Cheddar Cheese Taco Shells (Keto)

A few weeks ago, we had some wonderful teases of spring weather.  I was super excited to take my dog for a long walk and drink in the sun.  I got out some shorts and -- gasp!  Uncomfortably snug.  It was obvious that I packed on some winter bulk over the long, cold months while hibernating in my home.  I had been avoiding the scale... avoiding exercise... but not avoiding 1/2 price donuts.  Oh, glorious donuts, how I sought after thee.  *End sob story*

I decided to drastically cut carbs and sugar from my diet to kick-start some weight loss, and it's really been working quite well!  The first several days were very difficult, but now it's pretty much been smooth sailing!  I've been experimenting with all kinds of low-carb recipes, and I stumbled across this idea from Pinterest.  I honestly was debating on whether or not to post this because it's not technically a "recipe", but it's too good not to share!  It's also very easy.

Storage:  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

Buffalo Chicken Dippin' Balls with Spicy Cheddar Sauce

Super Bowl Sunday is quickly approaching!  While I am a die-hard Eagles fan, I do happen to have a soft spot for Peyton Manning.  Who do you think will win?

My little 9-year-old sous chef told me that she is really excited to watch the Super Bowl with us.  Her reasoning?  "We get to eat really good food ...in the living room while we watch TV!"  If you happen to be one of those people who are just as excited about the food as the game, I'll be sharing some of my favorite super bowl eats with you in a couple of days.  In the meantime, I wanted to highlight these delectable treats that we'll be indulging in for the big game.  These buffalo chicken dippin' balls are delightfully crispy on the outside and deliciously buffalo-y (that's a word, right?) on the inside.  The easy homemade spicy cheddar cheese sauce just puts them over the top.  I could seriously dip anything into the sauce and be in heaven!  

Go Broncos! 

Quick & Easy Queso

We love our queso!  This recipe may not be "authentic" but it's quick, easy and oh, so tasty!

Baked Cheddar, Parmesan & Sage Crackers

Move over, Cheez-Its!  You won't believe how easy it is to make your own delicious crackers at home.  Most store-bought crackers contain artificial flavors, preservatives, etc., so it's nice to know what is actually in your crackers when you're eating them.  You won't be disappointed with these tasty treats! 

While my recipe calls for the dough to be rolled out to 1/16 inch thickness, my family prefers them a little thicker (about 1/4 inch thickness) because they become, as my husband puts it, "delicious mini biscuits with a crispy outside".

Skinny Macaroni & Cheese

Cutting down the calories and fat definitely does not compromise the flavor in this Skinny Mac n' Cheese!  Yes, it is possible to enjoy a delicious, cheesy macaroni and cheese with a lot less guilt!  Pureed potato is used as a thickening agent in place of butter and flour, and fat free milk along with reduced fat cheeses are also used.        

Note:  As always, the actual calorie total depends on the quality/brand of ingredients you use, so I included that information as well in the ingredient list.  

Grilled Cheese with Bacon, Tomato & Scallions

It doesn't get much better than a grilled cheese sandwich and hot tomato soup on a cold winter day... until you add bacon.  Enough said.

Witch's Broomstick Halloween Cheese & Pretzel Snacks

I don't know about you but I cringe at the thought of the amount of candy that will be presented to my daughter come Halloween night and how quickly she will beg me to devour it all.  In search of something with a little less sugar, I came across these cute little broomsticks.  They are fast and easy and I love how they don't involve candy!    

Ingredients:
Yields 12
Recipe by CocinandoconCatMan.com

• 6 string cheese sticks
• 12 pretzel sticks
• Chives

Directions:

Cut each string cheese stick in half.  Carefully press a pretzel stick into the uncut side of each cheese stick about 1/2 inch deep.

Make the bristles.  Using sharp scissors, cut thin slices that are about 1 inch in length.

Gently tie a chive around the top portion of the string cheese and snip off the long ends.

Enjoy!

Potato and Kale Frittata

One Year Ago: Honey Mustard Sauce

This is a delicious, comforting breakfast that is healthy and filling.  I love frittatas because they are quick, easy and very versatile.  I always try to have a variation of it in my fridge for lunch or breakfast throughout the week.  The addition of bacon would be a wonderful element, albeit less healthy.

