Cake Batter Blondies

I can't even describe these.  I've been sitting here trying to come up with words for how delicious these are, but they're just too amazing.  I love gooey, slightly undercooked cookies (stemming from the love of cookie batter, I'm sure), and this is the gooey-slightly undercooked cake version.   Incredible. 

Biz has been on a health kick lately, leaving me to eat most of the pan by myself, which was fine by me.  I selfishly didn't even want to share these with friends or neighbors.  I wanted them all to myself. 

Cake Batter Blondies

1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the cake mix and sprinkles in a large bowl, and then mix in the oil and egg.  Add the milk slowly, just until the batter is combined--you want it to remain as dense as possible.  Place batter in a greased 8x8 dish or 8-inch cake pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or just until the edges turn golden.  Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting because the gooey center needs to set. 

Easy Mexican Ground Beef Casserole

Like I said yesterday, we're looking for fast, easy, and tasty recipes (who isn't?) now that school is back in session.  This fit the bill.  (Now that I think about it, it's sort of a Mexican version of the ravioli lasagna from yesterday.)  We had everything we needed already in the house, and it came together in under an hour--and only a few of those minutes were hands-on time. 

You can adapt this easily.  Add black beans or chili beans, use crushed tortilla chips instead of tortillas, add green onions or black olives or jalapenos, whatever you want!  We served it with Mexican rice. 

Easy Mexican Ground Beef Casserole

3 large tortillas
4 oz (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
4 oz (1 cup) shredded pepper jack cheese
1 lb ground beef
1 cup sour cream (I substituted nonfat Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup salsa verde
1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained of excess liquid

In a skillet, cook the ground beef until no longer pink and drain.  Mix salsa verde into the ground beef. 

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly spray a 9"x13" dish with cooking spray.  Tear one tortilla into pieces, and use it as the bottom layer on the baking dish.  Add a layer of ground beef, half of the sour cream, and half of the diced tomatoes.  Repeat layers of a torn tortilla, the other half of ground beef, sour cream, and diced tomatoes.  Top with a final torn tortilla and the shredded Cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. 

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Ravioli-Style Lasagna

It's back-to-school time for me, so I've been on the lookout for tasty dishes that won't take much time to prepare.  Even better and always important for the school year, it tastes just as good reheated the next day for lunch. 

This is one of our new favorites, and it's easy to adapt to your particular tastes.  You could omit the ground beef, add spinach, use ravioli with chicken and mushroom filling, etc.  Also, if you like more sauce, you could use a whole 24 oz jar of tomato sauce; I just used what I had in the pantry.

Ravioli-Style Lasagna

2 (9 oz) or 1 (20 oz) package refrigerated cheese-filled ravioli
1 (16 oz) can crushed tomatoes
8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 lb ground beef

Preheat oven to 400.  In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. 

In a 7"x11" baking dish sprayed with cooking spray, put a thin layer of crushed tomatoes--just enough to cover the bottom of the dish.  Then layer half of the ravioli, half of the remaining tomato sauce, half of the beef, and half of the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers, adding the Parmesan cheese to the top. 

Cover and bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.

Teak Dog Tuesday!

Blueberry Maple Refrigerator Oatmeal

The Yummy Life has several healthy recipes, including this easy no-cook breakfast that will definitely get your day started in a healthy way.  This recipe is high in proten, fiber, and calcium and low in fat and sugar.  Apparently this type of yogurt and oatmeal mixture is also called "summer porridge" or "muesli."  She recommends making these in individual mason jars, so they have grab-and-go appeal if you don't have time to eat until you're in the car or at work.  Of course, you could make them in any container that holds one cup. 

I followed her recipe and added chia seeds, which are evidently rich in protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.  If you can't find any at your local health-food store, you can substitute ground flax seeds or omit them.

Blueberry Maple Refrigerator Oatmeal

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tsp dried chia seeds
2 tsp maple syrup
1/4 cup blueberries

In a jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, and maple syrup.  Put lid on jar and shake until well combined.  Remove lid, add blueberries, and stir until mixed throughout.  Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.  Eat chilled.

Amazing Tomato and Onion Pie

Our tomato plants are making one last push before the heat officially kills them, so I looked through several tomato pie recipes, settling on one before amping it up on my own.   It was SO delicious.  I served it baside a salad topped with grilled chicken, and it was the perfect summer meal.

I broke with tradition and used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of mayonaisse, which was incredibly un-Southern of me, but I needed to cut fat where I could (since I did add bacon and two types of cheese!). 

In other tomato pies I've made, the crust tends to get soggy, but I found a solution.  First, get rid of as much moisture as possible in the tomatoes.  Second, before prebaking the crust, mist it with cooking spray.  Then, once it comes out, spread 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese on the bottom of the crust before adding the tomatoes.  The crust in the finished product wasn't soggy at all.

Amazing Tomato and Onion Pie

1 (9-inch) deep dish pie crust (or feel free to make your own!)
Cooking spray
4 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 large Vidalia onion, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
Zest of 1 lemon

Place tomato slices in a single layer on paper towels; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Let stand at least 30 minutes, and pat dry with more paper towels. 

Preheat oven to 400.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, and add sliced onion, cooking until soft and light brown, 15-20 minutes. 

If pie crust is frozen, allow it to thaw on the counter for 10-15 minutes.  Poke bottom and sides of crust with a fork, and mist the crust with cooking spray.  Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from oven, and sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over bottom of crust.  Arrange tomato slices over cheese in crust.  Lower oven temperature to 350. 

Combine the Greek yogurt, the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, the softened slices of sweet onion, lemon zest, green onions, cheddar cheese, and bacon bits.  Spread yogurt mixture over the tomatoes. 

Bake at 350 for 34-37 minutes, covering edges with foil to prevent burning, if necessary.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving. 

Teak Dog Tuesday!

Teak, ever vigilant, waits for Buck to get home from work.  I love this dog.