Turkey Buscuit Cups!

A couple months ago, I was complaining to my dad how I feel like I make the same meals over and over that use ground beef as the main ingredient. It's either meatballs, meatloaf or tacos...Meatballs, meatloaf or Tacos...ETC. you get my point. So my wonderful dad found me an AMAZING cookbook by "Taste of Home" called..."Delicious favorites for Family meals and potlucks, ALL ground Beef". I, however, do not eat ground beef anymore, so I subsitute all ground beef for ground turkey, and the recipes turn out just as good! This particular recipe, I used my left over turkey mix from the stuffed bellpeppers I made last night. The great thing about this recipe, is you can do whatever you like. You can make is as healthy or un-healthy as you like. I didn't use as much cheese as this recipe called for and my meat mixture has veggies and black beans in it=) I will post the actual recipe below for you. ENJOY!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce
2 tubes (8 ounces each) large refrigerated biscuits
1 C (4 ounces) shredded cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce; cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until heated through.

Press biscuits onto the bottom and up the sides of greased muffin cups. Spoon 2 TBS. of beef mixture into the center of each cup.

bake at 375 F for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with cheese; bake three minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Turkey stuffed Red peppers!

I have tried a few different stuffed peppers in the past, and to me, they just didn't have enough flavor. I think another problem was, I was using ground beef at the time, which made things extra greasy...ewww!
This time around, I used the basic knowledge I had for cooking a stuffed pepper and just threw together this recipe using ground TURKEY instead of beef, and it was WAY better! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 bellpeppers (any color will do)
1 pound taco flavored ground turkey (you can usually find this at your local grocery store, if not, go ahead and add your own seasonings)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 C shredded cheese of your choice
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained
1/3 C frozen peas
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
Olive oil spray

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 F

Cut the tops off of your peppers and clean the seeds and membrane out. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, you'll only need enough water to cover the peppers. Cook the peppers in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Remove the pepper with tongs and invert onto a paper towel lined plate to drain before stuffing.

In a large pan, spray a little bit of the olive oil spray in the bottom and start cooking your onion. Let the onions get translucent before you add the turkey in as well. Once the turkey and onion have cooked up, throw in the frozen peas, drained black beans and tomato sauce. Let that cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Ladle the mixture into the peppers, just enough to have it stick out above the pepper. (you may have some mixture left over, that's ok, you can use it the next day for more peppers, or make yourself a taco salad with it) =)

Stick the peppers into a baking dish standing up right and sprinkle 1/4 C of cheese over the top of each pepper. Cover the dish and peppers with tin foil and bake for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy!

Operation Christmas Child....Non-food related post.

I wanted to post something besides "What's for dinner in my home tonight". Operation Christmas Child is something very near and dear to my heart. It is an opportunity for us to be selfless and fill a shoe box to send to a child that has NOTHING. This child will appreciate the shoe box you have sent them more than you or I could ever imagine. The little things that you and I take for granted everyday (ie heat, a warm bed to sleep in, television, video games, laptops, hot cups of coffee etc.) They don't have. So this shoe box that you send to a child will mean the WORLD to them. It will show them that someone out there cares for them and loves them that much, that they wanted to give them something special to call their OWN.
The Holidays are approaching very quickly. The week of Nov. 14-21st is the official drop off week for the Shoe Boxes. Please check out the website below for details about "Operation Christmas" and where a local drop off location is in your area. I hope you find it in your heart to pack a shoe box for a child in need and make this Christmas mean the world to them! God Bless!

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/

Italian Wedding Soup

This was a first for me. I was craving a new hearty/warm soup for this chilly Fall Weather we're having. I found this recipe and knew I had to try it. It took a bit of work to prepare everything, but in the end...SOOO worth it! I had just one bowl for lunch this afternoon, and it was VERY filling. Enjoy!

Credit for this recipe goes to laurainthekitchen.com I LOVE watching her cooking videos on YouTube.com as well.

For the soup base:
1 Small Onion, chopped
2 Medium Carrots, diced
2 Stalks of Celery, diced
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
6 cups of Chicken Stock
5 ounces of Fresh Baby Spinach, washed and dried
¼ tsp of Fresh Lemon Zest
Fresh Chopped Parsley
Salt and Pepper, to taste
3/4 Cup of Small Pasta (I used Orzo Pasta, it worked great!)

For the meatballs:
¾ lb Ground Chicken
1 tsp of Grated Onion
1 Clove of Garlic, grated or finely minced
¼ tsp of Fresh grated Lemon Zest
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp of Fresh chopped Parsley
2 Tbsp of Bread Crumbs
1 Egg
1 Tbsp of Milk
3 Tbsp of fresh grated Parmiggiano Reggiano

Process

1) In a large bowl, combine together all of the meatballs ingredients, mix well and form little tiny meatballs. Set aside.

2) In a large pot over medium high heat, cook together the chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

3) Add the meatballs and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the pasta and cook according to packaged direction. 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked, add the spinach and cook for a couple minutes.

4) Season with salt and pepper to taste and turn the heat off. Right before it’s served, add the ½ tsp of grated lemon zest and fresh chopped parsley.

Ladle up and enjoy!

