Baked Italian Nachos

I LOVE the Italian nachos served at Johnny Carinos! That being said, I don't like to fry things at home (mostly because I usually get hurt doing so). So to replicate the flavor without the mess, I found this recipe for Italian Nachos in which the chips are actually baked! Yum

Restaurant copycat recipe!

Pasta Chips

20 wonton wrappers

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Nachos

1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled

1 (10 oz) container alfredo sauce

Choose your own toppings :

        1/2 cup chopped tomato  

        1/4 cup sliced green onion

        1 can sliced ripe olives

        2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno peppers

        2 tablespoons banana peppers

       1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

       1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions: 

1. Rub olive oil evenly onto a baking sheet. Cut wontons in half diagonally and cover baking sheet with a single layer of wontons. Brush wontons with olive oil and sprinkle with oregeno, if desired.
2. Bake chips at 350ºF for 6 minutes or until lightly browned
3. Meanwhile brown the Italian sausage and drain fat.
4. On a platter layer the pasta chips, sausage, and sauce. Top with the tomato, onions, olives and peppers. Finish with shredded cheese and red pepper flakes.
5. Place in warm oven for 5 minutes to warm cheese and serve.

***These nachos were delicious! The wonton chips were perfect and would be great substitutes for tortilla chips any time. Italian nacho chips traditionally are softer and less crunchy than tortillas, but bake to your preference! Also, after trying this recipe, I would recommend skipping the layering of chips and cheese and mixing the sauce, sausage, and toppings to create a dip so that you can load up each chip with as much goodness as you want!***

A pumpkin brunch

So to use up the remainder of the pureed pumpkin from my Pumpkin Ravioli recipe, I looked up this recipe for pumpkin pancakes. They were delicious and tasted lightly of pumpkin bread. I didn't use the full amount of pumpkin puree (as I was just using up the rest of the can from my previous recipe), but I would recommend using the full amount if you love pumpkin.

Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Pancakes:
Ingredients:
1 cup white or whole wheat
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch ground ginger
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin purée
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup milk

Instructions:
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat or heat up a griddle.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oatmeal, baking power, spices, and sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.
Make your pancakes (I think everyone knows how to do this)
Serve hot with maple syrup and a sprinkling of chopped toasted pecans.
Enjoy!

Healthy banana oatmeal breakfast-snack-dinner cookies

I'm still on my quest for healthy-ish recipes! I have a HUGE sweet tooth, so I decided to make some healthier chocolate chip cookies:

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• ⅓ cup canola oil
• 2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
• ½ cup chocolate chips, walnuts, or raisins
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• a sprinkle of cinnamon
• 2t cocoa, 1 t sugar (optional)
• Cooking spray

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use a potato masher, fork, or hand mixer to mash bananas
3. Spoon cookies onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Move cookies to a wire rack to cool.

These are delicious! And I don't feel so bad about eating 4 at once! Original recipes from this website!

Taco cupcakes

So anyone fluent in Pinterest-ese may recognize these easy wonton taco cupcakes! Easy and delicious.

I made these just for the two of us, so you will probably need more ingredients!

Taco Cupcakes:
6-10 wonton wrappers
1/2 lb taco meat (This is a great way to use leftovers!)
Cheese (to taste)
Salsa
Lettuce
Guacamole (see recipe below)

1) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
2) Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Put one wonton wrapper in each spot. Press down the middle of the wrapper so only the corners are sticking up
3) Mix cheese, salsa, and pre-cooked taco meat
4) Fill your wonton wrappers to the brim
5) Top with additional salsa, lettuce, or your favorite taco goodies Guacamole:

*Mash an avacado *add salsa (I like around 2T), garlic powder (start with 1/2 t), lemon juice (1/2 t), and salt to taste!!

A La Olive Garden

I was very excited when I found this copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana recipe! Delish! Here is my modified version of the recipe

Zuppa Toscana
1 lb. Italian sausage
5 or 6 russet potatoes (cut into small chunks so they will cook faster!)
1/4 c. bacon bits
1 or 2t garlic powder
2 c. kale or 2 c. spinich (I made it with both, worked either way!)
2-4 cups chicken broth, depending on preference
1 quart water
1 c. half and half

1. Brown the sausage in a pan (If using sausage links, remove the skins and throw them out)
2. Place cooked Italian sausage, chicken broth, water, garlic, potatoes and onion in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on High for 3 hours or until potatoes are cooked and soft.
4. Add the kale and cook for another 30 minutes.
5. Add whipping cream to taste and serve

Healthy (ish) raviolios

It's a new year and I am attempting to be more healthy. As someone who loves great tasting food and is not a huge fan of vegetables, this could be a challenge. But for now I am trying to substitute vegetables into some of my favorite foods. I LOVE italian food, especially ravioli and spaghetti (usually of the chef boyardee variety). As I am lactose intolerant, it is hard to find recipes that do not use a lot of cheese! Here is what I made for dinner tonight:

Pumpkin ravioli
Wonton wrappers
¾ cup pumpkin purree
1 t nutmeg
Pinch pepper
2 oz cream cheese
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp thyme
Olive oil

1. Mix pumpkin puree, cream cheese, and spices together in a large bowl.
2. Dollop one heaping tablespoon of the pumpkin mixture in the center of the wonton wrappers.
3. Brush a little water around the filling all the way to the edges of each wonton wrapper.
4. Bake at 350 for a few minutes on each side or pan fry
Makes 28 raviolis.

* I altered the recipe by adding cinnamon and cutting out the cumin only because it is at Lee's apartment). I pan fried them in butter and thyme and poured the butter on top. They were good, Lee liked them more than I do. They had a little too much pumpkin for me (I know, they ARE pumpkin raviolis). Next time I think I would add some butternut squash and maybe some pureed apples!*

Blackened Tilapia Tacos

I did not grab a picture of these easy tacos before they were all gobbled up! I made up this recipe as I went, so let me know if you have any suggestions

 Recipe serves two:
4 small, boneless tilapia fillets (2 large ones)
paprika
ground red pepper pepper
1 avocado
1 mango
soft shell tacos

Rub the spices over the defrosted tilapia fillets. Pan fry in oil (about 5 minutes). Chop up the avocado and mango, add a squeeze of lime juice if you want it to be more like a salsa. Add your favorite toppings!

Jalapeno Chicken!

Jalapeno Cream Chicken

A while ago, we tried this delicious chicken originally from the Low Carb Friends website.

3 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (If you like it more spicy, I would recommend mashing another jalapeno and adding it)
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup chicken broth
 3 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped, grease reserved
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Sprinkle cumin and chili powder on each side of chicken breasts and pan fry in the bacon grease until cooked through, flipping half way. Remove chicken and keep warm. Throw chopped jalapeno and garlic in pan and cook for approximately 2 minutes over medium heat. Add chicken broth, then add cream cheese and stir in until melted. Add shredded cheddar and stir until melted. Add bacon crumbles, stirring through for a minute or so. Spoon sauce over chicken.