Roasted Parmesan Parsnips

Here's a new way to cook parsnips, thanks to the fabulous blog Sprouted Kitchen! She has great ideas and AWESOME pictures, take a gander when you have a free minute- she makes cooking meals into an ART! These Roasted Parsnips are soft and gooey thanks to the parmesan cheese, and yet bursting with flavor with all the different herbs--- they were so yummy I could have eaten them all myself!!!

Ingredients:

4 Parnips, peeled & chopped

1 egg white

1/2 TBSP dried Oregano

1 TBSP Rosemary, finely chopped

2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, fine

s & p

Directions:

Super simple. Peel & chop your parsnips, put them in a bowl. Separate an egg white and toss the parsnip sticks in it, then add your seasoning and give it another toss, then add your parmesan (I had to chop mine be cause it was shredded and needs to be a fine consistency). Toss it all together, pour it out on a roasting pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cook for 20-25 minutes on 425 until they are golden and done to your liking! You can serve plain or with a marinara sauce.

Toasted Flat Bread...

Get them before they're gone!

Here's a yummy treat, a great compliment to any salad really. Take a piece of flat bread, lightly butter it or use a little olive oil evenly, then add some Garlic Salt and sprinkle some parmesan cheese and put it in the oven on Broil for a few minutes (watch it, it will cook quickly and can burn easily!). Then slice it up and serve it as a fun crunchy side to a salad.

Cooks Quickly and perfect for a last minute meal!

I love Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Flat Bread. It is really soft and chewy, and is great for many things. I use it to roll up sandwiches, even sandwiches for kids- it makes a great peanut butter, banana, & honey sandwich all rolled up and chewy! Give it a whirl!! You're gonna love it!

Carrot Cake with Creamy Frosting

This tasty little treat is just in time for Easter!

So my daughters 2nd birthday is this weekend and I was looking for a yummy recipe that was light on the sugar and BIG on flavor- so I combined 2 -3 different recipes and came up with this little treat. They are flavorful and filling, they are dense like a normal carrot cake and yet unusual with the addition of the lemon zest and nutmeg. You can make this in a loaf pan or cupcakes or perhaps even in a sheet cake. The frosting has no sugar and you can make it as sweet as you like by adding more or less honey.

Directions:

Super simple. Take out your cream cheese brick so it can soften while you prep. Combine your dry ingredients in a bowl, then your wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Then add your dry ingredients into your wet and mix thoroughly. Now, if you use a pan you may want to spray it first or rub some butter on it to prevent sticking, I used cupcake liners and it was fine, but if you are concerned about them sticking to the cupcake liners you can add 2 TBSP melted butter to the recipe. Bake them at 350 and keep an eye on them- cupcakes took about 15-18 minutes (use a toothpick to test them) and a loaf pan could take up to 50 minutes or more. Sorry I don't have better time estimates- I ALWAYS forget to set my timer and end up watching everything by eye!

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour, I used whole wheat but you can use white

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/4 cup applesauce (I substituted apple sauce for oil)

1 1/2 TBSP Molasses

1 TBSP vanilla

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

2 cups freshly grated carrots

Frosting Ingredients:

1 brick of cream cheese

1 tsp cinnamon

3-4 TBSP honey (or more to taste depending on how sweet you like it)

1 drizzle of vanilla

Pesto Chicken, Sundried Tomatoes, & Artichoke Heart Pasta

Now that's a mouth full! Here's a simple pasta, easy to throw together in a pinch using the recently posted Pesto recipe. It's super simple and very flavorful!

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds pasta, I used brown rice pasta

3 chicken breasts, baked

1/2 jar sundried tomatoes, julienne sliced

1/2 jar marinated artichoke hearts, divided

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

pesto sauce

Directions:

First get your chicken baking, I cooked 3 breasts in a pyrex dish (sprayed with Olive Oil) and seasoned with s & p and garlic powder on 400 for about 30- 40 minutes (check center before removing from oven, time will vary due to thickness of breasts). Next get your water boiling and your pasta cooking (per directions on the pasta bag). Then make your pesto sauce and then start combining things as they are done. Drain the pasta, cover it in the pesto sauce, chop your chicken, add your sun dried tomatoes & artichoke hearts and toss in some fresh parmesan and you are ready to serve your hearty and tasty pasta! Ta-duh!!!