Baked Potato Soup

Got this one from a recipe card at the Commissary!

Not as good as my sister-in-law's... but still a big fat winner! Such a winner that we forgot to take pictures of it before digging into ours and had to use Maya's since she is notoriously FAR slower with meals.

2T butter or margarine
1/4C flour
4C milk
2C peeled, diced baking potato (doesn't sound like enough but it was for the three of us)
4 green onions, chopped, divided
1/2t salt
1/2t pepper
1 1/2C shredded Cheddar cheese
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (for time and efforts' sake, and not having tons of leftover bacon, I just got the real bacon bits)
Sour cream, optional

Melt butter in a dutch oven (or soup pot) over low heat, add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute, until thickened and bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Stir in potato, half the green onions, and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, 30 minutes or until thickened and potato is done. Stir in 1C of the Cheddar, cook 5 minutes more. Serve soup with remaining cheese, green onions, and bacon sprinkled on top (and I like a little sour cream too!)

Italian Asparagus Sticks

Got the recipe here! I am NOT a fan of asparagus, so this was solely for Patrick and Maya... but they liked it! I do have to say, it took awhile to do-the asparagus was skinny skinny, so if I ever did it again it would be in the summer when they are fatter!
1 Cup Whole Wheat Panko or Bread Crumbs

1 Tbsp Italian Herbs (you can find them in any grocery’s spice section)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Flour
1 Bunch Asparagus, cleaned and stems removed (if you snap the asparagus down towards the bottom, they will naturally break at the woody part at the bottom)

Optional: Tomato sauce for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl.
3. Whisk the egg in a separate bowl.
4. Place the flour in another bowl.
5. Make an assembly line with the bowls. Dip the asparagus first into the flour, then the egg and finally into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly and repeating with all the sticks.

6. Place all of the coated sticks on the baking sheet/rack. Arrange so they’re not touching, spray lightly with oil and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden.

7. Serve with tomato sauce.

Paula Deen's Crunch Top Apple Pie

Oh my land. This was SO GOOD. Recipe courtesy of the Food Network.

• Paula's Perfect Pie Crust, recipe follows
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• dash salt
• 3 1/2 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples (I used granny smith to balance out the sweet)
  
• 1 (16-ounce) jar applesauce (I only used about 8-10oz, as per the suggestions by reviewers)
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces

Crunch Topping:

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Dash salt
• 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of dough. Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the apples, applesauce, and lemon juice. Spoon the apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie.

For crunch topping:

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.

Paula's Perfect Pie Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

3 tablespoons granulated white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold

12 tablespoons butter, (1 1/2 sticks) cold and cubed

1/4 cup to 1⁄2 cup ice water

In a large mixing bowl,sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and break it up with your hands as you start to coat it all up with the flour. Add the cold butter cubes and work it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work it quickly, so the butter doesn't get too soft, until the mixture is crumbly, like very coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water, a little at a time, until the mixture comes together forming a dough. Bring the dough together into a ball. When it comes together stop working it otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. On a floured surface roll each disk out into a 10 to 11-inch circle to make a 9-inch pie.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Butter

Snagged this from Parent's Magazine!

3-4 Sweet Potatoes

Cut in half and bake for about an hour or until done.

For butter:

1/2C softened butter
2T honey
1/2t cinnamon
2T plain Greek yogurt

Whisk together and refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

Fruit Salad

This one is an old family favorite!

One box vanilla COOK AND SERVE (important-NOT instant!) pudding
Can chunk pineapple
Any fruits you may want-strawberries, blueberries, grapes, bananas, cocktail cherries, etc.

Cut and wash fresh fruit, mix together.

This is the odd part: drain the pineapple juice into a small saucepan. Add the pineapple to your fruit mixture. Add the pudding mix to the pineapple juice (NO water, just ignore any instructions), keep stirring every so often on medium heat until boiling (be careful not to burn-ick) and turn off. Quickly pour over fruit and mix together. Refrigerate at least an hour or two before serving.

Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

Super simple, but delicious. Shown served with Sweet Potato Fries.

