ITALIAN CHICKEN SKILLET

Ingredients:

1 TBS olive oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed

2 cloves garlic, chopped, or to taste

1/2 cup red cooking wine

1 (28 oz) can italian- style diced tomatoes

8 ounces small seashell pasta

5 oz fresh spinach, chopped 

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in large skillet add the chicken and garlic and cook (covered with lid) until chicken is no longer pink in the center about 5-8 minutes. Pour the wine and diced tomatoes with their juices into the skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat while scraping any browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. 

Stir in the pasta and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pastas has cooked through but are still firm to the bite about 10 min. Spread the spinach on top of the pasta mix, cover and simmer until the spinach is cooked about 5 min. Mix all together and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the skillet and simmer until the cheese has melted. Stir all together and serve. 

EGGPLANT AND MOZZARELLA MELT

Eggplant has always been one of my favorite things to eat. My mom used to fry it up for breakfast for my father and I and we would gobble it right up. So when i found this recipe i knew i had to try it. My husband is not a HUGE fan of eggplant but hell try anything, thank goodness.
 We both came to the conclusion that this recipe is pretty eggplant Parmesan on Italian bread but oh so good and very filling. I served this with a side salad and it was perfect. Hope yall enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 large Eggs
Salt and Pepper
3/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs
Cooking spray or olive oil
1 medium eggplant sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1 loaf (8oz) Italian Bread
2 cups marinara sauce
8 oz cups part skim mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray baking pan with cooking spray or cover in olive oil.  Put eggs and salt and pepper (to taste) in a bowl and lightly beat. Pour bread crumbs onto a plate. Dip the eggplant in the eggs then cover in the bread crumbs. Place on baking pan. Bake for 15-20 or until  golden and tender. Meanwhile slice the bread and gently press in the centers to create a well. Pour the sauce on the bread then add the eggplant and then cover the eggplant with the mozzarella cheese. Bake for and additional 8-9 min. or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI PIZZA

Friday nights are pizza, movie and snuggle on the couch time for the husband and I. So of course i try new pizza recipes for us try for those nights. This is one of the yummiest pizzas i have ever made. I plan on making this pizza for many friday nights to come. 

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough (I cheated and used boboli) 

Mozzarella or Krafts pizza 4 cheese 

Marinara Sauce

1 zucchini thinly sliced

1/2 medium eggplant

10-15 basil leaves or dry basil 

1 large clove minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400° F

Spread garlic over pizza dough. Next pour marinara sauce and spread it out leaving 1cm border around edge of crust. Sprinkle with Cheese and oregano then add the zucchini and eggplant. On top of that put the basil leaves and then i like to add just a little more cheese on top. Bake until crust is crispy and cheese is melted. Enjoy!!

got this recipe from: http://une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com/2009/11/zucchini-eggplant-pizza.html

GARLICKY BAKED SHRIMP

So once again we decided to have yummy Shrimp for dinner. This dish is very good but is very rich. I think next time i make this i will put less butter. But all in all it was great. We served it over angel hair pasta with a side salad. Hope you Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound peeled and deveined medium or large shrimp
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons white wine (i used chardonnay)
kosher salt and black pepper
1/4 cup softened butter (maybe a little less)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 TBS chopped parsley

Directions:
Heat oven to 425° F. In a baking dish mix together the shrimp, garlic, white wine, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In a small bowl mix together the butter bread crumbs and parsley. Sprinkle the mix over the shrimp and bake until shrimp are opaque throughout about 15 to 18 min. 

CHERRY COKE CUPCAKES

These cupcakes are absolutely amazing. They came out perfect not to soft not too hard just right and the cherry in the middle made them that even better. Of course i love making homemade whip cream frosting so that made them even better and then with the cherry on top, cant get any better than that.
Hope you Enjoy!

Ingredients for the cake:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
8 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup Coca Cola
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
Maraschino cherries, stemless

Directions for the cake:

Preheat oven to 350° F . Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine sugar and butter. Mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg until incorporated. In a bowl combine the buttermilk, coke, maraschino cherry juice and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. (This mixture may look disgusting and possibly a little curdled and thats okay)
Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture on low speed, alternately with the liquid ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners. Drop 1 stemless maraschino cherries into the middle of each cupcake well and push down into the batter. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the glaze (optional)

1 cup confectioners sugar
2 TBSP coca cola

Directions for the glaze:

Combine the confectioners sugar and coke in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon or drizzle a small amount of the top of each cupcake. Allow to set.

