Peppermint Pretzel Kisses

Awhile back, I saw a recipe similar to this somewhere online (but can't remember where) and recently remembered it and decided to make a few changes to it to make it Christmas-y as a treat to include in the gifts for Noah's teachers.

These were simple to make, are delicious, and look SO festive!

You'll need:

Pretzels

Hershey's Peppermint Kisses (you could also use Hershey Hugs)

M&Ms

1. Lay the pretzels out on a pan making sure that they are not touching.

2. Place a peppermint kisses on top of each pretzel. 

3. Put the pan in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes. Watch them closely and pull them out once the kisses have melted a little bit.

4. Before they have time to set, put an M&M on top of each melted kiss.

5. Let them set. I popped my pan in the freezer for a few minutes to speed up the process. 

6. Nestle them in a box for gift giving! 

(Linking to the parties listed in my sidebar)

Pretty Purple Punch

When I was planning my Mom's 60th birthday bash, I looked high and low for a purple punch recipe. After a lot of searching, I found one that was OK. After some tweaking, it turned out delicious and so many people at my Mom's party raved about how good the punch was and asked for the recipe.

It was actually super simple to make! You'll need:
One large container of Welch's Grape Juice (It has to be Welch's or you are not going to get a good purple.)
One large container of pineapple juice
One 2 liter of Sprite (We used Sprite Zero.)

Mix everything up together in a large bowl and serve cold!

We made some punch ahead of time and poured it into ice cube trays and made punch ice cubes to put in the punch bowl so that the punch would not get watered down from regular ice cubes.

So yummy! I wish I had a glass of it now!

(Linking to the parties listed in my sidebar)

Thanksgiving Salad

Do you ever crave Thanksgiving in the middle of summer? It's definitely too hot this summer for a turkey dinner and all the fixings but this salad is almost as good. It's one of my favorite summer salad!

Below is what you need for the salad but I'm not giving you any amounts because you can just add more or less of the items you like and don't like.

• Salad mix
• Lean Deli Turkey (I have them slice it thick then I just cube it.)
• Low fat Feta cheese
• Craisins
• Pecans or Walnuts (chopped)
• Croutons
• Celery
• Onions

First, I make my own croutons using wheat bread or rolls or whatever I have on hand. I cube the bread, spray with olive oil cooking spray, sprinkle on a bit of pepper, garlic salt, and nutmeg. Then I bake them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes until they are nice and toasty. 

Add your salad mix to the bottom of the bowl. Chop your celery and onions and add them. Next add your feta, turkey, crasins, and chopped nuts. Throw on your croutons, top with low fat raspberry salad dressing, and you have Thanksgiving in a bowl.

Yummy!

Easy Nest Treats Tutorial

Awhile back I pinned some cute little nest treats on my "Spring Fever" board....

My BFF saw them, loved them, and decided they'd be the perfect treat for her son's class. They are quite simple to make. Check out the video below as 7 year old Nicholas (who is named after me!) shows you how to make the nest treats. 

(Linking to the parties listed in my sidebar)

Peppermint Bark Recipe

Ever since I posted that my Mom and I were making peppermint bark on Facebook, I've been asked for the recipe. So here ya go! 

It was easy to make and most of all, it's really yummy and festive!

Ingredients:

1 12 ounce bag of white chocolate chips
1 24 ounce package of white chocolate bark
1/8 teaspoon of white peppermint extract
1 - 2 cups of crushed candy canes to suit your tastes

Directions:
1. Put your candy canes in a plastic baggie and smash, smash, smash with a hammer. Take your frustrations out on those innocent candy canes until they are finely smashed.

2. Melt both types of white chocolate in a pan on the stove over low heat. Watch closely and keep stirring until it is completely melted.

3. Remove from heat and add the peppermint extract.

4. Stir in the smashed candy canes. Stir well until it is completely mixed.

5. Pour into waxed paper lined cookie sheet(s) and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from fridge and break up the bark into pieces like peanut brittle. 