Pack of chicken breast
Bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
optional-cheese (we use provolone) and buns (have you tried Sandwich Thins yet? If not-you're missing out)

Place chicken in crock pot and cover with water. Cook high 4 hours or low 6-8. Remove chicken breast, shred, and drain the water in your crock pot, add chicken back in and squeeze in barbecue sauce until you feel it's moist enough. Voila-super easy!

Zucchini Bites

Well, I got this recipe here but then changed it a bunch. Here's my variation.

3 zucchini
2 Roma tomatoes
Fresh basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese for the top (or Mozzarella would be fine)
4oz-ish Cheese of some sort-Blue, Feta, cream cheese, or in my case-we had nothing else but 2 Laughing Cow herb & something or other wedges and those were great.
Dash pepper

Cut zucchini into 3/4-in. slices. Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out the insides and discard, leaving the bottom intact. Place zucchini on an ungreased baking sheet; spoon 1/2 teaspoon cheese into each. Combine Parmesan cheese, basil and pepper; sprinkle half over inside cheese. Top each with a tomato slice; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Sausage and Zucchini Soup

This one is wonderful if you love soup. If you just like soup, it's pretty good. I'm not really big on it but it was especially nice for something different, and it warmed up nicely for Patrick the next day.

1lb hot or sweet Italian sausage (I would double next time)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
28oz diced canned tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained
3C water
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 medium carrots, sliced
5 celery stalks, sliced
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

Slice sausage and cook with onions and bell pepper over medium-high heat in a pan about 10 minutes or until sausage is browned. Drain fat.

In an 8qt Dutch oven (or I just used my soup pot) add tomatoes, water, potatoes, carrots and celery to sausage mixture. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 20 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Stir in zucchini and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more or until zucchini is tender. Serve hot. (I added a tiny bit of sour cream-yum!)

Red Robin-esque Spinach Artichoke Burgers

We terribly miss Red Robin-there isn't one close to us at all. So I was super disappointed when we kept seeing commercials for a special burger they had... I think it's off the menu now, but we wanted to try to re-create it anyways. It was SO good! Probably not that fantastic for you at ALL (for a healthy version see the Turkey Burgers I'll eventually remember to take a picture of and post-I'll link it then!)

1 or 1 1/2lbs 93-97% lean ground beef
Package of bacon-we get the center cut kind
Cheese-this time we used the tiny bit of (fresh) Parmesan we had left, a little Italian three cheese, and some cheddar. Not much though.
Spinach Artichoke dip-make your own or buy a frozen version (we bought-it was a busy day)
1 Roma Tomato
Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins buns
Salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste (or fresh, we were just in a hurry)

Cook the bacon. Cut a couple pieces into tiny bits. Mix those in with the ground beef, little bit of cheese, and seasonings. Shape into burgers, grill, and assemble as shown (top bun too of course). Soooo-o good!

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

Got the recipe on the Libby's site-I think I will be cooking from there a LOT this fall! SOOOO good!

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups Libby's Pumpkin
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
  
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter or magarine

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease or paper-line 24 muffin cups.

For muffins, combine flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine pumpkin, eggs and oil in medium bowl; mix well. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Stir in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling three-fourths full.

For streusel topping combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over muffin batter.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly.

Cheese-Stuffed Chicken

This is an absolute favorite in our house, but I haven't made it in awhile. Stupidly, I didn't take a picture of the innards-I will next time. Also, we ate it with Stuffed Zucchini Boats, which you can find here!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (the fatter the better)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 C shredded mozarella cheese

For the stuffing:
4 tbsp chopped fresh basil, divided (I've done it with dried basil too, not as great, but doable if you have to)
2 tbsp lowfat cream cheese, softened
2tbsp grated Romano cheese
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

(if you need more, just add a little more cream cheese, basil, and cheese, but you need less than you think)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking dish with vegetable cooking spray, set aside. To prepare stuffing, in a small bowl, combine all of the stuffing ingredients except for 1tbsp of the basil. Mix well. Using a sharp knife, cut a deep horizontal pocket in each chicken breast. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into each pocket. Secure openings with toothpicks. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until browned.

