Hummus Pita-zas

These make the perfect size personal pizza- they are healthy and delicious, too!

INGREDIENTS:

6 Pitas (I buy whole-grain)

1/2 cup Hummus (See my recipe or buy store bought)

1/2 cup Olive Tapenade

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded

1/2 Red Onion, Sliced

3 Whole Roasted Red Peppers, chopped

1 can Artichokes, Quartered

1/2 cup Banana Peppers or Sliced Pepperoncini

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix Hummus and Olive Tapenade. Place pitas on a cookie sheet, and spread the hummus/olive mixture on top like pizza sauce. Sprinkle cheese and top with remaining ingredients (onion, peppers, artichokes). Cook for 10-12 minutes until the cheese has melted and the pita is crispy. 

Hummus

This is so good when you make it instead of buying pre-made. The store-bought kind isn't bad, but not near as good as this! It's good on veggies, pita chips, crackers, sandwiches... yum! 

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) and the liquid

4 TBL of lemon or lime juice (fresh squeezed is best!)

1 1/2 TBL Tahini (This is Sesame Seed Paste- my store carries it next to the olives)

2 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt

2 TBL olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Blend into a paste. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate. 

Springy Shells

Here is another Pioneer Woman Recipe! I made for a girl's night- my husband requires meat at every meal. It was delicious! I made it pretty close to her recipe, but I did use fat free ricotta. (Don't tell PW!) For those meat lovers, you could add grilled chicken and it would be really good, too! The link to the recipe is HERE.

Oreo Ice-Cream Pie

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of Oreos (we use Double Stuf, but I doubt it matters!)

3 TBL melted butter

1 carton of Cookies n' Cream Ice Cream

1 carton Cool Whip

Magic Shell Chocolate Topping

DIRECTIONS:

Take about 3/4 of the oreos and crush them into fine dust in the food processor. Mix them with the melted butter and spread them into a pie pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or so. Mix the cool whip and ice-cream together. When cooled, spread the cool whip/ice cream mixture into the pie shell. Top with Magic Shell Chocolate Topping and Cookies for decoration. Freeze and enjoy!

You can use different ice-cream or other toppings for more variety!

Baby Back Ribs

To prepare Baby Back Ribs, I use 3 methods, and they are truly delicious! The first step is to cut them into about 2-3 ribs pieces. I boil those in salted water until they turn gray. Once they are done, I remove them from the water and brush the barbeque sauce of choice onto the ribs and put them on the grill. Once they are fully cooked, I put them into the crock pot with lots of extra barbeque sauce for about 2-3 hours, or until ready to eat. Messy- but so yummy!

PW's Bagel/Veggie/Cheese Sandwich

Our neighbor brought over a bunch of home grown tomatoes, and so I made Pioneer Woman's Bagel Sandwich. Delicious, refreshing, filling and healthy! I added banana peppers to mine. Of course, I only made it for me for lunch because Andy requires meat. I guess you could throw some lunchmeat on this and it would be good too. I attempted her Spinach Salad, and it would have been better- but the eggs were not boiled all the way through, so by the time I got eggs right, the spinach was wilted and we had to go ahead and eat the rest of our meal (when Andy grills, we eat the meat RIGHT off the grill... take note!). Anyways, I recommend the Bagel sandwich! 

Blackened Chicken Pizza

INGREDIENTS:

6 tsp. Blackened Seasoning

3 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

8 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces

4 TBL butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, chopped

2 TBL flour

1/4 cup white wine

3/4 cup milk

2 TBL chopped basil

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 cup fresh spinach leaves

1 cup parmesan cheese

2 pizza crusts (either store bought, or you can use my recipe)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450.

With 1 TBL of butter, cook chicken in a skillet and cover with 5 tsp of blackened seasoning, until chicken is cooked through. Remove when done and in same pan (with seasonings still in it) cook the pieces of bacon until done. Remove and drain grease.

In another skillet, melt 2 TBL of butter and add garlic and green onions. Cook for 2 minutes and add flour. Cook another 2 minutes and add wine and milk. Whisk until thickened, and then add basil and 1 tsp of blackened seasoning.

You will use either your pizza dough or pizza crust to assemble the pizza now- first, spread the cream mixture on the crust, top with mozzarella cheese, chicken, bacon crumbles, spinach, parmesan cheese and more mozzarella. Bake for 15-20 or until lightly browned. 

For desert, we bought Blue Bunny's Sedona Frozen Yogurt Granola Sandwich (Double Strawberry Flavor) it's a low fat ice-cream treat that was really good after the pizza!

Chicken Caesar Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb dry penne pasta (I use whole grain)

1 TBL butter (I use I can't believe it's not butter)

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves- cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

8 oz. Caesar salad dressing (I use low-fat, or the spray kind is really good!)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 bag of romaine lettuce

1 large tomato, chopped

Croutons

Parmesan Curls

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes until al dente; drain.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, pepper and salt. Cook 10 minutes or until chicken is cook through. Remove skillet from heat. 

In a bowl, mix together salad dressing, vinegar and cheese. Toss together pasta, chicken, lettuce, and dressing mixture. Place in a large serving bowl and sprinkle with tomato, croutons and Parmesan curls (if desired.)

This is really good with garlic bread or bruschetta. I buy the Texas Toast Ciabatta Bread (frozen section) and top them with diced italian style tomatoes (in the canned tomato section), and then put in the oven at 425 for about 10 minutes.

Bow-Tie Pasta with Chicken and Artichokes

INGREDIENTS:

4 TBL Butter

1 LB boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 12 oz. can artichoke hearts, cut into wedges and drained

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. flour

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 TBL lemon juice

1/4 cup minced parsley

1/2 lb bow-tie pasta

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Add pasta and 2 tsp. salt to boiling water and cook until al dente (see package for time).

Melt 1 TBL butter in large nonstick skillet over high heat and cook chicken until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl.

Lower the heat to medium and melt 1 TBL butter in pan. Cook artichokes until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and cook for another 30 seconds. Add broth and simmer until slightly thickened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 TBL butter, Parmesan, lemon juice, parsley and chicken and cook until chicken is warmed.

Toss the chicken and sauce into the pasta and moisten with pasta water if needed. Season with salt and pepper.