Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

I LOVE Caesar salad, in fact, it's the only salad I ever eat. I found this recipe on the Kraft foods website and I just loved the presentation so much I wanted to try it. It was delicious! The best Caesar salad I've ever made. I love marinating the chicken in the Caesar dressing, it gave it so much flavor, and cutting into bite size pieces really shortens the grilling time. I would highly recommend using Ciabatta bread with this recipe.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
Caesar dressing (I love the Girard's Light Caesar)
1 head Romaine lettuce
Ciabatta or french bread
Grated Parmesan (not the powdered stuff)
Bamboo skewers (about 8)

Place your chicken pieces in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Add enough dressing to coat chicken, place in refrigerator and let marinate for 30 minutes. Place skewers in water to soak to prevent burning. Let soak for 30 minutes while meat is marinating.
Preheat grill to medium/low heat.
Thread about 6-8 pieces of chicken onto each skewer.
Slice bread into 1" thick slices, brush with melted butter or olive oil.
Oil grill.
Place chicken on grill and cook until done, turning once. On my grill it took about 5 minutes on each side, but if your grill tends to be hot it may only take 3-4 minutes, watch carefully to prevent burning. When chicken is almost done, add bread slices and toast on each side. Remove bread and chicken from grill and set aside.
Wash and cut lettuce, place in large bowl and coat lightly with Caesar dressing. Place bread slices around perimeter and lay chicken sticks on top of lettuce. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love these cookies because the oatmeal makes them so chewy! And with oatmeal and walnuts in them, they qualify as health food, right? RIGHT?!

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 c. quick oats
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.
In large beat beat butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one a time, add vanilla.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Stir in quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips.
Bake for approx. 12 minutes.

Cupcake Pops! Yay!

Aren't these the cutest things you've ever seen? They do take time to make but it's fairly easy. Such a cute idea for kid's birthdays or holiday parties. A lady called Bakerella invented these, click here http://bakerella.blogspot.com/search/label/cupcake%20pops to see the many different cake pops she's come up with. I love the ghosts and reindeers!

For cupcake pops you will need:

1 13X9 cake, any flavor you want, baked (I've done chocolate and strawberry)
1 tub frosting, regular, not whipped (again any flavor, I put chocolate with the chocolate cake and vanilla with the strawberry)
Lollipop sticks found at craft store
1 small scalloped cookie/fondant cutter (I found mine at Michaels, it's made by Wilton, it's a little over an inch across)
1 bag chocolate candy melts (again I found at Michaels)
1 bad pink candy melts
pink M&M's and a variety of sprinkles for toppings

Once your cake is cool crumble in a large bowl, add about 3/4 of the tub of frosting and mush together thoroughly with hands (this is quite fun!)
Form into small balls, about 1 1/2".
Place on waxed paper and put in freezer for 5 minutes.
Roll balls into an oblong shape. Place in scalloped cutter and push from the top and bottom so that the cake fills in the scalloped shape. Push out bottom to remove. Continue with remaining balls. Place in freezer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate candy melts until smooth, you can do this on a double broiler and in 30 second intervals in the microwave.
Dip your lollipop stick in the chocolate, just so the tip is covered. Take one cupcake and dip bottom half in chocolate, wiping off bottom on side of bowl as you remove.
Place lollipop stick in the bottom, a little less than halfway through. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. You can place these in a piece of floral foam to harden up or a glass, you just don't want them touching.
When chocolate is hardened up, melt pink candy melts.
Dip top half of cupcake in pink candy melts, try to make the pink touch the chocolate so that you don't have cake showing through. Decorate immediately and place in foam to harden.
At the craft store they also have lollipop bags that you can put over the pops and tie with cute ribbon if you're taking them somewhere.

I would highly recommend going here: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cupcake-pops?video_id=0&autonomy_kw=cupcake%20pops
to watch the how to video on Martha Stewart's show!

Pesto Pasta and Chicken

I'm sorry I don't have a pic for this one, it didn't turn out very well (the picture that is, not the pasta! :), but this pasta was to die for! It was so good, and the homemade pesto just put it over the top. This was another recipe Stefany taught at cooking group, thanks Stefany! I can't wait to make this for my husband, he LOVES pesto!

Easy Homemade Pesto

1/4 c. almonds
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 c. fresh basil leaves
1/2 c. olive oil
1 pinch nutmeg
2/3 c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Place almonds on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. In a food processor, combine toasted almonds, garlic, basil, olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Process until a coarse paste is formed.

Pasta

1 16oz. package bow tie pasta
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1/3 c. oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips
1/2 c. pesto (can be purchased at store too, Costco has some that's really good)
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta to al dente (still slightly firm); drain. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, stir in chicken. Season with red pepper flakes. Cook until chicken is golden and cooked through. In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, sun dried tomatoes, and pesto. Toss to coat evenly, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

My friend Stefany taught us how to make these at our cooking group last month, don't they look yummy?

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. tomato sauce
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 lbs. fresh shrimp, medium sized, peeled and deveined
bamboo skewers

In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to bowl, and stir evenly to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice. At this point add skewers to water to soak, this will prevent them burning up on the BBQ! They should soak for at least 1/2 hour.
Preheat grill to medium heat.
Thread shrimp on skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade. Lightly spray grill with cooking spray. Cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side, until opaque and pink.

