Fast, easy, different Penne dish *Ziti*

Baked Penne
(from simplifysupper.com)

• 1 pound penne noodles (4 cups dry)
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce, 26 ounce size
  
• 1 jar marinara sauce, 26 ounce size
  
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and drain pasta. Mix the two sauces together in a large mixing bowl. Add mozzarella cheese and combine. Add drained pasta. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish and bake about 25-30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle parmesan on top and bake another five minutes. Enjoy!

This was so fast and even for me, a non-pasta fanatic, great-tasting! Just the right amount of sauciness to noodle ratio. And all the kids loved it. It makes a ton, a full 9x13 pan, but ours was mostly gone the first night.

Choco-coconut cookies

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chunks
• 1 3/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 3/4 shopped walnuts (optional)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
   
2. Mix in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla.
3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and slat into a bowl.
   
4. Mix into butter mixture on low speed until well combined. Stir in chocolate, coconut, and walnuts.
5. Scoop batter and drop onto baking sheets lined with parchment (or sprayed with cooking spray), spacing 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly, and bake until set about 10 minutes.

These are a nice change. Kind of like no-bake cookies with the cocoa and coconut, only you bake these babies.

Fun crock pot recipe

Chicken and Potatoes a la Crock Pot

• 1 1/2 pound red potatoes, chunked
• 8 ounces Neufchatel cheese
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz size) cream of whatever soup (I used chicken)
• 1 envelope Ranch-style dressing mix
• 12 ounces chicken breast without skin -- cut into strips

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in slow cooker.
   
2. Beat together the cream cheese, soup and salad dressing mix. Stir in chicken strips and spread over potatoes (or just stir all together).
3. Cover and cook on Low 8 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Stir once after 5-6 hours. Stir before serving.

This was a good recipe! I loved being able to use my crock pot for potatoes. You'll need to watch the time on the potatoes because mine was about 4 hours, and I used about 4 chunked potatoes, and one chicken breast. I didn't have ranch seasoning, I just poured some prepared ranch in there, which was good too, though it might have not had as much of a ranch flavor that way. We enjoyed this meal! Kid-friendly.

Such a great dinner, I promise!

Chicken and Broccoli Braid
(adapted from pampered chef)

• 2 (8oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls (I used pizza dough instead, I dont really like the flavor of crescent rolls from the store)
  
• 2 c. coarsely chopped cooked chicken (I used rotisserie; canned chicken could work well too)
  
• 1 1/2 c. coarsely chopped broccoli (I steamed it lightly first)
  
• 1/2 C diced red bell pepper (I skipped because I had none, but used some sun-dried tomatoes and caramelized onions I had)
  
• 1/3 C mayonnaise
• 1-2 c. cheddar cheese
  
• 2 tsp dried dill weed
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 garlic clove, pressed (I skipped)
  
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, combine chicken, broccoli, cheese, bell pepper, mayonnaise, dill, salt and garlic. Mix well.

2. Roll out rolls or dough into the size of your cookie sheet, then lay it in the greased cookie sheet.
3. Place filling along the center of the dough, lengthwise. Cut slits into the dough along the sides about 2 inches, braiding over top. Look at mine- it's not that pretty but it did the job.
4. Brush with egg white. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

We loved this. Like I mention, try the pizza dough if you aren't a fan of crescent rolls. The flavor of this meal is great, and it's got a good serving of veggies in there, too! This meal doesn't take that long if you have prepared chicken ready as well as dough. It is very flexible, too...add mushrooms, different cheeses and veggies- whatever suits you.

Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu

Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu

• 1 box (6 oz) dry Stove Top stuffing mix
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 pound lean low-sodium ham slices
• 1-2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
  
• 2 cups sliced, diced or shredded cooked chicken/turkey
• 2 cups Sauce, optional (see below)
• Cranberry sauce, cherry tomatoes, parsley etc, optional garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil; stir in butter and stuffing mix; remove from heat, cover and allow stuffing to stand 5 minutes.
3. Spray 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. Layer ham slices in bottom of pan; sprinkle with shredded cheese; arrange chicken over cheese. 
4. Spread prepared stuffing over chicken slices. Bake 20-30 minutes or until heated through and stuffing is browned on top. Cut in squares and serve with optional Sauce (see below) and optional garnish. Feeds 6-8.

This was good! I do recommend going for maybe low-sodium ham, especially with the stuffing and sauce. But either way, it's a good meal. I also recommend the addition of cranberry sauce! But I am a fan of that, what can I say. Next time I think I would just pour the sauce over top before putting the pan in the oven, covering it with tinfoil. Save some time and taste just as good.

Delicious oatmeal chochip pb cookies!

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(from browneyedbaker.com)

Makes about 16 cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.

4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes (mine were 8-9 minutes), or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

These are so tasty! Just like my fave pb/chocolate chip recipe already posted but these have a nice chewy addition thanks to the oatmeal. Make sure not to overcook! They set up nicely even if they look a little less than done.

Ice cream recipe

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
(ourbestbites.com)

• 2-3 c. fresh blueberries (or frozen works too)
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 c. sugar
• 6 oz. light cream cheese, softened
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 c. 2% milk
• 1 c. half and half
• Optional: 1 prepared graham cracker crust

1. In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, powdered sugar, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
2. In a large saucepan, combine milk and half and half (or cream and whole milk if you're taking that route). Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
   
   While milk is heating, combine cream cheese, egg yolks, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.
3. After you have removed milk mixture from heat, very slowly pour half of the milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while the beater is running. This is called tempering the eggs, meaning that you're slowly acclimating them to heat so you can cook them without them curdling. Mix the egg mixture well and then add the tempered egg mixture back into the hot milk mixture. Over medium-low heat and stirring very often, cook to 160 degrees (use a candy thermometer; 160 degrees is considered safe for most animal products, eggs included). Remove from heat.
4. Allow to cool to a touchable temperature and then add those gorgeous blueberries and all of the liquid with them.
5. Combine completely and put in the fridge for several hours until well chilled. Because this ice cream is a little more labor intensive that most, I make it up to this step one or even 2 days ahead of time. That way when you're ready to freeze it, it's well chilled and will be ready faster!
   
   Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. After churning it will be like soft-serve. Place in an air-tight container in the freezer to let it set up.

We enjoyed this ice cream, and it froze well even though the kitchen-aid ice cream maker we use couldn't get it very frozen so I was worried when I put the smoothie-like consistency into the freezer, it all turned out well. That could have been due to not letting the mixture get cold enough in the fridge before freezing it. Anyway, next time I would add the graham crust or cheesecake pieces, but the taste was very decadent!