Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Cookies

Another recipe from My Kitchen Cafe! And it is soooo good!

The recipe from the site is just for the cookie,

but I decided to try cream cheese frosting on top and thought it was delightful!

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
zest of one lemon
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
1/4 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon zest and mix well. Add dry ingredients and pulse together in mixer to combine. Add buttermilk and mix well. Drop onto cookie sheet (I rolled mine into balls- it's a sticky dough). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are set and cookie is puffy and still light colored.

Frost with cream cheese frosting if desired!

1/4 c. butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
milk (to desired consistency)
vanilla

Tatertot Casserole

This is your basic tatertot casserole with a little twist. Your husband will love it 'cause it's just meat and potatoes. Meat and potatoes! It is hearty and yummy!

1 lb. ground beef (I used 1/2 lb. cause I'm borderline vegetarian...)
minced onion
all-purpose seasoning (Lawry's)
1 can green beans
1 can cream of mushroom
tatertots, as many as you want
red potatoes, cut into chunks (I used two large)
1 c. shredded cheese blend

In large skillet, brown beef with onion (I used the dried flakes) and Lawry's. Add green beans, tatertots, red potatoes, and cream of mushroom. Mix well. Pour into greased 9x13 and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes (cheese will be toasty and bubbly). Serve to your adoring husband. Watch kids eat only the tatertots and sigh loudly.

Corn, Rice & Bean Burritos

1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh corn
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 Tbsp EVOO oil
Garlic & Herb seasoning
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
8 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese
salsa
plain yogurt

In a large skillet, saute the corn and pepper in oil and seasoning until soft. Add beans and rice and cook through. Spoon filling onto tortilla, top with cheese, yogurt and salsa.

This meal is very fast and easy. I made it, start to finish, in about 30 min including the time to cook the tortillas and the rice. I started my rice, then made everything in the skillet, and then added the rice when it finished. Enjoy!

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 (12 oz) bag Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cubes butter
2 2/3 C evaporated milk
4 C powdered sugar
2 t vanilla

Use a large pot. Melt butter on low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth. Add evaporated milk and powdered sugar and turn heat to medium high. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to about medium (just keep a low boil going) and set timer for 8 minutes. You don't want it boiling too hard. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. It will thicken up a bit. It makes 5 - 6 cups.

*I almost always halve this for our family and boiling for 6 minutes is about right for halving it. I've found that half a bag of chocolate chips is one heaping 3/4 C not just 1 C even.

*This is my mother-in-law's infamous recipe. She says she has tried other chocolate chips and it's the best with Nestle semi-sweet.

Skillet Pasta with Broccoli and Cheese

I found this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe. Altered a few items, and fell in love with this dish. So easy, so yummy, and so pretty-looking too! I served with the Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread, which is super easy and delicious, too!
1 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped finely
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 ounces ziti (penne makes a great substitution)
4 1/4 cups water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4-5 cups broccoli florets (depending on how much broccoli you want)
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped coarse
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (asiago cheese can be used, as well)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

NOTE: If you want to add chicken, follow instructions below:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 1 minute without stirring. Stir the chicken and continue to cook until chicken is cooked and lightly browned around the edges. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.

Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet. Turn the skillet to medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the pasta, 3 cups of the water, and the broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is very thick and syrupy and almost completely absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining 1 1/4 cups water. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the broccoli turns bright green and is almost tender, 2-3 minutes.

Uncover and return the heat to medium-high. Stir in the cream, parmesan, (and the chicken if you added it) and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and everything is cooked and heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing more grated parmesan at the table, if desired.

Chicken and Asparagus Roulades

Recipe from Kitchen Daily

Ingredients

1 1/4-lb pkg thin-sliced boneless chicken breasts
12 thin sandwich-sized slices Swiss cheese (from an 8-oz pkg)
1 lb asparagus, woody ends snapped off; spears simmered in salted water until tender, then cooled

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Place 1 slice chicken on each of 4 sheets of plastic wrap. Cut extra chicken in pieces; place, overlapping, on slices so each is about equal size. Cover with plastic wrap; pound to fuse pieces to slices and until evenly thick. Uncover; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Top each with 3 slices cheese to 1/2 in. of edge. Place 1/4 the asparagus at narrower end. Tightly roll up; secure with a wooden pick. Roll roulades in 1 1/2 Tbsp flour.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add roulades; brown on all sides. Place on baking sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Carefully remove picks and slice.

{I struggled a little bit with getting the chicken thin but they were SO yummy in the end.  I went out and bought a meat tenderizer after this so next time I'll be able to make the chicken thinner.}

Itty Bitty Addicting Cookies

Here's a new cookie recipe from someone in my ward, and oh boy! They are good! They are called "Slightly Healthy" because they call for whole wheat flour and oats, and then you bake them by the teaspoonful. So in theory that works, but if you are like me, watch out. You will be unable to stop eating them, negating any sort of healthiness right out.

Slightly Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 c. oats (I ground mine up in the blender)

3/4 c. whole wheat flour (can use white)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and "pulse" until mixed. (This way I never mix the dry ingredients separately, but you might want to if you don't have a mixer.) Add chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet (I rolled mine into balls) and bake for 7-9 minutes.