Quick Pesto Marinara

I whipped this up the other night to have over spaghetti squash, which is not exactly a complete substitution for actual noodles, but it is better on the daily calorie count so...anyway--this sauce is very good! I don't know why I never thought to put some pesto into the marinara before but it added lots of great flavor.

Next time I'll double or triple this and freeze the leftovers.







Quick Pesto Marinara

1 Tb. olive oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
6 oz can tomato paste
14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
14.5 oz can tomato sauce
2-3 tsp. italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. sugar
dash of crushed red pepper
2-4 Tb. pesto

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Saute peppers and onions for a few minutes, until soft. Add in garlic and lower heat to medium and cook a minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook a couple minutes until the paste starts to deepen in color. Add in seasoning, sugar, crushed red pepper, tomatoes, sauce and pesto. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Enchilada Soup

I saw this recipe and it looked so great I had to make it! I've now made it five times!! We usually make it vegetarian so I'll include both the chicken and vegetarian version in this post, the picture is of the chicken. I made a few changes to the original recipe and this is now one of our winter favorites!

After much taste-testing I've decided my favorite enchilada sauce is the Market Pantry from Target, super gourmet I know! It is very good and not bitter like some seem to be.



Enchilada Soup
adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

2 10-oz cans red enchilada sauce
15 oz can black beans, rinsed
15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes or diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
1 1/2 c. frozen corn (I prefer Trader Joe's super sweet frozen corn)
1 can cream of chicken soup (cream of mushroom for vegetarian)
1 1/2 c. milk
2 chicken breasts (sub an extra can of beans of your choice for vegetarian)

In a small saute pan, cook the bell pepper and onion until soft. Combine all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on high 3-4 hours or low all day. Before serving, shred the chicken breasts with two forks if using chicken. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

My cousin told me about a salad she had at a restaurant and it sounded really good, so we made it the next day. It was good! I think some homemade dressing would be great but I had some Ken's light Caesar on hand and it turned out great.

The recipe isn't very precise, I just grilled some chicken, boiled some pasta and assembled individual salads for lunch so you could easily make a huge family-size bowl for lunch or dinner and adjust as you like it.





Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad
makes 2 individual salads

4-6 c. chopped romaine lettuce
1 large chicken breast, grilled with lots of garlic pepper and sea salt
2 c. cooked short-cut pasta (I used rotini)
fresh parmesan cheese, shaved (as much as you like)
1/4 C. Caesar dressing, divided

To make the salads, layer in a bowl 3/4-1 c. cooked pasta, 2 or 3 c. chopped romaine, sliced chicken breast, parmesan shavings and drizzle with as much dressing as you like. Toss to coat.

Spaghetti & Meatball Soup

I saw this recipe on one of my new favorite blogs Skinny Taste, which is super awesome because she makes everything low-fat, low-cal and lists the nutrition facts and Weight Watcher's points...so if you're into counting calories go there!

I did adapt the recipe a bit but overall the basis is the same and it was really good! I think next time I'll add some diced bell pepper with the onions.





Spaghetti & Meatball Soup
adapted from Skinny Taste

For the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil or cooking spray
1 onion, chopped 1/3 c. set aside
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
8 c. chicken stock
4 c. water
2 c. marinara sauce (canned or jarred is great)
1 Tb. dried parsley
1/2 Tb. dried basil
pinch of crushed red pepper
salt & pepper to taste
12.5 oz box thin spaghetti, broken in pieces (I used wheat)

For the meatballs:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. chicken or turkey italian sausage
1/3 c. chopped onion, reserved from above
2 eggs
1/2 c. seasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley

In a soup pot heat olive oil or cooking spray over medium-high heat and saute onion for a few minutes until it starts to soften. Add in garlic and cook another minute. Stir in stock, water, seasonings. Heat over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble and let simmer for 5 minutes. In the meantime mix together the meatballs and roll into small, 1 inch balls. Drop the meatballs into the broth and let cook 5 minutes. Drop in the broken spaghetti and cook according to package directions, until al dente. Be careful not to overcook the noodles because they will continue to absorb liquid as the soup sits. Enjoy with a slice of crusty bread or rolls.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mix

I found this...ahem, on Pinterest. I'm kind of obsessed as I'm sure you've noticed. I found this recipe as a gift idea and after I pinned it, my friend told me she had made it and loved it. Of course that's all the encouragement I needed.

My family has now gone through 3 full batches, my friend demolished her jar and my son's teacher enjoyed it also. I highly recommend this as a last-minute neighbor/mailman/paper boy gift. OR just make some Christmas morning for your family.

The original recipe called for powdered milk and to stir themix into hot water but I really prefer milk so I skipped the powdered stuff and mix mine into hot milk. And then top it off with strong coffee and...well, sometimes whipped cream.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mix

adapted from my recipes

1 c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. miniature chocolate chips
1/2 c. crushed candy canes or peppermint discs

Layer ingredients in a jar and tie with a ribbon to gift to a friend. Or stir it all together in an air-tight container and keep on hand for personal use.

To serve--Stir 3 Tb. mix into 1 c. hot milk.

Strawberry Jello Salad

This is a salad in the loosest sense of the word. I don't get it at all...but I do LOVE it! We actually eat this at holidays on a salad day with our dinner. I mean, that way we don't have to choose between this and pie.

