Bagel French Toast

 4 1/2 large day old plain bagels

8 eggs

3 cups milk

1/4 c butter melted

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c maple syrup

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tap salt

Glaze:

3 oz cream cheese softened

3 T powdered sugar

1 T maple syrup

1-2 T milk

Coat a 9x13 pan with spray  cut bagels into bite sized pieces and place in baking dish.  In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, butter, brown sugar, vanilla and salt.  Pour mixture over bagels and press down gently to soak all pieces.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 min or until custard has set in the middle  

While baking, make glaze by whisking all ingredients together until smooth  drizzle over finished casserole  

Orange Chicken Sauce - Panda Express Copycat

recipe taken from Tasty.co

2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 T minced garlic
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2-3/4 c. orange juice
1/2 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 T corn starch
3 T water

Mix water and corn starch to create a slurry and set aside.  Heat oil in skillet and add red pepper flakes, ginger and garlic and saute for 30 sec.  Add sugars and mix.  Add orange juice and stir until sugars start to dissolve.  Add vinegar and soy sauce and stir until mixture starts to boil.  Add the slurry a little at a time until the mixture thickens to the consistency of maple syrup. Turn off the heat and add chicken or vegetables.  Serve over rice.  

orange meatballs

taken from melskitchencafe

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (see note)

• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (panko, homemade, or storebought)

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 2 cloves garlic (about 2 teaspoons), finely minced or pressed through a garlic press

• 1-2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (see note)

• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
• 
  

ORANGE GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup orange juice

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

• 1/2 tablespoon fresh orange zest

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

• 1 clove garlic (about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon) finely minced or pressed through a garlic press

• 1 1/4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees and lightly grease a mini muffin tin (see note above if you don’t have that kind of pan).

1. For the meatballs, combine all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until combined (you might need to just get your hands in there and go to town).

1. Shape the meatball mixture into small balls, a couple tablespoons each, and place into the prepared mini muffin tin. The meatballs will shrink down a bit while baking.

1. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

1. Immediately (but carefully) spoon the meatballs out of the tin and onto a layer of paper towels to drain any excess grease (you may not need to do this if the meat was extra lean).

1. For the glaze, whisk together all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Cook until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

1. Serve the meatballs with the glaze (either poured over the meatballs or served separately for each person to drizzle on as they like).

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

taken from damndelicious
miraculously all my kids ate this with no complaints!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup shredded Wisconsin cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Wisconsin Monterey Jack cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
2. Stir in bell peppers until tender, about 3-4 minutes
3. Stir in tomatoes, green chiles, rice, beef broth, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 16-18 minutes. Stir in cilantro.
4. Remove from heat and top with cheeses. Cover until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.
5. Serve immediately.

Maple Glazed Chicken Thighs

taken from served from scratch

6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 T olive oil
2 T pure maple syrup
2 T soy sauce
2 T apple cider vinegar
salt

Season chicken with salt.  Heat olive oil in large skillet on med-high.  Mix syrup, soy sauce and vinegar in a bowl.  When oil is hot, add chicken and brown for 4 min then flip.  Add maple mixture to pan and let it boil.  Flip chicken every few min until mixture thickens and chicken is done (15 min or so).

Cheeseburger Gnocchi

taken from kevinandamanda

1 tablespoon butter

1 (16 oz) package potato gnocchi

1/2 lb lean ground beef (I'll use more sometimes)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon mustard powder (optional)

2 cups diced onion (about 1 whole onion)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles (or just regular diced tomatoes)

1 cup beef broth (or water)

1/4 cup heavy cream (I've used whole milk)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi in a single layer and cook on one side for 2-3 minutes until browned and toasted. Shake the pan to toss the gnocchi and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes, tossing occasionally, until both sides are toasted. Remove gnocchi to a plate and set aside.

Turn the heat to high and return skillet to stove. When the pan is very hot and smoking, add the beef and season with salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and mustard powder if desired. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and onions are golden. Drain if necessary.

Add the tomatoes, broth, and gnocchi back into the skillet. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes until the gnocchi is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed.

Off heat, then add the cream and 1/2 cup cheese and stir to combine. Top with remaining cheese and scallions. Place the skillet under the broiler in the oven until cheese is browned and bubbly, about 3 minutes.

