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Mini Deep-Dish Pizzas

May 3, 2013 ·

Mini Deep-Dish Pizzas are fun, little individual deep dish pizzas made in a muffin tin. First you roll out little pizza dough circles and then gently put them in the muffin cups. Then fill each dough round with your desired sauce and toppings and then top it with cheese. I used premade dough (from Trader Joe’s), topped them with a marinara sauce, broccoli, red onion and mozzarella cheese, and they came together in less than 30 minutes. These Mini Deep-Dish Pizzas are completely customizable with your favorite sauce and toppings. Mini Deep-Dish Pizzas are a definite crowd-pleaser. Besides – there is always something fun about anything in miniature!

Today I am being featured over at Momma’s Meals where I’m being featured as part of Tammi’s Featured Fridays series! Every Friday, Tammi gets to know her fellow bloggers and makes one of their recipes to share with her family and then with her readers.

I thought it would be fun to make something from Tammi’s site to share with you, and her Individual Deep Dish Pizzas were perfect! Incidentally I had been looking at an Everyday Food recipe for little deep dish pizzas made in a muffin tin, so these Mini Deep-Dish Pizzas that I’m sharing with you is sort of a combination of the two recipes.

Mini Deep-Dish Pizzas

Yields: 12 pizzas

Ingredients

Cooking spray
All-purpose flour, for rolling
1 pound pizza dough (homemade or store-bought) - in 12 pieces
Salt and pepper
1 cup pizza sauce (I used a homemade marinara sauce)
Your favorite pizza toppings - about 1 to 2 tablespoons per pizza (I used chopped broccoli and red onion)
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray 12 standard muffin cups with cooking spray. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of pizza dough into 6-inch circles. Place into prepared muffin cup, gently pressing dough into bottom and up the sides. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Put 1 tablespoon sauce in each dough cup. Top sauce with 1 to 2 tablespoons of pizza toppings and then top with cheese.
Bake until dough is browned and crisp, approximately 12 minutes. Let cool for 2-5 minutes before removing from cups.

Sources: Everyday Food,September, 2010 and Momma’s Meals

Filed Under: appetizers, healthy, kid-friendly, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: baby/toddler, cheese, dinner, easy, italian, muffins, pizza, quick

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

April 30, 2013 ·

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad is a delicious entree salad made with quinoa, broccoli, carrots, tossed with a healthier version of buffalo chicken. Quick and easy, perfect for a weeknight!

This Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad is darn near perfection. We start with warm, shredded chicken tossed in a lighter buffalo sauce; add sautéed vegetables and combine it with the ever trendy (and tasty!) quinoa. Sprinkle blue cheese (or cheddar) on top, as desired, and you’re looking at a delicious and healthy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad.

Not only is this salad am-a-zing, but it can be made in under 30 minutes! The quinoa and chicken cook simultaneously, allowing plenty of time to prepare and sauté the vegetables and whisk together the sauce. Put it all together and dinner is served! (Leftovers make great lunches too)

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

Yields: 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 to 10 ounces) OR 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup broccoli florets
2 to 3 green onions chopped, whites and greens separated
Cooking spray
½ cup hot sauce (I recommend Frank's hot sauce)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Optional toppings: blue cheese crumbles or shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Make quinoa: In a medium sauce pan, put rinsed quinoa and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and then fluff quinoa with a fork.
Poach chicken: While the quinoa is cooking, place chicken in medium pot, and add enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer; cook for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let chicken stand, covered until cooked through (about 12 to 14 minutes). Remove chicken from liquid and shred with 2 forks.
While quinoa and chicken are cooking, sauté the vegetables. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add broccoli, carrots and the whites of green onions, and sauté for 5 minutes, or until desired crisp-tenderness. Set aside.
Make the sauce: Whisk together hot sauce, oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder and salt.
Pour ¼ cup sauce over shredded chicken, tossing to coat.
To a large bowl, add quinoa, chicken and vegetables, tossing to combine (You can add remaining sauce with this step OR drizzle as desired over each individual serving).
Sprinkle with remaining chopped green onion and serve.

I drew inspiration from this recipe and my Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders recipe.

