Mini Cheseburger Meatloaves

This is one of those recipes that is so good you honestly can't believe how simple it was. I've actually made these before, but for some reason they have yet to make it on the blog -probably because they're hard to get a nice picture of! They may not be pretty, but they are delicious! This is an Everyday Food recipe that I found on the Joy Through Cooking blog and made just a few modifications to. These little meatloaves take all of five minutes to assemble and bake in 20 minutes, so they're a perfect weeknight meal. And they're full of flavor! It's amazing that a simple glaze of ketchup and mustard can be so tasty, but it is - like eating a juicy cheeseburger without the bun. I definitely recommend these for a family-pleasing meal!

Mini Cheeseburger Meatloaves

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons mustard and ketchup. In a medium bowl, combine beef, egg, breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup cheddar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper. Form into four 2-by-4-inch loaves; place on baking sheet. Brush with mustard mixture; top with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar.

Transfer meatloaves to upper rack of oven. Bake until loaves are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets after 10 minutes. Remove loaves from oven.

Marble-ous Peanut Butter Dessert

This dessert is frozen chocolate peanut butter perfection! My mother-in-law called this past Saturday to invite Joe and I over for dinner on Sunday and I offered to bring a dessert. I had plans during the day on Sunday, so I was going to need to make whatever it was I decided to make on Saturday. I didn't want to have to go to the store, so I perused my cookbooks to find a dessert that I already had all the ingredients for. It didn't take me long to select this one, from the Best of Pillsbury Bake-Off Desserts cookbook. I'd actually been eyeing this recipe for awhile and I had everything on hand, plus it sounded light and refreshing, which would be a good compliment to the gnocchi my mother-in-law was serving for our meal.

This dessert is super simple to put together. I made only a few changes. I used fat free cool whip in place of the whipping cream and since I was feeling lazy and didn't want to bother melting chocolate I swirled in a few tablespoons of hot fudge sauce.

This was a big hit! Everyone loved it. It's the perfect mix of creamy and crunchy, with just the right amount of peanut butter and hints of chocolate. I think I'll make sure to always have the ingredients on hand for this one!

Marble-ous Peanut Butter Dessert

1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 c. flour
1 c. (6 oz. pkg.) chocolate chips

FILLING:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. (1/2 pt.) whipping cream, whipped & sweetened

In small mixer bowl, cream brown sugar, peanut butter and butter until light and fluffy. Add flour; blend until crumbly. Sprinkle into ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Set aside half of crumb mixture (about 1 cup) for topping. Lightly press remaining crumb mixture over bottom of pan.Prepare filling. Pour over crumb mixture in pan. Melt chocolate chips; drizzle over filling. Gently cut through to marble.

Sprinkle with reserved crumbs; press in slightly. Freeze at least 2 hours or until serving. Remove from freezer 1 minutes before serving.Filling: In small mixture bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. By hand, fold in whipping cream.

Cheesy Tomato Chicken Skillet

Joe and I are typically fans of chicken pasta dishes, so this Kraft recipe from Julie's blog caught my eye immediately. It looked delicious and seemed quick and easy. I whipped this up for dinner Friday night and we weren't disappointed with it all! I made a few modifications (reflected below) to the original recipe. I added sliced baby portabella mushrooms for reason other than I like mushrooms and liked the idea of adding another veggie to the dish, and, like Julie, I used a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh. To lighten it up a bit I used skim milk, Healthy Request soup and just a small handful of mozzarella as opposed to a full cup, and I added a variety of seasonings to liven it up. I cooked this in a deep pasta pot rather than a skillet to avoid splatter so mine was a little saucier than I think was intended, but we like a lot of sauce so it was good - all the better to dip breadsticks in ;) Joe and I both really liked this - it's a great hearty and comforting meal in a snap.

Cheesy Tomato Chicken Skillet

2 cups of pasta
3/4 lbs chicken, cut into pieces
1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup of milk
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Cook the pasta as directed. Heat 10 inch skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken & cook thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium; stir in soup, tomatoes, milk and seasonings. Stir in cooked pasta. Cook about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until bubbly & heated through. Sprinkle with cheese. Reduce heat, cover & let stand about 5 minutes.

Happy Birthday Joe!

Today my wonderful husband turns the big 3-0! I was lucky enough to be by side the day he turned 18, and I plan to be by his side the day he turns 80 as well. He's the best husband that a girl could ever ask for and I am thankful each and every day that he belongs to me. But I am not the only person who thinks so highly of him, as evidenced by the huge outpouring of love for his 30th! 45 of his friends and family gathered last Sunday for a surprise party in his honor, and today at work he was showered with gifts, cards, balloons and home-baked treats from his students. See, turning 30 isn't so bad! Happy birthday, baby!

The surprise party:

I think I got him ;)

Baked Potato Soup

Soup is the perfect winter food, yet I hardly ever make it. In fact, in the past 16 months that I've had this blog I've only made soup twice. But this recipe from Rachel's blog made me want soup a lot more often! This soup rocks! It's rich and creamy and pretty close to perfect. In an attempt to lighten the recipe a bit I used skim milk and turkey bacon, but you certainly couldn't notice the lighter ingredients in this delicious soup - it tastes like super creamy mashed potatoes. I'll definitely make this again soon!

Baked Potato Soup

4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk (I used skim)
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 teaspoon salt (I used more)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I used more)
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided (I omitted)
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon)
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°.
Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash. (I microwaved the potatoes for about 20 minutes, then scooped out the insides.)
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

Everything's better with bacon, right? I found this recipe on my friend's Sarah's blog, A Taste of Home Cooking, and knew right away that I had to try it. Like Sarah's husband, Joe isn't a fan of blue cheese so I took Sarah's substitution of cream cheese, and I used turkey bacon since that's what Joe bought at the store. I also left out the arugula because I'm not a fan, and used two slices of bacon per chicken breast. This chicken is soooo good! Juicy and gooey and creamy, and the bacon adds a great flavor. We liked this a LOT!

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
A handful baby arugula, chopped (I omitted)
A handful baby spinach leaves, chopped
8 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a small sharp knife cut into the thick end of the chicken and make an incision reaching 2/3 the way down the breast. Loosen up the incision with your fingers to make a hole. Combine the cream cheese with arugula and baby spinach, season with salt and pepper and stuff into the breasts. Wrap the breasts with the bacon tightly to cover the meat evenly. Place chicken on a nonstick baking sheet and roast 20 to 25 minutes until bacon is crispy and chicken is firm.

Waffles!

For Christmas this year my wonderful bosses gave me a ton of cooking and baking stuff - including a waffle iron. I very rarely cook breakfast, but Joe and I couldn't let our winter break slide by without breaking in the waffle iron and today we finally got the chance to use it. Nothing fancy our first time out of the gate - I used Aunt Jemima pancake and waffle mix. Joe fried up some turkey bacon while I manned the waffle iron. I found that overfilling the iron just a tad made the best waffles - nice and full and fluffy. Joe's waffles were plain and topped with strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. I put chocolate chips in mine and ate them topped with a little margarine and sugar-free syrup. Mmmmm....

Roger enjoyed watching us make waffles - and protected Joe's whipped cream!