Transfer chicken to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining basil. Cover baking dish with foil and bake until cooked through and no longer pink, about 20 minutes.

Tomato Grilled Chicken

1/2 C fresh lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
3/4 C chili sauce
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes
4 chicken breasts

Mix lemon juice with garlic powder in a medium bowl, add salt and pepper to taste. Blend chili sauce, mustard, and sun-dried tomato in a separate bowl, set aside. Place chicken in a shallow dish, marinate in lemon juice/garlic powder mixture in refrigerator for 30min-1hr. Preheat grill. Place chicken on and cook for 5-10 minutes, turn chicken over. Turn chicken over. Brush with tomato mixture. Grill, covered, until the chicken is cooked through. (We added a slice of provolone cheese to each and made into sandwiches-delicious!)

Sweet Potato Fries

I had a recipe that I tried for these a long time ago, but I didn't like it. So I made up my own.

However many sweet potatoes you need, cut into circles (fry-shape is a pain to me)
Olive oil
Allspice
Nutmeg
Cinnamon

Put your sweet potatoes in a gallon ziploc bag. In a bowl, mix olive oil and spices together until blended, and then pour over the sweet potatoes. Seal and mix together until coated. To cook on the grill, seal in individual foil packets, cooking for 20-30 minutes on the upper part of the grill, turning once. For the oven, bake on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about the same time, turning once in the middle.

Taco Chicken Nuggets

Just looking at this picture makes me want them again. Now.

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 C margarine or butter
1 egg
2 tbsp water
3/4 C cornflake crumbs
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1/2 C flour
sour cream to serve

**note: this is what the recipe calls for. I personally add a lot more cornflake crumbs-probably another cup, because I used to run out of coating every time-and use more like a cup of flour and two eggs!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Melt butter in a shallow baking sheet (one WITH SIDES of course!) in the oven (move the melted butter around and make it coat the bottom of the whole pan). Beat egg and water in a dish. Combine cornflake crumbs and taco seasoning mix in a plastic bag, shake to mix well. Coat chicken lightly with flour in a bowl. Dip into egg mixture, letting excess drain. Place in cornflake mixture, shake until completely coated (I work with about 5 pieces at a time. Just FYI-this step takes me a bit, so don't make this on a day you are looking for a superquick meal). Arrange chicken on a prepared baking sheet, do not allow nuggets to touch. Bake, turning once, for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Fun Crescent Rolls

I made all of Maya's baby food, and had a blast doing so. Lately I've been tiring of the same usual lunches I make for her every day, and am NOT impressed at the ingredients and nutrition in some things we have been buying. So we are starting to get creative and using some of the leftovers we have, and she's actually been enjoying lunch more (she's a breakfast eater all the way, not so much lunch or dinner)!

One particular favorite of hers has been crescent rolls. Filled with anything. A small amount of cheese, marinara, and turkey pepperoni is what is pictured here, but I've also put in turkey dogs, leftover pork tenderloin, leftover vegetables of all sorts... a million combinations!

Snickerdoodles

2 3/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C shortening
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 C sugar + 3 tbsp
2 eggs
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Mix flour, soda and salt. Beat together shortening and butter, and add sugar, then eggs, then dry ingredients. Mix cinnamon and the rest of the sugar. Roll the dough (I prefer chilling the dough for a few minutes before) into 1 inch balls and roll around in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on baking sheet and flatten with a cup. Bake about 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Jalapeno

Once again, since I am not a seafood or fish lover, I didn't try this... but Patrick was thrilled about it! He found the recipe here and gave it a big thumbs up.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound ahi tuna steaks

Whisk the olive oil, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a flat-bottomed dish. Place the tuna steaks in the dish, turning to coat entirely in marinade. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate. Cook the steaks until they are beginning to firm and are hot in the center, 5 to 7 minutes per side.

Tuna Cheeseball

This has been an absolute favorite for years. My Grama has been making it for as long as I can remember... super easy and SO tasty (IF you like canned tuna).

