21 Day Fix Recipes!

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers:

Ingredients: 

2 large green bell peppers

2 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz mushrooms, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1lb flank steak or flat iron steak, thinly sliced

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

4 slices Provolone cheese

                                                               Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray an 8x8 baking dish with olive oil, set aside

-Bring a pot of water to a boil.

-Slice green peppers in half, remove seeds and ribs and place them int he boiling water for 3-5 minutes until they are tender. Remove peppers from the water (be careful!!) Place cut side down on a towel and let water drain.

-In a 12" skillet, heat olive oil on medium. Add garlic, onion, mushrooms, red bell pepper, sea salt & pepper. Saute 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent.

-Add steak slices and Worcestershire sauce and cook until meat is cooked to your liking

-Place green peppers open side up in your baking dish. Fill each pepper with meat mixture until they are overflowing. Top with slice of cheese.

-Bake in oven for 10 minutes until cheese is golden brown. Serve hot!

-I topped mine with some leftover sauteed onions

-Note:Cut the cheese slice in half and line the bottom of the pepper with half, fill with meat mixture and then top with the other half.

So good!

Greek Chicken Pita

Ingredients:

1 (6 1/2-inch) whole wheat pita, cut in half to make pockets 

3 oz cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cucumber

1 Tbsp. chopped red onion (optional)

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup shredded romaine lettuce

2 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese (about 1/2 oz)

Directions:

-Fill pita halves evenly with chicken, tomato, cucumber, onion (if desired), oregano, lemon juice, romaine, and cheese.

-Enjoy

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Breast

Cheddar Cheese

Frozen Broccoli

Salt 

Pepper

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Paprika

Directions:

Preheat your over to 350 F. I then defrosted the broccoli and chopped them up in to little pieces and put them aside. I took a chicken breast and butterflied it. I placed saran wrap on top of it and started to hit it with a mallet to get the chicken thinner and the same width all over for even cooking. Once I did that, I put all the seasonings I wanted. Then I added a layer of cheese and then a layer of broccoli. Make sure you don’t put too much or else you wont be able to roll it up! I started on one side and rolled the chicken breast in, I tucked any sides that were kind of hanging out. Once its rolled up, I turn it upside down so the part where the chicken ended wouldn’t open up. I then put more seasoning on the top. I would rub olive oil all over this at this point too and leave it in the oven for 25-35 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, add more cheese, and broil for 2-5 minutes until the cheese on top is nice and bubbly! 

I will be making all of these again!

Friday Favorites! :D

I am sad that is already Monday :( The weekend went by way too fast. They usually do though :( Anyway, here are my favorites from last week and through the weekend!

1) NC STATE!- We are doing VERY well in the tourney! I cant believe we are still in it! Thursday was our first game and we basically won at the buzzer! I fell asleep during the first half. I was at Krystal and Josh's house (John was out of town for work) and at the half decided to just go home because we were doing so bad. I figured I could pack my lunch and get ready for the next day during the 2nd half since it was so late and we werent doing well. Well the 2nd half got GOOD! And then we pulled it out. SO exciting! Then WE BEAT #1 Nova on Saturday!!! Say WHAT?! Ahh! Even more exciting! We had a few friends over to watch the game and we all had a great time! We celebrated for the rest of the night :D I may or may not have twisted my ankle in the process. lol. It's fine. The battle wound is totally worth it! Like John said- At least every time it hurts, you'll remember that we took down a #1 and that will make you happy. He's a silver lining kinda guy. lol :D

2) Jen and John- Jen and John and some of Krystal and Josh's best friends from Maryland and they came to visit this weekend. Of course we loved them to death! They are really nice people and we very much enjoyed their company. They also have the cutest kid in the world- he's 20 months and did not do anything to help me not want a baby. Talk about baby fever over here! lol. John even enjoyed him very much- my heart melts when he played with him. TOO STINKING CUTE. Hes going to be a great daddy one day!