For the whipped cream topping:

2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 TBSP powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries

Directions for the topping

Add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer. Begin whipping on medium speed, slowly adding the confectioners sugar and gradually increasing the speed to high as the cream holds soft peaks. Whip until the cream holds stiff peaks, being careful not to over beat. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes and top each with a maraschino cherry.

AVOCADO SHRIMP SALAD

This is absolutely Yummy! We made this with a ceasar salad and some bread. I could eat all of this myself unfortunately i have to share with my husband lol. 

Ingredients: 

2lbs. Shrimp
2 avocados
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Parsley
2 TBS red onion
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Directions: 
Boil or steam shrimp. Cut up avocados into chunks. Dice onion. Mix all together and Enjoy!! 

CHICKEN RANCH NACHOS

Well my husband has been TDY for a week and ive been pigging out on some good ole comfort food. I cant seem to get enough of the bad stuff for me this week. Hopefully ill get on back on track again here soon with some better for me recipes. 

I personally have a huge addiction to nachos. If we go to a restaurant where they have nachos chances are im ordering them. I was so excited to make these i just could not wait to eat them. They were so amazingly yummy! Hope you ENJOY!!

Ingredients:

1 bag of Tortilla chips

5-6 chicken tenders (I just put a few pieces of chicken in the crockpot)

1 packet of ranch seasoning

1 cup of ranch

4 oz Monterrey Jack Cheese

1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup of chopped green onion

Directions:

Coat the chicken tenders in ranch seasoning and saute on medium heat until fully cooked. I put a few chicken breast in the crockpot then coated them with the ranch seasoning. Either way works :) Using two forks, shred the chicken tenders. I use my kitchen aid mixture to shred the chicken so much easier. Once again either way works. Preheat oven to 350. In an oven safe serving tray, spread out half of the chips evenly. Evenly, spread half of the shredded chicken over the chips. Sprinkle half of the tomatoes and green onion. Evenly drizzle half of the ranch dressing, try to get all the chips. Grate half of the cheese over the nachos. Repeat layers. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until all the cheese is nicely melted. 

got this recipe from: http://willcookforsmiles.com/2013/06/chicken-ranch-nachos.html

FRIED RAVIOLI

This is typically something i would make as an appetizer. However i decided to try something new so i made it for dinner instead :) My husband was eating them before we actually sat down for dinner. They were very yummy and super easy to make.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup kikkoman panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp kosher salt
10-14 fresh ravioli (we used small ones i would recommend using jumbo ones)
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
oil for frying
marinara sauce for dipping

Directions:

Leave ravioli out to bring to room temperature. Combing the bread crumbs Italian Seasoning and salt in shallow bowl. Whisk together the eggs and milk in another bowl. Dip the raviolis in the egg mixture and then dredge in the bread crumbs and then repeat these steps again so they are double dipped. Let the raviolis sit on a rack while the oil is coming up to temp. You can pry fry or deep fry them. Temp should be between 350-375. They only take 2-3 min to cook make sure to flip them half way through to make sure they cook evenly. They will puff up slightly while cooking. Empty them into a bowl and enjoy :)

GRILLED PESTO CHICKEN AND TOMATO KEBABS

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup parmigiano/Reggiano
Kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
3 TBSP olive oil
1-1/4 lb. skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
24 cherry tomatoes
16 wooden skewers

Directions:

In a food processor pulse basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing.

got this recipe from: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/06/grilled-pesto-chicken-and-tomato-kebabs.html

FAGIOLI CON SALSICCE (BEANS WITH SAUSAGE) SOUP

I have found some of the most amazing meals under 500 calories lately and i am so excited to share them here :) This recipe is for sure a new favorite in our house. My husband absolutely loved this he couldn't get enough. This is the perfect recipe for those chilly fall days. I hope yall Enjoy!!

If you want a little more kick to this we used Johnsonville Spicy Italian Sausage. If you dont like spicy you can put a little pepper flake and use the sweet italian sausage :) 

Serves 4-63 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
10 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 oz 
2 cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons sherry (optional)

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy bottomed pot.  Add the sausage and sauté, breaking apart into small pieces until browned.  Remove sausage from the pan and reserve for later.  

Add the last tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and toss in the chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Create a little space in the center of the pan and add in the tomato paste, allow to cook for about 3 minutes.  Add in the garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant.