Lemon Chess Pie

My dad doesn't like pumpkin pie, so for Thanksgiving this year I tried something outside of pecan pie...and it was yummy! The recipe came from here, again, thanks to pinterest. I used a store-bought pie crust instead of making my own, so I used this video tutorial on finishing the crust in a design!

Lemon Chess Pie

Ingredients:

• *6 tablespoons butter (melted)
• *3/4 cup fresh lemon juice; the juice from about 3 lemons (I used a little less)
  
• * 1/2 teaspoon salt
• * 1 2/3 cups sugar
• * 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• * 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• * 5 large eggs
• * Pillsbury Pie Crust
  

Directions:

1. Unroll your Pillsbury pie crust onto your pie plate. Fix the edges how you want them (I used the crinkle method).

2. Stick the crust back in the fridge to cool.

2. Juice lemons, then stir all ingredients (besides pie crust). Whisk until well combined.

3. Pour filling into chilled pie shell. (I went on and put the shell on the bottom rack in the oven and poured the filling that way so I didn't have to try to balance it into the oven).

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4. Bake in preheated oven on bottom rack for 45-50 minutes, or until the center is set and the top is golden brown. (I used a crust shield so the crust wouldn't overcook)

5. Remove pie from oven and let cool before serving.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

Another pinterest find! I had Emily and Christina over to try this one out..and they approved! This one came from here. I changed it around because I didn't want to make too many in case they were bad. Plus, we only have 2 people in my household, so we needed a smaller batch!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Rolls:

* 1 can Pillsbury Seamless Creations

* 2 oz. (1/4 cup) reduced fat cream cheese, softened

* 2 T. brown sugar

* 2 T. canned pumpkin

* 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Frosting:

* 2 oz softened cream cheese

* 1/4 Cup powdered sugar

* 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

* 1 1/2 teaspoon canned pumpkin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Unroll creations to form 1 flat sheet. Using a pizza cutter, divide sheet into 4 large rectangles.

3. Mix cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie seasoning until well combined.

4. Spread mixture over crescents leaving a 1/2 inch border around edges.

5. Starting at long end, roll up then cut into 1 inch pieces.

6. Place around a 9 inch cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

8. While the rolls bake, mix all the "frosting" ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.

9. Remove rolls and let cool for 10 minutes. Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting.

Nutella Turnovers

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it is mmM Mmm Good!! It came from this site. Of course I made a couple little changes, but they are fabulous!

Nutella Turnovers

Ingredients:

* 1 can of crescent rolls

* Nutella

* Egg whites

* Sugar

Directions:

1. Roll out 8 triangles of crescent rolls. The triangles need to be equal in the center.

2. Dollop nutella in the center of each triangle.

3. Fold one side over to the other and seal with a fork.

4. Pre-heat oven to 400.

5. Brush tops with egg whites and sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake for 9 minutes or until golden brown.

7. SO good!

HG Surprise Grilled Cheese

The real name for this recipe is "Savory Pumpkin Grilled Cheese", but if you say that you will most likely lose some eaters. Surprisingly there is NO trace of pumpkin in this sandwich! In fact, I tested on my hubby. He asked what was in it, and I told him I couldn't tell him because then he may not eat it anymore, but little did he know there was pumpkin AND laughing cow cheese in it! (He also says he doesn't like the laughing cow, which is obscene!) Soooo..here is the recipe..I only made a couple changes.

Surprise Grilled Cheese

by: Hungry Girl via E-mail Newsletter

Ingredients:

*1/4 cup chopped onion

* 1/4 cup pureed pumpkin

* 1 laughing cow wedge

* 3-4 dashes Cayenne Pepper (Original is 2)

* 1 dash of pepper

* 4 slices of bread

* Buttery Spread

* 2 slices 2% cheese

Directions:

1. Bring skillet warm over medium heat. Spray with nonstick butter spray and saute onions about 2 minutes.

2. Add onion, pumpkin, LC wedge, and peppers in a bowl and mix well.

3. Butter 2 slices of bread. Add pumpkin mixture to bread to create 2 sandwiches and top each with a slice of cheese.

4. Toast the sandwich in same skillet as onions, about 2 minutes per side. *Be sure to flip carefully.

5. Enjoy with chili or tomato soup.

Breakdown:

215 calories

6g fat

819mg sodium

31g carbs

7.5g fiber

8g sugars

11.5g protein

WWPP= 5*

Creamy Chicken Pockets

I found this recipe through Pinterest and it came from http://penniesonaplatter.com/2011/02/16/creamy-chicken-pockets-2/.

