Outback's Mustard Vinaigrette

I love Outbacks Mustard Vinaigrette, so I may try out this recipe...



Outback Steakhouse Dressing (Mustard Vinaigrette)


1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar (or any vinegar)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon mustard (French or English)
Directions
1Shake all ingredients in tightly covered container.
2Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3Shake well before serving

S'mores Cupcakes

These are from Bakerells...and look DIVINE!!

Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup oil
6 jumbo marshmallows cut in half, plus more for decorating

Graham Cracker Crumb topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Ganache
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together with a wire whisk.
Separate the mixture in half into two bowls.

Stir cocoa into one bowl and the graham cracker crumbs into the other.
Add 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup oil to the cocoa mixture and beat on medium until combined.
Repeat adding the same ingredients to the graham cracker crumb flour mixture.

Prepare the graham cracker crumb topping.
Add the brown sugar and crumbs in a small bowl and pour on the melted butter. Stir until combined.

Pour a little graham cracker cake batter into the bottom of your baking cups and then sprinkle the topping mixture lightly on the surface.
Place a marshmallow half on top and then cover the marshmallow with the chocolate cake batter until it is about 3/4 full.
Sprinkle with more topping mixture.

Bake cupcakes for about 15 minutes. Place a cookie sheet underneath when you bake just in case. I had a little bit ooze over into the oven. Oops.

This recipe will make at least 12 cupcakes. I had a some batter from each left over so you can probably get more like 14-16.

Let cool and top with ganache.

Heat the butter and cream on the stove. Heat until just before it boils. Remove and pour over chocolate. Stir until completely melted and smooth.
Pour over cupcakes and add more marshmallows if you desire.

Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake

Got this from a friend that got this from allrecipes.com. I made it for my grandparents 60th anniversary and they raved about it. I didn't get to try it, but it sure looked good! It doesn't call for icing, but I poured chocolate ganache over it.


Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package dark chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2.In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil and coffee liqueur. Beat until ingredients are well blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Spoon into prepared pan.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until cake springs back when lightly tapped. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out and cool completely on wire rack.

Tara's Turkey Mini-Meatloaf

I've never been a meatloaf person, I don't know if it's a texture thing or what. But ever since I saw this recipe on The Biggest Loser, I've wanted to try it.


Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 stalk of celery, coarsely chopped
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 (20-ounce) package JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE® lean ground turkey breast
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
2 egg whites
For Topping

1/4 cup fat free and sugar free ketchup
1 tablespoon chipotle pepper adobo sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar substitute (such as Splenda® Brand)
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350°F. In the work bowl of a food processor, combine onion, carrots and celery. Pulse until finely chopped. Add chipotle peppers and pulse until just combined.

2.In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey with the pepper and vegetable mixture. Add egg whites and oats; gently mix until combined. Place about 1/3 cup of the prepared meatloaf mixture into 9 wells of a standard size muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, combine all of the topping ingredients in a small bowl; set aside. Remove meat loaves from oven and spoon the topping over each meatloaf. Return meatloaf to the oven and continue to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until meatloaf is firm and the internal temperature registers 170°F. Let meatloaf stand for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 9 mini loaves

Hungry Girl's Grab N Go Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup regular oats (not instant)
6 tbsp. whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/3 cup Gerber Peaches (or another brand of pureed peaches, found in the baby food aisle)
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 tbsp. golden raisins
1 tbsp. Ocean Spray Craisins (original)
2 tbsp. brown sugar, not packed
2 tsp. Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop raisins and Craisins into small pieces. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, Fiber One crumbs, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, dissolve Coffee-mate into 2 tbsp. hot water. Add all other wet ingredients (pureed peaches, pumpkin, and egg substitute), and mix well.

Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until completely blended. Slowly sprinkle chopped raisins and Craisins into the batter, making sure they don't all stick together.

Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray, and spoon batter into 4 evenly spaced circles. Spread batter out a bit with the back of a spoon. Place pan in the oven for 12 - 14 minutes (until tops of the treats are just slightly crispy). Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then grab 'n go!

Tomato-Cheese Ravioli Soup

I'm trying to cook healthier, and when I was trying to come up with a menu for this week I flipped open my Cooking Light cookbook and it opened to this recipe. I am so glad I tried it. It took about 15 minutes and it's really good. It's about 300 calories for a 1 1/4 cup serving.

1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
3 cups frozen ravioli
1 small zucchini, sliced
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add ravioli, zucchini and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 7-8 minutes or until ravioli and zucchini are tender.

317 calories, 6.3 grams fat, 14.6 grams protein

Baked Ziti

This recipe is from The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook, so it's pretty healthy for you. Well, as healthy as pasta can get anyway.

Olive Oil Spray
1 14 1/2 box fiber enriched ziti or penne pasta (I can never find fiber enrinched ziti, so I get the Ronzoni Smart Taste penne)
1 15 oz container fat free ricotta (I can never find the fat free ricotta, so we always use the part skim)
2 lg egg whites
4 c reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt, Pepper and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, to taste (I omit the red pepper since it's a little spicy for Noah)
3 1/2 c low fat low sodium marinara sauce
2 tbsp grated reduced fat Parmesan cheese


Preheat oven to 450. Lightly mist a 13 x 9 baking dish with spray.

Cook ziti according to package directions until al dente, drain.

In a large mixing bowl, mix ricotta, egg whites and all but 1 cup of mozzarella until well combined. Add the garlic powder, and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir in the cooked pasta until combined.

Spread 1 cup marinara sauce at the bottom of the prepared dish. Add half the pasta in an even layer over the sauce. Top pasta evenly with another 1 cup of sauce. Layer the remaining pasta over the sauce. Spoon the remaining 1 1/2 cups sauce evenly over the top of the pasta, then sprinkle mozzarella and the parmesan over the top.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or longer, until the mozzarella is melted. let stand for 5 minutes.