Gingerbread Tiramisu

GINGERBREAD TIRAMISU
1 box Gingerbread Cake & Cookie Mix, 14.5 oz
2 pkg Cream Cheese, softened, 8 oz. each
¼ cup Plus 1 T. Powdered Sugar, divided
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 cups Frozen Whipped Topping, thawed
½ cup Strong Coffee or Coffee Flavored Liqueur
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan with nonstick baking spray then coat with flour. Prepare cake batter according to package directions. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool. Cut cake in half, forming 2 (10 x 7.5 inch) pieces. Cut each half lengthwise into 1 inch strips; set aside. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and vanilla at medium speed with mixer until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. In bottom of 13 x 9 inch baking dish, arrange half of gingerbread strips in single layer, trimming to fit if needed. Brush coffee or liqueur evenly over gingerbread. Spread half of cream cheese mixture over top. Layer with remaining half of gingerbread strips, trimming to fit if needed, and remaining cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon and remaining 1 T. powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Makes 12 servings.

*Found on the Christmas Spirit facebook fan page

Candy Cane Snowballs

3 c. powdered sugar, divided

1 1/4 c butter, softened
2 t. vanilla (or if you’d prefer a stronger peppermint flavor, you can replace vanilla with peppermint extract)
1 egg
3 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. finely crushed candy canes, divided
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2-3 T. milk

1. In a mixing bowl, beat 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined.

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Slowly add to mixing bowl, beating until combined, about 1 minute. Stir 1/2 cup finely crushed candy canes in by hand.

3. Roll dough into small balls using just under a teaspoon of dough. Rolls balls through granulated sugar to coat and place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool.

4. While cookies bake, stir together remaining 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar with 2-3 T. of milk. Add just enough milk to form a thick glaze. Drizzle over cooled cookies and top with remaining crushed candy canes immediately.

Crock Pot Nacho Chicken Dinner

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can nacho cheese soup

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (with juice)

1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

1 cup dry macaroni elbows 

What to do:

Place all ingredients except macaroni in crock pot for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Once chicken is cooked, shred it and add the cup of macaroni. Cook another 30 minutes or until noodles are to your liking. Serve and enjoy! 

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I have been trying to find an amazing recipe for sweet potato fries for YEARS and finally found one that I absolutely LOVE thanks to Pinterest! Y'all have no idea how excited this girl is! Guilt free snacking? Yes, please!

Ingredients:

- 2 sweet potatoes (I used 3 to feed my family of 5)

- 1 tbsps olive oil (plus a little more for brushing the parchment paper)

- Sea salt to taste

- Black pepper to taste

- Garlic powder to taste

Directions:

- Pre-heat oven to 450.

- Put baking sheet in the oven to heat up by itself for about 10 minutes. This is a necessary step in getting them crispy.

- Cut sweet potatoes into thin sticks.

- Whisk together egg white, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a bowl. Put sliced potatoes in the bowl and coat well with mixture.

- Brush a piece of parchment paper (large enough to cover the baking sheet) with olive oil.

- Put the parchment paper on top of the already-hot baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes and then flip the fries oven with a spatula and bake for another 12 minutes (or until desired crispiness is attained).

Picture and recipe found here: http://healthycrush.com/crispy-baked-sweet-potato-fries/

Double Chocolate Chunk Muffins

These are seriously the absolute BEST chocolate muffins I have EVER had in my entire life. I'm talking slap-your-Grandma good! No sugar, no flour AND my kids gobbled them up? Heck yes, buddy!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup oats (I used Quick Oats)

3 egg whites

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain lowfat Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (or 2 tsp. vinegar)

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot water

1 cup sugar substitute (I used 2/3 C Agave Nectar)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (OR you could use white chocolate OR peanut butter chips!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
3. In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.
4. Stir in HALF of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Pour straight from the blender (it will be very pourable!) into prepared muffin pan. Your muffin cups will be SO full, but shouldn't spill over while baking.
5. Place muffin pan in the oven, and after TEN minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and top each muffin with the remaining chocolate chips.
6. Place the muffins back in the oven and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool muffins before removing from pan.

Recipe and picture found here: http://shrinkingkitchen.com/double-chocolate-chunk-muffins/

german pancakes or dutch babies?

As a kid my mom would make these a ton. I loved looking in the oven and watching it puff up into a gorgeous golden brown pillow of goodness. German pancakes have been my very favorite breakfast food, or like last night we have them for dinner. Fluffy, buttery, slightly crunchy german pancakes. These are my comfort food.

I know them as german pancakes, some people only recognize them as dutch babies. But whatever you call them, I can never say no.

German Pancakes

3 eggs
2 T butter
1/2 c milk
1/2 c flour
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt

*Optional: My mom has graded an apple in the batter to add a little special flavor. So good!

Preheat oven to 450. Place baking dish with butter in pre-heated oven until butter is melted and starting to brown. While butter is melting, whisk eggs and mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Whisk milk and dry ingredients into eggs alternately. Once butter is browned remove baking dish from oven and pour batter into the dish. Reduce heat to 425 and bake for 18-20 minutes. Serve immediately. Serve with, syrup, jam, powdered sugar, lemon, fresh fruit.

Enjoy!

Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side

This was seriously amazing! It was a huge it with my husband (he said it tasted like the cajun chicken pasta dish from TGI Friday's). The amazing thing? It's healthy! This will definitely become a recipe that becomes a regular to our menu. This could easily be made for a big crowd as well. This dish comes together rather quickly once all your vegetables are chopped.

You can make this with shrimp instead of chicken, or use a combination of both. Make this vegetarian by leaving the chicken out or replacing it with tofu and the chicken broth with vegetable broth. You can also make this gluten-free by using brown rice pasta and replacing the flour with 1 teaspoon of corn starch. Hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked whole wheat linguine
• 1 pound chicken breast strips (I already had cooked chicken in cubes in the freezer that I used)
• 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced (I add mushrooms and it was still amazing)
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp light cream cheese
• fresh cracked pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped
• salt to taste
• cooking spray

Directions:

Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt (my chicken was already cooked and cubed, so I just added the seasonings to the bag and gave it a good shake).

Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.

Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside.

Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes.

Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender.Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

recipe and picture found here: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/02/cajun-chicken-pasta-on-lighter-side.html#more

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie Cups

This was another recipe I found thanks to Pinterest! I am in LOVE with cupcake recipes because it makes serving sizes easier to calculate since I'm trying to lose baby weight and they're less messy for an entire meal! I hope you enjoy as much as I did...

- 1 can of reduced fat biscuits (I actually was able to use TWO cans at a total of 16 biscuits)

- 1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced (I used a *large* canned chicken - no cooking!)
- 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
- 2/3 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of frozen mixed veggies
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Separate biscuits and place each biscuit in a cup of a lightly greased 12-hole muffin pan, pressing dough up sides to edge of cup.
3. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, chicken soup, veggies, cheddar cheese, onion powder, parsley flakes, and black pepper. Mix well to combine.
4. Evenly spoon chicken mixture into prepared biscuit cups.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove from oven. Place muffin pan on a wire rack and let set for 2-3 minutes. Serve at once.

*Original recipe found here

Parmesan-Crusted Fish

I'll be totally honest, this didn't go over too well with my family (their not big lemon fans), but I LOVED it! Definitely go easy on the lemon peel (a little bit goes a long way). This is such a quick and easy recipe for those busy days.

1	lb cod, cut into serving pieces
2	tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise (I used Olive Oil Mayo)
1/2	teaspoon finely grated lemon peel (this much was almost too much for me, and I love lemon)
1/8	teaspoon pepper
2	tablespoons Italian style bread crumbs
2	tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
	Lemon wedges, if desired

1.	Heat oven to 450°F. Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil; spray with cooking spray. Place fish fillets in pan.
2.	In small bowl, stir mayonnaise, lemon peel and pepper until blended. Spread over top of each fillet. In small bowl, mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Spoon evenly over mayonnaise mixture; pat crumb mixture lightly into mayonnaise.
3.	Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Serve with lemon wedges. *Recipe and picture found here: http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/featured-brands/parmesan-crusted-fish.aspx

Healthified Lasagna

Holy yummo! This healthified recipe does not sacrifice taste! My family pretty much downed the entire thing. I think I definitely found a winner lasagna recipe to use for years to come!

9	uncooked lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat lasagna noodles)
1	lb extra-lean ground beef
2	cloves garlic, finely chopped
1	jar pasta sauce
1/8	teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2	teaspoons dried basil leaves
1	egg
1	container (15 oz) reduced-fat ricotta cheese
2	cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1/3	cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1.	Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package. Place in cold water.
2.	Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, cook beef and garlic over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in pasta sauce, ground red pepper and 1 teaspoon of the basil. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3.	Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat egg slightly. Stir in ricotta cheese and remaining 1/2 teaspoon basil until blended. Drain noodles. Spread about 1/2 cup sauce mixture over bottom of baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, 1 1/2 cups of the sauce mixture, half of the ricotta mixture and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Spray 15-inch piece of foil with cooking spray. Cover lasagna with foil.
4.	Bake 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. *recipe found here: http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/healthified/healthified-lasagna.aspx

Philly Cheese Steak Casserole

This recipe was absolutely out of this world! Everyone enjoyed it (including my picky eaters!). The only thing my husband said he would change would be more seasoning. I would definitely have to agree. Next time I'll try some salt-free seasoning.

3	cups uncooked wide egg noodles (I used whole wheat)
1	lb beef boneless sirloin steak, about 3/4 inch thick
1/4	teaspoon pepper
2	medium onions, chopped (1 cup)
1	small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 3/4	cups beef broth
1/4	cup all-purpose flour
1/2	cup fat-free half-and-half
1	tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4	cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.
2.	Meanwhile, remove fat from beef. Cut beef into 3/4-inch pieces. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook beef and pepper in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown. Stir in onions and bell pepper. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into baking dish.
3.	In medium bowl, beat broth and flour with wire whisk until smooth. Add to skillet; heat to boiling. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens; remove from heat. Stir in half-and-half and mustard. Spoon over beef mixture. Stir in cooked noodles.
4.	Cover and bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly (next time I plan to let everyone sprinkle a little cheese on their plates). Recipe found here:

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/global-flavors/philly-cheese-steak-casserole.aspx