I did a few things differently, so here it is! and oh my goodness was it yummy!!!!!

Creamy Chicken Pockets

Ingredients:

* Olive oil spray

* 2 small chicken breasts, diced

* 1/2 cup minced onion

* 2 cloves garlic, minced (if you are using jarred, its 1 tsp.)

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 1/2 Garlic and Herb seasoning

* 1 tablespoon butter, softened

* 3 ounces fat free or reduced fat cream cheese, softened

* 1 tablespoon rice milk

* 1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls

(((* 1 tablespoon butter, melted, optional

* 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, optional)))

Directions:

1. Spray a skillet with olive oil and cook chicken, onions, and garlic.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine cream cheese with butter.

3. Stir in chicken, onions and garlic.

4. Add seasonings.

5. Separate the crescent roll dough into the eight triangles. Dollop a tablespoon of filling into the center of each triangle and fold the corners up to seal. Place on ungreased baking sheet or

stone and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

6. (OPTIONAL) Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with the bread crumbs.

7. Bake at 375 for 11 – 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

8. ENJOY!

Easy and Yummy Chicken Salad

So I was looking for ways to make my husband's lunch a bit better than just a bologna sandwich when I decided on this! He loves chicken salad (and I do too) but its annoying when you go out and buy it because its never just right..this recipe was a God-send! It came from Cooks.com, but I added in a little of my own. This salad would best be enjoyed on a croissant! MMmm!

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

* 2 cups cubed cooked chicken

* 2 cups chicken breast from a can in water

* 3/4 cup slivered roasted almonds

* 1 cup sliced celery

* 1 1/4 cup sliced red grapes

* ~1/4 cup chopped onion

* 3/4 cup Olive Oil Mayo

* 1/4 cup Reduced Fat Sour Cream

* 2 tsp. lemon juice

* Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, almonds, celery, grapes and onion in the bowl you will store this in.

2. In a separate bowl, mix Mayo, Sour Cream, Lemon Juice and Salt.

3. Mix in dressing with chicken.

4. Enjoy!

Lizzy's Mock Melting Pot dinner

So everyone loves the Melting Pot, right? If you have no idea what I am talking about, find the nearest Melting Pot to your location, and go eat there! It is a fondue meal that is ammmmmazing!! The only downside is that it is VERY pricey! So last night was the bachelorette finale, and I have a fondue pot, so we thought, why not go all out? I got a fondue pot a few years ago, used it a couple times, and since then it has been sitting in a box. It was time to bust it out..so after some online research and some lower fat swaps, here is what I came up with...

1st course--CHEESE!

For the cheese I found a recipe online that was supposed to be similar to the Melting Pot tradition Cheese recipe:

Ingredients:

* 4oz. Beer

* 1 tsp. Garlic

* 3 shakes mustard powder (I left this out because I didn't have it)

* 8 oz. Cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

* Pepper, to taste

* 3-4 shakes Worcestershire sauce (I forgot this)

1. Heat beer in pot.

2. Add garlic and mustard powder.

3. Add cheese, a little bit at a time. Mix, let melt, then add more. Continue until all cheese has been added.

4. Add pepper and sauce. Fold in.

5. DIP! --We used italian bread, Hawaiian bread, carrots, celery, pretzels, and apples.

Next course, MAIN course

I used 3 different marinades and 2 meats since this was a first try. I also made 3 of the melting pot famous sauces (all from recipes I found online). First I will list marinades (Reisling marinade, Margarita, then Teriyaki), followed by dips (Curry, Green Goddess, then Teriyaki), then fondue (Coq Au Vin).

