Roasted Veggie Wraps with Goat Cheese Spread



The players aka what's inside

 While it may still feel like winter here in Wisconsin, I know that swimsuit season is fast approaching. On April 1st I started a DietBet on DietBet.com. Basically every person that joins the DietBet game contributes $X and whoever loses 4% of their body weight in 4 weeks splits the pot. I'm about 60% of the way there and have about 10 days left. That said...I've been forced to eat healthy (and by forced I mean I'm too damn stubborn to lose even $1 in a bet)!

I've been trying to keep my meals healthy and still full of flavor. I used to always think that if I needed to eat healthy it had to be bland chicken and a boring vegetable side dish. I've found some great recipes these past few weeks and think I'm going to try to keep a lot of these dishes in the rotation because they are so yummy!

And here's where the veggie wrap idea came into play. I have a lot of work lunches I go to and always look for a healthy wrap and have been eating a lot of roasted vegetable wraps. I decided that I could do it myself and do it better than anywhere else I've eaten....and I did!! This was fabulous!! It was refreshing and light and yet I still felt full after dinner. I did this as a "Meatless Monday" dish however you can add chicken or beef in the wrap or another meat on the side and it would be fantastic. I had one for lunch yesterday and I plan to eat another one for lunch today. I think it also totals to right around 400 calories for the whole wrap and I typically estimate high on the calorie count! So make it and enjoy some delicious food while being healthy!

YUM!

Roasted Veggie Wraps with Goat Cheese
Source: All me!

Ingredients:
1 zucchini, chopped into thirds and sliced
1 yellow squash, chopped into thirds and sliced
1/2 pint mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
spring mix lettuce blend
1/3 cup shredded carrots
2.5 oz goat cheese, room temperature
2-3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt (I probably did 3)
3 spinach tortilla wraps
balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
salt, pepper, and EVOO

Directions:
1. Place zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and red pepper on a foil lined baking sheet. Pour some EVOO on top of veggies and mix so that they are lightly coated. Sprinkle salt and pepper (and any other seasonings you like) on top. Roast for about 20 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, turning once or twice during cooking time. Side note: depending on how hot your oven cooks and how close to the top of the oven, it may require more or less cooking time. When done, pull out and let cool for about 5-10 minutes so the veggies are room temperature (I set my whole baking sheet outside since it was cold outside and it cooled down pretty quick).

2. While veggies are roasting, mix a couple of handfuls of the spring mix with the shredded carrots in a bowl. Add some balsamic vinaigrette and toss to coat.

3. Mix the goat cheese with the Greek yogurt until thoroughly incorporated. This makes a nice, creamy, and tangy spread.

4. Lay out 3 tortillas and spread with the goat cheese mixture. I spread the mixture all around the tortilla because I truly hate when I don't get to taste the spread in every bite. Next add some of the salad mixture in the middle of the wrap. Then layer your roasted veggies on top of the salad mixture. Cut and serve!

Reece's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes



Don't you want to lick the screen?!

For how much I love cupcakes you'd think I'd post more pictures of them, right?! Unfotunately, I love them SO much I usually eat them before I can get a good picture. I'm pretty boring when it comes to making cupcakes. I'll make a chocolate cake (from a box) with my basic vanilla buttercream frosting. Last fall I wanted to treat some very special ladies I work with and thank them with cupcakes for all the hard work they do for me and my colleagues. I ventured out of my comfort zone and made Reece's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes. WOWZA! These.were.awesome!!!!

Since I am a lazy baker I always use a box cake mix...not to mention they always turn out moist and perfect! And let's be honest, the cake is really just a means to eat frosting anyways! I do spend the time making a homemade buttercream that will knock your socks off. Seriously, the buttercream is the star of this cupcake, hands down! Make these and then you can tell me how amazing this buttercream is!! No lie, I don't even like peanut butter buttercream and I pipe any remaining frosting right into my mouth with these puppies!

Reece's Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Source: Me

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 box chocolate cake mix (and all ingredients needed to make the box cake mix)

1 bag of miniature Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

Buttercream:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

4 cups confectioners sugar

1 tbsp merengue powder

1 tbsp peanut butter extract

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (maybe a little more depending on flavor and color)

2-4 tbsp milk

Directions:

1. Bake cake according to box directions. After 5 minutes of baking, drop a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup into the center of the cupcake. Let cool completely.

2. Put butter in a bowl and mix with a mixer or stand mixer (my KitchenAid is awesome for buttercreams). Beat butter until creamy. Add the peanut butter and cream together.

3. Add 2 cups of the confectioners sugar and the merengue powder and mix until incorporated. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until completely incorporated again.

4. Add the peanut butter extract and 2 tbsp of milk. I usually taste it and will either add more peanut butter or more peanut butter extract to get the flavor where I want it. I'll also add more milk if I want a creamier buttercream.

