Homemade Nachos

There was a place called Stadium Bar in Madison, Wisconsin that had the BEST nachos on this planet (they have since closed... RIP Stadium Bar). Andrew and I went there for a date very early on in our relationship, and we ordered nachos as an appetizer, and then both ordered a full entree. About 10 minutes after we ordered, our waitress came over with one of those stands you put pizza on. "Oh, we didn't order pizza." "Yeah, I know, this is for your nachos." We looked at each other confused. A few minutes later, the biggest stack of nachos I have ever seen in my life was delivered to us. Not only do they have nacho cheese, but they also put shredded cheese on. Amazing! A few years ago we drove an hour and a half out of our way after completing Warrior Dash to grab these for lunch. We always try to re-create them, and they are never as good, but these were a close second.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• Tortilla chips (I like Tostitos, Andrew likes the authentic Mexican kind)
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Salsa

Directions:

1. Brown beef until you no longer see any pink
2. Drain
3. Add back to pan with seasoning
4. Top chips with beef, and cheese
5. Microwave for 30 seconds
6. Add additional toppings

I LOVE sour cream, and this time I used plain Greek yogurt, and I promise I could not tell the difference!! It's crazy. Greek yogurt from now on for me.

If we had only known this was going to be the last time we went to Stadium Bar... :(

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Blue Cheese, Avocado, and Roasted Red Pepper Dip Crostini

This came out of a "what do we have in our fridge?" moment, and turned out to be one of the most delicious mini appetizers I've ever made! I had leftover blue cheese from the Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers, leftover avocado from the Avocado and Mayo Spread, and little pieces of bread and red pepper dip from celebrating my sister Bailey's birthday (the red pepper dip is from Foodstuffs and my all-time favorite dip since I was 12).

Ingredients:

• One large loaf of French bread, cut up into slices
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 c. blue cheese
• 1 container roasted red pepper dip

Directions:

1. Spread roasted red pepper dip onto bread
2. Chop avocado and crumble blue cheese into chunks
3. Top on bread

OR I wanted to bring this to a friend's house who was having me over for dinner, and I was worried the little crumbles would fall off in the car. So I spread everything out!

1. Spread on blue cheese first
   
    
2. Then spread on avocado
   
3. Top with the roasted red pepper dip!
   
   
   
   I thought the version with the chunks was more fun to eat, but the spreadable version was just as delicious. I believe technically crostini's are toasted, so if you wanted to also toast them go for it! I wanted to keep that doughy, fleshy bread inside.
   
   

   

   YUM!

   
   
   Enjoy!
   
   
   Kelsey

Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles

A few weeks ago, two of Andrew and my best friends got married: Ashley and Matt. As a wedding favor (aside from a candy bar... yum), there were little bags of homemade caramels. They were delicious! I have a salted caramel obsession, so I started looking for a recipe that used caramel. I found this one and OH MY LORD there are amazing. I'm going to bring them to school tomorrow... but I kind of just want to save them all for myself. They take awhile to make, but you can make the dough ahead of time, or just make them on a night you don't have much going on! I made 24 cookies, and have enough dough to make probably another 12. I re-wrapped the dough and put it in the freezer for a rainy day.

Ingredients:

My Mom bought me this sea salt from Williams Sonoma. It's amazing.

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon + 2 tsp. for rolling
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt + 2 more for topping
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 c. dark brown sugar
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar + 1/4 c. for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp. Greek yogurt, plain
• 1 c. caramel cut into 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch chunks
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and salt
   
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cut up butter and place in skillet, whisking constantly. After about 10 minutes, the butter will start to foam and become brown. This smells so heavenly!! Remove pan from heat, pour butter into another bowl, and let sit for about 20 minutes
   
3. In a stand mixer, combine the browned butter, dark brown sugar, and sugar and mix until blended. Add in egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt. Slowly add in the dry ingredients set aside earlier and mix until just combined
4. Form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for 45 minutes
   
5. Turn oven on to 350 degrees
6. Form dough into 24 balls and place on greased baking sheet or Silpat. Tuck caramel piece in the center of ball and form dough around the caramel
   
7. Mix together ground cinnamon and sugar in another bowl
8. Roll balls of dough in cinnamon and sugar mixture and place back on cookie sheet
9. Top with sea salt
10. Bake for about 9 minutes. Cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes (don't rush this or the cookies will break and the caramel will seep out), and then transfer to cookie sheet until cooled. 

