Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

shared by Patty H.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (didn't have so used white)
1 1/4 cups uncooked oatmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 T. oil (I use Smart Balance cooking oil)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup raisins, if desired

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake papers or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Add applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil, vanilla and egg.
5. Stir just until moist.
6. Fold in raisins.
7. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 16-18 minutes.
These are very moist and tasty.

Chicken Royale

shared by Patty H. (Snowed in; feel the urge to cook; probably a big mistake because then I will want to eat it all. :)
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 6-8 chicken tenders)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used the Smart Balance sour cream with the healthy omega 3's in it)
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt (I used the coarse Kosher salt)
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 1/4 cups dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter (again, I use Smart Balance stick butter)

Directions:
Note: The original recipe says to prepare this and let it set overnight in the refrigerator but I didn't and it still turned out moist and tender. I am posting the recipe as it was originally written.
1. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Place the chicken in the baking dish.
3. Combine sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Cover each piece of chicken with some of the mixture.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6. When ready to bake, cover each chicken piece with bread crumbs.
7. Spoon melted butter over chicken, taking care not to let butter accumulate on bottom of pan.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
9. Drizzle remaining butter on chicken and bake 15 minutes longer. (I forgot to go back and do this and they still turned out OK)

Waffles with Orange Mascarpone Cheese Sauce

shared by Dara P.
Ingredients for Orange Mascarpone Cheese Sauce:
8 oz mascarpone (can substitute room temperature cream cheese)
1/3 c orange marmalade
1/3 c orange juice
2 T powdered sugar
and I added just a bit of orange flavoring.

Just make waffles as usual and eat with cheese sauce instead of syrup: DELICIOUS!

Spinach Chicken Pasta Bake

shared by Patty H. (I found this in the Nevada paper. It has a wonderful flavor and is fairly easy to put together.)
Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
8 ounces rigatoni, cooked according to package directions and drained (I used mini penne)
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (don't drain)
8-ounce package cream cheese softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Saute onions in olive oil until tender.
3. Drain spinach well.
4. Combine spinach, pasta, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, salt and pepper in skillet with onion. Mix well.
5. Transfer mixture to a baking dish (I sprayed it with non-stick spray.
6. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
7. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Cashew Chicken Dip

shared by Debi J. (whose friend Rhonda shared it with her)
Ingredients:
4 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 can cashews
1 bunch of green onions
1 large can chicken breast, drained
soy sauce - to taste (at least 4-5 Tbs or more)

Directions:
1. Grind up most of cashews and green onions (reserve a few of each for garnish) with chicken breast meat.
2. Mix in soy sauce and cream cheese and form into ball or pat down into bowl. Garnish with remaining cashews and chopped onion greens. Serve with crackers.

Note from Debi: This is wonderful! It makes a pretty large amount. If you use the "salted" cashews, I think I would back off on the soy sauce, but taste often to see. Rhonda said she has used the cans of chicken already ground (thinks its "chicken spread or something like that), but you'll have to use more than one to get the same amount of chicken. Enjoy!

Tomato and Garlic Bruschetta

shared by Dara P.
Ingredients:
1 loaf of ciabatta bread, baked (i use a frozen one our grocery store has)

Topping:
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 clove of fresh garlic, minced
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mix topping ingredients and place covered in refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.
2. Slice the bread (I do diagonally) and butter or brush olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Put in broiler until toasted, flip and repeat for second side.
4. Serve the tomato mixture on top of bread slices. We serve this with pasta.

Salsa Muffins

shared by Patty H.
(These are easy and the salsa gives them a great "tex-mex" flavor.)

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup chunky salsa
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or paper-line 12 muffin cups.
2. Combine first four dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
4. Add salsa, milk and egg and stir into flour mixture just until moistened.
5. Spoon evenly into prepared muffin cups.
6. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from pan. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve warm.