byu cremery ranch dressing

Recipe adapted from: The Crafty Blog Stalker

This stuff is so, so good...it tastes sorta like Chiz's! I even used light mayo, light sour cream and made buttermilk from skim milk so it's a little bit healthier. :)

1/4 c. black pepper

1 1/2 c. parsley flakes

1/2 c. garlic salt

2 T. salt

1/4 c. garlic powder

3/4 c. onion powder

2 T. dill weed

Combine all ingredients in a quart size mason jar and shake it up really good. It makes about 3 1/2 c. of dry mix.

To make dressing, whisk together:

2 c. mayo

2 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 c. sour cream

1 t. lemon juice

2 T. of your dry ranch mix

Refrigerate for 2 hours in a washed out half-gallon milk jug.

two recipes: lemon dill chicken kebobs and roasted carrots

This is our very favorite meal to eat right now, and it's so healthy and low in calories!! And bonus...all three kids loved both of these, it was a hit! :)

Lemon Dill Chicken Kebobs

8 chicken tenders (we like the ones from Costco)

1/3 c. lemon juice

2-3 sprigs of fresh dill

salt and pepper to taste

Soak 8 skewers in water. You want them to soak for at least 15 min. so if you start that first, you'll be good to go when you're ready to bake. Cut up each chicken tender into 4 different sections and put them all in a bowl. Pour lemon juice over the top and mix together with your hands. Let sit for 5 min. Mince up your dill, then sprinkle over the chicken. Add salt and pepper (we love pepper, so we add a good amount). Mix again together with your hands. Let sit for 5 min. Skewer 4 pieces of chicken for each kebob and set aside. We like to grill on our indoor panini grill, but you could grill outside or even bake in your oven. We grill ours inside at 350 for about 4 min. (since it cooks both sides at the same time)

Serves: 4

Calories each kebob: 118

Roasted Carrots

5 fresh medium sized carrots

pam cooking spray (or similar)

dried oregano

salt and pepper

Peel your carrots and cut them into two-three inch sections and either half or quarter each one of those...so you have a bunch of little fry looking carrot sticks. Add them to a bowl and spray a few times with the pam so the oregano, salt and pepper will stick. Season to taste. Lay on a pan and roast in the oven at 425 for 20 min. rotating once halfway through.

Serves: 2

Calories per one cup: 52

Baked Ziti

 

Here is what we had for dinner tonight.  It was super easy and yummy!

1 jar (24 oz.) Prego pasta sauce

(we chose the tomato, basil, & garlic kind)

5 cups pasta, cooked and drained

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Boil noodles.  Combine noodles, sauce, and mozzarella cheese in a bowl.  Mix together, then pour into baking dish.  Top with more mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 min or until bubbly.

ENJOY!

Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread Pancakes

As a tradition we always make breakfast for dinner on Friday nights. We have found some great recipes but thanks to Pinterest (again!) I think we have found our favorite! Seriously these are the best pancakes I've ever had! They taste like bread and I love that they don't have eggs! And they're so good you could probably eat them without syrup! Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread Pancakes

(makes 12 pancakes)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup milk (I ended up adding probably about a cup or so more cause it was too thick- I like my mix a little runny)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Measure out the milk and add the vanilla extract to it. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add in milk and vanilla, stirring to combine. The mixture will still be dry. Add in mashed bananas and mix. Add in melted butter and stir until batter is somewhat smooth.

Heat a skillet or grilled on medium heat. Using a 1/3 cup measure, spoon batter into rounds and cook until bubbles form on top – about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for a minute or two more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot with butter and syrup, or the vanilla maple glaze.

Note: if you don’t have/can’t find whole wheat pastry flour, use 1 cup of regular whole wheat and 1 cup of all purpose. Or 2 cups of all purpose.

Vanilla Maple Glaze (I didn't make this but it goes with the recipe)

1/2 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. Pour over pancakes.

Cauliflower fries

So once again pinterest came to the rescue! These were so yummy and really did kinda taste like fries! Especially with a little ketchup.

I call them cauliflower fries!

2 heads of cauliflower
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Wash cauliflower and cut into small pieces. Drizzle with olive oil in bowl. Put cauliflower on lined and greased cookie sheet. Bake for one hour turning cauliflower 3 times throughout. I added the salt and pepper last but you could add it with the oil at the beginning. I also halved the recipe!

Chloe preferred it raw, but maybe it could be a way to get your kids to eat cauliflower I they don't normally like it! :)

Double Cheddar and Macaroni Soup with Broiled Cheese

I saw this on Studio 5 on KSL this morning and I'm making this for dinner.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. butter
3/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups cooked macaroni, or tiny bow tie pasta
4-6 slices, artisan bread sliced 1/2 inch thick
thinly sliced cheddar cheese
butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter toast, both sides. Place on baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning about half way through. Set aside.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Slowly stir 1 cup of the chicken broth into flour until smooth. Stir in sour cream, salt and pepper. Add the rest of the chicken broth. Cook until thickened, about 7-10 minutes.

Stir in milk, and cook over low heat for an additional 7-10 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted. Add pasta.

Place oven proof bowls on a baking sheet. Evenly fill bowls with soup. Place toasts on top of soup. Cover with thin slices of cheese and place under broiler for 1-2 minutes, or until melted and bubbly.

Makes 6 servings