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Golden Grahams S’mores Bars

September 26, 2012 ·
indoor s'mores
This post is sponsored by Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels, the perfect special ingredient for all of your family’s favorite treats!
Golden Graham’s S’mores Bars are a no-bake, graham, chocolate, and marshmallow bar that is super easy to make.  These classic flavors never get old, and it is always fun to find new ways to enjoy the taste of s’more.  These bars are similar to a rice krispie treat, only using graham squares cereal , and chocolate is melted with the marshmallow mixture.  They take about 10 minutes to melt and mix together and then about an hour in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

I found the recipe years ago on the back of a Nestlé® Toll House®Morsels bag, but had not had an opportunity to make them. Fortunately, as part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program with Nestlé® Toll House®Morsels, I received a baking kit and coupon for free Nestlé® Toll House®Morsels and was invited to spend the afternoon baking with my favorite little man. It just so happens that Adam is very interested in all that goes on in the kitchen these days. He was more than excited to help!

indoor s'mores Nestle

This was the perfect recipe to get Adam involved in the kitchen. He served as chief ingredient pour-er and chief mixer (before melting, of course), and may have done some on-the-job sampling. He took his jobs very seriously and took great pride in his work. It was fun to have a little baking buddy, and fun to have an excuse to make these Golden Grahams S’mores Bars!

Golden Grahams S’mores Bars
 
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Yields: 24 bars
Ingredients
  • 12.5 ounce box Golden Graham's Cereal
  • 6 cups (10.5 ounce bag) miniature marshmallows, divided
  • 1½ cups NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Milk Chocolate morsels
  • 5 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
  • ¼ cup light corn syrup (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Cooking spray
Instructions
  1. Pour cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. 5 cups of marshmallows, chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
  3. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stirring until well coated. Add remaining marshmallows and stir.
  4. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
  5. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan, using a spatula or back of wooden spoon to press the mixture into the pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour, until firm. Cut into bars and serve.

Source: back of the Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels bag

Disclaimer: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a baking kit, a coupon for free bag of Nestlé® Toll House® Morsels, and a stipend.  Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content.

Filed Under: dessert, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta

September 20, 2012 ·
fontina and mascarpone mac 'n cheese

Every time I make Baked Tortellini with Spinach, I am left with 6 ounces of fontina cheese.  While I would happily make it 3 more times, I have also had this Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta dish on my list of things to make for some time now.   The first time I made this dish without mushrooms, and it was good, but I felt it needed something more.  It needed mushrooms.  Mushrooms are not typically my go-to for anything, but it really cried out for something earthy and meaty.  Sauteed in a little garlic, the mushrooms were the perfect addition to this dish.  I used some Parmesan cheese for some of the fontina in the original recipe to give the recipe a little more bite.  Topped with buttery, garlic breadcrumbs, Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta is a delicious and sophisticated twist on macaroni and cheese ~ perfect for company or Sunday dinner comfort food.

Looking to use up the leftover mascarpone cheese?  Try Porcini Mushroom and Spinach Risotto with Mascarpone

Fontina and Mascarpone Baked Pasta
 
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Yields: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound medium pasta shells, uncooked (penne or other similar shaped pasta works too)
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups skim milk
  • 1¾ cups (6 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup (2 ounces) mascarpone cheese
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I use baby bellas)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Cooking spray
  • ¼ cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon butter (I use light butter)
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1½ tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Combine flour and milk in a large sauce pan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, and cook for about 10 minutes or until mixture starts to thicken.
  4. Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute mushrooms, with a pinch of salt, until softened (about 5 to 7 minutes). Add 1 clove of minced garlic in the last minute, if desired.
  5. Remove milk mixture from heat and add cheeses, whisking until mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
  6. Add cooked pasta and mushrooms, stirring to coat and combine.
  7. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and pour pasta mixture into pan.
  8. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Remove from heat and add breadcrumbs, stirring to coat. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over pasta mixture.
  9. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes, or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Adapted from Cooking Light, November, 2006

Filed Under: healthy, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

September 12, 2012 ·
Pumpkin Banana Muffins put a Fall twist on banana bread with the perfect balance of pumpkin and banana. 
Pumpkin Banana Muffins | alidasktichen.com
Pumpkin Banana Muffins are a huge hit in our household. They are made with whole wheat flour, bumping the nutrition value.  The pumpkin and banana make for a moist muffin, so not a lot of oil is needed.  I typically make these as a combination of mini muffins (24) and standard muffins (3) and freeze half of the mini muffins.

