Creamy Lemon Oat Bars

I wish I had a picture of these, but they were so good we had them gone before I thought of it :)  Here is the original link from Pinterest if you're interested:  Creamy Lemon Oat Bars

Ingredients:
-1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
-3 tsp grated lemon zest
-1/4 c fresh lemon juice
-1 1/4 c flour
-1 c old fashioned oats
-1/2 c packed brown sugar
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt

1.  Heat oven to 375.  Coat 8 x 8 pan with non stick spray.
2. Mix milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice until thickened; set aside.
3. Mix remaining ingredients in bowl until crumbly.
4. Press half of the crumbly mixture in pan; bake about 10 minutes until set.
5. Spread lemon milk mixture over baked crust.  Sprinkle remaining crumbly mixture over lemon milk mixture, press down gently.
6. Bake about 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center is set but soft.  Cool completely.

Beef and Pork Meatballs

I needed something I could prep ahead for our Easter luncheon and these fit the bill.  They were delicious and made a huge batch with lots of yummy leftovers!

Ingredients:
-1lb ground beef
-1lb ground pork sausage
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-2 eggs
-1 c grated romano  cheese
-1 1/2 Tbs parsley
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 c bread crumbs
-1 1/2 c lukewarm water


1.  Combine beef and pork in a large bowl.  Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
2.  Mix in bread crumbs, then slowly add water.  Shape into meatballs.
3.  Place meatballs on a parchement paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (the bigger your meatballs, the longer they take to cook through).
4.  Serve with tangy bbq scauce.

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:
-1/2 onion, chopped
-1 c carrot, chopped
-1 celery stalk, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
-1 (15oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
-3 c broth
-dried or fresh basil to taste
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 c chopped fresh or frozen spinach*
-2 c cooked small pasta**
-parmesan cheese for top**

1.  Rinse and drain beans.  Puree beans with 1 cup of the broth in processor or blender.
2.  In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, purred beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3.  40 minutes before serving, add spinach.  Cover and cook 30 more minutes.  Add cooked pasta and cook 10 minutes more.
4.  Ladle soup into bowls and top with paremsan cheese.


*If using frozen, be sure to defrost and wring out water before adding it in.
**Omit if observing Daniel Fast.

Meatloaf Cupcakes

This was a fun meal for the kiddos.  And because they're packed with veggies, how could I not love them too!

Ingredients for Meatloaf:
-1 tsp olive oil
-1 c onion, chopped
-1/2 c carrot, chopped*
-1 tsp dried oregano
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 c ketchup, divided
-1 1/2lbs ground beef
-1 c bread crumbs
-2 Tbs mustard
-1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp pepper
-2 large eggs
-cooking spray

Ingredients for Potatoes:
-4 c cubed, peeled potatoes (about 2 lbs)
-1/4 c milk
-1/4 sour cream
-3 Tbs butter
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Heat olive oil in skillet.  Add onion, carrot, oregano, and garlic.  Saute 2 minutes, then cool.
3.  Combine onion mixture, 1/2 c ketchup, and remaining meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix completely (it works best to take off your rings and dig in with your bare hands!)
4.  Use cooking spray to grease muffin tin.  Spoon meat mixture into 12 muffin cups.  Top each with a bit of ketchup.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Then, let stand for 5 minutes.
5.  While meatloaf is cooking, make potatoes:  Place potatoes in saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes until tender.  Drain.  Return potato to pan.  Add milk and remaining ingredients; stir with spoon to desired consistency.  Add up to 1/4 more milk if you desire a creamier texture.
6.  Put the potatoes into a ziploc bag, snip the corner of the bag with scissors and pipe potatoes on top of meatloaf muffins.  

*It's best if you can chop these veggies in the food processor to get them really finely chopped!

Raw Cookie Dough Bites

I'm baaaaaack. After my longest hiatus since starting this blog, I'm back in the kitchen!! We've been doing some pretty major remodeling at our house and my entire creative energy was poured into that project leaving me scrambling for my go-to recipes for dinner. I've been making some of the oldies but goodies posted right here on this blog.

HOWever, I'm back, and with my all-time absolutely favorite recipe of all time! I have a sweet tooth to end all sweet teeth and indulge WAY too often. One of my weaknesses is raw cookie dough - bad for you on so many levels. This recipe is a no-guilt, so-true-to-taste substitution. I'm enjoying my fair share, but I get a special kick out of giving these to my kids as a snack or dessert!! Trust me, make a double or triple batch while you're at it. They won't go to waste.

Raw Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients:
-2/3 c raw almonds
-2/3 c raw walnuts
-2/3 c rolled oats*
-1/4 tsp cinnamon
-1/8 tsp salt
-1/4 c agave nectar
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-dark chocolate chips or chunks to taste

1. In a food processor, process the almonds, walnuts, oats, cinnamon and salt to a fine meal.
2. Add the agave nectar and vanilla and process to combine.
3. Next, add chocolate and pulse to just combine.
4. Rolle the dough into balls and place them on a cookie pan lined with parchment paper. Place the pan in the freezer for about an hour to firm up. Once firm, store balls in an air tight container in the freezer.

*Use Bob's Red Mill oats for a truly raw and gluten free option!

Fiesta Rice

This is super simple and another great addition to our vegetarian menu! We ate it hot, but it would be great cold too. Pair it up with chips or in a wrap and viola, a meal is served!


Fiesta Rice

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 c uncooked rice
-1 can (or 2 c.) black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 c. frozen corn
-1 can diced tomatoes (during harvest time, I would sub a chopped tomato here)
-3-4 scallions, chopped
-1 Tbs cilantro (optional)
-1 lime

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. In a large skillet, heat up beans, corn, and tomatoes.
3. Add rice to skillet. Add scallions and cilantro.
4. When you serve it up in bowls, squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top.

Ole!

Rachel's Pepper Steak

Okay friends, this recipe comes to you compliments of my friend and great cook! I should probably have asked her if I could share it, but seeing as she shares it freely, I'm going to assume it's not a secret family recipe :) Another great meal from the crock pot, check it out...


Rachel's Pepper Steak

Ingredients:
-2 lbs beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips
-1 tsp garlic powder
-3 Tbs olive oil
-1 Tbs of Better than Beef Bouillon (or 1 cube of beef bouillon)
-1/4 c hot water
-1 Tbs cornstarch
-1/2 c onion, chopped
-3 peppers, chopped*
-1 (14.5oz) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
-3 Tbs soy sauce
-1 tsp white sugar
-1 tsp salt

1. Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder. In a large skillet over medium het, heat the oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Drain and transfer to crock pot.
2. Mix bouillon with hot water until dissolved, then mix in the cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the crock pot with the meat.
3. Add onion, peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. (I had some mushrooms that had to be used up so I added those in as well and it was tasty.)
4. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

Serve over rice or quinoa.

*The recipe calls for 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 red. I only had red on hand and it was great, but the 3 different colors would have made for a prettier presentation!!