Week 32 :: Taco in a Skillet

INGREDIENTS:
-1 lb ground turkey
-1 small onion, finely chopped
-2 teaspoons cumin
-2 teaspoons chili powder
-2 teaspoons garlic powder
-1 teaspoon onion powder
-1 teaspoon brown sugar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 can black beans
-1 can fire roasted corn kernels, drained
-3/4 cups long grain rice (Suggestion: use Basmati)
-2 cups beef broth
-1-2 cups shredded cheese
-Taco toppings

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cook the ground turkey and onion in a large skillet pan over medium-high heat, using a wooden spoon to break up and crumble, until meat is no longer pink and onions are softened. Drain to discard fat and then return meat to skillet pan.

2. Add all the seasonings to the ground meat and stir together until combined and fragrant.

3. Add the black beans, corn, rice (DO NOT prepare beforehand. You want dry rice), and beef broth. Stir to combine.

4. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low, cover with lid, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

5. Serve immediately with your favorite taco toppings. Shredded lettuce, tortilla chips, tomato, avocado, sour cream, olives, green onion, guacamole, pico de gallo, etc.

Rating: 3.5/5

"Notes for Next Time": Buy the right rice! I accidentally bought the 90 second kind. And the wrong corn, too! Might try tortilla chips instead of frying tortilla strips, too. Kinda soupy. 

Recipe by: Together as Family

Week 31 :: Chicken Teriyaki in a Pineapple

INGREDIENTS:
-1 pineapple
-Ingredients from Week 18 of #ARecipeAWeek - Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry (minus the broccoli) 

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Make chicken + rice according to Week 18 of #ARecipeAWeek - Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

2. Replace the steamed broccoli from that recipe with a pineapple. Cut the pineapple in half (hotdog style) and scoop out the middle. 

3. Fill rice into pineapple and top with chicken! 
 

Rating: 4/5

"Notes for Next Time": Keep the stem (leaves) on the pineapple. This will make the pineapple "bowl" less like to come open and spill out the goodies. 

Recipe by:
Chicken Teriyaki = Crunchy Creamy Sweet
Pineapple Inspiration = Just A Taste
Final Concoction = Me!

Week 30 :: Grilled Ranch Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:
-2 lbs red potatoes, halved
-1/4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
-Lemon Juice (1/2 lemon)
-1/2 packet of ranch seasoning
-Kosher salt
-Black pepper
-Ranch dressing, for drizzling

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat grill to medium heat. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil, lemon juice and ranch seasoning. Season with salt + pepper. 

2. Thread potatoes on skewers and grill until tender and lightly charred. 15 minutes. 

3. Drizzle with ranch. Serve hot! 
 

Rating: 4.5/5

"Notes for Next Time": Tasty! Makes plenty so make sure to have lots of hungry mouths to feed :)

Recipe by: Delish

Week 29 :: Steak Kabobs + Grilled Peaches

INGREDIENTS:

Steak Kabobs
-1 pound steak
-8 ounces mushrooms
-1 pound small potatoes
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Grilled Peaches
-2 peaches
-2 nectarines
-2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
-Honey
-Sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Steak Kabobs
1. Cut the steak into 1 inch chunks and add to a rimmed baking pan along with the mushrooms.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary and oregano. Pour over the steak and mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

3. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water until just tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. 

4. Thread the marinaded steak and mushrooms, along with the potatoes, onto skewers. 

5. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Grill kabobs for 10-12 minutes, turning once, until meat is cooked to desired doneness. Reseason with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Grilled Peaches
1. Heat grill to medium high heat. 

2. Brush the peach and nectarines halves with a touch of with oil and place on the grill for a few minutes and then rotate 90 degrees to continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes total grill marks appear and the fruit starts to caramelize. 