3) ST. Paddy's Day!- I love this holiday. It's just so much fun. John and I got some stuff to wear to celebrate the day- I got a new shirt and John got a really pretty tie! (he's obsessed with ties, which is totally fine by me because he looks really really good in them :D). We had a potluck at work and then went over to Kristian and Andrew's for dinner. They made corned beef, cabbage, mashed potatoes, and soda bread! It was DELICIOUS. I attempted to make a cake. It was also delicious, but really really ugly. I didnt wait for it to cool properly and it fell apart. lol. It was the first cake I made my scratch tho! The batter and the icing!! The recipe is here. Mine was all chocolate- not white at all. :D Seriously, so good. Ugly, but so good. I still have half a cake left that I am going to make cake pops out of. :D I also did my nails with the st. paddy's day wraps- too cute!

 pobre pobre torta!

4) Snuggles- with the Carter and Bailey  :D They are too cute. 

5) NEW COMPUTER! - I GOT A NEW COMPUTER AT WORK! When I started, they pulled an old one out for me while they ordered me a new one. Well it just got here! I am SO excited. I also convinced them to let me keep my old monitor, so I have 2 now! I am one happy happy girl. My computer started to crash on a regular basis and a few times a day. It was also incredibly slow. My new one is SO much faster!! :D

6) Dinner with Krystal and Brittany- Brittany moved to Texas this past weekend, so we went out for dinner before she left. It was really nice to catch up and spend a little time with her before she leaves :D When I came home- John was passed out and NOTHING would wake him up. I cleaned the livingroom, kitchen, and ironed his clothes for the next day before he even stirred a little. Needless to say, I think he was a little tired! (he's gunna kill me for sharing this picture :D). But he's just SO CUTE!! I am one lucky girl :D

Anyways, I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Nom Noms

These are seriously some of the best new meals I have made in a LONG time. SCORE! for trying out some new recipes and most of them being delicious!

Chicken Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

*I found the recipe awhile ago and cannot find it again. I recreated it recently and guessed at the amounts of stuff. It was still delicious. However, you can play with sauce ingredients to get it the way you want it!

Ingredients:

Chicken cut into bite size

Rice

Frozen stir fry mix (thawed)

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 cups chicken broth

Siracha (to taste- I like a lot)

1tsp soy sauce

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

Peanuts

Instructions:

Mix together the peanut butter, chicken broth, Siracha, soy sauce,

 Worcestershire sauce and peanuts. Place in saucepan and cook until well blended. 

Cook rice.

Take a little of the sauce and pan fry the chicken to give the chicken flavor. 

Cook until no longer pink.

Add the stir fry to the mix.

When the rice is done, serve on plates. Add the chicken stir fry and top with more of the sauce! YUMM-O!

One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Pasta Skillet

  Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb Hillshire Farm Smoked Turkey Sausage, sliced

1 cup diced onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic (about two fresh cloves)

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup milk or heavy cream

8 oz dry pasta (any small pasta will do)

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, each

1 cup shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese

1/3 cup chopped scallions, for garnish

Instructions

Add olive oil to a 4-5 quart saute pan over medium high heat. 
Add onions and sausage and cook until lightly browned. 
Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, milk, pasta, and seasonings. 
Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. 
Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender.

Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of cheese. 
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover for 
about five minutes to allow cheese to melt. 
Top with sliced scallions and serve.

Makes about 4 servings.

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   Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Ingredients

1lb Ground Beef

1 package of egg-free extra-wide egg noodles

1 cup Sour cream 

Cream Cheese (4 oz)

1 can (15oz) tomato sauce

1 package of shredded cheese

1 bunch of green onions- diced

Italian Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Instructions

Brown your ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook until browned. 

Add the can of tomato sauce and the cream cheese. Simmer. Season with the seasonings-to taste. Preheat oven to 425. Cook your  noodles according to instructions. Next, lightly spray your baking dish with olive oil. Drain your noodles and then add to the noodles the green onions and sour cream. I used more sour cream than called for, but I love sour cream :D. Mix it all together. You should have two mixes now- the noodles mixture and meat mixture. Layer the bottom of the baking dish with half the noodle mixture, top with half the meat mixture, then top with half of the shredded cheese. Do a second layer the same way. Cook for 5-7 minutes. For the last 3-5 minutes broil it, but keep an eye on it! :D DELICIOUS!