So Simple No Bake Cheesecake

1 can sweetened condensed milk
OR if you don't have one, use this substitute from Everyday Food Storage:

1 c. dry milk
1/2 c. hot water
1 c. sugar
1 T butter
Blend together in blender until combined and sugar is dissolved.

1 pkg cream cheese
1/3 c. lemon juice
zest of lemon or lime (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 ready made crust (or make your own)

Blend together in blender and pour in crust and refrigerate until set.  Top with fruit, pie filling, chocolate, eat it plain...whatever

Zucchini Bites

taken from melskitchencafe

1 1/2 c. shredded zucchini
1 egg
1/4-1/2 c. shredded cheddar
1/4 c. panko
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Squeeze water out of zucchini.  Mix ingredients until combined.  Drop onto greased baking sheet and press slightly.  Bake at 425 for 15-20 min.

Skillet Chili Macaroni and Cheese

taken from melskitchencafe

1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped (I've even used onion powder when I didn't have an onion)
3/4 T chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves minced
1 T brown sugar
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
2 c. water
2 c. elbow macaroni (8 oz)
1 c. corn
1 4.5 oz can green chilies
2 c. shredded cheese

Cook onion and beef with chili powder, salt and cumin.  Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until garlic is fragrant.  Stir in tomato sauce, water and macaroni.  Cover and cook and a constant simmer, stirring often until the macaroni is tender.  Stir in 1 c. of cheese, corn and green chilies.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over top, cover and let sit until cheese is melted.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

taken from sallysbakingaddiction.com & slightly adapted

3 large bananas
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. applesauce
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2-1 c. chocolate chips (I just threw in a handful)

Mash bananas.  Add sugar, egg and applesauce.  Add dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Bake at 375 for 18 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Play Doh

2 c. flour
2 c. water
1/2 c. salt
2 T vegetable oil
4 tsp 1 T cream of tartar

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook and stir constantly until it pulls away from sides and is no longer wet.  Knead on counter and add food coloring.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

taken from tasty kitchen 

-these really are so good.  Sometimes I don't use the full amount of butter and reduce it to a couple tablespoons and they still turn out great.  I'll sub regular or brown sugar for the honey sometimes or leave it out all together and they're still great.    

4 cups Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
4-½ cups Buttermilk (I'll add some milk if I don't have this much buttermilk)
½ cups Melted Butter
¼ cups Honey
4 whole Eggs

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients, making a well in the center.  In a small bowl, beat buttermilk, melted butter, honey and eggs. Pour wet ingredients into dry mixture and beat thoroughly. Make sure you are vigorous and you may even take a spatula around the edges to make sure you have no flour clumps. If you need to, you can add more flour or buttermilk to get the right consistency.

Pour the batter onto a hot griddle and do your thing. Just pour a pancake sized amount of batter onto the griddle and cook the bottom side until lightly browned, then flip and do the same on the other side. This makes about 25 pancakes, depending on how big you make them

Beef Stroganoff

slightly changed from melskitchencafe

1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz cream cheese cubed
2 c. beef broth
1/2 c. milk
3 T flour
1/2 c. sour cream
noodles or rice

Cook meat, onion, garlic, salt and pepper on med-high heat until onions are soft and meat is cooked.  Add cubed cream cheese and let melt for a min or 2 and stir into the meat mixture.  Whisk flour into liquid and add to meat.  Stir until slightly thickened and stir in the sour cream.  Serve over noodles or rice.

*I've doubled everything but the meat with success if you want to use less meat.  

Spaghetti Pie

taken from (and very slightly adapted) melskitchencafe

12 ounces thin spaghetti or vermicelli noodles
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 small-medium white or yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (or 2 regular cans diced tomatoes pulsed in blender)
16-ounces tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese (or ricotta or sour cream)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, divided

