Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Other pinners claim that this recipe is a Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit "copy cat" recipe.  Uhh... not so much!  Don't get me wrong... these were really very good, and so easy, but I don't think they tasted like Red Lobster.  Maybe it's because I used the lower fat Bisquick, or maybe it's because I used garlic powder instead of garlic salt but whatever the reason it won't stop me from making this recipe again.  I found the recipe here.

Here's what to do...

1 1/2cups Bisquick
1 1/2cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oregano (you can omit or use less)
3/4 tsp garlic salt

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray cooking sheet with non-stick spray.

2. Put biscuit mix, cheese and milk in a bowl and mix well to form a sticky dough.

3. Using spoon, drop lumps of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10min.

4. In a bowl, melt butter and mix with oregano and garlic salt.

5. When the timer goes off, take them out and brush with butter mixture and bake 5min at 400F and another 5-6min at 350F.

Serve immediately!!

Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese, the ultimate in comfort food.  Not really the best choice when trying to "be good". Enter Pinterest and skinnytaste.com.  A healthier version of a family favorite... so I had to try it!  I would encourage you to try it too!  This is what you will need:

Ingredients:

• 12 oz high fiber elbows like Ronzoni Smart Taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp light butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth (vegetarians use vegetable broth)
• 8 oz (2 cups) Sargento shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 12 oz fresh broccoli florets (I used pre-cut bag)
• 1/8 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• cooking spray

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375°.
Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions for al dente (or slightly under cook 2 minutes). Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish (I used 2 smaller baking dishes so we could have 1 for home and 1 to take to tomorrow's work potluck) with cooking spray.

In a large, heavy skillet, melt butters. Add onion and cook over low heat about 2 minutes, add flour and cook another minute, or until the flour is golden and well combined. Add milk and chicken broth and whisk, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil; cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat, add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked macaroni and broccoli and mix well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.Spray a little more cooking spray on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to get the breadcrumbs golden.

Enjoy!  I know we did!!

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Tomorrow we are having a potluck at work and thought I'd bring this Pepperoni Pizza Dip.  I couldn't just make one for work I had to make one for home as well.  We got the recipe originally from Donna, found on lowcarbfriends.com.  See here.  It's been a family favorite ever since.

Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon oregano 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 cup pizza sauce 1/2 cup pepperoni sausage -- chopped 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese How To Prepare: Heat cream cheese, sour cream, oregano, garlic powder and red pepper. Spread evenly in a 9-10 inch pie plate then spread pizza sauce over heated mixture. Sprinkle with pepperoni and onion. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). Serve hot

When we make it, we usually will use either low fat or no fat cream cheese and sour cream... it will all depend on just how fat I feel at the moment.  This way I can almost convince myself that it's healthy... but wait, we also tend to use much more mozzarella, up to 2 cups... Okay so maybe it's not that healthy, but boy is it good!!   :)

Here we have the cream cheese mixture spread in the baking dishes (remember I doubled the recipe so I could make 2).  Next is the onion and pepperoni chopped and ready to add to the dish.

Here you see the sauce, onions and pepperoni added to the dish.  Once it's baked for 10 minutes or until slightly bubbly and heated through we add the mozzarella and continue baking until the cheese is completely melted.

We like to serve this dip with Ritz crackers.  Other great dippers would be tortilla chips, pita wedges or even cocktail breads.  

Enjoy!

Spinach and Cheese Strata

The pictures don't do it justice, you'll have to trust me when I say that this is a beautiful, snowy Sunday morning.  Just the kind of morning for a nice hot breakfast casserole.  So glad that I put it together last night to bake up this morning!!

Found the recipe here and knew I had to try it!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1½ cups onion, finely chopped
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tsp. salt, divided
½ tsp. pepper, divided
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 oz. coarsely grated Gruyere (about 2 cups)
2 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 2/3 cup)
9 large eggs
2¾ cup milk

Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions to the pan and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add ½ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and the nutmeg, and continue to cook for 1 minute more.  Stir in the spinach, remove from the heat and set aside.

Butter the inside of a 2½-3 quart baking dish.  Layer the bottom of the dish with one third of the bread cubes.  Top with one third of the spinach mixture and one third of each of the cheeses.  Repeat these layers twice more with the bread, spinach and cheese.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, the remaining ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper.  Whisk together until blended.  Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and spinach layered in the baking dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Bake uncovered until puffed, golden brown and cooked through, 45-55 minutes.  Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Viola!  The perfect start to our day!