Baked Ravioli Bites

From Cooking Light

Serves 4-6 (as an appetizer)

1 (9 oz.) package cheese ravioli

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup Italian dry bread crumbs

Olive oil cooking spray

Cook ravioli according to package directions. Preheat broiler. Grease baking sheet. Dip prepared ravioli into beaten eggs, coating both sides. Then dip into bread crumbs, coating both sides. Place on baking sheet. Lightly spray top of breaded ravioli with cooking spray. Broil for 1-2 minutes. or until edges begin to brown. Flip and spray with additional cooking spray. Broil for 1-2 mintues. Serve, topped with pesto, tomato sauce or other additional toppings.

Served these with a pesto-marinara sauce and they were so good!

Shrimp Arrabiata with Romaine Salad

From Cooking Light

6 oz. linguine (I used whole wheat penne because that's what I had on hand)
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. large shrimp peeled and deveined (I used frozen because I'm scared of that whole "peeled and deveined" process!)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta, drain and keep warm. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with salt, add shrimp to pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done (skipped this since I was using pre-cooked shrimp). Transfer shrimp to a bowl. Heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil in pan. Add onion, garlic, basil and crushed red pepper to pan; saute 1 minute. Add tomato paste and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, or just until sauce begins to thicken. Return shrimp to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Add parsley to the pan, stirring well to combine. Serve over pasta.

The sauce was really good and I wouldn't have minded it being a little bit spicier. Served this with a simple salad for an overall pretty healthy meal.

From thenest.com

Romaine Ribbons with Parmesan-Lemon Dressing

Serves 5-6

For the dressing:
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:
1 head Romaine lettuce, coarse leaves removed, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

To make the dressing: In a food processor (my mini one is perfect for this job!), combine all ingredients and process until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for 1 hour to blend the flavors.
To make the Romaine ribbons: Stack 6-8 leaves at a time and cut widthwise into ribbons 1/2 inch wide. Place ribbons in a large salad bowl, drizzle with the dressing and toss well. Garnish with Parmesan and serve immediately.

This salad is one of my favorites and I make it often. It's tasty and it may not seem like much, but the Romaine ribbons somehow make it feel more "special".

Greek Pizza Pockets

Serves 4

1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

15 oz. ricotta cheese

2/3 cup crumbled tomato-basil feta

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I'll probably use a little less dill next time)

1 package refrigerated pizza dough

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, stir spinach, ricotta, feta and dill. Divide pizza dough into 4 equal pieces. On a floured board, press each in to 8"x7" oval. Spoon 1/4 of filling into center of each oval; brush edges with water. Fold each over lengthwise to enclose filling, press to seal. Cut slit in each. Bake for 25 minutes.

Pasta with Lemon and Fresh Herbs

This is one of my favorite simple, light meals. It's also a versatile recipe that I can easily tweak a little bit based on what I have on hand. Here's the original recipe:

1/2 lb. egg noodles (I used whole wheat angel hair)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I usually use more like 3 or 4 tablespoons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh herbs (can use parsley, dill, tarragon or a mix)
1 teaspoon lightly packed finely grated lemon zest
2 scallions, thinly sliced
(I also added some frozen shrimp)

Serves 4

Cook the pasta in generously salted water based on package directions. Just before draining, scoop out about 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain the noodles, set aside. Put the pan you used to cook the pasta over medium heat, add the butter, lemon juice and about 2 tablespoons of cooking water and swirl to combine. Add the pasta and toss gently but thoroughly to coat, adding more of the cooking water if necessary. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add the herbs, zest and scallions and toss once more to mix. Serve immediately.

Chicken Bruschetta Bake

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Heat oven to 400. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened. Layer chicken, basil, cheese and stuffing in a 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

This was tasty, easy and reasonably healthy. The bruschetta-like topping was the best part, so I'm thinking about trying this with veggies (eggplant, mushrooms, squash, etc.) instead of chicken next time.

I also served this with sauteed spinach with garlic:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. fresh spinach, washed and dried
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan (I skipped this to make it slightly healthier)

Saute garlic in oil and butter for about 30 seconds over medium heat or until lightly golden, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add spinach and saute until just wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parmesan.

Easy Peanut Butter Squares

Colin loves these so much that their new name should be "Colin's Obsession"!

3/4 cup melted butter

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

12 oz. crunchy peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

12 oz. melted chocolate chips

Combine butter and graham cracker crumbs, mix in sugar and peanut butter. Spread in a 9x13 pan. Pour chocolate over the mixture. Chill.

Shrimp Ceviche Salad

1 lb. medium-small shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup lime juice (4-6 limes)
3/4 cup lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

1 cup finely chopped red onion

1 serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, minced

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 cucumber, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

1 avocado, peeled, seed removed, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 tomato, chopped

Add shrimp to boiling, salted water and cook for 1-2 minutes. Cut shrimp into inch long pieces. Place shrimp in glass or ceramic bowl. Mix in lime and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for 3o minutes. Mix in red onion and chile, refrigerate for another half hour. Add cilantro, cucumber, avocado and tomato immediately before serving.

I used some frozen shrimp I had on hand and didn't use all of the lime and lemon juice. I served this with chips and guacamole and it made a tasty, light meal.

Fried Food Fest

....otherwise known as the State Fair of Texas. Colin and I went on Saturday and we had a great time trying some of the crazy stuff. We started out with Chicken Fried Bacon, the first place winner for this year. It pretty much tastes just like you think it would, but I'm not totally sure if that's a good thing or not!
Our favorite was the Fried Peanut Butter, Jelly and Banana sandwich--delicious! We also tried the fresh-squeezed lemonade (perfect amount of sweetness) and the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffle Balls (just so-so). Overall, it was a lovely fall afternoon at the fair!

Magical Mystery Pizza

Yay! I finally started my food blog, but since I spent forever just setting this up, I'm keeping it simple for my very first post. I think anyone who knows Colin knows of his love for Mellow Mushroom pizza. I attempted to make a homemade version of our "usual" and it was definitely good, but somehow I think Colin will still want to go to Mellow Mushroom for the real thing as often as possible!




Boboli premade pizza crust
Store bought pesto sauce
Grated mozzarella
Spinach
Mushrooms (cooked for a few minutes with garlic and olive oil)
Jalapenos

Spread the pesto on the pizza crust (turns out I didn't have quite enough pesto so I mixed what I had with some marinara, which was quite tasty). Spread toppings and cheese on top and cook for 8-10 minutes. I served this with a basic salad and we had quite the tasty dinner!