Molten Lava Cakes

I've had these before at a friends house, but never made them until last night. I was so scared they wouldn't turn out, but they did and I could have eaten like 5 of them. I didn't have enough ramekins for everyone so I used muffin tins and it worked great! Some had vanilla ice cream with it, some had whipped cream...I had both :) This came from ourbestbites.com

Ingredients:

4 T real butter

1/3 C sugar
3 large eggs

1/3 C flour
1/4 t salt
8 oz bittersweet chocolate*, melted

*8 ounces is about 1 1/3 C of bittersweet chocolate chips. Make the 1/3 cup a little over-full and you should be good

Additional Ingredients:
powdered sugar for dusting

sweetened whipped cream for serving

butter and sugar for preparing pans

You can either bake these in a muffin pan, in ramekins, or even oven-proof

mugs. If you use a muffin tin you’ll get 6 cakes and depending on the size of the ramekins you’ll get 4-6.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To prepare pans, use your fingers (or the butter wrapper) to rub butter in the muffin tins or ramekins. Sprinkle in some granulated sugar to coat the entire inner surface and tap out any extra discard.

In a bowl with a mixer beat the 4 T butter and 1/3 C sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and salt and slowly add it into the butter mixture just until combined. Stir in melted chocolate by hand, just until combined. Don’t over mix.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups or ramekins and then place them on a baking sheet. (If using ramekins you’ll want them not quite 3/4 full)

Bake just until tops of cakes no longer jiggle when pan is lightly shaken, about 8-10 min for a muffin pan, and 10-12 for ramekins. Remove from oven and let stand 10 min.

Baked Mac & Cheese

I made this tonight and it was soo delicious! I made a salad to go with it, but next time I'll probably just serve it as a side with a main dish. It came from blogchef.net.

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
½ teaspoon salt
ground black pepper (to taste)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup breadcrumbs (buttered)

Directions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook macaroni noodles according to package directions and drain. Set aside.
Step 2: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, salt, and pepper. Use a whisk to stir until well blended. Pour in the milk and cream stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes while stirring. Add cheddar, a little at a time and stir in until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
Step 3: Add macaroni noodles to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle buttered breadcrumbs over the top of the macaroni. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
(Makes 4 Servings)

Coconut Chicken

This was really really good. We couldn't taste much of the coconut since the chicken was so thick, so next time I think we'll use tenders or cut in half. I think the pineapple sauce on top is a must, as well as the rice pilaf!! It looks like a lot of work, but it was really easy to make.

Coconut Chicken:

• 1 cup flour, divided-I used pureed ritz crackers
  
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.*** see note
2. Place 1/2 cup flour in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg; set aside.
3. In another bowl combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour with the coconut, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the plain flour and get it all coated with a layer of flour. Then dip in the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Once all chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping once halfway.

*** Note: If you would rather prepare this on the stove top, do not drizzle the chicken with the butter. Just fry in a skillet with oil until cook through and crisp and golden in color.

Freezer Friendly: After baking the chicken, let cool completely then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. To reheat, bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F for 20 minutes.

Garlic Rice Pilaf

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• squeeze of lemon juice
• parsley, optional for garnish

1. In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Add garlic, celery, and rice. Cook and stir until slightly brown.
2. Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low heat until moisture has been absorbed and rice is tender. (This usually takes me about 20 minutes) Add lemon juice just before serving. Toss slightly and garnish with parsley if desired. Serves 4-6.

Pineapple-Orange Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1/4 cup crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 tsp orange zest

Combine ingredients together and stir until well blended. Serve with coconut chicken.

Lasagna Soup

Made this soup tonight, and it was so good!! It came from sweet ol' Paula Dean so you know it's good :)

Ingredients

1 lb ground chuck-I used ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 (32 ounce) box chicken broth
2 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup broken lasagna noodles
1 (5 ounce) package grated parmesan cheese
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
garlic crostini, recipe follows

Garlic Crostini:
1 thin French baguette
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves smashed garlic
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large Dutch oven, combine ground chuck, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls. Evenly sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil soups, 6-inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Add a garlic crostini slice on top. Serve immediately.

For the garlic crostini:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut bread into 1/4-inch round slices. Place on baking sheet and brush each slice with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; place in oven and bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Rub each side with smashed garlic cloves.

Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

I know pumpkin enchiladas might sound strange and not very good to most (including Ryan), but they are actually really good....and pretty healthy (er). The original recipe came from Martha Stewart.

8 corn tortillas (the corn flavor goes really well with the pumpkin, I promise)

a few tablespoons of cilantro (I subbed this for the 6 scallions, diced-sometimes I add both)

leftover chicken, shredded (maybe a pound)

optional: roasted green chiles, chopped small

6 oz. of white sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Sauce

1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)

3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 jalapeno (remove seeds and membranes if you don’t need extra heat)

1 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin (I added this too)

2 teaspoons of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 1/2 cups of chicken stock or water (I use chicken stock instead of water because I typically boil a chicken for this recipe)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a blender, puree pumpkin, jalapeno, chicken stock, garlic, chile powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Place 1 cup of this sauce in the bottom of an 8 inch glass casserole dish. In a bowl, combine shredded chicken with green chiles, cilantro, and/or scallions and season with salt and pepper. Place some of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and then lay the tortilla seam side down in the casserole dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with cheese. However, if you are casein-free, this recipe is fine without cheese. Martha recommends placing your casserole dish on a baking sheet in the oven to prevent any spills. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

Serves 4 alone or possibly 6 with sides

Sausage & Sage Biscuits and Gravy

This recipe is definitely not low-cal, but it is one of our favorite dinners! I never had biscuits and gravy until I married Ry, but it is soo good! I know it might sound weird, but we have to eat it with corn :)
I usually use bisquick when I make the biscuits, but the other day I was feeling lazy and bought the pre made refrigerated biscuits. So much easier to just pop the can open and throw them in the oven!

