixture and then sauce again.

5. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are soft, Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and remaining parmesan. Cover with the lid and let the cheese melt for about 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of: The Girl Who Ate Everything

WW 5 Ingredient Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Okay, I made this last night for dessert and it was DELISH! Pretty easy to make too!

Five-Ingredient Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients

1/4 cup(s) unsalted butter, divided

1/4 cup(s) packed light brown sugar

3/4 pound(s) canned pineapple rings in juice, reserve 1/4 cup juice*

1/4 pound(s) unprepared vanilla cake mix, about 1 scant cup

1 large egg(s)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round, flameproof, aluminum pan over medium-low heat (make sure to cover entire pan bottom); sprinkle sugar over top. Carefully place pineapple rings in a single layer in bottom of pan. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until pineapple caramelizes, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side; remove pan from heat.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter on stove top or in microwave. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat egg with remaining melted butter. Add cake mix and reserved pineapple juice; combine well.

Pour batter over pineapple; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Allow cake to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes; when still warm, loosen sides with a knife and invert cake onto a serving plate. Slice into 10 pieces and serve. Yields 1 slice per serving.

Notes

*Use 7 pineapple rings.

Crock-Pot Beef and Broccoli

Made this for the first time last night and it was delicious!  And a hit with the kids, which is ALWAYS a plus!  


Ingredients:
1 pound boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups of liquid from the Crock-Pot after it is almost finished cooking
Fresh broccoli florets 
Hot cooked rice

Directions:
1. Place beef in a Crock Pot.
2. In a small bowl, combine beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour over beef. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. In a small saucepan, stir cornstarch and the 1 1/2 cups of sauce from the Crock Pot and whisk until smooth. Turn stove on low-medium and heat the sauce until thickened.  Then pour back into CrockPot and stir.  
4. Add broccoli to the CrockPot. Stir to combine.
5. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes.
6. Serve over hot cooked rice.


Enjoy!

Honey Glazed Pork

YAY! So excited to back on here blogging. I may lack on my own personal blog, but anything to help me get some new recipes in the kitchen DELIGHTS me to the core! Ok, so I loved Holly's post about the TACO PIE, so gonna make it tomorrow, and does Beck make cookbooks look chic or what?!?! So, I don't know about you all, but there is one consistent comment that comes from my boys almost every meal time (besides "grooooooooos", because unless it is pizza, hamburgers, or grilled cheese, everything is "grooooooooos!")... it is "Chicken, AAAAAGAIN?!?!" Let's face it, chicken is economical, easy, and supposedly better for you then red meat, so it is a main staple during many weekday dinners at my house. Well, at my last grocery store outing, I saw pork loin on sale. The butcher was kind enough to show me how to pick out a "good piece" and I immediately went home and looked on pinterest for a recipe. I came across MANY, but this particular one caught my interest....and IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! Honey Glazed Pork: http://mommahenskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/09/honey-butter-pork-tenderloin.html (EVEN MY BOYS LIKED IT!!!). I served it with baked red potatoes and green beans. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was I do not have a pot that can go into the oven so I transfered the pork to a baking dish and poured the glaze on top when it was required to go into the oven. I also cooked it for a bit longer (making sure the temp was 170 degrees on my meat thermometer) and then left it covered in foil to "self cook" while I finished up the potatoes (about 10 minutes more). So, there you have it. If you have any more pork recipes that are easy, let me know. Also, with baseball starting, I need to add to my collection of crock pot recipes! Glad to be back girls! XoXo

I'm Cooking Again!

I have been so out of the loop with cooking for the past 3 months but I am excited to announce that I am feeling better and back at it!  So needless to say my Hubby is happy, and I'm having fun in the kitchen again!  Here are 2 recipes that I made this week that were delish.  Not wonderfully healthy, but budget and kid friendly which wins in my house right now.  I found both of these on pinterest so here are the original links!

Million Dollar Spaghetti
I followed this recipe as close as I could, subbing different pasta and spicing up the meat and it turned out really good.  I had leftovers today!
http://ashleykaitlin.blogspot.com/2011/01/million-dollar-spaghetti.html

Taco Pie
I subbed out the beef for Turkey in this one and it was really good as well!
http://www.plainchicken.com/2010/03/impossible-taco-pie.html

Indulge a little and enjoy!

Cook Books

My Mom and I are a little obsessed with Cookbooks. They are so fun, aren't they? However, if there are no pictures, then no way! You have to show me how good the recipe is going to look!
These two pictures don't do justice to how many Cookbooks I have. I also save recipes from Cooking Light, Better Homes, etc and I received many from my Bridal Shower.

I can't wait to see all the recipes my Girlfriends are going to post on this fabulous blog. xo