EASY LO MEIN

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Yield 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces lo mein egg noodles*
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1/2 cup snow peas
• 3 cups baby spinach
•  

FOR THE SAUCE

• 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, or more, to taste
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger and Sriracha; set aside.
• In a large pot of boiling water, cook lo mein egg noodles according to package instructions; drain well.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and carrot. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in snow peas and spinach until the spinach has wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in egg noodles and soy sauce mixture, and gently toss to combine.
• Serve immediately.

NOTES

*If lo mein egg noodles cannot be found, spaghetti can be substituted. This recipe is so delicious and really easy to make. I found the recipe HERE 

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Serves: Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 cups of diced rotisserie chicken {or any other cooked chicken}
• 2 cups broccoli florets, broken down into bite-sized pieces
• 1 can cream of chicken soup {can use low-sodium or Healthy Request}
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1½ cups shredded cheese
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½-3/4 cup crushed corn flakes
• 2 Tbls butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients into a greased 9x13 baking dish. I use a 9x13 because we like extra room for our corn flakes {more crunch!} but this recipe will fit into an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish.
2. Mix up all the ingredients except corn flakes and butter right in the baking dish.
3. Sprinkle the crushed corn flakes over the top of the casserole.
4. Drizzle melted butter over the top.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until casserole is heated through.

Notes: My family loved this dinner, it was really fast and easy to make. I found the recipe HERE

ASIAN LEMON CHICKEN TENDERS

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Yield 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk 

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

• To make the glaze, combine honey, soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10-12 minutes.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Working one at a time, dredge chicken in flour, dip into buttermilk, then dredge in flour again, pressing to coat.
• Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet, 3 or 4 at a time, and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Serve immediately, drizzled with lemon glaze.

 I found this recipe HERE

Caramel Cheesecake Fruit Dip

16 oz. cream cheese (softened)

Jar of marshmallow fluff

1 cup caramel ice cream topping

Directions:

Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, whip cream cheese until smooth and fluffy for about 1 minute. Stir in caramel ice cream topping and marshmallow fluff. Serve with any kind of fruit.

Smores Fudge Bars

makes 25 bars

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Fudge layer

• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk

Fluff Layer

• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup light corn syrup
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line a 9x9 baking pan with foil. Set aside.
3. Mix all the ingredients for your crust together and press evenly into pan.
4. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
5. Next make your chocolate filling. In a medium sauce pan combine the milk chocolate and sweetened condense milk together over medium-low heat and stir until melted. Pour immediately onto crust.

Fluff

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil together until a candy thermometer reads 240°.
2. While mixture is boiling beat 2 egg whites and cream of tartar together until soft peaks form.
3. When syrup is ready, turn mixer onto low and drizzle the syrup along the side of the bowl slowly combining it into the egg whites.
4. When all the syrup has been added turn mixer up to medium high and beat for 7-8 minutes until thick and glossy. When there is about one minute left add in the vanilla.
5. Spread about 1½ - 2 cups of the Fluff on top of the chocolate layer.
6. Turn oven onto broil and place pan under broiler for 1 minute or until the top of the marshmallow layer gets lightly golden.
7. Cut into squares when ready to serve.

Notes

Store bars airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Store the remaining Fluff at in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

recipe for Fluff adapted from Marshmallow Madness

Original recipe can be found HERE

Cookie Butter Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 16 cups air popped plain popcorn (I did 1/2 cup seeds + 1 TB oil)
• 1 16 oz pkg Krogers vanilla candy coating (or candyquik)
• 3 TB cookie butter (found at Trader Joes ... Biscoff or Peanut butter will work too)
• 1/2 cup colored candy melts
• 1 pkg m&m's 
• Sprinkles

Directions:

1. Pop your popcorn and place in a large bowl. Next melt your vanilla candy coating in the microwave according to the package directions. Then add the cookie butter to the melted chocolate. 2. Stir until combined. Drizzle the coating over the popcorn. Stir until evenly coated. Mix in m&m's and then spread out on wax paper.
3. Melt your colored candy melts in the microwave and then drizzle on top of the popcorn. You can always add a few drops of food coloring to white chocolate chips as well.
4. Top with sprinkles.

