Mac & Cheese with Bacon

My husband LOVES bacon, so this was a winner!

Source: Amber of http://amberskitchen.blogspot.com/

Ingredients
8 ounces Cavatappi pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup swiss cheese, divided
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
6 slices bacon, cooked and diced

Directions
1. Cook macaroni using package directions.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and salt and stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in dry mustard. Add milk gradually, stirring continually.
4. Cook over low heat, stirring continually, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in 1/4 cup each cheddar, mozzarella and swiss. Mix cheese sauce, macaroni, and bacon in a large bowl. Spoon into a 9x7 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar, mozzarella and swiss.
6. Melt remaining butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Combine breadcrumbs and melted butter; mix well. Sprinkle on top of cheese.
7. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

BLTs with Avocado and Spicy Mayo

Simple, yet delicious!

Source: Rachael Ray

Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

1 large garlic clove, crushed
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
One package center-cut bacon

8 slices of hearty, white farmhouse bread
1 large or 2 small ripe avocados
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
8 lettuce leaves, torn into pieces

Directions

1. Chop the crushed garlic with the salt and press it with the side of the knife until mashed. Scrape the garlic into a small bowl and stir in the chili powder, 2 tablespoons of lime juice and the mayonnaise.

2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon in 2 batches until crisp. Pour off the fat between each batch. Drain the bacon on paper towels.

3. While the bacon cooks, toast the bread. Slice the avocado and sprinkle the slices with a few drops of the lime juice.

4. Spread 1 side of each piece of toast with the spicy mayo. Arrange the avocado slices on 4 of the toasts, pressing them firmly against the mayo. Arrange the bacon, tomatoes and lettuce on the avocado slices. Top the sandwiches with the remaining toast. Cut the sandwiches in half on the diagonal.

Chicken with Lime Sauce

This sauce is really delish!
The original recipe had any asked to cook the chicken 5 min. on each side in a pan. Obviously that is not long enough to cook chicken through. So I threw it in the oven for 20 minutes before adding to the sauce and voila!

Source: Cooking Light (tweaked by me)

Ingredients
2 thick, skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
Cooking spray
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Pre-heat oven to 375.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan and place in a baking dish.
Finish cooking in oven for about 15-20 minutes (until no longer pink).
While chicken is in the oven,
Put chicken broth, sugar, 2 tablespoons juice, and mustard in (same) skillet; cook over medium heat, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; stir well with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return cooked chicken to pan; simmer 2 minutes.

My First Blog Award!

Thanks to Erica of http://ericaskitchenadventures.blogspot.com/
for giving me my first blog award!


And of course there are some rules that come attached to this great award:
- Add the logo in your blog.
- Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
- Nominate 10 other (refreshing…like lemonade) blogs of your choice.
- Don’t forget to add links to those blogs in yours.
- Also leave a message for your nominees in their blogs, informing them about the award.

So here are my 'nominees':
http://brooke-cookiejar.blogspot.com/
http://annieseats.wordpress.com/
http://cookincoli.blogspot.com/
http://jesstyler.wordpress.com/
http://www.deliciousmeliscious.com/
http://breedwoman-getinmybelly.blogspot.com/
http://themilkmanswife.wordpress.com/
http://mrssacspurplekitchen.blogspot.com/
http://singforyoursupperblog.com/
http://hdxnxj.blogspot.com/

There are so many wonderful blogs that it was hard to narrow it down! But all of these contain some great recipes and inspiration. Definitely check them out!

Chicken & Veggie Pizza

Source: Prevention Magazine

Ingredients:
1/4 cup prepared pesto
1 prebaked whole wheat pizza crust
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
precooked chicken cut into strips
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Using a pastry brush, brush the pesto onto the pizza shell. Top with the peppers, tomato, chicken, feta, Parmesan, and mozzarella.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheeses are melted and the crust is golden.

A Simple Healthy Salad

Just a simple healthy salad I threw together.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon water
rotisserie chicken, cut into pieces
4 slices cooked turkey bacon, chopped
bag of pre-washed baby spinach
bag of pre-washed chopped romaine lettuce
1 avocado, diced
handful of grape tomatoes
1 yellow pepper, chopped
handful of croutons
1 package feta cheese
fresh ground pepper

Directions:
1) Combine vinegar, water, mustard, olive oil. Whisk until combined.
2) In large bowl, combine all ingredients. Drizzle dressing and season with ground pepper. Toss salad and let sit 5 minutes for flavors to combine.

Mini Banana Muffins

Source: All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes (large muffins for 25 minutes). Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Spicy Southwest Chicken Sandwich

Soooooooo Yummy!

Source: The Nest

Ingredients:
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 canned chipotle chile, plus 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ripe avocado, pitted
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
2 cups thinly sliced leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken
4 thick slices bacon, cooked until crisp
1 large ripe tomato, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (I omitted)
4 slices focaccia or sourdough bread, lightly toasted

Directions:
1. In a blender, mini-chop, or food processor, pulse the sun-dried tomatoes, chipotle, adobo sauce, water, oil, vinegar, mustard, and brown sugar together until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and pulse again. Transfer to a small bowl.
2. In another small bowl, mash the avocado with half the cilantro and all of the lime juice. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spread 4 of the slices of bread with the avocado mixture. Spread the remaining 4 pieces of bread with the sun-dried tomato-and-chipotle mixture, then layer on the chicken, bacon, tomato, onion, the remaining cilantro, and the bread. Cut in half and serve immediately.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Inside-Out Cheeseburgers

Source: Eating Well

Ingredients:
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (i omitted this and doubled the cheddar)
1 pound 90% or 93% -lean ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat the broiler.
2. Combine Cheddar and Gruyere in a small bowl.
3. Gently mix beef, Worcestershire, paprika and pepper in a large bowl, preferably with your hands, without overworking. Shape into 8 thin, 4-inch-wide patties. Mound 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on each of 4 patties, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Cover each with one of the remaining patties. Crimp and seal the edges closed.
4. To grill: Lightly oil the grill rack. Grill the stuffed patties over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. (Be sure not to press the burgers as they cook or they'll split open and the cheese will ooze out.) To broil: Cover a broiler pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Broil the stuffed patties in the upper third of the oven, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. In either case, let the burgers stand for 5 minutes before serving.
(I used a grill pan and the broiler. I grilled the burgers on each side for a few minutes until the outside was browned...then I put them in the broiler for 2 min on each side to cook them all the way thru.)
I topped mine with tomatoes, avocados, ketchup, and fresh ground pepper on wheat buns.

Chicken with Potatoes, Lemon, and Asparagus

I forgot to take a photo of this for my blog, but I have made it many times and it's a really hearty, filling dinner! Wanted to share...
I can update this entry with a photo the next time I make it!
Enjoy!

Source: Martha Stewart + my own twist

Ingredients:
4 - 6 potatoes, cut each potato into fours
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 package chicken breast (on the bone OR boneless, whatever you prefer)
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
thyme
salt & pepper

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place potatoes and half the butter in a roasting pan and season with salt & pepper. Roast, tossing once, until potatoes are golden, about 15-20 minutes.
2) Place chicken (skin side up, if using on the bone) in the pan. Season chicken with salt & pepper. Roast until chicken begins to brown, about 30 minutes.
3) Scatter asparagus, lemon (give the lemon pieces a little squeeze over everything), remaining butter, and thyme around chicken. Roast until asparagus is tender and chicken is opaque throughout, about 15 minutes. Serve chicken, veggies, and lemon drizzled with pan juices.