Healthy but great tasting Red Pepper Cream Sauce

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
(from allrecipes.com)

• 2 large red bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups half-and-half ( I used fat-free, as well as many of the reviewers- it was great!)
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese (I used Parmesan)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat broiler. Lightly coat the red peppers with olive oil. Grill peppers under the broiler until the skin is blackened, and the flesh has softened slightly. Place peppers in a paper bag or resealable plastic bag to cool for approximately 45 minutes.
2. Remove the seeds and skin from the peppers (the skin should come off the peppers easily now). Cut peppers into small pieces.( I skipped steps 1 and 2 and just pureed about 1/2 cup jarred yellow and red peppers- find them in the condiments/pickle aisle)
3. In a skillet, cook and stir the garlic, basil, and red peppers in 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, so that the flavors mix. ( Add a tablespoon of flour and mix well- this step should thicken the sauce for later)
4. Place mixture in blender (careful it is hot), and puree to desired consistency. Return puree to skillet, and reheat to a boil. Stir in the half-and-half and the Romano cheese; cook and stir until the cheese melts. Add the butter, and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Honestly- the kids didn't love this one.  They are so used to their plain alfredo sauce that they couldn't appreciate this sauce.  However, I can't discard this recipe because I thought it was very easy, a lot different than our usual, and it has a great flavor you can use in different pasta dishes.  Therefore, I'm keeping it on file!  I didn't think it was too spicy, but it had a definite subtle peppery  flavor.  

One Pot Macaroni and Cheese

One Pot Mac and Cheese

(from realmomkitchen.com)

• 2 cups elbow macaroni or shell pasta
• 2 cups skim milk , plus more if needed
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1. Place uncooked macaroni in a colander and rinse with water, then allow to drain.
2. In a large sauce pan, add the macaroni, milk, butter, dried mustard, and salt.
3. Bring to a simmer cover medium heat. Once it comes to a simmer, turn down to low.
4. It this point you need to say right by the pot and stir. You will stir for 15-20 minutes until the milk is mostly absorbed and the pasta is tender. You can add more milk if needed. Stirring will prevent a sticky burnt mess.
5. Add the cheese and stir to combine.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and cover with the lid and let sit for 5 minutes.
7. Stir and taste. Add more salt if necessary. Will serve 4.

This is a lot like my crockpot mac and cheese recipe, but it is obviously faster since it's made on the stove.  Probably takes about 20 minutes total for the noodles to finish cooking.  It is so easy to make a good mac&cheese that all the kids will enjoy and is healthier than the boxed kind.  The kids loved it.  It wasn't as good the next day, though- dried out a bit.

Red Curry Chicken- sooo good!

• 
  
• Red Curried Chicken
• (from allrecipes.com)
• 
  
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection® Red Curry Powder
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection® Garlic Salt
• 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose apple (Golden Delicious), cut in cubes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection® Garam Masala
• 1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk

Directions

1. In large self-closing plastic bag, combine flour, red curry powder and garlic salt. Add chicken; shake to coat.
2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add chicken cubes; saute until well browned. Reduce heat. Add apple and onion; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, garam masala and coconut milk.
3. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice with condiments such as: chopped pistachios or peanuts, golden raisins, sliced green onions, flaked coconut, and mango chutney.
4. Substitution: May substitute 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice for 1 teaspoon garam masala.

I haven't tried red curry powder before, and I was worried it would be a lot more spicy than yellow curry.  Well, it was a little different in flavor, but it was amazing!  Our kids even ate this dish.  Very flavorful and exotic.  We'll add this to our Indian food rotation, definitely.

Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 
  
• Best Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
• (from allrecipes.com)
• 
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.  Refrigerate cookie dough for an hour or more to prevent the cookies from flattening. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

These cookies were great.  They were definitely chewy and pretty.  There were about 5000 reviews of this recipe on allrecipes.com, so I had to give it a try.  I made mine a little smaller, so it took only about 11 minutes to cook them.  Take them out while they are almost, but not quite, done.  You don't want them overly crispy!

The best ham ever. Crock pot too!

• 
  
• Harvey Ham Sandwiches
• (from allrecipes.com)
• 
  
• 1 (6 pound) bone-in ham
• 1 (8 ounce) jar yellow mustard
• 1 pound brown sugar (I probably used about half of this- just add to taste!)
• 24 dinner rolls, split

Directions

1. Place the ham in a large pot or slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 8 to 10 hours. Remove the meat from the water, and allow to cool. If it has cooked long enough, it will fall into pieces as you pick it up.
2. Pull the ham apart into shreds once it is cool enough to handle. It doesn't have to be tiny shreds. Place the shredded ham into a slow cooker. Stir in the mustard and brown sugar, cover, and set to Low. Cook just until heated. Serve on dinner rolls. We don't use any other sandwich toppings with it, but that is a personal choice.
   

Yum.  This was awesome ham, I promise.  Eat it plain is divine, in rolls is wonderful...as a snack great...you can't go wrong.  The mustard is muted, even though that sounds like a lot of mustard.  If you're scared, just add half of the mustard called for and taste as you go.  Try this ham, you will not be disappointed!

Chicken Parma Rosa- sauce mix, easy, good!

Chicken Parma Rosa

this is what it looks like at the store-
I never knew about it until a while ago

• 1 pkg Knorr Parma Rosa Sauce Mix
• 8 oz. penne (or other pasta desired)
• cooked chicken
• parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta.  Make sauce from Parma Rosa package (I think only a little butter and milk are used).
2.  Add chicken to sauce, pour over pasta, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and eat.


Such a fast meal!  I think the sauce is great, especially since it is from a package.  I was impressed.  Kids loved it (besides one), easy to make, tasty. It is a parmesan sauce with a hint of tomato, very subtle.  

Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies

Chocolate Mint Brownie Cookies
recipe from stephanieskitchen.com

For the cookies:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the middle layer:
1 cup Guittard green mint chips, melted

For the frosting:
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
4 1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
milk

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
2. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture until well combined.
3. Using a 2 inch ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until firm. You don’t want to underbake or overbake these cookies. Let cool.
4. Spread a layer of the melted mint chips over the cookies. Put them into the fridge to let them set for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the frosting.
5. Using a mixer, cream the butter. Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa until well combined. Slowly add to the butter. Add the vanilla and a dash of milk at a time until the consistency is thick enough to spread on the cookies. Beat until smooth. Spread the frosting over the mint layer.

If you are a mint brownie lover then these cookies will be loved.  All my kids loved these cookies- how could you not with the two extra layers?  The melted chocolate chips do harden, so it's different consistency than mint frosting, but we loved them.  Very fancy too!