Cheesy Stuffed Tomatoes

It's grilling season! I'm not as huge of a fan as most people are, but I definitely enjoy using it this time of year when it's not really hot out yet. So I was pretty excited to learn that "grilling" was the theme for my most recent recipe exchange.

My friend Melanie submitted these awesome Cheesy Stuffed Tomatoes, and I all but inhaled them. I added couscous to the mixture to give it an extra boost, and I'm glad I did. I ate two of them for dinner, and only let my husband eat one so I could take the other one for lunch the next day. Sorry, babe.


Cheesy Stuffed Tomatoes
slightly adapted from The Novice Chef

• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1/4 cup of your favorite breadcrumbs
• 1 cup cooked couscous
• 2 tbl butter, melted
• 8 basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded (plus more for sprinkling)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Parsley for garnish

Slice off top of tomato, hollow out (leaving 1/2 inch thick shell), and chop pulp and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, couscous, butter, basil, salt and pepper. Next stir in cheese and tomato pulp. Fill each tomato shell, top with extra cheese, and then wrap each tomato individually in foil.

Grill, or bake (at 400 degreeProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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29 for 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese is completely melted. Garnish with parsley and serve hot!

Funfetti Waffles

I'm fairly certain I have adequately stated my affinity for anything funfetti. I've made cake, cupcakes, ice cream, cookies... as far as I'm concerned, anything with sprinkles is automatically awesome.

I never would have thought, however, to bring the fun (ha) to my breakfast table, but Chef Mommy sure did. This was a great excuse to bust out the dinosaur sprinkles from Danny's birthday party; I think it would be so much fun to use holiday themed sprinkles throughout the year!

The whole family loved these - Ryan was so excited to be eating sprinkles at breakfast time!

In case you couldn't tell, this is an elephant from my awesome circus waffle iron!

Funfetti Waffles
from Chef Mommy

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups warm milk
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sprinkles

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.

Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Add the sprinkles on top. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve with whipped cream and additional sprinkles on top.

Overnight French Toast

I love making fun breakfasts for my families on holidays, but I also don't want to spend my mornings in the kitchen when there are stockings to dig into or eggs to find. This Overnight French Toast was just perfect; I threw it together the night before Easter and then put it in the oven in the morning. By the time the last egg had been uncovered, breakfast was ready!

I can't even begin to articulate how amazing this is. I think it's going to become a permanent brunch staple for me. I was afraid it would be too soggy or sticky, but that's not an issue at all. The texture is mushy, but not in a bad way - in a delightful way!

Overnight French Toast
from Bite This!; adapted from Pillsbury

• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple-flavored syrup
• 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
• 10 (1-inch-thick) slices Challah bread
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamondash of nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons powdered sugar1
• 1/4 cups sliced strawberries (optional)

Spray 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. In medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, syrup and margarine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.

Pour syrup mixture evenly in bottom of sprayed pan. Arrange bread slices in even layer over syrup mixture. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine eggs, milk, vanilla and salt; beat with wire whisk until smooth. Pour evenly over bread in pan. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

To bake, heat oven to 350°F. Uncover pan; bake 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

To serve, top each serving with 1/4 cup sliced strawberries; sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Chicken and Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese

You already know that I'm a huge mac and cheese fan. Look over there to the left - I have a whole tag full of variations, and though I definitely have my favorites, I'm always up for trying something new.

This Chicken and Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese was adapted from Cooking Light, but I'm not really sure what's so light about it. Sure, it could be a lot worse, but this doesn't really scream healthy dinner to me.

Anyway, fat content aside, this was a seriously delicious dinner that both of my children gobbled up. I doubled it, which left plenty for leftover lunches for a couple of days. I also took Danielle's suggestion and added broccoli.

Chicken and Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese
adapted from Dinner with Danielle, who adapted from Cooking Light

• 8 ounces uncooked Fusilli pasta
• 3 slices pre-cooked bacon, cut into small pieces (reserve 1/3)
• 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 breast)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces skim milk
• 1 can condensed 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
• 4oz shredded cheese
• 3 teaspoons Ranch dressing mix
• 1 steamer bag of broccoli florets, cooked
  
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Cook chicken in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon to the pan and warm through. Remove from heat and set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155°. Add cheeses and dressing mix, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in broccoli, pasta and chicken.

Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake covered for 10-15 minutes; remove cover and bake for another 10.

Pesto Meatballs

I really wish I had photographed these BEFORE putting on the sauce so you can see the amazing color of these Pesto Meatballs from The Food Network Magazine.

I usually bake my meatballs and am not used to frying - I had a few casualties. But the flavor of these meatballs is so intense and powerful that it's worth it. I used store-bought pesto but can only imagine the punch of homemade. What a great summery twist to a go-to comfort meal!

Pesto Meatballs
from The Food Network Magazine, by way of Carrie's Sweet Life

• 2 pounds ground meat
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 cup pesto
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Form into small balls. Cook in a nonstick skillet with olive oil, 10 to 12 minutes.

Perfect Party Cookies

I love Funfetti. I also love cookies. So combine those two loves, and what do you get?

These fantastically awesomely Perfect Party Cookies from Stephanie Cooks.