3. Remove from the grill with a pair of tongs and serve with a scoop of ice cream in the center of the fruit. Drizzle with honey and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Rating: 4/5 

"Notes for Next Time":
Incredible flavor! Just a couple things to change next time:
Steak Kabobs - Let marinate a day before vs the 2 hours! Add some veggies to the kabob mix
Peaches - Have a cleaner scoop from fruit. Try to get grill marks on them :) Cooking during daylight may help with this 

Recipe by: Let's Dish (Steak Kabobs) and What's Gaby Cooking (Grilled Peaches)

Week 28 :: Buffalo (Chicken Cauliflower) Bites

INGREDIENTS:
-1 head cauliflower
-1/2 cup flour
-1/2 cup water
-1 T olive oil
-1 T garlic powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-2/3 cup hot sauce
-2 T butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Heavily grease baking sheet with butter. Divide cauliflower into bite sized chunks.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, water, olive oil, garlic powder and salt until well combined. Add cauliflower and gently toss to coat each piece evenly. Transfer coated cauliflower to prepared baking and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven.

3. In large bowl, combine hot sauce and melted butter. Add partially cooked cauliflower and gently toss to evenly coat. Return cauliflower to baking sheet and continue cooking for an additional 20-25 minutes, turning once, until pieces start to turn golden brown.

4. Remove from oven and serve warm with ranch dressing and fresh celery sticks.

Rating: 5/5

"Notes for Next Time": You wouldn't believe it, but these definitely had the texture and taste of chicken wings! Holy cow! Would be interesting to try with different sauces. Also, were the leftovers good?! 

Recipe by: Self-Proclaimed Foodie

Week 27 :: 4th of July Cookie

INGREDIENTS:
-2 packages of sugar cookie dough
-1 container cream cheese frosting
-1 package of strawberries
-1 package of blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flatten dough into 9x13 pan. Bake until golden brown. 

2. Let the cookie cool before frosting with cream cheese icing. 

3. Top with blueberries (stars) and strawberries (stripes) to form your American flag. Enjoy!  
 

Rating: 5/5

"Notes for Next Time": This recipe seems to get sweeter year after year :) 4th of July tradition in this house! So good, must keep it going!

Recipe by: Me!

Week 26 :: CUPCAKE Puppy Chow

INGREDIENTS:
-4 and 1/2 cups Rice Chex cereal (Don't use Crispex - breaks easily)
-1/4 cup salted butter
-3 Tbsp. heavy cream (No substitutions)
-10 oz white chocolate candy melts or pure white chocolate
-1 tsp. almond extract
-1 tsp. butter extract
-2/3 cup assorted sprinkles
-1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar


INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Pour cereal in a large bowl. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, cream and white chocolate. Stir constantly until the white chocolate is fully melted. The mixture will be very thick and buttery. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract and butter extract.

3. Pour warm white chocolate mixture over cereal. Stir it all together gently, making sure not to break the cereal. Wait about 3-4 (no longer) minutes and gently fold in the sprinkles - you don't want the sprinkles to lose their color.

4. In a large zipped top bag or covered container, add the powdered sugar. Pour the white chocolate covered cereal into the large bag or container. Seal the bag or container and shake until all the cereal is coated with the powdered mixture.

5. Discard excess powder and enjoy. Store at room temperature up to 2 weeks. 

Rating: 4.5/5 - super, duper sweet! 

"Notes for Next Time": Change nothing! Make sure you wear party hats, blow up balloons and CELEBRATE every time you make this tasty creation!

Recipe by: Sally's Baking Addiction 

Week 25 :: Acai Bowls

INGREDIENTS:
-1 1/2 bananas, peeled and frozen
-1/2 cup frozen strawberries
-1/2 cup frozen blueberries
-1 (100g) packet frozen unsweetened acai blend
-2 heaping tablespoons creamy peanut butter
-1/3 cup milk of choice (I used almond)
-Toppings, such as berries, granola, honey

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a high-powered blender, combine the bananas, berries, acai berry packet, peanut butter, and milk of choice. Blend until completely smooth.

2. Pour into a bowl. Top with berries, granola, and a drizzle of honey. Enjoy immediately.

Rating: 6/5

"Notes for Next Time": Never spending $10 on a acas bowl again when I can make it this good at home! Omg soooooo good. 1 bowl is almost too much for 1 person, though. So share! Also, peel and cut your bananas before you freeze them!