5. Chop about 5-8 mini peanut butter cups into small pieces. Frost cupcakes with buttercream. I pipe my frosting using a large star tip (I don't know what the number is). After I frost about 5-6 cupcakes I'll sprinkle some chopped peanut butter cups on top so that the frosting is still soft enough to grab hold to the candy.

Serve and enjoy!!!

Stuffed Peppers

As 2013 hit, Kurt and I decided we really want to start taking better care of ourselves. As you can see from the blog, I'm a BIG fan of comfort food (like, big big BIG fan). Unfortunately for our waistline, comfort food is not very healthy and does not aid in staying in shape. I've made a big push lately to eat healthier foods and try to use fresh ingredients.

I first saw this stuffed pepper idea pop up all over my online mom's group, like, everyone was making them! Then I saw them all over Pinterest and then my co-worker brought them in for lunch....I think you get the idea. They are everywhere and now I understand why! Stuffed peppers are delicious! After making them once, I keep thinking of new things to stuff them with. This recipe is sort of an "eyeball" type recipe as I didn't really have specific measurements so I more or less just eyeballed the ingredients.

Stuffed Peppers

Source: Adapted from Rachel, a mom friend of mine

Ingredients:

5-7 peppers for stuffing (try to find ones with flatter bottoms)

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup white rice

1 can diced tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes with garlic and sweet onion)

1/2-1 onion, chopped

1 small jar your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Newman's Own Sockarooni)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

EVOO

Any add-ins you'd like

Directions:

1. Cook the rice. While rice is cooking brown the ground beef and saute the onions in EVOO. 

2. When everything is cooked, mix the beef, onions, rice, and the canned tomatoes in a large bowl. Add about 1/3 of the jar of spaghetti sauce to coat the mixture.

3. Cut the tops off of the peppers and clean out the insides. I used a paring knife to cut away the membranes or used my fingers to pull them out. Stuff the peppers with the meat/rice mixture and place them in a baking dish (I used an 8x8 baking dish but you can use whatever works for you).

4. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the peppers and in the bottom of the baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add some mozzarella to the top and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until peppers are soft.

**We like our peppers with a little crunch. For softer peppers I've heard of people cutting the peppers length-wise b/c more of the pepper cooks in the sauce. I've also heard of people roasting their peppers for a little bit first.

Amped Up Goat Cheese & Asparagus Pizza

My best friend Suki lives in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota. One glorious weekend I was able to get away, sans husband and child, and pay a visit to said BFF. It was glorious!! We went out to eat at nice restaurants, we slept in (me only until 8am of course), leisurely got ready, and even went dancing! Not to mention it was my bestie's 30th birthday!!!

As we were lounging in our pj's on Saturday we wanted to make a yummy but healthy and not too heavy lunch. Suki had suggested this Goat Cheese and Asparagus Pizza and I jumped on the chance to eat it! We ran to the grocery store and got the few ingredients needed to make the yummy pizza. We basically watched it bake and as soon as that timer went off we cut it and dove in. Unfortunately I think that meant we burnt our tongues but well worth it.

I've taken the original recipe and added a few things to up the veggie count and make it more filling. I also added a little mozzarella on top to up the cheese factor (I am a Wisconsin girl after all)! This was delicious!! Honestly, the tangy white sauce, the crisp and fresh asparagus, the woodsy mushrooms, and the sweet onions are SUCH a great combination. I would give this a 9.7 out of 10. The next time I make it I am going to add some cooked and crumbled bacon and it will be a 10 for sure! I think if you want a quick and fresh pizza, definitely just make the original Goat Cheese and Asparagus pizza. If you want to make it more of a dinner and add some extra ingredients, go with my edited version. As usual, I'd love to hear how it turned out for you and if you made any substitutions that turned out delicioso!!!



Can you say YUM-O?!!!

Amped Up Goat Cheese & Asparagus Pizza

Source: RealSimple.com

Ingredients:

flour for work surface

1 or 2 pre-made thin pizza crusts

4 ounces goat cheese (although more is always good too)

4 ounces sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (I didn't have fresh so I used about 1 tsp. dried)

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 pint sliced mushrooms, baby bellas if possible

1 small sweet onion, chopped

bacon (optional)

1/4 cup white wine

kosher salt and black pepper

EVOO

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F, or as directed on pizza crust.

2. Add EVOO to a pan and saute the onions so they start to sweat. As they are close to becoming translucent, add the white wine finish cooking until the wine has been absorbed/cooked off.

3. While cooking the vegetables, in a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, sour cream, salt & pepper, and thyme. Spread over the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border.

3.Top with the asparagus, mushrooms, and onions (and bacon bits).

4.Bake until golden and crisp around the edges, around 15-20 minutes.

ENJOY!