6. Enjoy!! 

Notes:
We made this twice and the first time we used 2 cups of crushed candy canes. The second time we only used 1 cup and preferred the second batch.

We wanted our bark to be thin so we poured it onto 2 cookies sheets. For thicker bark only use 1 cookie sheet.

Weekend Wonders: The One with Yummy Treats

I have seen so many yummy holiday treats (some sweet and some savory) featured on various blogs lately. Below are some of my favorites.

Sweet Treats

Easy Red Velvet Cake Balls

There is something about the holidays that makes me crave red velvet cake. Perhaps that is when I remember my Grandmother making it. These red velvet cake balls at Susannah's Kitchen don't look too difficult and they sure do look yummy.

Skinny No Bake Cookies

These cookies come from one of my favorite food blogs, Gina's Skinny Recipes. She is amazing at taking a regular favorite recipe and tweaking it into a low calorie, low fat version that still tastes delicious and this cookie recipe looks no different.

Rudolph Pancakes

How cute would these pancakes shared at Kitchen Fun with my Three Sons be to serve on Christmas morning?!?

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Need a treat in a rush? These hot chocolate cupcakes at Tip Junkie are store bought cupcakes that have been dolled up!

Candy Cane Trifle

This candy cane trifle shared at The Scrap Shoppe looks absolutely divine!

Appetizers
My family always enjoys appetizers after attending church on Christmas Eve so I was on the lookout for different appetizer recipes. 

Bacon Onion Cheese Balls

These bacon and onion cheese balls shared at Nap Time Journal sound different but yummy.

Garlic Chicken Puffs

Tidy Mom shares this easy recipe for Garlic Chicken Puffs.

Healthy Party Snack

I'm loving this healthy Christmas themed snack shared at Little Wonders.

Snowman Pizza

This snowman pizza at Delia Creates is festive and fun!

What yummy treats will you be making this holiday season?

Onion Soup Pork Chops and Rice

This recipe is similar to something that my Mom used to make when I was younger and I recently made it and tweaked it a little bit. The pork chops are so incredibly tender and the rice has amazing flavor and that's coming from someone who really isn't a big rice eater.

Ingredients:
4 boneless pork chops
1 cup of white rice
1 dry onion soup packet
1 small onion
cooking spray

Directions:
1. Cut your onion. I just cut mine into strips but if you'd prefer to dice it then go right ahead.
2. Spray your pan with cooking spray and sauté your onions until golden brown. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
3. Add a bit more cooking spray and then brown your pork chops in the same pan. You don't really need to worry about them getting cooked all the way through. Just brown them for some color.
4. In a glass baking dish, add the cup of rice. Add about 1/2 - 3/4 of your onion soup packet and your cooked onions on top of the rice. Add 3 cups of hot water and stir.
5. Add your browned pork chops to the dish and sprinkle with the remaining soup mix.
6. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes or until the pork chops are cooked throughout and the liquid has evaporated.

Enjoy!

Banana Berry Smoothie

It has been really HOT here in the South lately. I find myself craving cold things like lots of salads and smoothies! This is a smoothie recipe I made up myself using trial and error with ingredients I had on hand in my kitchen. It seriously took less than five minutes to throw together and was ice cold and delicious - perfect for a sweltering summer day in the South!


Ingredients:
1 small banana
4-5 strawberries
1 packet of Splenda
1 cup water 
1 Tablespoon of milk
2-3 ice cubes


What to do:
1. Wash and cut the stems off your strawberries and cut them in half. Peel your banana and cut into chunks. Put the banana and strawberries in your blender.
2. Add the Splenda, milk, water, and ice cubes. Blend in your blender until it comes to a Smoothie like consistency. 
3. Pour into a glass and enjoy! 


This recipe made one large one for me and small one for Noah. 


