Avacado Dressing &/or Dip

Ingredients

• 1 large avocado
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Puree until smooth,
2. Enjoy!!

** I leave out the oil to make it more "dip-like"

Super yummy & the hot sauce gives it a little KICK!

Smashed Red Potatoes

These have quickly become a favorite!!!

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
• Boil some red potatoes until fork tender.
• Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet, set potatoes on sheet and using a potato masher (or back of a spatula), gently smash each potato down, rotating masher both ways (so it looks like a thick cookie). 
• Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle herbs or seasoning (I use Mrs. Dash garlic herb).
• Then, top with some low fat mozzarella cheese. 
• Bake for 20 minutes.

Tomato Pie

Miche’s Tomato Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust (homemade or store bought)

4 tomatoes

1 onion

1 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 C. grated Mozzarella cheese

1 C. mayonnaise

Salt

Pepper

Basil

Parmesan cheese

Slice 4 tomatoes and spread out in colander to drain. I use paper towels in between the layers.

Bake pie crust until golden brown (~10 mins.)

Sautee an onion until caramelized; place in baked pie crust. Lay tomato slices on top of onions along with sliced basil, seasoning with salt and pepper for each layer.

Combine cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and mayonnaise—season with salt and pepper. Spoon/ spread mixture over tomato layers. Dust top with some grated parmesan cheese before baking.

Bake at 350 for 35-45 mins. Allow to rest at least 20 mins before serving. Can also be served at room temp. 

Zuchinni Chocolate Chip Cookie Redux

OK, so I finally made the Zuchinni Chocolate Chip Cookies-- and I must say I was a bit disappointed. They taste GREAT! But the texture is more cake-like than chewy (I like my cookies CHEWY!) And also, the next day they just seemed soggy-- WAY too moist!

My good buddy Mary from Life in a Small Town sent me this message following my report of the soggy cookies--

I e-mailed a couple of food bloggers for advice on how to crisp up those zucchini cookies. Here's what Jessica (kitchenbellicious) said: "2 1/2 cups of flour total and another 1/2 tsp of baking soda." She said that she has never added honey, so that may be what's causing it. Katherine (smoky mountain cafe) said, "Try adding 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1/4 cup granulated sugar and leave out the honey." One of these days when I'm bored I may try them out and see what happens

So instead of ditching the recipe TOTALLY... I will give it another go and make the changes. I thought perhaps the zuchinni itself added too much moisture-- I never even considered the honey.

Zuchinni Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have not tried these yet-- but certainly will... SOON!

‎1 egg
1/2 c. Butter
1/2 c. Brown sugar
1tbsp vanilla
1/3 c. Honey
1c white flour
1c wheat flower
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
12oz choc chips
1 c finely chopped zucchini

Bake at 350 for 11-14 min.

Spinach Eggplant Lasagna

I made this just like my regular spinach lasagna, except that I used sliced eggplant instead of lasagna noodles...

Spinach  Eggplant Lasagna



Ingredients:


16 oz. ricotta cheese
16 oz. shredded mozerella (*I use 8 oz. mozerella/ 8 oz. parmesean)
1 jar sauce
1 eggplant, sliced
10 oz. spinach (*I use frozen-- thawed and drained)
1 T. minced garlic
1/2 C. chopped onion


Mix ricotta, 1/2 mozerella/ parmesean mix, garlic, onion, & spinach.


Layer a 13 x 9 or 9x9 pan-- Sauce, eggplant, cheese mixture-- repeat. Top with other 1/2 of mozerella/ parmesean mixture.


Bake at 350 for 1 hour

Spinach Lasagna

It's what's for dinner!

Spinach Lasagna


Ingredients:

16 oz. ricotta cheese
16 oz. shredded mozerella (*I use 8 oz. mozerella/ 8 oz. parmesean)
1 jar sauce
1 pkg. lasagna noodles
10 oz. spinach (*I use frozen-- thawed and drained)
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. minced onion
chopped onion


Mix ricotta, 1/2 mozerella/ parmesean mix, garlic, onion, & spinach.

Layer a 13 x 9 or 9x9 pan-- Sauce, noodles, cheese mixture-- repeat. Top with other 1/2 of mozerella/ parmesean mixture.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour

Recipe Round-up: Dips

I am always on the lookout for good recipes-- especially EASY recipes. So I have decided to share a recipe every so often, and hope that other will share some good ones with me! I decided to start with dips-- because they are always easy, and great for summer get-togethers!

I am SO often asked for this recipe-- especially after I have brought it to a party or shin-dig... It is SUPER easy-- and ALWAYS a crowd favorite (so much so that I usually bring two!)

Pizza Dip

• 1-- 9" pie pan (I usually get an aluminum one if I am taking this somewhere so I don't have to worry about getting the dish back)
• 1-- pkg. cream cheese
• chopped onion (optional)
• 1-- jar pizza sauce
• 1-- pkg. finely shredded mozerella cheese
• toppings  (I usually use pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes, green onion, etc...)

Preheat oven to 350.