Filed Under: Favorites, gluten free, healthy, main dishes, Recipes, salad Tagged With: broccoli, buffalo, carrots, chicken, dinner, easy, onion, poach, quick, quinoa, sauté, spicy

Baked Dorito-Crusted Chicken

April 23, 2013 ·

Baked Dorito-Crusted Chicken came to me in a dream, which is funny because I’m typically not a flavored chip person (except for salt ‘n vinegar…yum!) I dismissed it as a quirky pregnancy dream. That is, until we had a bag of cheese tortilla chips (remember my Green Giant post?), which were just asking to be paired with chicken.

Baked Dorito-Crusted Chicken tastes like…wait for it….yep, you guessed it. Doritos and chicken. And it’s really good! The chicken is moist and juicy. The salty, cheesy chips give a nice seasoning to the chicken as well. We were very happy to finally turn my crazy dream into a delicious reality!

Baked Dorito-Crusted Chicken

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 cup crushed cheese tortilla chips (or any chip will work here)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon milk (I used skim)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 to 5 ounces each)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
Put crushed chips in a shallow bowl.
In a separate shallow bowl, whisk egg and milk until combined.
Dip chicken breasts in milk mixture and then dip in chips, coating the chicken. Place on prepared baking sheet and lightly spray tops with cooking spray.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Filed Under: healthy, kid-friendly, main dishes, Popular, Recipes Tagged With: baked, cheddar, chicken, chips, dinner, doritos, easy, quick

Lighter Lemon Cake

April 19, 2013 ·

Right now, I am listening to the sounds of our snowplow service plowing our driveway. Again. We got 5 inches of snow yesterday and are projected to get at least another inch today. It’s mid-late April. Yikes! So while I had a different recipe to share with you today, I thought we all could use a little sunshine, well…for a variety of reasons these days. Nothing says sunshine quite like a lemon dessert, and this Lighter Lemon Cake will definitely brighten any day.

Back in February, I shared Adam’s Baseball Birthday cake, and the flavor of that cake was this Lighter Lemon Cake. Lighter Lemon Cake has become my ‘go-to’ lemon cake. It has a generous amount of lemon zest and juice, yielding a vibrant lemon flavor, and the buttermilk helps yield a nice, moist crumb. The lemon zest and juice in the frosting gives an extra lemon boost, which is bright and delicious. If you like lemon, you’ll love this cake!

This cake is made on the lighter side, which means less frosting than a typical cake, or a typical layer cake anyway. While I stretched it to cover the sides of a layer cake for purposes of making a last minute baseball cake, I recommend just spreading frosting between the layers and on top of the cake, leaving the sides exposed OR make 1 1/2 times the frosting amount to have enough to fully cover the cake.

And while we are all a little snowed out after this winter, I can tell you one little boy who is elated. Here is a picture of Adam after the snowstorm we had last week. He’s loving every minute of it,…which is a different kind of sunshine that is sure to brighten any day.

Lighter Lemon Cake

Yields: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely granted lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Icing:
3 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼/ cup fresh lemon juice, add as needed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 9-inch (or 8-inch) cake pans with cooking spray, line the bottoms with waxed paper and coat the waxed paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter at medium speed with a hand (or stand) mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beating on low after each addition until just combined. Last, beat in the lemon zest, juice and vanilla.
Pour equal amounts of batter in prepared pans and sharply tap on counter to remove any bubbles.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from pans to cool completely. Remove waxed paper.
To make icing: In a large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter, lemon zest and juice until combined and smooth. Frost cake as desired.

Source: Cooking Light, May 2008

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: buttermilk, cake, cooking light, easy, lemon, light

Easy Ravioli Lasagna

April 11, 2013 ·

I am excited to share this recipe with you. Easy Ravioli Lasagna has become one of our favorite weeknight dinners! It has the delicious flavor of lasagna yet is made with only 5 main ingredients and takes 10 minutes to prepare ~ perfect these days when I find myself juggling a newborn and a busy 3 year old at dinnertime. This lasagna can also be made ahead (like before leaving for work or, in my case, before the kids wake up) so it’s ready to just pop in the oven at dinner.

From the original recipe, I increased the sauce, added some red pepper flakes, and actually reduced the cheese (surprising for a cheese-lover like myself, but it was way too much and took away from the overall dish). This Easy Ravioli Lasagna is made with spinach, but I think sautéed mushrooms and garlic would also be delicious. We have made this several times, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. Speaking of crowds, this recipe can easily be doubled to fit a 13″x9″ lasagna pan and you’ll have enough to serve a crowd or have lots of leftovers for lunches. It reheats beautifully!