1 8oz. package of light cream cheese
1 can tuna fish, drained well
diced onion, if desired
half of a tiny package of walnuts, finely crushed

Let the cream cheese soften and then mix the cream cheese, tuna, and onions together. Shape into a ball with waxed paper and let chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Crush the walnuts and place on waxed paper-take out the tuna ball and roll around in the walnuts until covered. Chill until ready to serve. Tastes the best with Town House crackers!

Summer Style Chicken

So-this might not look like THE tastiest recipe but this has to rank in my top 5 probably. It's so good that we had it Saturday AND Sunday! And guess what-Patrick is the one who stumbled upon the recipe! Super quick to prepare and makes for delicious leftovers. I even finally found little personal casserole dishes that I'll be making this in in the future!

4 chicken breast halves
1-14.5oz can stewed tomatoes (we used a few fresh tomatoes from our garden-yum!)
2-4 squash-yellow, zucchini, or mixture of both (we tried both ways and it was equally delicious)
Shredded Mozarella cheese to top
Italian dressing-about 1/2-3/4C (eyeball it)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a medium baking dish. Arrange chicken in the prepared baking dish, and top with the stewed tomatoes. Arrange squash and zucchini slices around the chicken. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and drizzle with Italian dressing, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

TSFL edit:
I found that a 7 ounce (uncooked) chicken breast cooks down to about 5-6oz prepared. Grease a small pan, place chicken breast in the middle, place 1 1/4C squash around it and sprinkle with 1/4C tomatoes. Omit cheese. Drizzle with no more than 4T Italian dressing. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes-no more than 1 1/2 teaspoon total (this uses up your lean, green, healthy fat, and condiment/seasoning allowances for the day. Well worth it though!)

Buffalo Chicken Nacho Dip

Probably the worst picture I could have of this, but I forgot to take a picture before we dove into it-oops! This is another one from Trina!

1 bottle chunky Bleu Cheese dressing
1 jar Frank's hot sauce
Pack of chicken breasts
8oz light cream cheese
Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook chicken (I boiled it) and shred. Mix hot sauce & dressing together in a saucepan and heat till warm, then add chicken. Spray bottom of casserole dish with nonstick spray, line the bottom of it with the cream cheese. Add chicken mixture and top with cheese, bake 16 minutes.

*note: next time I would mix the Monterey Jack in because I ended up with the usual hard blob of cheese on top that you kind of have to try and break apart!

Easy Cheesecake

This recipe is from honestly one of the sweetest women I've ever met in my life, Vicki (not sure if you read this, but if you do, hi Vicki!). She took over my job at camp, and one time when we were working together she made this. SO good... and I can't do real cheesecake so you know this is a winner.

2-8oz boxes softened lowfat cream cheese
2 cans crescent rolls
1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup (divided)
1 stick melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp cinnamon

Cream sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese together until completely mixed. Spray 9x13'' pan. Place 1 can rolls on the bottom, pinching the seams together. Spread cream cheese mixture over top. Carefully place 2nd can of rolls on top, pinching the seams together (see picture below to see how I did it this past time-wish I would have thought of it sooner!). Pour melted stick of butter over all, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake uncovered for approx. 25 minutes at 350. Serve warm or cooled (I cool it and put it in the refrigerator until I'm ready! The next day it tastes DELICIOUS too so you can always make it the night before).

***
So this is what I did this past time:
Put a piece of waxed paper down and stuck the second can of crescent rolls on... pinched the seams together and then rolled it a little bit. Then I just carefully placed it like this and took the waxed paper off... voila! Perfect. It is really a little tricky to have to pinch the seams while it's in the pan on top of the cream cheese mixture... so if you can just do this!

Red Chicken

This is a recipe from my Grandma that's kind of evolved over the years, and it never had a name until my sister started calling it Red Chicken. So it stuck, and it's a staple around here for a quick and yummy meal.

1/4C Frank's hot sauce
1 stick margarine
1-2lbs chicken

Melt Frank's and margarine together.

