{New Recipe Wednesday} Caprese Lasagna Roll-Ups

As I think I've made it pretty clear, I love food. That just goes without saying. And what type of food is at the top of my list? Italian food…hands down. Not sure if it's that little bit of Italian floating around in my blood, or the fact that my dad also loves it so I grew up eating it all the time. But I could probably eat it every day. For the sake of my family though, I do try to mix it up. I don't want things getting boring around our house…so we'll do Chinese one night, Mexican another, some good ole' American thrown in there too.

So of course today I am sharing with you one of my new favorite recipes! I found it on Pinterest a few weeks ago and was so excited to try it! I am so happy that I did because it jumped instantly to the top of my favorites list! Not sure if it was the creamy cheese filling or the incredibly simple, fresh taste from the basil and tomatoes, but it was a winner! I served it alongside our favorite chicken cutlets, fresh bread, and a green salad. Delish!

Doesn't that look amazing? Well, follow this recipe and in no time you will be sitting down to a delicious dinner!

-Caprese Lasagna Roll-Ups-

8 uncooked lasagna noodles

3/4 c. ricotta cheese

1 large egg white

16 ounces freshly shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/3 c. freshly shredded parmesan cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

4-5 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced (about 32 slices)

1/4 c. chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish

1 c. spaghetti sauce (or Sunday gravy as I grew up calling it) 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook your noodles to al dente. Drain the noodles and lay them in a single layer on wax paper. 

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese and egg white until completely combined. Stir in 14 ounces of the mozzarella and the parmesan cheese. Season with black pepper, to taste.

4. Ladle 1/4 cup of sauce into the bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish. 

5. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture onto each noodle and spread from one end to the other. Top each noodle with 4 slices of tomato then sprinkle the basil over the tomatoes. Roll-up each noodle tightly from one end to the other and place the rolls seam side down into the prepared baking dish. Using the rest of the sauce, cover the top of each roll completely (so the noodles do not dry out). Sprinkle the remaining 4 ounces of mozzarella cheese over each roll. 

 6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove and garnish with fresh basil.

I can smell it now…the fresh basil hitting the warm roll-up and unleashing one of the most incredible aromas ever. A-ma-zing. I seriously hope you give this a try! You will not be sorry! :)

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Cheeseburger Soup {new recipe Wednesday}

I am a big fan of soup. Give me a big ol' bowl of soup and a piece of bread…or better yet, soup in a bread bowl {yum!!}…and I am one happy girl. As much as I love it though, up until about six months ago I never really tried making it. I think I was a little intimidated by soup. Not exactly sure why, but I was. So a few months ago I decided I wanted to start making soup once a week. I started easy. Chicken soup. Who doesn't love a nice hot bowl of chicken soup. I made mine with brown rice, barley, and as many veggies as I could fit in the pot. It was delicious! That was all I needed. Intimidation gone! From there I decided I wanted to try as many new soups as I could.

Well, one glorious day as I was browsing the internet for some new recipes, I came across a soup recipe that I had never heard of before. Cheeseburger soup. Well, me being the big fan of {turkey} cheeseburgers that I am, I had to try it! And try it I did! It. was. amazing. It's nothing extravagent. Nothing too out of the ordinary. But for some reason I am just in love with this soup!

{Turkey} Cheeseburger Soup

1 Tbs. butter
3/4 c. diced onions
3/4 c. peeled and diced carrots
3/4 c. diced celery
3/4 lb. ground turkey
2 c. peeled and cubed potatoes
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
4 c. chicken broth
3 Tbs. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. milk (I used 1%)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. sour cream

In a large stockpot, saute the onions, carrots, and celery in 1 Tbs of butter for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the ground turkey in a skillet until no longer pink.

Add the ground turkey to the stockpot along with the potatoes, basil, parsley, and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25- 30 minutes.

Ten minutes before the soup is done, use the skilled you used to cook the turkey and melt 3 Tbs. of butter. Add the flour and stir for one minute. Add the milk to the skillet and bring to a boil. Continue to cook and stir until thickened. Remove the skillet from the heat, add in the cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in salt and pepper. Stir the cheese mixture into the stockpot until combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream.  Enjoy!

The first time I made this I made homemade bread bowls to serve the soup in. That was pure perfection! If you want to skip the bread bowl, you can't go wrong with a big chunk of crusty bread on the side too!

I hope you make this and love it as much as we did! If you make it, I'd love to know what you think!

{new recipe Wednesday} Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Before I get started, I apologize if I seem a bit distracted. I am currently under attack thanks to the kids new favorite game…diaper wars. The other night just to be silly and make the kids giggle I started tossing diapers {clean, of course!} at them and declared a diaper war. And, we all know how kids work…again, again, again!! So a few times now out of no where I get hit in the face with a diaper followed by adorable giggles. How can I not give in?? So, don't be surprised if you are ever visiting and get pelted by a diaper. My apologies.

