Sweet Balsamic Salad Dressing

Oh merciful heavens, I think I just found my new go-to salad dressing! This recipe comes from the blog Cafe Sucre Farine. It was so amazingly yummy I wanted to lick the plate! This recipe makes a large amount. You could easily 1/2 it or even 1/4 it. But, I'm glad I made the whole thing because now I will be finding any excuse I can in the coming week to make myself a salad!!

In case you are wondering what's in the salad pictured, it's romaine, avocado, cranberries and sugared sliced almonds. But, really, in my opinion,  this dressing will compliment any salad combo! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
⅓ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
½ teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried mustard
1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup white balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup vegetable oii
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Put all ingredients in a medium sized tupperware container with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously to combine. Shake each time before using.

Andes Mint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

What do you do when school has been cancelled for two days and you're pacing around the house, hoping the power doesn't go out, terribly bored, waiting for hurricane Sandy to show up? Well, if you are me, you bake cookies, of course! And I have been wanting to try this recipe for a couple of weeks now!

I am a serious lover of all things mint and Andes Chocolate Mints are at the top of my yum list. So when I discovered that Andes now come in a bag and are all broken up into little pieces just like a bag of chocolate chips, I got very excited!!! This recipe is found on the back of the bag. Enjoy!!

1/2 cup salted butter, softened 
3/4 cup dark brown sugar 
1/2 cup white granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
2 eggs 
1 package (10 oz) Andes® Creme de Menthe Baking Chips or Andes® After Dinner Mints, coarsely chopped 
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 

Preheat oven to 350F

Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed.
Stir in baking chips or chopped candy and then flour. Chill at least one hour in refrigerator. 

Drop 1 Tbl of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Roll the dough into a ball and flatten it slightly with your hand. 

Raise oven rack one level above middle and baking on non-stick cookie sheets. Bake at 350-degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes. Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.

Monterey Chicken

"Really flavorful" and "definitely blog-worthy," is how my husband described this chicken! And I agree! When you read the list of ingredients, how can you go wrong!? This recipe was inspired by the All Things Simple blog. I changed her recipe a bit by adding jalapenos and real bacon. This chicken was very simple to make, but looked like a million bucks coming out of the oven! I served it with a side of brown rice and roasted broccoli. Enjoy!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt & pepper
1/4 c. bar-b-que sauce
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c. colby and jack cheese, shredded
1 14 oz. can Rotel tomatoes & green chilies, drained
jarred sliced jalapenos (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken breasts to flatten. Season with salt and pepper. Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Turn burner on to medium heat and let skillet get hot. Add the breasts to the hot skillet and cook for four minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and place in a glass casserole dish.

Top each chicken breast with one tablespoon bar-b-que sauce, 1/4 c. cheese, bacon (divided evenly among breasts), 1/4 c. tomatoes, and jalapenos (if using).  Lightly tent a piece of foil over chicken. Cook in oven for 12 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for another 6 minutes until the chicken has cooked through and cheese has melted.

Boo S'mores Treat Bags

Okay, I know this isn't a recipe, but these S'mores Treat Bags are WAY too cute not to blog! Make these adorable treat bags for your children's friends, your kid's Halloween party at school or the children in your neighborhood! An instant s'mores treat that will make any child smile!!

All you need to assemble:
Graham crackers (break one cracker into two squares)
Ghost (or pumpkin) Peeps
Mini Hershey's Candy Bars
Goodie Bags

Bacon, Olive & Cheddar Bread

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and it just looked so amazingly yummy, I had to make it! I changed a couple things here and there and fiddled with some measurements, but, the end result was a hearty, savory bread with so much flavor it could almost stand alone as a meal! The bread "dough" was really more like batter.....it was quite wet and "sticky"....please don't let that scare you! The end result was perfection! Enjoy!

1 tsp butter

5 green onions, finely chopped

2/3 c white wine

1/3 c. olive oil

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 c. ham, diced

2/3 c. sliced olives (black, green or a combo of the two)

2 Tbl fresh parsley OR 1 Tbl dried parsley

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

 

Preheat oven to 350F

Melt 1 tsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in chopped green onions and saute for 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the wine, oil, eggs and salt. In a separate bowl mix the flour and baking powder together. Stir the wine mixture into the flour mixture.

 

Add the sauteed green onions, cooked & crumbled bacon, ham, olives and parsley to the bread mixture. Stir well to combine. Add the cheese. Stir. 

Pour into a greased loaf pan and cook for 60 to 63 minutes.

Oreo Pudding Cookies

Believe it or not, it's not uncommon for my husband and kids to pass on homemade cookies and baked goods that I make. I think I just bake so often, they just don't get excited by much anymore. There have been many a time I tried out a new cookie or bar and everyone says "no thank you" and asks if they can have ice cream instead. SIGH. So, I was ecstatic and surprised to see how all of them ate two, three, four of these Oreo Pudding Cookies each! They were a huge hit! I passed them out to my neighbors, as well, and got rave reviews! But seriously, folks, how could they NOT be fantastic?! Oreo pudding AND Hershey's Cookies & Cream bars in one solitary cookie?! YES PLEASE! Thanks again to the Girl Who Ate Everything blog for this yummy recipe! Enjoy!

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix (see Note)
2 1/4 cups flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars cut into small pieces (I used 2.6 ounce King Sized bars)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 9 minutes. You do not want to overbake these! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container. Makes two dozen.

Baked Portabello with Parmesan

This healthy, meatless recipe was a big hit with my husband. This dinner was very satisfying and tasted delcious - it tasted like pizza! The recipe comes from One Perfect Bite. Serve with a side salad and a good crusty bread. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 cup (3-oz.) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided use
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley, divided use (I used fresh basil instead of parsley)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided use
3/4 cup egg substitute (I used two eggs)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon marjoram leaves (I used 1/2 tsp dried)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano leaves (I used 1/2 tsp dried)
4 large (5 to 6-inches wide) stemmed portobello mushrooms, brushed clean
1-1/2 cups (6-oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup commercially prepared "light" tomato sauce
Cooking spray

Directions:
1) Position a baking rack in upper third of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 17-1/2 x 11-3/4 baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a 16-1/2 x 11-1/2-inch wire cooling rack inside the baking sheet. Mist rack with cooking spray. Set aside.

2) Combine bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons parsley, paprika and 1 teaspoon salt in a shallow pan. Mix well. Set aside.

3) In a separate bowl, combine eggs, remaining 1 teaspoon salt. pepper, marjoram, garlic powder and oregano. Mix well.

4) Dip both sides of mushrooms into egg mixture. Dredge in crumb mixture until both sides are completely coated. Transfer, stem side down, to prepared wire rack. Spray tops with cooking spray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Remove pan from oven.

5) Reset oven thermostat to 450 degrees F. Meanwhile, carefully turn mushrooms stem side up. Cover each mushroom with 2 tablespoons of remaining Parmesan cheese, 1/4 of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup tomato sauce. Spray tops lightly. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts and mushrooms are warmed through, about 10 minutes. Use a wide spatula to transfer mushrooms to a serving platter. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon parsley.