Chicken Pot Pie Pasta

From: Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 pound penne or other short tubular pasta
• 1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, diced medium
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken

 

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes less than package instructions. Add green beans and cook 3 minutes, then drain.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and season with salt and pepper.

Stir pasta into chicken mixture.

Verdict:

Thumbs up! I used Tyson grilled chicken chunks to make this meal prep even faster. This was a great meal. My whole family liked it, and I think it was because the flavor was so simple. My husband and daughter don't like things that have a lot of flavor or sauces, so this was right up their alley. I can definitely see myself making this again in the future. 

 

Firecracker Cookies

From: MomDot

Ingredients:

• your favorite sugar cookie recipe
• butter cream or white frosting
•  2 packs of pop rocks
• white sugar + blue gel paste

1) Make your favorite sugar cookie recipe
2) Frost with butter cream
3) Create blue sugar by adding sugar and blue gel paste into a blender and turn on for 30 seconds
4) Sprinkle sugar on frosting
5) Sprinkle pop rocks on cookies…you will hear them crackle as they hit the frosting
6) Enjoy!

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I used Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix and Betty Crocker buttercream icing to make these. So they were incredibly easy to make and I loved the combination of flavors. They weren't too sweet at all. The Pop Rocks do pop less the longer they sit on the cookies, so if you want a really big pop just sprinkle them on right before putting them in your mouth. I would love to make these again though!

Mini Egg White Omelets

From: Six Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients:

12 eggs

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Toppings you like in your omelets, such as:

Onions, Green Onions, Green and Red Peppers, Fresh Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Cheese, Turkey Bacon, and Ham

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, then crack an egg into each muffin tin hole. You can use a whole egg, or just the whites, or even egg whites from a carton. 

 

Once you crack them in the tin, take a fork and smash the yoke and mix around the egg whites. Add Salt and Pepper as needed. Add about 2 tablespoons of the veggies/toppings you like into each tin. Sprinkle a little bit of cheese on top.

 

Put into the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the eggs are a little brown on top. Wait a few minutes then pop them out with a fork.

 

 

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I eat eggs at least 5 times a week for breakfast. Usually they are scrambled but every so often I get a craving for some extra veggies. These little omelets are perfect for satisfying my craving and filling me up. Three or four are perfect for me, along with my coffee and hashbrowns. For this recipe I used ham, green peppers and mushrooms but you can obviously use anything you want. I love recipes that can vary from time to time.

Nutrition info: (based on the ingredients I used)
Carbs: 2g
Fats: 10g
Protein: 23g

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chippers

From: An old cookbook (Ripped out; I don't have the title of the cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine peanut butter, brown sugar and egg in medium bowl; mix until well blended. Add chips; mix well.

Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Sprinkle with granulated sugar; press a fork criss-cross onto each ball, flattening.

Cook for 8-10 minutes approximately, or until golden brown. 

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Although the recipe didn't make very many cookies (that could have been due to the size I made them though - *ahem*) they were very tasty. And it seriously doesn't get any easier than this for a recipe! You could whip this up anytime. You probably have all these ingredients in your pantry consistently! I'll be making these again for sure - but next time I'll make sure to double the recipe!

Chocolate Pudding Cake

From: Spend With Pennies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup AP flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Topping:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups hot water

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a 2-quart casserole dish, combine flour, white sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add milk and oil and vanilla. Stir until well mixed. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Sprinkle over cake batter. DO NOT STIR. Pour hot water over top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top looks cooked. Serve warm.

 
Verdict:
Thumbs up - if you like chocolate! This one-dish recipe is actually very cool. The dish creates the pudding sauce when you pour the hot water on top. The only thing about this recipe is it is very chocolate-y. I'm not a huge chocolate fan so it was a little overwhelming to me. My daughter and husband loved it though. Plus, it really doesn't get any easier than this, so I recommend this recipe!

S'mores Cookie Bars

From: All You

Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups marshmallow topping (like fluff)
2 cups milk-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9x13 pan with foil. Mist with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; mix well. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs until well combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Divide dough in half. Press half of dough into pan until dough is uniform and flat. Spread with marshmallow topping and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Scatter remaining dough over in clumps. Don't worry about covering the top; marshmallow and chocolate chips should peek through.

Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Place plan on wire rack to cool completely. Remove from pan, peel off foil and cut into bars.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Oh my goooosh I really liked these. I actually liked them the most about 10 hours after they were cooked. Very simple, straight-forward recipe and absolutely yummy! I will be making these again.

Nutrition information: (based on my ingredients; 16 bars; 1 bar per serving)
Calories: 329
Carbs: 59g
Fat: 9g
Protein: 3g

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

From: Kitch Me

Ingredients:

3 to 4 tilapia fillet, depending on size

1⁄4 cup bread crumbs, or crushed buttery round crackers

1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 kosher salt, to taste

1 pepper, to taste

1 garlic powder, to taste

1 olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking dish.
2. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan, Italian seasoning, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder on a plate; mix well.
3. On a different plate, pour 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
4. Working one at a time, place a fillet in the plate with lemon juice, season to taste with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Turn fish over in the lemon juice and season the other side.
5. Dredge fillet in the parmesan mixture, patting it all over to coat.
6. Place in prepared baking dish; repeat with remaining fish.
7. Sprinkle a little lemon juice over fillets and drizzle or spray them lightly with olive oil.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until fish easily flakes with a fork and edges are brown.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I really like the flavor of tilapia and am trying to incorporate more fish into our diet. I figured I would start with a recipe that isn't too outlandish. My son (3 years old) ate a ton of this. I also really liked it. My daughter (5 years old) said it was too spicy for her, which I guess is the tilapia flavor. I'll definitely be making this again though.

Nutrition information (based on my ingredients; 1 fillet serving)
Calories: 121
Carbs: 3g
Fat: 3g
Protein: 20g