Roasted Tomato, Spinach & Asiago Pasta with Chicken

I've had this recipe for years now and it's always good. I usually make it in the summer, and have my hubby make the chicken on the grill, but the kitchen skillet is just as good! :) Even though it's pasta, it's a light dish because it doesn't have thick sauces or anything like that.

Ingredients: 3 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
                   1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
                   2 T. olive oil
                   2 tsp. minced garlic
                   1 tsp. salt n' pepper
                   Bag of spinach leaves (I never use quite the whole bag)
                  1 pkg. of thin spaghetti (I always get the fiber wheat kind)
                  Block of asiago cheese (unless you can find it shredded....I never can)
                  Pine nuts
                  2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions: Preheat oven to 400. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves and toss with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Spread on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for about 20-30 minutes or until shriveled and brown.
    While those are cooking, you can cook your chicken however you like. I always just put a little seasoning on the chicken and either grill it outside on the grill or inside on the skillet.
  Prepare your pasta as usual.
 Then, when the tomatoes are done, scrape them into a bowl and add the spinach leaves. It usually ends up being about 4 cups worth, but put as much as you want.
  Then, when the pasta is done, toss it with the spinach mixture. Add the pine nuts, sliced chicken, and grate asiago cheese on top. :)

Vanilla Sauce for Pancakes

Mmmmm.....this one is really good! What a great substitution for syrup! yum, yum! If you're making bacon too, I recommend throwing it in the oven so you don't have to deal with frying it on the stove and it popping all over you while you're trying to flip pancakes!

Ingredients: 2 T cornstarch
                   1/3 cup sugar
                   1/8 tsp. salt
                   2 cups milk
                   2 egg yolks, beaten
                   1 T. butter (melted)
                   2 tsp. vanilla
                  Strawberries (or your favorite fresh fruit)

Directions: Mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a pan. Whisk the milk and egg yolks together and gradually stir into pan. Cook on MEDIUM until it comes to a boil. Don't turn up the heat, because you don't want the egg to cook! It takes awhile, but just keep stirring it until it does. Let it boil for one minute, then remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour on top of pancakes and top with strawberries, or your favorite fruit  :)

Chocolate Pretzel Melts

I got this recipe from my mother in law Pam. (I've seen them on pinterest too...but seriously what's NOT on there!!) These are the easiest things to make ever! Plus, they are so super cute. It's a really great appetizer/snack for any party. I made some for the superbowl, so I did blue and red colored m&m's. But you could do any theme! ( blue/pink for baby showers, etc!) Thank you Pam! :)

Ingredients: Bag of pretzels (the regular "pretzel" shaped kind)
                   Bag of hershey kisses*any kind you want!* I have used the cookies and cream kind and the regular ones
                    M&M's (just the regular kind)
                   *Or if you are doing the pretzel "sandwich" kinds all you need is pretzels and hershey kisses

Directions: So all you have to do is preheat your oven to 270. Then, just put a whole bunch of pretzels on a cookie sheet (grease it a little) and place a hershey kiss over each pretzel. Bake for about 5 minutes (or until you see the chocolate is soft). Immediately after you remove from oven you can either top each one with an m&m or make a "sandwich" and press another pretzel on top. Both ways are yummy!
    Just let them cool on the cookie sheet until they harden up.....or if you can't wait, just throw them in the refrigerator for awhile.
*Awesome because you can make as many or as few as you want! Plus with all the different flavors of hershey kisses out there, it makes for so many options! :)

The Best Brownie Topping

Brownies are awesome, but when you pair it with this topping they are even better! It's a cream cheese mixture with fresh berries on top....yum yum!

Ingredients: Your favorite brownie mix
                    8 oz. cream cheese, softened
                    1/3 cup sugar
                    1/2 tsp. vanilla
                   1/2 cup apple jelly
                   Fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries

Directions: So first, just make the brownies according to the box you got. When it's done, let it completely cool. (it takes about 1 hour or so) In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and the apple jelly until smooth. Spread over the brownie and top with the fresh fruit. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chilled.
:)

Cinnapear Banana Smoothie

I love to make smoothies! They are such an easy way to eat a healthy, quick lunch. Serve it with a sandwich or something on the side and you are good to go!

Ingredients: 2 pears
                    1 Banana
                    1 cup milk
                    1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
                   1/2 tsp. cinnamon
                    pinch nutmeg

Directions: Cut the fruit up in pieces (take skin off pears) and freeze them before making. This way, they serve as ice cubes. Then, just throw everything into a blender and blend until done. :)

*Serves 2

Turkey and Veggie Mini French Loaf Bites

I had a hard time naming this one. I came up with this after seeing something similar to it online. I don't remember what the other one was named either....but it's hard to name something without having like 50 million words in the name to describe it! So Turkey and Veggie Mini French Loaf Bites it is!! Betcha can't say that 5 times fast! :)

Ingredients: Can of refrigerated french loaf dough
                   Chive and onion cream cheese
                    Deli Turkey of your choice (or chicken, or roast beef, or ham....whatever you like) about 1/2 pound- 3/4 pound should do, thinly sliced
                   2 Tomatoes, sliced
                    1 Onion, sliced
                    2 Cucumbers, sliced
                   Your favorite cheese ( I used colby jack slices)

                     Directions: So first, just bake the french loaf according to the package. (I believe it takes about 20 or so minutes.....which is great....now you have time to cut up your veggies :)
      Once the bread is done, let it cool a bit....then just slice it into pieces and spread the chive and onion cream cheese on it. This makes it really yummy so really layer it on! The next layer is the meat, then top with your veggies (I did 1 onion, 1 tomato, and 3 cucumbers per piece) Then, put a piece of cheese on each piece and stick it in your oven on BROIL for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Yum!

* Servings is about 4 hungry people.

Super Healthy Super Bowl Dip!

I love dips and this one is so good! It's so healthy too so you don't have to feel bad about eating a lot of it!

Ingredients: 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
                    Bag of frozen corn (16 oz), thawed
                   3-4 tomatoes (medium), chopped
                    1 onion, chopped
                   1 avocado
                   juice of 1 lime
                    3 T. olive oil
                   1-2 T. cilantro ( I got the kind that comes in the squeeze bottle...I recommend it!)
                    salt and pepper
                 Your favorite tortilla chips

Directions: In a big bowl, combine the rinsed beans, corn (make sure it's thawed. I just put mine in the microwave for like 3 minutes...just make sure you don't cook it all the way. You want the kernels to have a bit of a crunch and not soggy. Read the directions on the back...you have to put it in a bowl and add a little water too), chopped tomatoes, and chopped onion. Then, just add the olive oil, cilantro, juice from the lime and a little salt and pepper.
   Stir it up really good and put it in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
  When it's ready to serve, add the chopped avocado into it. Yummy! Makes for awesome leftovers too!