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

Holiday Tortellini Soup

From: Taste of Home

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 oz. bacon or pancetta, finely diced (I used turkey bacon) 
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (49 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 package (9 oz) cheese tortellini
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
8 oz fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed and chopped (I used canned)
salt and pepper (I left out)
Parmesan cheese (for topping)

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pancetta. Cook until crisp. Add onion; cook 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, cook 1 more minute. Add broth and Italian seasoning; bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cook tortellini according to package directions; drain. Add cooked tortellini to soup mixture. Stir in tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I'm sure I've made similar recipes before but I really liked this one. Very filling and hearty. Great flavors. And simple! So I would definitely make this again in the future.

Nutrition information: (based on my ingredients; per cup)
Calories: 159
Carbs: 20g
Fat: 6g
Protein: 6g

Italian Herb Marinated Chicken

From: McCormick

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil 
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp McCormick montreal chicken seasoning
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1. Mix oil, vinegar, Chicken Seasoning and Italian seasoning in small bowl. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat well.
2. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor. Remove chicken from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade.
3. Grill chicken over medium-high heat 6 to 7 minutes per side or until cooked through.

Verdict:
Well, here's the deal. My whole family and I found the herb flavor of this chicken to be too overwhelming for our tastes. So I shredded mine and made a wrap out of it. I found that to be the perfect offset to the herbs. If you like strong herb flavors such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc. you will really like this chicken. I would actually make this again and just not use as much of the seasonings.

Nutrition information: (based on my ingredients; per tenderloin)
117 calories
1g carb
6g fat
16g protein

Chocolate Protein Mug Cake

From: Recapture Fitness

Ingredients:
1 scoop protein powder (chocolate)
2 tsp coconut flour (I used white-wheat)
1/4 tsp baking powder
sweetener of choice (I added two packets of Great Value no calorie sweetner; their version of Splenda)
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa (I did not add this)
2 egg whites
1 tsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp almond milk (I used 1% milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together well in mug.  Cook mug in microwave for 45-60 sec.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! The website I got the recipe from added a peanut butter fluff to the top. I added Smuckers caramel topping because - YUM! I also overcooked it so it was a little dry but the caramel topping made up for that!

Nutrition info: (based on my ingredients)
Calories: 205
Carbs: 10g
Fat: 7g
Protein: 24g