Melissa: Main Dish
Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Source: www.AllRecipes.com
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutesServes 4
Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable broth
12 dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) package uncooked penne pasta
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a small saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Remove from heat. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in the broth 15 minutes, or until softened. Drain, reserving broth, and coarsely chop.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place penne pasta in the pot, cook 9 to 12 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
Place the pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir until lightly toasted.
Heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the garlic 1 minute, until tender. Mix in the spinach, and cook until almost wilted. Pour in the reserved broth, and stir in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Continue cooking 2 minutes, or until heated through.
In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta with the spinach and tomato mixture and pine nuts. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Comments: I was a little nervous about this recipe because, of course, I have not made anything like this before...a recipe that calls for pine nuts and dehydrated sun dried tomatoes?? Ahh! I bought wheat noodles to make the recipe even healthier and it turned out great! I felt like a real cook =) haha because I was using 2 pots and 2 pans and things were cooking at the same time. It was fun to make and super yummy to eat. Couldn't tell the difference with the wheat noodles and I don't like tomatoes at all, but the ones in this recipe were delicious! I was so proud of myself. We finally have a winning main dish and I made it!!! HAHA Go me =)
Comments by Tammy: Go You!!! I am proud of Lis on this one. This is a recipe I will definitely use again. It was really yummy and very healthy. Probably not a hit with little ones, but will make a nice impression for the grown ups. I don't think I would change anything. Recipe can be versatile with the veggies though. Would be great with broccoli and maybe some mushrooms. This was Lissa's first time trying sun dried tomatoes. I have been trying to tell her that they are nothing like a fresh tomato. We are a family of tomato haters, sorry. But sun-dried ones are sooooo good. She tried it and loved it. What can I say? Lissa did such a good job that I have nothing to make fun of. Darn! Oh well, there is always next time :) Ha, ha!!!
Comments by Janice: Congratulations. We finally had a winner in our main dishes. This was very tasty and very healthy. I enjoyed it very much. I would make this on my own also. There are many vegetables that could be used with this recipe also. Lissa was very nervous because of our past booboos. But we succeeded with a winner. I was also very proud of her.
Janice: Appetizer
Swiss and Bacon Squares
Source: Best Recipes by Ceil Dyer
Makes 6-8 servings
2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
1/2 cup cold water
1 8 oz. package natural Swiss cheese slices
1 lb. bacon, crisply fried and crumbled
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. onion salt
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease baking dish, 13 x 9 x 2 inches. Mix baking mix and water until soft dough forms: beat vigorously 20 strokes. Gently smooth into ball on floured cloth-covered board. Knead 10 times. Pat in dish with floured hands, pressing 1/2 inch up sides. Top with cheese slices, overlapping eges; sprinkle with bacon; mix remaining ingredients; pour over bacon. Bake until edges are golden brown and knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings as a main course or 12 to 16 servings as an appetizer.
Comments: This was a very interesting appetizer to make. First of all, the recipe called to put dough into a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish and spread to fit with 1/2 inch up the sides. Well I couldn't get the dough to stretch that far. What to do now? Then decided to use a smaller baking dish 8 x 8 x 2, which worked okay for the dough but that made the dish too thick and had to bake for almost 3 times the original time. (I don't know what the answer was!) But, live and learn. After all of this, the appetizer was very yummy. I would make it again. Also, a number of different ingredients could be used if a variation wanted to be done.
Comments by Tammy: I thoroughly enjoyed watching Mom struggle with what to do, I have to be honest. I mean, really, that is what makes our cooking nights so much fun. All of the mistakes :) Even though she struggled with the dough and the baking time, this dish actually turned out really delicious. She left a corner of it without bacon for me, and it was really good. I loved how thick the biscuit turned out on the bottom. I definitely would not call this an appetizer though. It was a meal in itself. Perfect breakfast or brunch dish. Yummy! Way to go mom. Sorry I laughed at your distress :)
Tammy: Dessert
Magic Peanut Butter Middles
Source: Allrecipes.com
Submitted by Stephanie
Serves: 15
Ingredients and Directions: IN a small bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1/2 tsp baking soda.
In another large bowl beat together 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup peanut butter until fluffy. Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 egg. Beat together. Set aside
To make the filling: combine 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter. Blend well. Then roll filling into 1 inch balls ( you may want to refrigerate the balls for a little while). Then, with floured hands, shape about 1 Tbsp of the cookie dough around one peanut butter ball, covering completely. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookie, slightly, with glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 min. When cookies are done they should be set and slightly cracked.
Comments: These were the most fabulous cookies ever. I make peanut butter balls every year at Christmas, so this is a really nice twist on an old classic. They were a little time consuming. Wrapping each peanut butter ball with the dough definitely took some time, but sooo worth it in the end. To wrap each cookie, I took a small amount of dough and flattend it with my hands, then placed the ball in the middle and wrapped it with the dough. I couldn't figure out how to make sugar stick to the glass, so I just flattened the completed cookie and sprinkled a little sugar on top. If you eat them when they are still warm, you will be in heaven, guaranteed! Well, I guess guaranteed if you are a chocolate, peanut butter lover like we are in our family. You must try this one! Don't miss out! Let me tell you, when Lissa asks you to make something again, it is a very good sign :) Ssshhh, but she can be hard to please sometimes :)
Comments by Mom: Unbelievably goooooooood. These were one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. We had no idea what to expect. It looked like a challenge of a recipe, but I would make them in a heartbeat. They were even good three days later just warmed up.
Comments by Lissa:Oh my gosh!! These have to be my all time favorite cookie EVER!!! Have I told you yet that we are peanut butter-loving family?? Well...In my opinion, this is one of the best peanut butter cookie recipes I've had. I made something similar to this a while ago, but the peanut butter was on top of the fudge cookie and then I put chocolate frosting on top of that (so that is a yummy variation to this recipe). But I like how these kind of surprise you because they look like a normal chocolate cookie, but when they are warm, the peanut butter surprises you and just melts in your mouth. I ate 3 that night, two the next morning and I have been craving them ever since. I wish they were a little less involved so I could make them every night!!! =) These would be a grand slam at any party.
P.S. Sis is totally full of it! I am NOT a picky eater. I just DON"T like tomatoes, raw onions, pickles, mustard, ..... hahah