**These next few recipes are all from the same site. This lady has some amazing freezer recipes! I'll copy her link to them all, but I'll also put the recipe in here just in case for some reason the site ever goes away. These are too good to lose!** 

These are her instructions for freezing them if you choose to do that: 

"I make my freezer meals 2 ways. One way is to just make them all in a 2 day process. Compile my list, shop, and do meat prep. Then the next day I assemble them. The other way I like to do it is over the course of a week or two. I buy the ingredients enough to double the recipes, then I make one for dinner and just double it and put one away in the freezer. Then by the end of about 2 or 3 weeks, you have 10 meals frozen in the freezer ready to go for later. Your meals will do well in the freezer for 2-4 months. "

Layered Enchilada Casserole 

Ingredients

2 cup cooked, shredded chicken 
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (15 oz) 

1 can black beans, drained (15oz) 

1 tub Santé Fe Blend Philadelphia Cooking Crème 

2 cup shredded cheese. ( I used a combo of 3 cheddar and Pepper Jack) 

3 flour tortillas (I used 6 inch) 

Instructions

1. Mix the chicken, tomatoes, beans, and cooking crème in a bowl. Combine well. 

2. Place a 1/3 cup mixture on bottom of a pie plate or 8X8  freezer pan. I buy the foil ones. 

Top with 1 flour tortilla.
3.Top tortilla with chicken mixture and cheese. Repeat layers and end with chicken 

mixture on top and top with last bit of cheese.
4. Double wrap in heavy aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.  Label.
Cooking Instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees
30 minutes or until heated through.

Quesadilla Casserole 

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef 

1/2 cup chopped onion 

2 tsp chili powder 

1 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp dried minced garlic 

1/2 tsp oregano 

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) 

16 oz tomato sauce 

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed 

1 can (8 3/4 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained 

1 can (4 1/2 oz) green chilies, undrained 

6 flour tortillas (8 inch size) 

2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese 

Instructions:

1. Brown beef and onion in a large skillet on medium-high. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chilies. Mix well. Stir in all of the spices except the red pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat low and simmer 5 minutes. 

Add red pepper to taste if desired. 

2. Spread 1/2 cup of the beef mixture on bottom of 9X13 pan (sprayed with pam). I like to use the foil pans for freezer meals. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. 

Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. 

Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef and cheese. 

3. Double wrap with heavy duty foil and label.  

Cooking Instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes 

or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy!! 

We put sour cream on ours. Guacamole would be yummy on it too.

Chicken and Wild Rice

Ingredients: 
1 box wild rice with seasoning packet (4.3 oz)

1 can cream of mushroom soup 

1 can cream of chicken soup 

1 can water 

1 small can mushrooms, drained 

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, uncooked 

1 cup slivered almonds 

Instructions:

1. Mix together rice with seasoning packet, both cans of soup, and water.  Stir in mushrooms. 

2. Pour in to 8X8 freezer dish, I use the foil pans.  Top with 6 chicken pieces and sprinkle with slivered almonds. 

3. Double wrap in heavy duty foil, label and freeze. 

Cooking Instruction: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour until chicken juices run clear and rice is tender. 

Goulash

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef

1 can tomato soup

6 oz can tomato paste

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni  (I used whole wheat noodles)

2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (more to taste)

1 can (15oz) corn, drained

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1-2 cups shredded cheese (depending on your “cheesiness” preference)

Instructions:

1. Brown Ground beef with onion powder and garlic powder.  Drain.
2. Cook noodles according to package, drain
3. In a large bowl, combine soup, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, noodles and ground beef.  Stir in corn.
4. Transfer to an ungreased 8X8 freezer baking dish and top with cheese.  I buy the foil pans.  Easy peasy and you wont be missing a pan while this meal is in the freezer waiting.
5. Cover with foil.  I like to use heavy duty foil and double wrap it to prevent freezer burn.  

