Swiss Cheese Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded to ½ inch thickness)
• 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 slices bacon, slightly undercooked
• 4 slices swiss cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking dish with lightly greased foil.
2. Season chicken breasts with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Place in prepared baking dish. Top with two slices of bacon for each chicken breast, then top each with one slice of swiss cheese.
3. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through. Serve immediately and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley if desired.

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Strawberry Torte

Ingredients

·         ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

·         ¾ cup granulated sugar

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         2 large eggs

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         ¼ teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (optional)

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into ¾ inch dice

·         2 tablespoons Turbinado Sugar

Instructions

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.    In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy.

3.    Add sugar, baking powder and salt and beat until well creamed.

4.    With mixer running, add one egg at a time and mix to combine. Scrape bowl and mix again.

5.    Add vanilla and optional Fiori di Sicilia and mix to combine.

6.    Add flour and mix on low until a thick, almost dough like batter is formed.

7.    Spray a 10 inch low rimmed cake pan with pan spray and pour in batter. Spread batter to edges.

8.    Place the two cups of cut up berries over top, seed side up.

9.    Sprinkle the Turbinado sugar over the top and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

10.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy it!

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Grilled Chicken Pesto Wraps

Ingredients for 6 servings:

·         2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

·         1 garlic clove, minced

·         1 teaspoon dried basil

·         1 lb raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used kitchen shears – it’s faster than using a knife!)

·         2 tablespoons pine nuts

·         ¾ cup fresh basil leaves

·         2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

·         1 teaspoon water

·         1 teaspoon lemon juice

·         1 garlic clove

·         Pinch of nutmeg

·         Salt & pepper to taste

·         ½ cup shredded 2% reduced fat Mozzarella cheese

·         6 light original Flatouts

·         1 plum tomato, diced

InstrucTIONS:

1.    In a large skillet, bring one tablespoon of the oil over medium high heat. Add the minced garlic clove and dried basil and stir into oil. Cook for about a minute until garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken to the pan and stir to coat chicken with the oil and herbs. Cook for 5-7 minutes until chicken is cooked completely through. Remove chicken along with any excess oil to a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.

2.    Bring a small dry skillet over medium heat and add the pine nuts. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally until nuts are golden brown.

3.    Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, Parmesan cheese, water, lemon juice, whole garlic clove, nutmeg, salt and pepper to the bowl of your food processor and process until minced together into a pesto paste. Add the pesto to the reserved mixing bowl with the chicken. Add the Mozzarella cheese and mix all ingredients together until well combined (see photo above).

4.    Lay a flatout wrap on a clean surface and spoon 1/6 of the chicken pesto mixture (about 2.5 ounces by weight) onto the center of each flatout and spread the mixture lengthwise, leaving about an inch at each end. Sprinkle about 1/6 of the diced tomatoes over the chicken. Fold in the 1” ends of the flatout over the filling and then fold in the long ends to cover it.

5.    Lightly mist the large skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium-low heat. Place the wraps fold-side down onto the skillet (I did them in batches of two) and mists the tops with cooking spray as well. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until bottom is golden. Flip the wraps and continue to cook another 3-4 minutes until golden on the other side. Cut in half and serve.

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Just 3 ingredients for those super delicious cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add flour and continue to mix until mixture forms a soft dough (it will be crumbly at first, but keep mixing and it will form a dough). Form dough into a cohesive ball with your hands.

Roll dough 1/4-inch thick on a surface dusted with flour or powdered sugar* with a well-dusted rolling pin. Cut into rounds and place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat as necessary.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until cookies are pale golden brown. Let cool on baking sheets.

Enjoy!

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Super Brownie Cookies

Serves: 24

Ingredients

·         1 box fudge brownie mix (19.5 ounce or family size)

·         ¼ cup butter, melted

·         4 oz. (1/2 block) cream cheese, softened

·         1 egg

·         1 cup powdered sugar

·         1 cup creamy peanut butter

·         4 blocks (about 4 ounces) chocolate Candiquik

Instructions

1.     Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat the brownie mix, butter, cream cheese, and egg. The dough will be a little sticky. Scoop the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, making about 24 cookies. Smooth the edges of each to form a round cookie.

2.     In a separate bowl, mix the powdered sugar and the peanut butter until it is completely combined. Form the mixture into about 1 inch balls. Make sure you have one ball for each cookie. Set aside.

3.     Bake for the cookie dough 12 minutes, keeping an eye out to make sure the cookies doesn't over cook or undercook.

4.     As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a peanut butter ball lightly into the center of each cookie. The peanut butter mixture will soften slightly, but that is OK. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

5.     Melt the 4 blocks of chocolate in a microwavable bowl for 45 seconds. Stir the chocolate and melt for additional 15 seconds or until the chocolate is completely melted. (Candiquik comes in 16 ounce packages. When you open it, there are 16 blocks. Cut off 4 of these blocks for this recipe.) Spoon about ½ a tablespoon of melted chocolate on top of each cookie so it covers the peanut butter ball. Let the chocolate set. Store in an airtight container.

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