I can't wait to make them again. They really ARE perfect! I used some sprinkles I had leftover from Valentine's Day, but I really wish I had thought to use the kids' dinosaur sprinkles (no worries - I used those in another funfetti recipe - coming soon!). I also used actual funfetti cake mix because I happened to have it.

Perfect Party Cookies
from Stephanie Cooks

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup yellow boxed cake mix
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter, melted, and slightly cooled
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 4 tbsp. colored sprinkles

In a large bowl sift together the flour, cake mix, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat together the melted butter, egg yolk, egg, and vanilla until slightly creamy. Add the sugars and stir well.

Add the flour mixture, stir until well combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips and sprinkles.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes (the dough will be very runny).

Preheat oven to 350.

Once dough is chilled, scoop heaping tablespoons worth of dough onto greased cookie sheets. The dough should be slightly smaller than a golf ball. Keep dough cool until it goes in the oven.

Bake 12-15 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center sets.

Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet, then place on a cooling rack to cool.

Red Velvet Cake

I'm not a baker.  I'd like to be, but I'm not.  I've learned pretty early on in this blogging adventure of mine that boxed mixes exist for people like me.  And that's okay.

Every once in awhile, though, I get the urge to bake from scratch.  I decide that I can totally do it, and any idiot who can read can bake.

It usually ends in regret.

Last weekend, my whole family gathered at Nana's for our annual Palm Sunday dinner and egg hunt.  I was really excited to make something and remembered that I saw an awesome looking Red Velvet Cake on my friend Lisa's blog.

I didn't have too much of an issue making it, but upon eating it, it tasted really dry.  I was disappointed, but then remembered the likely culprit.  I used egg substitute, and I had the liquid equivalent of just over 1 egg, not 2.  I intended to go back and add a little extra buttermilk to balance it out, but... of course, I forgot.

The flavor, however, was really good, and the icing?  Oh.my.god.  Beyond amazing.  The dryness was a bummer, but you couldn't even tell when you topped it with a scoop of ice cream. 

I would definitely try this again - this time, with TWO eggs.

Red Velvet Cake

from Joy of Baking

• 2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
  
• 2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring
  
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
  
• 1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted
  
• 1 1/2 (360 ml) cups cold heavy whipping cream (contains 36-40% butterfat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

Red Velvet Cake: In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside. In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting.  Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with sweetened or unsweetened coconut. Serves 10-12 people.

Carrot Apple Coconut Mini Muffins

My friend Brooke often talks about Weelicious and makes their recipes for her toddlers.  I finally remembered to add it to my Google Reader, and immediately I starred a bunch of stuff.

I made these Carrot Apple Coconut Muffins a few days ago, and my entire family devoured them.  They were so easy to throw together and were absolutely delicious.  I'm normally not a fan of coconut, but it goes so well with the carrot and apple that you can't help but love them.  They definitely didn't last long in my house!

I didn't intend to make any changes, but my grocery store only had sweetened coconut, not unsweetened - but I kind of liked the sweetness they added!

Carrot Apple Coconut Mini Muffins

from Weelicious

• 1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
  
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
  
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
  
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
  
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
  
• 2 Carrots, peeled & grated, about 1 cup
  
• 1 Apple, peeled & grated, about 1/2 cup (gala, fuji, pink lady or red delicious are good choices)
  
• 2 Large Eggs
  
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  
• 1/3 Cup Milk
  
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
  
• 1/2 Cup Honey
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine.

Place 1 tbsp of batter into greased mini muffin tins.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

My most recent recipe swap selection came from my good friend Pam (Balancing Exercising with Healthy Eating).  The theme was sandwiches, and she submitted Rachael Ray's Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes.

These were really easy and fast to make, perfect for a quick lunch or weeknight dinner.  I served these on little finger rolls (hey, they were on sale) and I just loved the cheese sauce.  I think I'll add some green pepper next time for a little extra flavor.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

adapted from Rachael Ray

• 1 tablespoon EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1 pound ground turkey
  
• 1 softball-sized onion, chopped
  
• 1/4 cup steak sauce
  
• 1 cup chicken stock
  
• Salt and ground black pepper
  
• 4 dinner rolls (or 8 finger rolls), toasted if desired
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 1 tablespoon flour
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 cup desired cheese, shredded
  

In large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, brown the ground sirloin, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the onions start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, melt the butter in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir the cheese in a figure-eight motion until it is all incorporated.

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls, then top with the cheese sauce and replace the top of the roll.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

I was skeptical about this dish because it called for cottage cheese. I don't think I like cottage cheese, although admittedly I haven't tried it in several years. I thought about subbing ricotta in, but decided to be a big girl and try it again.

I didn't mind it in this dish, though I don't have any plans to finish the rest of the container. ;)

This dinner reminded me of Lighthouse Lasagna, which I think I prefer, although this one is faster. I doubled everything, except for the beef, and it made enough for our family, plus a little leftover.


Sour Cream Noodle Bake
from The Pioneer Woman

• 1-¼ pound Ground Chuck
• 1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles
• ½ cups Sour Cream
• 1-¼ cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese
• ½ cups Sliced Green Onions (less To Taste)
• 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sourProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.