Olive love

I'm sharing my 'Olive love' with you today - and who doesn't LOVE olives ???  I like them all: green, black, kalamata....don't matter ! I'm thinking i must have some Greek & some Italian in me some where... :-)  I found this on Pinterest- my latest foodie obsession! Some of their recipes are unique and something different when you're in the 'cooking rut'. My finiky hubby would not 'love' this- so i fixed it last week for my Scrapbooking friends for our monthly 'crop'. I'm not sure how they felt about it (but-it was almost all eaten!), but I thought it was fab. All the cheesy olive-y goodness.

WARNING- this is so NOT a low calorie recipe ;-)

Cheesy Olive Bread:

here's what you need:
  *small can of sliced black olives
  *small jar of green olives w/pimentos
  *2 green onions
  *1 stick of butter -softened
  *1/2 cup mayo
  *1 pound Monterey Jack cheese- shredded
  * 1 loaf crusty French bread

and here's what you do:
 Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Dice up your green olives, black olives & green onions. In a large bowl- combine butter, mayo, cheese, olives & onions; stir until completely mixed. Slice bread lengthwise & spread the mixture on each half. Bake for 20-25 minutes . Cut & serve immediately !


This goes great with a pasta dish & a salad !

Enjoy !!

Chicken on the Ranch

A good friend of mine asked me about my blog last night- which reminded me that a few folks STILL read my blog, and that i don't post as often as I should. I'll admit- life sometimes gets in the way, and sometimes i get into a cooking 'rut'- and i need something new to inspire me. Pinterest has been a great help, and also Betty Crocker. I recently 'rediscovered' Betty Crocker's website- Oh My Geez- I found some excellent new recipes, and felt inspired !  I cooked 5 new recipes last week. I thought they all were great- but Mr. Picky did not like a few of them . His loss! This one I'm sharing with you today WAS a hit with the hubby- Ranch Chicken!


Ranch Chicken-

You'll need :
4 Boneless Skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs ( i used Italian flavor!)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Here's what you do:
Prepare 2 plates- one with your dressing, the other with your bread crumbs. Dip the chicken into the dressing, then coat with the bread crumbs.
In a 10 inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat . Cook the chicken in oil for 12-15 minutes- turning once- until outside is golden brown & juices are no longer pink when cut.
* this makes 4 servings- only 305 calories a serving !
Serve with salad, potatoes, or any other side dish of your choosing.

Enjoy :-)

Pumpkin Dump Cake

This is a recipe i found on Pinterest. If you don't know about Pinterest, you are missing out ! All kinds of recipes & ideas there ! This is a easy dessert, one of my new seasonal favorites. And its just another twist on the classic Southern 'dump cake'....  Pumpkin Dump Cake-  you'll need :1- 15oz can of pumpkin1- 10oz can Evaporated Milk (i used fat free)1 cup light brown sugar3 eggs3 tsp pumpkin pie spice1 box yellow cake mix2 sticks of butter, melted1 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers or pecans here's what you do :Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients- stir well.Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle entire box of cake mix on top- followed by graham crackers or pecans. Pour the melted butter evenly over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set & edges are lightly browned.  **serve with some ice cream or Cool Whip- YUM !!**  Enjoy :-)
 

Oreo Dessert= yum !

So my good friend & coworker, Heather , asked me for a dessert recipe yesterday. I thought of this one immediately - its easy, few ingredients, low calorie (an old Weight Watcher recipe) . And who DOESN'T love Oreos ??? I was suprised I had not posted this one on my blog before- but I want to share this goodie with you now :-)

 

OREO DESSERT

 

You'll need: 15 reduced fat Oreos

4 oz. fat free cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

8 oz. fat free Cool Whip

1 small box sugar free vanilla pudding

1 small box sugar free chocolate pudding

4 cups skim milk

spray butter

 

 

Here's what you do:

Crush Oreos & spread into small dish. Spray butter over Oreos (10 sprays). In  a bowl, mix cream cheese, Cool Whip, and powdered sugar and spread over Oreos. In the same bowl, mix vanilla pudding (according to package directions). Spread over the previous layer. In the same bowl, mix chocolate pudding (according to package directions). Spread over previous layer. Spread remaining Cool Whip on top layer. Chill for at least 1 hour.

 

Enjoy !!

 

Going Greek

Doing something a little different this time: i am blogging about a recipe I HAVE NOT tried yet! May sound a little strange, but this is one i found the other day in my Cooking Light 5 ingredients 15 minute Cookbook. And I soooooo want to try it. I am a new fan of the Greek salad, and this sandwich sounds right up my alley! My husband has already said there's no way he's eating it - so its one i'll have to fix just for me. As i have said many times before, my hubby is a picky one & doesn't try new foods much. I asked him to try some hummus- he said no way- because he didn't like the name. I just looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Oh well, he's missing out ! Already put the ingredients on my shopping list :-)

GREEK CHICKEN PITAS-

you'll need:
   cooking spray
   1 pound chicken breast tenders
   1 tsp. Greek seasoning
   1/2 cup hummus
   4 (8 inch) pita bread rounds
   1 cup torn romaine lettuce
   2 plum tomatoes, sliced
   1 small cucumber, cut into strips
   1/4 cup (2 ounces) crumbled basil & tomato flavored feta cheese

here's what you do :
   Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray & place over medium high heat until hot. Sprinkle the chicken with the Greek seasoning & add to skillet. Cook chicken for 6-8 minutes or until light brown, stirring occasionally.  While the chicken is cooking, spread hummus evenly over pita rounds. Arrange chicken, lettuce, and remaining ingredients evenly on one half of each pita round. Fold pitas over filling . Secure with toothpicks if needed before serving,  Yields 4 servings.
314 calories per pita- not bad !

Enjoy :-)

Didn't your mama ever tell you breakfast is THE most important meal of the day ???

And its true- breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Doctors have said it gets your metabolism going for the day (mine needs to be started as early as possible...lol ) Sometimes you want something really good, but just don't have a lotta time . Here's something really fabulous that beats a bowl of cereal ! (from the awesome folks at Kraft)

Grab and Go Breakfast Sandwich-

You'll need:  1/4 cup Egg Beaters, 1 english muffin (spilt & toasted), 1 slice of Kraft 2% milk Sharp Cheddar Singles, 1 slice turkey bacon (cooked & cut in half).

Here's what you do :  Cook the Egg Beaters in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat for about 3 minutes- or until set- stirring occasionally. Fill the muffin halves with egg, cheese & bacon.

Now- wasn't that easy ? And only 270 calories :-)

Enjoy !!

Who knew a little rabbit food could go a long way ?

Its hot outside, and you just don't feel like a 'hot' meal- a salad sounds good, right ? I love meal salads- maybe even with a side of garlic bread. My hubby always wonders where the rest of the meal is - maybe thats a man thing ! This is a meal salad i fix frequently (minus the purple onions- for my onion hating hubby!)

Caesar Tortellini Salad:
you'll need:
 1 - 9oz. package of refrigerated or frozen tortellini
 2 cups cherry tomatoes
 1/2 cup chopped purple onions
 1/2 cup sliced black olives
 1/4 cup refridgerated Parmesan cheese
 1/2 tsp. pepper
 1 medium cucumber - thinly sliced
 3/4 cup light Caesar salad dressing
 8 cups of shredded romaine lettuce (about 1 head)

here's what you do :
 *Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again. Combine pasta , tomatoes, and the next 6 ingredients; toss well. Cover & chill thoroughly. Serve over lettuce.

YUM ! Enjoy- and stay cool in this heat :-)