Cheddar, Green Olive and Onion Stuffed Meatballs

 One Year Ago:  Sticky Cinnamon Rolls

There is something about the combination of cheddar and green olive that I adore.  I have stuffed meatballs with lots of different things, my favorite of which is pepperoni, mozzarella and green pepper.  Last night, I had a dream about these puppies and I knew that I would be making them first thing in the morning.  These are now my favorite stuffed meatballs.  This would be a perfect appetizer to bring to a party.  They are easy and you can stuff them with pretty much anything you love, in any combination. 

Ingredients:

Printable Recipe

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 c Italian style bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp oil, divided 
• 1/4 c onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 
• Green olives, sliced

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the beef and egg.  Add the bread crumb, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.  Form 3-inch rounds about 1/4-inch thick in the palm of your hand and set aside. 


Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet to medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, stirring and cooking for 1 minute longer.  Remove the onion with a slotted spoon and set aside.  


Place about 1/2 tsp of onion in the center of each beef round and top with a cheese cube and an olive slice.  

Gather the sides of the beef up and around the filling and seal and form a meatball.  Be careful not to over-stuff your meatballs or this will happen while cooking:  

Using the same skillet, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat.  Add the stuffed meatballs to the skillet.  Cook and brown on all sides, turning carefully; until cooked through.  


Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

The Philadelphia Eagles are in the playoffs today at 4:30 PM against the Green Bay Packers. Playoffs in my house = not-so-healthy snack food. My husband was looking forward to buffalo chicken dip. If you like a lot of spice, this packs in a lot of it - just the way we like it! For a more mild dip, you can reduce the Frank's hot sauce to 1/4 c. Just be sure to taste it before you put it in the oven and adjust to your taste. You can always stir in a little more ranch to mild it out even more. I originally got this recipe from Franksredhot.com but have made several changes to it over the years. We allowed our daughter to try it for the first time. She loved it and kept going back for more and said, "Ooh, this is so good, I can't help it". GO EAGLES!

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 boneless, skinless cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
  
• 1/2 c ranch dressing
  
• 1/2 c hot sauce (such as Frank's)
  
• 1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the cream cheese, and stir until smooth and creamy.  Stir in the ranch dressing and hot sauce.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chicken and cheese.

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased baking dish (I use a loaf pan).

Bake for 20 minutes. Add some additional cheese to the top halfway through baking.  Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with celery, tortilla chips, bread, crackers, etc., for dipping.

Enjoy!

Prosciutto and Smoked Gruyere Quiche

My poor little sous-chef and food critic, Madelyn, has a nasty case of the flu. So far, she has missed two days of school and will definitely not be returning tomorrow. Because she is so sick, I know that the next few days will be crazy and that I will not be able to keep my beloved schedule. So, a quiche is perfect since it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. While my little angel was sleeping on the couch at 2:00 in the afternoon, I whipped up this quiche. It's really quiche Lorraine, except I used prosciutto instead of bacon.

Homemade Asparagus & Basil Tortellini Stuffed with Cheese in Marinara Sauce

Hooray for grandparents offering to take your child for a sleepover for no reason other than just because! I figure a romantic Italian dinner is in order tonight. I decided to make tortellini (yet another thing to cross off on my to-cook list) ahead of time and freeze it. I have made homemade pasta before in the form of ravioli, pierogi and spaghetti but never tortellini. I wanted to do something special with it, so I decided to try to flavor it. I have never flavored my pasta before, so this was a new experience. I had leftover asparagus in my fridge that I needed to use up, so I decided to use my pasta recipe and play around with the asparagus to flavor it. It worked like a charm. Yummy! With the marinara sauce, you can hardly see that the pasta is green. This is a perfect way to sneak in some extra vegetables without your family knowing. Shaping the tortellini was simple and relaxing. I definitely recommend that you do this... now.