Sweet Roasted Acorn Squash

I have never been a big Acorn Squash fan until I tried this recipe the other night. It was so smooth and delicious! It had the perfect amount of sweet and savory and was a big hit with my taste buds!! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 Acorn squash
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
• Dash of Salt

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Using a strong chef's knife, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.

3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.

4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.

French Toast Cupcakes with Creamy Maple Frosting

My daughter has her 6th birthday coming up and I've been on the look out for a yummy cupcake to make for her party. I found this cupcake on www.suzybakes.com I had to make these cupcakes before her party just to make sure they would be loved. ;) This recipe is SOOOO good! The cupcakes were moist and the frosting was the perfect consistency and had the perfect amount of maple flavor. Enjoy!!


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs plus one egg yolk, room temperature
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon maple extract

Baking Temperature: 350 degrees
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes

1. Line two muffin tins with cupcake papers.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flours and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs (including extra yolk), 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk, vanilla, and maple extract. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.
6. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
7. Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Maple Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon maple extract to taste

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and maple. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes after each), until the icing is thick enough to be of good consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar (note: I ended up using 8 cups of sugar for this recipe.)
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish, if desired.
   
4. Store at room temperature or else icing will set. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.

Chocoscotch Oatmeal cookies =)

The Hubby wanted Oatmeal raisin cookies (his FAVORITE) So I went to go make them and I saw all these other nummy things in my cupboard, like chocolate chips and Butterscotch chips i.e the name "Chocoscotch Oatmeal cookies" So, I scratched the raisins and used the other nummy chips instead....Hey, atleast I kept the Oatmeal in the recipe. Needless to say, these cookies were BIG in our house! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 C. Golden Brown Sugar, packed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 C. old fashioned oats
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 C. chocolate chips
3/4 C. Butterscotch Chips

Directions:

Preheat over to 350 F. In a large bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Mix on low speed until blended. Add in chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and mix on medium speed until incorporated. Drop batter by heaping TBS 1 1/2 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. They will feel soft but firm up as they cool. Let stand on baking sheets 2 minutes before transferring to racks to cool. Enjoy with an ice cold glass of milk!! MMMMM!!!

Crockpot Lasagna, the healthier version =)

I found a recipe for crock pot Lasagna, but it was made with Hamburger (which I don't eat anymore). So I substituted it with ground Turkey, but your more than welcome to use the Hamburger is calls for. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 LB. Ground beef
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 tsp dried leaf basil
12 oz. carton cottage cheese
1/4 to 1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
12 oz. lasagna noodles, uncooked, broken into small pieces
8 to 12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Brown ground beef and onion in skillet; drain off excess fat. Add garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt and oregano and basil. Cook long enough to heat thoroughly.

Spoon a layer of meat sauce onto the bottom of the slow cooker. Add a double layer of broken lasagna noodles and top with a layer of the cheeses. Repeat with sauce, noodles and cheeses until all are used up.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve and ENJOY!! =)

Better Homes Split Pea and Ham Soup

This is my ALL time favorite Split Pea and Ham soup recipe. I received the Better Homes cookbook as a wedding gift 7 years ago. I found this recipe in there and have stuck to it ever since. It is a perfect Fall/Cold day soup to have with your Saltines. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
14 ounces chicken stock
1 1/2 C. dried Split peas
1 3/4 C. Water
1 Ham Hock
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Pour in your chicken stock, water, bay leaf, ham hock, split peas and pepper. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 1 hour. After an hour, turn the heat back up to med to high heat and remove the ham hock. Cut as much of the meat off of the ham hock as you can and return the meat back to the soup. Let it boil for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn back down to simmer and cook covered for about 20-30 more minutes. Serve and Enjoy! That simple, yet SOOOO delicious!

Healthy Egg rolls!

The picture doesn't really do this dish justice, but believe me...this is SOOOO good!

There is a woman I watch on YouTube who LOVES to eat, but doesn't enjoy all the calories that come with the foods we all enjoy. So she changes them up and transforms them into healthier options. Her name is Rocky Barragan, you should all check her out! She's amazing! Anyway, this was one of her recipes that both my mom and I are addicted to. I will share it with you below :) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 package of chopped coleslaw (in the salad isle)
garlic powder
sweet and sour stir-fry sauce (or any other kind you like)
Olive oil Spray
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
Lime Soy Sauce

Directions:
In a pan, You'll want to heat up your Olive Oil on Medium heat. Pour your chopped mushroom in and saute until they are starting to get an iridescent look. Pour the entire bag of coleslaw mix in. Cook that down until it is pretty wilted. Season with garlic powder, as much or as little as you like, it all depends on how much garlic flavor you enjoy. Next, pour in 3/4 of your stir fry sauce in and cook until it starts to boil. Take off the heat and spoon the mixture into the tortilla shells. You don't want to over fill the tortilla shells, you want enough in there so that you can fold all 4 sides in over the mixture without it oozing out. After you have about 6 tortillas filled, you will spray with your olive oil spray, just enough to coat the tops. Place in the over at 350 F, for 20 minutes or until the tops of the tortillas are golden. Let cool for about 10 minutes after you pull them out of the oven and enjoy with some Lime Soy Sauce! You can use regular soy sauce if you like, but I've recently discovered lime soy sauce and will NEVER go back to original, it's SOOOO good!! =)