Nutritional Info (for the entire recipe) Calories: 104.4, Total Fat: 0.5 g, Cholesterol: 0.0 mg, Sodium: 7.1 mg, Total Carbs: 27.5 g, Dietary Fiber: 3.7 g, Protein: 1.4 g


Linking up to the parties in my sidebar

Chicken Parmigiana Burger

I've never really been a burger girl (especially traditional burgers with beef - ew) but lately I'm loving different types of burgers and doing innovative things with burgers thanks to a couple of blogs, cookbooks, and friends. Plus burgers are great and easy when cooking for guests at summer cookouts and gatherings. 


So when I read this  recipe for Chicken Parmigiana Burgers on one of my favorite recipe blogs, Gina's Skinny Recipes, I thought it sounded like a different and delicious take on burgers but the problem was the tomato sauce. I can't eat it so I had to make some changes and what resulted is one yummy burger!


Ingredients Needed: (This makes 4 burgers)
1 lb lean ground chicken
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
1 Roma tomato (You could use any type of tomato actually but Romas are the only kind I can stomach because they are the least acidic.) 
4 Basil Leaves
4 very thin slices of part skim mozzarella 
4 whole wheat hamburger buns
1/2 TBSP Light Parmesan Peppercorn Salad Dressing


Directions:
1. Mix the ground chicken with the garlic powder, basil, and oregano. Form into 4 patties. Put the patties in the freezer for about 5 minutes before cooking; this keeps them from falling a part when you cook them. 
2. Cook your burgers for about 5 minutes on each side until cooked throughout. (You can do this either in a pan on the stove or on the grill.)
3. While your burgers are cooking, toast your buns if so desired. (You can do this either on the grill or in the oven on broil.) 
4. Once your burgers are cooked on both sides, top each burger with a Basil leaf, 1-2 slices of tomato, and the cheese. Leave on the grill or in the pan for an additional minute or so while the cheese melts. 
5. Place each burger on a bun bottom. Brush a little bit of the Light Parmesan Peppercorn dressing on each bun top. 
6. Dig in and enjoy! 


Happy Memorial Day! 

Linking to the parties listed in my sidebar

Strawberry Cheesecake

I made this yummy pie for Easter dinner desert. Funny side story about pies - Apparently, I only make them when we are having company over and usually that company is my parents so whenever I start to make a pie, Noah gets all excited. When he saw me put the pie crust into the buggy at the grocery he got super excited. 


Anyways, I found the original recipe for this cheesecake on one of my favorite light recipe blogs, Gina's Skinny Recipes. If you have been reading my blog for long, you know that I can't just leave a recipe as is. I'm always tweaking to make it my own and doing what tastes the yummiest to me. So as I was making this recipe, I made a few minor changes to it and it turned out yummy. You can find the original recipe here and below is my tweaked version. 


1 fat free graham cracker pie crust
8 oz package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons of sugar substitute like Splenda
6 oz fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt 
¼ cup liquid egg white
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon of all purpose flour
1/4 cup strawberry jam (I used sugar free)


Heat oven to 350°.  


Gently beat cream cheese, sugar substitute and vanilla until smooth using an electric mixer. Gradually beat in fat free yogurt, liquid egg whites, lemon juice, and flour. Beat until combined. 


Stir jam until smooth. Drop by small spoonfuls over surface of filling. Using a knife,swirl jam gently through filling to create marble effect.


Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool to room temperature. Chill a few hours in the refrigerator.


Servings: 9  Size: 1 slice Calories: 132.9 • Fat: 5.6 g • Carb: 15.1 g • Fiber: 0.1 g • Protein: 5.8 g

Linking up to the linky parties listed in my sidebar

Light Lemon Pie

Whenever we have company over, I feel like I need to serve some type of desert for dinner. Since on my healthy eating quest that started in January, I have been looking for lighter desert recipes. I really should try these ahead of time in case they don't turn out well because you just never know but luckily our guests don't mind being my guinea pigs! 


