Cadbury Egg Chocolate Chip Cookies

The cadbury chocolate eggs are my favorite Easter candy. I meant to make this recipe last year when I saw it around, but never got to it. So it was on my list to make for Easter this year. These are delicious and a wonderful add on to your Easter celebration. I used mini chocolate chips with the chopped eggs in this recipe.Here's the link to the recipe:


http://acozykitchen.com/chocolate-chip-easter-egg-cookies/

Lasagna Roll ups and Turkey Meatballs

 

 

I used whole wheat lasagna for this, but you can also use regular lasagna.

 

• your favorite pasta sauce
• 1 box of lasagna noodles
• 4 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp grated pecorino cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 lg eggs
• 5 sprigs thyme leaves, chopped

1. Cook the lasagna noodles to al dente
2. Fill a bowl with cold ice water, remove pasta from water and put in ice water.
3. Mix ricotta, pecorino, parmesan,eggs,  1 1/2 cups mozzarella and thyme
4. Drain the pasta and towel dry off
5. Coat the bottom of baking dish with sauce
6. Spread 3 tbsp of cheese mixture on each noodle, spread out cheese on noodle and roll up, place in baking dish.
7. Place cooked turkey meatballs in same baking dish, cover with sauce and rest of the mozzarella
8. Bake at 350 till cheese is completely melted (about 30 minutes)



Bacon Parmesan Pasta

This pasta was really good and a quick and easy side. I made it with a different pasta. Here's the link to the recipe

http://www.yummly.com/blog/2012/10/bacon-parmesan-penne-and-more-5-ingredient-pastas/

Smore Cookies

These were a fun cookie to make and were delicious. Definitely add them to your next party. The site I got them from is one of my favorite blogs and I love all of her recipes.

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/gooey-smores-cookies.html

Stuffed Mushroom Cups

These are a quick and easy appetizer, made them for my anniversary party and they were delicious. Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.jensfavoritecookies.com/2013/02/16/stuffed-mushroom-cups/

Mini Pizza Appetizers

This is a Rachael Ray recipe and a great party appetizer

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp italian seasoning
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup chopped pepperoni
• 1/2 cup of your favorite marinara sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350,grease mini muffin cups
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and italian seasoning
3. Add in milk and egg and stir till combined
4. Stir in parmesan, pepperoni and mozzarella, let sit about 10 minutes
5. Stir batter and divide in mini muffin cups
6. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and puffed
7. Serve with warm marinara sauce

Mushroom Risotto

I've been on a Risotto kick lately, guess it's from watching all the food shows I watch. This one was really good. I did squeeze a little lemon in this since I made this as a side dish to go with the chicken I made and posted yesterday. Was so delicious and if you are a fan of risotto I definitely would make it. Here's the link:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/10/risotto-is-creamy-italian-rice-dish.html

Lemon Chicken Romano

I love sharing all the wonderful recipes I find on pinterest. Kyle loved this recipe, will be adding it to our rotation and definitely make again. I used regular bread crumbs since I didn't have panko in the house. Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/03/lemon-chicken-romano/

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Since the weather is still cold here even though Spring has officially began. I figured I'd try a few more of the soup recipes I saved on pinterest. This one was delicious and I can't wait to make it again when I make homemade gnocchi. Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/olive-garden-chicken-and-gnocchi-soup-copycat/

Skillet Lasagna

I finished this in a casserole dish in the oven, but up until the point it went into the oven I cooked it in a skillet. If I used a bigger skillet I would've put it in the oven like the recipe does. Didn't think that one ahead, but this dish is so delicious and I'm so glad I pinned it. The only thing I changed with the actual recipe was I used whole wheat lasagna noodles (they took a little longer to cook then regular ones), I used my favorite sauce recipe for the sauce and I used ground turkey. Here's the link to the original recipe:

http://www.pink-parsley.com/2012/08/skillet-lasagna.html

Carrot Bread

This recipe is from one of my favorite chefs - Michael Symon. In his recipe he used pistachios, I changed it out with walnuts.

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup carrots
• 1/3 cup toasted walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare bread pan for oven
2. Cream butter and sugars till combined.
3. Add egg, milk and vanilla and beat till combined
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
5. Add carrots to dry mixture and stir till combined
6. Add dry mixture to wet mixture slowly, stirring till combined.
7. Stir in walnuts.
8. Pour batter in bread pan and bake for about 1 hour.
9. Let cool slightly before taking out of pan

Creamy Garlic Pasta

I found this recipe on pinterest and used another shape pasta, and this recipe is amazing. Great side dish for just about any meal.


http://iowagirleats.com/2013/03/06/creamy-garlic-shells/

Shrimp Lo Mein

We love Chinese food and when we were in Hawaii we had this amazing noodle dish that had me thinking of making lo mein. I got the noodles at a local Chinese supermarket we have, but a regular supermarket should also have them.

• 12 oz pack lo mein noodles
• 2 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2/3 cup clam juice
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp chinese rice wine
• 1 tbsp honey

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and rinse in cold water and shake well to remove excess water. Toss with sesame oil and set aside
2. Combine clam juice, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine and honey in a small bowl and set aside
3. Heat wok or skillet and add vegetable oil.
4. Once warm add shrimp and garlic, once cooked pour out of skillet and set aside.
5. Cook vegetables in same skillet (I added a little vegetable broth to help cook them)
6. Add shrimp and garlic back to skillet.
7. Add noodles, sauce and mix well till combined.
8. Cook over medium heat till dish is warmed up.

Hawaii Pictures

We had an amazing trip to Hawaii for our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We stayed in Kailua- Kona on the Big Island at the Sheraton. We were right on the water and the grounds of the hotel were beautiful. We had an amazing time snorkeling, going whale/dolphin watching, checking out the local shops and farmers markets, and the Volcano. The weather was amazing, low 80's, except of course by the volcano it was cooler in the 60's. Still a nice change of pace from this cold weather we have here. Of course we got snow at home the day we came back. I can't wait to our trip back, we went to an awesome restaurant that we heard about on Food Network called Da Poke Shack. Here are just some of the pictures I took on our vacation.

Volcano

 Kailua- Kona Airport

 Beach we went snorkeling

 Local Surfer

 Beautiful flower

 Dolphin in front of our boat

 Whale

 Our hotel

 Our Hotel

 Our hotel

 Part of hotel pool

 Drinks at hotel bar

 Sights on way to Volcano

 Also had lunch at southernmost restaurant

 Cow I scared when I tried getting it's attention for a picture

 Sunset

Snorkeling in Hawaii

I love the water, so when we planned this trip to Hawaii I knew to sign us up for a snorkeling trip or two. Here are some pics, they arent' the best quality since they are from a cheap waterproof camera and a lot of the pictures I had to take blindly because it was tough to see the back of the camera screen underwater. Was an amazing experience and made me start counting down the days till the water gets warm enough here to go in it. Even though our local water isn't as beautiful as in Hawaii. I can't wait for our next trip back.