    

    YUM

And the amazing couple who started it all... :)

 

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Original recipe here

Hash Brown Egg Cups

I have been loving the idea of making eggs in a cupcake pan (see Cupcake Pan Eggs). This time I wanted to add a little something extra, so instead of just cooking eggs, I decided to make little cups of hash brown, and then add the eggs. Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. hash browns
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. shredded cheese
• Dried basil (optional)
• Dried parsley (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• Two slices of turkey bacon (optional)

Directions:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease two cups in a cupcake pan
3. Take the hash browns, divide them in half, and press into pan until you have two little cups
4. Bake for about 15 minutes until hash browns start to turn brown and crispy
5. Take pan out of oven and add egg to each cup
6. Top with cheese and seasonings
7. Bake about 12 minutes, or until egg is as done as you want it

I ate this with two slices of turkey bacon, but you could do any side, or none at all!

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

My Mom's birthday was coming up, so I started looking for dessert recipes to make for her. I love crinkle cookies around Christmas time, so I thought I would try these lemon crinkle cookies. They are only 4-ingredients, so easy, and very tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 oz. Cool Whip
• 3/4 c. powdered sugar

Directions:

1.  Set oven to 350 degrees
2. Set out Cool Whip so that it thaws
3. Lightly beat egg
4. In a bowl, combine everything but the sugar.
5. Form into balls, and roll in the sugar
6. Place on greased cookie sheet or on a Silpat
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes
8. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Original recipe here

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Butter "Ice Cream"

Ever since my sister sent me a recipe that used frozen bananas to make imitation "ice cream" I've been hooked!  I am a sucker for McDonalds McFlurries, so I thought I would try to replicate it while also cutting some calories.

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter
• 2 tbsp. chocolate chips
• 4 baby Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Directions:

1. The night before, chop up bananas and freeze in Ziploc bag
   
   
2. Put frozen bananas in food processor and let sit for about 20 minutes to soften up
3. Add peanut butter and chocolate chips and process until smooth
   
4. Add to bowl
5. Cut cups into fourths and place on top of "ice cream"

To cut more calories, you could keep out the chocolate chips and use less peanut butter.

Also check out my two other "ice cream" creations:
Banana and Strawberry "Ice Cream"
Banana and Blueberry "Ice Cream"

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Quinoa and Blue Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes

I had some extra blue cheese and tomato from my Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers, and my friend Amy gave me some fresh basil from her garden (thanks Amy!) so this recipe worked perfectly with these extras. Easy, delicious, and SO filling! Also a great gluten-free option.

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe large tomatoes
• 1/2 c. uncooked quinoa
• 1 c. water (or chicken broth or vegetable broth)
• 1/4 c. blue cheese
• 2 tbsp. fresh basil
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp. Italian breadcrumbs
• Salt and pepper

Nothing better than fresh!

Directions:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine quinoa and water (or broth), add to stove on high. When liquid starts to boil, turn heat to low and cover. Cook until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes
3. While quinoa is cooking, cut tops off of tomatoes and clean out inside so all seeds are removed
4. Grease baking dish and place tomatoes inside
   
5. Combine blue cheese, basil, parsley, cooked quinoa, and salt and pepper
6. Scoop into the tomatoes
   
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes
8. Sprinkle Parmesan and breadcrumbs on top of tomatoes
9. Bake another 5 minutes

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Original recipe here

Parmesan Garlic Grilled Corn

I usually just boil corn, or grill it in its husk, but I read about placing the corn directly on the grill to get that char taste, and I just had to try it!