My mom has made this on Thanksgiving and Christmas every year as long as I can remember. I truly don't know any other family that would call something with a pretzel/butter crust, cream cheese/whipped cream filling, and a jello top a "salad" but I'll take it. This would make a great summer dessert!

Make this, if you want to feel like a Midwestern.

Strawberry Jello Salad

2 ½ c. crushed pretzels (about 9 oz.)
¾ c. melted butter
3 tb. sugar

8 oz. cream cheese
½ c. sugar
1 tub Cool Whip, defrosted

6 oz pkg. strawberry jello
2 c. boiling water
10 oz. pkg. frozen strawberries, thawed.

Stir together crushed pretzels, sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13'' pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool crust completely. In another bowl cream together softened cream cheese and sugar with a mixer, then fold in the Cool Whip and carefully spread over the cooled crust. Put the pan into the fridge while preparing the last layer. Combine Jello, boiling water and strawberries. Let chill one hour until Jello mixture begins to set (this will prevent the Jello from leaking through to the crust). Pour over cream cheese mixture. Chill a few hours or until Jello is completely set.

Cranberry Salsa

I spotted this recipe on Pinterest and really wanted to try it. I made a couple changes and we just love this stuff! It's great with tortilla chips on its own, or our favorite is spread over cream cheese with crackers. YUM.

This recipe is so simple and quick to make, I think I'm going to make it for the neighbors for Christmas. Making 10 batches of this would be WAY quicker than cookies. AND if I eat a whole bunch I wouldn't un-do all of my bootcamp hard work.
Cranberry Salsaadapted from bake-aholic

1 package of fresh cranberries (12 oz)
1/2 c. sugar
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, roughly chopped (I left in some seeds.)
3 green onion, roughly chopped
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp cumin

Pulse everything together in the food processer until chopped to your liking. I left in some chunks. Refrigerate 12 hours before serving. This will stay good in the fridge a long time (up to 2 weeks.) Serve with tortilla chips or over cream cheese with crackers.

Loaded Kettle Chips

Rob and I went out to dinner the other night to a restaurant in Central Phoenix called the Windsor. (Which we would highly recommend.) They have a delectable treat called "Loaded Chips." We ate every last chip and immediately decided I MUST re-create them.

Today, for Thanksgiving we obviously "needed" some appetizers before our big dinner at 6:00 so I made these Loaded Kettle Chips and I have decided that this is my favorite recipe I've ever invented or re-created myself.  A-mazing.  It would be really simple to make these vegetarian without the bacon. I did not make my own kettle chips because I didn't feel like it and I had already made an entire Thanksgiving feast with my sister and I was too tired to fry chips.  However, if you have a fry daddy all ready it would be super fantastic with homemade chips.

Loaded Kettle Chips
with Caramelized Balsamic Onions, Bacon, Blue Cheese & Chipotle Cream

Caramelized Balsamic Onions:
3 1/2 medium/large yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 Tb EVOO (or reserve some bacon grease...YUM)
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Chipotle Cream:
1/2 c. sour cream
1 heaping Tb mayo
1 chipotle, minced
1-2 tsp adobo sauce from chipotle can
1-2 tsp granulated garlic

3/4-1 c. blue cheese crumbles
2-19 oz bags kettle chips
1 lb bacon, chopped and crisply cooked

To make the onions: Heat oil or grease in a large skillet.  Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until the onions start to soften and brown.  Pour in balsamic vinegar and lower heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, for 30-35 minutes until onions are completely soft and caramelized.  Season with salt & pepper.

To make the chipotle cream: Mix together sour cream, mayo, chipotle, adobo sauce and garlic.  Taste and adjust garlic and adobo to your liking.  It should be pretty spicy because it is just a drizzle on the top.

To assemble chips: Heat an oven to 350.  Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil and pour the chips in a layer on the sheet.  Sprinkle on the bacon, then the onions, then the blue cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the blue cheese starts to melt.  Remove from the oven and drizzle on the chipotle cream to your liking.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

We had a sandwich like this at a restaurant recently and Rob and I both fell in love immediately.  Of course I had to recreate it with my own flare, so I added a balsamic reduction.  Rob told me that if he were a vegetarian, he would eat this sandwich once a week.








Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich
makes four sandwiches


8 slices of sourdough bread
4 Tb softened butter
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
large beefsteak tomato sliced
fresh basil leaves
4 Tb Pesto
Balsamic reduction

To make the sandwiches, butter one side of each slice of bread.  Spread 1 Tb of Pesto on one piece of bread, then layer on top Basil leaves, Tomatoes & Mozzarella Cheese.  Grill for a couple minutes on each side until golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I've had buffalo wing dip many times.  I've always liked it but some are better than others.  This one is really, really good.  My friend made this at a party recently and I just loved it.  So of course I made it myself...and added a little extra cheese, because--why not?

I made this at my daughter's birthday dinner to go with pizza and we scraped out the crock pot!  This dip goes well with celery sticks or tortilla chips.  Or pizza crust too.  I made 1 1/2 the recipe for 5 adults so I would highly recommend doubling for a party.

Buffalo Wing Dip

2 c. shredded or chopped cooked chicken
1 block cream cheese (neufchatel works great), softened
1/2 c. Franks Buffalo sauce
1/2 c. Ranch dressing
1/2 c. shredded (sharp) cheedar cheese

Mix together all ingredients and either put inside a little dipper crock pot for an hour or bake in an 8'' square pan at 350 for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.  Serve with tortilla chips and celery.