So I came across a Light Lemon Pie recipe (but forgot to save the site for the original - oops!). Like always I made a few changes to it. It turned out DELICIOUS! My Mom even said that it tasted like my Grandmother's Lemon Ice Box Pie. Wow, what a compliment! Seriously, you'd never guess this was a light recipe by tasting it!


Ok, let's get cooking..... 


You will need:
1 Light, Fat Free Graham Cracker Pie Crust
9 oz can of fat free condensed milk
1 egg
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 TBSP of lemon zest
1 tsp of vanilla extract


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In your food processor, combine the condensed milk, egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and process until combined and smooth and creamy. 
3. Pour mixture into your pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. 
4. Let it cool completely then refrigerate overnight. 


Yum-o! 


Nutritional Info:
10 servings
calories 200
carbohydrates 28
fat 6


(Linking up to the parties listed in my sidebar)

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Confession: I don't like chicken pot pie. I never had. I think it's probably the crusty top and the thickness of it. I just don't care for it. 


J loves it though so when I saw this recipe for chicken pot pie I decided to give it a try. Like always (I don't think I can leave a recipe alone, I'm always tweaking it to what we like) I changed the recipe a little bit. 


The verdict! I love this soup! It's got a semi-thick textured broth like in a regular chicken pot pie but it's more liquidy (yes, I made up a word) than regular chicken pot pie. I made biscuits  with it for J so he still gets the crustiness like that of a traditional chicken pot pie. 


So, here's my version of chicken pot pie soup. 


Ingredients
3-4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (I boiled them, let them cool, then shred them.)
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups water
3 cups of milk 
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped in bite size pieces
2-3 carrots, chopped in bite size pieces
2-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
1 small onion, diced fine
1 chicken bouillon cube
fresh ground pepper to taste


1. Whisk the flour and 1/2 cup of cold water together. Mix well so there are no lumps and set aside.
2. Pour the remaining 2 cups of water and the 3 cups of milk into a large stock pot on medium high heat. 
3. Add your bouillon cube, celery, onion, carrots, and potatoes and let cook on medium high heat for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 
4. Add the flour and water combo to your pot stirring well. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Cook for about 5 more minutes until the soup thickens a little bit. 


Enjoy!

Light Banana Cream Pie

Continuing with one of my goals for 2011 to make a new recipe every week, my recipe for last week was a desert recipe; a light version of banana cream pie. I was actually craving old fashioned banana pudding and thought this might be a nice substitute so I decided to give it a try. It was a hit!  I found the original recipe here but I made some changes to it. My altered recipe is below. 


Ingredients:
9 inch reduced fat graham cracker pie crust
2 bananas 
1/4 cup low fat sour cream 
1/4 cup low fat cream cheese (needs to be room temperature)
1 (8 oz) container of fat free cool whip (needs to be room temperature)
2 Tbsp. of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract


1. Put the sour cream, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and mix with a mixer until smooth. 
2. Mash one of your bananas up with a fork. Add mashed banana to the mixture in the bowl and mix until the banana is well incorporated. 
3. Add the cool whip and mix for a minute more until the cool whip is well mixed.
4. Thinly slice your remaining banana and put the slices in the bottom of the graham cracker pie crust. 
5. Add the creamy mixture on top of the bananas. 
6. Cover and let it refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving.


Yum-o!


(Linking to some of the linky parties listed in my sidebar.)

Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers

We tried another new recipe last week. I can't remember where I found the orginial recipe but I made a lot of changes to it to make it healthier and without tomatoe sauce as the orginial recipe called for. It was yummy!


