Avocado and Mozzarella Salad & Avocado and Corn Salad

Summer is just about over!  It’s hard to believe….I know!   I thought that I would share few recipes for your Labor Day weekend.  I recently found myself with an abundance of avocados and began searching the internet for easy avocado recipes.  I settled on the following recipes, and these are my variations of two simple summer salads.



 

AVOCADO & MOZZARELLA SALAD

 

2 -3  avocados (peeled and chopped)

one container of fresh mozzarella (drained and chopped)

1 container of cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)

a generous handful of fresh basil (coarsely chopped)

a small splash of balsamic vinaigrette (optional) 

a few drizzles of olive oil

 

Mix ingredients together.  Best when flavors merry in the refrigerator for a little while.  Not a dish that does well prepared too early, because avocados have the tendency to get mushy if not consumed quickly.  This salad is great served with toasted baguette.  Essentially, this recipe is just a twist on a basic caprese salad.  It really can't get any easier.

 

CORN & AVOCADO SALAD

 

2-3 avocados (peeled and chopped)

2 ears of corn (cooked and cut off the cob)

1 container of cherry or grape tomatoes (halved)

a handlfull of fresh cilantro (coarsely chopped)

the juice of one lime

a few splashes of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 

Mix ingredients together.  Best when flavors merry in the refrigerator for a little while.   Not a dish that does well prepared too early, because avocados have the tendency to get mushy if not consumed quickly.  Drained canned corn can be used if fresh corn is not availble.  Tomatoes can be any kind.  I actually used fresh garden tomatoes, because I was needing to use up a bunch that my mother-in-law gave us.  They were delicious in this dish. 

 

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Staying in & Spinach, Mushroom and Tortellini Soup

          

         Ever have one of those weekends where you just want stay in?  This past weekend was like that for me.  I’m not sure if it was the rainy looking weather that never actually rained on us or the fact that we were still recouping from vacation.  Either way, we ended up having a lazy weekend.  In the process of trying to figure out where we were going to go for our date night, I told my husband that I was just too tired to go out, so we decided to have date night at home. 

            The decision was made, andI found myself in need of an easy yet casually romantic dinner to make with ingredients I already had on hand and could preferably be made in thirty minutes or less.  Where else to turn for such a dilemma than Pinterest?  After running a few morning errands on Friday, I looked through some recipes on my Pinterest pin board and decided that this recipe was going to be dinner.  The problem was that I didn’t have all of the ingredients for the recipe, and I didn’t have time to make a crock pot meal.  Since I did have most of the ingredients, I chose to fumble my way through the recipe and do my own cheaters version of it on the stove. 

            Prepare yourself, because there were no measurable ingredients as I threw this recipe together.  I’m gonna tell you how I made it the way my momma would….that is, a pinch of this and a dash of that;)  If you think it looks appealing, you can try my cheaters version or the original Pinterest inspiration, which I’m sure taste much better than mine.

            The first thing I did was make a caprese salad (Matt’s favorite) by mixing the following ingredients together:  a container of cherry tomatoes (halved), a bunch of fresh basil (coarsely chopped), fresh mozzarella (drained and chopped) and a few splashes of balsamic vinaigrette to taste.  I set it in the fridge for the flavors to merry, and the salad was done:)

            Then, I boiled and drained a bag of cheese tortellini, and added the following:  a jar of alfredo sauce, a couple splashes of equal parts milk and vegetable stock to thin out sauce, a container of sliced mushrooms, a few sprigs of fresh basil, ¾ a bag of fresh spinach, a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese, one clove crushed garlic, a pinch of oregano, a pinch of dried basil, black pepper to taste and a dash of fresh grated nutmeg.  I gave it a stir, and soup was done! 

