Hot Caprese Dip

Gooey. Cheesy. Good. This dip is so easy and SO yummy. We ate it as a late night snack with slices of whole wheat french bread and I slightly died at how good it was. You can make it in advance and keep it in the fridge for when you're ready to use it! A great way to use up those tomatoes from your garden, too!

Ingredients:

16 ounces part-skim mozzarella, cubed
6 oz low fat cream cheese, cubed
2 cups tomatoes, diced, seeded and juiced*
3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil (or about 1 tablespoon dried)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Spray a medium oven safe dish with cooking spray. Put about half of the mozzarella on the bottom of the dish. Top with tomatoes, basil and spices. Top with cream cheese cubes and remaining mozzarella.


Bake for about 15 minutes on 375 and then broil until cheese is bubbly. (There will be liquid at the bottom of the dish from the cheese. using a lower moisture mozz will decrease this!)

Serve with your favorite cracker, bread or spoon!

*A great way to get excess juice out of your tomatoes is to sprinkle them with salt and let them sit for about 30 minutes. Then rinse and pat dry with paper towels.

Recipe adapted from How Sweet Eats

Buffalo Chicken Chili

This recipe was absolutely delicious (and low cal/fat)! My only complaint is that it didn't make a lot so that I could freeze half. Next time I'm going to double it, or triple it! This is perfect football food -You can make it in advance and then keep it warm in your crockpot for the day. We ate ours with multi-grain scoops as "nachos" but it is also great with a spoon! I enjoyed mine with crumbled blue cheese and Rich topped his with sharp cheddar. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

 

1 pound ground chicken

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup celery, sliced

1/2 cup carrots, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground

1 can of light beer beer or chicken broth (use the beer!!)

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 cup hot sauce (or to taste) - Franks Red Hot!

salt and pepper to taste

Toppings: crumbled blue cheese, feta cheese, cheddar cheese

 

Directions:

1. Cook the chicken in a large pan over medium heat and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in the pan, add the onions, celery and carrots and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the beer or broth and deglaze the pan.
5. Add chicken, tomatoes, beans, paprika, oregano, cayenne and hot sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Serve with topping of your choice.

Recipe comes from Closet Cooking

Veggie & Hummus Wrap

Meat is expensive lately so I wanted to make a healthy satisfying meat free dinner full of veggies.  This wrap was so very tasty, easy to make and healthy.  We were shocked by how filling it was.   You can customize this any way you want with whatever veggies that are in season or that suite your taste.   Definitely going on the menu rotation!  We served the wraps with sweet potatoes.  The only thing I would change is that next time I think I will make my own hummus instead of using store bought. This recipe makes 6 wraps. 

1 med-large zucchini, peeled and quartered
1 small red onion, sliced (divided)
1 red pepper, cut in small chunks
1 green pepper, cut in small chunks
1 cucumber, peeled and quartered
10-12 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups baby spinach leaves
black olives, halved (optional)
banana peppers (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (more or less depending on taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (more or less depending on taste)
1 teaspoon italian seasoning (more or less depending on taste)
1 TBS Olive Oil
3-5 TBS hummus (depends on how creamy you want the wrap to be)
6 whole wheat tortillas (6"), warmed

Add the zucchini, 1/2 of the red onion, green & red pepper to a pan on medium heat.  Add the olive oil, salt & pepper (to taste) and italian seasoning.  Stir to coat.   Let cook until tender crisp, about 3-5 minutes.  (Be careful not to overcook.) 
Add the spinach leaves to the pan and stir to coat.  Cook one additional minute. Remove from heat. 

Spread a layer of hummus on one side of the tortilla, next add about 1/4 cup veggie mixture.   Top with cucumber, tomato, the uncooked red onion, and the optional black olives and/or banana peppers.  Roll up and enjoy! 

Turkey Pepperoni Pizza Mini Muffins

This recipe came from Everyday with Rachel Ray and has circulated around Pinterest. My kids have been complaining about their almost daily lunch of PB&J so I decided to give these a try, with my own changes, to give them a lunchtime variety. One great thing is they freeze so you can make them whenever and then just pop them in the microwave or toaster oven when you're ready to use them!

This recipe makes 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt (my addition, optional)
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten (can use egg substitute)
2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup turkey pepperoni, diced into small pieces
1 cup store-bought pizza sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

To Freeze
Arrange pizza muffins on a cookie sheet. After they are completely cooled, freeze for 1 hour. Then place in air tight freezer safe container or zip-lock bags.