Lunch Ideas! Mini Kabobs

I put a couple of these in lunches for my husband and I and for our kiddos.

Here are a couple of our favorite combinations:

mozzarella balls, Pitted Large Olives, Grape tomatoes and hard salami

Grapes, Strawberries and mozzarella balls

Lunch meat, cheese, grape tomatoes

The options are endless!

 

Chocolate Chili Almond Butter Cookies

 

 

This recipe is a variation I came up with from Clean Eating magazine’s Almond Butter Cookies that I previously posted. The chili flavor in the chocolate adds a nice kick, but you could substitute with some other dark chocolate. I added oats also which added a nice crunch. Try it and let me know what you think!

1 cup chocolate almond butter, stirred well (I like Justin’s)

3/4 cup Sucanat

1 large egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp sea salt

1/4 C. Oats, (Quaker 1-minute)

1 1/2 oz Lindt Chili Dark chocolate, broken & chopped into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl. stir together the first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.

Valentine’s Tea Party

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO DANA SUGGS PHOTOGRAPHY  http://danasuggs.com/gallery/

Stuffed Peppers with quinoa and sausage

6 Assorted Bell Peppers – Red, Yellow or Red

2 1/2-3 C. Quinoa, cooked (or could substitute Rice or Couscous)

6 T. Pesto (See recipe in Recipes I love or use store-bought)

5 T. Cilantro, chopped fresh (Optional)

6 Sm. wedges Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb soft cheese -Reduced fat

8 oz. Summer Sausage, chopped into small pieces ( I used Deer Sausage with Jalepeno cheddar in which added a nice spicy kick to it)

Dash of Red Pepper flakes, to taste (Optional)

1/4 C. Mozzarella or Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, shredded – Set Aside

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Arrange Peppers in 8×8 pan

Mix all ingredients together in bowl except for shredded cheese. Make sure soft cheese is completely mixed in.

Evenly fill peppers with mixture then add 1/2 C water to pan surrounding peppers

Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Remove foil, add shredded cheese to tops and broil for 3-4 minutes or till cheese is golden brown

4-6 Servings

 

Spicy African peanut stew

This stew is one of the most delicious I have found, and so easy. It is a rare recipe where I wouldn’t want to change a thing, and it’s not spicy BTW! Here is the link if you want to try it. Only teeny variation was on the toppings: For the yogurt, I used plain greek-style instead of sour cream.

http://www.examiner.com/food-in-new-york/comfort-a-bowl-spicy-african-peanut-stew

Photo Credit: The examiner &  www.simplyrecipes.com

Grilled Pepper, Turkey and Cheese Pitas

For lunch or dinner, grilled sandwiches & soup are an easy go-to. Hey, I am a fan of most anything that is easy and delicious to make! This version I just threw together and my husband raved about it so I thought I would pass it on…

Ingredients

Pita pockets, halved and then gently torn open into pieces (I used Prophets pockets).

Mayo

12-14 slices of Hickory smoked Turkey deli meat, thinly shaved

8 Hickory smoked sharp cheddar, thinly sliced

Handful of Extra Sharp white cheddar, shredded (or could use thinly sliced)

1/3 Red Pepper, washed & thinly sliced

1/3 yellow pepper, washed & thinly sliced

Purple onion, thinly sliced to taste

Tony’s Garlic & Herb Seasoning (to taste)

Red Pepper flakes (opt)

1 T. Olive oil

Heat oil in frying pan over medium high heat, add peppers, onions and seasonings and saute until tender. Set aside.

Thinly spread all pita pieces with mayo.

Top half of pita halves with 3-4 turkey slices each. Then top with peppers, then top with cheese then top with other half of pita.

Grill in small amount of butter on stove top  in same frying pan peppers were sautéed in over med. allowing to heat around 3 min or so per side or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted.

Serve with your favorite soup!

2 Servings

Mini chocolate peanut butter smores

A fun little treat to serve with Ice cream.

What you will need:
Chocolate wafers
Peanut butter
Mini marshmallows

Spread a small amount of peanut butter on wafers, top each with 5 or 6 min marshmallows.
Broil on top rack of toaster oven at 450 degrees for 3-4 min or until golden.
Serve with ice cream. To combine flavors, break up wafer with spoon and eat together..

RR notes: I served this with Blue Bell’s Banana Pudding ice cream.

Trick or treat!

A fun way to package your candy and invite others to church! I change it up a little each year. This time I used black tulle…

ROASTED FALL VEGETABLES

ROASTED FALL VEGETABLES  

• 1 large butternut squash (1 1/2-2lbs)
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 4 parsnips
• 6 carrots
• 1 10 oz. bag white pearl onions, peeled
• Add 2-3 small beets if you like (as shown in photo)
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, rinsed & chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (optional)
• 1 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 bulbs fresh garlic minced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking pans with foil and spread out vegetables so they are not all on top of each other. I use 2-3 pans to allow them room to roast easier.
2. Peel & chop all vegetables into ½ inch pieces in large bowl.
3. In separate small bowl, mix together olive oil & spices, then toss together with vegetables until thoroughly coated.
4. Pour into pan (s)Bake 20 minutes, stirring halfway through
5. Remove from oven, toss again and then sprinkle garlic evenly over vegetables.
6. Set oven to broil.
7. Return to oven on broil for approx 5 min, toss and repeat another 5 minutes or until evenly roasted and browned on all sides

Makes 6 servings

Makes 6 Servings

R.R notes: This is a seasonal favorite that I found online. Try it with Baked chicken with Pesto (see recipe for pesto in my misc section) and crusty sourdough bread for a memorable fall meal. Also, you may need to adjust cooking time, especially if you like them crispy and roasted like I do.

This recipe was recently featured on The Examiner…http://www.examiner.com/cooking-in-tulsa/local-blogger-shares-favorite-fall-recipe

Pumpkin Scones

Made these last night.  I always get into a pumpkin kick in the fall, especially around my birthday. Craig and I really liked these. They were moist, not too sweet, delicious. I used fresh pumpkin but I’m sure canned would be fine. Only changes I made was cutting the icing in 1/2 to cut back on the sugar & adding cinnamon and nutmeg to the icing before putting it on.

Here is the recipe…Enjoy!

http://www.food.com/recipe/pumpkin-scones-193067