tuscan chicken wraps

I was a little nervous about these, but tried them anyway, and they were so good. It was nice to have something a little different. They are very flavorful and probably pretty healthy, aside from the cheese. And the best part is that it didn't take much time to make.

2 chicken breasts, cut into ½ -inch strips
1 7-oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into 1 inch strips
2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. basil
½ t. salt
½ t. pepper

4 greek pita flatbreads
fresh spinach leaves
grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425. Toss the chicken, roasted peppers, 1 T of the oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper together in a small casserole dish. Bake, uncovered just until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Leave the oven on to warm the pita.
Brush one side of each pita with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Heat them, oiled side down, directly on the oven racks until slightly crisp for about 1 minute. Add chicken mixture onto each pita, mozzarella, and spinach to taste. Fold in half or roll it up, and eat.

salsa verde tostadas

We made this for dinner tonight. It is so simple and easy to put together I am excited to have another great meal that I can throw together fairly quickly, put it with a fruit salad, and it makes a great, fresh, light summer meal. It was so good. My only frustration was that it was really hard for the kids to eat and they weren't too interested in it, so they eventually ended up with a tortilla with melted cheese. I got the recipe from here. I love her site and I don't think she has anything on her site that doesn't look good. I have a long list of her recipes I will be trying out.

*Plan Ahead: the recipe calls for cooked chicken. Also, the flavor of the chicken or pork intensifies as it marinates so you may want to plan an additional 2-3 hours for that (but it isn’t absolutely necessary).

4 flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken or pork
1 cup green salsa (salsa verde) plus more for serving
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the tortillas on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the tortillas, bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the chicken (or pork), salsa verde, 1/4 cup cilantro, beans, and cumin (this can marinate all day if you like). Spoon mixture evenly over the tortillas and bake until heated through about 8 minutes.

Top warm tostadas with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream and other toppings as desired. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve immediately with additional green salsa if desired.

Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Peanut Butter Pudding Cake

I found this recipe here (directions copied directly). It is so good. You must try it. It reminds me a lot of this recipe, which we love.

Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Topping:
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cups boiling water

Vanilla ice cream for serving

Coat a medium round or oval slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center, add the milk, oil, and vanilla, and stir in widening circles, gradually incorporating the dry ingredients, until you have a smooth batter. Stir in the peanut butter. The batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the crockpot.

To make the topping, in another medium-size bowl, combine the cocoa, and sugar; pour in the boiling water and whisk until smooth. Gently pour over the batter in the cooker; DO NOT STIR. Cover and cook on HIGH until puffed and the top layer is set, 2 to 2 ½ hours.

Turn off the cooker and let it stand, covered for 30 minutes before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

{chinese spaghetti and meatballs}

Prep time: 50min

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

Salt

1 lb whole-wheat spaghetti

1 lb ground pork or chicken

1 egg

2 c. puffed rice cereal or panko bread crumbs

Black pepper

½ tsp Chinese five spice

8 scallions, 2 finely chopped, 6 cut into 2-inch lengths

2 Tbsp plus 1/3 cup tamari dark soy, divided

4 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided

2 c. snow peas, thinly sliced on an angle

1 red bell pepper, very thinly sliced

2 in ginger root, grated

4 cloves garlic, grated

1 lb triple washed spinach, leaves stripped of larger stems, coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, available on Asian foods aisle of market

3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, available on Asian foods aisle of market

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Place a pot of water on to boil for spaghetti. When it comes to a boil, salt the water and add pasta to cook to al dente. Heads up: reserve 1/2 cup cooking water just before draining.  Place pork in a mixing bowl. Add the egg to the bowl. Place rice cereal in food processor and pulse into a bread crumb like consistency. Add cereal crumbs to bowl.  Add salt, pepper, five-spice powder, 2 chopped scallions and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Mix the meat balls thoroughly. Form 1 1/2-inch balls and coat with 1 tablespoon oil, scatter onto a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes.  When the meatballs are close to done and the pasta is in, heat a large skillet over high heat with enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the skillet, a couple of tablespoons. Add the snow peas, red pepper, remaining cut scallions, ginger and garlic, stir-fry 2 minutes add spinach and wilt, 1 minute. Add the remaining soy sauce, about 1/3 cup, and the sesame oil then drain, add in pasta cooking water and toss to combine so pasta can soak up sauce, about 1 minute. Garnish with sesame seeds and top with lots of meatballs.

(foodnetwork.c0m)

fruit and chocolate dream bars

this recipe came from the nestle toll house best-loved cookies book

Fruit and Chocolate Dream Bars

Prep time: 1hr 25min

Yields: 24bars

Ingredients

Crust:

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. cold butter

Topping:

2/3 c. all-purpose flour

½ c. chopped pecans

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

6 Tbsp butter, melted

½ c. raspberry or strawberry jam

1 (11.5oz) pkge milk chocolate chips

Directions

Crust: combine flour and granulated sugar in medium bowl.  Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Press onto bottom of greased 9in square baking pan.  Bake in preheated 375 F degree oven for 18-22min or until set but not brown.

Topping: combine flour, pecans, and brown sugar in same bowl.  Add melted butter and mix until resembles coarse crumbles.  Spread jam over hot crust.  Sprinkle with topping and chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20min or until golden brown.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.

chicken enchilada shells

this is my own creation...a result of raiding the pantry in desperation...

Chicken Enchilada Shells

Prep time: 1hr 35min

Yields: 10 servings

Ingredients

12-oz. pkge dried jumbo shell macaroni

1 can chopped green chilies, not drained

1(16oz) can refried beans

2(10 oz) cans enchilada sauce, mild

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 c. frozen sweet corn

1(16 oz) can refried beans

1lb pkge shredded Mexican-style four-cheese blend

3 cloves garlic, peeled

3 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp coriander

Black Olives

Banana Peppers

Tortilla Chips

 Sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta in salted water for 10min or until al dente. Drain and set aside.  Chop chicken into bite size pieces and place in warmed skillet with olive oil.  After chicken is thoroughly cooked, add frozen corn, beans, 1 can enchilada sauce, green chilies, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and grated garlic.  Cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in 2 heaping handfuls of cheese.  Divide filling among shells. Spread other can of the enchilada sauce in 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange shells atop sauce.  Bake covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with chips, black olives and banana peppers. Serve with sour cream.

Soft Gingersnaps

Soft Gingersnaps (or Ginger Bends, says my dad, because they’re too soft to “snap”)

These are one of the best cookies ever. Ever. Soft and yummy. They do work your mixer so use a stand mixer or make them to blow out your hand mixer to get a stand mixer.

4 cups flour                        1 ½ cups cooking oil

4 tsp. soda                          2 c. sugar

1 tsp. salt                             2 eggs

2 Tbsp. ginger                    ½ c. molasses

2 tsp. cinnamon

Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. With beater, blend together thoroughly the oil, sugar, eggs, and molasses. Stir in dry ingredients until blended. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Form into balls, using 1 tsp. dough for each. Roll in granulated sugar and bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Variation: Roll chilled dough ¼-inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Decorate with slices of gumdrops, candy corn, red cinnamon candies, etc. for features; then bake. They really are a hit!

from my Aunt Margie