Old way/chicken wing method: Marinate in the mixture and then cook on the grill, or bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

New way/chicken breast method: Spray glass dish with nonstick spray, put the chicken in (you can either cut into strips or chunks-that's what we usually do-or put in the whole breast) and pour the mixture over the top and bake for 25 minutes.

And I'll tell you-the mixture, when it's all finished and everything is cooked, is SO GOOD drizzled on top of mashed potatoes!

Grilled Bananas

SO SO SO SO good-from the Food Network site.

2 bananas (not too ripe)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons honey
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Bourbon or other liqueur, for drizzling, optional (we drizzled a tiny bit more honey)

Build a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill. Slice the bananas, in their skins, in half crosswise and then lengthwise so each banana yields 4 pieces (I only did lengthwise, so each banana made two pieces). Set aside on a clean platter. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle the honey on the cut sides of the bananas and sprinkle them with the cinnamon sugar. Let the bananas sit for 5 minutes.

Place the bananas, cut side down, on the center of grill. Grill for 2 minutes or until grill marks appear. Using a pair of tongs, turn them over and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the skin pulls away from the bananas. Remove the bananas from the grill and serve them immediately, on top of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with bourbon or liqueur, if desired.

Grilled Fries

I started out using Bobby Flay's recipe from here-but I ended up just using it as a guideline. Here's what I used:

3 potatoes
olive oil
chili powder (enough for a small coat)
garlic powder (same amount)
McCormick's Cinnamon Chipotle Rub (see here) (enough to make it smell tasty)

I chopped up potatoes in fry fashion, coated them in a little olive oil and then sprinkled on the seasonings and mixed to coat. I split them onto three pieces of foil, sealed the pouches, and cooked on the upper part of my grill, turning once, for about 30 minutes. Super yummy (and better than the potatoes I charred two days ago!)

Lime and Chili Rubbed Chicken

This one is from Alli, she found it here! So yummy-we made it tonight. Next time I might add a little more brown sugar!

2	teaspoons chili powder
2	teaspoons packed brown sugar
2	teaspoons grated lime peel
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	teaspoon garlic powder
1/8	teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
4	boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)
2	teaspoons olive or canola oil

Heat gas or charcoal grill. In small bowl, mix chili powder, brown sugar, lime peel, salt, garlic powder and ground red pepper. Rub both sides of chicken with oil, then with spice mixture. Place chicken on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 10 to 15 minutes, turning once or twice.

Notes:

Refrigerating the "rubbed" chicken 20 to 30 minutes before grilling really enhances the flavor.

You can bake the chicken. Place the rubbed chicken in a foil-lined shallow baking pan and bake in a 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Grilled Salmon

I'm really sorry, but first of all, I have to say EW. Anything fish related on here (except for canned tuna) is all Patrick's doing. I don't like it one bit (I know, I'm missing out, blah blah but even the "slight" smell of salmon grosses me out. Anyway-since we have the grill now and I don't have to cook it inside Patrick can make all the salmon he wants. He found this recipe for a "yummy" marinade (had to take his word for it).

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste (he used 1/4c lemon juice and 1/4tsp pepper, per reviewer suggestion, since we don't have lemon pepper)
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat grill for medium heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Grilled Kabobs

I like mine with one red pepper, one green pepper, fresh sliced pineapple, and chicken-marinated in Garlic Ginger sauce-found here-grilled for just a few minutes on each side. How do you like yours?

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Nabbed this recipe from here. Tasty tasty! I think this is just how we'll fix our corn when we grill it-super easy.

6 ears corn
6 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Peel back corn husks and remove silk. Place 1 tablespoon butter, salt and pepper on each piece of corn. Close husks. Wrap each ear of corn tightly in aluminum foil. Place on the prepared grill. Cook approximately 30 minutes, turning occasionally, until corn is tender.

Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

Got the recipe here! They were WAY easier than I thought but made sooo much. They lasted a couple of meals! I served them with a little cream cheese to cool it down a bit.

