Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Recipe Review

During the wintertime I find myself wanting to cook a LOT more than usual. For some reason the idea of standing inside a toasty kitchen seems extra appealing when the average wind chill is -13 degrees outside. 
Seriously, these last few days have been ridiculous. I am grateful though that we missed out on the snow, and the THOUSANDS of power outages that happened back home. 

For those of you that are stuck inside (and have power) why not try a new recipe for dinner?! These are a few that I've found, tried, LOVED, and am excited to share! 
Enjoy :)

-------- Lasagna Soup -------

Image from www.bigredclifford.com
Soups are fantastic for frigid winter nights. You can whip this up in a crock pot or over the stove. It's super cheesy, and although the noodles were a bit tricky to manage with a spoon, it was worth the extra effort. 

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- Loaded Philly Cheese-steak Baked Potato -------

Servings: 4  WWpts+: 8
Image from www.skinnytaste.com
Meat and potatoes....enough said. Microwave your taters, and everything else is cooked over the skillet. Whole thing takes about 20 minutes and you've got a tasty meal filled with veggies, protein, and some basic carbs! 

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- Chicken Divan (Lightened Up) -------

Servings: 6  WWpts+: 8
Image from www.skinnytaste.com
This dish taught me what "blanching" was. You cook your broccoli for only a few minutes in boiling water, then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. This keeps them crunchy and also gives you permission to tell your hubby not to mess with you, you're "getting your blanch on". 
After eating this Eric said that we needed to remember this one. I'll take that as a good sign!

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- Stuffed Pepper Soup -------

Servings: 6   WWpts+: 7
Image from www.skinnytaste.com
Can you guys tell I'm a big fan of Skinny Taste? Seriously, Gina has the best recipes out there if you're looking for quick, easy, and healthy. 
This soup falls under all three of those categories. Stuffed peppers are so delicious, but sometimes take a bit longer to cook than I'd like. This is a great way to get the same flavors but in a filling soup. 

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- Grilled Portabello Mushroom Burgers -------

Servings: 4  WWpts+: 8
Image from www.skinnytaste.com
This was my sneaky-pete way of getting Eric to eat a burger, and also a TON of vegetables at the same time. Obviously it's not ground beef, but I still thought these were a great alternative to your traditional burger. I used our George Foreman to grill these bad boys, and loaded them with onions, avocados, tomatoes, spinach, and Swiss cheese.

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta -------

Servings: 4
Image from www.budgetbytes.com
Wednesdays are our pasta nights, and this recipe is as easy as you can get. A creamy sauce with tons of spinach, and aside from boiling your noodles, everything is made in one pan. 

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- Apple Cheddar Bacon Pizza -------

Image from www.somewhatsimple.com
We eat pizza at least once a week in the Wellman house. Scratch that, we MAKE pizza at least once a week. I honestly don't remember the last time we dialed up Domino's and had it delivered. And why would we when store bought crusts are so easy to load up with our favorite fresh toppings and pop in the oven?  
Coming up with different variations of pizza has become a challenge though, so when I saw this recipe I thought "apples...on pizza? SAY WHAT?". But being an equal-opportunity-pizza-eater household, we gave it a try. 
And boy are we glad we did! This mix of crunchy bacon, sweet apples, and tangy barbecue sauce is aces. We skipped the "make and pre-cook your crust" part and just topped our already made crust (we like Boboli and Mama Mary's thin crusts) with the ingredients and cooked according to package directions. 

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili -------

Servings: 9  WWpts+: 6
Image from www.skinnytaste.com
I first made this chili around Thanksgiving, when anything pumpkin just sounded right. Turns out the pumpkin isn't that prominent of a flavor, making this chili perfect any time of the year! I mixed mine up the night before and kept it in the fridge, then in the morning moved it to the Crock Pot, and by the the time we got home from work that evening it was perfect. 

Get the recipe HERE!!!

-------- One Pan Skillet Lasagna -------

Image from www.number-2-pencil.com
"We've got some floaters!!!"
This dish introduced us to the magic that is frozen cheese ravioli. We now keep a few bags of it in our freezer at all times whether we're making this particular recipe or not. They're so easy to just boil up, make a quick sauce, then as soon as your ravioli starts floating they're done! 
This skillet lasagna is great though. Everything is done in one giant pan, and it's just oozing with wonderful cheesy goodness. 

Get the recipe HERE!!!


Wooo! That was a long one, but take my word each, of these meals are totally worth getting crazy in the kitchen for! 
Good luck and happy cooking! 

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