            Next, I rolled out a container of crescent dough and assembled on top of the dough the following:  sliced provolone, the remaining fresh spinach and tomatoe slices.  I rolled the dough back up and sliced it before putting it in the oven.  A few minutes later, the rolls were done:)

            Lastly, I set the table, poured two glasses of sparkling pomegranate juice, just as the hubs was coming home from work.  And so there it was, our casually-romantic date night – eating dinner at home and going to bed early…..we’re so old!!!  I wish I could say the rest of our weekend picked up the pace a little, but it didn’t.  It was just a lazy weekend where we stayed in.  What can I say…..sometimes, you just need weekends like that;)

Excellent Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sister made chocolate chip cookies over Thanksgiving Break that were sooo yummy.  Everyone in our family loved them!  Apparently, she got the recipe from a friend.  When I asked her for the recipe, she said that the recipe is the same as the back of the Nestle's chocolate chip bag, but with a few minor adjustments.  Believe it or not, a Crisco butter flavor baking stick is what makes these cookies taste so good.  Here's the recipe. 

2 1/4 cups of flour

 1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1  Crisco Baking Stick Butter Flavor

 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 lage eggs

2 c. (12 oz bag) chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine flour, soda and salt in a small bowl.  Beat Crisco, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.   Add eggs and beat well.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Roll into small balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake 9-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes 5 dozen.

Pineapple Cheese Ball

I tried a new cheese ball recipe for a Christmas Eve family get-together tonight.  I got this pineapple cheese ball recipe from an awesome blog that I follow called Chef in Training.  You can get the recipe here.  And while your there, check out some of the other recipes on her blog.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! 

Mom's Bagel Dip

This is a great appetizer for any upcoming holiday parties. My mom always makes this recipe for Christmas gatherings, and it’s a bit hit.  I recently made it for my husband, and he devoured the entire dish in one day….well, I guess I sort of helped him devour it.  What can I say, this stuff is just that good;)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 c. Mayonnaise

1 1/3 c. Sour cream

4 oz. of thinly sliced deli beef or corn beef

(Mom always uses 2 packages of original Budding Beef)

2 tsp. dried dillweed
2 tbs. dried parsley

1 tsp dried minced onion

one bag of bagels

DIRECTIONS:

Cut up beef into small pieces.  Mix all ingredients together and set in fridge over night.  It is VERY important that you let it sit for several hours in order for flavors to merry, or it won't taste right.  Tear bagels into small pieces and serve with dip.

Mom's Hot Chocolate Mix

           

           I have fond memories of my mom’s hot chocolate when I was a kid.  I always knew that cold winter days were approaching when the giant red container made its way out of hiding and found its home on the kitchen counter.  And there it would remain until the days grew longer and the temperature warmer.   Filled with a creamy, chocolaty, powdery mixture, the red container meant all sorts of warm and fuzzy things to me as a child.  A warm cup of Mom’s hot chocolate meant chilly nights, snowy days and above all else…..Christmas!  Now that I’m older, I whip up a batch of this every year, and one batch lasts me an entire winter season.  Some day, I hope my kids will be able to look back and have fond memories of their childhood every time they drink a warm, delicious cup of Mom’s Hot ChocolateJ.

INGREDIENTS

One Box of Powdered Milk (25.6 oz)

One Container of Powdered Coffee Creamer (15 oz)

Half of a Bag of Powdered Sugar

One Container of NesQuick Chocolate Powdered Drink Mix (10.9 oz)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix ingredients together in large bowl and put in storage bag or container for future use.  For each serving use a 2 to 1 ratio of hot water to hot chocolate mix.  This mixture is meant to be more creamy than chocolaty, so you can use whatever ratio taste best for you.  For my morning coffee cup, I usually use one cup of water to one half a cup of the mix, but you can mix it to taste the way you like it.