Easy Ravioli Lasagna

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1½ cups pasta sauce (I use Muir Glen Tomato Basil)
20-ounce package cheese ravioli (refrigerated or frozen)
10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 ounces (1 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
Cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Pour ½ cup pasta sauce over bottom of dish.
Layer bottom of dish with half of the ravioli.
Cover ravioli with ½ cup sauce and top with spinach and half of mozzarella (1/2 cup).
Repeat with remaining ravioli, sauce and mozzarella. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and crushed red pepper flakes, if using.
Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until bubbling and starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then serve.

Slightly adapted from All You, March 2009

Filed Under: Featured, healthy, kid-friendly, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: cheese, dinner, easy, lasagna, make ahead, pasta, quick, ravioli, spinach

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

April 4, 2013 ·

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken puts a delicious twist on a classic favorite with some added garlic (which makes everything better!). When I found this recipe, the title alone was so appealing, it vaulted to the top of the list and was made within a day. I reduced the recipe to be made for two (but it can easily be multiplied for more!), added some heat with red pepper flakes and changed some of the amounts and proportions since the first time I made this, there was too much breadcrumb mixture leftover. Served with a simple side salad or a favorite veggie, Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken is a healthy, quick and easy chicken dish that makes a perfect weeknight meal…or any time!

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
⅓ cup dry breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
Crushed red pepper, to taste
2 4-5 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
In a shallow bowl, combine oil and garlic.
In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, cheese, and basil. Add crushed red pepper to taste.
Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken in oil mixture and then in bread crumb mixture. Place coated chicken on prepared baking sheet. Repeat. Top with any remaining breadcrumb mixture and lightly spray tops with cooking spray.
Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken in cooked thoroughly.

Adapted from All Recipes

Filed Under: healthy, main dishes, Recipes Tagged With: baked, chicken, dinner, easy, garlic, parmesan, quick

healthy cocoa chocolate coconut date truffles balls

Healthy Chocolate Coconut Truffles

March 18, 2013 ·

Healthy Chocolate Coconut Truffles are an easy recipe made in minutes using only 3 ingredients with no added fat or sugar. {vegan, gluten free}

Healthy Chocolate Coconut Truffles have the delicious flavors of dark chocolate and coconut…all coming in around 60 calories and without any added sugar of fat. They are made using only 3 main ingredients (plus an optional ingredient which helps to deepen and intensify the chocolate flavor). Even better – they take only minutes to make. Intrigued? I certainly was when I first found the recipe but it took me over 9 months to make them. I am kicking myself that it took so long…they are so amazingly good!

Thankfully, it is time again for the second installment of the Eating the Alphabet Challenge, hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic. Participating in this challenge was the extra push I needed to make these truffles. This month we’re featuring healthy recipes using fruits, vegetables, grains or legumes that start with letters C or D. Since Healthy Chocolate Coconut Truffles feature both coconut and dates, I’ve got both letters covered this month.

Healthy Chocolate Coconut Truffles

Yields: 20 truffles

Ingredients

8 ounces pitted dates (approx 1½ cups)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons unsweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
¼ cup unsweetened flaked coconut, for rolling

Instructions

Put dates, cocoa, 3 tablespoons coconut and espresso powder in a food processor and puree until smooth. If mixture is too dry, add water by the teaspoonful (I needed about 3 teaspoons). If mixture becomes too wet, add more unsweetened coconut.
Scoop mixture by the tablespoonful and form 1-inch balls. Roll balls in remaining coconut.
Chill/store in refrigerator until ready to enjoy.

Source: Bon Appetit, June, 2012

Filed Under: dessert, gluten free, healthy, Recipes, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: alphabet challege, chocolate, cocoa, coconut, dairy free, dates, easy, quick, truffles, vegan

Pasta Pizza Pie

March 14, 2013 ·

Pasta Pizza Pie combines two Italian favorites (and two of my favorites!) into a delicious pizza-inspired baked pasta. First, you start by baking a pasta “crust.” Then you spread your favorite pasta sauce over the crust and top it with your favorite toppings. I used a 12-inch saute pan in lieu of a pizza pan, and it worked great!

Pasta Pizza Pie puts a fun twist on pizza and a fun twist on pasta,…and incidentally since it’s also a “pie,” this Pasta Pizza Pie is perfect for today, March 14th (3.14)…”Pi Day!”

