Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole~by Kelsey

Another Pinterest find.  Even the kids like it!
http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/blast-from-the-past-with-a-new-twist/

Ingredients:

One 10 oz can condensed Cream of Broccoli soup (or mushroom)

1/3 cup mayonnaise (I will try Greek yogurt next time.)

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, colby-jack, etc)

1/2 teaspoon Splenda/sugar

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Dash freshly grated nutmeg

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2 cups cooked broccoli

1 1/2 cups  COOKED quinoa (see note)

Feshly grated Parmesan cheese

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To cook quinoa:

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon salt

 Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear.  In a small saucepan combine the quinoa, water, and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for 18-20 minutes, or until fluffy and the white ring/tail is visible.  Fluff with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a shallow (8×8 in or 5-6 cups) casserole dish with vegetable cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine the soup, mayonnaise, milk, shredded cheese, Splenda, pepper, and nutmeg until well mixed. Stir in the quinoa and broccoli.
Spoon mixture into prepared casserole.  Sprinkle on a couple tablespoons of Parmesan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly on the edges and golden.  Makes 8 generous 1/2-cup servings.

Homemade Cream Cheese Mints~by Kelsey

I found this on Pinterest.  Very quick and easy and good!  I made them plain, but there are all sorts of variations. 
 
http://kelleyhighway.blogspot.com/2012/03/homemade-cream-cheese-mints.html


Ingredients:

1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon pure peppermint or mint extract

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

(Optional) Food coloring

(Optional) Rainbow-colored sugar crystals

Line baking sheets with waxed paper. 

In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer beat together softened cream cheese and peppermint extract.  This is a good time to add the food coloring if you want.

 

Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until smooth, kneading in the last of the powdered sugar with hands or a heavy spoon.

 

 Lightly dust the wax paper-lined baking sheets with sifted powdered sugar.

 

Using a 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon, form mixture into balls the size of a cherry.

 

 Place two rows of dough balls 1/2-inch or so apart, then flatten with a pretty stamp or a fork, like I do.  If you'll lay out a couple rows first, by the time you're ready to roll out the third row, the tops of the dough balls are dry enough to flatten easily without having to dip and re-dip the fork in powdered sugar.

 

 Let the mints stand overnight.  Every several hours, gently turn them over.

 

Follow the link I posted to see all the different variations.

BBQ Pork Loin and Jasmine Rice~by Kelsey

My mother-in-law has made this for us a couple of times and we all loved it, so I had to try it out myself.  It is simple, makes good left overs, and is easy to transport for tailgating, etc.

Ingredients:
Pork Loin
Bottle of BBQ Sauce, your choice of brand, but we insist on Sweet Baby Ray's
Jasmine Rice (I had no idea that there was such a thing.  I used white rice the first time and it just didn't work.  Then I found out that there is actually JASMINE rice, so make sure you get that!)

Put the pork loin in the slow cooker and dump the bottle of bbq sauce over it.  Cook on low all day, or on high half the day.  When you are ready to eat, grab a couple forks and shred the pork in the slow cooker.  It should pretty much just fall apart as you stir it around.  Cook the rice according to the package directions and based on how many servings you need.  Spoon the pork and sauce over the rice and enjoy!  Trust me, you won't be sorry that you made this!

Green Apple Dip~by Kelsey

From the Bring 'Em On Home cook book.

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
Jar of marshmallow cream
Granny Smith apples, cut into wedges

Mix the cream cheese and marshmallow cream.  Dip the apples or other fruits. 

Low-Fat Pistachio JELL-O Salad~by Kelsey

This recipe was on the box of Pistachio JELL-O.  They called it "Watergate Salad".  It was really good and quick and easy.

Ingredients:
1 pkg (4-serving size)  JELL-O Pistachio flavor fat free sugar free
1 8-oz can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup vanilla low fat yogurt (I used non-fat greek yogurt)
2 1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP whipped topping

Stir dry pudding mix, pineapple and yogurt in large bowl until well blended.  Gently stir in 2 cups of the whipped topping.  Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.  Serve topped with remaining whipped topping.

Healthy Waldorf Salad~by Kelsey

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It is actually really good (even though it is healthy) and very easy.  I used non-fat plain Greek yogurt, and thought I would have to add sugar or honey, but it was actually just fine without it.

Ingredients:

• 4 apples, cubed 
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup raisins 

Lime Jello~by Kelsey

I found this recipe in my new Bring 'Em On Home cookbook.  It's all family-favorite recipes from rodeo cowboys and their families.  It's a really great cookbook!  This recipe was a bit ambiguous.  It called for "x-large" packages so I had to do some experimenting to get the right sizes.  I am writing it down with the sizes that I had success with.

Ingredients:
29 oz can of pears
8 oz cream cheese
6 oz lime jello
8 oz Cool Whip

Drain the pear juice into a cooking pan.  On the stove over medium heat, stir and dissolve the Jello into the pear juice, then cool off a little.  In a blender, blend pears and cream cheese.  In a medium-sized glass pan, combine the Jello mixture with the pear mixture and then fold in cool whip.  Let set in the refrigerator.

Pea Salad ~ by Sarah

Mom makes a pea salad that I have always loved.  She gave me her recipe and a different recipe she had seen and then I combined them with others I had seen to make this one.  It was yummy!  All amounts are general--you decide based on what you like!

Ingredients:
two bags frozen peas
two stalks celery, finely chopped
green onions, finely chopped
cheddar cheese, cubed in small cubes
peanuts
bacon bits
water chestnuts
homemade ranch dressing
boiled eggs--I didn't do this this time due to time

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except ranch, in large bowl.  Add ranch dressing, a little at a time, until you get a consistency you like.  The longer before serving you can make it to let the flavors meld, the better!