Pizza Sticks

 Ingredients:
1 pkg. Jiffy Pizza Crust Mix
1/4 tsp. Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1/2 cup Warm water
3 oz. pepperoni slices, chopped
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Optional Coating:
2 Tbsp. Margarine or butter, melted
1/4 tsp. Garlic and herb seasoning

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Grease baking sheet.
Mix pizza crust, seasoning, pepperoni and mozzarela cheese. Add warm water and mix well.
Spread parmeasan cheese on flat surface; drop dough into cheese and knead cheese into dough.
Roll into bread sticks. Size and shape are up to you.
Bake 15-18 mins depending on the size of your bread stick.
Optional: Brush coating onto bread sticks once they are removed from the oven.

I dipped by bread sticks into spaghetti sauce, but you can do whatever you want.

4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

There is a recipe on Pinterest for peanut butter cookies that consists of only 4 ingredients. I went to the photo's link and read that a lady had been making them for a really long time and she said "these are the best peanut butter cookies I've ever tastes". I was pretty skeptical of her statement, having had some pretty darn good cookies in my life time. Since the recipe calls for only four ingredients I decided to give it a try.
The batter actually tastes really good. There is one thing I'd change about the recipe, but other than that the cookies are a success. If you like soft cookies these are for you. They are really peanut buttery, which is a good thing for most of us peanut butter lovers. Just be sure to have a glass of milk or water when you eat a cookie.
Here is the recipe with my alterations to the original.
 Ingredients:
1 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until combined.  
3. Roll with hands medium balls of dough and place on cookie sheet. 
4. Flatten the dough balls with a fork, making a cross pattern on the cookies.  
5. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. The cookies may look and feel like they are not done, but as they cool they will change. Allow the cookies to rest on the counter for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. In my opinion the cookies taste better once completely cooled.

Cheesy Bean-Bacon-Chicken Quesadilla

Being a college student, I need meals that are simple, filling, and most important CHEAP.

I packed all my favorite things into a tortilla, and came up with a recipe for heaven. Check it out!

Cheesy Bean-Bacon-Chicken Quesadilla

Ingredients

3 Flour tortillas

1can refried beans

2cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

2 strips of bacon, crispy cooked, crumble

1 chicken breast, shredded

1 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

Butter, melted

Optional: Scallions chopped

Step 1:

Spread beans on half of tortilla. Then, on that same half, put on the cheese, bacon, and chicken (scallions too). Fold tortilla. (Optional: if your tortilla won’t stay folded, then place in microwave for 10-15 seconds). Lightly brush melted butter on both sides of each filled tortilla.

Step 2:

Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 2 filled tortillas at a time 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and heated through. Cut into wedges. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

Ingredients

1.5 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts [or any nuts you like]

1/2 cup dried fruit (any you like – raisins, cranberries, apples)

1/4 cup seeds (any you like – sunflower, pumpkin, flax)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp kosher salt

1.25 cups skim milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Method:Preheat oven to 350*

Mix dry ingredients.

Mix wet ingredients.

Pour wet into dry. Stir to combine.

Pour into a 9×9 baking dish either coated in cooking spray or lined with parchment.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Cut into 9 squares.

Makes 9 servings .

Each bar is appx. 170 calories, 3 grams fiber and 5 grams protein. [Cut into 12 squares reduces calories to about 125 calories per square]

While delicious, the only sweetness in these comes from the dried fruit. Add in 1/4 – 1/2 cup brown sugar if you like.

The variations are endless: cranberries, coconut, all kinds of dried fruit, nuts, etc.

Steak with Wild Mushroom Barley Risotto

Today I tackled Risotto for the first time. The cooking process went on foreeeevvveeerrr. Sadly, I didn't really like the outcome. I'm pretty sure its because I am not a big fan of herbs. Dad liked it though, which is good. However, dad is a Fotheringham, and Fotheringhams like food in general. Anyway, if I made this dish again, I would changed it up quite a bit. The only part of the dish that I liked was the steak on top. But who doesn't like a good steak. Since I didn't like the meal, I'm not posting the recipe.

Quinoa Muffins

Spring Break means I have time to explore the wonderful world of cooking and baking. Ever since I began running, I have been searching high and low for a recipe that would give me my protein for after workouts. Recently, I found a recipe for Whole Wheat- Honey Quinoa Muffins. I felt the recipe was lacking in some areas, so I added a few of my favorite healthy ingredients. The muffins turned out great. I recommend them for anyone needing a new way to get their source of protein. They would be a hearty addition to a nice breakfast too.

Quinoa Muffins

Preheat oven 350F

Makes 12 muffins

1c Quinoa

2c Flour

1 1/2tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Salt

1/2tsp Baking Soda

1/2c Dried Cranberries

4Tbsp Ground Flaxseed

1/3c Chopped Walnuts

1/2c Lowfat Milk

2/3c Honey

1/4c Light Olive Oil

1 Egg

1tsp Vanilla Extract

In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and two cups of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover; and let cook for 15-20 mins, until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Let cool.

(This was the first time I'd cooked with quinoa. Note to self: one cup of uncooked quinoa makes about 3 cups after cooked.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cranberries, walnuts, flax seed, and the cooked quinoa.

In a small bowl, whisk together milk, honey, oil, egg, and vanilla.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir until combined (do not over mix).

Divide the batter into muffin cups.

Bake 20-30 minutes. I used a convection oven, and baked the muffins on 350F for 20 mins.

These muffins freeze really well.

Enjoy!

For those of you who like to know the Nutrition Facts....

Quinoa: 1 cup 170g. 626cal, 93cal from fat. Daily Value: Total fat 10g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 9mg, Total Carbohydrate 109g, Dietary Fiber 12g, Protein 24g.

Quinoa Muffin (if I did the calculations right, which I doubt) : 1 muffin 87g. 233cal, 84cal from fat. Daily Value: Total fat 10g, Cholesterol 18mg, Sodium 261mg, Total Carbohydrate 33g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 6g.

We Love Our Missionaries #2

The Elders were at our house again this past week for dinner. After teaching a discussion to a friend of ours, the missionaries vanished. Then we found them in the kitchen. No they weren't eating our food. They were doing the dishes. How awesome is that.