Well, it's Wednesday, and I am excited to share another delicious recipe I stumbled upon the other day.  Does anyone else have two delicious words pop into your head when you see two or three perfectly spotted, very ripe bananas sitting in your fruit basket…banana bread!! That is usually my go to…but lately I have been looking for other ways to use these wonderful treasures...just to keep things fresh! After some quality time with google I came across a recipe which had me drooling as soon as I read the title. Peanut Butter. Banana. Chocolate Chip. Muffins. Yes, yes, and yes. I found the recipe at the Noble Pig and changed it just a bit according to what I had on hand. Here is what you will you be able to enjoy just as soon as you get your self into the kitchen and whip up these beauties!!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 18 muffins

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 large very ripe bananas
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons canola oil 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

In a sifter placed over a large bowl, add the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and sift all together.

Next, mash up the three ripe bananas with a fork until there are no more clumps and add to a small bowl. To that bowl add the milk, peanut butter, oil, vanilla, and egg. Use a whisk to get everything combined.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just a few times to get everything incorporated. You don't want to over mix or you will end up with dense muffins. Not good. Now stir in the chocolate chips. Again, don't over mix. 

Spray your muffin pan with cooking spray and fill each one about 3/4 full. Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Let the muffins cool in the pan on a cooling rack for a few minutes then flip over the pan and take them out. Let them cool on your cooling rack. But promise me you will try one as soon as you take them out of the pan. Okay? Your life will be changed. I promise. 

* I subbed 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup white flour. Just to keep things healthy-ier ;) 

* You can use 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter if you prefer.

* Next time I plan on using 3 tablespoons of applesauce instead of the oil. Again, trying to keep things healthy. 

I hope you give this recipe a try! If you do, let me know what you think! 

{new recipe wednesday} Hawaiian Chicken Skewers over Coconut Rice = YUM!

I love food. The end. If life consisted of eating one amazing meal after another I would be as happy as a clam. I think growing up my father's daughter spoiled me like nothing else. That man can cook! Sadly, I grew up only seeing him every 3rd weekend, so I wasn't privileged to eat his food all the time, but I took what I could get! I loved being by his side in the kitchen as his "sous chef" learning, helping, watching, and my favorite, taste testing. Chinese, Italian, Indian, Mexican, Spanish…it doesn't matter what type of cuisine it is, he can not only cook it, but make it taste authentic and amazing. I like to think that his love of food and cooking got passed down through the blood line. I really do love to cook even though I know sometimes I complain about it and make it seem like a chore. But I have to say…this really sums it up!

Ha! That really makes me laugh, but it is so, so true! If I had an unlimited budget and all the time in the world cooking would definitely be more of a passion. However, that is not the season of my life right now that I am in, and I will try to embrace and appreciate the wonderful opportunity I have night after night to cook a delicious meal for my family :) 

Each week I am going to share with you a new recipe that I have tried! That is one thing about me…I have a few recipes that I love to make over and over, but there is something I love about finding and trying new recipes…another thing I get from my dad. Besides the tried and true, he is always trying out new recipes.  Pinterest is great for this! I am always on the hunt for new yummy finds! And that is exactly what I found when I pinned the recipe for Hawaiian Chicken Skewers! 

The recipe called for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but I must admit I am just not a fan.  I have eaten them and liked them okay, but when it comes down to it I would much prefer boneless, skinless breast. I made a few other small changes such as adding green peppers to the skewer.  To me green peppers and pineapples just go together. The original recipe can be found here.

Hawaiian Chicken Skewers over Coconut Rice

Makes about 8 skewers

• 1 1/2 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 cup of soy sauce
• 1 (15 oz) can of pineapple chunks in 100% juice, drained (reserve 1 cup of juice)
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 4-5 green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-inch piece of ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 2 green peppers cut into 2 inch pieces
• bamboo skewers (submerged in water for at least an hour)

1. Trim the chicken of fat and cut into 2-inch pieces. In a large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients except the pineapple chunks and green pepper. Add the chicken and marinate overnight or at least 4 hours. 

2.  Assemble your skewers using the chicken, pineapple, and green peppers. Grill (medium-low heat) or broil your skewers for about 5-7 minutes, then turn, and grill/broil another 5-7 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Serve over coconut rice and garnish with green onions. 

*Coconut rice can be made by simply replacing half of the water in your rice recipe with coconut milk. To really kick it up a notch add 1-3 Tbs of unsweetened, shredded coconut. 

We all gave this recipe an enthusiastic two thumbs up! Hope you try it out and love it as much as we did! And I promise I will work on my food picture-taking skills :)  Hope you are having a Happy Wednesday!