taste of tuesday: what's been cookin'

here are a few of my new favorite recipes that have been making repeat appearances at our dinner table 3 ingredient pulled pork sandwiches

so easy and simple. great for a hot summer day when you don't want to warm your kitchen by slaving over the stove. and who'd a thunk: rootbeer!?! don't forget the slaw.

(almost as good as my chipotle pulled pork sandwiches)

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mascarpone creme & fresh berries

need i say more? when looking for something to do with all that fruit you just bought at Costco, try this. easy. fresh. light.

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chicken cordon blue

found this recipe while blog stalking a blog stalker of mine (cookinlicious, reveal yourself. you've got some great recipes)

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stuffed shells with spinach-ricotta filling

a great way to incorporate spinach without your kids throwing a fit. i halved the recipe and was plenty for our family of 4. next time I'll use my grandpa's spaghetti sauce recipe instead of the stuff in a jar.

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potato chip cookies

what to do with the small, broken pieces of chips? make cookies. that's right...potato chips are an ingredient in these cookies...and they are fantastic. if you like pecan sandies, you'll love these.

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(image via cooking light)

peach and gorgonzola pizza with chicken

a quick and easy alternative to your go-to pizza recipe. you'll even feel a little bit healthier when you eat this. make it even easier by using pre-made pizza crust (suggested: boboli thin crust). peaches aren't quite ripe enough so I substituted red pears. delish. and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on anything wins me over every time.

* * * * * (image via pioneer woman)

best frosting...ever!

this recipe seems like a lot of work and includes flour, but it is seriously the best, lightest and relatively easy frosting to make. you'll never use another frosting again.

get cookin!

taste of tuesday: what's been cookin

I can't believe summer is almost over. Only a few more weeks of carefree days relaxing at the pool and staying up late. School begins at the end of the month and life will resume a schedule. I love what the new school year brings-newly sharpened pencils, a fresh box of crayons, the upcoming fall season (and along with that, Halloween! already planning out Halloween costumes). For today's post, I have a variety of recipes that I have stashed away in my favorites folder. enjoy!

Chocolate Toffee Shortbread Bars

love anything in bar form and love me some toffee. easy to make and so tasty. may be my new treat to handout at Christmas instead of this.

Ginger Glazed Chicken

Aaron made this for me one Sunday when I said I was too tired to cook after church. it turned out really well. may just have to designate one Sunday a month for Aaron to exercise his culinary skills

PW's Creamy Mashed Potatoes

We don't eat a lot of potatoes at our house. Neither kid likes them and I usually forget I have any until they start to sprout. Busted out PW's cookbook and whipped this recipe. So tasty you don't even need gravy.

Pillow Cookies

had no idea what these were but they looked delicious. Bakerella makes everything look so good. these cookies are HUGE. they are easy to make but do take some time. next batch I'd like to have more brownie.

Black Bean Burgers w/Lime-Cilantro Mayo

these are FANTASTIC! loved them. Aaron was a little skeptical, but he, along with the rest of the family, was pleasantly surprised (he ended up eating 2!). These burgers are full of flavor, cheap, and are the only burgers I cook (BBQ Master Aaron handles all our grilling needs). The mayo was a little on the runny side, but very tasty. I didn't have any wheat buns so I used some sandwich thins which worked just fine. Try them. you won't be disappointed.

taste of tuesday: turkey sliders with mango chutney

This was the first 4th of July we have celebrated at home in 5 years. Usually we beat the heat and head to northern Utah to cool off at my parents and enjoy a small town 4th of July. Girls camp is next week so travelling home was not an feasible. With the 4th falling on a Sunday, the holiday celebration lasted all weekend, which was exhausting. Despite the lack of sleep and late nights, we had a great time. I really enjoyed spending the weekend with my little family and friends, complete with a parade, fireworks, and good food.

Turkey sliders have been on my list of things to try (keeping true to my new year's resolution). Before the midnight show of Eclipse, we went to LBS where I had the turkey and and ahi tuna sliders. The tuna was great, but the turkey sliders left me wanting the savory ones from here. I was determined to make my own version for our 4th of July BBQ. I was pleasantly surprised at how juciy they were. Aaron liked them so much he ate 2! I will definitely be making these again with apple cranberry chutney.