Recipe by: Bakerita

Week 24 :: POPcorn Balls

INGREDIENTS:
-1/4 cup butter or margarine
-1 bag of mini marshmallows
-1/2 tsp. vanilla
-3 qt. (12 cups) popped popcorn
-Cooking spray (for hands) 

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Melt butter in large saucepan on low heat. Add marshmallows and vanilla. Cook until marshmallows are completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring constantly.

2. Place popcorn in large bowl. Add marshmallow mixture. Toss until popcorn is evenly coated with marshmallow mixture. 

3. Shape into 10 (3-inch) balls with lightly greased hands. Place on sheets of waxed paper. Let stand until firm. Bag up and hand out to all your friends! 

Rating: 5/5

"Notes for Next Time": Make enough to use all the popcorn!!! Hahahaha! So many popcorn balls. Also, quick tip, wash your hands each time before you coat hands with cooking spray so it's easier to form the balls. 

Recipe by: Kraft

Week 23 :: BBQ Chicken Flatbreads

INGREDIENTS:
-2 Flatout flatbreads
-1/2 cup BBQ sauce
-1/3 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
-1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
-6 oz. grilled chicken breast, shredded
-1 tablespoon red onion
-1 tablespoon cilantro
-Cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick baking spray.

2. Put 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce on each flatbread and spread evenly on the flatbreads. Sprinkle both cheeses over the flatbreads. Mix the remaining BBQ sauce with the grilled chicken and place on pizzas. Top with the diced onion.

3. Bake for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the cilantro on top and serve.
 

Rating: 4.5/5

"Notes for Next Time": I was pleasantly surprised by the refreshing taste the cilantro gave the pie. Might leave off the onions, though. I'm discovering I'm not much of an onion fan unless they are cooked. But overall these were awesome! So thin and tasty! 

Recipe by: Nutrition Expert

Week 22 :: Baked Apple Chips

INGREDIENTS:
-4 medium apples, any variety, cored and sliced 1/8" thick
-1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1-2 tsp sugar
-Cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees fahrenheit.

2. Add sliced apples to a large bowl. Then coat the apples with the cinnamon and/or sugar.

3. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and line the apples flat on the pan. You may need to use two pans so that they are not overlapping.

4. Bake 2-3 hours until the chips are dry yet still soft. Allow to cool completely before placing them in an air tight container for up to 4 days (if they last that long!).

Rating: 2/5

"Notes for Next Time": Well for one I'm not going to leave these in the microwave to cool after I make them, and then completely forget about them. Hahah. My oven also turned off in the middle of baking, so I'm not sure they dried out as much as they should have. There was a LOT of cinnamon on them. Instead of using a spoon to scoop out, I'll sprinkle it on next time. Lastly, I need to cut the apple slices smaller! They were a little large.

Recipe by: Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

Week 21 :: Infused H20

INGREDIENTS:
-Mint leaves
-Lemon
-Cucumber
-Water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Slice lemon and cucumber. 
2. Fill mason jars with water. Add ingredients (mint, lemon, cucumber). 
3. Chill in fridge until ready to drink! 

Rating: 3.5/5

"Notes for Next Time": Water was super strong with "leaf" flavor. Next time I might leave out the mint or put in for a couple hours and then take out (not leave overnight). Also, plan on trying with other fruits / veggies! 

Recipe by: Femniqe

Week 20 :: Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

INGREDIENTS:
-1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
-1/2 cup buffalo sauce
-2 cups plain panko bread crumbs
-4-6 large lettuce leaves
-1 cup cooked quinoa
-1/2 cup diced avocado
-Ranch dressing to garnish 

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease (cooking spray) a baking sheet. 

2. Toss the chicken in the ½ cup buffalo sauce, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Pour the breadcrumbs into a shallow dish. Coat each chicken piece evenly and place them on the prepared baking sheet. The baking sheet will get crowded -- it's okay.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. 

5. To assemble the wraps, fill each leaf of lettuce with quinoa and avocado. Top with the crispy baked buffalo chicken. Drizzle with ranch. 