12 large jalapeno peppers
1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
6 thick slices bacon (the ones I only used 1/2 slice bacon on were better... otherwise it was too much, personally, but Patrick liked the full slice of bacon ones)

Slice peppers from stem to tip on 1 side. Carefully squeeze ends of pepper (like a change purse) and scoop out seeds and veins with a small spoon. Stuff each pepper with shredded cheese. Cut bacon slices in half. Wrap each pepper with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Preheat grill. Grill peppers 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until bacon is cooked, but not crisp.

Remove from grill and serve while hot.

Stuffed Grilled Peppers

Got this recipe here-it was REALLY good, but it didn't really make enough I don't think... next time I'd double the recipe for the innards (I could have done it this time but ran out of mozarella) and I'm not sure if it was the size of the peppers-they were pretty big-but it only stuffed two, and not even all the way full. They were REALLY tasty, we'll probably have them again later this week!

3 red sweet bell peppers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (approximately)
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
3-4 stems fresh basil (1-2 tablespoons chopped)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
pinch red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups garlic croutons
1 cup fresh mozzarella
sea salt and pepper, to taste
dash of paprika

In a skillet, sauté croutons in 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and basil for 3-5 minutes. Add mozzarella, cut into small cubes. Toss to combine. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.

Remove tops from peppers, leaving peppers whole. Save tops to replace later. Remove seeds and cores from peppers. Rub peppers with olive oil. Mix enough remaining olive oil with ingredients in skillet, using only enough to coat well. Fill peppers with mixture and replace top.

Place peppers on preheated grill over indirect heat or in the oven at 400°F. Bake until peppers are tender and are just beginning to color. Cut each pepper into halves and sprinkle top with paprika for color.

Glazed Pineapple

Found this from the Food Network website-trying to find some delicious dessert recipes for the grill! It was SO good-we ate the entire thing, and Maya loved it. It was REALLY hot even after we took it off the grill for awhile!

4 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
splash dark rum (I used rum extract)
Whole fresh pineapple

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Slice a pineapple in half lengthwise (keeping the top attached), then cut each half into 3 long wedges; cut out the core. Place 2 wedges on a sheet of foil; brush with the spiced butter and fold up. Repeat to make 2 more packets; grill over medium heat until the pineapple is soft and golden on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes.

Zucchini & Cheese Packages

Got this recipe from our new grilling book (for our new grill! eek!)

1 small bunch of fresh mint
2 large zucchini
Olive oil
4oz feta cheese, cut into strips (we used fresh mozzarella and it was great!)
pepper

Finely chop enough mint to fill 1 tablespoon (next time we'll use more). Set aside. Cut out two rectangles of foil, each large enough to enclose a zucchini, and brush lightly with olive oil. Cut a few slits along the length of each zucchini and place them on the foil rectangles. Insert strips of feta cheese along the slits in the zucchini, then drizzle the olive oil over the top, sprinkle with the mint and season to taste with pepper. Fold the sides of the foil securely and seal the edges to enclose the zucchini completely. Bake for 30-40 minutes on the grill (well, or the oven too if you put them in a glass dish) and serve immediately.

Dr, Pepper Meatballs

(Note: this is what the sauce looks like that you pour over top-not exactly appetizing!)

Recipe from Allrecipes! Delicious!

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 1/4 cups dry bread crumbs
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, minced
1 green bell pepper, minced

1 (12 fl oz) can Dr. Pepper®
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 cup diced tomatoes in juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Place the turkey, egg, bread crumbs, ranch dressing mix, and 1 tablespoon of the Worcestershire sauce into a mixing bowl along with 3 tablespoons of the minced onion, and 3 tablespoons of the minced bell pepper. Set the remaining onion and bell pepper aside. Form the turkey mixture into 2 inch meatballs, and place into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking, stir the remaining onion and bell pepper in a bowl along with the Dr. Pepper®, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, diced tomatoes, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Once the meatballs have cooked for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and pour the sauce overtop. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and return to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.

Broccoli and Ham Mac & Cheese

Trina's very old, very special family recipe!

