Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

 

We had this pie at a work celebration recently and when I was told that it was “light”, I knew I needed the recipe and wanted to make it immediately. This is such a quick dessert to put together, so definitely try it out soon!

Ingredients

• 1 container strawberries, sliced
• 8 oz low fat cream cheese
• 8 oz low fat whipped topping
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 graham cracker crust

Directions

1) Beat cream cheese, add powdered sugar, until light and fluffy.

2) Add vanilla and beat more. Add cool whip and mix on low.

3) Layer strawberries on crust, then cream cheese mixture, and then top with strawberries. Refrigerate.

 

Enjoy!

Chicken & Quinoa Parmesan

 

Have you ever tried quinoa? It is a great, healthier substitute for most grains. It is delicious and has a nutty flavor. This is a good guinea pig recipe to try it in, if you haven’t had it before.

Adapted from Prevention RD

Ingredients

 

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 oz) can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 2 cups water
• 1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed, chopped
• 4 oz part skim mozzarella
• 1 oz parmesan cheese                                                                                                                                                                                   
• 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a large baking dish with Pam.

2) For the sauce: heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add the oil. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Add the balsamic vinegar, scraping anything off the bottom of the pan, and cook until it’s almost fully absorbed. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, parsley, and pepper to taste. Bring to a low boil, and then simmer while you prepare the rest of the meal.

3) For the quinoa: place the quinoa in a mesh strainer, and rinse with cold water for about 1-2 minutes. Add the quinoa and water (and a dash of salt) to a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat, and simmer until cooked, about 20-25 minutes.

4) Combine the cooked quinoa and chicken with the sauce and mix thoroughly.

5) Place half the mixture in the baking dish, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese, and the parmesan. Add the breadcrumbs.

6) Cover with foil and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly, about 10 more minutes.

Seriously, this was so good and comforting for a cold, rainy day in Birmingham. I think it even tasted better the next day. Makes a great lunch that will keep you full for several hours with all the protein from the chicken and quinoa. Serve with some steamed broccoli and you have a well balanced meal. Enjoy!

Festive Milano Cookies

 

Ever need a quick dessert idea but only have 10-15 minutes to spare? Well, I have a great solution. I made these for Valentine’s day. By changing the color/theme of the sprinkles, you can make them for birthday parties, Christmas, Halloween, etc.

Ingredients

• Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies
• Baker’s Dipping Chocolate (will be near the chocolate chips at the grocery store)
• Sprinkles

Directions:

1) Melt Baker’s chocolate according to package directions. Once melted, dip Milano cookie into the chocolate. Allow excess chocolate to drip off and then roll in sprinkles. Place on aluminum foil or parchment paper.

2) Keep cookies in refrigerator until ready to serve to allow chocolate to cool and set.

Try these out for St. Patrick’s day with Mint Milano cookies and Green sprinkles!

Long time, no blog & Super Bowl

 

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been more than 3 months since I’ve posted on Oatmeal Mountain. I’ve definitely eaten more than my share of delicious foods over the last 3 months but unfortunately, the blog & picture taking took the back burner. Started a new job with the new year and finally back into a normal schedule so hopefully you’ll see more on here soon – fingers crossed 🙂

With the upcoming Super Bowl, I wanted to highlight some easy recipes you may want to try out for Sunday!

Cake Pops – The perfect bite and you can make these festive to your team’s colors.

Corn Dog Muffins – Let’s be honest…who doesn’t love corn dogs?

Apples & Cookie Dough Dip – a great dessert dip, made healthier by dipping with apples

Fruit Nachos – a healthy & delicious dessert. Nachos & football go hand in hand.

 

Homemade King Cake – to celebrate the upcoming Mardi Gras season and the city that is hosting the Super Bowl = New Orleans

 

Chinese crunch salad – a healthy side to bring to a Super Bowl potluck

 

Black Bean & Corn Salsa – Full of fiber, easy & addicting

 

Buffalo Chicken Wrap – a healthy spin on a football favorite!

 

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Garbanzo Beans – so addicting that you could eat a whole can of beans

 

Juhee’s Taco Soup – what’s a good football game without taco soup? Make this!

 

New recipes to come soon! Geaux Ravens!

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

 

Adapted from Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life

Ingredients

• 1lb. ground chicken
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup pasta sauce (or marinara)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2) Combine chicken, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, pasta sauce, onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, and dried basil. Mix well.

3) Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Form meatballs with mixture and place in pan.

4) Bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and cooked completely on the inside.

Enjoy!

I ate these with spaghetti squash, topped with a little parmesan & red pepper flakes.

A healthier & just as delicious version of spaghetti & meatballs.

Cookie dough dip

I’ve been seeing recipes for cookie dough dip all over Pinterest, so we thought that it would make a perfect addition to our “Dips & Desserts” themed supper club last week. Comes together so easy and you don’t even need a hand mixer to make it. Make this for your next football party or any other gathering that would make sure you didn’t eat this entire recipe by yourself. Everything in moderation…

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 8-ounce block of light cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions
1) In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.

2) Whisk in the brown sugar until it dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble.

3) Stir in vanilla and set aside to cool.
4) In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese and powdered sugar well and until smooth. Then add in brown sugar and butter mixture. Mix until combined.

5) Stir in mini chocolate chips.

We served ours with sliced apples and graham crackers. The apples were definitely a perfect accompaniment & made us feel a little healthier about eating this. You could serve it with any other fruit, nilla wafers, or just eat it by the spoonful! Enjoy!

Recipes to come!

 

Sorry it has been so long since I’ve posted, Oatmeal Mountain has definitely been neglected recently. BUT, good news = recipes for goat cheese & artichoke dip, pumpkin sherbet, feta & black bean dip, and cookie dough dip will all be up within the next few days! Stay tuned 🙂

Triple Chocolate Butterscotch Pudding Cookies

I’ve been seeing a lot of cookie recipes with pudding recently and when I saw this recipe in my inbox one morning, I knew I had to make it right away! A cookout at Oak Mountain State Park this past weekend provided the perfect opportunity! Make these ASAP, you won’t regret it – they are full of flavor and so soft! These cookies definitely fall into the “everything in moderation” category!

Originally from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients

Note: I didn’t need any baking powder, just accidentally included it in the picture

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 (3.4 oz) package butterscotch instant pudding mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini because that’s what I had on hand)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper.

2. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy.

3. Add in butterscotch pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

 

5. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges and set.

6. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack (or place on paper bags) and cool completely.

The pudding will keep these cookies tasting fresh for several days in an air-tight container. Enjoy!

Thank you, Maria, for another wonderful recipe!

Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

Adapted from one of my favorite blogs (Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life) with ingredients that I had on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (not pictured)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup Splenda
• 1/4 cup Vanilla Sugar (from Penzey’s)
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 zucchini)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Combine the first 8 ingredients (whole wheat flour to cinnamon) in a bowl and set aside.

2. Combine the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla in a bowl and mix until blended. Stir in the zucchini.

3. Slowly add the dry ingredients just until moistened.

4. Pour the batter into loaf pan.

5. Bake for about 1 hour or until a tooth pick comes out clean (mine took about 1 hour, 10 minutes). Cool in pan for 10-20 minutes before removing from pan.

This bread was delicious and super moist – made the perfect breakfast, snack, or dessert. Top it with some peanut/almond butter and serve it with some fruit, milk or yogurt and you have a complete meal – whole grains, fruit, vegetable, protein, dairy. I will definitely be making this again and may substitute the apple sauce with pumpkin in the Fall! Enjoy!

Corn Dog Muffins

 

College football season is officially under way, which means lots of tailgating/football party recipes to come! There is a running joke that LSU fans smell like corn dogs and a few years ago, I decided to embrace the jokes and corndogs because honestly I really do love corn dogs. Here is a quick and healthier recipe you can make for a corn dog lover/LSU fan or just for any football gathering.

Ingredients

• 1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1 Tablespoon Honey
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 4 hot dogs

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray mini muffin pan well with Pam. Mix corn muffin mix with honey, milk, and egg until smooth. Allow to sit for a few minutes.

2) Meanwhile, cut each hot dog into 5 pieces.

3) Add 1/2 Tbsp of muffin mix to each mini muffin well. Top with a piece of hot dog, pressing it in. Then add 1 tsp of muffin mix on top to cover hot dog.

4) Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool in pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to platter. Run fork around edge of each muffin to make it easier to remove in 1 piece.

 

 

5) Serve with ketchup & mustard and enjoy!