*Halloween/Fall Happy's :-) *

Today I made Halloween/Fall Happy's on my day off for some of my favorite people.  The chilly weather is getting me excited for Fall & the upcoming Holiday's!  For my Happy's I made my families recipe, Chocolate Dot Pumpkin Muffins.  You can find the recipe here.  Here's the final product:

Very thankful for my family & friends!!!

Ranch Dressing without the guilt!!!

Sooo, most people LOVE LOVE LOVE Ranch dressing (like me), but we try to stay away from it b/c let's admit it ... a salad loaded with ranch is not a "good" choice for our waistline.  Well, ladies & gents, worry no more.  With this recipe it's a win win.  You get the ranch while still watching that figure.  That's what I'm talking about.

Ingredients:
1 pkg dry Ranch Dressing mix                
2 cups low fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup water


Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Add more water if you don't want it slightly thick.  

Yes, it's that easy!  I know you're thinking "GROSS, COTTAGE CHEESE!" if you aren't a cottage cheese person.  But I definitely put it on Jay O.'s salad tonight without him knowing & he commented on how much he liked it :)  sneaky good! 

*Stuffed Bell Peppers*

Tonight we had Hatley over for dinner & I prepared stuffed bell peppers.  I had never made them before but came up with ingredients that would make it a healthy dish without leaving out the flavor.  We were big fans & I will definitely be making this again!  Easy peasy & delish :-)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. marinara sauce 
3 Bell Peppers (I did 2 green & 1 yellow since Jay O. is kind of picky...yes, he is even particular about the color of his bell peppers.  ha)
Garlic & Herb Mrs. Dash seasoning (0r seasoning of your choice)
Salt & Pepper to taste 
Shredded Cheddar

Directions:
Cook ground turkey over medium/high heat in a skillet w/1-2 tsp olive oil.  Season ground turkey with your seasoning of choice, salt & pepper to taste.  
Once the ground turkey is close to cooked, add in the diced onion & minced garlic.  Continue cooking until onion is browned. 
Stir in the marinara sauce.
Slice the bell peppers in half & remove seeds.  Lay the halved bell peppers into a glass baking dish.
Spoon the ground turkey mixture into each halved bell pepper until full.
Sprinkle Cheddar Cheese on top.
Bake @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

I served mine with a side salad & zuchinnii fries.  Enjoy!

 

Sonoran Salad

I LOVE this salad.  It's very simple & will fit into almost any meal perfectly.  It is great as a side & would be great as an entree with chicken.  Let me know what you think! :-)
 
Ingredients:
Romaine Lettuce
Avocado, diced
Purple onion, diced
Bacon, crumbled
Blue Cheese, crumbled (or feta)
Tomato, diced

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

3/4 cup vegetable oil (or any oil)

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 t. salt

4 t. sugar

Pepper to taste

Directions: 

On top of lettuce line up avocado, purple onion, bacon, blue cheese & tomato in rows.

Blend all salad dressing ingredients, refrigerate and toss salad w/dressing prior to serving. 

*White Queso & Onion Dip*

I got this recipe from Rachel's blog Reckless Abandon. I absolutely love this blog & especially this dip!  It is delish.  I took this dip to our friend Wes's 30th birthday party this past Saturday while we rooted on the hogs ... unfortunately our cheering & yelling at the television didn't affect the outcome of the game :-/

Ingredients:

2 blocks of light cream cheese

1/2 cup of chopped onions (can be frozen)

1/2 cup of light mayo

1 package of shredded monterrey jack cheese

1 package of shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

Microwave the cream cheese for 1 min. in a microwaveable bowl.

Add the chopped onion, mayo, Parmesan cheese, & Monterrey Jack Cheese

Mix all ingredients with a fork until it's well blended & spread evenly into your baking dish

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes

Enjoy with tortilla chips or fritos!

Reckless Abandon has such good pictures for this recipe I just decided to add the link at the top for step by step photos :))

*Pizza Dip*

Pizza Sauce, cheesiness, pepperoni ... deliciousness ... what's not to love?  This is by no means a "healthy" dish (obviously), but I made it as light as possible.

Last night Jay O. & I had Hatley, Rebekah, & Chris over for dinner & I prepared this for an app & made my chili recipe that you can find here.  Every time fall rolls around I just can't wait for the weather to cool down ... I get to excited & have to break out the chili!  


