Pastor Ryan's Roasted Ricotta Roma Tomatoes

When I first saw this recipe on Pioneer Woman's website, I knew I had to try it!


1 handful fresh Italian parsley
1 handful fresh Basil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
8 roma tomatoes, halved
2 cups ricotta cheese (may need more or less depending on the size of your tomatoes)
Italian bread crumbs
kosher salt
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and halve the tomatoes. After halving them, remove the insides (seeds, etc) with a spoon. Sprinkle a bit of kosher salt inside each tomato. Discard the insides and lay the halved, gutted tomatoes face down on a clean towel.

Chop herbs and garlic and mix with ricotta cheese. Add salt and and pepper to taste.

Next, fill each tomato half with the ricotta mixture. Press each ricotta filled tomato half face down into the bread crumbs. Place face up on a baking sheet and drizzle each tomato with a bit of olive oil.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Baked Cheese, Spinach & Bean Burritos

I was a little concerned about the combination of ingredients, but it turned out great and was so yummy! Even better, this is a low cost meal - around $2.15 per serving.

1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach

1 19-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups chunky salsa

4-6 whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup fat free refried beans

1 cup low-fat shredded monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Coat a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cook spinach according to package directions; squeeze dry.

Combine the kidney and refried beans and 1 cup salsa in a bowl. Onto each tortilla, spoon a quarter of the bean mixture, spinach and cheese. Roll up. Place tortillas seam side down in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining salsa over the surface of the burritos and sprinkle with extra cheese if desired.

Bake until cheese is melted and burritos are heated through, approximately 6-8 minutes.

Recipe from the February 2009 issue of Fitness Magazine

Strawberry Muffins

I'm back on my muffin kick! I seriously could eat muffins everyday for the rest of my life. This was the winning recipe on my mom's board weekly recipe challenge a couple weeks ago and I bought way too many strawberries this week and knew this recipe would be perfect to use up some of the strawberries.

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

2 cups chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or use paper lines in a 12 cup muffin pan.

In a small bowl, combine oil, milk and egg. Beat lightly. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat. Pour in milk mixture and stir together until combined.

Fill muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops bounce back from touching the top. Cool 10 minutes and then remove from pan.

Turkey Gyros

I love gyros from a local Farmer's Market, but I don't visit the market that often. I wanted to find something that could satisfy my need for a gyro and found this great recipe in one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks.

Gyro Meat:

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Yogurt Sauce:

1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/8 tsp salt

2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1/4 cup cucumber, finely chopped

4 flat pita rounds without pockets
Sliced cucumbers and tomatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the above gyro ingredients. Mix vigorously until well blended. Form turkey mixture into four, thin rectagular loaves about 1/4 inch thick.

Cook in a nonstick skillet on medium heat for 1-2 minutes on each side or until browned. Place skillet in oven and bake an additional 11 - 13 minutes or until loaves are no longer pink in the center. Remove turkey loaves from oven. Thinly slice lengthwise.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce. In a small bowl, combine all sauce ingredients.

To finish gyros, warm pita bread in oven. To serve, arrange turkey slices over pita bread, top with 1 tablespoon of yogurt sauce, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Recipe from Pampered Chef's "29 Minutes to Dinner" cookbook

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

It's been awhile since I posted a new recipe. Life has been crazy and I haven't done much cooking or baking, but things are slowing down and I'm ready to get back to trying new recipes!

1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Combine oats and milk and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin.

Stir egg, oil, brown sugar and chocolate chips into the oat and milk mixture.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add oat mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Fill each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining brown sugar and pecans.

Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

They were really good. I sprinkled them with a little sugar/cinnamon mix on top before baking. Next time I'm going to add either walnuts or raisins.

Adapted from allrecipes.com