Caprese Pasta Bake

Quick, easy and delish!

Caprese Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) bag Penne pasta
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cooked and shredded), optional
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (quartered)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil (chopped) (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth (divided)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup fresh sliced mozzarella cheese
• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add noddles and boil for 5 minutes, then run under cold water to stop additional cooking.
3. In a bowl, combine cooked noodles, chicken, tomatoes, basil, 1 cup chicken broth, garlic, powder, garlic salt, and shredded mozzarella cheese.
4. Pour remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.
5. Add noodle mixture and spread evenly in pan.
6. Top with sliced mozzarella cheese, covering the top as much as you can. Feel free to fill in any extra gaps with the remaining shredded mozzarella.
7. Drizzle top of casserole with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
8. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees, or until cheese begins to bubble and golden.

https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/easy-caprese-pasta-bake/

Coconut Carrot Cake Cupcakes

My kids loved these... and they were, of course, super surprised that there were carrots in them!  Eeek!

Coconut Carrot Cake Cupcakes

·         Yield: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

·         1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon baking soda

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

·         1/4 teaspoon EACH ground nutmeg and ground cloves

·         1/2 cup vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil

·         1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

·         2 large eggs, at room temperature

·         1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         ¾ teaspoon coconut extract (optional)

·         1 cup freshly grated carrots (about 2 medium finely grated)

Cream Cheese Frosting

·         8 ounces full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature

·         1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

·         3 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         1 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         1-2 tablespoons milk

·         toasted coconut flakes for topping, optional

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Instructions

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2.     In mixer, whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, yogurt, vanilla and coconut extract (if using) together until combined. Whisk in the carrots and spices. Add the baking powder and baking soda and quickly mix until combined.  Add the flour and mix just until combined.  Batter will be thick.

3.     Spoon the batter into the liners with cookie scoop – fill only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For around 30 mini cupcakes, bake for about 12-13 minutes, same oven temperature. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

4.     Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla, coconut extract and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar (I add it).

5.     Frost cooled cupcakes however you’d like. Top with coconut flakes.

6.     Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Soft Pretzels

We made these for Conference and they were so tasty and very soft inside, but nice and "pretzely" outside.  Just get someone to help you if you double it... my arms were so tired from rolling the dough!

Soft Pretzels

·         Yield: 12 pretzels

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Ingredients

·         1 and 1/2 cups warm water 

·         1 packet active dry or instant yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 Tablespoon brown sugar

·         1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and slightly cool

·         3 and ¾-4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

·         coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Baking Soda Bath

·         ½ cup (120g) baking soda

·         9 cups (2,160ml) water

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Instructions

1.     In mixer, whisk the yeast into warm water. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Whisk in salt, brown sugar, and melted butter. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix until dough is thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If it is still sticky, add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more, as needed. Poke the dough with your finger – if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.  Knead in mixer for 3 minutes. Cover with towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 6.)

2.     Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

3.     Pull off pieces of dough (a bit bigger than golf ball

4.     Roll the dough into a 20-22 inch rope (this should be quite thin – just barely thicker than a pencil, or your pretzels will be enormous). Shape into pretzel shape.

5.     Bring baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1-2 pretzels into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds. Any more than that and your pretzels will have a metallic taste. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.

6.     Bake for 12-15 minutes or until dark golden brown (don’t overbake or they’ll be dry, but let them get “pretzely colored” on the outside.

7.     Remove from the oven and serve warm with cheese sauce. Pretzels may be stored in an airtight container or zipped top bag for up to 3 days (they lose a little softness).

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Notes

1.     Freezing Instructions: Pretzels freeze well, up to 2 months. To reheat, bake frozen pretzels at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through or microwave until warm.

*Alternative: Instead of salt, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve with vanilla frosting.

Asian Chopped Salad

This salad was really yummy.  It was meant to be a side salad, but there's no way I'm putting this much effort into a side salad, so I added chicken to it and made it the main dish.

Asian Chopped Salad

Ingredients

·         6 cups chopped romaine or mixed greens

·         1/3 cup shredded carrots chopped

·         ½ cup sugar snap peas or snow peas chopped

·         1 cucumber peeled and chopped

·         1 tablespoon sunflower seeds or sesame seeds, toasted

·         1/3 cup dried cranberries

·         ½ -1 cup mushrooms (portabella, if possible)

·         Breaded chicken, cooked (use frozen and heat in toaster oven)

teriyaki dressing

·         1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

·         1/3 cup oil

·         5 tablespoons rice vinegar

·         1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

1.    Combine dressing ingredients in a jar, shake to combine. 

2.    Combine lettuce, veggies, sunflower seeds, chopped chicken and cranberries in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Serve immediately. *If making ahead, cover and chill salad and reserve dressing until just before serving.

https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/chopped-asian-salad/?mc_cid=e23f4b207a&mc_eid=318867e01f

Toasted Ravioli

Toasted Ravioli

¼ C finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 lbs tomatoes, peeled and seeded and chopped (or 2 cans crushed)

1 tsp dried basil

½ tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 egg

2 Tbsp milk

1 16-20 oz cheese ravioli, thawed

2/3 – 1 C seasoned fine bread crumbs

Cooking oil for frying

Grated Parmesan

In medium saucepan cook onion in oil until tender.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Stir in tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and cook about 10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.  Stir in tomato paste.  Bring to boil and reduce heat, simmering about 20 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency.  Cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300.  In small bowl beat egg and milk.  Dip each ravioli in milk mixture then dip in bread crumbs to coat.

Pour two inches of oil in frying pan and heat.  Fry ravioli a few at a time until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.  Keep warm in oven until ready to serve.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve warm with sauce.

Curried Chicken Soup

If you like curry, this is a tasty soup.  Mia thought it was a bit too spicy so you could cut down the cayenne pepper if you don't like any spice.  We thought it would be good to serve it with a scoop of rice in each bowl, too.  :)

Curried Chicken Soup

4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 C. water
1 can (13.66 oz.) coconut milk
3/4 C. minced fresh cilantro, optional

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the curry salt, pepper and cayenne.  Add chicken and shake to coat.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the onions in olive oil until translucent.  Add the chicken, carrots and bell pepper and cook for 4 more minutes.  Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes longer or until chicken is browned and vegetables are tender.
Stir in garbanzo beans, broth, tomatoes and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Stir in coconut milk; heat through.  Garnish servings with cilantro, if desired.

Recipe altered slightly from TasteofHome.com

Apple Oven Pancake

This is delicious! We double it and make it in our huge 14-inch skillet. I like that I can go shower or clean the bathroom or whatever while it cooks (because the double recipe takes about 40 minutes to cook).

Apple Oven Pancake
4 apples*, cored and sliced
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. brown sugar

Pancake Batter*:
1 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 T. sugar
1 1/2 c milk
2 T. oil
2 eggs, separated

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter in a 10-12-inch ovenproof skillet. (Or you can use a regular skillet and then transfer the apples to another pan to put in the oven). Add the apples and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add brown sugar and stir to melt;  set aside.

While the apples are cooking, mix up the pancake batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, oil and egg yolks. Add to the dry ingredients and mix together.

In another separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the pancake batter with a spatula. Pour it all over the apples. Bake for 15-20 minutes (longer for a bigger pan), or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you're feeling adventurous, you can flip it over onto a serving plate. (I never do!)

* Notes:
I really like the wheat pancake batter I listed for this (It's not heavy or too wheaty tasting), but you can also use whatever recipe you like.
You can also do different fruit. We love it with pears (and a mix of pears and apples), too.
If you do any berries, you don't need to cook them first. Just melt the butter and brown sugar, add the fruit, and then cover with the batter.