southwest chicken lasagna...

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast; cooked & cut in 1 in. pieces
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
4 oz chopped green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 medium corn tortilla(s), cut into 2-inch strips
salsa, or taco sauce

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a lasagna pan with cooking spray.
Place chicken in a large bowl and add beans, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilis, cumin, and pepper; mix well and set aside.
Arrange half of tortillas in bottom of prepared lasagna pan, overlapping pieces to cover surface. Top tortillas with half of chicken mixture, layer with remaining tortillas and then top with remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese.
Bake until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with salsa on the side.

The salsa on the side really made this yummy. It was very easy to put together, especially if you can cook the chicken earlier in the day. This tasted even better the second day...and I'm not a fan of leftovers!

roasted green beans...

fresh green beans, trimmed

sliced onion

olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place green beans & onions on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper. Toss lightly with hands. Roast until tender and slightly browned. Turn a couple of times during roasting.

A favorite!!!

TWD La Palette's Strawberry Tart...

I received some little tart pans that had belonged to my Grandma & have been waiting for an opportunity worthy of using them. That opportunity came along with this weeks recipe, chosen by Marie from A Year At Oak Cottage.

This is one of the more simple recipes we've taken on lately at Tuesdays With Dorie, and that is exactly what I loved about it. Sometimes the simple things are the most wonderful. This strawberry tart definitely proves that. No need to mess around with this one in my book...it is PERFECT just the way it is!

The recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan's fabulous book, Baking from my Home to Yours on page 374.

chocolate dipped bananas...

8 bananas (not too ripe)

1 1/2 pkg chocolate flavored almond bark

16 popsicle sticks

sprinkles, decorating sugar, chopped nuts, etc.

small piece of styrofoam

Peel bananas & cut in half. Place on a paper lined baking sheet & freeze for about 30 min. Remove from freezer and carefully insert popsicle sticks. Return to freezer. Melt almond bark according to pkg directions. Dip frozen bananas & quickly top with nuts, sprinkles, etc. Stick popsicle stick end in styrofoam and return to freezer until ready to eat.

My 10 year old twins celebrated their Birthday today with an ice cream bar. We decided to turn traditional banana splits into something a little more special with chocolate dipped bananas. YUM! We had fun making them & we had fun eating them. They went fast! These make a great Summer treat, as well.

banana peach smoothie...

1 can (15 oz) lite sliced peaches

1 medium banana

1 cup milk

1 cup ice

1 6oz can pineapple juice

Mix thoroughly in blender. Makes 4-10oz servings.

BAD picture...fabulous smoothie!

broccoli cheddar quiche...

6 oz pie crust, 9-inch, refrigerated
1 Tbsp dried onion or 1/2 onion; finely chopped
1 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or more to taste
10 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well-drained
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Press pie crust into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan; refrigerate until ready to use.
Place onion to a large bowl and add ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, egg, egg whites, mustard, oregano, salt and pepper; mix well and fold in broccoli. Spoon mixture into prepared crust and level surface with a wooden spoon; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake until a knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces.

Looking for something really delicious for dinner?? (or breakfast, or a light lunch) This wasn't even cooking, it was assembling. If your family doesn't like broccoli, make them something else & enjoy this for yourself (it makes fabulous leftovers). If you don't like broccoli (shame on you) substitute for frozen (well drained) spinach, or any combination of veggies. If you are not a fan of Dijon mustard you can cetainly leave it out, it just adds a little zip to the finished product.And guess what? Even with the pie crust, if you limit yourself to one serving...it is low cal & low fat. YAY!!

TWD french chocolate brownies...

Mmmmmmmm! These babies really are a beautiful thing. Surprisingly gooey & fudgy in the middle, despite the crisp layer on the top. Again...mmmmmm! The only changes I made to the original recipe was trading the rum soaked raisins for chopped pecans, and I used semi sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet. Have I mentioned...mmmmm yummy?!?!?

Thanks Di for the fabulous selection!!

- makes 16 brownies

-Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden

1 1/2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.
Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.
Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.
Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.