Cheesy Zucchini Bake

This year we decided to see if we could grow some of our own vegetables, so we planted a tiny garden. Well, that tiny garden is thriving! I am very excited about it, but I can foresee us getting really tired of zucchini/yellow squash rather quickly. So, I resorted to finding "new" recipes online to battle the blah that is bound to hit our house.

This recipe is extremely easy and surprisingly tasty! I wasn't sure what to expect, but this was delicious! I'm sure you can change out the seasonings/cheese types to your liking (which also makes this a great versatile recipe).

Cheesy Zucchini/Squash Bake
Ingredients
2-4 zucchini/squash (sliced and cut in half)
2-4 T. chopped basil
2 T. green onion
1 t. Cuban or Cajun seasoning
1 t. garlic powder
1 c. Mexican cheese (divided)

Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all of the above ingredients (reserve 1/2 c. of cheese for later)

Best part of this picture?? All of these ingredients came from my garden! Fresh is BEST!

Mix until all of the squash is covered with cheese/seasonings

2. Spray an 8x8 in baking dish with nonstick spray. Dump the veggies in. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes.

 3. Top with the remaining cheese and put back into the oven for 10 more minutes. (until the cheese has melted)

Summer Pasta Salad

This is a very versatile meal or side dish. It can be served hot or cold. The ingredients can be changed based on your own taste buds. All in all....it is the go to dish.

Summer Pasta Salad
Ingredients
4 c. spinach
5 oz. whole wheat/veggie pasta
1/3 c. roasted red pepper (sliced)
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 extra virgin olive oil (divided)
2 c. sliced cherry tomatoes
2 T. mozzarella cheese
(optional: cooked chicken cubes)

Step by Step Directions
1. Drizzle half of the extra virgin olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the roasted red peppers. After a few minutes, add in the spinach. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

I love Trader Joe's!

2. Once the spinach wilts down, add in the chicken and the balsamic vinegar and the remaining extra virgin olive oil.

3. Drain the pasta. Pour the chicken and veggies over the pasta. Mix together.

4. Add in the sliced tomatoes. Top with mozzarella cheese.

The "Melt in Your Mouth" Pinterest Chicken recipe

I needed a quick recipe the other night and I did a quick Pinterest search to find something quick and simple. I had seen this recipe on many other boards. People repinned this particular recipe...A LOT! The thing that I didn't really like was the cup of mayo it used! Holy cow! That, to me, is a lot of mayo. So, I figured I would swap the mayo for some Greek yogurt.

If you are interested in the original recipe, you can find it here: food.com

But, if you are interested in a slightly more healthy version, you can continue to read on. Now, I will say, I didn't really think this recipe lived up to the name. It was good, but it wasn't earth shaking...however, Ryan thought it was excellent. I might try it again, it was very simple...a little bit messy...but it doesn't top my list. (Side note: the original recipe says to bake for 45 minutes at 375...that is WAY too long...I think that is why my chicken looks burnt...next time baking for a MUCH shorter time)

My take on Melt In Your Mouth Chicken
Ingredients
1/2 c. Parmesan or Italian shredded cheese
1 c. plain Greek yogurt
1 t. garlic salt
1 t. onion salt
1 t. Italian seasoning (I used pasta seasoning)
1 t. pepper
2 chicken breasts (not frozen)

Step by Step
1. Mix the dry ingredients. yogurt and cheese together. Put into a resealable bag.

2. Cover the chicken with the mixture. (I did this ahead of time and let the chicken "marinade" for a few hours in the refrigerator)

3. Spray baking sheet with PAM. Place the chicken on sheet.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Baked for WAY TOO LONG!

Super Easy Mini Cheesecakes

Soon I will be posting my pictures from our Big Bang Theory theme party. If you know me, you know I love throwing theme parties! I haven't been able to in awhile because, well, the apartment in Florida didn't have enough space for more than maybe 5 people over at a time. That doesn't make for a very exciting theme anything. So, now that we have a house...it's on!

Anyway, since I am somewhat of a control freak and my attention to detail can be a bit insane, I have (of course) gone the extra mile for making sure pretty much everything fits into the theme...if I could have had the actual Sheldon at my party I totally would have done that. Not to mention, if I could have set up my living room the way their living room is set up...I would have. (yes, I DID think about how to do it)

Back to this recipe, I wanted to incorporate Penny into the theme somehow...and I thought since she works at the Cheesecake Factory, I should have cheesecake. I looked for recipes and found some interesting ones...but I wanted something with very little fuss involved. Came across a Paula Deen recipe (FoodNetwork.com)...definitely not expecting to use anything from Paula Deen ever this was a pleasant surprise. I, of course, made some tweeks here and there, but overall, VERY painless and SUPER easy! I would do these again for another occasion!