Ingredients:

• 4 corn
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
• 1 pinch of fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Take the husks and strings off of corn

Riggins was very helpful shucking the corn

     2. Turn grill on medium low
     3. Melt butter in small dish in microwave (about 20 seconds)
     4. Stir in garlic and cheese

 5. Place corn directly on grill, turning every few minutes, for 15-20 minutes

    
     6. Remove from grill, brush with butter mixture, and top with parsley

We ate these with Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers with Avocado and Mayo Spread

 

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Original recipe here

Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers

The Allman Brothers Band has been my favorite band since my Dad introduced them to me when I was three years old. They played in Chicago last night at the Chicago Theater, and I bought my Dad tickets for Fathers Day. I wanted to cook him dinner beforehand, and thought blue cheese stuffed burgers would be perfect! They turned out juicy and absolutely delicious.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef chuck
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 8 oz. blue cheese
• 8 whole wheat buns
• Dash of salt
• Dash of paprika
• Dash of garlic powder
• Dash of cayenne powder
• Dash of oregano
• Dash of basil
• Butter
• Tomato
• Lettuce
• Red onion
• Avocado and Mayo Spread  (optional)
• Parmesan Garlic Grilled Corn  (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat gas or charcoal grill
2. In a bowl, combine beef, garlic, and all spices, and mix gently
3. Divide into 16 small patties 
4. In a separate bowl, crumble the cheese and form into 8 equal patties
5. Put 1 cheesy patty on the top of 8 small patties

6 stuffed burgers and 2 regular for Andrew

     6. Top 8 cheese-topped patties with another patty and seal edges to hold in blue cheese
     7. Place on grill and cook to desired temperature (4 minutes for medium)
     8. Brush buns with butter and add to grill for 1 minute

  

Riggins being a huge help

9. Eat with desired toppings (like Avocado and Mayo Spread)

My Dad's plate

My plate

We ate 4 of the burgers, and I put the other 4 in the freezer to eat at another time!

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Such a great night!

 Recipe inspired by this

Avocado and Mayo Spread

My cousin Kate gave me the great idea of using smashed avocado for a sandwich spread, so I thought I'd pick up the flavor a little bit and add some mayo.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 avocado
• 1 tbsp. mayo

Directions:

     1. Take the skin off of the avocado and smash in a bowl with a spoon

     2. Add mayo and mix

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Banana and Strawberry "Ice Cream"

Ever since I made the Banana and Blueberry "Ice Cream", I thought it would be so delicious with strawberries. Verdict - I think it was even better!

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1 c. fresh strawberries
• Pinch of kosher salt

Directions:

1. The night before, chop bananas into 1-inch pieces and freeze
2. Clean strawberries and take off green part
3. Add frozen bananas, strawberries, and kosher salt into a food processor

     4. Pulse until smooth

You can also make this ahead and just put in the freezer!


Enjoy!

Kelsey

Pesto Gnocchi with Roasted Garlic and Feta

This meal came from a "What do we have in our fridge?" kind of night. Surprisingly, the flavors all came together very well. Try and see what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 package of gnocchi
• 2 tbsp. pesto
• 1/4 c. crumbled feta
• One bulb of roasted garlic
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions
2. Mix with pesto, feta, garlic, and Parmesan cheese

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Chips and Dip Nachos

I love chips and dip. I am definitely that person who could go to a Mexican restaurant and eat chips and dip with a margarita and call it a meal. Lately I've been hooked on the Greek yogurt kale and spinach dip from Trader Joes (used in Kale and Spinach Dip Pasta Bake). I also love nachos, so I figured why not turn the chips and dip into a nacho meal?

Ingredients:

• Tortilla chips (I like the Restaurant like corn chips)
• Kale and spinach dip (or spinach and artichoke dip would be good)
• Salsa
• Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Put chips on your plate
2. Cover with cheddar cheese and mix with hands so lower layers of chips get cheese on them
3. Cover with dip and salsa
4. Microwave for 45 seconds or until cheese melts and dip is hot

Topping with sour cream might also be delicious

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Grilled Cheese Roll Ups

I kept seeing a picture of grilled cheese roll ups on Pinterest, but whenever I clicked on the picture I could never find a recipe. So I decided to try this myself. I was training for a half marathon at the time, and ate these after a freezing pouring rain 9-mile run. I ate this and snuggled up on the couch for a few hours in sweatpants and it was the most perfect Sunday. Though you don't have to run 9 miles first to enjoy these just as much as I did! I like that you can make as many as you want of these - 2 or 10! I decided to go with 3.

