Cookie Dough Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 box any white cake mix
• 1 tub light Cool Whip
• 2 (5 oz.) containers vanilla Greek yogurt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (If you're using mini chocolate chips, one 10 oz. bag is plenty!)

Directions:

• Combine cake mix, cool whip, and yogurt and mix using a stand/handheld mixer until thoroughly combined.
• Gently fold in chocolate chips until thoroughly combined.
• Serve with fruit, graham crackers (Scooby snacks or graham sticks are super convenient), or Nilla wafers.  Refrigerate leftovers.
  *www.kalekouture.org

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 (14.3 oz) package whole Oreos (about 36 Oreos)
• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, divided
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. 1. Finely crush the Oreos with a food processor, blender, or in a Ziploc bag. Stir crumbs together with 8 tablespoons melted butter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.
2. 2. Add the remaining 8 tablespoons of softened butter, 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter, and 1 cup powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low speed until smooth and creamy. Spoon the peanut butter mixture over the crust into a smooth layer. Place back in freezer.
3. 3. Place chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut butter in a large glass or heat-proof bowl. In a saucepan, bring heavy whipping cream to a rolling simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and peanut butter and let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. 
4. 4. Pour the chocolate layer over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour until ready to serve.

*www.kevinandamanda.com

Ham + Cheese Breakfast Sliders (Egg Sandwiches)

Ingredients:

• 1 package 12-count Hawaiian slider buns 
• 6 slices ham
• 6 slices American cheese
• 12 eggs
• 1/4 - 1 cup melted butter (I probably used  a little more than 1/8 cup.)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Keeping the 12 sliders in tact, horizontally slice the sheet of sliders in half through the middle to create two, large sandwich slices. (You want the individual buns to stay together.)
• Place the bottom half of the sandwich sheet in a baking dish. Set aside.
• Prepare a frying pan over medium heat with a your choice of a thin layer of butter, cooking spray, or cooking oil.
• While pan heats, crack eggs into a medium size bowl and whisk until fully blended. Pour into the preheated frying pan and stir constantly, until eggs are thoroughly cooked/scrambled.
• Remove frying pan from heat and set aside.
• To assemble sandwiches, place six slices of ham evenly on the base of the sandwich slice (in baking dish).
• Follow with the scrambled eggs and then cheese.
• Secure sandwich by placing top of slider buns on top of cheese and pour/brush melted butter over the top.
• Cover the baking dish with foil and bake sandwiches for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cut into individual sliders.  Best enjoyed warm.

*www.thesoccermomblog.com

Pineapple-Cilantro Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

• 2 pork tenderloins (1200 g or about 2.5 lbs.)
• ¼ cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks (70 g)
• ¼ a white onion or ⅓ cup diced (50 g) (I used chopped, frozen.)
• ½ cup cilantro
• ½ -1 whole jalapeño, depending on how spicy you like it (I seeded mine.)
• 6 cloves minced garlic (or frozen Dorot cubes)
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

• 1. Start by trimming any fat or silver skin off of your pork tenderloins. Add them to a large Ziploc bag.
• 2. Blend or food-process the remaining ingredients to form the marinade. If it’s too thick to come together, add a little more vinegar. (If the marinade seems spicy from the jalapeños, don't freak out.  Once it's grilled/oven-baked, it is definitely not spicy.)  Pour marinade over the pork tenderloins, making sure to move the pork around in the bag so it’s evenly dispersed. Leave on the counter to marinate for at least an hour before cooking or store in the fridge if you’ve got more time. It’s great overnight for more flavor!
• 3. Pull it out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before you cook to bring it to room temperature. Sprinkle the tenderloins all over with a good fresh pinch of kosher salt and:
• Option 1: Place in a preheated air fryer at 400 degrees. Cook for about 20 minutes, turning half-way through. Check the temperature at 17 minutes or so and remove from fryer when you’ve reached an internal temp of 140-145 degrees!
• Option 2: On the stove-top, preheat a skillet to high heat, and sear pork on all sides for about 2-3 minutes.  Bake on a baking sheet in a 400 oven for 10-15 minutes, and remove from oven when you've reached an internal temp of 140-145 degrees!
• Option 3: Grill by searing over high heat for a couple of minutes per side to get some good color, then turn down to medium heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until you reach an internal temp of 140-145 degrees!
• 4. Let it rest for 10 minutes before you slice so you don’t lose all the juices!  Thinly slice against the grain.

*www.lillieeatsandtells.com

Instant Pot Creamy Baked Ziti

Prepping and portioning the measured ingredients ahead of time takes minutes,

which then makes it a breeze at dinner time to throw together and walk away!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or two frozen Dorot cubes).  You can also use 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
• 16 ounces uncooked ziti pasta or other tube-shaped pasta (I used rigatoni.)
• 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (Technically, you only need a 14.5 oz. can, but I like to use 16-18 oz. in the recipe to make it a bit "saucier," especially for leftovers or added ingredients (like veggies/meat)).
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1.5 teaspoons dried basil
*Instead of the oregano and basil, I omitted entirely and instead used 3 teaspoons of Italian Seasoning.
• 1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
•  Fresh basil, optional 

Directions:

*If you're adding meat to this recipe, which I highly encourage, see "optional" notes at the bottom and begin with that.  If not, proceed with steps below:

 

• Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 6-quart Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the broth (first) and cream (second) and add the salt, pepper, and garlic. Then, add the pasta; don't stir, but if it's mounded in the center, arrange into an even layer. 
  
