Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium-sized spaghetti squash

1 Tablespoon butter

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 Tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups milk(I used fat-free)

1 Tablespoon cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 Tablespoons extra for topping

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes and fresh parsley, for optional garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

First, prep the squash. Cut spaghetti squash in half using a large sharp knife, scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet covered with water. Bake until tender, about an hour.

As an alternate way of baking: Poke a few holes deep into the whole squash with a paring knife. Bake for 60 minutes, remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes before slicing in half with a large serrated knife. Scoop out the seedy inside leaving the spaghetti strands.

Once squash is cooked, use a fork to gently scrape the “spaghetti” strands into the center.

For the sauce, melt butter in a small pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in flour, cooking for another minute while stirring. Whisk in milk until no lumps remain. Once hot, add cream cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Spoon sauce equally into each spaghetti squash half. Gently pull up the spaghetti strands to coat as much as possible with the sauce. Top with extra Parmesan and place under the broiler of your oven for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Top each half with a pinch of red pepper flakes and fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Recipe shared from: http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com

Oven-Baked Zucchini Fries

3 zucchini (approx. 1 lb.)
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese1 packet Shake & Bake Coating Mix
1 small egg

Heat oven to 450ºF. Trim the zucchini -cut crosswise in half, then cut each piece into 1/4-inch sticks. Add cheese to coating mix in shaker bag; shake gently to combine. Whisk egg in medium bowl. Add zucchini; toss to coat. Use tongs to place 1/4 of the zucchini in shaker bag; close bag and shake to evenly coat. Spread onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining zucchini. Bake for 12 to 13 min. or until golden brown, turning the baking tray 180 degrees after 7 min to facilitate even baking. Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients. Remove the baked fries from the oven, and serve them with your favorite dipping sauce.

Jalapeno Popper Wontons

Jalapeno Popper Wontons
( Just look for the lowest carb wontons wrappers)
1 package refrigerated square wonton wrappers
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened (or light cream cheese)
3 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Vegetable oil for frying
Coarse salt

1. In a bowl, combine cream cheese, jalapenos, and cheddar cheese. Arrange wontons in a single layer on a baking sheet.

2. Add 1 teaspoon of the filling to the center of each wonton (don't overfill them). Dip your fingers in a bowl of water and run your wet fingers around all edges of each wonton. Fold the wontons over the filling, pinching the edges to seal to make a triangle and removing any air bubbles.

3. Fry wontons in batches in hot oil until browned and cripsy. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with coarse salt. Serve warm.

Easy Apple Pie Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars

~ Apple Pie Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars ~


Only Three Ingredients  Unbelievably Easy & Delicious

These bars are the best of both worlds … apple pie and cookies with no utensils required! These are a great dessert to pack up for a summer picnic. Or, warm up a cookie bar and top it with vanilla ice cream for an a la mode treat! 

Ingredients
One 16.5 oz tube of Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
One 20 oz. can of apple pie filling
Cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup of granulated sugar & 4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon)

InstructionsPress 2/3 of the cookie dough into the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan.
Sprinkle with 2/3 of the cinnamon sugar.
Spread the apple pie filling over the cookie base.
Take small amounts of the remaining cookie dough, flatten it slightly and place over the pie filling. It will not cover the pie filling completely.
Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
Bake in a 350* oven until the cookie dough is baked - mine took about 35-40 minutes.
Allow bars to cool and cut into squares.

Grilling Goodness

We are always wanting to try something different.  We get into ruts and seem to eat the same thing week after week.  We have really gotten into grilling the past few weeks and have a had a great time trying different dishes.  This one was really good, liked by all with no known complaints, lol. We started out by grilling ALL of the ingredients, the chicken was grilled until completely cooked, followed by adding the pineapples, then the peppers and onions.  The peppers and onions were just grilled enough to get some good grill lines going.

After grilling, all the items were cut into bite sized pieces.  I mixed up the pineapple juice from the canned pineapple with some soy sauce, brown sugar and a hint of garlic powder, cheyenne powder, crushed red and black pepper and sea salt to taste.  I made foil packets and placed equal amounts of food items in each packet.  I then divided up the liquid into the packets and tightly closed each one.  I threw them back on the grill for about 10 minutes to let the heat help marinate the packet contents. The chicken stayed moist and the veggies still had some crisp to them.

The results were a slightly tangy spicy with the salty sweet mix.  The grilled pineapple burst with flavor and made me feel like I got dessert with my deal!  It was yummy, fairly healthy and super easy to make.  

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake mix 

1 1/4 cups champagne

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 egg whites

4 to 5 drops red food color


Champagne Frosting

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup champagne

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 to 5 drops red food color

Garnishes
Betty Crocker pink decorating sugar Edible pink pearls

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.

1. In large bowl, mix dry cake mix and champagne. Add oil, egg whites and food color. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed

2. minutes. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

3. Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

4. In medium bowl, beat frosting ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle with garnishes. Store loosely covered.


Expert Tips
Champagne is a sparkling wine, and while many expensive champagnes are available, this is one time you might choose less expensive champagne. Have the champagne at room temperature when preparing the cake.

For pink decorator sugar crystals, edible pink pearls and decorative cupcake liners, check out fancyflours.com.

Sprinkle garnishes on cupcakes just before serving to maximize sparkle and keep them from absorbing moisture and melting into frosting.

Fried Pickles

I LOVE fried pickles!

1 jar dill pickle spears

1 cup flour

1/2 cup plain yellow corn meal

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1 cup milk

Vegetable Oil to cook in

Ranch Dressing for dipping

Pour vegetable oil to a depth of at least 1/2 inch in medium sized skillet and place over medium high heat. Drain pickles and place spears on paper towel lined plate to absorb moisture while you prepare breading.

Place corn meal in small bowl. Add 1/2 cup flour and seasoned salt. Stir until well combined. In separate bowl, pour remaining flour and place milk in third bowl.

Using your hands, dip a pickle into milk, then flour, then milk, then cornmeal breading. Repeat until all pickles are breaded.

Carefully place pickles into hot oil and cook until browned, stirring once if needed, about ten minutes.

Remove from skillet and place on paper towel lined plate. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with ranch dressing.

These are extremely hot inside for several minutes after cooking.

Makes about 8