Ingredients:

• Three slices of bread
• Three slices of Americancheese
• 1 tbsp. cream cheese
• 1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

1. Flatten bread with a pizza dough roller
2. Top bread with cheese
3. Roll up bread and seal with cream cheese (that's the secret!)
4. Melt butter over medium in pan
5. Put rolls in pan and mix around lightly until all sides are golden and cheese is melted

I ate these with tomato basil soup and the whole meal could not have been more perfect

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Baked Cheesy Chicken Chimichangas

Usually chimichangas, like those ordered at a restaurant, are so unhealthy for you. They're stuffed with calories, and then on top of that friend and topped with even more stuffed. If you're looking for the chimichanga taste but not all of the calories, you should definitely try this. Putting it in the oven makes the tortilla crispy, but turns the inside to a cheesy goooeyness! My friend Amy tried this after I sent her the recipe and she also stuffed in vegetables and said it was delicious.

Ingredients:

•  8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp. Lowry's seasoning salt
• 1/2 c. rinsed black beans
• 1 lb. shredded cooked chicken (I used rotisserie)
• 8 tortillas
• Cooking spray
• Sour cream
• Salsa

Directions:

1. Turn oven on to 350 degrees
2. Stir together cream cheese, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, black beans, and seasoning salt
3. Fold in chicken
4. Divide among the tortillas
5. Tuck in sides, roll up, and place seam side down in sprayed baking dish
6. Bake for 15 minutes
7. Turn over and bake for another 15 minutes
8. Top with the rest of the cheese, sour cream, and salsa

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Original recipe here

Meat and Veggie Stuffed Green Peppers

This is probably the most unappetizing picture I've taken since starting this whole journey. What looks like just a huge blob of meat is actually a meat and veggie stuffed green pepper! This was my second time I used our crock pot. It was fun to throw something in there and smell the delicious smells all day. I also liked how healthy it was, and you can hide a bunch of vegetables in the meat mixture.

While we really liked this, we thought it felt a bit dry, so we would have added some tomato sauce (if we had any). I would definitely add some if we made this again!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground turkey (original author suggests pork or combo of pork and beef, but I wanted to be healthier)
• 4 large green peppers
• 1 large onion
• 10 baby carrots, or 2 large carrots
• 4 garlic cloves
• Small head of cauliflower
• 6 oz. can of tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. dry oregano
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the tops of the peppers off and clean out the inside
2. Place peppers in crock pot
3. Grate onions, carrots, garlic, and cauliflower in food processor
4. Combine with turkey, seasonings, and paste
5. Stuff peppers with filling and fill any space in the crock pot with extra turkey mixture
6. Add 1/2 c. water to the crockpot
7. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Original recipe here

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I told my book club (we're reading Night Circus) I would bring something to our meeting tomorrow night, so I did some searching on Pinterest and found these. I had all the ingredients at our house, and the main ingredient is peanut butter, which happens to me one of my and my husband's favorite things. These were quick, easy, and delicious!

Now I have to go read 200 more pages in less than 24 hours... wish me luck!!


Ingredients:

• 1 c. creamy peanut butter
• 2/3 c. packed brown sugar (I used light but the original author suggests dark, but says either works fine)
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 c. rolled oats (I used quick oats which she says not to do but I think they taste great!)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2/3 c. chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Turn oven on to 350 degrees
2. Mix together the oats and baking soda in a small bowl
3. In an electric mixer, mix together peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla
4. Use a wooden spoon to mix in oats and baking soda
5. Add the chocolate chips
   
6. Cover baking sheets with cooking spray or a Silpat 
7. Scoop dough with an ice cream scoop and place balls about 2 inches apart.

    8. Cook for 10 minutes
    9. Cool for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack
   10. When storing cookies, always remember to add in a piece of bread to keep cookies soft and
       chewy!

Topped mine with ice cream

Empty after Book Club... that's a good sign!

Enjoy!

Kelsey

Original recipe here