Sweet Potato Sausage Skillet

Sweet potatoes are another family favorite, so I wanted to try this recipe as soon as I saw that the main ingredient was sweet potatoes. It was wonderful and super quick and easy to cook up.


Sweet Potato Sausage Skillet
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

3 cups uncooked whole wheat spiral pasta - (or 1/2 regular and 1/2 whole wheat if you have a hubby like mine! :)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon water
8 ounces smoked turkey sausage, cutting into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup half and half cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, place potatoes and water in a microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender.

In a large nonstick skillet, cook the sausage, green pepper and onion in oil over medium heat for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, cream, salt, pepper and potatoes; heat through. Drain pasta; stir into skillet. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

KFC Coleslaw Copycat

I want to start by telling you that I am not the world's biggest coleslaw fan... I like it, but will pick something else if there is an option. Having said that, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE KFC coleslaw - it is the one side that I always get when we are having KFC. So, when I saw this recipe, I just had to try it! It did not disappoint!! Even my sister-in-law who NEVER likes coleslaw said that it was delish!

KFC Coleslaw Copycat

DRESSING
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons while vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

SLAW
1 head of cabbage
1 medium carrot
2 tablespoons minced onion

Chop cabbage into chunks and run through your food processor, or chop fine. (I also ran my carrot through at the same time, so that everything was the same size and texture.) Combine all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, whisk well. Combine cabbage, carrots and onion and toss well. Pour dressing over the slaw and turn to coat well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving to allow the cabbage to soak up the marinade, overnight is best.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza

This was a quick meal that I made on a weeknight. The boys loved it and Bella devoured the ham pieces before her pizza cooled down enough to eat!! Pizza as usual was a huge hit at our house...

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza
(recipe found in Taste of Home)

1 tube (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza crust
1/2 cup alfredo sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups fully cooked ham, cubed
10 breaded chicken nuggets, thawed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Unroll dough into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan; flatten dough and build up edges slightly. Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Spread with alfredo sauce; sprinkle with garlic salt and swiss cheese. Top with ham, chicken nuggets and mozzarella. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Honey Lemon Muffins

Did I mention how much I love muffins? I love that they are easy to mix up, quick to throw in a muffin tin and yummy for breakfast or snack... So, I tried a new recipe today and they were sooooo good! I gave them to the kids for snack and my nephew was BEGGING for more! They were simple and I usually have all the ingredients in my cupboards - that makes them even better!

Honey Lemon Muffins
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tesapoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
DRIZZLE
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
additional grated lemon peel

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, honey, lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Coat muffin cups with cooking psray ro use paper liners; fill 1/2 full with batter. Bake at 375 for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice; drizzle over warm muffins. Sprinkle with additional lemon peel.

Sesame Cilantro Chicken

First off, sorry for the not so appetizing picture... The honey mixture is running everywhere, but trust me - it is so good! Josh was talking about it a couple days later and how good it was mixed in with the rice, now you know that it is REALLY good if it got his attention! :)

Sesame Cilantro Chicken
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)
Serves: 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro - (sorry, I know that it is in the recipe, the name of the recipe even, but I didn't buy the cilantro... I just hate to waste all the extra that I don't ever get around to using!! But the recipe was still delish without the cilantro!)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted - (or not toasted, come on toasting a tablespoon of sesame seeds? I got three kids running around going wild, waiting on supper - maybe next time!)

Place chicken in an 11x7 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine the honey, soy sauce, garlic powder, ginger and cilantro; spoon 1/4 cup honey mixture over chicken. Set aside the remaining mixture.

Cover and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 170. Spoon reserved mixture over chicken; sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Sauage Hashbrown Bake

While my husband was once again working on our wood stove that we put in over the summer, he had a lot of help! Breakfast is a must have when you expect your relatives to come over at 6:30 on a Saturday morning. So, Sausage Hashbrown Bake was whipped up, along with eggs, bacon and To Die For Blueberry Muffins! Gotta keep the help happy! :)

Sausage Hashbrown Bake
(recipe found at anniebakes.net)

2 pounds bulk pork sausage - I used 1 regular and 1 spicy
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 carton (8 ounces) french onion dip
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (30 ounces) frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes, thawed

In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain on paper towels. In a large bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups cheese and the next seven ingredients; fold in potatoes. Spread half the potato mixture into the bottom of a greased 3 quart baking dish. Top with sausage and remaining potato mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.

Blueberry Sangria Lemonade

As a treat to my cousin, I whipped up this batch of goodness for a game night that we got together for! It was a little sweet, but delicious at the same time!

Blueberry Sangria Lemonade
(recipe found at foodnetwork.com)

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1 (12 ounce) can frozen concentrated pink lemonade - (the store in town was out, so I used raspberry lemonade instead)
1 bottle (750 ml) Chardonnay
3 cups sprite
1/2 cup cognac - (again, we live in a small town and this was spur of the moment, no cognac for me, so I used some brandy instead...)

In a large pitcher, comine all ingreidents and stir. Refrigerate for 1 hour to meld flavors. Served chilled in iced tea glasses.