Cheese Tortellini with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen cheese tortellinis
• 3.5 oz. bag of sundried tomatoes
• 1 lb of lean ground chicken
• 2 medium zucchinis (chopped into small pieces)
• 2 medium yellow squash (chopped into small pieces)
• 1 small package of sliced white button mushrooms
• 1 medium yellow onion (sliced thinly)
• Olive oil
• 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese + 1/4 cup for garnish
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 tsp of garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add chopped zucchini and squash to one baking sheet and add mushrooms and onions to another baking sheet. Pour approx. 2 tablespoons of olive oil over each baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. With your hands, mix the vegetables, oil, and salt and pepper together so that each vegetable is well seasoned. Bake for 20-30 minutes (flip the veggies half way through so they browned on both sides).

2. Add ground chicken to a large saute pan and cook on medium-high until the meat is no longer pink. Turn off burner once it is finished cooking.

3. Fill a large pasta pot with water and bring water to boil. Once the water is boiling, pour the pasta in reduce to heat to medium. Tortellinis will take 5-10 minutes to cook (once they all rise to the top of the water they are done).  Drain  the pasta and then place in large bowl.

4. Add the roasted vegetables (zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions) and the cooked ground chicken to the large bowl of tortellinis. Next, add the sundried tomatoes and 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese. Stir all of the ingredients together. Season with garlic powder and if needed, add more salt and pepper to taste.

5. Spoon pasta into serving bowls and garnish with remained parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Oreos + Pretzel Kisses

Ingredients (Oreos)

• 1 package of Oreos
• 1.5 bags of white chocolate chips
• 3 peppermint candy canes, crushed into small pieces

Directions:

1. Pour half a bag of white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. **Be very careful not to burn the chocolate chips....it may take less than 2 minutes to melt the chips depending on your microwave**

2. Dip half of the oreo into the melted white chocolate and place on a non-stick baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the rest of the white chocolate chips and the oreos.

4. Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy canes on top of the white chocolate. Allow the oreos to sit for a couple of hours so the chocolate hardens.

Ingredients (Pretzels)

• 1 bag of windowpane pretzels
• 1 bag of Hershey kisses
• 1 bag of M&Ms (you can use what ever kind you like)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.

2. Place pretzels on a large baking dish (do not overlap the pretzels). Place one Hershey kiss in the center of each pretzel. Bake for 4-6 minutes (you do NOT want the chocolate melted, you want it to be just a tad bit soft).

3. Once they are finished baking, place one M&M on top of each Hershey kiss and press down very gently. Cool for one hour or until the chocolate has hardened. Enjoy!!

Spinach Bean Burgers

Oh how I love reading food and fitness blogs! Seriously, it has become one of my new hobbies...I don't know if that is good or not? Anyway, this recipe is from one of the food blogs that I read called The Daily Crumb. It was a very cheap, easy, and delicious recipe, and it made about 8 burgers! I served them on a Whole Foods Seduction Bread Roll and a spinach salad on the side. You really don't miss the meat in this recipe either....very satisfying!! Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz.) of cannelloni beans (white beans), drained and rinsed
• 8 oz. of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 cup of fat free ricotta cheese
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 1 cup of plain bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mash the cannelloni beans with a fork, leaving some small chunks.

2. In a medium bowl, add the ricotta cheese and eggs and whisk together until smooth and well incorporated. Next, stir in the thawed spinach, breadcrumbs, and garlic powder.

3. Add the mashed beans to the cheese and spinach mixture and season with salt and pepper.

4. Take about 1/4-1/2 cup of the mixture and form into burger patties. Saute on a large non-stick griddle pan or skillet for about 5 minutes (just until they are browned on the outside). Then place them on a large non-stick cookie sheet and bake them for about 15-20 minutes.

5. Serve on a bun or on top of a spinach salad. Enjoy!!

You can also find this recipe at: http://www.thedailycrumb.com/2011/11/30/baked-spinach-ricotta-cakes/

Not Another Egg Sandwich

This recipe is so easy and very yummy!! We have made these sandwiches several times for dinner and for breakfast and they are very satisfying. I don't know about you, but everytime we go out to eat I usually end up leaving and telling Kel that we could have made something better at home. Not to make much of myself, but only to say that restaurant food is not all it is made up to be, especially when it comes to a sandwich! You can eat this sandwich by itself or pair it up with a small fresh fruit bowl and you will be getting all of your major food groups in one meal! Hope you enjoy and God bless! :)

Ingredients: (makes 2 sandwiches)

• 4 slices of whole grain bread (any kind of bread works)
• 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
• 2 slices of mozzarella or provolone cheese
• 2 tablespoons of feta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 roma tomato, thinly sliced
• 8-10 baby spinach leaves
• 2-3 low sodium turkey bacon slices

Directions:

1. Lay out the bread slices on a cutting board. Spread 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard on 2 slices of the bread and on the other 2 slices, add the sliced cheese and crumbled feta.

2. In a medium non-stick skillet, fry 2 eggs (just the way you like them- we like ours cooked through). Once the egg is finished cooking, place it on top of the slice of bread that has the cheese on it.

3. In the same skillet, add 2-3 slices of bacon (Kel likes 2 pieces and I only like 1, so you can do as many as you would like) and cook them through. Add the slices of bacon on top of the egg.

4. Lastly, add the baby spinach leaves and the sliced tomato on top of the egg and then place the other bread slice (with the dijon on it) on top.

5. Place the assembled sandwiches either in the panini maker or on a large non-stick griddle pan (if you don't have either of these you can use a large non-stick skillet) and toast until the cheese is melted and both sides of the sandwich are toasted. Note: if you are using a griddle pan or a skillet, you can use the bottom of another skillet to smash the sandwiches down or you can just use the spatula. Enjoy!!