Recipes – Page 9

Easy Baked Tortellini

Spread the love

Easy Baked Tortellini For nights when you want a family-pleasing meal that is also easy enough for the kids to make in about 5 minutes, this is the one!

With just a handful of ingredients, this is easy on the budget AND your schedule. It’s also great because you can revamp this recipe with different types of tortellini, or even use refrigerated ravioli, and can also use a variety of sauce options, including marinara, alfredo, or pesto sauces. It’ll work just about any which way, as long as the pasta has plenty of sauce covering it!

We love this simple recipe so much that we included it in our October Vegetarian Family Favorites Menu Plan.

Ready to try it out? Let’s go!

Easy Baked Tortellini

Serves 4

You will need:

9 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 jar of pasta sauce of your choice

2 cups mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

To Make it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a medium sized baking dish with no-stick spray. Spread a layer of sauce over the bottom of the pan. Then add the tortellini to the dish.
Cover tortellini with pasta sauce.
Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until heated through and the cheese on top has melted.
Some crusty bread or a side salad are just right with this! Enjoy.

Easy Baked Tortellini

Chili Colorado in the Slow Cooker

Spread the love

If you’re looking for a hearty, stick-to-your ribs chili that’s sure to please the carnivores in your life, this is the one! With just a little bit of prep work beforehand, you can have this hot and ready in your slow cooker when dinnertime rolls around. You can even do the prep work the night before, save in the fridge, and pop it into the slow cooker in the morning if you want to.

This recipe is included in our October Family Favorites Menu Plan! You can learn more about that here.

Chili Colorado ingredients

Slow Cooker Chili Colorado

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 cans green chilis
3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cups organic beef broth
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped
Optional (to add more heat): 2 – 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

Let’s Go!

Chili Colorado

1. Add green chilies to blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.

beef_chunks

2. Trim off excess fat from chuck roast and cut into equal size chunks. The meat will become very tender and easy to pull apart while in the slow cooker – so larger chunks are fine.

flourandseasonings

flourcoating

3. In a small bowl, combine flour, chili powder, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Sprinkle seasoned flour over beef chunks and toss to coat lightly.

browningbeef

4. Heat olive oil in large 12” skillet over medium-high heat. With tongs, lift individual floured beef chunks and shake off excess flour. Place beef in hot skillet and brown on all sides. Work in batches to prevent overlapping or overcrowding pieces.

brownedbeef_in_slowcooker

5. Remove browned beef from pan and add to slow cooker. Repeat browning process with remaining floured beef slices.

6. Add pureed green chilies, beef stock, chopped onion and jalapeno peppers (if desired) to slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8. When done cooking, transfer to serving bowl and stir in fresh cilantro, reserving some for garnish.

tortilla

7. Serve with soft flour tortillas, refried beans, and Mexican rice, if desired.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Spread the love

Double Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
One of the greatest flavor combinations on earth is chocolate and peppermint. Don’t you agree? If you so, you’ll want to make these yummy cookies–stat!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups chocolate chips, divided
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of Andes peppermint crunch chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a glass bowl, microwave 2 cups of chocolate chips on high for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until chocolate is melted and smooth.

2. In large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla till smooth. Add eggs and beat in until well incorporated.

3. Add about two-thirds of the melted chocolate into the butter mixture and mix well. (save the remaining chocolate for drizzling)

4. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix until well-blended.

5. Stir in remaining half-cup of whole chocolate chips and the Andes chocolate pieces.

6. Prepare baking sheets by spraying with no-stick spray or lining with parchment paper.

7. Scoop out about a tablespoonful of dough and form a round ball. Place onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Repeat until you use up all the cookie dough.

8. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for about 5 minutes. Drizzle with remaining melted chocolate. Transfer onto cooking racks.

Gluten-Free Recipe Round-Up for Fall

Spread the love

I am SO excited today about everything Gluten-Free! So many Menu Planning Central members have asked for more help with their Gluten-Free life, and we are making it happen.

As you probably know, there are a zillion awesome food bloggers and websites dedicated to helping folks with all things GF, and I have been in touch with many of them recently as I’ve been seeking out recipes for our new GF Menu Plan, AND to share with you some of their terrific recipes.

Ready to get started? Let’s go!

Mongolian Beef Bowls — This terrific recipe got our attention! A tweaked, healthified version of it is in our new GF menu plan as well.

Gluten Free Taco Bake — This is super easy to whip up, and you can easily adapt it to whatever ingredients you’ve got on hand.

Gluten Free Slow Cooker Meatloaf — Comfort food + convenience! This GF meatloaf is so easy to put together.

Gluten Free Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas — Easy and delicious!

GF Chicken Potato Bake — Easy and yummy comfort food!

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars — Easy to make, yummy to eat! GF for the win!

Our own versions of all of these recipes and many more are included in our brand-new Gluten-Free Family Favorites for Fall menu plan! If you’re looking for an organized, done-for-you plan to help you make some super yummy GF food happen at your house, you’ll want to check this out!

Quick and Easy Blueberry Muffins

Spread the love

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

Quick and Easy Blueberry Muffins
It’s fresh blueberry season, so this is the perfect time so make these delicious muffins, and they are so easy to “healthify” without sacrificing one bit of everything you love!

Quick and Easy Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (all-purpose or whole wheat)
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for muffin tops (I use this type of coconut sugar (aff) in place of white sugar, and it works great)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable, olive, or coconut oil
1 large egg
1/3 – 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 to 8 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries (about 1 cup frozen blueberries)

Quick and Easy Blueberry Muffins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease bottoms of a 1-dozen muffin pan or use paper liners.
In a large bowl whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Use a measuring cup that holds at least 1 cup and add vegetable oil, egg and then fill the cup to the 1-cup line with milk (about 1/3 to a 1/2 cup of milk). Add vanilla and whisk until combined.

Quick and Easy Blueberry Muffins

Add milk mixture to the bowl with flour and sugar then use a fork to combine. Do not over mix. (The muffin batter will be pretty thick). Add blueberries and use a spatula or spoon to gently fold the blueberries into the muffin batter.

Quick and Easy Blueberry Muffins