No-Bake Fudge Cookies

When I posted about putting our Christmas tree up here, I mentioned that I make no-bake fudge cookies to enjoy during that particular holiday tradition.  Growing up, these were always one of my favorite cookies that my mom made for us.  Here is her recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick of Butter

2 c. Sugar

½ c. Evaporated Milk

2 tbs. Cocoa

½ c Peanut Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 c. Quick Oats

DIRECTIONS:

Bring butter, sugar, evaporated milk and cocoa to a boil.  Boil for four minutes.  DO NOT overcook or undercook, or the cookies could be too wet or too dry.  Quickly stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oats.  Quickly drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the wax paper.  Let cookies cool and solidify before indulging in the peanut-buttery, oh-so-chocolatey, ooey- gooey no-bake goodness:)

Fish and Corn Chowder and Cod and Shrimp Stoup

Rachel Ray has some really easy and exceptional recipes to offer.  Here are two of my favorite one-pot-dishes she's created that I love to make this time of year.

Matt loves this fish and corn chowder.  It is creamy and full of flavor with lots of fresh ingredients.  You can get the recipe here.

This cod and shrimp stoup with salt and vinegar mashed potatoes is also a huge hit with the hubs.  You can get the recipe here.

Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls

           I am a big cream cheese fan and tend to be drawn to recipes that have cream cheese as one of the main ingredients.  These sausage and cream cheese crescent rolls are one of my favorite cream cheese recipes.  My husband loves to eat them during a football game, but I’ve made them for all sorts of casual gatherings.  They always go over well, and they are a super-easy three-ingredient recipe.  They'd also be a really good breakfast or brunch dish.  I first had these bite-size snacks at a gathering my grandma had a few years ago.  I’m pretty sure I ate most of the ones on the plate that day.  I asked for the recipe, and I’ve been making them ever since.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. J

INGREDIENTS

2 cans of 8 crescent rolls

1 8oz. package of cream cheese

1 lb. of ground sausage

* I use two packs of cream cheese and three cans of crescent rolls to make the mixture, because I like mine creamier on the inside.

DIRECTIONS

Cook sausage and drain excess grease.  While sausage is warm, mix in cream cheese (mixing with hands works best).  Spoon the mixture onto the individual crescents.  Roll each crescent roll trying to completely cover the mixture while rolling.  Bake according to crescent roll directions on package.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Happy Sunday everyone!  Nothin’ like pumpkin pancakes, topped with whip cream and sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice on a beautiful fall Sunday morning!   I got this recipe from a blog that I follow called Chef in Training.  You can get the recipe here.  Give these a try, and I Hope you enjoy them......I know I did. J

Pumpkin Roll

         

           Pumpkin Roll is my absolute favorite fall dessert.  I’ve been using this recipe since I was fourteen.  I got it out of a recipe book that my childhood church put together, and I’ve been using it ever since.   Last week I shared with you in this post, that I made this recipe using fat-free cream cheese in the icing, because that’s what I had on hand.   That was a BAD idea, and I do NOT recommend it!!!  The icing was runny and didn't taste very good.  I ended up throwing the whole thing out.  Bottom line, if you’re gonna make a dessert, you might as well go all out and use the fattening stuff.  After last weekend’s failed attempt, I bought regular cream cheese this weekend and indulged in my pumpkin roll cravings. One word....YUMMO!  It's even better when served with a cup of my pumpkin spice coffee I told you about in this post.  I certainly didn't disappoint myself this time ;)  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

CAKE

Beat 3 eggs on high for 3-5 minutes.  Mix in 1 c. sugar and 2/3 c. pumpkin.   Blend in ¾ c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. nutmeg, ½ tsp. salt.  Mix ingredients well and pour into a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 14 minutes.

ICING

Mix 1 c. powdered sugar, 8 oz. package of cream cheese,4 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Spread icing on the pumpkin sheet-cake once cooled.  Roll up, slice, serve and enjoy. J

A Little Bit of Pumpkin Spice




A tall non-fat, with whip, pumpkin spice latte is my Starbucks drink of choice this time of year.  However, I've recently tried to cut sugar out of my diet.   I've only allowed myself to have one of these oh-so-delicious drinks this year, because there isn't a sugar-free version of this yummy fall treat.  Even if there was a sugar-free version of the pumpkin spice latte, I choose not to indulge in Starbucks on a daily basis for sake of my wallet and my waistline.  In search of a simpler way to get a little pumpkin spice in my morning coffee cup, I've discovered a few ways to add a taste of fall to each day.