Ingredients:
1/2 pound lean ground turkey
4 bell peppers
1 onion (chopped finely)
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 can low sodium, fat free chicken broth
handful of frozen corn
1-2 Roma tomatoes (diced)
1 cup brown rice
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup of low fat cheddar cheese


How to Make it:
1. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add the ground turkey and cook until brown. 
2. Once brown, add the can of chicken broth and brown rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the rice is cooked, which took me about 7 minutes. 
3. While the rice is cooking, cut the tops off the bell peppers and discard the tops. Cut the ribs out and wash the seeds out. Set in a baking dish.
4. When the rice is almost done, add the corn and diced tomatoes. Cook for a minute or two longer.
5. Add the filling to each bell pepper. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Add a little cheese to the top off each bell pepper and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted. 
6. Enjoy! 


If you have any left over filling, save it, and enjoy it the next day on a whole wheat tortilla. 

Onion Soup Potatoes

This is not a new recipe but is one of my current favorite, go to recipes. It is so quick, simple, (prep time quick, not cooking time quick) and flavorful. 


Ingredients Needed:
1 Packet of Dry Onion Soup Mix
Potatoes (2-3 if you are using a bigger potato like a Russet Potato and 4-5 if you are using a smaller potato like a New Potato) 
1 TBSP Olive Oil


Directions:
1. Chop potatoes into bite sized chunks.
2. Put potatoes, olive oil, and the onion soup packet into a large plastic baggy. Shake well; until all potatoes are coated with olive oil and onion soup mix. 
3. Pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until potatoes are tender. 


Yum! 

Linking up to the Linky Parties lifted in my sidebar!

Minestrone Soup

As I mentioned earlier, one of my goals for the New Year is to make at least one new recipe every other week or so and I kept up with that goal this week by making Minestrone Soup. Since one of my other goals is to eat healthier, I tried to keep this soup as healthy as possible. I found the original recipe on the Healthy and Easy Recipes Blog but I tweaked it a lot so I am going to post my tweaked version below but you can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 small onion

2-3 carrots

2-3 stalks of celery

2 small Roma tomatoes 

2 TBSP of minced garlic

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano 

1/3 cup small whole grained pasta or orzo 

3 cans of low sodium, light chicken broth

Olive oil 

Directions:

1. Finely chop your onion, carrots, and celery. Saute them in a little bit of olive oil with the 2 TBSP of minced garlic until tender. Set them aside. 

2. Brown your ground turkey until it is no longer pink. 

3. Add your chicken broth to a stock pot. Add in the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, turkey, pasta, oregano, and basil. Cook on medium high for about 15 minutes or so. Then turn it to low and let it simmer till you are ready to eat. 

Yumm-o!

Linking up to the following link parties:

Making Monday Marvelous @ C.R.A.F.T.

Craft-O-Maniac

Making the World Cuter Mondays

Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts 

Just a Girl Show and Share Day

Feature yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge

Get Your Craft On

Show Me What Ya Got

Easy Peasy Candy Cane Fudge

This is probably one of the easiest fudge recipes ever. I have been making it for the past few years and people always love it and request the recipe and then are shocked at how simple it is! I promise if you give it a try, you won't be disappointed. 


What You Need:
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 container of whipped white/vanilla icing
1-2 TBSP mint extract (depending on how minty you like things)
1 tsp shortening
Red Food Coloring
About 12 mini candy canes crushed or 4-6 regular sized 

How to Make It:
1. Over medium heat begin to melt the white chocolate chips stirring continually. As they begin to melt, add in the entire container of frosting, the shortening, and the mint extract. Continue stirring until it's all melted and combined. 
2. Spray a dish with cooking spray and pour the fudge in the dish. Put a couple of drops of the red food coloring in different spots randomly and then use a knife to pull the red food coloring across the white fudge to create a swirly look. 
3. Put your candy canes in a ziploc bag and crush them up. (I give this job to Noah sometimes and let him beat them with a wooden spoon. He's the best candy cane crusher I know!) Pour the crushed candy canes on top of the fudge, pop it in the fridge for a few hours and let it set. 


Then you are ready to cut it up and enjoy!!

Linking up to the following link parties:

Making Monday Marvelous @ C.R.A.F.T.