Cheese Filling Ingredients:

• 1 c ricotta cheese
  
• 1/2 c Parmesan cheese
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 1/4 c shredded cheese of your choice (mozzarella works nicely but I used cheddar and Monterey jack)
• 1/2 tsp dried basil (fresh works best but I am out)
• Salt, to taste
  
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine all of the above ingredients together well and refrigerate until ready to use.

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Asparagus-Basil Tortellini Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 to 2 1/3 c flour PLUS more for kneading and rolling
  
• 2/3 c asparagus, cooked and chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c milk (I use skim)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried basil

Directions:

• Place the flour on a clean counter top and make a well in the middle (or place it in a large bowl).
  
• Blend together the asparagus, egg, milk, salt and basil in a food processor.

• Pour the asparagus mixture into the flour well (or into the large bowl). Carefully mix the ingredients together, until dough forms. Use more or less flour to keep it from being too sticky.
  
• Knead the dough until it is smooth.

• Roll the dough out into 1/8-inch thickness. Using a round cookie cutter or a drinking glass, cut out circles. After the circles are cut out, take the scraps and knead them into another ball of dough. Roll it out and cut out more circles. Repeat one last time. You will get about 36 dough rounds, depending on the size of your circles.
• Take the prepared cheese filling out of the fridge. Put about 1/2 teaspoon or so of cheese in the center of each dough round, enough that you can fold the circle in half and not have cheese spilling out of the sides.

• Lightly wet the outside edge of each round with water.
  
• Fold the dough round in half to form a half circle and press the edges to seal. Hold the half circle with your thumb and index finger at the corners. Take the outer corners and and roll them around your thumb. Pinch where the dough overlaps to seal it, using a drop of water to help with the seal. Place it on a floured surface and repeat with the remaining rounds.

• To cook now: Boil salted water and add the tortellini in batches, leaving enough room for the tortellini to be able to move freely in the boiling water. Boil the tortellini for about 5 minutes or until they float, to desired doneness. I froze mine since I made them early.
• To cook later: Freeze them until ready for use. They will only need to boil a minute or two longer in the water. Cook to desired doneness.
• Serve with your favorite marinara sauce (recipe follows). Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Enjoy!

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Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 c dry red wine
• 2 tsp sugar
• Salt, to taste
  
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

• In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.
  
• Add onion, dried pepper flakes, basil and oregano; saute about 4 minutes.
  
• Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer.
  
• Pour in the tomato paste, stirring for about 2 minutes.
• Add the whole tomatoes and cut them up with a fork as you add them to the pot.
• Stir in the wine.
• Season with salt, pepper and sugar.
• Simmer the sauce uncovered at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Add water if a thinner sauce is desired (I add about 1 1/2 c water).
  
• I strain the sauce because my husband is not a huge fan of chunks generally. Also, I throw in a few meatballs for him since he feels like a meal isn't a meal without some meat.
  

• Enjoy!

No Madelyn rating on this recipe as she was away at a sleepover!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Every Monday morning, I plan my meals for the week and run to the grocery store and it makes my life so much easier. Tonight, I had planned to make shepherd's pie but I was craving stuffed shells for some reason, so I decided to scrap the whole shepherd's pie thing. It is rare for me to stray from my meal plan. I normally use ricotta in my stuffed shells but I didn't have any because I didn't plan to make them in the first place. The fact that I had no ricotta in my fridge really irritated me. I did not want to run out to the store for it, so I decided to try to make some from scratch. Success! I will never buy ricotta again. Once you realize how easy and fun it is to make, you'll never want to buy it again either. And the taste? Oh, the taste! It is so, SO much better than store bought. Try it! This yields approximately 4 ounces.



Ingredients:

• 1 qt milk (any milk will do but my preference is fat free)
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

• Bring the milk and salt to a boil over medium heat.
• Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and lemon juice. Allow to cool completely.
• Pour the contents through a cheesecloth and drain.

• Once drained, close up the cheesecloth around the cheese and fasten.
• Allow to drip for at least an hour. The longer you allow it to drip, the drier the cheese will be. I allowed mine to drip for about three hours because I like it a bit more crumbly. If you want it to be more creamy, stir in a tiny bit of warm milk, to desired creaminess.
• Enjoy!