Notes: The original recipe found HERE

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can pumpkin

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature

for graham cracker crust:

18 graham crackers (2 sleeves)

1 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

*whipped cream to top

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl crush graham crackers with your hands. Add sugar and butter and mix well. Press graham cracker crumbs onto a lined (parchment paper or silpat) jelly roll pan. Bake for 5 minutes until toasty. Remove and reduce oven temperature to 325.

Mix together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, cream and vanilla in a large bowl.

In the bowl of a KitchenAid, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger. Beat until light and fluffy then slowly pour in pumpkin mixture. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and no lumps remain.

Pour batter onto baked crust and bake for 50 minutes until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool completely before cutting into small squares and topping with whipped cream.

Notes: Original recipe can be found HERE 

Standard Muffin Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup skim milk (or whatever milk you have)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
• cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place muffin liners in a muffin tin and spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
3. In another bowl, add the sugar, milk, vanilla, egg, and oil. Whisk to combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined; batter should be lumpy. Do not over mix.
5. Fill the muffin liners ¾ of the way up.
6. Add your favorite muffin flavors/additions (fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, oats, etc.). Take a toothpick and push the additional ingredients down into the batter and swirl them around a little.
7. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you are going to use a muffin addition that is not very sweet, like blueberries, it would be a good idea to roll that ingredient around in a little bit of sugar before you add it to the muffin batter.

The baking powder will start to react as soon as the wet ingredients are added to the dry ingredients. So, it's a good idea to have all of your additional ingredients prepared (ie. fruit peeled and chopped) before the batter is made. Original recipe can be found HERE 

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes

Ingredients:

5-6 medium sized potatoes (I like using red potatoes or Russet potatoes), skins on, scrubbed and diced

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (the kind that you shake over spaghetti!)

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a large baking sheet (I use a 15x10x1″ jelly roll pan) with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Dump diced potatoes on the foil-lined pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and using your hands, gently toss the potatoes until oil has covered all the potatoes.

In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the potatoes and once again use your hands to incorporate spices over the potatoes.

Place pan in the oven and cook for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes so that they are evenly cooked and don’t get burned on the bottom. When finished baking, remove from oven and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Makes 4-5 servings.

Notes: This is a great side dish, I found the recipe HERE

Baked Ravioli

Ingredients

• 1 bag (25 Oz. Bag) Frozen Ravioli
• 1 jar (26 Oz. Jar) Marinara Sauce
• 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese, For Sprinkling
• 
  
• Preparation

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray bottom and sides of a 9×13 rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread 3/4 cup of the pasta sauce in baking dish. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over the sauce; top with half of the remaining pasta sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in the center. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes: This is an easy fast dinner that my family loves I found the recipe HERE

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Yield: About 5 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice blend*
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (from about 1 small onion)
• 1 cup diced carrots (from 2 medium)
• 1 cup diced celery (from 2 - 3 stalks)
• 7 Tbsp butter, diced, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (measured from 3 14.5 oz cans)
• 1/4 tsp of each dried thyme, marjoram, sage and rosemary
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions

• Prepare rice according to directions listed on package.
• Halfway through the rice cooking, in a separate large pot, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and saute until slightly tender, about 4 minutes, adding in garlic during last 30 seconds of sauteing. Add chicken broth, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high, add chicken and bring mixture to a boil. Cover pot with lid and allow mixture to boil 12 - 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (rotating chicken to opposite side once during cooking for thicker chicken breasts - if they don't fully immerse in broth). Remove chicken and set aside on cutting board to cool 5 minutes then shred into small bite size pieces. Meanwhile reduce heat to low and add cooked rice. Add shredded chicken to soup.
• In a separate medium saucepan (I just rinsed and wiped out the rice pan), melt remaining 6 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook 1 1/2 minutes, whisking constantly. Then, while whisking vigorously, slowly pour milk into butter/flour mixture. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. Add milk mixture to soup mixture in pot and cook about 5 minutes longer, or until soup is thickened (at this point, you can simmer the soup for a longer period of time if you want the rice to soften more, just cover with lid first and stir occasionally. You can also add what's left in the remaining can of chicken broth). Stir in heavy cream and lemon zest and serve warm.
• Recipe Source: Cooking Classy