Label and freeze.
Cooking instructions: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes 

until heated through and melted cheese.

Potato Soup

Ingredients
30 oz bag of frozen, shredded hash browns
32 oz container of chicken broth.  Veggie broth works fine too

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

8 oz cream cheese (not fat free, it wont melt in)

Instructions:

1. In a large freezer bag, combine everything except cream cheese.  Double up on your freezer bag and squeeze out any air to avoid freezer burn.  Label it and put a date on it.  

Cooking instructions: Thaw soup and place mixture in crock pot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  About 1 hour before serving, add in the cream cheese and heat until thoroughly melted.  

This is great with toppings of cheese, bacon, green onions, and sour cream

*note- I buy the cream cheese and just keep it in the fridge ready to go….it will keep for a long time 

Meatballs

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef

1 small, sweet yellow onion

2 tsp garlic salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine beef, onion, seasonings, bread crumbs, and eggs.  

Mix well.  Shape in to 2 inch balls and place in a lightly greased baking dish.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  

Allow meatballs to cool and store in freezer containers.  Freeze up to 3 months.

Million Dollar Spaghetti

Ingredients
16 oz spaghetti noodles

2 lb jar of marinara sauce

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup cottage cheese

2/3 cup Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded cheese ( I use cheddar/colby blend)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9X13 pan or two 8X8 pans.
Boil noodles according to package, 
drain and stir with a drizzle of olive oil so they don't stick together.
In a stand mixer combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, 
and sour cream. Mix well and set aside.
Brown ground beef and onion until no longer pink. Drain. 
Add in jar of marinara sauce and stir.
Begin by layering half of the noodles in the bottom of your greased pan.
Top with 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese.
Layer on the cream cheese mixture.
Top with remaining noodles.
Spread marinara sauce with ground beef over top.
Bake for 30 minutes then sprinkle with 2 cups cheese 
and return to oven for another 15 minutes.
Let cook for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

28 years young :D

Wow. I cannot believe that another year has passed and I am ANOTHER year older! I still feel exactly the same. I think? haha. I am still just as indecisive though :D

Anyway, this past year has been a BLUR. So much has happened. BIG things too:

• We lived in 2 different states. Florida and North Carolina
• Moved home to Raleigh -- during the holidays too. A bit stressful, but glorious all at the same time :D
• My mom sold her house and we moved her a week after we moved home. (AH!)
• I started a new job/career.
• We lost a dear loved one, my grandma's husband, Roy.
• We purchased a second car! A convertible mustang GT!
• Then the mustang was totaled thanks to a drunk driver:( Thank the Lord my husband was okay.
• We had a long battle with the insurance company and hired a lawyer to help with the totaled car and Johns physical therapy (for his back).
• We purchased another convertible mustang GT! haha
• My sister got engaged and married- all within 4 months.
• We celebrated 5 YEARS of marriage.
• My sister-in-law got engaged and also planned a quick wedding which will be in 3 weeks.
• We started to look for a house to buy and BOUGHT A HOUSE! :D We are still waiting to close on it- but it's ours!

WHEW! I'm exhausted looking at that list. haha and those are just the major things. There have been TONS of little things, you could even say a years worth? haha. 

I have truly felt more than blessed this year with everything that we have been given. Most days, I cannot believe it's been an entire year. If you would have asked me last year on my birthday if we would be where we are today- I may have laughed at you. Living in Raleigh? that was a dream! buying another car? yea, right?! AND a house? say, what?! that's just crazy. Needless to say it's amazing what the Lord can do in a year. 

Most of all I am beyond grateful that I have had my amazing best friend and husband to go through this past year with. He continuously makes me laugh and believes in everything I do. He works so hard for our little family in so many ways :D I could not have done the past year without him!

As for celebrating my birthday, John and I had 3 WHOLE days off together! These have been hard to come by with our crazy schedules this year, so it was really the best birthday present I could have asked for :D It was a perfect 3 days!

