Taco Pizza

Ever since I received my new Pampered Chef bar pan, I've been obsessed with making pizza.  It's just so easy to make using the pan and takes less than 30 minutes for a complete meal.  The first creation was the buffalo chicken pizza. This week I decided to make a taco pizza.  I'm usually a big fan of many of the dinners I make, but this one takes the cake.  I went back for  seconds and enjoyed the left overs the next day just as much.  Add this recipe to your menu this week, you won't be disappointed! 

Ingredients: 

1 lb of ground mean (I used turkey)

1 package of taco seasoning

1 tomato chopped

1 avocado chopped

1 can of refried beans 

1 cup of mexican blend cheese

1 small can of sliced olives

1 tube of pizza dough (I used Pillsbury)

3/4 cup shredded lettuce

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 400. Brush the Pampered Chef bar pan with olive oil.  Lay dough onto pan, make sure it's spread out and covering the whole thing.  

2.  Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is slightly brown. 

3.  While the dough is baking, cook the meat.  Once meat is browned, mix in taco seasoning.  

4.  Take out dough from the oven.  Spread the beans over the cooked dough.  

5. Put the meat on top of the beans.  Cover as much of the dough as possible.  Sprinkle the cheese of top of the meat.  Put back in the over until cheese is melted.  Should only take a few minutes.  

6.  Once out of the oven again, top the pizza off with the lettuce, olives, tomatoes and avocado.  

Enjoy!

Mushroom Herb Chicken

Mushroom Herb Chicken  

Ingredients

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 3 large shallots, peeled
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation

• 1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/3-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; coat with cooking spray. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until browned.
• 2. While chicken cooks, cut shallots vertically into thin slices. Remove chicken from pan. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add mushrooms and shallots to pan; coat vegetables with cooking spray. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sherry and marjoram. Return chicken to pan; cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and chicken is done. Transfer chicken to a platter. Pour mushroom mixture over chicken; sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, Oxmoor House 
2009

Skinny Pumpkin Cupcakes

If you haven't visited Skinny Taste, you have to check it out.  It's where I go to find healthy, low fat recipes.  I made these cupcakes for hubs to take to work. The pumpkin icing is what had me sold.  I've made pumpkin cupcakes time and time again, but never before with pumpkin icing. Of course, I taste tested and they are pumpkin lover approved! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cupcakes 

Ingredients:

• 18.25 oz Betty Crocker Golden Vanilla Super Moist Cake Mix*
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
• 1 cup water

For the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz Philadelphia 1/3 fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (canned is fine)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 5 tbsp packed brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.
Combine cake mix and pumpkin spice in a large bowl. Add pumpkin puree and water, mix about 2 minutes.
Fill

 cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake about 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 For the frosting, 

combine

 the cream cheese, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar until smooth. You can use a spatula to ice the cupcakes or pipe them which may require making more frosting.

Makes 24
*Betty Crocker has reduced their cake mixes, so read the labels on your box. Dunkin Hines still carries 18.25 oz boxes.

Honey Barbeque Meatloaf

I made the following recipe for our Sunday dinner this week.  Hubs and I usually cook together on Sundays so I prepared the meatloaf and he was responsible for the veggies.  I found the recipe on Pinterest, it comes from Can you stay for dinner? It's been a few months since I've made meatloaf and I had all of the ingredients for this one at home.  The meatloaf was quick to make.  The only thing I would change next time is add more breadcrumbs.  Other than that, it was delicious.  I served it with roasted veggies (zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes and potatoes).  We coated the veggies with 1 tsp olive oil, a tsp of garlic and a few dashes of salt, pepper and oregano.  I baked them under the meatloaf for the full 45 minutes.  About 10 minutes before I took them out, I sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. 

Honey Barbecue Meatloaf

1. serves 4
   1 lb 90% lean ground beef
   1 slice white bread, ground to crumbs in food processor -or- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
   2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
   1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
   3/4 cup smoky barbecue sauce, divided
   2 tablespoons honey, divided
   1 teaspoon salt
   1 teaspoon black pepper
   Toss one slice of soft white bread in your food processor and grind it into crumbs.
   In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, fresh bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, the spicy brown mustard, 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, salt, and black pepper.
   Shape the mixture into a long, thick log and place in an oiled baking dish. Be careful not to pack the meat too tightly or you’ll end up with a very dense, tough loaf.
   In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce. Spread half of this mixture evenly all over the meatloaf. Reserve the other half for serving.
   Bake for 45 minutes. Slice and drizzle with reserved honey barbecue sauce.
   

Ribbon Wreath

Ribbon wreaths have been popping up all over Pinterest lately.  I made this ribbon wreath about a month ago for the start of football season.  I never got around to post it, which is why it's just coming to you now. There are tons of tutorials out there for ribbon wreaths.  I didn't use just one, I searched for a while and used bits and pieces from many tutorials.  The difference between mine and many others is that I didn't use as much ribbon.  My pieces are wide and thick.  Doing it this way saved me money on ribbon and time.  For this wreath I used 2 spools of the yellow and green satin ribbon and 1 spool of the football ribbon.  I cut everything in 3-4inch pieces.  Then, I hot glued the ends together to form a circle.   After the glue was dried, I pinned them onto my styrofoam wreath.  I used a lot of little pins for this project.  I also tried my best to line up the ribbon in rows, it made it easier to pin. 

 About 2 weeks after I hung this on my front door, I decided it needed more.  So I painted wooden letters green, hot glued them to a wooden football (already painted) and glued the football to leftover ribbon.  GO BULLS!  

Happy Football Season! 

Crock Pot Hawaiian Barbeque Chicken

This recipe comes to you from Cookbook Jungle.  I pinned it a while back, waiting for the start of fall to make it.  This year I"m attempting Crock Pot Monday's.  My goal is to make a crock pot mean every Monday. I never feel like cooking on Monday because they are usually stress filled days.  This would take one thing off my plate.  Plus crock pot meals always provide great leftovers, which means I don't have to worry about lunch the next day.  Win win for me.  If you're in need of more crock pot recipes, check out my Pinterest board.  

Ingredients:
4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts (can still be frozen)
1 Bottle Archer Farms Hawaiian Style Barbecue Sauce (from Target)
1 20 oz. can Pineapple Chunks, drained

Directions:
1. Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray.
2. Place chicken breasts in the crock pot and cover with sauce. Empty can of drained pineapple chunks on top.
3. Cook on High for 2-3 hours or Low for 4-6 hours.
4. Shred chicken with two forks while still in the crock pot so the chicken will be well coated with sauce. Serve over rice.

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

This recipe comes from Gimme Some Oven.

Cake Batter Rice Krispies Recipe(From How Sweet Eats)

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 1/4 cup yellow cake mix
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles

Method:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting. I find spraying a knife with nonstick spray helps to cut them.