Turkey Sliders with Mango Chutney
(adapted from Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger)
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 3 Granny Smith apples , peeled and diced
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 4 pounds ground turkey breast
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
• 1 lemon , juiced and grated zest
• 1/2 bunch parsley , finely chopped
• Mango Chutney (found at Whole Foods)
• Buns

*this makes 8 big burgers. I quartered the recipe and made 4 burgers. couldn't find buns small enough to make sliders, although I heard Trader Joe's carries them.

Directions:

1. Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.

2. Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve on a toasted bun with a large spoonful of mango chutney

taste of tuesday: ham and swiss sliders

made these last night for dinner. so easy and so good. I'm not a huge ham lover so I made half with ham and half with turkey. give them a try.Ham & Swiss Sliders
(recipe courtesy the recipe club)
Ingredients

• 24 white rolls
• 24 pieces sliced honey ham or turkey
• 24 small slices swiss cheese
• 1/3 mayo
• 1/3 cup miracle whip or mustard

sauce:

• 1 1/2 TBSP poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 TBSP minced onion
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. construct sandwich: mix together mayo & miracle whip or mustard. (I don't like miracle whip, so I use mustard instead. gives the sandwich more flavor as well). spread on both sides each roll. place a slice of ham or turkey & a slice of swiss inside of each roll. place sandwiches close together on large baking dish.

2. in a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. let sit 10 minutes, or until butter sets slightly. cover with foil & bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. uncover & cook for 2 additional minutes. serve warm.

(I cut the recipe in half and 12 sandwiches was more than the 3 of us could eat.)

taste of tuesday: au jus sandwiches

love, love, love this sandwich. this recipe was perfect for our Sunday afternoon meal on the patio. so easy and so good. minimal time in a hot kitchen, which maximized my time outside shooting hoops with Jack (he's much better than I am).

Au Jus Sandwiches
Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs of London Broil
• 2 cups of beef broth
• 2 cups of water
• 1 packet Au Jus seasoning
• 1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
• hard rolls
• provolone cheese

Directions:

Put everything in the crockpot and cook for at least 8 hours. cut meat and place on hard rolls. put in oven and melt cheese. Serve along side sweet potato fries and strawberry spinach salad. now dip!

chicken grape salad sandwich

photo courtesy of flickr

I got this recipe from my sister who got it from Body for Life, which I have modified to my liking. I'm not a huge fan of tuna/chicken/potato salad sandwiches, mainly b/c of my aversion to mayo. But this recipe calls for a small amount of light mayo and is really good. It's so easy to make and is a hit at baby/wedding showers I've thrown. You can prep it the night before, chill, and serve the next day. It allows he flavors to marry and tastes better 24 hours later.

Chilled Grape Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 6-7 chicken tenders, cubed and cooked with salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, chilled, halved
• 1/2 cup seedless green grapes, chilled, halved
• 1 apple, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup LIGHT mayonnaise (do not use regular...it doesn't taste the same)
• 2 lemon, halved
• zest of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• pita pockets or croissants
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

once the chicken has been cooked, mix all ingredients together. Simple as that. You can also add romaine or spinach leaves to your croissant/pita pocket if you like. Serve with a slice of melon and sweet potato fries or Kettle Chips: Salt and Pepper flavor (I couldn't get enough of those when I was pregnant with Jack).

pesto.

I love my grandma Betty's homemade pesto. Reminds me of summertime at her cabin on the lake in MN. I've had her recipe sitting in my recipe box for over 2 years. I finally whipped up a batch this weekend. For dinner last night, we had chicken pesto sandwiches on grilled sourdough bread, with sun-dried tomatoes and provolone on the patio. Went great with this pasta salad and fresh cantaloupe. (pasta, white bread, cheese...yum! that was my one day to cheat for the week...down 12 lbs!)
I froze half the batch to make pesto chicken tortellini with artichoke hearts, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes at a later time. I love meals I can make ahead and roll over into multiple dishes. there are so many possibilities with this recipe.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups fresh basil leaves
3 tbs. pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 Romano cheese, grated
2/3 c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
half tsp salt (optional, but the cheese already has a lot of salt, so taste before adding)
dash of pepper

Directions:
Wash and drain basil. Remove stems
(Optional : toast the pine nuts in skillet)
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Freeze or refrigerate until ready to use.