1. Lightly coat a deep 9 or 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to
400 degrees F.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the noodles until al dente according to package
directions. While the noodles boil, heat a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add the
ground beef or turkey, breaking it into pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the onion, garlic, salt and
pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and continuing to break up the meat, until the meat is cooked
through, 5-7 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and drain the excess grease, if any. Return
the skillet to medium heat and stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil and oregano.
Simmer the sauce over medium or medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
3. When the noodles are done cooking, drain and return to the pot. Immediately stir in the cream
cheese and toss the noodles by lightly lifting them up and over with tongs until the cream cheese is
mostly melted. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of the
mozzarella cheese. Toss until the noodles are evenly coated. Stir in 2 cups of the red sauce. Keep
the remainder of the red sauce warm on the stove.
4. Scrape the noodles into the prepared pie plate and using a flat spatula, press the noodles evenly
into the dish so they are tightly pressed together and evenly flat across the top. Sprinkle the
remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese across the top.
5. Bake the spaghetti pie for 20-22 minutes, until it is hot and bubbly and the cheese is golden on top.
Let the dish rest for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve with remaining red sauce.

Honey Lime Tilapia

taken from Melskitchencafe.com
my kids fought over the last piece of this!

1 lb tilapia filets
Marinade:
2 T lime juice
zest of one lime
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 T honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic minced
Coating:
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

mix together marinade ingredients and place tilapia in ziploc bag and pour marinade over fish.  Refrigerate for at least 1 and up to 4 hours turning bag over occasionally.  Mix together coating ingredients and put in shallow dish.  Dredge fish in coating and cook in 1-2 T oil about 3-4 min per side.  Serve warm with lime wedges.

Vegetable Enchilada Casserole

taken from weelicious - slightly adapted  
all of my kids ate this and no one complained!  Miracle with my picky 5 year old.  

Sauce:
1 T oil
1 small onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 T ground cumin (sounds like a lot but it was great)
1 T chili powder
1 tsp honey
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
1 c. water

Filling:
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. sour cream
1 large egg
1 c. frozen corn
1 can black beans rinsed
1 med red bell pepper chopped
2 c. grated cheese (could probably reduce this)
6-10 corn tortillas (I cut mine and covered each layer)

Preheat oven to 350.  Saute the onion for 4 min, add the garlic, salt, cumin and chili powder and saute an additional minute.  Add tomatoes, water and honey and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 10 min.  Place in blender and puree and set aside.  In bowl, whisk together onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and salt in the sour cream and egg.  Stir in the corn, black beans, bell pepper and 2 c. cheese.  Pour 3/4 c. of sauce in bottom of a 7x11 dish (I filled this completely to the top with all the layers...might be able to do it in a 9x13).  Arrange 2-3 corn tortillas on bottom.  Spread half of the mixture on top of the tortillas.  Cover with 1/2 - 3/4 c. sauce and more tortillas.  Spread the remaining mixture on top of the tortillas, top with remaining tortillas and sauce.  Bake 40 min.

Mac and Cheese Muffins

from The Sneaky Chef

great for kids lunches - like a mac and cheese quiche

4 eggs

1 c. orange puree (sweet potatoes, carrots)

2 c. cheese (I use less)

2 c. cooked macaroni noodles (I used almost 3)

salt and pepper to taste

Wisk together eggs and puree. Add cheese and stir.  Stir in noodles.  Place in greased muffin tin or silicon muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20 min.  

Peanut Butter Power Balls

adapted from pbs fizzy's lunch lab

2 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. natural peanut butter (or 1/2 peanut 1/2 almond butter)
1/2 c. honey (or real maple syrup or a mixture)
1/2 c. ground flax seed
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 c. sunflower seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla
flaked coconut to roll balls in (optional)

Combine all ingredients in mixer with paddle attachment and mix until well blended. Roll in coconut if desired.  Store in refrigerator.

Lunchbox Muffins

1 c. wheat flour
1 c. AP flour (I used 1/2 c. white, 1/4 c. wheat, 1/4 c. oat)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 bananas
3 T honey or maple syrup or molasses
1/2 c. apple juice
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 c. grated zucchini or carrots or a mixture of both
1/2 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine dry ingredients and set aside.  In blender, blend bananas, honey, apple juice and vinegar until smooth.  Mix with dry ingredients.  Fold in zucchini and raisins.  Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 min.

Carrot-Raisin Muffins

1/2 c. raisins
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. grated carrot

Preheat oven to 400.  Soak the raisins in a bowl of hot water.  Mix together dry ingredients.  Add milk, oil and vanilla and mix until just combined.  Fold in the carrots and raisins.  Fill sprayed muffin tin and make 18-22 min.