Thursday, we walked to Elevation Burger for lunch and took Carter! It was such a nice day that it was nice to sit outside and eat :D Then, went and saw our new house again! It's coming along nicely. They have painted, put in the back splash, and tile around the fireplace. I have to say- we did a great job picking stuff out. We were VERY pleased :D After we checked out the new place, we tried the new brewery in Clayton. It's only been open since April. It's a VERY chill place. We enjoyed it very much and will definitely be back! Then we went to look at appliances and such. I must be getting old to get excited about looking and fridges and washers/dryers! haha. The night ended watching football and hanging out at home :D

Family shot!

The Brewery

Friday, we slept in- YAY! haha. Then we did a few errands. We went and had some service done to Snoopy (the Tahoe) it was long overdue. We went and dropped the car off and then hung out. It's nice to have time to do nothing and do errands, it makes the errands not seem so bad:D Friday night we ended up going to the movies. I had free movie tickets so we thought it would be a good date night- for free! Well, minus the popcorn and coke. haha. We saw Runner Runner. Pretty good movie! When we got home, we were still in movie mode, so we watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- SUCH a good movie. I do recommend it. 

Saturday, GAME DAY! :D We just hung out in the morning and I made some yummy tailgating foods. We were originally going to go to the game, but tickets got a little more expensive than we wanted to pay. Plus, we wanted to have a full day of football! We have not had one of those together since Miami. We had Hutch come over too and watched our game and played some cornhole, then watched more games :D haha. We also played one of our favorite board games. Good times, besides losing to freaking WF. ugh.

Our spread :D

Turkey Burger Sliders- on the BEST rolls ever. seriously.

 Spinach Artichoke Dip w/ pita chips and veggies 
(This was REALLY good, but I would use less artichokes next time. 
They were good, but there were too many. haha)

 Jalapeno Poppers

Sunday, John had to go back to work :( I was sad. haha. But we did end up going out for my birthday dinner- Mexican!, of course :D SO GOOD! There was SO MUCH FOOD. and of course NFL. I sure do love that man. He also got me new running shoes for my birthday!! SO EXCITED to try them out. It's been too rainy since I got them, but hopefully today it wont rain so I can go. 

Terrible picture, but they are really pretty! 

Apparently, I supinate when I walk/run and these are supposed to help with that! 

Monday, my actual birthday! I had to work. :( I really didnt mind though because we did so much for my birthday already. haha. Work was really busy too. But I did get flowers from my coworkers and a DELICIOUS pumpkin turtle pie. My mom and brother also took me out to dinner- Pei Wei. SO good. I may have gained a few pounds this weekend. haha. But it was TOTALLY worth it :D

Anyway, thanks to all who made my day fantastic! Including Carterbutt who showered me in lots of kisses:D haha

Yummy foods

I have been trying to do a MUCH better job of cooking lately and feel I have been pretty successful! haha. I need to get better about adding them to here, it's really easy to have John look at the list and tell me what he wants for the week :D Here are some of the foods that I have tried that we have liked! 

Buffalo Chicken Pasta- 

This one was delicious. We really like buffalo flavored anything, so we thought pasta would be fun to try- very yummy, but not that healthy. Its a treat kind of meal. haha. I didnt really use much of a recipe, I used one for guidelines but then made my own recipe up, so I am not really sure about quantities. 

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast

4 oz cream cheese (I used neufchatel cheese)

Frank's Red Hot Sauce- I used a lot, but add to your liking

Blue cheese dressing- just a little (and next time I would leave it out)

Milk- I used it to thin the sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pasta- I used penne

Instructions:

I cut the chicken up into bite sizes and cooked it in a pan. 

I cooked the chicken in some hot sauce to give it flavor. 

Meanwhile, I cooked the pasta according to the package instructions. Drained and set aside.

In the pan another pan, I melted the cream cheese, hot sauce, blue cheese, and milk together. I added milk a little at a time to thin the sauce.Then I added the garlic, paprika, and pepper. I cooked until everything was creamy and added the chicken. Then I poured it over the pasta. 

YUMMO!

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-ups-

Ingredients:

10 lasagna noodles

2 1/2 cups alfredo sauce (I made some with a packet mix)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken

spinach
oregano

garlic salt
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese or 3 cups cheese, of your choice

Instructions:

Cook noodles according to instructions and prepare the alfredo sauce you are planning to use. When the noodles are done, lay them out flat. Spread about 2 Tbs. alfredo sauce over each noodle. (refrain from placing too much sauce; you will have a big mess on your hands) Sprinkle oregano and garlic salt on top of sauce. Take 1/9 of the shredded chicken and some spinach and spread it out evenly over each noodle. Add approximately 3 tablespoons cheese. To roll up, start at one end and roll the noodle over the toppings, lifting the noodle a little to prevent squishing out the inside ingredients while rolling. Place the roll-ups in the prepared pan, one by one, seam-side down. Once they are all in the pan, pour the remaining alfredo sauce over the top. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted on top.

SO GOOD!

London Broil-

For this one I didnt really follow a recipe either. I let it marinate in Lipton Onion Soup overnight. Then broiled it until it was done. It wasnt done in this picture, so I ended up cooking it a little longer. It was really good though. I added some green beans around it to soak up some of the soup for flavor. Really good!

Shrimp salad!

John actually made this one. I'm not sure how he flavored the shrimp, but YUM. I'm sure you can do it however you want. Then he just threw a salad together. Lots of veggies! He did some potato thins on the side too. We havent been able to get those right yet, so I wont post how to do those until they are better. haha. 

Twice Baked Cauliflower-

Ingredients:

1 large head cauliflower
4 oz. low fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)
1/2 cup low fat sour cream (do not use fat free)
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 
6 slices bacon, cooked until very crisp, fat blotted with paper towel and then crumbled
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Cut out stem and core from cauliflower, and cut into small pieces. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until cauliflower is tender, but not overly soft. Drain well and mash with potato masher, leaving some chunks. Mix in light cream cheese, light sour cream, green onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon.

Spread evenly in a medium-sized glass casserole dish. Sprinkle with low-fat cheddar cheese and reserved bacon. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Johns not a big fan of cauliflower, but he really likes this! Me too!

Lemon Blackberry Bread-

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

3 tbs lemon juice

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tbs grated lemon zest

1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries

2 tbs lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. This recipe makes 1-8x4 inch loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, lemon juice, and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into egg mixture, alternating dry mixture and milk. Fold in lemon zest, and blackberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.Bake in oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes.Combine lemon juice and sugar in a small bowl. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack until the glaze looks milky and slightly crusted.

Homemade Apple Pie!-

Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

1/2 cup finely ground blanched almonds or almond flour (can substitute 1/2 cup flour if you don't have almonds)

16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled in freezer for at least 15 minutes

1 teaspoon salt

1 heaping teaspoon brown sugar

3 to 6 Tbsp water, very cold

Filling Ingredients

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 pounds of 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices of peeled and cored good cooking apples 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Wash

1 large egg yolk

1 Tbsp cream

Instructions:

In a food processor, combine flour, almonds, salt and brown sugar, pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready, if not, add a little more water and pulse again.

Remove dough from machine and place on a clean surface. Carefully shape into 2 discs. Do not over-knead the dough! You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These bits of butter are what will allow the result crust to be flaky. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F.

Combine sugar, flour and spices in large bowl. Use your hands and mix in the apples so they are well coated, then add vanilla extract.

Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Gently fold in half. Place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.

Spoon in apple filling, mounding slightly in center.

Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Gently turn over onto the top of the apples in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that the edge of the fold is flush with the edge of the pan. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork.

Stir yolk and cream in small bowl to blend. Brush over top of pie. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake pie until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F. Tent the rims with aluminum foil or a pie protector if the edges are browning too quickly. Bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, anywhere from an additional 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the type of apples you are using. Transfer to rack; let stand 1 hour. Serve pie warm or at room temperature.

I think for my first homemade pie, it came out very well! There are some adjustments I'll make next time, but it was pretty good :D

More recipes to come! :D