Pomegranate Salad

Seeds of one pomegranate
4 apples, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a bowl, combine fruit and nuts. In separate bowl, combine sugar, vanilla. Start with 1 cup of yogurt and slowly add additional spoonfuls, until the fruit and nuts are lightly coated

Note: Pomegranate season is short- around Oct/Nov. for the rest of the year, substitute raspberries.

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1 egg
1 c. heavy cream (substitution below)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. diced strawberries, well drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups. In large bowl mix together flour, baking powder and sugar. Cut in butter in small pea-size pieces. In small bowl mix egg, vanilla and cream then add all at once to flour mixture. Stir with spoon until blended. Gently mix in strawberries. Spoon into muffin cups and bake for about 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan before removing. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar to serve.

Note: For a lower-fat muffin, substitute the heavy cream with evaporated skim milk.

Crock Pot Peach Cobbler

3/4 c. Bisquick
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 can evaporated milk
2 tsp. margarine or butter, melted
2 large eggs
3 large ripe peaches, mashed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Lightly grease crock pot. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars and bisquick. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Stir. Pour in margarine and milk and stir. Mix in peaches and cinnamon, until well mixed. Pour into crock pot. Cover and cook on low for six to eight hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Serve warm. Top with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Moroccan Lentil Salad

1/2 c. dry lentils
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 minced hot green chile peppers
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 lime, juiced
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

Place lentils and water in a pot. Bring water to boil, reduce to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender. In a medium size mixing bowl combine lentils, beans, tomatoes, green onions, green chilies, bell peppers, lime juice, olive oil, cilantro, and salt to taste. Toss well. Chill for 20 minutes. Serve chilled.

Hamburger Rice Casserole

1 lb. hamburger meat, cooked and drained
1 c. rice, uncooked
1 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 medium onion, chopped
6 tbl. soy sauce
2 tbl. brown sugar
4 c. boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger meat and chopped onion until hamburger is no longer pink and set aside. Pour boiling water over uncooked rice in a 2-3 qt. casserole dish. Add in cream of mushroom soup; stir until it is dissolved into water and rice. Next add soy sauce and brown sugar. Finally, add hamburger meat and onion and mix well. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Shortcut Chicken Noodle Soup

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 qt. chicken stock
8 oz. dry wide egg noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
salt and pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped


Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Meanwhile, boil water in a separate pot and cook noodles according to package instructions. When slightly less than al dente, drain and set aside. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Fold in the noodles and chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Adapted from Tyler Florence's Chicken Noodle Soup

Sweet Potato Fries

Cooking spray
6 sweet potatoes
3 tbl canola oil
1 tsp salt
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Peel the sweet potatoes, and cut them into 1⁄2-inch french fries.

3. Place potatoes in a large resealable plastic bag, and add oil, salt, and cayenne pepper, if desired. Secure the bag, and shake well until potatoes are coated with oil.

4. Arrange potatoes on the baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes. Turn with a spatula and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Watch carefully, as thinner fries may not take quite as long.

Orange Raisin Bran Muffins

2 eggs
3/4 c. orange juice
1 tbl. veggie oil
2 c. raisin bran cereal
1 c. flour
3/4 c. chopped pitted dates (optional)
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs, orange juice and oil together. Stir in cereal and dates. Let stand 5 mins. In a lg. bowl combine remaining ingredients.- stir in cereal mixture until moistened. Spoon into muffin pan and bake for 15 mins. at 400. Cool before removing from muffin pan.

Note: this doesn't rise much while baking, so be generous about the spoonfuls into the pan. Also, it only makes around 6 muffins, so you may want to double this recipe. Also try throwing in 1/2 c. rolled oats. Yum!

Eggnog Cookies

I can't get enough eggnog!

2 1/4 c. flour

1 tea baking powder

1/2 tea. cinnamon

1/2 tea. nutmeg

1 1/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. eggnog

1 tea. vanilla

2 lg. egg yolks

Directions

In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until it resembles a grainy paste. Add Eggnog, Vanilla and Egg Yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat at low speed until blended. Do not over mix. Drop by teaspoons onto un greased baking sheet 1 inch apart. Sprinkle lightly with additional nutmeg. Bake for 23-25 mins. at 300 degrees.

Snap Peas & Ham Alfredo

24 oz. penne pasta
Alfredo sauce
1 1/2 c. chopped broccoli (frozen)
2 c. sugar snap peas (fresh or frozen)
1/4 c. water
2 c. cubed fully cooked ham
1/2 tea. oregano
1/8 tea. pepper

Prepare pasta as directed. Meanwhile, steam peas and broccoli in 1/4 c. water. Drain. Stir veggies, ham, oregano and pepper in with drained pasta and pour on alfredo sauce to taste. Cook and stir until heated through.

Cream Cheese Scrambled Eggs

My tiny twins are on a high fat/protein diet to gain some weight. I found this recipe- and they love it!

1 pkg. (3 oz) cream cheese- softened
2 tbl. half and half cream (can substitute whole milk)
8 eggs
1/3 cup shredded cheese
2 tbl. butter
1/2 cup bacon bits (optional)

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and cream until smooth. Add the eggs and cheese. Mix well Stir in bacon. In a large skillet, melt the butter; add egg mixture. Cook and stir over med. heat.

Breakfast Burritos

Ever had these at Mickey D's? They're so scrumptious! I think this is kind of how it goes-

6 eggs
2 tbl. milk
1/4 tea. pepper
1 tbl. vegetable oil
Sliced green bell pepper
diced onion
Browned sausage (or cut up cooked breakfast links)
salsa
4 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese

IN a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and pepper. In a skillet, heat up the sausage, pepper, and onion- remove onto a plate. Pour egg mixture and cook- stirring over medium heat until eggs are completely set. Add the sausage mix back in and heat through, toss in the cheese until melted. Wrap in a burrito with some salsa.

Toddler Pasta

1 c. acini de pepe or pastina
1/3 c. finely diced carrots
1/3 c. finely diced red bell pepper
1/3 c. frozen baby peas
1/3 c. finely diced broccoli
1/3 c. frozen corn
1 tbl. olive oil
1/8 tea. pepper

Cook pasta in boiling water for 7 mins. Stir in veggies and cook for 5 mins. Drain. Mix in oil and pepper.

Note: if you don't have a mini-food processor- you need one! It's perfect for making baby food, salsa, and this recipe! A must have in every kitchen.

Caramel Sweet Rolls

1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 tube (11 oz) refrigerated breadsticks
2 tbl. sugar
1 tea. cinnamon

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cream until sugar is dissolved. Spread into a greased 8 in. square dish. Sprinkle w/ walnuts.
On a lightly floured surface, unroll breadstick dough- do not separate- combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over dough. Re-roll, starting with the short end. Cut along breadstick scored lines. Place cut side down in prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins. Cool for 1 minute before inverting onto a serving dish.

Six servings