Press cream cheese in  the bottom of the pie pan. Sprinkle chopped onion over cream cheese. Pour sauce over cream cheese and onions. Cover with mozerella. Add toppings.

Bake for 30 mins-- you want cheese to be melted and bubbly.

Serve with tortilla chips, crackers (I use Triscuits), small pieces of bread, etc.

**Kids LOVE this dip! Great for watching the big game, movie nights, etc. It can also be reheated.

OK, so who else has a great (EASY) dip recipe to share? Come on! You know you wanna!

Thursday's Treat

As this Thursday is our Friday (since we are off for Good Friday), I figured my fellow educators could use a treat... so I made an orange cake... although, it is more lemon than orange... Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 325

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. lemon pudding mix
3/4 C. orange juice
1/2 C. vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 t. lemon extract

1/3 C. orange juice
2/3 C. sugar
1/4 C. butter

Mix cake mix, pudding mix, 3/4 c. OJ, oil, eggs, and lemon extract. Pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake for 50-60 mins. (I baked mine 50 mins.)  Let cool.

In a saucepan, cook 1/3 c. OJ, sugar, and butter for 2 minutes. Drizzle over cake. (I punched holes first using a toothpick)

Advent Blog: Day 17~ Gingerbread

Yes, I realize that ONCE AGAIN I am behind on my advent blog... I will catch up now... promise! If it makes you feel any better, I have kept up nicely with my Advent box...

So.. gingerbread... First of all, here is the history of this Christmas time treat:

http://www.germantownacademy.org/academics/LS/2/ginger/Index.html

My mom used to make elaborate gingerbread houses. She won all kinds of awards. At school we often do "faux gingerbread houses" with the kids. In other words, we make gingerbread houses out of graham crackers. The last couple of years we have further cheated and done Christmas Trees with ice cream cones. We give the kids icing and candy and the decorate away...

Well this year Suzanne and I went back to our graham cracker ways... deciding that we would make enough for her class and mine... so 35+ houses... So last Sunday Suzanne and my friend Leigh came over... I made a couple of pitchers of margaritas... and with Josh's help we knocked those puppies out in no time.

And Thursday at school we let the kids decorate... They had a blast! My 5th graders helped Suzanne's 1st graders-- in some cases vice versa. We made a huge mess... there was lots of laughing... and even icing in eyebrows! (I myself managed to get icing on the BACK of my head. No idea-- don't ask!)

So, for those of you with kids in need of something to occupy their time-- esp now that school is out (YAY!) this is a great activity. The icing we used to put the houses together-- which incidently sets up like brick mortar-- is powdered sugar, Wilton's merengue powder, and warm water. The kids just used regular cake icing to decorate-- you can use food coloring to make it more festive if you want...

If you are not so much into construction, get a box of sugar cones... color some white icing green... and do Christmas Trees. Equally fun-- and a bit easier.

Advent Blog: Day 11~ Cookies

Cookies and Christmas just seem to go together... Cookie swaps... baking cookies for Santa... or in the case of Blue Artichoke, baking 500 cookies in 3 days, or some craziness...

So I decided to share some cookie recipes that I like... First up are Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. I got this recipe from Blue Artichoke-- this is what I took to the cookie swap last year-- HUGE hit... I made them SO many times last year, I am pretty sure I STILL smell like peppermint. Anyway, these are TOPS on my holiday cookie list:

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa1 bag Andes Peppermint Crunch (*I also use the Creme de menthe chips)

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla and mint extract.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, beating until blended.
Fold in peppermint crunch; drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 3 inches apart, onto lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes (do not overbake). Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Yield: 2-1/2 dozen
Adapted from Southern Living, DECEMBER 1997
--
Next up-- well, I have never made these... but they look YUMMY! And I am thinking of making them for my cookie swap THIS year:

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies-->
Ingredients:
•1 (19.5 oz.) package Pillsbury® Classic Traditional Fudge Brownie
•1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
•4 ounces cream cheese, softened
•1 large egg
•1 cup powdered sugar
•1 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
•1/2 can Pillsbury® Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Directions:
1.HEAT oven to 350°F. Beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese and egg in medium bowl 50 strokes with spoon until well blended (dough will be sticky).

2.DROP dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets to make 24 cookies; smooth edge of each to form round cookie.

3.MIX powdered sugar and peanut butter in small bowl with spoon until mixture forms a ball. With hands, roll rounded teaspoonfuls peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Lightly press 1 ball into center of each ball of dough.

4.BAKE 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets at least 30 minutes.

5.SPREAD thin layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie.

High Altitude (above 3500 ft.):
1.FLATTEN cookies slightly before baking. Bake at 350° F for 11 to 15 minutes.
Yield: 24 cookies
--
And finally... these are maybe not *technically* a cookie... but they are MADE from cookies... so close enough!

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.
DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

These are SUPER easy... and everyone LOVES them...

So there you are-- some ideas... or inspiration... if I am out for snow tomorrow... I think I will make some cookies... COME ON SNOW!!