Roasted Asparagus, Tomato, and Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch fresh asparagus
• Salt and pepper
• 1 fresh lemon
• 1 package (5.8 ounces) Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil Couscous (I used the Near East brand, but you can substitute 1 cup plain cooked couscous.)
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, separated
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 of 1 container (10.5 ounces) ripe cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Break off the woody ends of the asparagus. Toss the asparagus, 2 tablespoons olive oil, about 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste) together on a large sheet pan. 
2. Bake in the oven for 12-17 minutes (depending on the asparagus thickness), flipping the spears once halfway into the cooking time. Remove and squeeze 1 tablespoon lemon juice over the spears. Allow to cool and chop into 2-inch pieces.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the packaged couscous according to package directions. Allow to cool.
4. While the asparagus is cooking, prepare the dressing. Pour the vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce until the vinegar is halved (about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons). Allow to slightly cool and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, minced garlic, dijon mustard, and honey. Briskly whisk and season with salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste).
5. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
6. Add the cooled couscous, cooled chopped asparagus, and cherry tomatoes to a large bowl. Lightly toss. Add dressing to taste and another fresh squeeze of lemon if desired. Lightly toss again and then top with the crumbled feta cheese. Enjoy immediately.
7. If you don't plan on eating all of the salad, only dress what you will eat (this salad doesn't sit well with the dressing for an extended time).

*www.chelseasmessyapron.com

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Tacos; Easiest Recipe Ever!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 3-1/2 to 4 pound pork shoulder, rinsed and cleaned
• 1 16 oz. jar of your favorite mild salsa
• 1 package corn or flour tortillas
• favorite taco toppings

Directions:

1. Place the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and mix.

2. Place the pork shoulder in the crock pot (slow cooker) and rub all over with the seasoning mixture.
3. Pour the jar of salsa around the pork shoulder.
4. Cook on low heat for 8-12 hours.
5. Remove the pork to a plate and using 2 forks, shred the into bite size pieces (I like to remove the visible pieces of fat).
6. Pour a scoop or two of the juices into the pork and stir to combine (If you want to remove the excess fat from the juice you will use, pour it into a cup and refrigerate it until the fat solidifies and can be easily scooped out. Only the juices will remain.)
7. Place the pork into the tortillas.
8. Serve with desired accompaniments.

*www.weelicious.com

Turkey Pesto Meatballs!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pound Lean Ground Turkey (I used 1 pound breast, 1/4 pound thigh.)
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup your favorite breadcrumbs (I used Italian seasoned.)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tsp. salt
• I added about 1/8 cup of chopped carrots and a heaping handful of baby spinach (using my mini food processor to finely dice.)
• 2 cups tomato sauce  *(I used herhttp://simpledinners.blogspot.com/2015/06/easy-tomato-sauce.html recipe.  You can also just buy your favorite jarred brand.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place all the ingredients (except for the tomato sauce) in a bowl and using your hands, combine until everything is incorporated.
3. Using about 1 tablespoon of the mixture per meatball, roll into balls and place on a plate.
4. Pour the tomato sauce into a 9 x 9 inch baking pan and top with the meatballs.
5. Cover the baking pan with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.
6. Serve with a salad or pasta.

To Freeze: At the end of step 3, place the rolled meatballs on a cookie sheet and freeze. After 30 minutes, place the par-frozen balls in a Ziploc bag, label and freeze. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or put them straight in the oven with sauce increasing cooking time by 5 minutes.  

*Weelicious Cookbook: One Family, One Meal

Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:
1/2 cup preserves (raspberry, strawberry....)
8 slices bread, crusts cut off
4 ounces (1/2 cup) cream cheese, softened (I used whipped.)
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk 
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
pinch of salt
butter, for greasing the pan
maple syrup or honey, for serving

Directions:
Remove crusts from slices of bread.

Evenly spread a generous amount of preserves on 4 slices of bread.

Evenly spread a generous amount of softened cream cheese on the remaining 4 slices.

Make 4 sandwiches, each with both cream cheese and preserves.

In a shallow bowl, (I used a glass pie dish), whisk the eggs, milk, maple syrup, and salt to combine.

In a large sauté over medium heat, melt the butter.

Dip each side of the sandwiches in the egg-milk mixture to thoroughly coat.  (Don't let them sit there for a long time.  Just coat, don't soak.)

Cook the stuffed french toast over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden.  

Serve with maple syrup or honey, if desired.

*Weelicious Cookbook, One Family One Meal

Chopped Thai Salad with Honey Garlic Dressing

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup canola, vegetable, avocado or other neutral-flavored oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 heaping tablespoon honey (I used two tablespoons.)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or ginger paste) (I used 2 drops of Ginger essential oil.)
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used 3 drops Lime essential oil.)