So last week was Adam’s first day of preschool. I decided to make Pumpkin Banana Muffins as a special surprise after school. Pumpkin Banana Muffins are his favorite muffin of all time, so I knew they would be a hit.  He loved school and was welcomed home with his favorite treat.  It is safe to say, he had the best day!

Pumpkin Banana Muffins | alidasktichen.com

Pumpkin Banana Muffins
 
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Yields: 30 mini-muffins (or 15-18 standard muffins)
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour/1 cup whole wheat flour)
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with baking spray and fill empty cups with water. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the bananas, pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla, until well-blended.
  4. Add banana mixture to flour mixture, gently folding until combined.
  5. Divide mixture evenly among prepared muffin cups.
  6. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes for mini muffins / 13 to 15 minutes for standard muffins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

ETA 10/19/12:  I have made these several times since posting and have experimented with different flours, since white whole wheat flour isn’t an ingredient I always have on hand.  All whole wheat pastry flour works really well, and the recipe has been updated below accordingly.

Pumpkin Banana Muffins {alidaskitchen.com}

Source: Pumpkin Banana Bread

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Popular, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
easy vegetarian spinach manicotti with no boil noodles

Easy Meatless Manicotti

September 5, 2012 ·
Easy Meatless Manicotti | alidaskitchen.com


I don’t know about you, but I am very excited for Fall.  It is my favorite time of year for cooking and baking, plus I love the cooler temperatures.  Even though the season has not technically changed, Labor Day is kind of an unofficial kick off to the Fall season.  At least that’s what I’m telling myself.  I have already made a pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes, chili and cornbread, beef stew, and a few other Fall-inspired goodies to be posted soon.  (Ok, confession…I may have done some of this before Labor Day).

In any case, this Easy Meatless Manicotti is one of my favorite dishes and is a perfect comfort food for the cooler temperatures.  There are a couple time-saving steps in this recipe to help make it “easy.”   First, no boiling of the noodles is required.  Not having to boil the noodles is not only a time-saver, but filling firm shells is a whole lot easier than flimsy cooked shells.  This recipe also uses a jarred pasta sauce, though if you want to make your own, go for it!  The filling is very flexible – I’ve used cottage cheese or ricotta, and either works fine.  I have used frozen broccoli in place of the spinach; I have added onions, shredded zucchini, whatever extra vegetables that needs to be used up.  Leftovers heat up beautifully, which make for great lunches or quick dinners.  Easy Meatless Manicotti is healthy and delicious and a regular in our dinner rotation.

easy vegetarian spinach manicotti with no cook noodles

Easy Meatless Manicotti
 
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Yields: 7 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) grated parmesan cheese
  • 16 ounces nonfat cottage cheese
  • 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
  • 1½ teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning (or dried oregano)
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • Cooking Spray
  • 3 cups marinara sauce (or 24-28 ounce jar pasta sauce)
  • 1 package (14 noodles) manicotti noodles - uncooked
  • ½ cup water
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, combine 1½ cups mozzarella, Parmesan, and cottage cheese, along with the spinach, garlic, Italian herb seasoning, red pepper and salt/pepper to taste.
  3. Spray 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour ½ of the sauce in the baking dish.
  4. Fill the manicotti noodles* with filling mixture until full, about 3 tablespoons.
  5. Pour the remaining sauce over the noodles, making sure the noodles are covered.
  6. Slowly pour ½ cup water around the perimeter of baking dish. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with nonstick foil (or spray foil with cooking spray) and bake for 1 hour. Let sit uncovered for 10 minutes and serve.
Notes
Filling tips: Put filling in a ziploc bag, cut off a corner and fill shells OR I have found an iced tea spoon is the perfect size for spooning the filling in the shells.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 2 shells

 

Adapted from Cooking Light

Filed Under: Featured, healthy, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,