Last-minute Apple Crisp

After dinner, I was craving something sweet....having no little sweets around the house, I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it hit the spot! I halved this recipe for the 2 of us.
Best Apple Crisp Ever
Courtesy of Allrecipes.com
Ingredients

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a 9 inch square baking pan, mix sliced apples with brown sugar. In a large bowl, mix together flour, white sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, beat together egg and melted butter. Stir into flour mixture. Spread evenly over apples.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until topping is golden and crisp.

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

Who wants another boring chicken breast again? Not me! I had some chicken in the freezer and with no ideas for dinner, I searched and found this recipe on Recipezaar.com. The reviews were good, what the heck?! I would give this one a shot.

I am glad I tried this...the only change I would make next time would be to decrease the oregano just a touch...but I'm not a big oregano fan anyway. The flavors were very good, the chicken was moist and extremely flavorful! We'll be having these again!

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos
Recipe courtesy of Recipezaar.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juice of
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 6-inch flour tortillas
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup salsa

Directions

Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes.

Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano.

Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.

Heat an iron skillet over medium heat.

Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side.

Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

Giada's Lasagna Rolls

I didn't want to spend all day in a kitchen putting a lasagna together and I had a bag of fresh baby spinach in the fridge needing to be used up....hence, my inspiration to try this recipe!! :)

I did make a few changes, noted below, due to the reviews of the original recipe. I have the original recipe below, but noted what I did in red. I added mushrooms to the filling mixture as well as pressed garlic. I'm sure I used more than 1 cup of cheese too!

It was VERY easy to make and would be great to make ahead and then heat later! I will definitely be making this again, it was DELICIOUS!!! I would highly recommend the addition of garlic, without it, I think it would have been a lacking a bit.

Lasagna Rolls
Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis - Food Network

Ingredients

Sauce: *Per the reviews on Food Network.com, I doubled this bechamel recipe*

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry *I used fresh which I chopped and steamed for about 4 minutes*
  
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped *I omitted*
  
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend *I added an extra egg per the suggestions on Food Network.com reviews*
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil *I omitted*
  
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto *I omitted*, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.*I used fresh spinach & added chopped mushrooms & 4 small cloves of pressed garlic*

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamel sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

My biggest fans...

My parents know how much I love cooking and blogging, they read this all the time (HI MOM & DAD!) and always are encouraging and supportive of my endeavors.

Today, I got this email from my Dad, bragging about the wonderful meal that my mom had just made...with the following pictures attached. It's so cute! I'll definitely have to try this recipe and I know it will turn out great! Thanks for the recommendation!

Fish Tacos

I've decided to try and incorporate more seafood and healthier foods into our diets, so our fridge is now stocked full with fresh veggies and less red meat. I asked my husband to take out some fish for dinner and wanted to find a way to twist up our regular baked Tilapia...I used it in this recipe I found on the New York Times website, check it out HERE!

I served the tacos with flour tortillas, homemade pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, lime and a sauce I whipped up (see below).

Garlic Cilantro Sour Cream Sauce

• Juice of 1/2 Lime
• 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
• 1 tbs. minced or pressed garlic
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• Pepper to taste

Mix all together well, chill in refrigerator to let flavors mix before using.

Cheese Stuffed Burgers & Homemade Buns

This is my burger - I topped it with a garlic mayo, sauteed onions & mushrooms

Hey there! I'm still around, just haven't updated my blog in a few days! I made these on Sunday after becoming inspired by an episode of Man vs. Food where he visited a bar that made a hamburger with the cheese on the inside! I had to try it!!

Hamburgers

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

• Heat a skillet over medium heat.
• Mix the Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt & pepper with the ground chuck. (I used my hands, so much easier!)
• Set out cheese within your reach.
• Divide meat into 4 equal sections.
• Taking half of each one section, flatten into a thin large patty.
• Take about 2 tbs. of the shredded cheese and place it in the middle of the first patty.
• Use remaining half of your meat, flatten into a second patty and place on top of the first, pinching the edges to seal.
• Repeat with your other 3 sections and place on skillet, cooking through until your desired done-ness and the cheese is melted. (You don't want the heat TOO high, or else you'll overcook the burger by the time your cheese melts.)

For the Buns
I found this recipe on All Recipes.com and they turned out GREAT! I will definitely use this recipe again.