Rating: 5/5

"Notes for Next Time": The chicken was SOOOOO good. Never made "baked fried" chicken, but this is the way to go! I did use a rice / quinoa blend so maybe next time just try the quinoa. I also forgot the avocado which I feel would bring a lot of flavor! Less ranch needed, too :) 

Recipe by: Sugar Dish Me

Week 19 :: Mini Meatloafs

INGREDIENTS:
-8 oz. ground turkey sausage
-8 oz. lean ground beef
-1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
-1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
-1 egg beaten
-1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 large shallot, chopped
-1/2 tsp ground black pepper
-1/3 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat muffin pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine turkey sausage, ground beef, egg, panko breadcrumbs, green onions, garlic powder, worcestershire sauce and chopped shallot. With your hands, mix the ingredients together until combined. 

3. With your hands, form 2-inch round balls and place in muffin cups. Make a 1/2 inch indentation with your finger or spoon in the center of each meat loaf. Add two teaspoons of barbecue sauce into the center of each. 

4. Bake 30 minutes. 

Rating: 5/5

"Notes for Next Time":  Yes! Yes! Yes! Loved the mini sizes. Learned the difference between panko and Italian breadcrumbs, and what a shallot is. My brother Alex said they could use more flavor, but I thought they tasted pretty bomb diggity! He's more of a chef, though ;) 

Recipe by: Fork 'N' Flip Flops

Week 18 :: Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS:
-1 lb chicken breast, boneless and skinless
-1 Broccoli
-2 garlic cloves
-1/2 tsp ground ginger
-1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium
-Rice
-1/2 cup brown sugar, packed light
-1 tbsp corn starch
-Salt and pepper
-2 tbsp rice or apple cider vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces. Season with salt and pepper and cook in a pan.

2. The sweet teriyaki sauce is mixed in a small bowl and added to the pan with chicken. Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, fresh minced garlic, ground ginger, rice or apple cider vinegar and cornstarch to help thicken it. It will cook and thicken quickly coating the chicken pieces with a sweet, shiny glaze that is out of this world delicious! 

3. In the meantime, cook your rice and steam your broccoli. Then, dish up and serve! 

Rating: 5/5

"Notes for Next Time": Gimme more, gimme more! Tons of flavor and absolutely LOVED the steamed broccoli. 

Recipe by: Crunchy Creamy Sweet

Week 17 :: Spaghetti Bake

INGREDIENTS:
-1 (16 oz.) package spaghetti noodles
-1 lb. ground beef
-1 (16 oz.) can of spaghetti sauce
-1/2 cup butter, sliced and divided
-1 cup cottage cheese
-1/4 cup sour cream
-1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese, softened
-1 (8 oz.) package of shredded cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to boil. 

2. Cook noodles "al dente" (cooked but firm), 12 minutes. Drain. 

3. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown beed until crumbled. 5-7 minutes. Drain. 

4. Mix spaghetti sauce with ground beef. 

5. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese. Blend together. 

6. Place 1/2 slices of button on bottom of 9" x 13" baking dish. 

7. Layer: Spaghetti --> creamy cheese mixture --> more spaghetti --> butter --> ground beef with sauce 

8. Bake for 30 min. 

9. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Continue caking until top is golden brown (15 min.) 

Rating: 11/10

"Notes for Next Time": Best. Spaghetti. Hands. Down. 
Make SO much so invite all your friends over for this one!

Recipe by: Sugar Apron

Week 16 :: 2-Ingredient Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:
-1 banana
-1 egg
-Optional: Cinnamon, maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Peel banana. Cut into slices. Then mash using a fork. Add egg and stir until you have a custard consistency. Optional: Sprinkle cinnamon into mixture 

2. Heat pan over Medium heat. Spray pan with cooking spray. Scoop 2 Tbsp. onto skillet. Cook for 1 minute or until bottoms are golden. Flip. Cook other side of pancake. 

3. Continue cooking rest of batter. Serve warm. Serve with maple syrup, or any additional toppings! 

Rating: 3/5

"Notes for Next Time": Tasted very banana-y. Might add oats next time to break up the flavor. 