Pasta Pizza Pie

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped*
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)*
2 garlic cloves, minced *
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup milk (I used skim)
8 ounces (1/2 of a 1 pound box) rotini-shaped pasta, cooked and drained
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
1½ cups of your favorite pasta sauce (I used Muir Glen Tomato Basil)
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
* substitute with your favorite pizza toppings

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12-inch saute pan or pizza pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the last minute, add minced garlic and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, stir egg, milk, pasta and ½ cup cheese. Spread pasta mixture in prepared pizza pan. Bake this pasta crust for 20 minutes.
Remove pasta crust from oven and spread sauce over crust. Top with onion-mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Shake crushed red pepper flakes over cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Source: Campbell’s Kitchen

Filed Under: healthy, kid-friendly, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: baked, dinner, easy, mushrooms, pasta, pie, pizza, quick, tomato

healthy blueberry strawberry blackberry yogurt smoothie

Diet Mixed Berry Smoothie

March 11, 2013 ·

This Diet Mixed Berry Smoothie is quick and easy to make and perfect for breakfast on a busy morning, a post-workout recovery drink, or an afternoon pick me up. Made with just a few healthy ingredients, it’s a vitamin-packed smoothie that can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime (and portable too for when you’re on-the-go!).

Recently, I was given the opportunity to try Ocean Spray’s Diet Juice Drinks and thought it would a tasty addition to this smoothie recipe. At only 5 calories per serving, swapping out full-calorie juices in favor of Ocean’ Spray’s Diet Juice Drinks can help save calories (and carbs, if that’s a concern), while still tasting delicious. For this recipe, I used Ocean Spray’s Diet Cranberry juice and it went nicely with the berries used in the rest of this smoothie. For next time, I have my eyes on the Diet Blueberry Pomegranate!

To learn more about Ocean Spray’s Diet Juice Drinks, visit http://www.oceanspray.com/Products/Juices/Diet-Light/Diet-Cranberry-Juice-Drink.aspx.

Diet Mixed Berry Smoothie

Yields: 1 servings

Ingredients

½ cup Diet Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Drink, any flavor
½ cup frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
1 ripe banana, frozen and cut into slices
3 ounces fat free plain or berry-flavored Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon flaxseed (optional)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender (or Magic Bullet). Blend on high speed until ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour into a chilled glass. Enjoy!

Notes

Tip: slice banana before freezing...it's much easier!

Adapted from Ocean Spray

I have partnered with Ocean Spray through DailyBuzz to help promote their new Ocean Spray Diet product. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product, however my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

Filed Under: Admin, breakfast, healthy, Recipes Tagged With: beverage, drink, easy, quick, smoothie, snack, tastemaker, yogurt

Healthy Banana Cookies

February 17, 2013 ·

Healthy Banana Cookies are a chewy, fruit-filled cookie made using some of my favorite foods – oats, dates and bananas. They are made from simple, wholesome ingredients, have no butter and added sugar, thus making them a healthier choice. I love the simplicity of these cookies and have to admit these cookies made a delightful breakfast! These Healthy Banana Cookies also happen to be dairy free and can be gluten free.

Healthy Banana Cookies from Alida's Kitchen

I have had this at the top of my ‘to make’ pile for months just waiting for some super ripe bananas. While we always have plenty of super ripe bananas in the house, they’re typically reserved for Pumpkin Banana Muffins or Pumpkin Banana Pancakes (or Strawberry Banana Pancakes once strawberry season hits). Fortunately, I was a muffin and pancake making machine in advance of our new baby’s arrival, stocking the freezer full of Adam’s favorite banana goodies. With a stocked freezer and 3 very ripe bananas, it was finally my opportunity to try these Healthy Banana Cookies!

Healthy Banana Cookies

Yields: approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients

3 very ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned or quick cooking work fine)
1 cup (8 ounces) pitted dates, chopped
⅓ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, mash bananas. Add oats, dates, oil, vanilla and cinnamon, and mix well. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoonful onto prepared cookie sheets. [Note: the cookies don't spread so you may want to shape them a bit]
Bake cookies for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

These are best enjoyed the day after baking.

Coincidentally, this is also the first month of the Eating the Alphabet Healthy Recipe Challenge for 2013, hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic. Each month, several bloggers will focus on healthy recipes featuring fruits, vegetables grains or legumes, from a couple different letters (this month it is A or B). I thought Healthy Banana Cookies would be the perfect healthy recipe to start off this fun series.