(Next time, though, I will put the chips IN the batter....not just on top)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Crust
*1 1/4 low fat honey graham cracker crumbs (about 10 whole graham crackers)
*3 Tablespoons sugar
*1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt
(I also threw in some ground flax seed, just for fun)

Filling
*2 packages of low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
*1 cup sugar
*1/4 all purpose flour
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*2 large eggs, at room temperature

Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. PAM spray the muffin tin or use cupcake liners. (I did not use liners)
2. Pulverize the graham crackers in a sturdy bag. Using a fork, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, (flax seed) and melted butter. Make sure the crumbs look wet ("moist"...I hate that word)

3. Press the crumbs into each spot. Use a shot glass to press the crumbs down. (I read that tip somewhere)

4. Next, combine the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla using an electric mixer. I used a hand mixer and it worked. Mix in 1 egg at a time. (add in chocolate chips/peanut butter chips if desired)

5. Spoon about 1/4 c. of filling into each spot.

6. Bake for approximately 18 minutes. Top with chips and return to the oven for an additional minute.

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. To remove the cakes if you didn't use liners, gently run a knife around each cake and they should pop right out.

Refrigerate until ready to serve! YUM!!! 

Crock Pot a WHOLE chicken!

I must admit, I was a person who was afraid of cooking an entire bird...I'm not sure exactly if there is an actual reason why....but it always seemed a bit daunting to me...(not to mention I hate leftovers, so I knew there would be a lot of leftovers)

Anyway, my husband loves chicken. He loves buying and devouring rotisserie. But, I always thought about how much sodium was in one of those $5 chickens....so it was time. Time for me to conquer the bird!

First time bird makers...make sure you thaw the ENTIRE bird before you try and get the bag of giblets out...my bird didn't thaw as fast as I wanted it to...long story short...I had to microwave it to get the remaining part of the bag out of the bird...it was a MESS!

Overall, this is a great recipe. I look forward to trying to different spice combinations. My husband was happy (and so were the dogs!) I liked it the night we ate it, but true to form, I didn't enjoy the leftovers...in fact we still have leftovers from it in the refrigerator right now...next time I will need to plan another meal that can use the left over meat....

Chicken Crock Pot

Ingredients

1-2 teaspoons of the following:*thyme
*onion powder
*garlic powder
*paprika
*red pepper flakes
*cumin
*salt
*pepper
And...
*1 sliced onion

Step by Step

1. Mix the seasonings together in a bowl.

2. Rub all over the chicken (and inside of the skin of the chicken)
3. Place all of the onion on the bottom of the crock pot.

4. Place the chicken on top of the onion.

5. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

No water is needed! I swear! The chicken has enough liquid in it, that you will be fine! Take a look and see what was in my crock pot after it cooked all day....

So in other news, we had a FANTASTIC day at our alma mater...It was Homecoming weekend at Elizabethtown College...so Ryan and I headed back to spend the day remembering the good 'ol days...it was nice to go back and see friends we hadn't seen in awhile and it only took a few hours to make us realize we really aren't as young as we feel! (ugh!) But, here are a few pics from our weekend...

Breakfast Burritos...Ryan is going to be jealous!

I wanted to post a breakfast recipe post for awhile...and today is the day. The bummer, Ryan is at work, so he is missing out! But, there is always the weekend...which is the only time we actually "make" breakfast...

To me, this is a "duh!" recipe because it isn't very original. In fact, the reason I began to make this recipe was I loved the breakfast burritos at McDonalds...that was back in the day and I would reward myself with a "hot" breakfast on Fridays when I had an hour commute to work in the morning when I worked in Florida...it was my reason to get out of bed...sad, but true.

Well, one of those Fridays...I didn't feel so good after one, and from that day forward I couldn't bring myself to buy another breakfast burrito from McDonalds...so instead I began to make my own. Not as fast, but MUCH healthier! (BONUS:  I only use 1 pan!)

Breakfast Burrito (for one)

Ingredients

*1 egg and 1 egg white
*1 slice of yellow onion
*a few slices of pepper (red and green), diced
*cilantro
*chili powder
*salt and pepper
*shredded cheese
*1 tortilla

Step by Step

1. Spray PAM and cook peppers and onions over medium heat. (season with salt, pepper and chili powder)
2. Remove and put in separate bowl.
3. Scramble the egg. Then, add the veggies back in (add cilantro!)

4. Remove from heat and place in bowl, top with shredded cheese.
5. PAM the pan and then place the tortilla in the pan. Flip once.

6. Pour egg/veggies back in. Cover to melt the cheese.

7. Remove from heat. Top with salsa. YUM!

Superfast (and Healthy) Shrimp Stir-fry

This is a go-to meal for us when we want something quick, easy, and healthy! (Another plus, it doesn't use a lot of dishes. Especially since I don't measure anything with this recipe...just an eyeball)

Superfast Shrimp Stir-fry 

Ingredients

*1 1/2 c. thawed shrimp
*1 c. brown rice (I prefer Uncle Ben's 10 minute Brown Rice)
*small onion, diced
*red pepper, diced
*1-2 t. sesame oil
*LOW SODIUM soy sauce
*green scallions
*1 egg
*Frank's Red Hot (optional)

Step by Step

1. Cook the rice according to the directions on the box.
2. Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil in a wok. Add onion and shrimp.

3. Then, I add the red pepper (I like to add the pepper later so it doesn't get as soft)
4. Mix the hot sauce and soy sauce in. (I just add a few splashes...little bit of soy sauce goes a long way)
5. Add in the rice and the scallions.
6. Make a hole in the food and break the egg into the hole. And, quickly begin to mix the egg in with the rest of the mixture until well blended.

Enjoy and maybe challenge yourself to eat it with chopsticks!

Also, don't forget you could always substitute the shrimp for chicken or steak.

Also, you could add sugar snap peas!