2 cups macaroni (uncooked)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
salt & pepper
Broccoli
Ham
Sharp cheddar, mozzarella, Colby, and Monterey Jack, totaling 6 cups

Cook macaroni, strain. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add flour, mix until completely stirred in. Pour into a mixing bowl and add milk, whisk until combined. Add macaroni, cooked broccoli, ham, cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and pour into greased dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Got this recipe from Allrecipes-I took a lot of the suggestions and make a variation of the original recipe. Good with tortilla chips, pretzels, pita bread-and we are trying toasted french bread next! Yum-I could eat the whole thing!

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
2 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained (more or less for kick)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (the real stuff)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Stir together cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in green chilies, jalapeno peppers, a little Parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese. Pour mixture into a pie or oven safe serving dish. Mix bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese together and sprinkle on top. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

Squash and Zucchini Casserole

Found this recipe here!

2 medium yellow squash
2 large zucchini
1 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced (we omitted)
2 large tomatoes, sliced (we used Romas)
2 cups grated Romano cheese (we used a Parmesan/Romano mix)
1/2 cup butter, divided (used margarine and only 1/4 C to cut the calories)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the zucchini and squash into long, thin layers. Lightly grease a 7x11-inch baking dish and layer the squash, zucchini, onion and tomatoes into the baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and add pats of butter between each layer of vegetables, and season each layer with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Continue this layering process until all the vegetables are used up and top this off with the remaining butter and cheese. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until vegetables are to desired tenderness and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Spinach Alfredo Pizza

A few weeks ago on move-in day we ordered pizza from Papa John's... I ordered the Spinach Alfredo pizza and it was amaaaazing (and actually is the recommended pizza for Papa John's in the "Eat This, Not That!" book!) We prefer making our own pizza since it's cheaper and healthier, and because I love my beloved baking stone... and I've been dying to have it again so I found a recipe to try and man it's a WINNER.

Note: this recipe makes 2 pizzas. We made one tonight, and we're making the other tomorrow since I got two pizza crusts, but next time we'll freeze the spinach/alfredo/artichokes together and save them for the next time.

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo Sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained (we omitted)
1 (10 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 unbaked pizza crusts (favorite of the moment: Marketplace thin-crust pizza dough from Walmart, already baked and in the bakery section)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional, we also omitted)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread pizza crusts out onto baking sheets or pizza pans. Place the spinach and Alfredo sauce in a saucepan, and warm over medium heat. Stir occasionally. Spread 1tablespoon of olive oil onto each pizza crust. Spoon half of the Alfredo and spinach onto each crust, then arrange artichoke hearts over the sauce layer. Top each pizza with half of the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle mushrooms and black olives on top. Bake pizzas one at a time for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottom is nicely browned.

Pineapple Cupcakes

...and since we had pineapple left over from dinner, and we had all the ingredients... got the recipe here from the Wilton site!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup pecans chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 325°F. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Stir in sugar, pineapple and, if desired, nuts. Add flour mixture; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack; remove and cool completely before decorating.

*It says it makes 18-for me it made 12 fluffy ones and a mini loaf pan!

Caribbean Chicken Grill with Pineapple Salad

First post from our new house!

SO GOOD! Maya even ate the chicken... and she's been refusing chicken for the better part of 6 months now! Got the recipe here!

8oz can pineapple chunks or tidbits (we had a fresh pineapple, so I measured out the amount)
1/4 C oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 C diced red bell pepper
1/4 C diced red onion
1 small jalapeno pepper, minced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Drain pineapple juice into a 1 cup measure (I made my own-crushed some pineapple and added a bit of water. Wasn't 1 cup but it worked fine). Add oil, lime juice, garlic, red pepper flakes and sugar; mix well. Place chicken in a large zippered plastic bag or glass utility dish. Pour all but 1-2 tablespoons of marinade over chicken. Cover and refrigerate chicken for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, place pineapple in a medium-sized serving bowl. Add red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro and reserved 1-2 tablespoons of marinade. Toss well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat grill to medium. Remove chicken from marinade; season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning once, for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with pineapple salad.

**Some of the reviewers had doubled the amount of salsa they made with it-particularly the amount of pineapple-SO glad I did! I probably ended up using about 2-2.5C pineapple.