Cherry Pie Cookies

 

Well. Let's just say that I didn't have any trouble getting taste testers for this one! They were lined up at the door when I pulled out the cherries and chocolate! The kids wanted to be right there for every bit of preparation. No egg so they were even able to lick the beaters! I just love their little faces watching the oven when a new cookie is baking. The oohs when we pulled them out and the boos when they realized they had to wait for cooling to drizzle the chocolate. The Mmm's though...that was worth the wait! These were amazing! 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup margarine, softened

2 cups flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 (21 oz) Lucky Leaf Cherry Fruit Filling & Topping

1/2 cup white or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Mix butter and margaine until fluffy. Add flour, powered sugar and vanilla just until combined and a soft dough is formed. 

Roll the dough into two-inch balls. Place on greased baking sheet or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of cookie to make a well. Places cherries into each cookie. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow cookies to cool. 

Melt chocolate according to package directions. Drizzle over cookies. Let chocolate et and serve immediately or store in an airtight container. 

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Final Photo Taken by Me ;)

Sauteed Pork Chops with Pineapple and Mint

 

My kids LOVE pork chops....because to them it resembles chicken. Why is that? That kids automatically call any lighter colored meat chicken? Weird, but true. Anything that gets them to eat though...am I right? I love changing up dishes, especially when mixing in something sweet, or in this case...citrus! The littles were kind of iffy with the idea of pineapple in their "chicken" as they were hoping it would have been dessert. Happy to say, they loved this recipe! We served it over a bed of broccoli rice. Here it is! 

Ingredients: 

4-6 oz boneless pork chops, trimmed, pounded to 3/4 inch thickness

Salt

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks, diced (due to time restraints, we kept ours chunks)

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Sprinkle chops on both sides with salt. Warm oil in a large skillet oer medium-high heat. Add chops and sear on 1 side until well browned, 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, turn chops and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops reads 140F to 145F, 4 to 6 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

2. Add pineapple and 2 Tbsp. water to skillet. Cook, stirring to incorporate browned bits on bottom of skillet, until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Stir in mint and red pepper. Spoon over chops and serve. 

Final Photo Taken by Me ;)

Serves: 4

Per Serving:

Cal: 341

Fat: 20g

Sat Fat: 6g

Chol: 87mg

Fiber: 1g

Protein: 32g

Carbs: 9g

Sodim: 927mg

Po'Boy-Style Shrimp Burgers with Cajun Spiced Tots

We were due for a fish dish and needed something a little quicker for a busy day. Totally love shrimp so this recipe is just lovely! I will say that it can be pricey (we budget our meals) but very worth it! What are your favorite shrimp dishes? Do you prefer your shrimp with a fork or just all out sandwich? Check out our Po'Boy! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for the baking sheet

1 lb frozen potato tots or puffs

2 tsp no-salt added Cajun seasoning

1 lb large peeled and deveined shrimp, chopped

1 large egg white

2 scallions, finely chopped

2 Tbsp panko bread crumbs

Black pepper

1 lime, halved

4 challah rolls or buns, split

*Sriracha mayonnaise, lettuce and sliced tomato, for serving

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 425 F. Rub a rimed baking sheet with oil. Scatter the tots on the sheet, then toss with the Cajun seasoning. Bake until golden brown and crisp, turning halfway through cooking, 20-25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse together the shrimp, egg white, scallions, panko and 1/4 tsp black pepper just to combine (there should be some chunks of shrimp).

3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Shape the shrimp mixture into four 3/4-in. thick patties and cook until golden brown and opaque throughout, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat and squeeze the lime juice all over the burgers.

4. If desired, spread the buns with Sriracha mayonnaise, then top with the lettuce, burgers and tomato. Serve with the Cajun tots.

Serves 4. Per Serving:

Cal: 473

Fat: 17.5 g

Sat Fat: 3 g

Mg Chol: 143

Mg Sod: 1,432

Protein: 24 g

Car: 53 g

Fiber: 4 g

Baked Stuffed French Toast

We are a family of breakfast-for-dinner lovers! Instead of craving savory this time however, we wanted something for our sweet tooth! This new recipe took some time, but was very calming and well worth it! Hmm....raspberry and lemon zest, stuff it into toast..can you think of anything more lovely? 

Check it out! 

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread

1/2 cup softened cream cheese

1/4 cup strawberry preserves

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp melted butter

Strawberries

Directions:

1. Coat a 13 x 9 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Slice bread into 12 pieces. Make a slit in side of each slide, large enough to accommodate filling without tearing bread. 

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, preserves and lemon rind until well blended. Spread a little cheese mixture inside slit of each slice of bread. Transfer to baking pan.

3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Pour over bread, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour and no longer than 24 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Drizzle melted butter over bread. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a dusting of powered sugar, drizzle of maple syrup and strawberry slices. 

Final Photo Taken by Me ;)

Banana Muffins

In our family, we love our bananas at so many different stages. My husband and most of the kids love them straight from the market looking nothing, but yellow. A few other kids like them a few days older. I love them freckled. So, what if none of us gets to them even after that stage? Banana bakes it is! This time around is Banana Muffins. My husband absolutely loves the way I make these. Due to the way I stir, they are a biscuit quality when they come out of the oven. The littles love how much banana flows through these baked beauties! 

Ingredients: 1 egg

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/3 c. milk

2 c. flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 c. bananas, mashed (2-3)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Stir in bananas with milk. Beat eggs. Stir in milk mixture and oil. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown (about 20 min). Makes approximately 1 dozen muffins. 

Final Photo Taken by Me ;)

Southwestern Pasta Casserole

I have been snippin' away at my recipes. I love recipes...you just don't understand. Yes, we have our regular faves, but if I could make a new recipe each day for the rest of my life, I would. I just love finding new tastes that tops the last! I think I definitely found a new fave! Now, I just had my wisdom teeth out so it was tough for me to eat this without cutting it into tiny baby size pieces, but I just did not want to miss out on this new dish! The added sour cream definitely helped! We made 2 separate pans, one with chopped green chiles and one without as we knew some of the younger kiddos would prefer without. 

Here it is! 

Ingredients:

12 oz ziti pasta

1 can (15 oz) chili

1 can (10 oz) mild enchilada sauce

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, 5 oz

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 1/4-qt baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to directions; drain. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix chili, enchilada sauce, chiles, cilantro and 1/2 cup cheese; stir in pasta. Transfer to baking dish; cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes or until hot in center. Remove foil; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with sour cream, cilantro sprig and hot peppers. 

Final Photo Taken by Me ;)

Servings: 6                                        Trans Fat: 0 g.                                    Sugar: 5 g.

Calories: 431                                     Chol: 25 mg                                       Kitchen time: 20 minutes

Protein: 20 g.                                     Carbs: 52 g                                        Total time: 1 hour, 20 min

Fat: 16 g.                                           Sodium: 815 mg

(8 g. sat.)                                           Fiber: 4 g.