Tonight we are having Grilled (actually baked tonight!) Bruschetta Chicken, baked asparagus, garlic bread baguettes and herbed chicken couscous.  YUM!  My friend and I did this chicken recipe for a cooking class and it turned out great!  She cooked it on the grill and in the oven for variety.  The grill is much better, but hey, it was still good in the oven too.  It has lots of flavor and it a healthy way to cook chicken.

Found on Kraft.com

what you need!

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

1/4 cup  KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, divided

1 tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup  KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

make it!

HEAT grill to medium heat.

COVER half the grill grate with sheet of heavy-duty foil. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag. Add 2 Tbsp. dressing; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. Remove chicken from bag; discard bag and dressing.

PLACE chicken on uncovered side of grill; cover with lid. Grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining dressing, tomatoes, cheese and basil.

TURN chicken over; place on foil. Top with tomato mixture. Grill, covered, grill 8 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF).

I thought I had posted this already, but came back looking for the recipe and couldn't find it.  So sorry to the people I told to find the recipe on my blog!  I like this recipe for the fact that it is a non-measuring, do it to your liking recipe.  Just throw on the ingredients, pop it in the oven, and there you have it!  A different way to cook asparagus rather than just steaming it.  My Mother -in -law has a recipe like this but it also calls for adding bread crumbs on top to give it some crunch.  Hope you like it!

Handful of asparagus
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese (green tube kind)
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350.  Place a handful of asparagus (chop off the ends to get rid of the "woody" parts) on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle (now go easy on this or it will get mushy) extra virgin olive oil on top and mix the asparagus around to coat.  Sprinkle salt, pepper and parm. cheese on top.  Cook 10-15 min. depending on how thick the asparagus is.  It is best still a little crunchy and better for you so you don't cook out all the great vitamins.  Enjoy!

My sister made this recipe a couple weeks ago and said it was really good.  Just thought I would post it and hopefully try it sometime soon.  Let me know what you think!

Aaron's Pot Roast
3-5 pound roast (mine was 3.75lb - it feed us, Randall and Sara and their kids and left us a little for leftovers the next night.)
1 can basil and garlic flavored stewed tomatoes
some minced garlic (I did about a spoonful)
1 can beef broth (about 2 cups/bouillon cubes)
onion and carrot on bottom of pot under roast (I did about 1/2 onion and 1/2-3/4 small bag of carrots)
1 packet McCormick's Roast seasoning for crockpot
1 packet onion soup mix
a little soy sauce
salt and pepper
a little worchestershire sauce

Cook on low 10-12 hours in crockpot.
Add red/yellow bell pepper last 20 minutes.  (I forgot to do this last week but it still tasted fine without it.  Nobody noticed.)
I also added 1 stalk of celery cut up to add a little extra juice and flavor. 

The recipe calls for putting red potatoes in with the roast to cook.  I left these out because I didn't have any room to put them in and was afraid it all wouldn't cook if I stuck them in.  So we steamed them and then added them to the juices later to get the flavor.  This made so much yummy gravy too!  Really yummy and really easy!

I have wanted to try bruschetta before but have never gotten around to making it until the last couple of weeks.  And I wish I would have made it a long time ago!  It was great!!!  I did my own variation of the recipes I found online though.  Most of them called for fresh basil, olive oil and tomatoes, with a few added ingredients here or there.  I had just made a fresh batch of pesto that same week and decided that since pesto has olive oil and basil in it, I would try that.  So glad I did.  Here is my made up recipe below:

-One long bread baguette
-Pesto (If using frozen pesto from ice cube trays (http://sweettoothqueen.blogspot.com/2010/01/homemade-pesto.html), use 4 ice cubes worth.  If using bottled pesto, you will need to just eyeball it!)
-1 1/2 tomatoes chopped (something like hot house tomatoes... the round ones)
-shredded parmesean cheese
-Salt and pepper to taste

Slice baguette into 1/2-1 inch slices.  Spread with pesto.  Pop in the oven on broil until warm.  Then add chopped tomatoes and a little parm. cheese on top.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put back in oven until warm (try not to cook too long so the tomatoes don't get mushy).  Serve warm with soup and/or salad  and a smoothie for a light dinner.  This is also great as an appetizer.  To add a little more substance, add chopped chicken pieces.  Enjoy!

If you are like me, you buy sour cream for tacos or fajitas, but don't end up using the rest of the container.  Need something to use it for?  Try banana bread.  I know, I know, it will just add to the bread to make it fattier.  Point taken, BUT it tastes oh so good!!  I am a fan of banana bread.  Some people like it, others don't.  To each his own, and that is fine because it means more for the rest of us!  Anyway, back to the recipe... I like this one because even though I add whole wheat flour, it still turns out moist because of the sour cream.  I am sure you can probably substitute for something less fattening like plain yogurt, but I never buy that, so I go with the original version.  Let me know if you try it with yogurt.

