chicken & rice bake...

1 1/2 cups rice
3 cups water
4 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked with salt,pepper,onion powder and garlic powder
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup light mayo
1 can cream of chicken soup (fat free)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup corn flakes, crushed

1 Tbsp melted butter

Add water and rice to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Put a lid on it and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Mix yogurt, mayo, chicken soup, lemon juice, and salt and pepper until creamy and smooth. Add chicken and rice and mix well. Scoop into individual ramekins or a baking pan and top with crushed corn flakes and drizzle with butter. Put into a 350 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Another recipe from a new favorite blog, Stephanie's Kitchen. I changed this a little, but you can check out her site for the original recipe. This was such a great dinner for my family. I've mentioned before that my kids LOVE individual servings of things. Baking this in small ramekins was just PERFECT for them. I only filled four ramekins, and put the rest in a baking dish. We really loved it. It was easy and yummy.

rolled cheeseburgers & sweet "rolls"...

1 pound extra-lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

season salt

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 lb bread/roll dough

Brown ground beef, onions & salt until cooked through. Roll dough out on a well floured surface to approx. 12-14 inches in diameter. Place beef mixture over rolled dough. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up as tightly as possible, tucking ends under. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven on greased baking sheet for 25 min. Let sit for 5 min before slicing.

Remember the rolled pizza? This is just my attempt to try something different with it. WOW! Really, really GOOD!! I actually meant to put cooked fries in with the meat & cheese (hey, don't knock it 'til you try it...) but I forgot until it was too late. We just had the fries on the side, which was good, too. The kids dipped theirs in mustard & ketchup...so did I. YUM! This was a quick, easy dinner to put together, and a nice change from grilled cheeseburgers (which we've had about enough of!)

The sweet roll was my attempt to use up the second one pound ball of dough I purchased. I just rolled the dough out, spread on a little butter, brown sugar & cinnamon...rolled it up and baked it right next to the cheeseburger roll. The icing is just powdered sugar with a little milk & vanilla drizzled over the top.

Was it as good as a regular cinnamon roll? No.

Was it a great, quick, YUMMY dessert to throw together? ABSOLUTELY!

We LOVED them!!

plum tart...

2 cups flour

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

12 tablespoons cold butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced

1 egg yolk

2 pounds firm, ripe plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.
Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.
Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Oh my, oh my.

That really is all I have to say about this.

Not really.

The other thing I have to say is that this is DIVINE. It is so good that I will NOT be making this again for a long time. Yea, it's that good. Seriously.

I have been wanting to make this for a couple of years, but I always seem to think about it when plums aren't in season. Well, this time I remembered. I got some beautiful plums and got to work. I was so happy {after the long wait} that it did not disappoint. This is another fabulous Barefoot Contessa recipe. Once again, Ina comes through.

*Just a little tip...sometimes cutting stone fruit can be a little bit of a pain. The first side is a piece of cake, but the side with the stone is a PAIN. So, I used my measuring spoon (pictured above) to remove the pits. They popped right out. This works for peaches and nectarines, as well (as long as they are not too soft)

Also, when pressing the crust into your pan, using the bottom of a measuring cup helps get the crust nicely pressed in to the bottom & edges.

brown sugar chewies...

1/4 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Turn off the heat, add the brown sugar and stir until smooth. Stir in the egg. Stir together the flour and baking powder and stir into the brown sugar mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. When cool, dust the top with a sifting of confectioners' sugar.

The next time you need cookies in a hurry, give this one a try. The recipe comes from Paula Deen...and if you know her recipes very well, this one is on the light side..only calling for 1/4 cup butter. This recipe comes together quickly, and the dough is all done on the stove.

YUM!

(bad, bad pics...!!)

sausage & potatoes...

3 tsp olive oil

1 onion; chopped

4 med red potatoes; chopped

16 oz light sausage link; sliced in 1/2 in pieces

1 clove garlic; minced

salt & pepper

parsley; chopped

Heat olive oil in pan over med heat. Add potatoes & onions and season with salt & pepper. Cook over med heat (stirring frequently) until potatoes are tender & browned. Add garlic and sausage & cook until sausage is browned a little. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

This just became a new favorite! The leftovers for lunch were even better! When you use light or turkey sausage this really is a low fat meal, and VERY filling. The only thing I would change next time is to par boil the potatoes first. Just cooking them a little before (you could even do that earlier in the day) really cuts down on the cooking time. Because I didn't do that it took about 15-20 min for them to cook through, and I put a lid on to trap the heat & speed it up a little. AND...the parsley isn't just for color. It really adds a great, fresh taste to the dish!

(4 serv. 6 pt ea)

mexican pizza...

tostadas

1 lb taco meat

non fat refried beans; warmed through

cheese

olives

shredded lettuce

taco sauce

Spread refried beans on tostade, add taco meat, cheese & olives. Place under broiler until cheese melts. Add lettuce, taco sauce & sour cream.

Mexican pizzas, tostadas, open face tacos...call them whatever you want. I found if I called them pizzas my non mexican food lover (who LOVES pizza) would eat it & I was right.

I saw a similar recipe on Marci's blog using chicken...YUM! When she posted a pic of the tostadas I knew I needed to find a way to use them.

These were easy, really good, easy & really good!! We'll be having these again soon!

mini bacon & cheddar frittatas...

4 large eggs

4 egg whites

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 Tbsp milk (low fat)

4 slices bacon; cooked & crumbled

chopped green onion

salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients, except bacon. Grease mini muffin pan. Pour egg mixture into prepared muffin cups, fill almost to the top. Divide bacon among each filled muffin cup. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min or until set.

I got this recipe from a great site, Stephanie's Kitchen. I changed up the recipe a little to make it a little lighter, and I doubled it...to feed my GROWING boys! Who, by the way LOVED these. I made 24 and they were gone in a matter of minutes. Serve them up with some muffins & fresh fruit and you have a lovely breakfast or dinner!

(1 pt ea)

veggie cream cheese...

cream cheese

veggies and/or fresh herbs

salt & pepper

Chop or grate vegetables & finely chop herbs. Mix into cream cheese. Add a little salt & pepper to taste. Chill for a few minutes in the refrigerator. Serve on bagels, with pretzels or crackers, etc.

So easy. So good. I used to buy veggie cream cheese, but the bagel place I bought from has gone out of business & the others I've tried just don't measure up. This was just made on a whim the other day when I wanted something different for lunch. It really took minutes to throw together...and I've had it for lunch for the past 4 days. Yea, it's that good! Plus, it's a great Summer dish. No ovens or stoves involved!