Ingredients for Pizza Dip:
1 8 oz. package light cream cheese
1 14 0z. can pizza sauce (I used ragu w/tomato, garlic & onion)
~ 20 slices turkey pepperoni, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 
Spray a 9 inch pie plate or oval dish w/non-stick spray
Spread cream cheese on the bottom of the dish 
Pour pizza sauce over the layer of cream cheese & spread evenly
Sprinkle diced turkey pepperoni's & diced onion over pizza sauce
Cover the top evenly with mozzarella cheese
Bake dip for 20-25 minutes
Serve w/fritos!  

*Cheese & Sausage Fondue Dip*

I have always LOVED this fondue.  It has great flavor & is fun for something different!  You serve this with cubed french bread.  And, if you have a cute fondue set that never hurts :-)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. sausage
6 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove
6 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup beer (I used octoberfest)
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles 
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper
cubed french bread


Directions:
Cook Sausage.  Melt butter in skillet - saute onion & garlic.  Add flour - stirring until smooth then cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Gradually add milk-stirring until thick then add cheese & stir to melt.
Remove from heat & stir in sausage, beer & next 3 ingredients.  
Then simply keep fondue warm in fondue set while serving.  I gradually added more of the dip mixture to the fondue pot so it stayed warm throughout the evening.

ENJOY!

*Green Chile & Cheese Rice*

Before I get to the yummy cheesy rice recipe I would like to apologize for totally neglecting my blog over the last couple of months.  I have missed updating it & still plan to continue adding recipes!  Lately it has been a lot of baking/grilling chicken, baking/grilling fish, throwing a steamed bag of broccoli in the microwave & toasting a piece of 40 cal toast around the Howe house.  So nothing very "blog worthy" lately & I am hoping everyone knows how to do all of the above ;)

I started a new job at Metabolic Research Center as a nutrition/sales consultant.  Loving it so far.  Sooo that has kept me pretty focused & motivated.  I've been trying out the diet plan & doing my best to practice what I preach day in & day out! 

Now for the rice recipe.  I made this a couple of weeks ago when we had a Mexican dinner at the lake.  Very tasty!

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked white rice
chicken broth
7 oz can diced chiles, squeezed dry
16 oz reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup grated monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
onion powder to taste 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a large casserole dish.

Cook rice using chicken broth instead of water (use package directions). Remove from heat and fold in chilies and sour cream (reserve a little bit of sour cream for the top).

Layer half of the rice mixture and half of each cheese. Sprinkle with onion powder. Repeat layers. Spread reserved sour cream on top.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Servings: 10 

I got this recipe from www.recipegirl.com  Love that blog!

Our monthly supper club is at our house next week, so keep an eye out for new recipes! 

*Corn w/Chile-Lime Butter*

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for topping

1 tablespoon chile paste (in the Asian section of the market)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

8 ears corn, husks and silk removed

Crumbled cotija cheese, for topping

Directions:

Preheat a grill to medium high. Combine the butter, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, chile paste and cumin in a bowl. Add salt and pepper; mix well.

Grill the corn, turning, until nicely charred, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a spoonful of the flavored butter on top. Sprinkle with more cilantro and cotija cheese. Recipe courtesy of Food Network. 

ENJOY!

*Watermelon & Blueberry Salad w/Mint & Lemon Zest*

My apologies for being MIA the past month or so.  I have mainly been grilling chicken, making salads, and steaming veggies.  So, I figured most of you already know how to do those things and I didn't want to bore you ;)  However, I did make some yummy recipes over the 4th of July holiday I wanted to share.  This particular salad was fresh, tasty & definitely perfect for any summer occasion.

  

Ingredients:                                            

1/4 cup sugar

1//4 cup water

mint

zest & juice of 1 lemon

pinch of salt

2 cups blueberries

3 cups cubed watermelon

Directions:

Bring 1/4 cup each sugar and water to a simmer in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, add 3 mint sprigs and steep 10 minutes. Discard the mint; add the zest and juice of 1 lemon and a pinch of salt. Toss with 2 cups blueberries and 

3 cups cubed watermelon. Let stand 15 minutes. 

Top with chopped mint. Recipe courtesy of Food 
Network.

I hope all of you are enjoying your 

summer & staying cool!