My typical morning coffee includes one light roast breakfast blend Keurig cup, a few drops of fat-free half and half and one teaspoon of stevia.

But here's where the pumpkin spice comes in.   During the fall season, I add a couple teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice to give me a nice warm pumpkin-spice-like flavor.

When I discovered pumpkin spice Keurig cups for my Keurig coffee maker, I was even more excited.  This is a light roast that leaves a warm pumpkin flavor at the back of the pallet.  However, I still add the pumpkin pie spice for additional fall flavor.

 

My homemade morning coffee may not be as tasty as the fall treat that a barista makes at the coffee house, but my coffee is a lot less than $4 a cup.  Not to mention it's fat-free and sugar-free.  Now I'm not saying that my pumpkin spice coffee taste just like a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, but it definitely has the pumpkin spice flavor that I'm looking for in my morning cup of joe. 

If you're not trying to avoid sugar, International Delight has a pumpkin pie spice coffee creamer.  I personally don't care for this product.  I think it has a distinct aftertaste that completely takes away from the taste of coffee.  But several people that I know like this product, so I thought I'd put it in this post.  I guess you'll just have to decide for yourself.

There are also all sorts of recipes on the internet for pumpkin spice lattes, but most of them require an espresso machine.

As for me, well I'll just stick to my pumpkin spice coffee with a little bit of half and half, stevia and pumpkin pie spice.  Yep, that's my morning coffee this time of year.

It's A Chili Kind of Day

Fall, Football and Chili....need I say more.  Today was just a chili kind of day.  The weather was cool, the wind was blowing and the Colts were playing ~ pretty pathetically, but that is neither here nor there.  Yep, it was indeed a perfect chili day. J





And for dessert, I made a pumpkin roll.  This is one of my family's favorite fall desserts.  I will be sharing the recipe in the next few days. 

Let me just quickly say, that I tried using fat-free cream cheese in the icing for the first time with this recipe.  It didn't turn out as pretty as it usually does, so try to ignore the messiness in the picture. 

Recipes from our Indian Summer Picnic

I shared with you in Friday’s post an Indian summer picnic that Matt and I enjoyed for our weekly date.  You can read more about it here. Today I’m going to share with you the recipes from that picnic.  I got the soup and salad recipe from two cookbooks that I got at Half Priced Books Several years ago.  I love both of these cookbooks:   Soup Bowl: An Inspiring Collection of Soups, Broths and Chowders  and Salad: Simple and Fresh Dishes Perfect All Year Round.  You can purchase the cookbooks here and here.

Roasted Garlic, Sweet Potato, Broiled Eggplant & Bell Pepper Salad with Mozzarella

INGREDIENTS:

2 sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)

2 tbsp. olive oil

pepper

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

1 large eggplant (sliced)

2 red bell peppers (seeded and sliced)

7 oz. mixed salad greens

10 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese (sliced)

Dressing:

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove crushed

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 small shallot (finely chopped)

2 tbsp. fresh chopped basil

pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Roast sweet potato chunks in oil, pepper and garlic at 375 degrees for thirty minutes or until soft.  Broil eggplant and bell peppers for ten minutes or until soft and slightly charred.  Place salad greens on plate and assemble sweet potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers and cheese on top of the greens.  Whisk dressing ingredients and pour over salad.  Serves four.