• Pour the crushed tomatoes (again, I used 16-18 oz.) evenly over the pasta and sprinkle the oregano and basil (or Italian Seasoning) over the top. Don't stir.
• Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and select "manual" or "pressure cook."  Dial up or down to the minutes needed as follows: Take the cooking time on the pasta package directions, cut it in half and subtract two additional minutes. For example, for pasta that cooks to al dente in 12 minutes, the Instant Pot cooking time would be 4 minutes (half of 12 is six, minus two additional minutes).  
  
• Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (meaning, set a personal timer and leave it ALONE for 10 minutes after the timer has ended), and then quick release the remaining pressure (meaning, manually open the valve to allow remaining pressure to release). Open lid and stir.  If adding a veggie, add during this step.  I left a 3/4 cup of peas out to thaw during the pasta's cooking process and they warmed immediately when adding to the finished, hot pasta.  This is when the added crushed tomatoes helps!
• The original recipe suggests adding the Parmesan into the Instant Pot and stirring thoroughly, but I didn't want to deal with hardened cheese aftermath in the Instant Pot. Instead, I added the Parmesan to each individual bowl after portioning.  Serve immediately with chopped, fresh basil, if desired.
  

Optional: Adding a pound of ground beef or Italian sausage is fantastic with this recipe (I used sweet Italian sausage).  Cook the meat in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting with a little salt and pepper, drain the grease, and proceed with the recipe.  (Just make sure when you add the broth in step one, scrape the bottom of the pot really well before adding the other ingredients.)

*www.melskitchencafe.com

Easy, Lean Chili Mac

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white onions, diced (I use the frozen, pre-diced bags for ease! Look for them in the freezer section (12oz. bag); they are life-changing! If you go this route, you need one bag for this recipe.)
• 2 small zucchini, finely chopped 
• one red bell pepper, finely chopped (I used yellow.)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1.5 pounds 93/7 lean ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons chili powder 
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 7 garlic cloves, minced or frozen Dorot cubes (my preference)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste 
• Liquid smoke, optional (I did not use.)
• 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 7 oz. mild diced green chilis, undrained (I used 2, 4 oz. cans)
• 10 oz. mild green enchilada sauce 
• Rotel, undrained (or canned diced tomatoes) (I used petite diced tomatoes.  Rotel makes the recipe a bit spicy for the little ones' liking.)
• 3.5 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 pound cavatappi or other short pasta (I used rotini.)
• 4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt 
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

*Before starting, if you desire (like I did), I wanted the veggies to really blend into the meat, so I used a food processor to “rice/finely chop" the zucchini and bell peppers! This is a great trick for any picky eaters if you want to “sneak” in more veggies.  They were totally hidden!

Start by heating a large Dutch oven (or any heavy-bottom pot you have!) over high heat. Spray with a spritz of olive oil and let it get nice and hot. Add in the diced onion, zucchini, bell pepper, and salt, and let it cook for 5-7 minutes--just enough time to get everything tender and fragrant.  The food processed zucchini and pepper will release their natural juices as they cook down and this is great to help with added liquid at the end...another bonus to processing those veggies beforehand!

When the veggies are ready, scoot them to the side of the pot and let the surface get nice and hot for a minute before adding your ground turkey.  Add it to the pan and sprinkle the top of the meat with your dry seasonings (chili powder, cumin, oregano, and onion powder), and break it up until cooked through, stirring often and eventually mixing in the cooked veggies.

When the meat is cooked, you can add your minced garlic/cubes, tomato paste, and liquid smoke (optional). Make sure to stir everything well and leave it for about a minute. Then pour in your tomato sauce, green chilis, enchilada sauce, Rotel/diced tomatoes, and chicken stock/broth. Let it get nice and hot for a minute and then turn it down to medium before adding your pound of pasta. Simmer until your pasta is al dente (about as long as your pasta instructs you).  TRUST ME.  Test occasionally for "almost" doneness and don’t overcook it! You don’t want mush later. 

Turn off heat and stir in the cream cheese and Greek yogurt.  Add the grated cheddar, stir, and allow the cheese melt. It will continue to thicken up as it sits. Serve with a simple side salad and some crusty bread (for dipping) and you’re ready to enjoy!

*Slightly adapted from www.lillieeatsandtells.com

 

Instant Pot Smoky Honey Cilantro Chicken

While this is totally acceptable to make in your slow cooker, making it in your instant pot makes it twelve minutes worth your wait time!

This meat can be used for anything!  Of course, the Mexican flare makes it amazing in tacos, on nachos, perfect for a burrito (rice) bowl, or in a salad, but I've also served them on little Hawaiian slider rolls with a slice of cheese and they're super yummy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup salsa verde
• ½ a large white onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
• 5 cloves garlic (or 5 frozen Dorot cubes)
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt (I used two.)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 2-3 pounds frozen or thawed chicken tenderloins
• chopped cilantro, for topping
• additional ingredients needed for how you're serving it (buns, taco ingredients, etc.)

Directions:

1. Combine onion, liquid ingredients, + spices in your instant pot or slow cooker.
2. Add chicken and toss to combine.
3. Option ONE: If using instant pot, close and set to manual (pressure cook) for 12 minutes (high pressure).  When timer goes off, manually release steam to allow all steam to release (takes a few minutes).
4. Open lid, shred, combine chicken in its juices, and stir in 1/2 cup cilantro (optional).
5. Option TWO: If using slow cooker, cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until tender.
6. Open lid, shred, combine chicken in its juices, and stir in 1/2 cup cilantro (optional).
7. Based on how you serve it, the chicken may need "squeezed" of its juices (just a bit) to prevent a soggy sandwich or taco or nachos!
8. However, keep chicken stored in its reserved juices to keep it moist!

*www.lillieeatsandtells.com