Turtle Bites: 10 min or less dessert

Oh no you totally forgot about the office potluck or your neighbors brought over a gift and you have run out of holiday yummies what do you do? This recipe is quick, easy, and super addictive.

They have lots of names but I call them turtle bites as the are a mouthful of salted caramel chocolate nut goodness all in one bite. 

Ingredients: 1 bag rolos, pretzels, pecan halves 

Time: 5 min plus cooling

-Preheat oven to 375. Place pretzels evenly spaced on foil lined cookie sheet. -Add rolo to each pretzel in center of pretzel 

-Bake for 3 min or until rolo starts to get pretty shinny not all the way melted

- remove from oven and place pecan on top, smush pecan down 

- Allow turtle bites to cool to set (place sheet in fridge can speed it along) 

-Serve at room temperature... Bet you can't eat just one 

   *these keep very well so feel free to make few days ahead of time or even freeze. 

I  recommend buying the rolos near counter in tube otherwise they are individually wrapped and boy that is a pain and a major time suck. Window pain pretzeles (or chess board I don't know what real name is but that's what they look like) are great as the hold in chocolate. To save time by avoiding preheating oven I used a toaster oven, plus 2 small batches allowed me to get pecan on before rolo cooled.

 One blogger recommend to put on pecan prior to baking to save time and give roasted nut taste. Caution pecan gets really hot and didn't notice any flavor difference so I'd just skip it. Another word of warning caramel is really really hot and like sticky lava so as tempting as these look let them fully cool before sampling so you don't burn your mouth. 

Christmas Light Date

Looking for a quick, inexpensive, and easy date? All you need is gas in the tank, hot chocolate, good holiday movie, and Christmas bingo/I spy cards.

After spending the better half of the day on the phone and driving all over northeastern Ohio to take care of replacing a stolen wallet our date night got cut short. I thought this was a perfect date to help bring back some of the Christmas cheer as I was leaning toward the Grinch side.

 W and I jumped in the car and circled through the neighborhoods in search of the "griswold house". You know every city has to have at least one or two of those overly gaudy decorations with maybe four or five blow ups. For me though my favorite houses are the simplest ones. I love a few white lights and windows adorned with wreaths and red ribbons and maybe candles in the windows. 

just simple and elegant

W and I had a night filled with singing Christmas carols while driving intermixed with oohs and awwws of the gorgeously decorated houses. It even started to snow on our drive! I will say we were a bit to engrossed in the views to play a competative game of bingo so we just tried to complete as many if the I spy tasks before heading home.

When returned we snuggled next to our tree, warmed up with some hot chocolate,  and watched the classic Home Alone movie. What a perfect simple date. 

This is something that is easily adapted to work with the whole family (dress up the kids in pjs have the hot chocolate in to go cups) or as a couples contest road rally game. When you return you can warm up with tasty holiday beverages. Check out a few from an older post!

Thank you to Another Crafty Day for these adorable bingo cards. Feel free to make your own I spy lists there are a ton of ideas on Pinterest. If you want to turn this into a contest Dating Divas has a free printable set for a couples party/date right here. 

one day I hope to do something
like this on my front door
Merry Christmas Everyone!

#3.18 Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables

So it's finals week and that means I de-stress by cooking! I was pursuing my favorite food blog site and this was the post of the day. It fits as a list item for another vegetarian meal and surprise this doesn't have spinach in it like 90% of all the other ones I've made lately. I even branched out and tried cooking eggplant for the first time!!

 I highly recommend checking out Budget Bytes site or her cook book.  All the recipes are made with easy to find ingredients and is budget conscious in time and money. Plus everything usually is great to freeze for a later date. Bonus for those busy students! The website is super organized and I love the flavors and ethnic food recipes. There isn't a recipe yet I haven't enjoyed. Check out some of my older posts for some favorites: summer vegetable tian, naan, fall harvest roasted veggies and sausage

easy peasy steps...mmmm

Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
     Total time: about 1 1/2 hrs   Cook time 1 hr          servings: 12
Ingredients

• 1 c  broccoli 
• 1 small eggplant 
• ½ lb. (4 medium) carrots 
• 1 medium squash (yellow or zucchini) 
• 1 package mushrooms
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 small red pepper
•  1 tsp garlic powder 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• salt and pepper 
• 1 tsp dried oregano or italian seasonings blend 

• ¾ lb. (12 oz. box) uncooked ziti 
• 1 cup (8 oz) low fat ricotta cheese 
• 1 large egg 
• 2 cups shredded low fat mozzarella, divided 
• salt and pepper 
• 1 (24 oz.) jar tomato basil marinara sauce, divided
• the more flavorful your sauce the better!

Instructions

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop the eggplant, squash, mushrooms into small cubes (1/2-3/4 inch), cut the carrots and pepper into matchsticks, slice the onion, and cut the broccoli into small florets. Place chopped veggies into large bowl.
2.  Drizzle veggies with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp salt, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, and a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper. Toss the vegetables well, until evenly coated with oil and spices
3.  Cover two baking sheets with foil and spray with nonstick spray.  Divide vegetables and place in an even layer on baking sheets. Sprinkle remaining oregano and garlic powder. Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until they are soft and slightly charred on the edges. Stir once, half way through roasting. Remove and reduce oven to 375 when complete.
4. Cook the pasta until al dente [boil for 7-10]. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot with the burner turned off. Add the 2/3 jar of sauce and toss to coat.
5. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, the egg, 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella, ¼ tsp salt, and a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper. Stir until even.
6. Coat a large casserole dish with non-stick spray (9 x13 rectangle might work but you want high sides to fit all the layers). Spread ⅓ of the pasta and marinara sauce mixture over the bottom. Layer ½ of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, then ½ of the roasted vegetables. Repeat these three layers, then end with one final layer of pasta and add reaming 1/3 jar of sauce and the final cup of shredded mozzarella.
7.  Cover loosely with foil and bake the casserole for 20 minutes, or until heated through. Remove cover, turn off oven and let it sit for 10 more minutes until cheese on top is melted and slightly browned on the edges.

recipe adapted from budget bytes