Craft-O-Maniac

Making the World Cuter Mondays

Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts 

Just a Girl Show and Share Day

Feature yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge

Get Your Craft On

Show Me What Ya Got

Mississippi Girl Chicken Enchiladas

I posted that I was making these on Facebook last week and multiple people asked for the recipe so posting it here seemed like the easiest way to share it. 


As some of you know, I have an ulcer so I can't eat spicy foods or tomato based foods but I LOVE Mexican foods so I had to get creative and come up with some recipes on my own. This recipe below was made from about 3-4 different recipes plus trial and error. It's not figure friendly so I don't make it super often but it is delicious. 


What You'll Need:
Chicken (I use 1 package of the pre-cooked chicken made by Tyson.)
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (I know, sounds weird - trust me!)
1 container of sour cream
1 large onion finely chopped
2 tbsp. garlic (I used the minced kind that comes in a jar.)
2 cups of mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup milk
cooking spray
tortillas (I use flour because J prefers that but you could use corn.)


What You'll Do:
1. Spray a skillet liberally with cooking spray and saute the garlic and onions. 
2. Add your chicken to the mixture. (If you are using the Tyson pre-cooked kind, it's already chopped, but I chop it a bit finer before adding it to the skillet.) Turn on low and let it hang out.
3. In another pot, add both cans of mushroom soup on medium heat. Stir in the whole container of sour cream and the milk. (I told you it's not figure friendly.) Let this mixture heat up a little bit. 
4. Now add about 1/4 cup of the sour cream/mushroom soup mixture to the pan with the chicken. Add 1 1/2 cups of the cheese to the skillet as well and combine until the cheese is melted. 
5. Spray a cooking dish with cooking spray. Take a tortilla and add a couple of spoonfuls of the chicken mixture to each tortilla. (How much you add to each tortilla will depend on the size of your tortillas but you don't want them too full.) Fold each tortilla closed and place in the baking dish seam side down. Continue this with each tortilla until you have used the entire chicken mixture. 
6. Pour all of the sauce over the tortillas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the tortillas. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.


Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Linguine

I made this for dinner the other night and it was so easy and so delicious. It had been a long time since I have made it but it was so good and quick that I know I will be making it again soon.

I made a few minor changes to the original recipe which was given to me by a friend.

Ingredients:
1 box of angel hair spaghetti
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 - 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of minced garlic
1/2 of a small onion finely chopped
2-3 chicken breasts chopped into bite sized pieces
1 small can of mushrooms (drained)
1/4 cup of milk

Instructions:
1. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions.
2. While spaghetti is cooking, put the olive oil in a skillet and saute the onion and garlic. Add the chicken and cook until the chicken is done.
3. Once the chicken is done, add the cream of mushroom soup, canned mushrooms, and milk. Stir together well. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes on low heat.
4. Serve with spaghetti and enjoy!

Dreamsicle Pudding Recipe

On Labor Day we had my parents over for a cookout and I was trying to find a Weight Watchers desert recipe and came across a recipe for something called Dreamsicle Pudding. It looked easy and yummy so I gave it a try. My initial impression was right - it WAS easy, quick, and delicious. Noah enjoyed helping because it was orange and re-named it Tiger Pudding.

Ingredients:
1 box sugar free orange jello
1 box of sugar free vanilla pudding (I used french vanilla.)
1 can of drained Mandarin oranges (I used two small cans)
1 container of light Cool Whip

Directions:
1. Dissolve orange jello in 1 cup of very hot water.
2. Add 1 cup of cold water and set aside for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the pudding mix to the jello and blend or whisk it all together very well.
4. Fold in the Cool Whip and the oranges.
5. Chill for at least 2 hours and serve.

YUM!! (And yes it tastes like a dreamsicle.)

Source

Linking up at the following link parties:

Sassy Sites
Someday Crafts
Craft-O-Maniac