Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream

From: Here

Ingredients:
1 20-oz pkg refrigerated 4-cheese ravioli (or tortellini)
1 16-oz jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
2 Tbsp white wine
2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Okay, this is NOT a pretty picture - I do realize that. I remembered when the stuff was half gone that I was supposed to take a picture!! I did make some changes to the recipe. I absolutely could not find sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce (they said they used Classico) so instead I substituted Bertolli's vodka sauce. I didn't have any white wine so I needed to substitute that. I wondered about white wine vinegar but thought it might disagree with the sauce?? Anyway, I ended up adding a little vodka to the sauce jar, shaking it, and stirring that mixture in. I'm not really sure what the point of that step in the recipe is, actually. I used canned tomatoes instead of fresh (gasp!) and I did use some dried basil. When I got to my mom's house for lunch, we went straight out to the garden and cut some fresh basil though, so that was delicious. I would definitely recommend this recipe. If I can find the sun-dried Alfredo I would absolutely try that because I'm sure it would be awesome.

I am posting this on Mommin' It Up's Pin for the Wednesdays!

Chocolate Chip Blondies

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla just until blended. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to brown sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until done. Cool and then cut.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! A big thumbs up. I made this one day just because I had all the ingredients on hand... I ended up making it six more times over the next two weeks, and one of those was a request from Stephen as his birthday cake! I do cook mine longer than the recipe calls for - about 25 minutes usually, so just keep an eye on it. I highly recommend you try this EASY recipe!

Yellow Summer Squash and Corn Soup

From: Here

Ingredients:
1 pound yellow summer squash
2 ears corn
3 large shallots
2 large garlic cloves
1 fresh jalapeño chile
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 cups water

Cut summer squash crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Shuck corn and, working over a bowl, cut kernels from cobs. Halve cobs. Chop shallots and mince garlic. Wearing rubber gloves, chop chile, with seeds if desired.
In a 5-quart heavy kettle combine all ingredients (including cobs) except water and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in water and simmer mixture until squash is very tender, about 15 minutes. Discard cobs. In a blender puree mixture in batches until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to another bowl. Season soup with salt and pepper. Divide soup between 2 bowls and garnish with corn, chiles, cilantro, small dollops of sour cream, and squash.

 

Verdict:
This is the only picture I took while I was cooking... sorry. Not a great representation of this recipe! This was a good, quick, easy recipe. It didn't have a ton of flavor... I could have used a little more "mmph" in it I think, but it definitely had a great base to work with. I'd make it again in a pinch and just add some more fresh herbs to it.

"Donna's Dip"

From: My friend Karen who got the recipe from her friend Donna!

Ingredients:
16 oz container of sour cream
1 package Ranch dip mix (dry)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup bacon bits

Mix together. Awesome dip for chips!

Microwave Coffee Cup Egg Scramble

From: Here

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper

Coat 12-ounce microwave-safe coffee mug with cooking spray. Add eggs and milk; stir until well blended. Microwave on high for 45 seconds; stir. Microwave until eggs are almost set, 30 to 45 seconds longer. Top with cheese; season with salt and pepper.

Verdict:
Oh. My. Gosh. Thumbs up! I wasn't really sure how this would turn out but it was actually really easy and delicious! And FAST! It is perfect for breakfast or even a snack during the day. I did actually add some crumbled bacon too, and it was so good! I think I will be eating eggs every morning from now on...

Homemade Salsa

From: Here


Ingredients:
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 10-oz can original Rotel
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed (I used minced)
1/2 - 1 jalapeno, seeded or not (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp ground cumin
small to medium size handful of cilantro
juice of 1 lime

Put all the ingredients in the base of a food processor or good blender and pulse to combine for 30 seconds or so until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. Serve with chips or over tacos.

Verdict:
Okay, you are SO lucky that I remembered to take a picture before this was all gone. Whew. You can't imagine the process I have gone through for my entire marriage, trying to find the perfect salsa for my husband. He loves the salsa in restaurants but I cannot find a store-purchased salsa that fits that style for him. Not even the "restaurant-style salsa" you can find in the store. So when I saw this recipe I had to try it. It looked great and looked like the perfect consistency. I would highly recommend this salsa. Now, we did both agree that it doesn't need an entire lime in it. I think I could tweak this a little the next time - perhaps just a tad more cilantro and leave some jalapeno seeds in to make it just a tiny bit hotter, and maybe just a half of a lime. I will say this, even without those tweaks, our family ate an entire bag of chips with this salsa right after I made it!  

Easy Chunky Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
2 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 T flour
1/2 cup milk
1 jar (26-28 oz) tomato pasta sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until softened.

Add flour; cook and stir until moistened. Gradually add milk, cooking and stirring about 2 minutes or until smooth and bubbly.

Stir in pasta sauce, tomatoes, and broth. Cover; cook over medium heat about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, just until mixture boils. Top each serving with cheddar cheese.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Nothing! It was too easy to change!

What I'll do differently next time:
Maybe add some pasta noodles or ground beef.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Easy and would make again, perhaps with adding the noodles or beef.