Mediterranean Pasta Salad

1 lb. bow tie pasta

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half

bunch of fresh baby spinach

feta cheese 

1 can of garbanzo beans/ chickpeas

Greek Vinaigrette dressing

Cook the pasta for 7 minutes. Chop your tomatoes in half (better to splash the juice in your mouth when you take a bite, mmm). Add it all together and pour the vinaigrette over it. Mix together, sprinkle a little more feta on top (can you tell I love feta?). Serve cold. 

Isaac and my mom like this one better than my cucumber tomato Greek salad. I'm not sure, the other is still my favorite, but this one is really good. 

Boston Cream Cake

This is what I just made for Isaac's 27th birthday and it's really easy (exactly what I needed this year).

Make 1 or 2 circular yellow cakes following the yellow cake recipe from the Better Holmes and Gardens cookbook or if you're going for really easy, I suppose you could use a yellow box cake. 

Whip up a box of vanilla pudding.

Make homemade whipped cream (whip a pint of cream, mixing in sugar and vanilla extract to taste, so easy and infinitely better than store bought whipped topping).

Lightly combine the pudding and the whipped cream with a spatula.

After cooling the cake slice them in half through the middle. 

Smooth the whipped mixture onto the layers and place the layers on top. 

Frosting (sorry I don't have any exact measurements):

Mix butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and a little bit of milk in the kitchenaid. 

Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips on your double boiler being so careful not to burn. Pour the mixer contents into the double boiler and stir in. Should be a slightly thick frosting. When it tastes how you like, frost the top of your cake. I've made it before frosting all the way down the sides, but then I saw that Wegmans stole my idea and had the frosting just on top exactly how you see here, so apparently I did it right this way with the frosting only on top, not the sides.

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

Cookies:

2/3 C sugar

1 C butter, softened

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 C flour

1/2 C raspberry jam (seedless)

Glaze:

1 C powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

2-3 tsp water

In larger mixer bowl combine sugar, butter, and almond extract. Beat at med speed until creamy (2-3 min). Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat until well mixed (2-3 min). Cover and chill dough at least 1 hour. 

Heat oven to 350. Shape dough into 1" balls. Place 2" apart on cookie sheets. With thumb, make indent in center of each cookies (edges may crack slightly). Fill each indentation with 1/4 tsp jam. Put cookies on parchment paper on cookie sheet to avoid burning. 

Bake 14-18 min or until edges are very slightly browned. Let stand 1 min; remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely. 

Note: Start checking cookies at 10 min. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl with wire whisk; stir together all glazing until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. 

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

These are seriously the yummiest cookies I've ever tasted!

Baked Tilapia

18 Ritz crackers

2 T. Dijon mustard

1/4 C Parmesan cheese

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

3 T. Olive oil

3/4 t. dried basil

4  Tilapia fillets (about 1 1/2 lb total)

Lemon wedges 

Tartar sauce (opt)

1. Heat oven to 425. Spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or smear olive oil on it. 

2. Crush crackers in a plastic bag. Add cheese, oil and basil. Shake to combine.

3. Spread mustard on tilapia, then put into cracker mixture in bag and get fish covered with crumbs. Place fish on baking sheet then sprinkle with salt and pepper (I used seasoned salt, seasoned pepper, and garlic powder). 

4. Gake at 425 for 15 min or until fish flakes easily with fork. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce, if desired. 

Prep Time: 5 min. 

Serves: 4

Herbed Barbecued Chicken

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 tsp rubbed sage

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Mix together ingredients and pour over chicken, making sure it's coated. Bake at 350 about 30 mins, until chicken is cooked through. 

Taco Casserole

1 lb ground beef 

1 16 oz can corn, drained

1 pkg seasoning (Lowry's, Ortega)

6 corn tortilla taco shells, broken

1 c sour cream

Chopped olives and tomatoes. 

Prepare meat according to directions on taco seasoning pkg. Drain off grease. Add corn and broken taco shells, mix well, put in a 9x13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 250 (may need higher) for 20 mins. Remove foil, sprinkle cheese over top and bake uncovered 10 mins. Top with sour cream, olives, and tomatoes. 

Very quick, easy, tasty! 

Favorite Meat Loaf

3 slices bread (ciabatta or French is good)

1 c milk

1 egg beaten

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1/4 c minced onion

1 tsp salt (or less)

1/4 tsp each: pepper, dry mustard, sage, celery, salt

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt

Heat oven to 350. Tear bread in pieces (not too small) in large bowl; add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Form lightly into loaf and place into shallow baking pan. If desired, spread 3 Tbsp ketchup over top of loaf before baking. Bake 1 1/2 hrs. 

Cheese Ribbon Meatloaf: Make the above and pat out half of meat mixture in greased loaf pan, 9x5x3. Combine 1 egg white, slightly beaten and 1 Tbsp water; lightly toss with 2 medium slices bread (torn) and 1/4 lb grated cheddar. Top with rest of meat. Bake 1 1/2 hrs. 

Black Bean Chili

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 can (4 1/2 ounces) chopped green chiles
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes
Salt
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn

Directions
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cumin; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
To the pan, add chiles, beans, tomatoes and their juice, 2 cups water, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
Add frozen corn; simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

I usually serve with corn bread.

For something different, I tried this on a whole wheat tortilla and it was great! Or you can eat it in a bowl with a whole wheat tortilla on the side. It was surprisingly easy to make your own tortillas.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup warm tap water
Combine flour, Baking powder and salt. Add olive oil and stir until well combined. Put in warm tap water 1 T at a time until dough can be gathered into a ball. Add more water if needed 1 T at a time. Knead on floured surface 15-20 times. Let dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide dough into 10-12 equal portions and shape into balls. On floured surface roll out ball from center into a circle. Cook on ungreased skillet over medium-high heat on each side about 30 seconds or until puffy.