Mozzarella Stick Fail = Cheese Bread Win!

I had a party on Saturday, and I was excited because it gave me an excuse to make some appetizer recipes I had been wanting to try! One of them was homemade baked mozzarella sticks! String cheese dipped into milk and then into bread crumbs, then put in the oven. I made the mistake of not watching them carefully.....

OOPS! Ended up with a layer of cheese and bread crumbs! Which was very yummy all on its own, but couldn't imagine serving it at a party!

Luckily I had some flat bread squares! I let the cheese cool a bit, cut it to the size of the squares, then popped them back in the oven for a few minutes so the cheese would adhere to the bread.

Ta-Da! Accidental YUMMY cheese bread :) But you can do it on purpose if you want!!

Easy Spinach Patties

Made these for dinner tonight! So good :)

You will need:

1 bag of thawed and well drained spinach

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder (not to be confused with garlic salt!!)

1) mix all ingredients well in a large bowl

2) Form into patties (Makes about 4 regular sized patties) (mine in the picture is XL haha)

Cook until heated through. Flipping over every few minutes.

Time will vary depending on size. My first patty was extra large, so it needed about 12 minutes, while normal size ones need about 8-10

I just ate this as it was. I LOVE spinach. You could use it as a burger patty and put it in a bun, make miniature patties and serve them on crackers as an appetizer, oh the possibilities!! :)

Scrabble Coasters

These are a cute fun idea! You can use random letters, or spell words. I made mine drink related :) I used 4 tiles across and 4 tiles down, 5x5 gets a little big. 

You will need:

Scrabble tiles! (you can use them from an old game, or I got mine on etsy.com)

Cork (depending on the thickness, you may need enough for 2 layers)

Glue made for sticking to wood.

An Exacto knife

Modge podge or an acrylic sealer

1) Figure out what your want your coasters to say, or where you want the tiles to be.

I wanted mine to be drink related, and since they were a present for my mom for mothers day, thought of all the drinks she enjoyed! In this case, Red wine, Hot Tea, Diet Coke, and Margaritas! It took me a long time to get it all figured out with a standard tile set. You may want to order 2 so you have more letters to work with!

2) Glue your tiles onto your cork

I found this "Scotch" glue at Joann fabrics for about $5 it worked well! It doesn't bond right away, so make sure the tiles aren't slipping out of position as you glue them.

3) my cork was very thin, so I added another layer underneath

4) Add a layer or 2 of modge podge or sealer of of choice on top.

4) Once everything is good and dry, cut your squares out (carefully please)

You now have beautiful personalized coasters :) 

Andes Mint Cookies

These are some of the BEST cookies I have ever tasted!! So quick and easy as well. That is dangerous!

You will need:
Box of Devils food chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
Package of "Andes" mints.
Cooking spray/

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

1. Spray cookie sheet(s) with cooking spray
2. Mix your cake mix, oil, and eggs together.
3. make balls with your dough, and place onto your cookie sheet.
4.Cook 6 to 9 minutes MAX
5. After you take your cookies out of the oven, place your "Andes" mint on top. It will start to melt, spread it out with a spoon and let cool. Or gobble it up if you can't resist!

ENJOY! :)

Baked Green Bean Fries

Adapted from: http://nutritionfor.us/2011/11/baked-green-bean-fries-and-good-living/

What You Need:

Bag of fresh green beans

Flour

Bread Crumbs

2 Eggs, Beaten

Salt

Pepper

(you can add chili powder to the flour if you want them to be spicy!)

cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees

Spray a few cookie sheets with your cooking spray. Set aside.

Put your flour in a shallow bowl.

In a 2nd bowl, beat your eggs.

Put your bread crumbs in a 3rd shallow bowl. Mix salt and pepper in to your liking.

Dip your green beans into the flour, shaking off an excess. Dip your bean in the egg next, then into the breadcrumbs, making sure it is good and covered!

Transfer your bean to cookie sheet.

Repeat!

Bake 15-20 minutes depending on how many beans you are making. They should be crispy on the outside.

Serve with ranch or hot sauce.

Nutritional information per serving (8 beans)  150 calories, 12 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, and 6 grams of carbohydrates. 

But really, who is going to only eat 8 beans????

ENJOY!:)

Running Outside!

Its that time again! Spring! I love the warm weather! Means more time spent outside! Especially while working out. Now I don't know about you, but I refuse to wear a fanny pack. And who wants to carry a purse while they are out for a run?? I went searching for armbands but they were too pricey for me. I just wanted something simple that would hold my house keys and my phone. (phone mostly because I use apps to track my workouts) So searching around the house we go! I came up with this:

Socks I had bought in high school (gasp!) that I had worn for a costume once, and never again.

So you cut the sock in half. You keep this part.

Slide it onto your arm. Then fold it over on top of it self. You now have a pocket! You can sew it if you like, but I like mine to be adjustable.

Happy running! :)

My "Winging it" Lasagna

I had never made lasagna before. But it seemed easy enough. Beef, cheese, noodles, sauce, right? So I winged it. (wang it?, no that can't be right)

Materials:
OVEN READY Lasagna noodles (next to regular lasagna noodles in your grocery store) technically you should only need one box but I always end up with broken ones, so I buy extra
1- 1/2 pounds ground beef
6 jars "prego" sauce of choice
LOTS of mozzarella cheese (I just buy the largest bag they have and end up using most of it!)
15oz tub of ricotta cheese (you may not use it all)
Garlic (you can go the hard route, and buy a bulb and mince it up yourself, or buy pre-minced)
McCormick "Italian" spice mix
cooking spray

Saute pan
9X13 pan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

First, you brown your ground beef in your saute pan. throw all your garlic in there and let the meat soak up the flavor. I personally love garlic, so the more the better. I used the whole clove.

Spray your 9X13 pan with cooking spray.

Then you start layering. Sauce, noodles, beef, ricotta, mozzarella, spices. Repeat. Repeat.

1. It is important you cover the bottom of your pan with sauce before you place your noodles, I did not the first time, and the noodles on the bottom burned.

2. Lay as many noodles on the bottom of the pan lengthwise as you can fit without them overlapping. I can get 3 or 4 depending on the pan.

3. Lay on a good layer off your beef garlic mixture, although you still want to be able to see the noodles!

4. The ricotta is the fun part, because of its consistency, you can just pinch it out of the tub, or you can use a knife. Place it randomly within the layer. Use as little or as much as you want. You should barely be able to see the noodles now.

5. Give it a nice coat of mozzarella! The more the better :) I just love cheese!

6. Add a couple of shakes of spices to your liking.

Repeat steps 1 through 6. I can usually fit 2 full layers in.

Then finish with a final layer of noodles, lots of sauce, and some spices. (you will put more cheese on top later)

You may want to put your pan of lasagna on a cookie sheet before you put it in the oven to control any spill over!

Let bake about an hour, Add some more mozzarella on top. Bake another 15 minutes.
NOTE: All ovens are different. In my oven, it takes an hour and 15 minutes. In a different oven it has taken an hour and 45. The sauce should be bubbling around the edges, and the noodles on top should be soft.

Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving, so it stays together better

ENJOY! :)