SKILLET MACARONI PIZZA

SKILLET MACARONI PIZZA
Abagail didn't really care for this - not sure why - it was good.  Maybe next time she will like it.  Everyone else liked it.  Super easy!
Scott said this is one of his favorite meals. Would like for his birthday.

1# ground beef
1 can (26.5 oz) Hunts Italian Sausage Flavored Spaghetti Sauce (I used Prego with sausage)
3 cups elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
12 slices pepperoni, chopped and divided (I used about 25)
italian seasoning

Cook beef in a large skillet or pot.  Add 2 1/2 cups water and spaghetti sauce, bring to a boil.  Stir in macaroni.  Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10-12 minutes or until macaroni is tender.  Stir in HALF of the cheese and pepperoni; top with remaining cheese and pepperoni.  Let stand for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

CHOCOLATE LASAGNA

CHOCOLATE LASAGNA

Prep Time: 20mn

Cook Time: N/A

Total Time: 1hr 20mn

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) - about 36 cookies
• 6 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cold milk
• 1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided
• 2 - 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding.
• 3 1/4 cups cold milk
• 1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.
2. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
3. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
4. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
5. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.

Printed from: http://centercutcook.com
Recipe URL: http://centercutcook.com/chocolate-lasagna/

SINLESS COOKIES

SINLESS COOKIES
We really liked these (even Scott!)  Perfect for an afternoon snack.  They are super easy to make.  I make one big cookie on the round stone, but next time I think they would cook better as individual cookies.

2 ripe bananas
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 T heaping peanut butter

Mix ingredients.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

SLOW COOKER SHREDDED CHICKEN FOR NACHOS, QUESADILAS, ENCHILADAS OR BURITTOS

SLOW COOKER SHREDDED CHICKEN
I was skeptical this would be good when I was making it but we all LOVED it!  So easy and yummy.  I had the bone-in chicken breast (was a really good buy).  Cooked in crock pot then took out and shredded and put back in juice and cooked for about another two hours.

4-6# boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen or fresh) - see my note above
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp oregano
1 (4 oz) can green chilies
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies (undrained)
2 T lime juice (optional)

Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker.  Place remaining ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover and cook for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.  Once cooked shred chicken with two forks.  Serve over tortilla chips and top with favorite toppings.  (see note above this chicken could be used for lots of different things)

Possible toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced jalapeno
olives
fresh chopped tomatoes
corn
black beans
salsa
sour cream
chopped spinach
refried breans

ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

HOW TO ROAST PUMPKIN SEEDS
http://ohsheglows.com/2012/09/17/how-to-roast-perfect-pumpkin-seeds-easy-crunchy-addictive/
I used Kosher salt.

UPDATE: Stephanie Seaton made roasted pumpkin seeds at our YW activity.  She cooked them at 425 and would take them out and stir them so often.  She used season salt.  They were really good. Cooked them for about 20+ minutes.

How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds:

1. Clean the seeds. The annoying-but-necessary task is that you have to meticulously clean the seeds until there are no signs of pumpkin guts. The best way to do this (that I have discovered from your comments!) is to plunk the seeds + guts into a big bowl of water and use your hands to break it apart. The seeds will float to the top of the water! They clean much faster this way.

Note: Some of you say that sugar pumpkin seeds yield much crispier seeds than carving pumpkins. I used sugar pumpkin seeds and mine were certainly super crispy!

2. Boil for 10 minutes in salt water. Using Elise’s method for inspiration, I added the pumpkin seeds to a medium-sized pot of water along with 1 tsp salt. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes over low-medium heat. Apparently, this method helps make the pumpkin seeds easier to digest and produces a crispy outer shell during roasting. If you are short on time, you can totally skip this step! They will still turn out lovely.

3. Drain the seeds in a colander and dry lightly with a paper towel or tea towel. The seeds will stick to the towel, but just rub them off with your fingers. Don’t worry, they don’t have to be bone dry – just a light pat down.

4. Spread seeds onto a baking sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (I only needed to use about 1/2-1 tsp). Massage oil into seeds and add a generous sprinkle of Herbamare (or fine grain sea salt will do). Try to spread out the seeds as thin as possible with minor overlapping.

5. Roast seeds at 325F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir. Roast for another 8-10 minutes (if your oven temp is wonky, this bake time could vary a lot!). During the last 5 minutes of roasting, remove a few seeds and crack open to make sure the inner seeds are not burning (you don’t want the inner seed brown). Cool a couple and pop them into your mouth to test. They are ready when the shell is super crispy and easy to bite through. The inner seed should have only a hint of golden tinge to it. They should not be brown.

6. EAT! Remove from oven, add a bit more Herbamare, and dig in! Ah, so good, so good! There is no need to remove the outer shell; it’s quite possibly the best part.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2012/09/17/how-to-roast-perfect-pumpkin-seeds-easy-crunchy-addictive/#ixzz3HPIyoPHX

PUMPKIN PIE SMOOTHIE

PUMPKIN PIE SMOOTHIE
This was posted one time during Game On.  I love, love it!  About 300 calories if using almond milk and powder peanut butter.  Next time I am going to add some frozen spinach.  

UPDATE: I also add 1/3-1/2 cup oatmeal.  Cocoa powder, spinach and white chocolate syrup.  Yum!


Author Jessica Joy at TheFitSwitch.org

1/3 cup canned pumpkin, unsweetened
1 scoop protein powder
1 cup milk
1/2 frozen banana
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1 T almond butter (I use powder)
1/2 cup ice

Combine everything in the blender.

GINGERBREAD PANCAKES

GINGERBREAD PANCAKES
I am pretty sure this recipe came from Martha Stewart Living magazine.  We really liked it - especially with little chocolate chips and peanut butter. Yum!  Made lots.

Whisk together:
3 cups flour (I used 1 cup cake, 1 cup ww pasty and 1 cup white)
1 T baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Add:
3 large beaten eggs
1/3 cup molasses
3 cups buttermilk

Stir until combined.