Sunday, January 29, 2012

Petite Lasanga Cups

This is dinner tonight! I can't wait to dive right into these little gems. So yummy! I mean lasagna in little petite sized cups of cheesy goodness! How can this not be the best thing you've ever put in your mouth?!?!?!

I love little variations on traditional meals. This is a great example of that. This would also be good for a dinner party-everyone gets their own little lasagna.


Petite Lasagna Cups
(makes 12)

12 oz raw ground turkey (or whatever meat you want to use-or go meatless-that would be good too!)

¼ tsp salt, divided

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped mushrooms

14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp dried oregano, divided

½ tsp dried basil

1 ½ cups cream cheese (i'm using the philadelphia baking cream cheese-italian herbs)

12 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled and cut in 1/2

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese



Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 noodle into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.

Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.

Gently press another noodle on top of the mozzarella layer.

Repeat the process by distributing the remaining cream cheese, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!
picture courtesy of CAN YOU STAY FOR DINNER

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Who doesn't love tacos??? They are a favorite in this house for sure!! We love all things tacos. It's one meal I KNOW my kids will eat without any hesitation. We usually have tacos every couple of weeks.

So as I was browsing Pinterest one night I stumbled upon this gem! Thought "oh yeah-the kids will adore this" and THEY DID!!

So here you go! I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did!!! YUM!!!

Mexican Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
4 oz. cream cheese (I used a veggie cream cheese that I already had in the fridge)
14-16 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 green onions
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions, add refried beans. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely. While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed. Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa

picture courtesy of THE WAY TO HIS HEART

This was so good! Kids ate and ate!! Well yeah, I did too!!

Happy Eating!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Frozen Hot Chocolate....yeah I went there....

Guess I've been a bit lazy with this blog! I would like to blame the hubs being deployed on it and me not wanting to cook anything more exciting than mac n cheese, hot dogs and nuggets.....so there you go. Ug...But here I am, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, although sometimes it sure does feel like it!

But not to have a pity party, here's something super yum!!!

I recently joined Pinterest. (I spend way too much time there.) I found this recipe and tonight we made it. The kids gulped it up and it was soooooooo good! If you've ever been to Serendipity 3 in NYC then you've no doubt heard of Frozen Hot Chocolate. I believe it was also talked about on Sex in the City? I dont watch that show, but I think I heard that it was. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, like I said, browsing the yumminess that is Pinterest I stumbled upon this lovely copy cat recipe. So here you go!!

We didn't have whipped cream so we just used marshmallows, which worked out just fine. I HIGHLY recommend you stopping what you are doing and making this right now! I'm pretty sure you have everything need to make it in your possession right now. :)
recipe courtesy of Pinterest

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 6 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
  • 3 cups whole milk, divided
  • 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. your favorite powdered hot chocolate mix
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 6 cups ice cubes
  • whipped cream for garnish

Preparation:

  1. Place chopped chocolate and 1/4 cup of the milk in a microwave-safe container. Heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir.
  2. Heat on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir. If necessary, continue heating in 30-second increments until chocolate is melted.
  3. Add hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir.
  4. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir, and let cool to room temperature.
  5. Pour cooled chocolate mixture into blender. Add remaining milk and ice cubes. Puree until smooth.
  6. Top with whipped cream and serve immediately.
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