Turkey and Veggie Pasta Bake

I threw this together the other night with ingredients I had on hand it turned out pretty good! We are having the leftovers tonight, actually. The Philadelphia creamy pesto sauce is a little fattening, but keep in mind that a little goes a long way. I only used 1/4 cup of it. I love dishes that include protein, veggies and grains all in one!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey, browned
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup Philadelphia Creamy Pesto sauce
1 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella
8 oz. whole grain penne pasta

Cook pasta according to directions. Brown turkey, add pesto sauce to the pan and stir. Add in spinach after thawing and squeezing it dry. Add in tomatoes and stir. Add cooked pasta. Pour mixture into an 8 x 11 dish. Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is the leanest cut of pork you can buy, as far as I know! And so easy to prepare! This always turns out very tender and flavorful! Here is how I made it tonight:

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless pork tenderloin, thawed
1/4 cup olive oil
3 t. lite soy sauce
1 T. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried mined onion
1 pinch of cinnamon

Put pork in bottom of crockpot. Add all other ingredients on top and replace the lid. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Roasted Veggies

This is my absolute favorite way to make veggies! And it is super simple! Tonight, I had red potatoes, baby carrots and frozen green beans. I cut up the potatoes and baby carrots and laid them on a cookie sheet and drizzled olive oil lightly over them. Then just added S & P to taste.

Roast these in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Take them out and add the frozen green beans (still frozen) and drizzle a little more olive oil, S & P.

Put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. They came out perfect and so delicious!

Change it up by using different veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, grape tomatoes, etc. :)

Quinoa with Almonds and Cranberries

I FINALLY made quinoa for the first time tonight! My sweet mom-in-law brought me some on Saturday and I had been meaning to buy it at the store for a while but kept forgetting since it's not a usual item on my list. :) This was a recipe that was on the side of the container it came in. We both really enjoyed it. If you've never tried quinoa, you really should. It's loaded with protein and it's a whole grain! Can't beat that for nutritional value.

1 c. dry quinoa
.5 cup thinly sliced almonds
1.5 cups boiling water
.5 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 cinnamon stick
1 cube chicken bullion
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt

Toast quina and almonds over medium heat in a large skillet, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes. Add boiling water and all other ingredients to pan and stir. Make sure it stays boiling and then cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes
(The texture of the quinoa is supposed to be sort of crunchy, even after cooking.)

Asparagus Gruyere Tart

This is such a great fake-out recipe! Looks fancy and difficult, but totally is not!

I used swiss instead of gruyere since I had it on hand.
Make sure you roll out your dough some before baking it. I somehow didn't read that step and mine was really puffy and thick (but still yummy). But I would have liked it thinner so that my asparagus didn't overlap.

Would make this again :)

http://www.marthastewart.com/318340/asparagus-gruyere-tart?czone=food/produce-guide-cnt/spring-produce-recipes&center=276955&gallery=275174&slide=284861

3 Ingredient Chocolate Cupcakes

These are so good! I used the exact same ingredients as listed. I made the regular sized muffins and it made twelve large ones. You can fill them up to the top because they don't rise much. Use an electric mixer so that it all gets incorporated. The batter will be very thick.
Definitely a great alternative to a high-calorie, high-fat muffin or cupcake! She says these are only 1 point on the Weight Watchers program- wow! Will make these again :)

http://nomadicnomnom.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/1-point-weight-watcher-cupcakes/

Chicken Dumpling Casserole

This was a great comfort food meal. Probably should have saved it for the winter, but it was delicious even in July :) I would make this again. It would be great for a potluck or to take to a family in need.

I added frozen mixed veggies to this, so mine took around 45 minutes to bake. Next time, I might only use one cup of chicken broth instead of two as it seemed to take a while to cook.

So easy and delicious!

http://theshadyporch.blogspot.com/2011/11/chicken-dumpling-casserole.html

Royal Blue Velvet Cake

I made this for Ben's birthday cake in a giant cupcake mold. I thought it would be cute to do blue velvet since he's a boy. :)

Changes:
I found "royal blue" gel food coloring at Party City and used that instead of the two colors listed on this recipe. It made it VERY dark blue!

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/royal-blue-velvet-cake/bce7c4e4-8c6a-49cd-ac3f-9fe629722d9c

Carrot Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these for Ben's birthday party. I thought they turned out pretty yummy. :) I did use full-fat cream cheese, but next time, would probably use the 1/3 less fat kind. Loved the lemon zest in the frosting- very nice flavor!

I bought shredded carrots at the grocery store but had to put them in the food processor to get them small enough to add.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/carrot-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/index.html

Tortellini Spinach Salad

Made this for Ben's birthday (for everyone else!) So easy and yummy! Great summer salad!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/01/tortellini-spinach-salad-with-balsamic-tomato-vinaigrette.html