Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits

Have you ever had a fruit and yogurt parfait from McDonalds? I had the pleasure of having one a few weeks ago for breakfast and have been hooked every since. I then tried to recreate this dish to have at home. It wasn't hard at all!

Ingredients
low fat vanilla yogurt (I like Dannon Light and Fit)
1/4 c of granola
cut up fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries

Directions
Mix together and enjoy!

Fresh Salsa

I came across the FANTASTIC fresh salsa recipe on a blog I follow, Unexpected Delights.

Ingredients

1 28oz can whole tomatoes

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies (I like Rotel)

¼ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped cilantro (add more if you like cilantro! I did!!)

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

¼ tsp cumin

1 jalapeño sliced (I did 2 for a spicy kick!)

Half a lime (squeeze the juice)

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in to a food processor (do not drain the
tomatoes) blend and serve!

Recipe courtesy of Kerry Amato via Unexpected Delights

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Another Pinterest inspired dish that will leave your taste buds so happy! This spicy rigatoni was not your usual rigatoni recipe with its peas and crushed red pepper.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 Tbs crushed red pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs chopped garlic
• 6 oz chicken, sliced
• 3/4 cup. Marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
• 2 tsp butter
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1 lb Rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package directions
• additional 1/2 t crushed red pepper (for garnish)

Directions:

1. In a sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper and garlic and sauté just long enough for garlic to caramelize and red pepper to release flavor into the oil. Add sliced chicken and sauté briefly to coat in spices and garlic.

2. Add Marinara Sauce first and then Alfredo Sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens slightly and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°. Turn off flame, add butter and peas and incorporate into sauce.

3. Drop cooked pasta in boiling water for 3 seconds. Let drain for 15 seconds. Toss with the sauce. Place pasta and sauce in pasta bowl, reserving the majority of the chicken to be placed on top of the pasta. Using a rubber spatula, scrape any remaining sauce from the pan to the pasta. Garnish with crushed red pepper and serve.

Tastebook's Notes:Instead of buying alfredo and marinara sauce separately, Bertolli makes a Parm Rosa sauce you can use instead. Use 1 1/2 cups of it when the recipe tells you to add the marinara and alfredo sauces.

Source: Buca Di Beppo

Recipe from http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/2423433-Spicy-Chicken-Rigatoni

Quinoa Salad with cherries, snap peas, and walnuts

Have you tried quinoa? It is very healthy for you and high in protein! Thanks to my friend Mary for sharing this recipe. I first had it at her lake house this summer and finally made it this week. It is a good, healthy side to any dinner dish. I served with kielbasa but would also serve with chicken.

Ingredients:
1 c quinoa
2 c of water or vegetable broth (I used water)
3/4 c snap peas, diced
4 scallions, diced, green part only
1/4 c walnuts, chopped

1/4 dried cherries

Vinaigrette:
4 TBSP canola oil
3 TBSP rice vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Prepare quinoa by rinsing in cold water. Add quinoa to water (or broth) in sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Let cool in refrigerator.
For vinaigrette: combine ingredients in a jar and shake. Chill in refrigerator.

When quinoa and vinaigrette have chilled, combine all ingredients and chill for several hours before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Mary Rodgers

"Poorman's" Italian Wedding Soup

Thanks to my friend, Erin, for this tasty dish! She always has the best and healthiest lunches at work. I've been wanting to try this soup for awhile now and finally got the ingredients from Trader Joe's. That is where she got the recipe for the soup too.

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen turkey meatballs (Trader Joe's)
1 box Israeli couscous from TJ's in the rice aisle
Chicken broth
1 bag of frozen or fresh spinach
chopped carrots
chopped celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
olive oil

Directions:
1. Brown couscous according to box instructions in olive oil. Set aside.
2. Saute carrots, onion, and celery (as much or as little as you like) in a sauce pan with garlic and some olive oil. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, add chicken broth, meatballs, couscous, spinach and sauteed veggies. Cook until warm.

FYI: over time, couscous soaks up liquid. Just add more water if you need to the 2nd day if having left overs!

Recipe courtesy of Erin Olsen

Crockpot Ravioli

Another great dish found on Pinterest. Thanks to Becoming Betty blog for posting! This made a lot, so there was plenty of leftovers.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (I used fresh spinach)
16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Directions:
*Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Put in crock-pot and add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for 6-7 hours on low. Add the last 4 ingredients during the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crock-pot to high. I added the fresh spinach, pasta, parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella and I mixed it all up really well. Then I added the last 1/2 cup of mozzarella to melt on the top.


Recipe courtesy of http://becomingbetty.blogspot.com/2011/03/crock-pot-ravioli-casserole.html

Chicken & Keibasa Couscous

Another great recipe thanks to Pinterest. Found this website with a bunch of 30 minute meals. You should check out this blog. I plan on making more dishes in the future thanks to momswhothink.com!

Ingredients:

1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
6 ounces fully cooked kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced into ½-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 cup couscous
1 medium green pepper, cut into strips
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Cut into bite-size strips and set aside.

2. In a 10-inch skillet cook and stir kielbasa, celery, carrots over medium-high heat about 5 minutes or until kielbasa is browned.

3. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more or until carrots are nearly tender. Drain off fat.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan bring the 1 1/3 cups broth to boiling. Stir in couscous; cover remove from heat. Let stand while preparing meat and vegetable mixture.

5. Add chicken and green pepper to skillet, cook and stir over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

6. Combine the 1 cup broth and cornstarch, stir into skillet.

7. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, then cook and stir for 2 minutes more.

8. Fluff couscous with a fork. Serve chicken mixture over couscous. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe from momswhothink.com