Recipe by: Gimme Delicious

Week 15 :: Easter - Carrot Patch Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
-Cooking spray + parchment paper
-1 box brownie mix, plus ingredient  on box
-1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
-1 tbsp. coconut oil
-10 drops orange food coloring
-12 wooden skewers, for dipping
-12 large strawberries
-1 tub chocolate frosting
-1 package Oreo cookies, crushed
-Robin Eggs candy, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray the inside of the 9" x 13" baking pan with coking spray. Line pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper with cooking spray. 

2. Make brownies: Prepare brownie batter according to the package instructions. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick has moist crumbs, 28 to 30 minutes. Let cool. 

3. Make orange frosting: In a small, deep bowl, microwave white chocolate chips on high for one minute, stirring every 20 seconds to remove clumps. Add coconut oil and orange food coloring (or 5 drops of yellow and 5 drops of red to make orange). Then, mix until combined. 

4. Make carrots: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pierce each strawberry with a skewer and dunk the strawberries in melted orange chocolate, repeating to coat, if necessary. Place on lined baking sheet and refrigerate until set, 15 minutes. 

5. Make carrot patch: remove cooled brownies and frost with chocolate frosting. Then, top with crushed Oreos. Top brownies with strawberries and garnish with Robin Eggs. Slice into squares and serve. 
 

RATING = 4/5 - Very rich! 

"NOTES FOR NEXT TIME" = The "orange" white chocolate covered strawberries tasted really good, but the chocolate looked kind of cracked on the strawberries. Would try to make it more smooth and look like it was dipped. Maybe I needed to dry the strawberries more after rinsing OR use a smaller bowl to dip the berries vs. turning the skewer. OR use the coconut oil (I didn't have that ingredient, so I left it out). 

I also used green apple flavored Edible Grass around the perimeter of the brownies - which made them look more like a carrot patch, but didn't have a ton of flavor. Might leave that off next time! 

Recipe by: Delish

Week 14 :: Cracker Barrel's Hashbrown Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
-1 bag (about 30 oz.) frozen hash browns, thawed
-1 stick butter, melted
-1 can Cream of Chicken soup
-1 small onion, chopped
-8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1 cup sour cream 

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9" x 11" baking dish. 

2. In a bowl, mix onion, soup, black pepper and all but one cup of the cheese. Add sour cream and mix well. Add hash browns and melted butter. Mix well. 

3. Transfer to a prepared dish. Bake for 45-55 minutes until bubbly! 
 

RATING = 4/5

"NOTES FOR NEXT TIME" = I didn't chop the onions fine enough -- so it tasted as if every bite had mouthfuls of onions. Next time, I would definitely chop it finer and maybe put less in! I like onions for flavor but not a TONNNNNN of them. 

Recipe by: Cincy Shopper

Week 13 :: Overnight Oats

INGREDIENTS:
-2 cups rolled oats
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 cups almond milk
-3 Tbsp brown sugar
-3/4 tsp cinnamon
-3 Tbsp maple syrup
-1/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In two mason jars, place half of the oats, vanilla and milk in each. Stir to mix well. 

2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour half of this mixture in each of the jars over the oats. Stir to combine. 

3. Refrigerate jars for at least 2 hours OR overnight. 

4. Just before serving, toast pecans at 325 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Divide pecans and sprinkle in each jar. 

5. Serve with additional cinnamon and maple syrup, if desire. Enjoy! 

RATING = 5/5

"NOTES FOR NEXT TIME" = I actually made two different recipes of overnight oats. The other one was a blueberry / banana mixture. I put the fruit in the oats the night before -- but then I realized I should have waited. You see, I like my oatmeal HOT so you can't really heat it up when it has fruit in it. So if I was adding fruit, I would WAIT until the morning of. 

Also, I think it's a good idea to shake the Mason jar(s) before putting them in the fridge! Something I didn't do until batch #2. It mixes all the ingredients together while it sits in the fridge. 

Recipe by: GF with LB