INGREDIENTS

• 1T oil plus 1T butter
• 1 pound bulk sausage (you can use pork or turkey)
• 1/2 C. flour
• 4 C whole milk, brought to a simmer
• pinch of dried sage
• salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat milk over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Make sure to keep an eye on the milk, don't let it boil.


2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the oil and butter over med high heat until melted, then add sausage. Crumble and cook the sausage until well-browned and no longer pink.


3. Sprinkle flour over the sausage and cook, stirring for a minute or two.


4. Add warm milk all at once and cook, stirring until thickened and bubbly (this takes some time, 10 mins or so.)


5. Turn heat all the way down, add sage (if desired) and season well with S&P, stirring and tasting frequently until the flavor is to your liking. Turn off the heat. Gravy will thicken as it cools.


6. Serve over warm biscuits (Bisquick is great, and so are the pop can kind!)

Pina Colada

I found this recipe on the back of a can of cream of coconut (which was found at Walmart). It is more like a shake, since it uses ice cream instead of ice...but oh my goodness, yumo! We are kind of obsessed with coconut and pineapple around here :)

Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple juice
4 oz. cream of coconut
6 scoops of ice cream

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in blender, then pour into fancy glasses like the one shown...umbrella's are optional.

Orange Thai Beef Skewers

I really am not a huge fan of steak, but I could not get enough of these!!! The marinade is really really good, make sure you let it marinate for at least 4 hours. This recipe came from Our Best Bites, and they recommend putting the steak in the freezer for like 20 mins to make cutting it easier.

Ingredients
1 orange
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 T honey
1T sesame oil
1 t ground ginger
1 t coriander
4 cloves garlic
2-4 t Sriracha chili sauce*

1 1/2 lb flank steak

Directions
*Sriracha is a really great hot chili sauce that can easily be found in most grocery stores in the Asian foods section. It has a rooster on the bottle- you can't miss it! It's also used in one of my most favorite meals ever- Kate's Thai Peanut Noodles. If you have to substitute, you could easily add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or plain ol' hot sauce to the marinade.

Grab a bowl for your marinade. Zest your orange and add all of the zest to the bowl. Then cut the orange in half and add all of the juice as well. You should have at least 1/4 C orange juice and anything more than that is just fine. To the orange mixture, add soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, coriander, and garlic. Then add Sriracha to your liking. I've found that once these are marinaded and cooked, the spice mellows quite a bit. I add 2t Sriracha and it's mild enough that my toddler gobbles them up. It's not even really spicey, just flavorful. So if you like heat, I'd do more like 3-4 teaspoons of Sriracha. Whisk the marinade so everything is combined.

Take the flank steak and slice it across the grain into about 1/4" slices.

When you're ready to get cookin' preheat your grill. Then take your skewers (pre-soaked if you're using wood/bamboo ones) and thread on the strips of meat, just like you're stitching.Place them on the grill. These cook really fast. Overcooked flank steak will be tough and chewy, so don't over do it! They should only take about 3-4 minutes on each side. Flip half way through.

Now these don't only cook fast, they cool fast. So get the rest of your meal all ready, set the table, gather the kids, etc. Grill these up at the last minute so you can serve them hot off the grill, literally.

I usually make this with scallion rice. I cook 1C dry rice in 2C water and when it's done I hit it with a couple pats of butter, a big handful of sliced green onions and a splash of lime juice. With lots of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Easy Crockpot Lasagna

I refuse to turn on my oven when it is so hot outside, so we have been all about bbq's and crockpots lately~This recipe came from thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com
I added about 2 cups of chopped frozen spinach to the cheese mixture to make it a little healthier, and I thought it tasted great too.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (16 ounces) ground beef


• 1/2 cup diced white onion


• 1 teaspoon minced garlic


• 1 (24 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce


• 1/2 cup water


• 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese


• 2 cups mozzarella cheese


• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


• 1 whole egg


• 2 cups chopped spinach (optional)
  


• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley


• 6 uncooked lasagna noodles

Directions:

1. In a large skillet brown beef and onion. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Drain.


2. Add spaghetti sauce and water and simmer for about 5 minutes.


3. Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan, egg and parsley.


4. Pour 1 cup of spaghetti meat sauce into a 4 to 6 quart sized slow cooker. Place half of the noodles and half of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles (If the noodles don't fit exactly break them to fit) and cheese mixture and meat sauce.


5. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until noodles are soft. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and remaining parmesan. Cover with the lid to melt the cheese and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.


6. Do not overcook and don't try to speed up the process by cooking it on high.

Banana Nut Muffins

This recipe came from recipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee (optional)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)

DIRECTIONS:

No need for a mixer with this recipe.

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

2 Mix in the sugar, egg, espresso and vanilla.

3 Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

4 Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

5 Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Root Beer Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This recipe and pic came from thegirlwhoateeverything, it was really good! It really makes a huge difference cooking the pork in root beer all day...yumo!

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds pork tenderloin

Root Beer

Favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:

Cook pork in root beer all day (low 6-8 hrs). Drain root beer and shred, then add bbq sauce (as much as you want).

Serve on your favorite buns, enjoy!