Salad:

• 4 cups chopped kale or baby kale (about 4 ounces)
• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (about 4-5 ounces)
• 3 large carrots, peeled and diced small*
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced small
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro*
• 1 to 2 green onions, white and green parts chopped*
• 3/4 cup roasted cashews 
• 1 to 2 cups frozen, shelled edamame (fully cooked), thawed and patted dry
  * = see step 2 for instructions 
• (I added some chopped rotisserie chicken to make this a meal!)

Instructions:

1. Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. In a serving bowl, add the chopped kale.  Add a drizzle of olive oil to lightly coat the kale and massage, massage, massage until softened!!  Following, add romaine.  (I made the veggie prepping process super easy by throwing a heaping handful of baby carrots, cilantro, green onions, and edamame into a food processor.  Pulse until chunky.)  Add carrots, cilantro, green onions, and edamame to bowl.  Then add diced peppers. 
3. Clean out food processor, add the cashews, and pulse until coarsely chopped to desired texture. (If you don't have a food processor, you can always chop with a knife and cutting board.) Add the cashews to the salad bowl.  (If using chicken, add to bowl.)
4. Give the salad ingredients a light toss. 
5. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine. Add additional dressing to taste, and serve immediately. To preserve crisp leftovers, add the dressing and cashews only to individual servings instead of the whole batch so leftover salad and nuts don't get soggy.

*www.melskitchencafe.com

5 Ingredient Frozen Sorbet Slice

Crowd pleaser!  Easy to make! Light + refreshing dessert!

Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 ounces) frozen fruit Cherry Berry Blend (Original recipe used Dole brand.  I couldn't find, so I used Trader Joe's Cherry Berry Blend.  Trader Joe's is a 16 oz. bag, so I didn't use the entire bag.
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 pints mango sorbet (Also found this at Trader Joes.  I
• 1/2 of 1 full container vanilla bean ice cream (48 ounces total in the container; use 24 ounces)
• Optional: 2 teaspoons coconut extract 

Directions:

1. Line a bread pan with parchment paper. (Foil will work, but parchment is a lot better.)
2. Set out the frozen berries, sorbet, and white ice cream at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. (If your home is warm, less time)
3. In a food processor or blender, (mini food processor works perfectly!) blend the entire bag of berries, heavy whipping cream, sugar, and coconut extract (optional). Blend until completely smooth. 
4. Spoon small spoonfuls of the mango sorbet and vanilla bean ice cream into the bread pan in a decorative manner. Fill the empty spaces with the berry puree. Smooth and press down on the ice cream/sorbet to avoid any empty spaces.
5. Fill up the entire bread pan using up all of the sorbet, ice cream, and puree.
6. Cover tightly and freeze overnight or at least 8 hours. *I also put my serving platter in the freezer to chill.  This way, when ready to serve, the ice cream will stay cold!
7. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and flip over onto a large plate. Slice to serve.
8. Serve immediately and quickly return any leftovers to the freezer.

Click here to watch the step-by-step video if you need a visual!

*www.chelseasmessyapron.com

Overnight Cinnamon Roll Casserole

*This serves a pretty large crowd, BUT makes for great leftovers.  (Add a little syrup next day if you need some moisture.)  Because I didn't need as much, however, I halved this recipe and used a 9x9 baking dish.

INGREDIENTS:

OVERNIGHT CINNAMON ROLL CASSEROLE INGREDIENTS:

• 12 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, DIVIDED
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 loaf challah bread, cubed
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
• 1 batch cream cheese icing (see below)

CREAM CHEESE ICING INGREDIENTS:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered (confectioners') sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-3 teaspoons milk, as needed

DIRECTIONS:

TO MAKE THE OVERNIGHT CINNAMON ROLL CASSEROLE:

1. Mix eggs, milk, 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon, and vanilla extract in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Add bread cubes, and toss until they are evenly coated with the milk mixture. Pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, that has been prepared with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
2. When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove casserole from refrigerator.  In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon cinnamon until combined. Drizzle the mixture evenly over the casserole.
3. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes (I baked for 30) or until golden brown.  While the casserole is baking, prepare the cream cheese icing (see below).
4. Once the casserole is cooked through and toasted on top, remove it from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.  Drizzle the cream cheese icing over the top of the casserole.  Then serve warm, drizzled with extra icing if desired.

TO MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE ICING:

1. Whisk cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract together until smooth.  Add milk -- 1 teaspoon at a time -- to thin out the icing, until it reaches your desired consistency.  Use immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

*www.gimmesomeoven.com