Roasted Squash, Sweet Potato & Garlic Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 sweet potato

1 squash

4 shallots

2 tbsp. olive oil

5-6 garlic cloves (unpeeled)

3 ¾ c. chicken stock

½ c light cream

salt and pepper

snipped chives for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Cut squash, sweet potatoes and shallots in half length wise.  Scoop out seeds of squash.  Brush with oil.  Place face side down in shallow roasting  pan and  roast at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until tender.  When cool, scoop out flesh from skin and place flesh in a saucepan.  Add stock and pinch of salt.  Bring to boil, reduce and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.  Let soup cool and pour into blender.  Blend until smooth.  Return to sauce pan and stir in cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with chives.  Serves 6-8.
Note:  I ended up adding more garlic.  I also added a little brown sugar and butter to taste.

Zucchini Brownies

These were so yummy.  To me, these brownies have the texture of zucchini bread and the taste of chocolate, chocolate chip cookie bars and lava cake combined.  I found this recipe from a blog that I follow called The Pioneer Cookbook.  You can get the recipe here. 

Apple Crisp and Easy Caramel Apple Bars

Yesterday I shared this post about a trip to the apple orchard.  While the girls were doing their own apple picking, I was picking a few Jonathan apples to purchase for some yummy fall baking.  These recipes are from a Betty Crocker website, and they are great recipes to have on hand for such an occasion as apple picking.

Apple Crisp

INGREDIENTS

4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cu all-purpose flour

½ cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Grease  9 inch pan and spread apples in pan.  In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients then sprinkle over apples.   Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream on top.

Easy Caramel Apple Bars

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cold butter

1 pouch oatmeal cookie mix

1 egg

1 cup finely chopped peeled apple (I used 2 cups)

¾ cup caramel topping ( I used one bag of caramel sqares instead)

¼ cup all-purpose flour (I didn’t use flour)

DIRECTIONS

Cut butter into cookie mix and mix in egg.  Reserve 1 ½ cups of mixture.  Press remaining mixture into greased 9x13 inch pan.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle apples on top of mixture.  Add caramel.  Add remaining mixture.  Bake for 20-25minutes.  Cool completely before serving.

Pepperoni Pinwheels

         

         It’s fall, and that means football.  In our house, certain food just goes with a football game.  For example, chili is a classic Sunday football meal.  Nachos of any kind are great for a weekend game.  And of course you have chicken wings and jalapeño poppers that are in the “classic game food” category as well.   One thing that Matt often request for a football game snack is pepperoni pinwheels.  He loves these little bite size pizza snacks, and he can easily devour a whole plate of them before half time.  I don’t mind making them for him at all, because they are a five ingredient snack that is quick and easy. 

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INGREDIENTS:

2 cans of refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 package of pepperoni

1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

dried oregano

pizza sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Open  can of dough and cut dough in half.  Unroll both of the halves. Top the dough liberally with pepperoni.  Add cheese and sprinkle dried oregano on top of the cheese.  Roll up each half and cut each half into eight “pinwheels”.  Follow the directions on the can of dough for baking.  Each can of crescent rolls will make 16 “pinwheels” yielding  32 total.  Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

Zucchini Bread

           

              Yesterday, I shared my vegetable stew recipe with you and mentioned that I made it when my mom was visiting me a few weeks ago.  Every few months, my mom comes up and visits me for a weekend.  When she was here two weeks ago, we spent Saturday afternoon doing some fall cooking.  She wanted my recipe for vegetable stew and I wanted her recipe for zucchini bread.  That morning, I took her to the farmer’s market and got all of my fresh produce for the week and any ingredients that we needed for our afternoon in the kitchen.  The zucchini, squash and corn were to die for!  After stopping by a few garage sales, we went back to my house and began our recipe swap.  First, I showed her how I make my vegetable stew, and then she shared with me her zucchini bread recipe.  Here is her recipe, and boy is it moist and delicious!  This bread also freezes really well.  I make a couple loafs at a time and keep single size servings in the freezer, so I can eat small, guilt-free portions throughout the fall season.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. oil

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. nuts (optional)

½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3 eggs

2 c. shredded zucchini

2 c. flour

3 tsp vanilla

2 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Mix ingredients together, pour into greased bread pans and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until done.  Yields to loaves.