Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened1 pkg.  (1 lb. 2 oz.) Oreos2 pkg. (8 squares each) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

1. Set aside 5 Oreos and throw the rest in a food processor until they are finely crumbled2. Thorougly mix cookie crumbs with cream cheese.3. Form crumb-and-cream-cheese mixture into balls, approximately 1-inch across each (but don't worry too much about being exact here. They will come out delicious no matter the size!) and place onto a cookie sheet that has previously been lined with wax paper.4. For best results, pop the formed mixture into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to chill while you complete the next step. If you really don't have the time, the truffles will still taste delicious (so don't worry!), but they will be more difficult to handle and some of the coating with mix with the filling.5. Melt the chocolate. There are many ways to do this. I don't have a double boiler, so I just throw my chocolate into a saucepan and heat it on low, stirring frequently, until it is completely melted.6. Remove pot from heat.7. Coat previously formed balls with chocolate and return to the lined cookie sheet.8. Throw the remaining 5 cookies into the food processor.9. Sprinkle some of those crumbs on top of the (still wet) truffles.10. Refrigerate for one hour.You are done! You are now free to package, freeze, and eat. (Of course, you were free to eat during the entire process.)Variation: swap out regular Oreos for Golden Oreos (semi-sweet chocolate for white chocolate, if you like white chocolate). You will end up with a cheesecake-like truffle.

I used my extra dipping chocolate to make chocolate dipped strawberries and raspberries!

Peaches and Cream Muffins

Muffins:

2 cups canned peaches, drained (save juice) 

4 cups flour 

2 cups sugar 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3 eggs 

3/4 cup oil 

2 cups milk 

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese 

3/4 cup sugar 

3 tablespoon peach juice 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar 

Remaining Peach Juice

Preheat oven to 350 F

Dice the drained peaches to about the size of peas; set aside.In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl combine eggs and oil; then whisk in the milk. Combine egg and flour mixtures; then fold in diced peaches.

For filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, peach juice and almond extract. Fill greased muffin tins half full of batter; drop 1 teaspoon of the filling into each muffin cup of the batter and top with 1 1/2 tablespoons more batter.

For topping, mix cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over muffins. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cheesy Taco Pasta

Ingredients:
8 oz wheat pasta (I used Barilla medium shells)
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1 oz packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 ½ c chunky salsa
½ c water
¼ c fat free sour cream
¾ c shredded 2 % reduced fat cheddar cheese
¾ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1.    Cook pasta according to package instructions. 
2.    While pasta is cooking, place ground beef in a large sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef as it cooks. When the beef is cooked, drain any grease from pan. Add the taco seasoning, salsa and water and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is done cooking.
3.    Once pasta is done, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cheese will melt when thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Berry Yogurt Cake

For the Cake:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk or milk
1 tsp vanilla exract
12 oz. fresh strawberries (or other berries), chopped

For the Glaze:
2 cup powdered sugar
2 tb. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tb. melted butter (I sugget melting it in a saucepan)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated. Add the buttermilk and the vanilla, and mix until combined.

Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.

Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice, powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Vegan Tomato Basil Pasta

 1 Large, ripe tomato (2 cups roughly chopped, 1 1/2 cups blended)

1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Water

2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced, optional
6 Ounces (ish) Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 tsp Salt (edit: upped from 3/4!)
2-3 Tbs Wine or Water, optional
1-2 tsp Freshly Cracked, Coarse Black Pepper
1 Large Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.

Core the tomato, then roughly chop it. Add it to your blender, seeds, skin and all. Add cashews, tomato paste, and water. Blend until very smooth.

Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Pour sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If desired add wine/water to thin out the sauce. Taste and season more if necessary. Let simmer until pasta is finished cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain. Add pasta to the saute pan with black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnishing with more pepper and basil.

Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich

If you need directions, I have no words for you...

Take 2 waffles. Toast 2 waffles. Put ice cream in the middle of 2 waffles.

Make sure you fully toast waffle otherwise you'll have a soggy waffle. No one likes soggy waffles...

Basil and Mozzarella Breakfast Croissant

Super easy and pretty quick for a good breakfast in the morning.

1 tube of pillsbury crescent dough
3 eggs
Milk
Mozzarella cheese (grated)
Ground black pepper
Shredded/chopped basil
Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Whisk together milk and eggs (to make scrambled eggs. I eyeballed this entire recipe) and mix in ground black pepper.
3. Scramble eggs in a pan and mix in shredded cheese (I eyeballed this so I can't tell you how much I added. Maybe a 1/4 cup. But add as much as you like.
4. Mix in basil after the heat has ben turned off and eggs are done.
5. Lay out crescent roll triangles so that all the triangle ends meet at one point.
6. Spread eggs evenly among the middle of the dough. (Add more cheese if you wish. I also added salt but that could be skipped)
7. Fold dough over eggs to meet the dough on the other side so that the eggs are now completely wrapped inside the dough.
8. Bake 10-15 minutes and enjoy! (Sorry, my instructions for this recipe weren't great.)

Update 5/6: Other combinations work really well too! Today I scrambled the eggs with feta cheese, mozzarella cheese, turkey bacon, and black beans.