NEW OBSESSION WITH CHEX MIX

Okay I got this off the CHEX CEREAL WEBSITE.  IT IS AMAZING.

Chex® Pumpkin Pie Crunch

Butter, brown sugar and spice make a sweet and crunchy cereal mix. Prep Time:15 min Start to Finish:15 min Makes:16 servings (1/2 cup each)  75 ratings

Do-Ahead

To ease the load of last-minute prep, make the mix up to 2 weeks ahead and store in an airtight container.

1/4	cup brown sugar
1	tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4	cup butter
2	teaspoons vanilla
2	cups Cinnamon Chex® cereal
2	cups Wheat Chex® cereal
2	cups Honey Nut Chex® cereal
8	oz pecans

1.	In small bowl, mix brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; set aside. In small microwave-safe dish, microwave butter on High about 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in vanilla. In large microwavable bowl, mix all cereals and pecans. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly distributed. Add sugar and spice mixture and stir until coated.
2.	Microwave uncovered on High 5 minutes or until mixture begins to brown, stirring every minute. Spread on wax paper or a cookie sheet to cool. Store in airtight container.

1 Serving: Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 10mg; Sodium 150mg; Total Carbohydrate 23g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 7g); Protein 2g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 8%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 6%; Iron30% Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 1/2 MyPyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils, 1 oz-equivalents Meat & Beans
*% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Baked Pasta with Roasted Peppers and Zucchini

Baked Pasta with Roasted Peppers and Zucchini

About 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 small zucchinis, grated
• About 1½ whole red peppers worths of roasted pepper (mine came in a jar soaked inoil, drained)
• 1 medium sized onion, diced
• 1 small head of garlic, peeled & finely chopped
• (14 oz) crushed/whole tomatoes in a can
• 2½ cups of penne pasta 
• 1 tbsp  Italian Herbs
• Black pepper
• Salt to taste
• ¾ cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella, romano and parmesan)
• Fresh parsley for garnish *optional*

1. Peel onion and garlic. Dice onion and finely chop garlic. Set aside

.2. Roughly grate zucchinis. I used a food processor with a grater disc to do mine. You want the zucchinis to be quite coarsely grated. I find the juice from zucchinis is likely to ooze out if they were grated finely. You don’t want that.

3. Blend the canned tomato with roasted pepper until silky smooth. Set aside.

NO BAKES!

No posts have been done FOREVER!  I know this one is lame, but I miss you two girls :)

No bake cookies.. I have been craving for wayyyyy tooo long!

No Bake Cookies... no PB (due to not having any cheap kind to add in)

2 C white sugar
1/2 C butter
1/2 C milk
3 T cocoa
3 C oats
1 t Vanilla

1. Mix together sugar, butter or margarine, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
2. Remove from heat and mix in cocoa, quick oatmeal and vanilla. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper.

Black Bean Taquitos

Black Bean Taquitos

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 T salsa
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 C frozen spinach chopped
• 1 can corn (do not process with beans)
• 1 C shredded cheese
• 8-10 soft whole wheat tortillas or corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees 

Place beans, salsa, spices, and lime juice in food processor until mostly smooth. 

Add remaining ingredients except tortillas

Place in tortillas and toll them up

Spray outsides with nonstick cooking spray

Bake for 15-20 minutes 

Got from a great cookbook, but altered it a little bit.  VERY EASY.  I used a blender since I don't have a food processor. 

Cake Pops

INGREDIENTS:
1 box chocolate cake mix PLUS whatever ingredients are required for the cake
1 can chocolate frosting
1 bag of candy melts (can buy them at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc. )
Toppings- I used sprinkles and Heath candy bar bits
Sucker sticks (got mine at Hobby Lobby)


DIRECTIONS:
Bake the cake according to the directions on the box. Let the cake cool, then crumble into little pieces. Spoon the whole can of frosting into the crumbled cake and mix together well. Mold the cake into about 1 inch balls and place onto a cookie sheet. Stick the cake balls into the fridge or freezer and let cool a little longer. Then melt the candy melts into a bowl. Once the cake balls are ready, take a sucker stick and dip one end into the chocolate, then stick into the cake ball. Dip the cake pop into the chocolate and make sure the whole ball is covered. Then dip into desired toppings. Place on parchment paper until chocolate is set. 

Rigatoni

Okay, so this is probably one of the easiest meals to make when your starving, can't wait to eat, and don't have that much food in your fridge. This happened to me the other night, and this is what I made. Kind of embarrassing how easy it is.

Ingredients: 
1 cup uncooked rigatoni pasta
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (You use the yogurt as a replacement for alfredo sauce, both are good the yogurt is just obviously healthier)
chopped green onions (optional)


Follow directions for cooking the pasta. Mix together both the marinara sauce and Greek Yogurt. Heat the sauce either on the stove or in the microwave. Pour sauce over pasta, mix together, and top with green onions. 

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup of shortening
2/3 cup of butter (slightly melted)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER, THEN SLOWLY ADD IN:

3 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

AFTER ALL INGREDIENTS ARE MIXED WELL, STIR IN:

1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

ROLL DOUGH INTO 1 1/2 INCH BALLS AND PLACE ONTO PARCHMENT PAPER

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 8-10 MIN.