Strawberry Lemonade

This is my favorite drink to make in the summer, it's delicious!

Strawberry Lemonade

2 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 Tbs. grated lemon peel
1 c. fresh lemon juice
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
2 c. club soda
ice
lemon slices for garnish

Grate lemon with a zester for the lemon peel and then juice lemons for fresh juice. About four regular size lemons makes 1 cups of juice.
In medium pot over medium high heat combine water and sugar. Let come to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat. Add lemon peel and lemon juice. Place in refrigerator and let cool.
Puree the strawberries in a blender (I usually add some of the chilled lemonade mixture so it blends easier). Add to lemonade and stir. I pour the juice through a strainer a couple of times to get out all of the zest, pulp, and strawberry seeds. Right before serving add club soda and ice. Slice 1 lemon and place on top of lemonade. Cool and delicious!

Coconut Cupcakes!

These are so, so yummy! I prefer to use sour cream in these because it makes them heavier, like a pound cake, but if you like your cupcakes light and airy use buttermilk instead. The coconut flavoring is found in the baking aisle by the vanilla extract. I always just throw my frosting together without measuring so the measurements for the frosting are approximate, you may have to add more milk or powdered sugar to reach the right consistency. These turn out beautiful!

Coconut Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. butter, room temp
2 c. sugar
5 extra large eggs at room temp (or 7 regular sized eggs)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract/flavoring
3 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 c. buttermilk or 1 heaping cup of sour cream
1 c. sweetened and shredded coconut

Frosting:

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. milk
6-7 cups powdered sugar

Cream together butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and coconut extracts.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add half of dry mix to batter and mix until incorporated, mix in sour cream or buttermilk until incorporated, add remaining dry mix. Gently stir in coconut.
Fill 24 muffin cups almost to the brim with the batter. Bake at 325 for approximately 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to determine if they are done. Let cool.

For frosting cream together butter and cream cheese, add vanilla and milk. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency.
Generously frost cupcakes and immediately sprinkle coconut over top. (I did about four a time)

Greek Isles Pasta Salad

I needed to make a pasta salad for a church get together and I wanted something different. I found this recipe and thought it looked so good, my husband was so proud of me for putting spinach in it!

Greek Isles Pasta Salad


3 c. farfalle (bow-tie) pasta uncooked
2 c. baby spinach leaves
1 c. crumbled feta cheese (I don't like feta so I used cubed Monterey Jack)
1 small container cherry tomatoes, halved
1 c. drained and rinsed chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 c. Kraft Greek Vinaigrette (or more to taste)

Cook pasta according to directions, al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water, place in large bowl. Add spinach leaves, cheese, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas and dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Chicken Spaghetti

I don't make casseroles very often but this one looked so good I had to try it. I loved it! It was creamy and delicious! I would highly recommend grilling or roasting the chicken breasts.

Chicken Spaghetti

2 c. chopped cooked chicken
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/4 c. finely diced green bell pepper
1/2 c. finely diced onion
3 c. dry spaghetti, broken in half
2 c. chicken broth
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti to al dente, drain. Combine all ingredients except the additional cup of cheddar cheese. Pour into a large casserole dish, top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly or freeze up to six months.

Best Lasagna from PW

I know this takes a little time to prepare, but after the mountain of dirty dishes and the sore feet, you can sit down to a delicious dinner, and think Yes! It was worth it! I don't make homemade lasagna very often (I like Stouffers frozen meat lasagna!), but when a recipe claims to be the best I have to try it, and I can honestly say this is the best homemade lasagna recipe I've ever tried. Very meaty and cheesy, and if you're going to make this for a dinner with family or friends, I would highly recommend preparing it the day before and refrigerating it until ready to bake the next day, that way you won't have all of those dishes to do right before company comes.

The Best Lasagna

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 pound hot breakfast sausage (I always use the Jimmy Dean that comes in the 1 lb. tube)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 14.5 oz. cans whole tomatoes
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1/3 c. chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp salt
8 lasagna noodles
1 Tbs olive oil
3 c. lowfat cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb. sliced mozzarella (You can shred your own but sliced is so much more convenient! I would not recommend using the pre-shredded kind)

In a skillet combine the beef, sausage, and garlic cloves. Cook until brown, draining off half the fat. Pour in cans of whole tomatoes (with juice) and tomato paste, parsley, basil, and salt. Mix together thoroughly and simmer, uncovered.

In the meantime, boil lasagna noodles. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 Tbs. olive oil to water. Cook the noodles "al dente" (I cooked mine for 8 minutes). When noodles are finished, drain, rinse with cool water, and lay flat on aluminum foil.

Mix together cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, and 2 Tbs. parsley and 1/2 tsp salt.

Preheat oven to 350.
Set up your "assembly" line: meat mixture, 1 lb. sliced mozzarella, cottage cheese mixture, and lasagna noodles. Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray.

Place four noodles on bottom, overlapping edges. Spread half of cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Place 1/2 lb. of mozzarella cheese slices over that, overlapping if you need to. Spread a little less than half of the meat mixture over the mozzarella and then repeat; noodles, cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella, and meat. Sprinkle parmesan cheese generously over the top and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

I served this with my homemade breadstick recipe, I think I posted it on this site last year around May or June.