PS This is even better with chocolate chips in it :)

Ingredients:
2/3 C. butter (I try to cut down a little each time I make this)
1 1/3 C. sugar (ditto to the above statement.  My norm is about 1 cup)
2 3/4 C. flour (I usually do at least 1 C. whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla (If you are using real Mexican Vanilla like I do, only use 1/2 -3/4 tsp)
1 1/2 C. mashed bananas (If you do add whole wheat flour, add a little more bananas and make it about 1 3/4 C.)
1/2 C. sour cream

Cream butter and sugar.  Add all others.  Mix well.  Grease bread pan, muffin pan, bundt pan, etc.  Cook at 350.  If using a bundt pan, check bread at 1 hour.  If using muffin pan, check at 12-15 min.  If using bread pan, check at about 30 min, but probably cook for about 45-50 min depending on size and how full.  Good luck!

We did a big group date a couple weeks ago and this is what I made for the dessert.  It was very rich, but very good!  Mine didn't look as pretty as the picture on Betty Crocker's site though!  We were feeding a big group, so I made mine in a cake pan to spread it out a little further.  I don't think I needed to though because we had plenty of leftovers.  Enjoy!

Cookie Base
1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix (we used Peanut Butter cookie mix!!)
1/2	cup butter or margarine, softened
1	tablespoon water
1	egg
1	cup chopped pecans
Filling
40	caramels, unwrapped
1/3	cup whipping cream
3/4	cup chopped pecans
Topping
1	bag (11.5 oz) milk chocolate chips (2 cups)
1/3	cup whipping cream
1/4	cup chopped pecans

	Print these coupons...
	$0.75 off Betty Crocker® Box Supreme Brownie Mixes Plus 25 more...
	About Concordance™

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, water and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in 1 cup pecans. Press dough in bottom and up sides of ungreased 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
2.	Bake 19 to 21 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes.
3.	Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and 1/3 cup cream on High 2 to 4 minutes, stirring twice, until caramels are melted. Stir in 3/4 cup pecans. Spread over cooled crust. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
4.	In another medium microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and 1/3 cup cream on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Pour over filling. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup pecans. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set. To serve, let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before cutting. Store covered in refrigerator.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Use 10-inch tart pan. In step 2, bake crust 21 to 23 minutes.

Ryan and I try to limit the amount of preservatives we eat as well as give to our kids, try to not buy anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup, and try to limit the amount of sugar we eat (although that is hard when you like to bake like I do!).  So, when it comes to finding snacks for the kids, I was getting frustrated at the junk that is in gummies and granola bars.  That is when I started making homemade fruit leather, dried apples and pears, and homemade granola bars.  This is a great recipe because you can use the oat, seed, and nut (or omit the nuts if you have peanut allergies in your family and maybe try to add something else for more substance)base and add different ingredients to make all varieties of granola bars.  I have adjusted the "glue" every time I make these and have come to the realization that if you want your granola bars to stick together, keep the ingredients the way they are.  I have made the glue with less butter and less sugar(which is what I do most of the time now), and used Agave nectar as a sugar replacement (This way creates crumbly granola instead of granola bars.  Still taste good, but do not stick together.).  So, play with the glue a little and see what works best for your family.
Let me know what combinations you have tried and what is your favorite!  I can always use more ideas!!!  


PS This post is really long, but the recipe is actually pretty easy.  Sorry if I stressed you out!


Found on Joyful Abode

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Gather your ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup wheat germ ( I don't have this, so I omit this step)
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup peanuts, crushed ( I usually use almonds, but this last time I used chopped cashews.  YUM!)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar ( I make it a little less than this)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 Tbsp butter (I use more like 3 Tbs.)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (or if you have real Mexican vanilla, use around 1 - 1 1/2 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• approximately 8 oz. dried fruit ( I have used craisins, coconut and chocolate chips, or dried apples and dried blueberries)

To crush your peanuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan. (I chop my almonds and cashews in my small food processor.)

Then, mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned (I have burned mine.  So really watch it and keep stirring!)

Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with waxed paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray.

Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.  (Make sure you don't overheat or cook too long.  This will make the glue almost crumble and break) (I have wanted to try adding some natural Adams Peanut Butter to this mix so I can make peanut butter chocolate chip bars, but haven't tried this yet.  if you do, let me know how it turns out!!!)

By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid “glue,” and the dried fruit (This is usually when I add my chocolate chips too.  Then they melt in with the oat mixture and cover everything.  I tried just pressing in my chocolate chips this last batch I made, but it made my granola break apart too much.) Oh, and turn off your oven, because you’re finished with it now.


Mix everything REALLY WELL because you want to make sure the “glue” gets all over everything. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish.


Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.


Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that your bars won’t fall apart when you cut them.

Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled.

Then, open the waxed paper … And carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper.

Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like.

I wrapped ours individually in plastic wrap, so that we could just throw one into our bag or lunch box in the morning. If you’d like to save on packaging though, you can store yours in an airtight container, between sheets of waxed paper (so they don’t stick together).