Copycat Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli Soup

This has to be my favorite soup at Olive Garden, hands down. As an avid Pinterest user, I saw this on Pinterest as a crockpot soup and knew it was going in the rotation. I was able to put everything in the crockpot before I left for work and by the time we got home, I just threw the (store bought) breadsticks in the oven and 15 minutes later we were eating a healthy and DELICIOUS meal! If you like soup and crockpot cooking, MAKE THIS!

Just an FYI, make sure you have a big crockpot because this make a lot of soup! I even froze half of it for another day (again, even awesomer b/c then I've got another meal made for a few weeks later with only half the work)! Also, I couldn't find ditalini pasta at the grocery store so I bought these pipette ones, I'd suggest regular macaroni if you can't find ditalini. The pipette got too big when cooked so any small pasta will work well.

Copycat Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup

Source: Favorite Familiy Recipes via Pinterest

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, chopped
3 carrots,  (I used a couple handfuls of shredded bagged carrots)
1 c. celery, chopped
2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (16 oz.) can white kidney beans, drained
4 cups beef stock
3 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. pepper
5 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. tabasco sauce
1 (20 oz.) jar Prego traditional spaghetti sauce
8 oz. pasta (I like using ditali pasta)

Directions:
1. Brown ground beef in large skillet. Drain fat.

2. Add beef and all ingredients except the pasta into a large crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

3. Before serving, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to soup.

Apple Crisp

Sorry that it's not a great picture, we dug in before I could snap a good shot!

There are SO many things that I love about fall. The leaves turn beautiful colors, it's jeans and t-shirt weather, my birthday is in the fall, and APPLES GALORE!! As much as I love apples, I've never made an apple crisp before. I was having my brothers over for a casual dinner and wanted a yummy dessert to leave them with. As you know, I'm all for simple so I thought I'd try an apple crisp for the first time.

While it was simple, there was a lot of work involved with peeling and slicing the apples. Now I understand why my mother-in-law has one of those apple peelers where you crank the handle and it just peels for you!! Once that was done it was pretty quick and easy. I actually made it and then baked it about 5 hours later and it was divine!! The right amount of sweetness from the cinnamon and brown sugar on the tart green granny smith apples. Total deliciousness!

Apple Crisp
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
10 cups apples (I used green granny smith), peeled, cored, and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp AP flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water

1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup AP flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Biggies' Penne a la Vodka

This pasta is freaking YUM! My lil brother Biggies introduced it to me and Kurt probably 4 years ago. At the time he was planning on becoming a chef so we'd invite him to dinner, buy the groceries he needed, and he'd make us a delicious meal (all while completely destroying my kitchen with dirty dishes!!)! Pretty good deal if you ask me. The first time my brother made this he just did the pasta itself and made an unbelievable pork tenderloin to go with it. Since Kurt and I live on a bit of a budget we usually add chicken to the dish instead. Now, as many times as I've tried to replicate my brother's dish, it just never tastes as good as his does. I can only chalk that up to the fact that he probably left an ingredient out so that I've got to keep inviting him over for dinner! 

Biggies' Penne a la Vodka is a simple dish with simple ingredients and it will feed a group. Pretty much everything that I look for in a meal. Oh yeah, and did I mention it's totally YUM yet?! There is red pepper flakes added to this and you can adjust to how spicy you like it. Lately I've been adding a little more red pepper because the kick of spice really adds to the dish. Do what will taste good to you but just promise me you'll make this! Added bonus: it tastes better the next day after the flavors have melded together more!

My  brother Biggies and his fiance Anna

Biggies' Penne a la Vodka

Source: My brother Biggies

Ingredients:

1 lb. penne noodles

28oz can whole peeled tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes to save time)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1-2 shots of vodka

herbs de provence

salt & pepper 

Directions:

1. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook 11-12 minutes to al dente, drain.

2. In a big pot/pan, lightly saute the garlic and onions until they start to sweat. Add tomatoes, cover, and cook for about 5-7 minutes. 

3. Remove cover and crush the tomatoes with your spoon. Add herbs de provence, salt, and pepper and let simmer for a few minutes.

4. Add pasta and stir. Remove from heat and add about 1 cup of heavy cream, stir to combine. Add vodka, stir, cover, and let sit for a few minutes to let flavors meld. 

***I do usually add cubed and cooked chicken after I crush the tomatoes. My brother has also cooked a pork tenderloin and served that on the side. 

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

If you haven't been hiding under a rock you've heard of Pinterest, aka heroin for adult women! This recipe has circulated Pinterest once or twice and every time I see it come through I'd think, that looks SO good! Finally I had a night where I knew I wanted a pasta dish (wait, isn't that every night?!) however I didn't feel like the same old thing and that is when I remembered this gem. I had all the ingredients, as you probably do too, and whipped it up with the help of my sous chef, Riglee. 