Reisling Marinade (I did this with chicken)

This recipe actually came from a cookbook,

Margarita Marinade

You may have seen this recipe in my blog before, here. I used chicken with this one as well.

Ingredients:

* Garlic

* Cilantro

* Juice of lime

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients, then mix with meat. Marinade 2-4 hours (no more though because of the citrus acid).

Teriyaki Marinade

I found this recipe online as well and used it on steak. Mmmm. It was my favorite!

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup Soy Sauce (I used lite)

* 3 Tbsp. Honey

* 3 Tbsp. Wine Vinegar (I used rice)

* 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil (I LEFT THIS OUT, who needs that much oil?!?)

* 1 tsp. Ground or fresh grated ginger (ground works fine)

* 1 tsp. garlic powder or 1 Tbsp. fresh garlic (I used both)

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients and pour over meat. Marinade 4-6 hours. (I did 2 hours)

Curry Dip

This is my favorite dip at the melting pot, so I was excited to try it out. I got the recipe here, but couldn't find Mango Chutney, so I left it out. It was SOOO good!

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Plain Greek)

* 1/2 cup Real Mayo (do u think I really did? NO! I used RF Olive Oil Mayo)

* 1/2 cup Mango Chutney (like I said, I couldn't find this)

* 2 tsp. minced red onion (I used vidallia)

* 2 tsp. curry powder

* 1 tsp fresh lime juice

* 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (careful!)

Directions:
1. Process all ingredients in food processor/blender.

2. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. Suggested use: Meat/fondue, or warm and put on chicken.

Green Goddess

This is also a crowd pleaser from Melting Pot and is a top dip in my opinion as well! This is a lighter version because, hello, who really needs full fat cream cheese?!?

Ingredients:

* 8oz. Cream Cheese (Fat Free)

* 1/2 cup milk (Rice Milk)

* 1/4 cup sour cream (Light)

* 2 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

* 2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

* 2 Tbsp. sliced chives (I used about 1/2 T. dried)

Directions:

1. In a microwave-safe container, microwave cream cheese and milk for 2 to 4 minutes, whisking after each minute, until cream cheese melts and mixture is smooth.

2. Stir in sour cream, onion, parsley and chives.

3. Refrigerate until cold (2-4 hours).

4. Suggested use: Really anything, but great in fondue-d mushroom caps.

Teriyaki Sauce

So this recipe actually came out too watery. I think it would be better to make the marinade and use it for a sauce.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup soy sauce (light)

* 1/4 cup sugar

* ginger (ground)

* garlic

* 1/4 cup green onions

* pinch of salt/pepper

Directions:

1. Mix soy and sugar.

2. Press garlic and ginger into sauce.

3. Add green onions and salt/pepper.

4. Chill.

Coq Au Vin

This is a melting pot thing too. Found it here..Very good, but mine didn't have as much flavor as I would've liked, but I didn't have Burgundy Wine or green onions, or enough garlic...

Ingredients:

* 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock

* 1/2 cup Burgundy Wine

* 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

* 1 Tbsp. Minced garlic

* 2 green onions sliced

Directions:

1. Heat veggie stock in pot until it begins to simmer.

2. Add all other ingredients and bring to simmer.

3. Cook food!

And the last course, Dessert!

I decided to go tradition for a first try at the dessert fondue. I found the recipe here and it sounded great, but not half as great as it was once we added a heaping spoonful of crunchy peanut butter!! mmmmmmmMMMMMMM GOOD!

Ingredients:

* 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

* 2 Tbsp. butter (I used 1)

* 1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free)

* 2 Tbsp. water

* 1 tsp. vanilla (I left this out)

* 1 heaping spoonful of crunchy peanut butter (I added this halfway through so I was able to get the best of both worlds!)

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate chips with butter. Halfway melted, stir in condensed milk and water until thickened. About 5 minutes.

2. Normally you would add vanilla after heat is lowered, but I forgot about it.

3. Stir in peanut butter until smooth, if you choose this step.

4. Suggested dippers: strawberries, bananas, pretzels, rice krispies, and marshmellows. Cheesecake is also good!

What an amazingly awesome dinner!!!!!!! Can't wait to do it all again!!!