Was it good? It was phenomenal! The noodles are coated with a cream cheese mixture and when Baked with the sauce on top, the sauce just melts down between the noodles. I think a 9x13 pan of this was gone the next day because we ended up eating the leftovers for dinner the next night too. And if you have kids, a guaranteed crowd pleaser!! This will definitely make the comfort food rotation in my casa!

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

Source: Plain Chicken via Pinterest

Ingredients:

12 oz spaghetti
1 (28 ounce) jars prepared spaghetti sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced (I omitted this)
8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.

2. Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet.  Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl.  Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic.  Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated. 

3. Lightly grease a 9x13" pan.  Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce (I actually did 2 layers of spaghetti and sauce). Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and  bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly. 

Grandpa D's Beef Enchiladas

About 4 years ago Kurt and I were visiting his Grandma and Grandpa in Illinois and staying over for dinner. Kurt's grandpa is one amazing cook and he made us these beef enchiladas. I don't think it took Kurt more than a few days to request them in the rotation. Luckily I got the recipe from Grandpa before we left that weekend. Sadly Kurt's grandpa passed last year but we will always have the fond memories of him and his amazing meals!!

These are super simple beef enchiladas that are always a crowd pleaser. I also like them because you can make them ahead of time and freeze them if you want so they can be a quick meal to just pop in the oven when you get home from work. Needless to say, this is husband approved!!

Beef Enchiladas

Source: Grandpa D

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

2 cans enchilada sauce (I usually buy La Preferida)

8 taco shells

1 can of corn

A brick on monterey jack cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar or taco cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. brown ground beef in a pan. While browning the beef put 1 1/2 can of enchilada sauce in a small pot on the stove and heat through. Drain, rinse, and return the beef to pan once cooked. Add 1/2 enchilada sauce and corn to ground beef. 

2. Prepare to get a little messy! Dump remaining 1/2 can of enchilada sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan and spread around and up the sides a little. Take 1 taco shell and spoon some warm enchilada sauce into the middle and spread around. Spoon about 1/4 cup beef mixture into center of taco shell and roll up. I usually fold in the right and left sides then roll the shell up. Place enchilada seam-side down into 9x13 pan. Repeat with remaining taco shells.

3. Take leftover enchilada sauce from the stove and spread/pour over enchiladas in pan. Slice long slices of the monterey jack cheese and lay over the center of each enchilada. Sprinkle shredded cheese over entire dish and bake until all the cheese is melty and yummy looking! Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

Now that it's going to be amazing weather, I've finally decided to jump back on the blog bandwagon and I'm going to start with a favorite winter comfort food, Chicken Pot Pie! Now, my mama always made the absolute best chicken pot pie when I was growing up. When I went to college she gave me her recipe and I always tried to replicate it and it was always delicious but never quite "mama's chicken pot pie." I think it has to do with her special ingredient...she always said it was love but I'm guessing she put a little something else in it and just never told me what it was ;)! 

I have to say, I love me some chicken pot pie but I really don't enjoy all the prep work with it. A few years ago I came home from work and wanted chicken pot pie but didn't feel like doing all the work like making the rue, chopping fresh veggies, etc. So I made some easy substitutions and created this AMAZING and QUICK chicken pot pie!! I always get a triple thumbs up from the husband and he always has seconds so I know this is worth making.

Cristina's Chicken Pot Pie

Source: All me baby

Ingredients:

2 pre-made pie crusts (I use Pillsbury, they are in the refrigerator section)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can sliced carrots

1 can diced potatoes

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 lb. chicken breast, cubed

1/2 can milk (I use the can from the cream of chicken soup)

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Salt & Pepper (probably about 1/2 tsp. each, maybe a little more)

EVOO

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put some EVOO in a frying pan. When hot add the chicken. Sprinkle chicken with about 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning and some salt and pepper and cook all the way through.

2. While chicken is cooking, put peas in a strainer and run hot water over them for about 1 minute. Once unfrozen, add the cans of sliced carrots and diced potatoes so they can drain. 

3. In a bowl, pour in the cream of chicken soup, 1/2 can of milk, remaining poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper (I like mine a little peppery so I put a couple extra dashes in there) and mix until combined.

4. Add the veggies and the cooked chicken to the mixture in the bowl and stir until completely combined.

5. Roll out both pre-made pie crusts. Put one in the bottom of a deep dish pie dish (it's a 1.5 quart glass dish that I use) and make sure there are no air bubbles and that the crust comes all the way up the sides. Then pour in the pot pie mixtures and spread out evenly. Finally put the last pie crust on top and pinch the edges tight to the bottom pie crust. Cut 4 slits on top and bake for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the top crust is golden. I usually put some butter or an egg wash on top 10 minutes into the cook time.